interactive investor
Best for self-directed investors with portfolios above £30,000 who want broad investment choice, bundled accounts, and a fee structure that rewards growing wealth
Fees & Charges
| Platform fee | Flat monthly fee: Core £5.99/month (portfolios up to £100k), Plus £14.99/month (over £100k or by choice), Premium £39.99/month (active traders) |
| Dealing fee | UK & US shares: £3.99 (Core/Plus), £2.99 (Premium). International shares: £9.99 (Core), £7.99 (Plus), £5.99 (Premium). Telephone trades: £49. |
| Fund fee | Funds: £3.99 per trade (Core), £1.49 per trade (Plus), Free (Premium). No ongoing platform charge on top of fund OCFs. |
| Min investment | £25/month for regular investing, no stated minimum for lump sums |
Pros
Cons
Account Types
Key Features
Interactive Investor Review 2026: The Flat-Fee Platform That Saves You Thousands as Your Portfolio Grows
Published 13 February 2026
Interactive investor charges a flat monthly fee — £5.99, £14.99, or £39.99 — regardless of how much you invest. On a £500,000 portfolio, that's £72 to £480 a year. Hargreaves Lansdown would charge you £2,250.
That difference compounds. Over 20 years, the fee savings alone could add tens of thousands of pounds to your retirement pot. It's the single most compelling reason to use ii, and the reason over 500,000 investors already do.
The platform overhauled its pricing in February 2026, simplifying from the old Investor/Super Investor/Pension Essentials model to three clearer tiers: Core, Plus, and Premium. Here's what's actually changed, what it costs, and whether the flat-fee model works for your portfolio size.
The New 2026 Fee Structure
ii launched new pricing plans in February 2026. Three tiers replace the old structure:
Core — £5.99/month
- Portfolio limit: up to £100,000 (raised from £50,000 under the old plan)
- UK & US share trades: £3.99
- Fund trades: £3.99
- International shares: £9.99
- FX fee: 0.75% (reduced from the old variable rate starting at 1.50%)
- Free regular investing
- No Junior ISA access
Plus — £14.99/month
- No portfolio limit
- Fund trades: £1.49
- UK & US share trades: £3.99
- International shares: £7.99
- FX: 0.75% on first £50,000, 0.25% above
- 1 free monthly trade (£3.99 credit)
- 5 free family accounts
- Free Junior ISAs for all children
Premium — £39.99/month
- No portfolio limit
- Fund trades: free
- UK & US shares: £2.99
- International shares: £5.99
- FX: flat 0.25%
- 2 free monthly trades (£5.98 credit)
- Unlimited family accounts
- Dividend reinvestment: free
- ii360 advanced trading platform (coming soon)
All plans include a Stocks & Shares ISA, Personal Pension (SIPP), and Trading Account at no extra cost. You start on Core and auto-upgrade to Plus if your portfolio exceeds £100,000. The full charges breakdown includes additional costs for telephone trades (£49), large UK share deals over £500,000 (£40), and non-resident surcharges (£5/month).
Why Large Portfolios Save Thousands
The flat-fee model's advantage grows with your portfolio. A percentage-based platform like Hargreaves Lansdown charges 0.45% on the first £250,000 — that's £1,125 a year on a £250,000 ISA. ii charges £180 a year on Plus. According to MoneyHelper's guidance on investment costs, platform fees are one of the biggest drags on long-term investment returns.
The crossover point where ii becomes cheaper than HL is around £16,000. Below that, percentage-based platforms win on raw cost. This is the fundamental trade-off: ii is expensive for small portfolios and cheap for large ones.
For a £100,000 SIPP, you'd pay:
- ii (Plus): £180/year
- Hargreaves Lansdown: £450/year
- AJ Bell: £250/year
- Vanguard: £150/year (but Vanguard funds only)
At £250,000, the gap is even wider — ii saves you £945/year versus HL. Compounded at 5% annual growth over 20 years, that fee difference alone could be worth over £30,000 in additional portfolio value. That's the real argument for flat fees: they let compound interest work for you rather than your platform.
What You Can Buy
ii offers one of the widest investment ranges in the UK, matching or exceeding Hargreaves Lansdown on selection:
- UK shares: Full London Stock Exchange access including AIM-listed companies
- US shares: Direct NYSE and NASDAQ trading with multi-currency accounts
- International shares: Access to European and other global markets
- Funds: Thousands of funds from all major UK providers — Fundsmith, Vanguard, Baillie Gifford, and more
- ETFs: Over 1,000 ETFs including Vanguard, iShares, Invesco, and SPDR
- Investment trusts: Scottish Mortgage, F&C, City of London, and hundreds more
- Bonds and gilts: Corporate bonds, UK government gilts, and international bonds
The Managed ISA is a newer addition — a portfolio managed by ii's experts, included on all plan tiers. You answer risk questions and they handle fund selection and rebalancing. Crucially, it's included in your flat monthly fee with no extra management charge — a significant advantage over standalone robo-advisors.
Free regular investing lets you drip-feed from £25/month into funds, shares, or ETFs with no trading fee on any plan tier. This is genuine value — most platforms charge per trade for regular investments, and the savings add up quickly if you're investing monthly into multiple holdings.
ii's investment range comfortably beats Vanguard's fund-only approach and matches Fidelity's 5,000+ fund universe while adding direct share dealing, international markets, and bonds.
The Family Accounts Advantage
The February 2026 pricing introduced improved family benefits that no other major platform matches. Per the FCA's guidance on financial inclusion, making investing accessible to families is a priority — and ii's approach is the most practical implementation in the UK market.
On Plus (£14.99/month), you can add up to 5 family members who each get a free Stocks & Shares ISA and Trading Account. They pay trading fees at Core rates but no monthly subscription. On Premium, you get unlimited family accounts.
Each family member can hold up to £100,000 across their accounts on the Family plan. If they exceed that threshold or want access to wider benefits, they'd need to upgrade to their own Plus or Premium plan.
This makes ii exceptionally good value for families. A couple with two children could have 4 accounts — two adult ISAs, plus Junior ISAs for the children — all for £14.99/month total. At HL, the same family would pay percentage fees on each account separately. Over the £9,000 annual Junior ISA allowance, that fee difference compounds significantly over an 18-year investment horizon.
Junior ISAs are available on Plus and Premium but not Core — an important restriction to note if you're considering the entry-level plan.
What ii Gets Wrong
Small portfolio penalty. £5.99/month on a £5,000 portfolio is 1.44% a year — more expensive than every percentage-based competitor. If you're just starting out with a few thousand pounds, Vanguard (£4/month) or InvestEngine (free) are better choices until your portfolio grows.
Trading fees add up. At £3.99 per trade on Core, an investor making 10 trades a month pays £40 in commissions — plus their £5.99 subscription. Frequent traders on Core should model the total cost and consider upgrading to Premium where fund trades are free and share trades drop to £2.99.
No Lifetime ISA. ii offers ISAs, SIPPs, Junior ISAs, and Trading Accounts, but no LISA. If you want the 25% government bonus for first-time buyers or retirement savings under the Lifetime ISA scheme, you'll need a separate provider.
Website complexity. The platform has improved significantly, but the sheer volume of content, research, community forums, and account options can overwhelm new investors. It's built for people who know what they're doing — beginners wanting a clean, guided experience should look at simpler options first.
FX costs on Core. The 0.75% foreign exchange fee on Core is competitive (reduced from the old variable rate starting at 1.50%), but Premium's 0.25% is where international investors should aim. For regular US share dealing, the FX cost per trade matters more than the £3.99 commission — a £5,000 US share purchase incurs £37.50 in FX fees on Core versus £12.50 on Premium.
Regulation, Safety, and Track Record
Interactive Investor is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA number 141282). Client assets are held separately from ii's business assets as nominee holdings and are protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person.
The platform has been operating for over 30 years — one of the longest track records in UK online investing, predating most competitors by a decade. They're a four-time Which? Recommended Provider for SIPPs and have won Boring Money's Best Buy ISA and Value for Money awards repeatedly.
Customer support is UK-based and available by phone — a genuine differentiator when many platforms have moved to chat-only or offshore support. Over 50% of ii customers have been with the platform for more than 10 years, which speaks to retention rates that most competitors can't match.
ii also pays interest on cash held in GBP, EUR, and USD in investment accounts — rates are published on their website and updated periodically. This is a small but meaningful benefit for investors holding cash between trades.
For more on tax-efficient ISA investing or pension planning, see our dedicated hub pages. Our investing hub covers the fundamentals of building a diversified portfolio, and the savings hub compares cash ISA rates for those not yet ready to invest.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek independent financial advice before making any investment decisions.
Conclusion
Interactive investor's flat-fee model is the most cost-effective structure for UK investors with portfolios above £30,000. The February 2026 pricing refresh made the plans clearer, raised the Core portfolio cap to £100,000, and added genuinely useful family account features that no competitor matches.
The maths is simple: if your ISA and pension combined exceed about £16,000, ii is cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown. At £100,000+, the savings become significant — hundreds of pounds a year that stay invested and compounding in your portfolio rather than funding HL's marketing budget.
The platform isn't for everyone. Small portfolio investors, Lifetime ISA seekers, and complete beginners have better options. But for the experienced investor accumulating serious long-term wealth across an ISA, SIPP, and family accounts — ii's flat fee makes more financial sense than any percentage-based competitor.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
This review is based on publicly available information from the platform's website. Fees and features may change — always verify on the platform's website before making investment decisions. GiltEdge is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is not regulated financial advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.