Best UK ISA Providers for 2026
An honest comparison of the most popular Stocks & Shares ISA platforms in the UK. We cover fees, fund range, ease of use, and who each provider is best suited for.
Last updated: April 2026. We use these platforms ourselves and have done for years.
How we chose these providers
We only include platforms we have personal experience with. Every provider listed below is one we currently use or have used for our own ISAs and pensions. We are not paid to rank them in any particular order, and where a referral link exists, it is clearly marked.
The right platform depends on what you need: low trading costs, a hands-off managed portfolio, or a flat fee that rewards larger balances. The comparison table below breaks it down.
At a glance
| Provider | Fee model | ISA fee | Trading cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading 212 | Percentage | Free | Free | Beginners, small portfolios |
| Interactive Investor | Flat monthly | From £4.99/mo | £3.99 per trade | Larger portfolios, SIPPs |
| JP Morgan (Nutmeg) | Percentage | 0.25%-0.75%/yr | N/A (managed) | Hands-off investors |
| Vanguard Investor | Percentage | 0.15%/yr (max £375) | Free (Vanguard funds) | Index fund purists |
| InvestEngine | Percentage | Free (DIY) / 0.25% (managed) | Free (ETFs only) | ETF-only investors |
Fees shown are for Stocks & Shares ISAs. Fund costs (OCFs) apply on top and vary by fund. Always check the provider's site for the latest pricing.
Provider breakdown
Trading 212
We use Trading 212 for our Stocks and Shares ISAs.
Trading 212 is hard to beat on cost. There are no platform fees, no trading commissions, and no minimum investment. You can buy fractional shares from as little as £1, which makes it ideal for beginners who want to start small and invest regularly.
The app is polished and easy to use. It supports individual shares, ETFs, and a Stocks & Shares ISA. The "Pies" feature lets you build a portfolio of ETFs with automatic rebalancing, which is a surprisingly powerful tool for a free platform.
Watch out for: The fund range is more limited than ii or Vanguard. You won't find every OEIC or investment trust here. FX fees of 0.15% apply when buying non-GBP assets.
Join Trading 212 (up to £100 free shares) →Referral link. Capital at risk. Not financial advice. See our full Trading 212 review.
Interactive Investor
We use II for our SIPPs.
Interactive Investor charges a flat monthly fee rather than a percentage of your portfolio. That means the bigger your portfolio gets, the cheaper it becomes in relative terms. For anyone with more than about £30,000 invested, ii is often the most cost-effective option.
The platform offers the widest range of investments on this list: shares, ETFs, OEICs, investment trusts, bonds, and gilts. It also offers a SIPP with the same flat-fee structure, which is why we chose it for our pensions.
Watch out for: The monthly fee (from £4.99 on the Investor plan) can eat into returns on very small portfolios. Trading costs £3.99 per deal, though you get one free trade per month on the standard plan.
Visit Interactive Investor →Capital at risk. Not financial advice.
JP Morgan Personal Investing
We started our own investing journeys with Nutmeg (now JP Morgan Personal Investing).
JP Morgan Personal Investing (formerly Nutmeg) is a managed portfolio service. You choose a risk level, and JP Morgan builds, rebalances, and manages a diversified portfolio of ETFs for you. It is the most hands-off option on this list.
This is a good fit if you want exposure to a globally diversified portfolio but don't want to choose individual funds or rebalance yourself. The onboarding is simple and the app is clean.
Watch out for: Management fees (0.25%-0.75% depending on plan) sit on top of underlying fund costs, so total costs are higher than a DIY approach. You also have less control over exactly which funds are held.
Get 6 months fee-free →Referral link. Capital at risk. Other costs (fund costs, market spread) still apply. Not financial advice. See our full JP Morgan review.
Vanguard Investor
Vanguard is the home of index investing. The platform charges just 0.15% per year (capped at £375), and there are no trading fees when buying Vanguard's own funds. If your entire strategy is "buy a global index tracker and hold it forever," Vanguard makes that very cheap and very simple.
The LifeStrategy funds and Target Retirement funds are popular choices for investors who want a single-fund portfolio that handles asset allocation and rebalancing automatically.
Watch out for: You can only buy Vanguard's own funds. There are no individual shares, no ETFs from other providers, and no investment trusts. The app and website are functional but basic compared to Trading 212 or ii.
Visit Vanguard Investor →Capital at risk. Not financial advice.
InvestEngine
InvestEngine is an ETF-only platform that offers both a DIY option (completely free) and a managed portfolio option (0.25% per year). If you know which ETFs you want to buy, the DIY ISA has zero platform fees and zero trading fees, making it one of the cheapest ways to invest in the UK.
The platform also supports automatic rebalancing and fractional shares on ETFs. It is a strong option for cost-conscious investors who are happy to stick with ETFs rather than individual shares or OEICs.
Watch out for: No individual shares, no OEICs, no investment trusts. ETFs only. The range is broad (700+) but if you want access to specific active funds or individual companies, you'll need another provider.
Visit InvestEngine →Capital at risk. Not financial advice.
Which one should you pick?
If you're just starting out and want the simplest, cheapest way to open an ISA and buy your first ETF, go with Trading 212 or InvestEngine. Both are free, both support fractional shares, and both let you get started with very little money.
If you want someone else to manage everything,JP Morgan Personal Investing will build and rebalance a diversified portfolio for you. You pay more for the convenience, but you never have to think about fund selection or rebalancing.
If you have a larger portfolio (roughly £30,000+) and want the widest fund range, Interactive Investor's flat fee becomes very competitive. It's also the strongest choice for a SIPP alongside your ISA.
If you just want a global index tracker and nothing else,Vanguard's LifeStrategy or FTSE Global All Cap fund is hard to argue with. Simple, cheap, and the name behind the index investing movement.
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This calculator is provided for educational and illustrative purposes only. Freedom Isn't Free is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and does not provide financial advice, investment recommendations, or tax guidance.
The projections shown are hypothetical, assume a constant rate of return, and do not account for inflation, taxes, or fees. Actual investment returns vary and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
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