interactive investor

ii scrapped its old Investor/Super Investor/Friend tiers in February 2026 and replaced them with Core, Plus, and Premium. Here's the breakdown:

• Core — £5.99/month: Portfolios up to £100,000. Includes ISA, SIPP, and Trading Account. Trades cost £3.99 for funds and UK/US shares, £9.99 for international. FX at 0.75%.
• Plus — £14.99/month: No portfolio limit. Includes everything in Core, plus Junior ISAs, 5 free family accounts, 1 free monthly trade, and fund trades at £1.49. FX drops to 0.25% above £50,000.
• Premium — £39.99/month: For active traders. Free fund trades, UK/US shares at £2.99, international at £5.99. FX flat 0.25%. 2 free monthly trades, unlimited family accounts, and the upcoming ii360 trading platform.

Dividend reinvestments cost £0.99 on Core and Plus, but are free on Premium. If you hold 20+ dividend-paying shares, Premium's free reinvestments alone save £20+ a year.

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. MoneyHelper's platform comparison confirms ii's flat-fee structure as one of the most competitive for portfolios above £50,000.

The flat-fee maths is devastating for percentage platforms once your portfolio grows. A £250,000 portfolio on ii Plus costs £179.88 a year. The same portfolio at Fidelity costs £500 at 0.20%. That £320 annual saving compounds. For an overview of all ISA platform options, see our hub.

This is the wrinkle that catches people. Once your total portfolio crosses £100,000, ii automatically upgrades you from Core to Plus — from £5.99 to £14.99 per month. You don't get a choice.

On one hand, the Plus features justify the price: cheaper fund trades (£1.49 vs £3.99), Junior ISAs, family accounts, and a free monthly trade. On the other hand, if you were happy with Core and just wanted a cheap platform, your costs just jumped 150%.

The maths still works out. At £100,000, Plus costs £179.88/year — an effective rate of 0.18%. That's cheaper than every percentage-fee competitor except Vanguard (0.15%, but limited to Vanguard funds). By the time you hit £150,000, ii is unambiguously the cheapest full-service platform in the UK.

But it feels like a bait-and-switch. ii could let investors stay on Core above £100k if they don't want the extras. They don't, because the upgrade is where the margin is. The FCA's consumer duty requires platforms to demonstrate value — and ii's Plus plan does deliver value, even if the forced upgrade grates.

This is where ii genuinely stands apart. On the Plus plan, you can add 5 family members who each get a free Stocks & Shares ISA and Trading Account. On Premium, it's unlimited family members.

Each family member joins the "Family plan" — essentially Core benefits at zero monthly cost, paying only Core-rate trading fees. They can invest up to £100,000 before needing their own paid plan.

Do the sums for a family of four. Without ii: four separate ISA accounts at, say, Fidelity's 0.35% each on £50,000 = £700/year. With ii Plus: one £14.99/month fee covers the lot = £179.88/year. That's a saving of over £500 annually.

The restriction: family members can't add their own family members or open Junior ISAs. And if they want Plus/Premium features, they pay separately. But for spouses and adult children who just want a cheap ISA to use their £20,000 annual allowance, this is hard to beat.

No other major UK platform offers anything equivalent. Hargreaves Lansdown doesn't. Fidelity doesn't. Vanguard doesn't.

ii offers one of the widest investment ranges in the UK:

• UK and US shares (including ETFs and investment trusts)
• International shares across 17 exchanges
• Over 3,000 funds
• Bonds and gilts — including individual gilt strips for those building bond ladders
• Managed ISA and Managed Portfolios

The breadth matters if you want niche exposure — Japanese small caps, individual gilt strips, direct US tech stocks. Vanguard offers 85 funds. ii offers 40,000+ instruments.

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. This is a significant benefit that many competitors charge for.

The Managed ISA and Managed Portfolios provide a hands-off option for those who want it, built into the same monthly fee. You're not paying extra for the managed service itself — just the fund OCFs within the portfolio.

ii also offers multi-currency accounts in 9 currencies on SIPP and Trading Accounts, letting you hold USD, EUR, and others without forced FX conversion on every trade. Useful for US stock investors who want to avoid the 0.75% FX hit on each transaction. For more on investing strategies, see our hub.

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 another provider.

Junior ISA only on Plus and above. Core plan users can't open a Junior ISA. Since Core is capped at £100,000, this means families with smaller portfolios who want a JISA must pay at least £14.99/month.

FX fees on Core are steep. 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. Plus drops this to 0.25% above £50,000 in a single transaction, and Premium is flat 0.25%.

The platform feels cluttered. ii has improved its app and website significantly, but the interface still lags behind the cleaner experiences at Vanguard and Freetrade. The sheer volume of content — research, commentary, community forums — can overwhelm new investors.

Pension complexity. The SIPP includes a pension admin fee baked into the monthly charge (£2.50 on Core, £6 on Plus/Premium, both inc. VAT). It's not extra — but the disclosure could be clearer. For more on pension options, see our pensions hub.

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.