Freetrade

Pricing unchanged since IG Group closed the acquisition in mid-2025 — and unchanged since our last refresh in June. Source: Freetrade's pricing page, verified 24 July 2026.

Basic — £0/month

• Accounts: ISA, Junior ISA, SIPP, GIA — all at £0
• Dealing: £0 commission on all trades
• FX fee: 0.99% on non-GBP trades
• Cash interest: 1% AER on up to £1,000 uninvested cash
• Customer service: Standard

Standard — £4.99/month (annual, £59.88/year) or £5.99/month (rolling)

• Same accounts as Basic
• FX fee: 0.59%
• Cash interest: 2.5% AER on up to £2,000
• Customer service: Standard

Plus — £9.99/month (annual, £119.88/year) or £11.99/month (rolling)

• Same accounts as Basic
• FX fee: 0.39%
• Cash interest: 3.5% AER on up to £3,000
• Customer service: Priority
• Enhanced stock fundamentals
• Free same-day withdrawals
• Early access to beta features

All plans include commission-free access to 8,200+ stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, mutual funds, gilts, and UK Treasury bills. US fractional shares are available across all tiers. Extended hours trading and automated order types — recurring orders, limit orders, and stop losses — are standard on every plan.

The break-even maths is straightforward. If your annual FX bill on Basic exceeds the cost of upgrading to Standard (£59.88/year annual), you should upgrade. That happens at roughly £6,000 of US/European trading volume per year. A £10,000 US equity portfolio rebalanced twice annually costs £198/year in FX on Basic but only £118 on Standard — the £59.88 subscription is cheaper than the £80 FX saving. Standard effectively pays for itself.

The Plus plan's 0.39% FX rate is closer to competitive, but at £119.88/year it only makes sense if you value the priority support, enhanced fundamentals, and same-day withdrawals — or if you have a large US allocation where the FX saving outweighs the subscription. At £30,000 of annual US volume, Plus saves £180 in FX over Standard, more than covering the £60 gap between the two plans.

Three platforms. All claim to be free. All three are FCA-authorised and FSCS-protected (up to £85,000 for investment claims). The difference is where each one actually makes money — and that difference determines which platform is cheapest for your portfolio.

Source: Platform websites, verified 24 July 2026.

Who wins at what:

UK-only, multi-account investor: Freetrade wins. A £0 ISA + £0 SIPP + £0 JISA combination with zero fund-holding charges and direct gilt access has no equivalent on any other platform. Trading 212 has no SIPP or JISA. InvestEngine has a SIPP but no JISA, no mutual funds, and no individual stocks.

US stock trader: Trading 212 wins — decisively. The 0.15% FX fee is 6.6× cheaper than Freetrade Basic's 0.99%. On a £20,000 US portfolio traded quarterly, that's £120/year on Trading 212 vs £792 on Freetrade Basic. Even Freetrade Plus at 0.39% costs £312 — still 2.6× Trading 212. If US stocks are more than 20% of your portfolio, Freetrade's FX economics don't work.

ETF-only, long-term holder: InvestEngine wins on pure cost. Zero fees, zero FX drag — all 630+ ETFs are GBP-denominated. You can build a globally diversified portfolio with no currency conversion cost. But you give up individual stocks, mutual funds, gilts, and a Junior ISA. For a five-fund ETF portfolio held for 20 years, the cost advantage compounds meaningfully.

All-rounder who wants everything in one place: Freetrade wins — it's the only platform offering stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, gilts, T-bills, fractional US shares, a SIPP, a JISA, and a flexible ISA, all on a free tier. No other platform matches that breadth at any price.

Annual cost for a £50,000 portfolio (UK-only, 12 trades/year, no FX):

Annual cost for a £50,000 portfolio (60% UK, 40% US, 24 trades/year):

The maths is unambiguous: if you hold US stocks, Trading 212 is cheaper. If you don't, Freetrade Basic is genuinely free — and it delivers more account types than any competitor.

IG Group Holdings plc, a FTSE 250 constituent with over £1.12 billion in annual revenue, paid £160m all-cash for Freetrade in a deal announced January 2025 and completed mid-2025. Freetrade had been structurally loss-making — a £39.8m loss on £15.6m revenue in FY2022 — and only reached EBITDA-positive shortly before the acquisition closed. IG's balance sheet removed the existential risk overnight.

Eighteen months post-acquisition, here's what's actually happened:

Safety held up. Freetrade Limited (FCA reference 771281) operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of IG Group. That's a fundamentally different risk profile from a venture-backed startup burning £40m/year. FSCS investment protection covers claims up to £85,000 per person — separate from the £120,000 deposit protection at banks, and unchanged.

Pricing stayed put. IG has not touched Freetrade's pricing structure. The £0 Basic tier, the three-plan ladder, the FX fee levels — all identical to pre-acquisition. IG runs its own commission-free platform (IG Trading) with a spread-based model. The two brands target different segments and IG's public statements consistently frame Freetrade as its mass-market growth engine, not a cost-synergy target.

Product accelerated. Post-acquisition, Freetrade has added mutual funds, direct gilt access, UK Treasury bills, a Junior ISA on all plans, and ready-made portfolios — all available on the free Basic tier. The investment universe expanded from roughly 6,500 to 8,200+ instruments. The user base passed 1.6 million as IG migrated its self-directed clients onto Freetrade's brand.

What IG hasn't done: Launch a Lifetime ISA. IG Group has made no public commitment to one. That's the single biggest product gap — the 25% government bonus on up to £4,000/year is worth up to £1,000/year in free money for first-home buyers and retirement savers under 40.

The risk worth watching: IG eventually harmonises pricing across its platforms. But in July 2026, there's no sign of that. Freetrade's pricing is identical to what it was under independent ownership, and the product is better.

All four account types are available on every plan, including Basic at £0.

Stocks & Shares ISA. Flexible — you can withdraw and replace within the tax year without losing your £20,000 ISA allowance. Most platforms do not offer flexibility. InvestEngine and Trading 212 ISAs are non-flexible. That matters if you might need to access cash temporarily — withdraw £5,000 in March, put it back in April, and your £20,000 allowance is intact. The ISA holds the full 8,200+ investment universe including stocks, ETFs, funds, trusts, gilts, and T-bills. Freetrade won Which? Recommended Provider (March 2026) and three Boring Money Best Buy awards: Best for Low-Cost ISA, Best for Share Traders, and Best for Value for Money.

Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). £0 account fee on Basic. Tax relief at 20% is claimed automatically from HMRC — higher-rate taxpayers claim the additional 20% or 25% through self-assessment. The SIPP supports the full investment universe. The structural weakness is at retirement: Freetrade only supports Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS) withdrawals at £240 each. No flexi-access drawdown exists. The normal minimum pension age is 55, rising to 57 in 2028. If you're approaching retirement, plan to transfer your SIPP to a provider offering full drawdown before you need income. For accumulation, the zero-cost structure is hard to beat.

Junior ISA (JISA). Available on all plans including Basic. Full investment universe. The £9,000 annual JISA allowance applies for 2026/27. No other zero-fee platform combines a free JISA with a free ISA and free SIPP.

General Investment Account (GIA). £0 account fee, £0 dealing commission. Useful for investments above the ISA allowance. Remember capital gains tax applies on gains above the annual exempt amount — £3,000 for 2026/27. The dividend allowance is £500.

The Lifetime ISA gap. Freetrade doesn't offer a Lifetime ISA. If you're saving for a first home or retirement with the 25% government bonus, you need a different provider. Dodl by AJ Bell offers a LISA at 0.15% platform fee. No fee saving compensates for missing a 25% government bonus on up to £4,000/year.

On 23 June 2026, HMRC announced a 22% tax on cash interest held within Stocks & Shares ISAs, effective from the 2026/27 tax year. One month in, here's how it lands:

• Freetrade Basic: 1% AER on up to £1,000. After 22% tax: 0.78% net. On £1,000: £7.80/year (down from £10).
• Freetrade Standard: 2.5% AER on up to £2,000. After 22% tax: 1.95% net. On £2,000: £39/year (down from £50).
• Freetrade Plus: 3.5% AER on up to £3,000. After 22% tax: 2.73% net. On £3,000: £81.90/year (down from £105).
• Trading 212 Cash ISA: BoE base rate minus 0.15% — but this is a separate Cash ISA product, so the 22% tax on S&S ISA interest doesn't apply.

The practical impact is small: Freetrade's cash interest caps are low (£1k–£3k) and the tax only applies to interest earned within an S&S ISA wrapper. On Plus, the maximum interest fell from £105 to £81.90 — a £23.10 annual difference. But the change reinforces a point that was already true: investment platforms are not savings accounts. If you're holding large cash balances, a dedicated Cash ISA or high-interest savings account is the right tool.

For platform comparison, Trading 212's Cash ISA product (tax-free, BoE base rate −0.15%) has a marginal edge for investors who hold cash alongside investments — but the difference is small enough that it shouldn't drive your platform decision.

1. Zero fund-holding charges across all accounts. Most platforms charge 0.25%–0.45% per year just to hold mutual funds — on top of the fund's own OCF. On a £50,000 fund portfolio, that's £125–£225/year extracted in perpetuity. Over 20 years at 7%, a 0.35% platform fee on funds reduces terminal wealth by roughly 7%. Freetrade charges nothing. Zero. On any plan, including Basic. No competitor combines this with a free ISA, SIPP, and JISA.

2. Direct gilt and Treasury bill access at zero cost. Freetrade is the only zero-fee platform offering direct gilt and UK Treasury bill purchases. You can buy individual gilts — not just gilt ETFs — at no dealing commission and no custody charge. For investors who want to build a gilt ladder, this is unique at the free price point. Trading 212 and InvestEngine don't offer direct gilt access at all. With UK borrowing costs rising alongside oil prices — Brent crude hit $100 on 23 July for the first time since May — gilts are increasingly relevant to UK portfolio construction.

3. The flexible ISA as standard. Most platform ISAs are non-flexible: withdraw £5,000 mid-year and you've permanently lost £5,000 of your £20,000 allowance. Freetrade's ISA is flexible by default — withdraw and replace within the same tax year with no penalty. Among the three free platforms, only Freetrade offers this. It's not a theoretical benefit; it's the difference between accessing your money and permanently shrinking your tax shelter.

Freetrade was named Which? Recommended Provider (March 2026) and won Best for Low-Cost ISA, Best for Share Traders, and Best for Value for Money at the 2026 Boring Money Best Buy Awards. Awards aren't a reason to pick a platform, but they confirm the product has matured significantly from its scrappy startup days.

1. The 0.99% FX fee on Basic. This is the structural issue. The fee is invisible — it's embedded in the exchange rate, not shown as a separate line item — but it's the difference between genuinely free and deceptively expensive. Trading 212 charges 0.15%. Even Freetrade Plus at 0.39% is 2.6× Trading 212. The break-even: if your annual FX bill on Basic exceeds £59.88, upgrade to Standard. That happens at roughly £6,000 of US/European trading volume per year. For anyone with a 40%+ US allocation, Trading 212 or Freetrade Plus are the only rational choices.

2. SIPP withdrawal: UFPLS only, £240 per withdrawal. The SIPP is excellent for accumulation — £0 custody, £0 dealing, full investment universe, automatic basic-rate tax relief. At retirement, it becomes expensive. Each UFPLS withdrawal costs £240. Monthly income in retirement means £2,880/year just in withdrawal charges. There is no flexi-access drawdown. Plan to transfer your SIPP to a provider offering full drawdown — AJ Bell or Interactive Investor are strong options — before you need retirement income.

3. Transfer-out charges for US holdings. ISA transfers out are free for cash and UK holdings, but £17 per US position. Fifteen individual US stocks? £255 to leave. Trading 212 and InvestEngine charge nothing for transfers. If you might switch platforms, consolidate US holdings into GBP-denominated ETFs before transferring.

4. No Lifetime ISA. The 25% government bonus on up to £4,000/year is worth up to £1,000/year. No fee saving compensates for missing it. If a LISA fits your goals, see our Dodl review for the cheapest option at 0.15% platform fee.

5. Research tools lag behind full-service brokers. Freetrade's stock fundamentals and analysis are basic compared to Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell. Plus plan users get enhanced stock fundamentals, but these are still entry-level by full-service standards. If you do your own deep research elsewhere — Morningstar, company reports, financial news — this gap doesn't matter. If you rely on your platform for research, Freetrade is not the right tool.

A £0/month headline masks where costs accumulate. The model below assumes a 20-year hold on a UK-focused diversified portfolio at 7% gross annual return, £50,000 starting balance, £500/month contributions, 24 trades/year, and a 40% US allocation.

Three things jump out:

First, InvestEngine is cheapest over 20 years — but only if a GBP-ETF-only portfolio meets your needs. No individual stocks, no mutual funds, no gilts, no JISA. The £0 cost comes with real constraints.

Second, Trading 212's 0.15% FX fee compounds to a £1,728 saving vs Freetrade Plus over 20 years on a £50,000 starting portfolio. That's real money — but Trading 212 has no SIPP, no JISA, and no mutual funds. If you need those, the saving disappears because you'll need a second platform.

Third, the Freetrade Basic vs Plus gap is £6,912 over 20 years. The £119.88/year Plus subscription saves £144/year in FX costs at this portfolio size, netting a £24/year saving. But the real Plus benefit isn't the FX saving — it's the priority support, enhanced fundamentals, and same-day withdrawals. Whether those are worth £24/year net is a personal call.

For a UK-only portfolio (0% US allocation), all three free-tier platforms cost £0/year. Freetrade's advantage in that scenario is structural: you get a SIPP, JISA, flexible ISA, direct gilt access, and mutual funds — all at £0 — where competitors give you less for the same price.