Interactive Investor
vs InvestEngine (2026)
Two very different answers to the same question. Interactive Investor is a flat-fee platform with 40,000+ investments — stocks, funds, investment trusts, and ETFs. InvestEngine is a free ETF-only platform built for passive investors who want to keep it simple and keep costs at zero. The right pick is almost entirely determined by what you need access to.
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TL;DR
- You invest only in ETFs — passive and index-tracking
- You want £0 platform fee and £0 per trade
- You want fractional ETF investing from £1
- You want automated recurring investments and rebalancing
- You’re building a simple, low-maintenance portfolio
- You want stocks, investment trusts, or active funds alongside ETFs
- You need a Junior ISA, joint account, or company account
- You have a large portfolio where flat fees beat percentage fees
- You want deep research tools and analyst commentary
- You want a single platform you won’t outgrow
These are different platforms solving different problems
Most of the time, the answer is determined before you look at fees. It starts with one question: do you need anything beyond ETFs?
ii gives you access to 40,000+ investments — UK and international stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, active funds, and bonds. It charges a fixed monthly fee regardless of portfolio size: £5.99/month (Core), £14.99/month (Plus), or £39.99/month (Premium). Trading costs £3.99 per order on top (£2.99 on Premium). The flat-fee structure means as your portfolio grows, your effective cost percentage falls — which is why ii is often compared to HL and AJ Bell rather than to InvestEngine.
InvestEngine gives you 830+ ETFs and nothing else — no individual stocks, no active funds, no investment trusts. The tradeoff: the DIY platform is completely free. £0 platform fee, £0 trading commission, 0% FX markup — because all ETFs on the platform trade in GBP, no currency conversion ever takes place. It also supports fractional ETF investing from £1 and built-in automation tools that most brokers charge for or don’t offer at all.
At £5.99/month (£71.88/year), ii’s Core plan becomes attractive compared to percentage-fee platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown (0.35% p.a.) — ii is cheaper above roughly £20,500 in portfolio value. But compared to InvestEngine at £0, ii is always more expensive. The value proposition is access, not cost savings.
InvestEngine earns revenue from its managed portfolio fee (0.25% p.a.), interest retained on uninvested cash, and ETF provider relationships. The DIY account is free because it drives platform scale. Every ETF on the platform trades in GBP, so there is no FX spread to embed a markup in — the 0% FX figure is structural, not promotional.
Full fee comparison
Interactive Investor restructured its pricing in February 2026, replacing the old Investor / Super Investor model with three new plans. Core is the entry point for most retail investors.
| Fee | ii Core | ii Plus | ii Premium | InvestEngine DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee/month | £5.99 | £14.99 | £39.99 | £0 |
| Annual platform cost | £71.88 | £179.88 | £479.88 | £0 |
| ETF / UK share trade | £3.99 | £3.99 | £2.99 | £0 |
| International trade | £9.99 | £7.99 | £5.99 | N/A — ETF-only |
| Regular investing | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 (auto-invest) |
| Free trades/month | 0 | 0 | 2 | Unlimited |
| FX markup | ~0.75%* | ~0.75%* | 0.25% | 0% |
| Annual custody fee | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Fractional investing | No | No | No | Yes — from £1 |
| Minimum deposit | £0 | £0 | £0 | £100 (initial) |
Investment range
The biggest practical difference between these two platforms. InvestEngine is ETF-only; ii is a full investment supermarket.
- UK shares (all LSE-listed)
- US and international shares
- ETFs — UK, US, and international
- Investment trusts
- Active and passive funds (OEICs)
- Vanguard LifeStrategy funds
- Bonds and gilts
- ii Super 60 — expert-rated shortlist
- ETFs from all major providers — Vanguard, iShares, HSBC, Xtrackers, Amundi
- VWRP, VUAG, VUSA and other Vanguard ETFs available
- Bond ETFs, thematic ETFs, ESG ETFs
- Managed ETF portfolios (0.25% p.a.)
- Fractional ETF positions from £1
- No individual stocks
- No investment trusts or OEICs
- No Vanguard LifeStrategy funds
Account types
ii supports a wider range of account types. If you need a Junior ISA, joint account, or company account, InvestEngine is immediately ruled out.
| Account type | Interactive Investor | InvestEngine |
|---|---|---|
| Stocks and Shares ISA | Yes | Yes |
| SIPP (pension) | Yes | Yes |
| General Investment Account | Yes | Yes |
| Managed portfolio option | Via model portfolios | Yes — 0.25% p.a. |
| Junior ISA | Yes | No |
| Joint account | Yes | No |
| Company / business account | Yes | No |
| ISA transfers in | Cash and in-specie | Cash only |
Platform experience and automation
Different philosophies, different interfaces. One built for depth and research; one built for simplicity and automation.
- Web and mobile app with broad account management functionality
- ii Super 60: expert-curated shortlist of funds, ETFs, and trusts
- News, analyst commentary, and portfolio analysis tools
- Regular investing: automated monthly buys at £0 per order
- Multi-currency accounts — hold USD and EUR alongside GBP
- More traditional onboarding; steeper initial learning curve
- Clean web and mobile interface — built for passive, set-and-forget investing
- Auto-invest: recurring weekly or monthly contributions into any ETF
- One-click portfolio rebalancing back to target allocations
- Fractional ETF positions — invest any amount regardless of ETF price
- Managed portfolios: fully automated risk-based ETF bundles at 0.25% p.a.
- Limited research depth — built for execution, not analysis
Who each platform suits
Match the platform to the investor type, not the other way around.
- ETF-only passive investors — every pound saved on costs compounds into returns over decades
- FIRE / long-run investors — low-cost, automated, built for the long hold
- Beginners building a first portfolio — £1 fractional buy, clean interface, auto-invest removes the decision friction
- Small and growing portfolios — £0 fee means no drag while you accumulate
- Hands-off investors — set up auto-invest, rebalance quarterly, don’t log in between
- Investors who want stocks and ETFs in one account — ii covers both without switching platforms
- Investment trust investors — a major UK vehicle unavailable on InvestEngine
- Large portfolios vs HL and AJ Bell — flat fee beats percentage fees above ~£20,500
- SIPP investors with complex needs — broader asset access within the pension wrapper
- Families using a Junior ISA — InvestEngine does not offer a JISA
Pros and cons
- Broadest investment range of any flat-fee UK platform
- Free regular investing (£0 per scheduled order)
- Flat fee competitive vs HL / AJ Bell above ~£20,500
- Deep research — Super 60, analyst commentary, news
- Established platform since 1995
- SIPP, JISA, joint, and company accounts all supported
- Multi-currency accounts for USD, EUR, and more
- £5.99+/month minimum — expensive for small portfolios
- £3.99 per trade adds up for frequent or small buys
- No fractional shares — whole ETF units only
- FX markup (~0.75% Core) is material for international assets
- More traditional interface — steeper learning curve
- Completely free for DIY ETF investors — £0 on everything
- 0% FX markup — all ETFs trade in GBP on the platform
- Fractional ETF investing from £1
- Best-in-class automation: auto-invest, rebalancing, recurring contributions
- Clean, intuitive interface — built for passive investors
- Managed portfolios at 0.25% p.a. for fully hands-off investors
- ETF-only — no stocks, investment trusts, or OEICs
- No Vanguard LifeStrategy funds (mutual funds, not ETFs)
- No Junior ISA, joint account, or company account
- Limited research tools — built for execution, not analysis
- £100 minimum initial deposit
- Newer platform — less operational track record than ii
Final verdict
If you are building a straightforward portfolio of index-tracking UCITS ETFs — MSCI World, FTSE All-World, S&P 500, global bonds — InvestEngine gives you everything you need at no cost. The automation tools are genuinely stronger than most platforms at any price point. The 0% FX markup and fractional investing from £1 make small monthly contributions practical in a way that ii’s whole-unit, £3.99-per-trade model does not. There is no compelling reason to pay £71.88/year to do the same thing.
If you want individual stocks, investment trusts, Vanguard LifeStrategy funds, or a Junior ISA, InvestEngine simply cannot do it. ii gives you access to 40,000+ instruments across every major account type. Its flat-fee structure also makes it one of the most cost-efficient UK platforms for large portfolios when compared to percentage-fee alternatives like Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell.
This is not always an either/or decision. Some investors hold a passive ETF ISA on InvestEngine (free) and a broader SIPP or share dealing account on ii (flat fee). Both platforms support ISA and SIPP transfers if you decide to consolidate later. Start with whichever account type you need most urgently, and build from there.
Ready to open an account?
ETF-only passive investor? InvestEngine is free and purpose-built for you. Need stocks, investment trusts, and a Junior ISA too? Interactive Investor is the broader platform.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
Is InvestEngine safe?
Yes. InvestEngine is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Eligible investments are protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS, and client assets are held separately from InvestEngine’s own funds. As a newer platform it has less operational history than ii, but its regulatory standing is equivalent.
Is Interactive Investor good for beginners?
ii can work for beginners who want access to a broad range of assets, but the £5.99/month Core plan makes it expensive relative to portfolio size when you’re starting out. The free regular investing feature makes monthly contributions viable. That said, beginners with small portfolios and ETF-only needs are generally better served by InvestEngine’s zero-cost platform while building up — at that point ii’s flat fee becomes proportionally small and the switch is easy.
Can you buy Vanguard ETFs on InvestEngine?
Yes — Vanguard’s London Stock Exchange-listed ETFs (such as VWRP, VUSA, and VUAG) are fully available on InvestEngine. However, Vanguard LifeStrategy funds are not available — they are structured as mutual funds (OEICs) rather than ETFs, and InvestEngine only supports ETFs. For investors building around VWRP or other Vanguard UCITS ETFs, InvestEngine is a perfectly valid platform.
Does Interactive Investor offer fractional shares?
No. Interactive Investor does not support fractional shares or fractional ETF units — you buy in whole units only. This is a meaningful constraint for investors making small regular contributions into higher-priced ETFs. InvestEngine supports fractional ETF investing from £1, which makes it easy to fully deploy any contribution size regardless of the ETF’s unit price.
Which is better for ISAs — Interactive Investor or InvestEngine?
For ETF-only ISAs, InvestEngine wins on cost — £0 platform fee, £0 per trade, and 0% FX markup. For ISAs that include individual stocks, investment trusts, or active funds, ii is the only viable option of the two. ii’s flat fee also makes it competitive versus percentage-fee platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown for large ISA portfolios (above roughly £20,500), but InvestEngine remains the most cost-efficient UK platform for passive ETF ISA investors at any portfolio size.
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. Fee data sourced from official broker documentation and updated May 2026 — verify current rates directly with each platform before acting.