The threat of a UK recession looks unlikely in 2024, and many expect the economy to maintain positive growth.
But no one knows what's ahead. As an investor, diversification may be a priority to reduce your risk of losing money and to enhance your long-term financial prospects.
You may be interested in selecting individual companies you believe can weather the economic ups and downs. Or you may want to invest in a fund that invests in tens or hundreds of companies to increase your chances of diversification.
If you have never used investment platforms in the UK, or you're unsure which app is best for you, read our researched and in-depth list of the best investment apps below.
| Provider | Score | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Plus500 | ★★★★★ | Learn more* |
| 2. IG | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 3. Interactive Investor | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 4. Moneybox | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 5. Freetrade | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 6. AJ Bell | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 7. Moneyfarm | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 8. Plum | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 9. Wealthify | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 10. InvestEngine | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
* 80% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
What Are the Best Investment Apps?
Mobile investment apps allow beginner and seasoned investors to manage their money across multiple financial markets.
A few examples of assets you may have access to via an investment app include:
- Funds
- Bonds
- Stocks and shares
An investment app gives you a simple and convenient way to manage your investments wherever you are, and to manage your portfolio with minimal stress.
Around 36% of the UK population invest, according to HSBC, including novice and experienced investors alike. And these numbers are expected to grow as knowledge around investing grows.
Investment trading apps are also an excellent way for UK investors to keep up to date with economic and financial news.
Some of the main features we recommend at Compare Banks are news and updates on financial markets, robo-advisor services for portfolio management algorithms, automated investing features and investment research tools.
Investment Apps Pros & Cons
You may be wondering which specific pros and cons investment apps offer as you begin or continue your investment journey.
Pros
✔️ As a beginner investor, you'll find that trading apps are a great tool if you haven't got much investment experience. Some of the top investment platforms and apps in the UK offer in-depth educational materials to help you make an informed choice.
Examples of educational tools include articles, webinars, videos and calculators to help you improve your knowledge and help you achieve a diversified portfolio.
✔️ Robust tools for investment analysis — Investment analysis tools are especially important for beginner investors. Some mobile apps offer great charting tools and research material.
✔️ Excellent web-based experience and UI — The optimum investment apps on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store will have a smooth, intuitive user interface experience that makes it easy to trade.
✔️ Commission-free trading — Some apps offer commission-free trades, which means you don’t pay anything when you buy or sell shares or funds.
✔️ Community features — Some apps incorporate community or social features, allowing you to connect with other investors and share insights.
Cons
❌️ Possible reduced investment choices — Exchange-traded funds and stocks are commonly offered by trading apps in the UK. But be aware some platforms don’t offer mutual funds or bonds.
❌️ Financial advice is unavailable — Apps do not offer financial advice. If you are inexperienced or would prefer to speak to an adviser, you may have to look beyond the app.
❌️ Hurried investment decisions — There's always the chance that beginner investors may make hurried investment decisions due to the gamified style of investment apps.
Although experts suggest that an investment platform or app might use investment gamification to help investors stay motivated, the danger of impulsively using gamified apps that promise unrealistically large returns is real. Research by the FCA supports this, suggesting that 50% of investors invest in products beyond their risk tolerance.
❌️ Lack of tools for professional investors — Investment apps may lack the tools professional investors typically use to make the best decisions. These include premium reports for market research and in-depth charts to visualise market fluctuations.
Best Investment Apps (Our Top Picks for 2024)
With the advantages and disadvantages of investment apps in mind, we explore and take a deeper look at the best investment apps worth using.
| App Name | Key Features | Notable Fees/Pricing |
| Plus500 | News feeds, precise charts, technical analysis tools | £10 inactivity fee, overnight funding, currency conversion fee (0.7%) |
| IG | Innovative tools, charting feature, economic events view | £3 for regular investments, £8 per trade otherwise |
| Interactive Investor | Up-to-date news feeds, quick quotes, flat-fee pricing | £3.99 per trade, monthly fee £4.99 or £11.99 depending on portfolio value |
| Moneybox | Financial planning, investment ISAs, portfolio building | Spare change feature, £4,000 LISA annual limit with 25% bonus |
| Freetrade | Commission-free trading, investment trusts, US stocks access | £0 basic option, £5.99/month for ISA, £11.99/month for SIPP |
| AJ Bell | Access to a variety of funds, portfolio viewing | Transaction fees for general trading, ISA, or SIPP |
| Moneyfarm | Personalised investment plans, risk-tolerance based portfolios | Managed or fixed allocation portfolios, £500 minimum account opening |
| Plum | Automated saving, portfolio diversification | Four plan options ranging from free to £9.99/month |
| Wealthify | Robo-advising, diversified investment plans | Dependent on chosen risk level, passive investment focus |
| InvestEngine | DIY or managed portfolios, regular investing option | 0.25% fee for managed portfolios, no fees for DIY selection |
1. Plus500 — Our Top Investment App of 2024
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
A leading investment industry broker, Plus500 offers a range of investment opportunities, including shares from the US and UK markets. With thousands of contracts for differences financial instruments, this platform is ideal for UK investors. It boasts more than 25 million users worldwide.
What Are Plus500’s Features?
With current news feeds and precise charts on Plus500, users can quickly check how their markets perform through this app. Whether you’re looking to see if there are any continuous trends within your market or need to make an investment based on the historical trends of your investment asset, this is possible with Plus500.
2,800 CFDs you can invest in include forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, exchange-traded funds and indices. The app offers a smooth interface that functions like the web platform. It facilitates fast withdrawals and has very low fees.
Technical analysis tools are available with this platform, helping you complete oil and gold CFD trading and assess the traders' and investors’ sentiments. Specifically, you can view the percentage of sellers vs the percentage of buyers.
Since Plus500 earns its revenue through spreads incorporated into its rates, you will not pay an additional charge for this service. However, some fees may apply, such as a £10 inactivity fee. Overnight funding, currency conversion and guaranteed stop-order fees may apply.
The overnight funding fee is available through the funding percentage on the “details” tab, while the currency conversion fee is 0.7% of the net profit and loss of the trade.
2. IG
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
More than one million downloads of the IG app make it a popular investment platform for UK investors and investors worldwide. It offers a variety of investment instruments and has innovative tools.
What Are IG’s Features?
The IG iOS/Android app offers thousands of investment funds you can trade and invest in. It offers stocks from the US that appear on NASDAQ and NYSE. You can invest in and trade with over 17,000 markets.
The app’s innovative tools make market analysis easy. It also offers users a charting feature you can use to review the entry point, limits and stops. If you want to trade or invest directly from the chart screen, this is possible. It’s a feature that facilitates executions and helps to make investment trades faster.
When we used it, we could view the key economic events that shaped our investment strategies through various markets. With the app, we could also view the live prices of investment financial instruments before logging in.
The price users pay for this platform when they regularly invest is £3. In other investment cases, you will pay £8 for each trade you make through the platform.
Some trade and investment opportunities you can capitalise on include contracts for difference, forex, commodities and shares.
This investment app’s security is second to none, offering 256-bit SSL encryption technology. This feature means all the data is encrypted in transit.
3. Interactive Investor
The price and value of investments and their income fluctuates: you may get back less than the amount you invested. If you are unsure about the suitability of a particular investment or think that you need a personal recommendation, you should speak to a suitably qualified financial adviser.
Please note, the tax treatment of these products depends on the individual circumstances of each customer and may be subject to change in future. If you are uncertain about the tax treatment of the products you should contact HMRC or seek independent tax advice.
More than 40,000 ETFs, bonds and shares are available with the Interactive Investor app, where you have access to in-depth market information and the ability to place trades easily.
Wealth experts Abrdn acquired Interactive Investor in 2022, and the platform is still popular with UK investors who can select in companies across 17 global exchanges. Examples of these exchanges include the FTSE 100, FTSE 200, NASDAQ, Dow Jones and S&P 500.
Interactive Investor says it has more than 400,000 investors — half of whom have been trading via the platform for over 10 years.
What Are Interactive Investor's Features?
Up-to-date news feeds and quick quotes are all available with the Interactive Investor app. Novice UK investors can learn which asset classes and sectors their investments are spread over, and monitor their portfolio on the move.
You can view your watchlist, buy stocks or funds and use charts to view historical performance.
Interactive Investor is known for its flat-fee pricing model, compared with other platforms that charge percentage-based fees. It’s £3.99 per trade, while there is a monthly fee of £4.99 for those with portfolios worth up to £50,000, or £11.99 if above £50,000.
Interactive Investor does emphasise that investors should seek advice and choose the support of qualified investment advisors, which we also recommend at Compare Banks if you are new to investing.
4. Moneybox
More than 1 million users invest using this micro-investing app — which also offers the ability to save through a Lifetime ISA to help first-time buyers purchase their first home.
What Are Moneybox's Features?
If cash flow management and financial planning are on your radar, Moneybox should be considered. The app offers a stocks and shares ISA, a stocks and shares Lifetime ISA (LISA), the option to build an investment portfolio, purchase shares worldwide and build retirement funds.
You can invest £4,000 a year into a LISA and receive a 25% bonus from the government — a maximum of £1,000 each year. Investors do not receive interest on their savings through Moneybox — instead their returns will depend on the performance of their chosen investments.
Users particularly like Moneybox’s spare change feature to round up any change to the nearest pound and invest the difference. Let's look at a real example: If you spend £3.60 on a coffee, you can configure Moneybox to automatically invest the spare 40p. This spare change feature can work at weekly intervals, or you can choose this feature as a one-time option and disable it afterwards.
5. Freetrade
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than your original investment.
Over 1.5 million investors use Freetrade. The mobile trading app enables beginner and experienced investors to trade commission-free.
The interface of this award-winning investing app is smooth and easy to use, and the platform fee is £0 if you select Freetrade’s basic option. So you potentially won’t pay any fees.
For an even more tax-efficient option, however, you can choose Freetrade’s Standard pricing plan to trade through an ISA. The cost is £5.99 a month. You can also trade through a SIPP on the Freetrade Plus plan, which costs £11.99 a month.
In terms of real use cases, investors can access exchange-traded funds and a wide choice of shares through the Freetrade app.
What Are Freetrade's Features?
Freetrade offers 6,000 stocks with its standard plan — including UK, EU and US ETFs and stocks. Through Freetrade's Plus plan, you can receive 3% interest on uninvested funds of up to £4,000. On the Standard plan, you receive 1% interest on a maximum of £2,000.
In practical terms, Freetrade users can invest in fractional shares and start investing in US stocks with a minimum amount of just £2. This feature means you'll invest in partial shares of a company and receive a portion of a business at a more affordable rate.
You can do this without paying commissions and even sell fractional shares by using the Freetrade app and letting them know the amount you want to sell.
Fractional shares and dividends from Freetrade work by allowing investors to avoid purchasing an entire share. But let's look closely at a real example of how the app works with fractional shares and dividends.
If the business pays dividends, an investor using Freetrade will still receive it. The amount they receive, however, depends on the percentage of the share they own. If the business pays a $10 dividend, and you own 0.25 of a share, you will receive $2.50.
So Freetrade is one of the best investment apps in the UK (for beginners) because it gives you rare access to fractional shares that are generally more available in US markets. It also offers investment trusts and a wide range of stocks. But you cannot access cryptocurrencies or contracts for differences via this investment app.
With Freetrade's Plus plan, self-invested personal pensions are available, enabling you to collect together your pensions and select the investments you want to make.
Pension consolidation with Freetrade works by accessing your profile via the app to request the transfer, selecting ‘Transfer a pension' and going through the process, then waiting until the funds appear in your account. How does this relate to investment with Freetrade? It does not charge trading fees if you want to buy or sell shares within your pension funds, so you could save money on trading fees.
6. AJ Bell
Remember that the value of investments can change, and you could lose money as well as make it.
One of the most renowned online investment platforms, AJ Bell offers a great mobile app that makes it easy to trade stocks and build a diversified portfolio.
AJ Bell is one of the best investment apps for accessing exchange-traded funds, investment trusts, shares and bonds, making it easier for investors to consider a wide range of investment options to improve diversification. AJ Bell also recently launched a spin-off app called Dodl, which offers cheaper fees.
AJ Bell has almost 500,000 customers, making it a popular investment app in the UK. The company is listed on the FTSE 250.
What Are AJ Bell's Features?
Through the AJ Bell app, you can receive the most up-to-date news on funds, stocks, exchange-traded funds, investment trusts and savings.
Investors will not receive advice about their investment strategy when they use AJ Bell as a DIY investor. If you want advice, you’ll have to go through a financial adviser.
When you need to view your portfolio, the AJ Bell app gives you key information about your investment prices, including the live UK prices of your shares, the selling price and the buying price, all on a smooth user interface. You can also check the fluctuations in share prices on a chart, and it offers a transparent view of your account holdings.
You can trade through a general trading account, ISA or SIPP. AJ Bell also offers children’s ISAs and pensions.
AJ Bell users may want even more information about stocks than the app offers. The website is more comprehensive.
7. Moneyfarm
Returns aren't guaranteed and can go down as well as up and you may get less than what you invested.
The Moneyfarm robo-advisor app offers users personalised investment plans that reflect your risk tolerance.
Moneyfarm makes our list of the best investing apps because it's possible to select from seven portfolios based on your preferences. This makes it very easy to start investing.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority regulates and authorises Moneyfarm. More than 100,000 investors use Moneyfarm to select investment options and receive algorithm-based advice about investments tailored to their financial goals.
What Are Moneyfarm's Features?
Stocks and shares ISAs, private pensions (SIPPs), general investment accounts and junior ISAs are all available through Moneyfarm.
With a stocks and shares ISA, you can invest up to £20,000 each year and you won’t have to worry about paying tax on returns or growth.
When signing up to Moneyfarm, you first provide information about your financial goals. You’ll then receive globally diversified portfolio suggestions. If you need to speak to a member of the team for guidance, contact them via the Moneyfarm investment app.
Moneyfarm offers actively managed or fixed allocation portfolios, depending on your preferences, and you can select an ESG strategy.
While some investment platforms and apps have low minimum investment amounts for their Junior ISA features, you have to make a £500 minimum one-off investment when opening an account with Moneyfarm. After this, you must make a £10 minimum monthly contribution to the account. The Junior ISA annual allowance is £9,000.
8. Plum
Capital at risk when investing. You should monitor your investment performance when using automation.
As an investment and money management app, Plum is a popular choice. With thousands of stocks to invest in, and ethical investment options, Plum provides opportunities for first-time and experienced investors.
With the Plum app, you can choose your own risk tolerance level and start investing with just £1.
The award-winning app says more than 1.8 million people across Europe have chosen Plum to invest and manage their finances. Overseas stocks are also available through Plum, which also offers commission-free trading.
What Are Plum's Features?
Spare change investment features, portfolio diversification, automated saving and a wide range of investment options are the key features Plum offers its users.
Using the spare change feature can help you round up your transactions to the closest pound and invest the excess pennies wisely. For example, if you buy a drink worth £1.55, Plum will invest 45p for you.
Customising the Plum app and setting specific rules to deposit money for investment purposes is possible. One of the specific rules you can apply includes the ‘Rainy days' rule, which instantly deposits the amount of money you specify when it rains in the location you select via your user settings.
Another rule you may select is the ‘Weekly depositor', which you can use to select the specific amount you want to deposit each week. The lowest amount you can deposit with the Weekly depositor rule is £1.
There are four plans offered through Plum. The basic option is free, Pro is £2.99 a month, while Ultra is £4.99 monthly and Premium is £9.99. The paid-for options offer a wider range of savings challenges and options.
9. Wealthify
With investing, your capital is at risk. The tax treatment of your investment will depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
Through the Wealthify investment app, you can monitor your accounts and buy and sell exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
More than 100,000 investors have downloaded the Wealthify app to fund their investment plans, transfer their ISAs to Wealthify or select an investment plan in line with their risk tolerance.
Whether you want to ensure your money is protected or check the performance of your investment plan, it's possible with Wealthify. The robo advisor an award-winning investment app that offers a great experience for beginner investors.
What Are Wealthify's Features?
From general investment account options and stocks and shares ISAs to junior stocks and shares ISAs, there are plenty of account options available from Wealthify, which is owned by financial services giant Aviva.
You cannot buy stocks through Wealthify. Instead, you invest in a ready-made, diversified investment plan dependent on your risk tolerance. There are adventurous, ambitious, confident, tentative and cautious options, with the adventurous plan matching high-risk tolerance and the cautious plan aligning with low-risk tolerance levels.
You can begin investing with just £1 through Wealthify. Select the risk level of investment choices you want to make, Wealthify will build a personal investment plan for you and then optimise and monitor your plan over the year.
Wealthify uses low-cost passive investments, including exchange-traded or mutual funds. Like many financial experts at Compare Banks, we advise that passive investments are more cost-effective since they incur lower transaction fees.
Like all the investment apps listed in this article, Wealthify is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
10. InvestEngine
With investment, your capital is at risk. ETF fees apply.
The InvestEngine app offers investment portfolios that are ready-made for beginner investors, for a fee of 0.25%. Or you can choose yourself from the more than 590 exchange-traded funds on offer, and pay no fees.
The app is very simple. Only ETFs are offered, and there is no option to trade individual shares. You must put £100 in your account to get started, but you can invest as little as just £1 after that.
If setting up regular investing, you can choose to invest weekly, fortnightly or monthly through InvestEngine.
Leading Best Investment Apps for Investors: The Verdict
We always recommend that you seek advice from a financial advisor, or do extensive online research, if you are about to start investing. But the above apps offer a good starting point if you are looking for low-cost, diversified investment options.
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