These days there’s an app for just about anything.
Want to know if it’s dark but can’t be bothered to actually look outside?
There’s an app for that.
Want regular reminders that you’re incredibly rich?
There’s a $400 dollar app for that!
And the world of investing is no different.
Here are some of the UK’s leading stock trading apps categorised by the features that
we think they’re best for, plus some tips on how to choose the right app for you.
Best trading app for low-cost trading: eToro
eToro lets you buy and sell a huge range of different financial products, including stocks
and shares, cryptocurrencies, commodities and currencies and exchange traded funds,
on some of the world’s biggest stock exchanges.
eToro is the leading social trading platform, which means that it offers users the opportunity
to connect and learn from fellow traders and more experienced investors.
And its CopyTrader system literally lets you copy the movements of other traders you’ve
got your eye on.
eToro’s stand-out feature is its low-cost.
It’s free to create an account and eToro doesn't charge a commission fee or management
fees.
It’s not entirely fee-free, however, as there are a couple of unavoidable fees, mainly
around deposits and withdrawals that you’ll need to brush up on before deciding if this
app is right for you.
Best all-rounder: IG
IG is an investing all rounder - it’s got an ISA, a pension and general investment account
and offers ready made portfolios and individual shares.
Which makes it suitable for everyone from beginners to experienced investors.
With so much information and so many trading options, IG’s platform has the potential
to be overwhelming.
But they equally really cater to newbies with a whole bunch of in-depth learning resources,
guides, videos and quizzes that you can access for free through the IG Academy mobile app.
Best trading app for beginners: Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s biggest and most comprehensive wealth manager, which
makes it a little on the pricey side.
Dubbed an “investment supermarket” it offers loads of trading options and financial
products including an ISA, SIPP and junior accounts.
One of the main draws for us is Hargreaves Lansdown’s wealth of information and expert
guides to help you make better trading decisions.
A feature that led us to crown it the best trading app for beginners.
Best trading app for investing in funds: interactive investor
interactive investor has a great fund offering, with nearly 3,000 funds available to invest
in, a screener that lets you search for funds and get more information as well as lists
of popular funds, news and insights.
Interactive investor offers nine different accounts including general investment accounts,
ISAs, pensions and junior accounts.
And with a flat fee for basically everything it could be a good option if you want to manage
your whole family’s investments from one app.
Best trading app for international trading: DEGIRO
DEGIRO lets you trade on more than 50 stock exchanges in 30 countries worldwide.
We’ve found that, despite having a bit of a confusing fee structure, it often works
out cheapest for international shares among the platforms we’ve reviewed.
Plus, with the option to invest in shares, bonds, ETFs, you can diversify your portfolio
both geographically and across different financial products with DEGIRO.
Best trading app for ease of use: Fidelity
Instead of just throwing you in at the deep end, Fidelity’s platform follows an easy
to use step by step approach.
The app is well laid out and gives you loads of investment options based on your risk profile
and investment goals.
Plus, it has loads of guidance and investment tools like calculators, videos and reviews
to give you up-to-date investing insights and build your expertise.
With Fidelity, you can open a general investment account, ISA and SIPP as well as a junior
ISA and a junior SIPP for kids.
Best trading app for tools and research: Trading 212
With a tagline like ‘Learn.
Trade.
Invest’ Trading 212 delivers on the educational front.
Navigate to the ‘Learn’ tab to find loads of videos, guides and an alphabetical index
to find out near enough everything you ever wanted to know about share trading.
Plus, it comes with a great demo feature that lets you trade up to £50,000 in virtual funds.
Just hit “Real Money” when you’re ready to dive in for real.
Trading 212 gives you access to more than 10,000 stocks and ETFs across 7 different
markets.
It’s free to use, but has limited investing functionality in that it doesn’t offer like
no pensions, lifetime ISAs or junior ISAs.
How to pick the best app for you
Picking the right app for you will depend on a number of personal preferences and your
level of expertise.
As you’re deciding, consider these 5 key factors:
What fees and charges are you willing to pay?
What do you want to trade?
Shares, funds, ETFs maybe?
How easy is the app to use?
Does it complement your level of expertise?
What kind of market research, investing insights or charting tools does that app offer?
And, is there a demo account available?
Being able to try before you buy can be super useful, especially if you’re new to investing.
What next?
Did any one of the above catch your attention?
We’d love to know what you think.
Comment below to share your thoughts about the best share trading apps and platforms.
There are many more apps available out there, so visit finder.com for more detailed reviews
and comparisons – links in the description.
For more investment videos, subscribe to our channel or check out our next video here.
As always, thanks for watching.