interactive investor

ii scrapped its old Investor/Super Investor/Friend tiers in February 2026 and replaced them with Core, Plus, and Premium. The new structure is simpler but worth understanding in detail — the differences go deeper than the monthly price.

Core — £5.99/month: The entry point, capped at portfolios up to £100,000. You get ISA, SIPP (including Managed Portfolios), and Trading Account. Trades cost £3.99 for funds and UK/US shares, £9.99 for international. FX is 0.75%. Dividend reinvestment costs £0.99 per holding. Direct Debit is the only way to pay the monthly fee on Core — no card payments, no annual billing.

Plus — £14.99/month: No portfolio limit. Everything in Core, plus Junior ISAs for all your children, 5 free family accounts, 1 free monthly trade (a £3.99 trading credit, valid 31 days — use it or lose it), and fund trades drop to £1.49. FX drops to 0.25% on amounts above £50,000 per transaction. International share trades fall from £9.99 to £7.99.

Premium — £39.99/month: The active trader plan. Free fund trades. UK/US shares at £2.99. International shares at £5.99. FX is flat 0.25% on everything. Two free monthly trades (£5.98 total credit), unlimited family accounts, free dividend reinvestment, and access to the upcoming ii360 advanced trading platform.

All plans include free regular investing — set up a monthly buy and pay zero dealing charges. That's a genuine edge for pound-cost-averaging investors that even Vanguard doesn't charge for, though the gap is smaller than it looks since Vanguard has no dealing fees on its own funds at all.

The pension admin fee baked into the monthly price: £2.50 inc. VAT on Core, £6 inc. VAT on Plus and Premium. It's included, not extra — but you should know it's there. For a full comparison of how these stack up against other platforms, see our flat-fee vs percentage-fee breakdown.

The flat-fee maths devastates percentage platforms once your portfolio grows. A £250,000 portfolio on ii Plus costs £179.88 a year. The same portfolio at Hargreaves Lansdown costs over £650 at 0.45% on funds. At AJ Bell, it's £625 at 0.25%. These are not small differences — £445 a year compounded over 20 years at 5% is over £15,000 in lost growth, and that's before you factor in the higher trading costs.

This is the wrinkle that catches people, and it should. Once your total portfolio crosses £100,000, ii automatically upgrades you from Core to Plus — from £71.88 to £179.88 per year. You don't get a choice. If you've added Junior ISAs or family members, you're locked into Plus or Premium anyway.

Let's call it what it is: the Core plan is a loss leader to acquire customers, and the forced upgrade at £100k is where ii makes its margin. But the question isn't whether the upgrade is annoying — it is. The question is whether Plus still beats the alternatives after the jump.

The maths says yes. At £100,000, Plus costs £179.88/year — an effective rate of 0.18%. That's cheaper than every percentage-fee competitor except Vanguard's 0.15%, and the moment your portfolio hits about £120,000, ii Plus becomes cheaper than Vanguard too. By £150,000, ii is unambiguously the cheapest full-service platform in the UK.

Plus also delivers genuine value beyond the Core baseline. Fund trades drop from £3.99 to £1.49 — if you make six fund trades a year, that saves £15 right there. The free monthly trade credit is worth another £47.88 annually if you use it consistently. Junior ISAs become available. And the family accounts — which we cover next — are worth hundreds to anyone with a partner or children.

One wrinkle worth knowing: a Joint Trading Account costs £14.99/month separately, outside your personal plan. If you and a partner share one, that's an extra £179.88 a year on top of whatever your individual plan costs. Compare that with just adding your partner as a family member on Plus, where they get their own accounts at no extra monthly fee. The FCA's consumer duty requires platforms to demonstrate value — and the Plus plan's bundled pricing genuinely delivers it, even if the forced upgrade feels like a shove.

On the Plus plan, you can add 5 family members who each get a free Stocks & Shares ISA, Trading Account, Personal Pension (SIPP), and Junior ISAs. On Premium, it's unlimited family members. Each family member joins on what ii calls the "Family plan" — essentially Core benefits (including the £3.99 trading rates and 0.75% FX) at zero monthly cost, with their own £100,000 portfolio cap before they'd need their own paid plan.

The numbers are stark. A family of four, each with a £50,000 ISA:

• ii Plus: £179.88/year covers everyone. One fee, four ISAs, four pensions, unlimited Junior ISAs.
• Vanguard: 4 × £75 = £300/year. No family linking.
• AJ Bell: 4 × £125 = £500/year. No family discount.
• Hargreaves Lansdown: 4 × £225 = £900/year on funds. No family linking.

That's a £320 to £720 annual saving versus the alternatives — and the gap widens as portfolios grow. No other major UK platform offers anything equivalent. Fidelity doesn't. Vanguard doesn't. HL doesn't.

The restrictions are real but manageable. Family members can't add their own family members or open Junior ISAs (only the plan holder can open JISAs, though all children can get one). If a family member's portfolio exceeds £100,000, they need their own paid plan. And the family member's trading costs stay at Core rates — the lower Plus/Premium dealing fees only apply to the plan holder's accounts.

For spouses and adult children who just want a cheap ISA to use their £20,000 annual allowance, this is hard to beat. For a comprehensive comparison of ISA platform costs across providers, see our ISA platform comparison guide.

ii offers one of the widest investment ranges in the UK: over 40,000 instruments across UK, US, and 15 other international exchanges. The breakdown:

• UK and US shares, ETFs, and investment trusts
• International shares across 17 exchanges including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, and Toronto
• Over 3,000 funds — active, passive, income, accumulation
• Corporate bonds and individual gilt strips for bond-ladder builders
• Multi-currency accounts in 9 currencies on SIPP and Trading Accounts — hold USD, EUR, and others without forced FX conversion on every trade

That breadth matters when you want niche exposure. Japanese small caps. Individual gilts held to maturity for the tax-free capital gain. Direct US tech stocks outside an ETF wrapper. Vanguard offers 85 funds. ii offers five hundred times that.

Less discussed: the Managed ISA and Managed Portfolios are available on all plans at no extra platform cost. You pay only the fund OCFs within the managed portfolio — there's no wrapper fee, no management surcharge. For a Core customer at £5.99/month, that's a fully managed investment solution cheaper than Wealthify or Nutmeg, both of which charge 0.60%–0.75% on top of fund costs.

The catch is the FX. Core's 0.75% on every currency conversion adds up quickly for international share buyers. A £5,000 US share purchase costs £37.50 in FX alone before you've paid the £3.99 dealing fee. Plus drops this to 0.25% on amounts above £50,000 in a single transaction, and Premium is flat 0.25% on everything. The multi-currency wallet helps — you can convert once and hold USD — but if you're regularly buying US shares in small amounts on Core, the FX bill will sting.

Free regular investing works across the full range. Set up a monthly purchase of any fund, ETF, or share and pay nothing in dealing fees. At £25/month minimum, it's accessible for beginners and genuinely free for the disciplined. For a broader look at investing strategies, see our hub.

ii's Personal Pension has been named a Which? Recommended Provider for five consecutive years. At £5.99/month on Core, it's one of the cheapest SIPPs on the market — and unlike percentage-based SIPP providers, the cost doesn't grow with your pot.

Key SIPP facts from ii's current offering:

• Pension access age: 55 currently, rising to 57 from 2028.
• Tax-free cash: 25% of your pot, capped at £268,275 (the lump sum allowance).
• Annual allowance: Up to £60,000 including tax relief — so £48,000 from you, £12,000 from HMRC. Higher earners and those who've accessed their pension may have a lower allowance.
• Withdrawals: No additional charges from ii. You can take tax-free cash, income drawdown, lump sums, or a combination.
• Death benefits: Beneficiaries don't pay inheritance tax if you die before 75, and can withdraw tax-free. If you die after 75, withdrawals are taxed as income. From April 2027, unused pension funds become part of your estate for IHT — a significant change that makes consolidation and planning more urgent.

ii doesn't charge for pension transfers in or out, including in-specie transfers. The SIPP sits alongside your ISA and Trading Account under the same monthly fee — unlike AJ Bell, which charges a separate SIPP fee on top of the ISA platform charge.

For the self-employed and pension consolidators, it's a strong proposition: one low flat fee, full investment choice, no exit charges. The £200 SIPP cashback offer (minimum £20,000 deposit or transfer, ends 31 July 2026) sweetens the deal for anyone consolidating workplace pensions — but don't transfer solely for cashback. Check for exit fees and valuable benefits like guaranteed annuity rates before moving anything. For more on retirement planning, see our pensions hub.

The flat monthly fee is only half the story. Your trading frequency determines the other half — and this is where ii's value proposition shifts depending on how you invest.

If you're a buy-and-hold investor making 6–12 trades a year, predominantly funds: ii Core costs £71.88 platform + £47.88 in fund trades (12 × £3.99) = £119.76 total. ii Plus costs £179.88 + £17.88 (12 × £1.49) = £197.76. On Core, that's competitive with anyone. On Plus, it's still cheaper than HL or AJ Bell at portfolio levels above £80,000.

If you're an active trader making 50+ trades a year: Core becomes expensive fast — 50 UK share trades at £3.99 is £199.50 in dealing costs alone. Plus drops this to £3.99 per share trade with one free monthly trade, saving £47.88 a year. Premium eliminates fund dealing costs entirely and drops UK/US shares to £2.99, saving active fund traders hundreds.

The dividend reinvestment charge of £0.99 per holding on Core and Plus looks small but adds up. Hold 20 dividend-paying shares and that's £19.80 a year. Premium gives you free dividend reinvestment — a small but meaningful saving for income investors.

The £100 ISA trading credit offer (ends 31 July 2026, new customers only) effectively wipes out the first £100 in trading costs, which helps new investors ease into the platform. For a broader comparison of ISA platform costs, see our full guide.

No Lifetime ISA. If you're under 40 and want the 25% government bonus for a first home or retirement, ii can't help. You'll need AJ Bell or Dodl.

Junior ISA only on Plus and above. Core plan users at £5.99/month cannot open a Junior ISA. That's £9,000/year of tax-free child investing locked behind a £14.99/month paywall. For a parent with a £25,000 portfolio who just wants a JISA, that's an extra £108/year — a 150% cost increase for a single account type.

FX fees on Core are steep. 0.75% on every currency conversion is not competitive. Trading 212 charges 0.15%. Freetrade charges 0.45%. Even HL charges 0.50% on the first £100,000. If you trade US stocks regularly on a Core plan, the FX bill alone could wipe out the platform fee savings.

The interface divides opinion. ii has improved its app and website, and the research and community content is genuinely good — the ii Community forum is one of the more thoughtful investing discussion spaces. But the interface still layers a lot on screen. If you want the clean, stripped-back experience of Vanguard or Freetrade, ii will feel cluttered. The trade-off is functionality: you get more tools and data, but it takes longer to find the buy button.

No app-based fractional shares. Unlike Trading 212 and Freetrade, ii doesn't support fractional share purchases. You buy whole shares or nothing. For investors who want to put £100 a month into expensive US stocks, that's a genuine limitation.

The forced upgrade is a feature, not a bug — but it's poorly communicated. The pricing page buries the automatic upgrade in a single sentence, and new customers rarely realise it's coming until they get the notification. ii could be much more transparent about this upfront.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek independent financial advice before making any investment decisions. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. ISA and pension rules can change. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. interactive investor is authorised and regulated by the FCA (register number 141282) and covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.