Freetrade vs Trading 212 (2026):
fees, ISA, SIPP, and who wins
Both platforms removed their ISA fees in 2026 — the comparison has shifted. The real differences now come down to FX rates, mutual fund access, SIPP availability, and how each platform shapes your investing behaviour. Here’s a full updated breakdown for UK investors and EU investors deciding if either applies to them.
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TL;DR
- You want a free SIPP alongside your ISA in one app — Trading 212 has no pension wrapper.
- You want access to mutual funds like Vanguard LifeStrategy (Standard/Plus plan).
- You prefer a simpler interface with no CFD product alongside your investments.
- You want UK gilts or treasury bills as part of your fixed-income allocation.
- You want the lowest FX fees without paying a subscription — 0.15% flat on all plans.
- You’re an EU investor (Freetrade is UK-only).
- You need Pies for automated percentage-weighted recurring contributions.
- You want higher uninvested cash protection (up to £120,000 via partner bank network).
Where each broker actually operates
Country eligibility is the first filter. Verify before spending time on setup — especially if you’re outside the UK.
| Region | Freetrade | Trading 212 |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Available | Available |
| EU (general) | Not available | Available in most EU countries |
| Germany, France, Italy, Spain, NL | Not available | Available |
| Regulation | FCA (UK) — part of IG Group (FTSE 100) | FCA (UK) + CySEC (EU) |
| FSCS protection | Yes (up to £85,000) | Yes, for UK accounts |
| Uninvested cash protection | Standard FSCS limits | Up to £120,000 via partner bank network |
The real cost of each platform in 2026
From January 2026, Freetrade removed all account fees on its Basic plan — ISA and SIPP are now free. The cost comparison has shifted. FX rates and optional subscription tiers are now where the difference lives.
| Fee type | Freetrade | Trading 212 |
|---|---|---|
| Trading commission | £0 | £0 / €0 |
| Monthly subscription | £0 Basic / £5.99 Standard / £11.99 Plus | None |
| Stocks and Shares ISA | Free on all plans (from Jan 2026) | Free, included |
| SIPP (pension) | Free on all plans (from Jan 2026) | Not available |
| FX conversion fee | 0.99% (Basic) / 0.39% (Plus) | 0.15% — all plans |
| Mutual funds access | Standard and Plus plans only | Not available |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Deposit / withdrawal | Free | Free (card deposits free up to £2,000 cumulative) |
| Demo / practice account | No | Yes |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
- GIA, ISA, and SIPP — all free
- Stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, REITs
- UK gilts and treasury bills
- Crypto ETNs
- FX rate: 0.99%
- Everything in Basic
- Mutual funds (Vanguard LifeStrategy and others)
- Stock fundamentals and research data
- FX rate: 0.99%
- Everything in Standard
- FX rate drops to 0.39%
- Full stock universe and all features
- GIA and ISA — both free
- Stocks, ETFs, ETPs, ETCs, REITs, investment trusts
- FX rate: 0.15% — flat, no subscription needed
- Demo account available
- No SIPP, no mutual funds
ISA, SIPP, and GIA — what’s available
For UK investors, the wrapper matters as much as the fee structure. Tax-sheltered growth over a 20–30 year horizon dwarfs any platform cost difference — if you’re using the right accounts.
- GIA — free on all plans
- Stocks and Shares ISA — free on all plans (from Jan 2026)
- Flexible ISA — yes, withdraw and re-contribute within the same tax year
- SIPP — free on all plans (from Jan 2026)
- Junior ISA — not currently available
- GIA (Invest) — free, no subscription
- Stocks and Shares ISA — free, included for all UK accounts
- CFD account — separate, avoid for long-term wealth building
- SIPP — not available
- Flexible ISA — not available
Freetrade is one of the few low-cost apps that offers ISA and SIPP together at zero account cost. For UK investors consolidating old pensions or starting one from scratch, having both wrappers in one app removes friction. Trading 212 cannot replicate this — it has no pension wrapper.
If you don’t need a pension wrapper, or if you’re managing your SIPP elsewhere, the ISA cost advantage between the two is now equal — and Trading 212’s FX rate advantage becomes the deciding factor on non-GBP assets.
What you can actually invest in on each platform
Both platforms offer stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts. The differences sit in fixed income, mutual funds, and crypto exposure — and they matter for investors building a complete portfolio in one place.
| Asset type | Freetrade | Trading 212 |
|---|---|---|
| UK and international stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs (incl. UCITS) | Yes | Yes — broad catalogue |
| Investment trusts | Yes | Yes |
| REITs | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual funds | Yes — Standard and Plus plans (Vanguard LifeStrategy etc.) | Not available |
| UK gilts and T-bills | Yes — available on Basic plan | Not available |
| Crypto ETNs | Yes (no direct crypto ownership) | Not available in this form |
| CFDs / leveraged products | Not available | Available — separate CFD product (avoid) |
| Fractional shares | Yes — selected stocks | Yes — broad coverage, from £1 |
Vanguard LifeStrategy and similar multi-asset funds are popular with UK investors who want automatic rebalancing built in. These are only available as ETF equivalents on Trading 212 — not the original fund structures. If you specifically want the LifeStrategy 60/80/100 series as mutual funds rather than ETF wrappers, Freetrade is the only option of the two.
UK gilts and treasury bills are available directly on Freetrade, earning a fixed yield backed by the UK government. Trading 212 doesn’t offer them. For investors wanting a cash-like or fixed-income allocation within the same ISA — without moving to a separate platform — this is a practical differentiator.
ETF catalogue, UCITS access, and recurring investing
For long-term investors, what matters is whether you can buy the right ETF on a schedule, at low cost, without logging back in.
| Feature | Freetrade | Trading 212 |
|---|---|---|
| UCITS ETF access | Yes | Yes — broad catalogue |
| US ETFs (UK/EU retail) | Restricted (PRIIPs/KID) | Restricted (PRIIPs/KID) |
| Recurring investments | Yes — auto-invest per instrument | Yes — Pies with % allocation |
| Automation flexibility | Single instrument at a time | Up to 50 holdings weighted by percentage in one Pie |
| Interest on uninvested cash | Yes (rate varies) | Yes (rate varies) |
| Minimum investment | No minimum to open | £1 minimum deposit |
App experience and investing behaviour
Both are mobile-first apps. The difference is in how they shape behaviour — which matters more than any design detail for long-term wealth building.
- Clean, minimal interface — lower visual noise than Trading 212.
- No CFD or leveraged products in the app at all.
- Good fit for investors who want to set up a plan and not think about it.
- Less emphasis on live prices and market activity — helps resist over-checking.
- Part of IG Group — adds institutional backing and trust signal.
- No demo account.
- More feature-rich — Pies, price alerts, deeper market data, demo account.
- CFD product sits alongside Invest — can tempt the wrong behaviour.
- Broader stock and ETF catalogue without a subscription paywall.
- AutoInvest (Pies) is genuinely useful for multi-ETF portfolios.
- More active-looking UI — requires discipline to stay in buy-and-hold mode.
- Demo account lets you practise with virtual funds before going live.
Who should use which — and when neither is the best answer
- You want ISA + SIPP under one roof at no account cost.
- You want mutual funds like Vanguard LifeStrategy (needs Standard plan).
- You want gilts or T-bills as a fixed-income component in your ISA.
- You prefer a cleaner app without CFD products in your peripheral vision.
- You invest mainly in GBP-listed ETFs (FX rate difference doesn’t matter).
- You want the lowest FX fees without a subscription — 0.15% flat.
- You’re an EU investor — Freetrade is not an option.
- You want Pies for automating a multi-ETF percentage-weighted portfolio.
- You want higher cash protection (up to £120,000 via partner banks).
- You can stay in the Invest product and ignore the CFD side completely.
If you invest exclusively in ETFs and want the absolute lowest platform cost, InvestEngine is worth a serious look. It charges 0% FX on its GBP-denominated ETF range (all ETFs trade in GBP so no conversion occurs), no subscription, and no commission. The trade-off: no individual stocks, no mutual funds, no SIPP — pure ETF investing only. For a simple passive portfolio entirely in ETFs, it often comes out cheapest of the three. See the full comparison at Freetrade vs InvestEngine.
For EU investors building a multi-currency portfolio at scale, none of the above is the strongest long-term option. Interactive Brokers offers institutional FX rates, deepest market access in Europe, and a platform you genuinely won’t outgrow — at the cost of a steeper setup process.
Ready to open an account?
UK investors: both are worth considering depending on whether you need a SIPP or mutual fund access. EU investors: Trading 212 is the practical option of the two.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
Is Freetrade available outside the UK?
Freetrade is a UK-only broker. It previously explored EU market expansion but has pulled back. EU investors outside the UK should treat Freetrade as unavailable and consider Trading 212, IBKR, or DEGIRO instead.
Does Freetrade still charge for an ISA and SIPP in 2026?
No — this changed on 22 January 2026. Freetrade removed all account fees on its Basic plan. Both the Stocks and Shares ISA and the SIPP are now free on the Basic plan. Paid plans (Standard at £5.99/month, Plus at £11.99/month) unlock additional features: Standard adds mutual funds and research data; Plus drops the FX rate to 0.39%. Neither plan is required simply to open and use an ISA or SIPP.
Which broker has lower FX fees — Freetrade or Trading 212?
Trading 212 is cheaper on FX with a flat 0.15% rate across all plans. Freetrade charges 0.99% on its free Basic plan, dropping to 0.39% on the Plus plan (£11.99/month). For investors buying GBP-listed UCITS ETFs like VWRP or VUAG, no FX conversion occurs and both platforms are effectively free. The difference only bites on US-listed assets or non-GBP stocks. If you invest mostly in GBP-denominated ETFs, the FX rate difference is irrelevant.
Which is better for recurring ETF investing?
Both support recurring investments. Trading 212’s Pies feature is more flexible — you set percentage-weighted allocations across up to 50 ETFs and automate contributions into the whole portfolio at once. Freetrade’s auto-invest is simpler, setting up recurring buys into individual instruments one at a time. For a single-ETF strategy, both work equally well. For a multi-ETF strategy with automatic rebalancing, Trading 212’s Pies have the edge.
Does Freetrade offer mutual funds that Trading 212 doesn’t?
Yes. Freetrade offers access to mutual funds including the Vanguard LifeStrategy series on its Standard (£5.99/month) and Plus (£11.99/month) plans. Trading 212 does not offer mutual funds at all — its range covers shares, ETFs, and exchange-traded products only. For investors who specifically want the LifeStrategy multi-asset funds with built-in automatic rebalancing, Freetrade is the only option of the two.
When is InvestEngine a better choice than either platform?
InvestEngine is worth considering for UK investors who invest exclusively in ETFs and want the absolute lowest platform cost. It charges 0% FX on its GBP-denominated ETF range (no currency conversion required), no subscription, and no commission. The trade-off is scope: no individual stocks, no mutual funds, no SIPP, no gilts. For a simple passive portfolio entirely in ETFs inside an ISA, InvestEngine frequently comes out cheapest of the three platforms. See the full comparison at our Freetrade vs InvestEngine page.
QuantRoutine provides educational content only. Nothing on this page is an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to open an account with any specific broker. Investments can lose value, and past performance does not guarantee future results. You are responsible for your own investment, tax, and legal decisions. Always review each broker’s current terms, fees, and eligibility on their official website before opening or funding an account.