Freetrade vs InvestEngine vs Trading 212 (2026): Which UK Investing App Should You Actually Use?

If you're choosing between the three apps UK beginners ask about most, here's the short answer: InvestEngine is the cheapest place to hold a simple ETF portfolio, Trading 212 is the best all-rounder if you also want individual shares, and Freetrade is the best value if you want a pension and fund choice without paying a subscription. They're built for three slightly different jobs, and the "winner" really does depend on what you want to do.

We compared all three against their current pricing pages and help-centre documents in June 2026. We haven't personally moved money through all three for this piece, so everything below is drawn from published terms and figures, each dated and linked at the foot of the article. Rates and fees changed a lot through 2026 as the Bank of England base rate fell to 3.75% (held again on 18 June 2026), so always confirm the live numbers before you sign up.

For the wider field, see our best investing apps UK guide. If you only care about two of these three, we've also covered Freetrade vs Trading 212 and Trading 212 vs Lightyear head to head.

The short version

• Cheapest for an ETF-only portfolio: InvestEngine — £0 platform fee and £0 FX fee, because every ETF is priced in pounds.
• Lowest FX fee if you buy individual overseas shares: Trading 212 at 0.15%.
• Best for a free pension and fund choice: Freetrade — its free Basic plan now includes an ISA, a SIPP, mutual funds and gilts.
• Only one with a Cash ISA and no-strings interest on cash: Trading 212.
• Widest choice of what to hold: Trading 212 (12,000+ shares and ETFs) and Freetrade (6,500+ plus funds and gilts); InvestEngine is ETFs only.
• All three: £0 dealing commission, a free Stocks and Shares ISA, FCA-regulated with FSCS protection up to £85,000.

What each one is actually for

These aren't three versions of the same app. In one line each:

• InvestEngine is a low-cost, ETF-only investing platform. You build a portfolio of funds (or pick a ready-made one), and it keeps costs near zero. No individual shares.
• Trading 212 is the do-everything app: individual shares, ETFs, fractional investing, a Cash ISA, a SIPP and interest on cash — plus a separate, high-risk CFD side a beginner should ignore.
• Freetrade is a clean buy-and-hold app that, as of 2026, made its ISA, SIPP, mutual funds and gilts free on the Basic plan — so you get a lot of account types without paying.

Fees and FX: where the real money leaks

All three charge £0 commission to buy and sell shares and ETFs, and none charges a dealing fee per trade. So the cost battle comes down to two things: any platform/subscription fee, and the FX fee — the small cut taken when your pounds are converted to buy something priced in another currency.

InvestEngine charges no platform fee on a DIY portfolio (in an ISA, general account or SIPP) and, crucially, no FX fee at all. That's because every ETF on the platform is denominated in pounds, so there's nothing to convert. Its own help centre confirms it: "all the ETFs available through InvestEngine are denominated in £s, so we do not charge an FX fee." For a pound-cost, buy-and-hold ETF investor, that's about as cheap as UK investing gets.

Trading 212 also charges £0 platform fee and £0 commission. Its only standard cost is a 0.15% FX fee, confirmed on its help centre as the only fee it can charge in the Invest, ISA and SIPP accounts. On a £1,000 US share purchase, that's about £1.50 — the lowest standard FX fee among the share-trading apps.

Freetrade charges £0 commission too, but its FX fee depends on your plan: 0.99% on the free Basic plan, dropping to 0.59% on Standard (£4.99/month billed annually) and 0.39% on Plus (£9.99/month billed annually). On that same £1,000 US purchase, Basic takes about £9.90 — versus £1.50 on Trading 212 and nothing on InvestEngine.

The honest catch for each: InvestEngine's "no FX fee" comes at the price of choice — you simply can't buy non-GBP assets or individual shares there. Trading 212's 0.15% is low but still real if you trade overseas often. And Freetrade's free plan is the most expensive of the three for overseas buying — you only narrow the gap by paying a monthly subscription, which only makes sense once your portfolio is large enough to justify it.

What you can actually hold

This is the clearest difference between them, and it should drive your choice more than a few basis points of fees.

• InvestEngine: more than 500 commission-free ETFs, from £1, with fractional investing and automatic rebalancing. No individual shares, no investment trusts, no funds — ETFs only.
• Trading 212: 12,000+ stocks and ETFs across the UK, US and Europe, fractional shares from £1, and automated "Pies" for hands-off investing. It also offers CFDs — a leveraged, high-risk product most beginners should simply leave alone.
• Freetrade: 6,500+ stocks, ETFs and investment trusts, plus mutual funds, gilts and UK Treasury bills, with US fractional shares and ready-made portfolios.

If you want a simple global index fund and nothing else, all three can do it. If you want to buy individual companies, InvestEngine is out. If you want mutual funds and gilts alongside shares, Freetrade has the broadest mix. For more on choosing the fund itself, see our best ETF for beginners UK guide.

ISAs: all free, but only one has a Cash ISA

Each app gives you a free Stocks and Shares ISA for the 2026/27 tax year — your £20,000 annual tax-free allowance, at no platform charge. There's genuinely little between them on the investing ISA itself.

The differences are at the edges. Freetrade made its ISA (and SIPP, funds and gilts) available even on the free Basic plan in 2026 — previously you had to pay for some of these, so this is a real improvement worth knowing about. Trading 212 is the only one of the three that also offers a separate Cash ISA (a savings account where interest is tax-free). As of June 2026 it pays around 4.8% AER for new customers, including a 12-month bonus, reverting to roughly 4.1% AER afterwards. InvestEngine doesn't offer a Cash ISA.

The honest downside: Cash ISA rates are variable and move with the base rate, and headline "new customer" rates are introductory. Don't pick an investing app purely for a savings rate that may not last the year. If the ISA rules themselves are what's prompting your move, our explainer on the cash ISA allowance cut covers what's changing.

Pensions (SIPP): all three now have one

A SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) lets you invest for retirement and get tax relief on contributions — 20% to 45% depending on your tax band. In 2026, all three apps offer one, but on different terms:

• Freetrade: a SIPP free on every plan, including Basic — the simplest free pension of the three.
• InvestEngine: a SIPP with a £0 platform fee on DIY portfolios, but ETF-only, like the rest of the platform.
• Trading 212: a newer SIPP with £0 platform fee and £0 commission, but a third-party administrator — Gaudi, the FCA-authorised SIPP trustee — charges roughly £75–£100 a year on top (confirmed against independent SIPP reviews, July 2026).

For a first pension you don't want to overthink, Freetrade's free SIPP is the easiest entry point; InvestEngine suits a low-cost ETF pension; Trading 212 works but watch that annual admin fee. We go deeper in our best SIPP for beginners UK guide.

Interest on uninvested cash

Money sitting in your account waiting to be invested can earn interest — except on one of these apps.

• Trading 212 pays interest on idle cash with no subscription, roughly tracking the Bank of England base rate (3.75% as of June 2026).
• Freetrade pays 1% AER on up to £1,000 on Basic, rising to 2.5% (up to £2,000) on Standard and 3.5% (up to £3,000) on Plus — so the better rates sit behind a paid plan and a balance cap.
• InvestEngine pays no interest on cash. It keeps that interest to fund its zero-fee model, which is a fair trade-off for a platform built to keep you invested rather than holding cash.

The honest downside: don't buy a Freetrade plan for the interest alone — even maxed out, Plus earns about £105 a year while costing £119.88. And InvestEngine paying nothing on cash is a genuine mark against it if you tend to leave money uninvested.

App experience and who each suits

All three are well-built; the question is temperament. InvestEngine is the simplest — there are no individual shares to tempt you, just ETFs and rebalancing, which suits a set-and-forget investor. Freetrade is clean and calm, designed for buy-and-hold, and now unusually generous on its free tier. Trading 212 is the most powerful and feature-rich, which is both its strength and its risk: the CFD side and long instrument list can feel like more than a beginner needs.

The honest downside: InvestEngine's managed and ready-made "LifePlan" portfolios remain closed to new investors as of July 2026 while the company reworks the service — existing managed-portfolio clients are unaffected, but anyone signing up new can only access DIY portfolios for now.

Side-by-side comparison (June 2026)

InvestEngine's managed/LifePlan portfolios were paused for new investors in 2026. Figures checked 19 June 2026 against provider pricing and help-centre pages. Rates and fees change frequently — always confirm on each provider's own site before opening an account.

Which should you pick?

Pick InvestEngine if you want the cheapest home for a simple, pound-cost ETF portfolio and you'll actually keep your money invested. No FX fee and no platform fee is hard to beat — as long as you're happy with ETFs only and no interest on spare cash.

Pick Trading 212 if you want one app to do most things: individual shares as well as ETFs, the lowest FX fee among the share apps, a Cash ISA, and interest on cash without paying for a plan. For most UK beginners who want flexibility, it's the safest all-rounder — just ignore the CFD side.

Pick Freetrade if you want a pension and a wide mix of investments without a subscription. Its free Basic plan now bundles an ISA, a SIPP, mutual funds and gilts, which is excellent value — provided you can live with the 0.99% FX fee on overseas buys or rarely buy them at all.

And honestly: if you only ever buy a single pound-denominated global index ETF inside an ISA, all three will serve you well, and the differences mostly disappear. The gaps matter most when you buy overseas shares, want a pension, hold individual companies, or leave cash sitting around.

How to get started

1. Decide what you want to hold first — ETFs only (InvestEngine), shares and ETFs (Trading 212), or a wider mix including funds and a pension (Freetrade).
2. Download the app and sign up with your email and UK details.
3. Verify your identity with a passport or driving licence — usually a few minutes.
4. Open the Stocks and Shares ISA version of the account, unless you've already used this year's £20,000 allowance elsewhere.
5. Add money by bank transfer or debit card — start with whatever you won't need for five-plus years, even £25 — and consider a monthly auto-invest so it happens without you.

FAQ

Which is cheapest: Freetrade, InvestEngine or Trading 212? For an ETF portfolio, InvestEngine is usually cheapest — £0 platform fee and no FX fee, since all its ETFs are priced in pounds. For individual overseas shares, Trading 212's 0.15% FX fee is the lowest of the share apps. Freetrade's free plan charges 0.99% FX, the highest of the three unless you pay for Standard (0.59%) or Plus (0.39%).

Do all three offer a Stocks and Shares ISA in 2026? Yes — all three give you a free Stocks and Shares ISA for 2026/27, sheltering up to £20,000 a year from tax on gains and dividends. Freetrade now includes the ISA, a SIPP, funds and gilts even on its free Basic plan. Only Trading 212 also offers a separate Cash ISA.

Can I buy individual shares on InvestEngine? No. InvestEngine is ETF-only, with 500+ commission-free ETFs — you can't buy single shares there. For individual shares, look at Trading 212 (12,000+ stocks and ETFs) or Freetrade (6,500+ stocks, ETFs and trusts).

Which is best for a pension (SIPP)? All three offer a SIPP in 2026. Freetrade includes one free on every plan; InvestEngine's is £0 platform fee but ETF-only; Trading 212's is newer and carries a roughly £75–£100 a year third-party administrator fee. For a simple, free pension, Freetrade is the easiest start.

Are Freetrade, InvestEngine and Trading 212 safe? All three are authorised and regulated by the FCA, with eligible cash and investments protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person if the firm fails. That protection doesn't cover normal investment losses — markets go up and down.

Which app pays interest on uninvested cash? Trading 212 pays interest on idle cash with no subscription, roughly tracking the base rate (3.75% as of June 2026). Freetrade pays 1% on up to £1,000 on Basic, more on paid plans. InvestEngine pays no interest on cash.

(The InvestEngine and Trading 212 links above are affiliate links — see the disclosure at the top. The Freetrade link is a plain link: Freetrade doesn't run an affiliate programme, and we've included it purely on merit.)

This is general information, not financial advice. Fees and features are current as of June 2026 and change often — always check each provider's website before you sign up. Investing puts your capital at risk; you may get back less than you put in. Do your own research and consider speaking to a qualified adviser about your situation.

Last updated: 11 July 2026.