Hargreaves Lansdown vs InvestEngine (2026):
Fees, SIPP, ETFs compared
HL is the UK’s largest investment platform — broad, well-resourced, and priced accordingly. InvestEngine is ETF-only and charges almost nothing to run a DIY portfolio. HL restructured its fees in March 2026, making this comparison materially different from a year ago. The right choice still depends almost entirely on what you want to hold and how you invest.
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TL;DR
- You want stocks, investment trusts, funds, and ETFs in one place.
- You need a full-featured SIPP — including drawdown, employer contributions, and pension transfers from any provider.
- You want a Junior ISA, Junior SIPP, or Lifetime ISA.
- You value research tools, the Wealth Shortlist, and strong customer service.
- Your portfolio is large enough (£500k+) that the £150/yr ETF fee cap makes HL very competitive.
- You invest exclusively in ETFs — no stocks or active funds needed.
- You want the lowest possible running cost on a DIY portfolio (£0 platform fee, £0 dealing).
- You contribute monthly and want free, automated savings plan execution.
- You want a flexible ISA — where withdrawals can be replaced within the same tax year.
- You prefer a minimal, distraction-free platform designed for buy-and-hold investing.
At a glance
A quick overview before the detail that actually matters. Fees reflect HL’s March 2026 restructure.
| Feature | Hargreaves Lansdown | InvestEngine |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated by | FCA (UK) | FCA (UK) |
| Investment types | Stocks, ETFs, funds, ITs, bonds | ETFs only (860+) |
| Platform fee (DIY) | 0.35%/yr · capped £150/yr (ETFs/shares) | £0 on DIY account |
| ETF dealing fee | £6.95/trade · £0 via regular investing DD | £0 |
| Stocks and Shares ISA | Yes | Yes |
| Flexible ISA | No | Yes |
| SIPP | Yes (full-featured) | Yes (limited — see notes) |
| Junior ISA / Lifetime ISA | Yes (both) | No |
| Cash ISA | Yes | No |
| Recurring investment / savings plan | Yes (free via direct debit) | Yes (free) |
| Fractional ETF shares | No | Yes (from £1) |
| Named investment pots | No | Yes |
| Uninvested cash interest | Yes | No |
| Trade execution | Real-time | Once daily (2pm cut-off) |
| Personal financial advice | Yes (for a fee) | No |
| FSCS protection | Yes (up to £85,000) | Yes (up to £85,000) |
Where the cost gap actually comes from
HL’s March 2026 restructure changed the numbers materially. Here’s the accurate picture.
- Platform fee (ETFs/shares): 0.35%/yr, capped at £150/yr per account. Applies across ISA, SIPP, and GIA.
- ETF dealing fee: £6.95/trade (down from £11.95 before March 2026). Drops to £3.95+ at higher monthly volumes.
- Regular investing (direct debit): £0 — free when contributing monthly via DD. This is now a meaningful perk.
- Fund dealing fee: £1.95/trade for unit trusts and OEICs.
- FX fee: 0.99% on first £5,000 converted, tiering down to 0.25% above £20,000.
- Uninvested cash: Interest paid on cash held in account.
- DIY platform fee: £0 — no annual platform charge on the self-managed account (ISA, SIPP, or GIA).
- Dealing fee: £0 per ETF trade across all account types.
- Savings plan: £0 per contribution — free automated recurring buys with no minimum.
- FX fee: None — all ETFs on InvestEngine are GBP-denominated. No currency conversion needed.
- Managed portfolios: 0.25%/yr if you want InvestEngine to manage allocation.
- Uninvested cash: No interest paid on cash held in the account.
For ETFs and shares held in an ISA or SIPP, HL caps platform fees at £150/year per account. This means a £500,000 portfolio in ETFs pays just £150/yr to HL — an effective rate of 0.03%. At that scale, HL becomes one of the cheapest platforms in the UK for ETF holding. But for the typical accumulation-phase investor with £10,000–£200,000, InvestEngine’s zero-fee model wins at every portfolio size.
There’s also the dealing fee to factor in: if you make ad-hoc trades outside the free DD scheme, HL charges £6.95 per trade. InvestEngine charges nothing. For investors who trade occasionally on top of regular contributions, this adds up.
Investment range: the fundamental difference
This is the filter that determines whether InvestEngine can even serve your strategy — before fees become relevant.
- UK and international equities (individual stocks)
- ETFs — broad UCITS and international range
- Investment trusts
- Unit trusts and OEICs (active and passive funds)
- Corporate and government bonds and gilts
- Cash (with interest)
- Curated “Wealth Shortlist” of recommended funds
Over 40,000 investments available. If it trades in the UK, it’s likely here.
- ETFs only — 860+ UCITS ETFs available
- Fractional ETF shares from £1
- All ETFs are GBP-denominated (no FX conversion needed)
- Named investment pots for goal-based allocation
ETF-only by design — a deliberate constraint that keeps the platform focused and costs zero.
No individual stocks. No investment trusts. No active funds. No bonds. No FX.
ISA, SIPP, and account options
Account availability matters for tax planning — and both platforms have important nuances that comparison tables often miss.
| Account type | Hargreaves Lansdown | InvestEngine |
|---|---|---|
| Stocks and Shares ISA | Yes | Yes — flexible ISA |
| Cash ISA | Yes | No |
| Lifetime ISA (LISA) | Yes (Stocks & Shares) | No |
| Junior ISA | Yes | No |
| SIPP (pension) | Yes — full-featured | Yes — with limitations |
| Junior SIPP | Yes | No |
| General Investment Account | Yes | Yes |
InvestEngine does offer a SIPP with no platform fee on the DIY account — a strong cost advantage on paper. However, there are meaningful constraints at present:
- Transfers limited: currently only accepts pension transfers from Vanguard and Hargreaves Lansdown. Other providers not yet supported.
- No drawdown: InvestEngine does not support flexible drawdown. You are limited to taking UFPLS (Uncrystallised Fund Pension Lump Sum) withdrawals.
- No employer contributions: employer and director contributions are not accepted.
- Managed portfolios unavailable in SIPP: temporarily suspended while InvestEngine makes improvements.
If you want full pension functionality, HL remains the more complete option.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s SIPP is one of the most established in the UK. Platform fee applies at 0.35%, capped at £150/yr for ETFs and shares.
- Drawdown: full flexible drawdown and income drawdown supported.
- Transfers: accepts in-specie and cash transfers from any UK pension provider.
- Employer contributions: accepted, including director contributions.
- Investment range: full access — stocks, ETFs, funds, investment trusts, bonds.
For accumulation-phase investors who just want a low-cost ETF SIPP, HL costs 0.35%/yr capped at £150 — InvestEngine costs £0.
InvestEngine’s flexible ISA: a genuine advantage
Most comparison pages gloss over this, but it matters for anyone who might need to access their ISA during the tax year.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s Stocks and Shares ISA is a standard ISA. If you deposit £20,000 and then withdraw £5,000, you have permanently used £20,000 of your annual ISA allowance. You cannot re-contribute the withdrawn £5,000 in the same tax year.
For investors who never touch their ISA mid-year, this makes no practical difference. But it is a limitation if your cash flow is less predictable.
InvestEngine’s ISA is a flexible ISA. If you deposit £20,000 and then withdraw £5,000, you can re-deposit that £5,000 later in the same tax year without it counting again toward your annual allowance.
This is a meaningful structural advantage for investors who may need liquidity during the year — emergency fund situations, large purchases, or simply keeping the ISA as an accessible pot they can dip into and refill.
Recurring investing: now free on both — but different
HL’s March 2026 changes make regular investing free via direct debit. The platforms still differ meaningfully in how that automation works.
HL now offers free regular investing via direct debit — the dealing fee is waived entirely when contributing monthly this way. This is a significant improvement from the previous £1.50/order charge and changes the cost picture for systematic investors.
The platform fee (0.35%, capped at £150/yr) still applies to the portfolio. Ad-hoc trades outside the regular investing scheme cost £6.95. HL does not support fractional shares, so small monthly amounts may leave uninvested residual cash.
InvestEngine’s savings plan remains completely free — no dealing fee per contribution, no platform charge on the DIY account. Fractional ETF shares from £1 mean every pound of your contribution is deployed immediately with no residual cash sitting idle.
The experience is purpose-built for set-and-forget investors: automate contributions, set a target allocation, and the platform handles the rest. The once-daily trade execution (2pm cut-off) is a non-issue for this style of investing.
Platform, tools, and trade execution
- Trade execution: real-time during market hours.
- Comprehensive research hub with fund factsheets, analyst ratings, and news.
- Curated “Wealth Shortlist” of vetted funds and ETFs.
- Mature web and mobile platform, refined over decades of use.
- Phone and email customer support — a genuine differentiator for investors who want human access.
- Access to personal financial advice services (for a fee).
- Platform complexity is real — but you can ignore most of it for a simple ETF plan.
- Trade execution: once per day — orders placed before 2pm UK time execute that afternoon.
- Clean, minimal interface built specifically for ETF investors.
- Good ETF discovery and filtering tools — 860+ ETFs browsable by theme, region, asset class.
- Named investment pots — create separate goal-labelled portfolios (e.g. “Retirement”, “House deposit”) within the same account.
- Mobile-first design that defaults toward holding, not checking daily.
- No research tools, no analyst ratings — the platform is deliberately stripped back.
Who wins — and under what conditions
- You hold individual stocks or investment trusts — InvestEngine cannot do this.
- You need a full-featured SIPP with drawdown, employer contributions, or pension transfers from any provider.
- You want a Junior ISA, Junior SIPP, Lifetime ISA, or Cash ISA.
- You value real-time trade execution over once-daily.
- Your portfolio is large enough that HL’s £150/yr ETF cap makes the platform fee competitive.
- You want research tools, the Wealth Shortlist, and access to human financial advice.
- You want to earn interest on cash held in the account.
- Your portfolio is 100% ETFs and you want the lowest possible running cost (£0 vs 0.35%/yr).
- You contribute monthly via savings plan — fractional shares mean every pound is deployed.
- You want a flexible ISA where mid-year withdrawals can be re-deposited within the same tax year.
- You want named investment pots for goal-based saving within one account.
- You prefer a stripped-back platform that makes it easy to set a plan and ignore it.
- Your SIPP needs are simple — accumulation-phase, ETF-only, and you’re transferring from Vanguard or HL.
For a UK investor building a 1–3 ETF portfolio with monthly contributions, a 10–20 year time horizon, and no need for stocks or a complex SIPP, InvestEngine is the better platform. The cost advantage is real and compounds over time. The flexible ISA is a bonus. The simpler design reduces the temptation to interfere.
HL makes sense the moment your strategy requires scope that InvestEngine cannot offer — individual shares, a full SIPP with drawdown, or a Junior ISA for a child. These are real needs for a significant share of UK investors. Just not all of them.
Ready to open an account?
ETF-only, cost-focused, flexible ISA? InvestEngine. Need stocks, a full SIPP with drawdown, or the broadest investment range? HL.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
Is InvestEngine better than Hargreaves Lansdown for ETF investing?
For ETF-only, passive investing, InvestEngine wins on cost: zero platform fee and zero dealing commissions on its DIY account. HL charges 0.35% per year (capped at £150/yr) plus £6.95 per trade — or £0 via regular investing by direct debit. If you invest in ETFs via monthly savings plan, InvestEngine is cheaper at every typical portfolio size. The flexible ISA and named pots are additional advantages on InvestEngine’s side.
Does InvestEngine have a SIPP?
Yes, InvestEngine offers a SIPP with no platform fee on the DIY account — a genuine cost advantage. However, it comes with significant current limitations: it only accepts pension transfers from Vanguard and Hargreaves Lansdown, it does not support employer or director contributions, it has no drawdown facility (UFPLS lump sum withdrawals only), and managed portfolios are temporarily unavailable within the SIPP. For full-featured pension functionality including drawdown and transfers from any UK provider, Hargreaves Lansdown is the more complete option.
Is InvestEngine’s ISA flexible?
Yes. InvestEngine offers a flexible Stocks and Shares ISA, which allows you to withdraw money and re-deposit it within the same tax year without it counting again toward your annual ISA allowance. Hargreaves Lansdown’s ISA is a standard ISA — withdrawals permanently use up your annual allowance. This matters if you might need access to ISA funds during the year and want to restore your invested position without losing allowance.
What are Hargreaves Lansdown’s ETF fees after the March 2026 changes?
After HL’s March 2026 restructure: the platform fee on ETFs is 0.35% per year, capped at £150/year per account (ISA, SIPP, or GIA). The standard ETF dealing fee is now £6.95 per trade (down from £11.95). Regular investing via direct debit is free — no dealing fee applies when contributing monthly this way. These changes make HL more competitive for regular investors than before, though InvestEngine’s DIY account still charges nothing for platform fee or dealing.
Can I hold individual stocks on InvestEngine?
No. InvestEngine is ETF-only. You cannot buy individual stocks, investment trusts, active funds, or bonds on the platform. This is a hard platform constraint — not a feature available on a higher plan or in a different account type. If your strategy requires individual share access alongside ETFs, you need Hargreaves Lansdown or another full-service broker.
Does InvestEngine pay interest on uninvested cash?
No. InvestEngine does not currently pay interest on uninvested cash held in your account. Hargreaves Lansdown does pay interest on cash held in the account. For investors who hold meaningful cash between contributions, or who maintain a cash buffer, this is a practical difference in favour of HL. InvestEngine’s design assumes your cash will be deployed quickly — fractional shares make it easy to invest every pound of each contribution immediately.
How does InvestEngine execute trades — and does the once-daily cut-off matter?
InvestEngine processes trades once per day. Orders placed before 2pm UK time on a working day are included in that day’s trade cycle, with execution in the afternoon once US markets open. Hargreaves Lansdown executes trades in real time during market hours. For long-term, buy-and-hold investors adding to broad ETFs on a monthly basis, the once-daily execution is rarely a meaningful disadvantage — you are not trying to time to the minute. The cut-off is clearly communicated and the design reflects InvestEngine’s focus on systematic, long-term investing rather than active trading.
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 information reflects publicly available data as of April 2026 — always verify directly with each platform before making decisions.