Best investment platforms in the UK 2024

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14 Mar 2024

We surveyed 4,136 investment platform users to find the best place for your stocks and shares Isas and general investment accounts

Megan ThomasResearcher & writer

Best investment platforms in the UK 2024 - Which? (1)

In this article

What's the best investment platform?
Best investment platforms – our ranking
Which? Recommended Providers
What type of investor are you?
More on investment platforms
How we analyse investment platforms

What's the best investment platform?

Choosing the right investment platform (or 'fund supermarket') could save you money and give you the information and tools you need to choose better investments.

We've surveyed thousands of investment platform customers, and analysed fees, to rank the biggest platforms and pick our Which? Recommended Providers for both stocks and shares Isas and general investment accounts.

Find out the results, and our methodology, below.

Our analysis contains customer ratings and fee analysis for big names, such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Vanguard, AJ Bell, Fidelity, Halifax Share Dealing and many more investment platforms.

Members can log in to see the results of our analysis. If you're not already a member, join Which? and get full access to these results and all our reviews.

Please note: the content contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

Best investment platforms – our ranking

Platforms are ranked by customer score. You can sort by other scores by clicking on the three horizontal lines icons.

Best stocks and shares Isas


76%	Go to provider site	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆
76%	Go to provider site	★★☆☆☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆
74%	Go to provider site	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆
72%	Go to provider site	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆
70%	Go to provider site	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆
69%	Go to provider site	★★☆☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★☆☆
67%	Go to provider site	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★☆☆

Which? Recommended Providers

Members can log in to see which platforms were named Which? Recommended Providers. If you're not already a member, join Which? and get full access to these results and all our reviews

What type of investor are you?

Megan Thomas, Which? investing writer, says:

Best investment platforms in the UK 2024 - Which? (2)

‘Some of the features we look into in our reviews aren’t a matter of better or worse, but of preference. Take the number of investments available on a platform – they range from three to nearly 25,000. One investor’s freedom is another’s mental overload.

‘Before you pick an investment platform, it’s important to ask yourself some questions. Are you new to investing and need help to work out what different jargon means? Or are you looking for the most tools and assets available to make the most of your own expert knowledge?

‘While our reviews can tell you what customers thought of the platforms they use and what features they offer, only you know which of those features will suit you best.’

More on investment platforms

All the investment platforms we've rated are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

This means if these investment platforms go out of business, the FSCS will compensate you by up to £85,000 (the rest of your money should be protected by ring-fencing).

FSCS protection doesn't cover the value of your investments falling, which is a risk with all investments.

If you have a dispute with these platforms, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Find out more about investment protection in our guide.

Not necessarily. An investment platform should support your investing goals, which may include having the right range of investments available.

That said, a small percentage difference in fees can add up to thousands of pounds for a large portfolio. Crucially, fees apply whether your investments perform well or not.

If you're already investing via a platform, you could consider switching through a stocks and shares Isa transfer.

We've crunched the numbers to show you in pounds and pence how much you'll pay for a range of portfolio sizes. Find out more in our guide to investment platform charges.

Many platforms provide lists of recommended funds, investment news, tips, live price charts, calculators and more to help you pick investments.

But you'll still have to make the decision of what to invest in.

If you're not confident making that decision, consider talking to an independent financial adviser.

If you've already got a portfolio of funds that you intend to leave alone for a few years, you could save on fees by going for a platform with fewer tools.

Yes, because your choice of investments should support your investing goals.

You may only need the dozen or so funds offered by some platforms, which could have lower fees.

Or you might want access to the thousands of funds, stocks, trusts and more from across the globe offered by others.

Read our individual investment platform reviews to see what's on offer.

Or, if you're not sure what you should be investing in, read our beginner investors guide.

If you're just starting to invest, look for a platform with lower fees for smaller portfolio sizes.

You may not need tracking tools or calculators, but guides, recommended fund lists and template portfolios could prove useful - find who offers what in our individual platform reviews.

Also see our guide to getting started in investing.

If you're planning to take an income from your pension using adrawdown planvia an investment platform, we've done the hard work for you.

We've compared pension drawdown charges for more than 20 companies, including many of the investment platforms featured in our analysis here.

How we analyse investment platforms

Customer scores

In January 2024, we surveyed 4,136 investors and analysed their responses to give customer scores to 18 do-it-yourself investment platforms. Each platform must have at least 30 responses to receive a customer score.

We ask investors to rate their current platform for the quality of its customer communications, overall customer service, ease of use and information on investments. We also ask whether it meets their needs, represents value for money and whether they would recommend it to someone else.

We don't analyse the performance of investments listed by investment platforms, as different investors will opt for different investments.

Stocks and shares Isa sample sizes as follows: AJ Bell (203), Aviva (60), Barclays Smart Investor (123), Bestinvest (38), Charles Stanley Direct (43), Fidelity (285), Freetrade (43), Halifax Share Dealing (151), Hargreaves Lansdown (681), HSBC (86), Interactive Investor (277), Moneybox (33), Monzo (32), Santander Investment Hub (30), Vanguard (197), Virgin Money (32).

General investment account sample sizes as follows: AJ Bell (82), Aviva (95), Barclays Smart Investor (95), Fidelity (79), Freetrade (64), Halifax Share Dealing (97), Hargreaves Lansdown (218), HSBC (89), Interactive Investor (101), Monzo (102), Plum (43) Santander Investment Hub (41), Vanguard (70).

Which? Recommended Provider criteria

To be classed as a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP), the platform needs to have a customer score above 70%.

Companies that reach this score can then be excluded if they're in the top 25% most expensive platforms for any of our cost scenarios, based on our fees analysis. Platforms will also not be eligible for WRP status if they receive a two-star rating or lower in any of our individual categories.

On top of these criteria, we apply statistical tests that place the platforms into ‘bands’, and only the platforms in the highest band – the ones that really stand out against the rest – can be a WRP.

Find out more:Compare investment platform fees and charges

Investment platforms reviewed

Cheapest investment platforms
Aviva investments review
AJ Bell review
Barclays Smart Investor review
Bestinvest review
Charles Stanley Direct review

Best investment platforms in the UK 2024 - Which? (2024)