Online brokers & trading platforms in the United Kingdom in 2024

1. Interactive Brokers is the best online broker and trading platform in 2025. Extremely low fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
2. Saxo - Great trading platform. Outstanding research. Broad product portfolio. Interest paid on uninvested cash.
3. eToro - Low stock and ETF fees. Seamless account opening. Social trading.
4. XTB - Commission-free stocks and ETFs (for trades up to €100k per month). Free and fast deposit and withdrawal. Easy and fast account opening. Interest paid on cash.
5. Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.
6. Swissquote - Access to many markets and products. No inactivity fee. Rock-solid background.
7. AJ Bell Youinvest - Fast account opening. Easy to use trading platforms. Great customer service. Interest paid on uninvested cash.
8. Lightyear - Commission-free ETF and low commission on stock trades. High interest on uninvested cash. Quick account opening. Easy-to-use mobile trading platform.
9. Oanda - Great trading platforms. Outstanding research tools. Fast and user-friendly account opening.
10. Interactive Investor - User-friendly trading platforms. Fast and easy deposit and withdrawal. Pays interest on cash balances.

Yes, BrokerChooser exclusively recommends legit brokers, overseen by at least one globally acknowledged regulator. We track more than 20,000 brokers and trading platforms that we don't recommend. To be sure that a broker is reputable and reliable, use our unique Scam Broker Shield tool.

Key criteria determining a broker's trustworthiness are: regulation, availability of investor protection, as well as a long and spotless track record. Explore the interactive table below, encompassing this array of vital data.

Interested in what others think? Here's how many people chose these brokers at BrokerChooser in the last 6 months.

Compare key features of Top 10 Brokers in the United Kingdom such as overall score, minimum deposit, time to open account, country of regulation, withdawal options, withdawal fees.

For detailed information see the following articles:

• Best international online brokers in the United Kingdom

• Best brokers for beginners in the United Kingdom

• Best forex brokers for beginners in the United Kingdom

• Best CFD brokers in the United Kingdom

• Best forex brokers in the United Kingdom.

• Best discount brokers in the United Kingdom

Now let's check in detail the trading and non-trading fees charged by the best brokers for investing in stocks from the United Kingdom. All spreads, commissions and financing rates are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

There are many high-quality online brokers that offer their services for clients in the United Kingdom. Among these, you can find providers that offer stocks from the United Kingdom, but if you're looking to invest in other global markets, your possibilities open up even more.

Top brokers for investing in stocks

We have compiled a list of brokers that are available in the United Kingdom and are great for investing in stocks. We recommend that you pick one of the following brokers:

1. Interactive Brokers, International broker providing all asset classes
2. Saxo, Danish investment bank
3. eToro, Global social trading broker
4. XTB, Global CFD broker
5. Charles Schwab, US discount broker

Are you ready to start?

1. Find an online broker

First, you need to make sure that the broker you're looking at is available in the United Kingdom.

Would you like to speed up your search?

Our broker finder tool will help you narrow down your choices, showing only those brokers that are available in your country and are suitable for your investment goals and habits. And if you want a detailed, side-by-side comparison of these alternatives, check out our broker comparison table.

Here at BrokerChooser, we only recommend brokers that are regulated by at least one top-tier financial authority. Please note that some global brokers operate via several legal entities, each regulated by a local authority – so for example, US clients would be overseen by a US regulator, and UK clients by a UK financial authority. Some regulators also run investor protection schemes, making you eligible for compensation if your broker goes bankrupt.

If you want to invest in stocks from the UK, you may want to choose a broker that is overseen by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA investor protection scheme backs your assets up to £85,000.

2. Open your account

Opening an account at an online broker is usually easy and straightforward, and takes place fully online. Most of the time, you just need to provide your name, address and other basic information, and maybe answer some questions about your wealth/income status, financial knowledge or trading experience.

Make sure you have your documents at hand, as

• copies of a photo ID
• some recent bank statements
• or utility bills

are usually required to verify your identity and residency.

Many brokers offer you several account types to choose from, such as individual or joint accounts, or various tax-free savings accounts. As a stock investor, you'll be especially interested in the latter.

If you're planning to invest in stocks in order to save for retirement, an Individual Savings Account (ISA) may be ideal for you. ISAs allow you to set aside savings (up to an annual limit) and be exempt from capital gains taxes on any profits. Most types of ISAs offer flexible terms when it comes to withdrawing funds early. In addition, you can open an ISA not just for yourself but also for your children. Learn more about what an ISA is. Sounds interesting? Then make sure you choose a broker that offers ISAs.

3. Fund your account

So your trading account has been verified; the next step is to fund it – in other words, to deposit money that you will then use for trading stocks. Some brokers require a minimum deposit when you open your account, but most brokers do not have such a requirement, allowing you to take your time before committing any funds.

All brokers will allow you to deposit or withdraw funds via bank transfer; an easy, usually free, though not always super-fast method. Withdrawing money to your bank account can take as long as three days.

Many brokers also let you deposit (though not withdraw) funds using credit or debit cards. A few will also accept so-called electronic wallets such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill or Neteller. The biggest benefit of cards and e-wallets is that transactions take place instantly, allowing you to start investing – or reap the proceeds of a successful stock sale – right away.

4. Find and trade stocks

You may already know which stock(s) you want to trade; if not, it's worth checking out the research section of your broker, which often includes trading ideas and recommendations by in-house experts or third-party analysts. Alternatively, you can do a bit of research on your own, and check the selected stock's earnings multiples, or read up on industry news.

Once you have settled on a stock, it's easy – just

• select it from the broker's search menu
• enter the number of shares you want to trade
• proceed with the trade

Most trading platforms will offer several order types - such as a "Market" order to trade at the current price, or a "Limit" order to trade later at a specific price. To learn more about various order types, read this article.

How to open a trading account from the United Kingdom?

There are several factors to consider when opening a trading account, including the user-friendliness of the platform or the minimum deposit amount. Let's deep dive into these.

The time it takes to open an account typically ranges from a few minutes to a few weeks. The identity verification that marks the end of the process differs at various brokers. The account opening process is fully online in most cases, but there are brokers that require customers to mail a copy of their documents. The documents you usually have to upload and/or send (a copy) are of the following:

• Proof of identity: national ID, passport, driving license, etc.
• Proof of address: bank statements, utility bills, etc.

There are brokers that require a minimum deposit to authorize your trading account. The minimum deposit is usually $0 or a low amount, but some brokers demand a couple of thousands dollars/euros.

Broker fees in the United Kingdom

Undoubtedly, fees are a crucial factor when selecting a broker. Below you can check the asset classes that individual brokers provide and whether their fees are classified as high, low, or average. This classification is based on how the fees compare to those charged by all the brokers reviewed by us.

Non-trading fees are just as important as trading fees. Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, such as withdrawal or inactivity fees.