For UK investors, using a stocks and shares ISA is a bit of a no-brainer. It allows you to invest up to £20,000 each year as you would normally, but any potential gains or dividends are shielded from the taxman. Any money you take out of your ISA won’t count as income either, so it’s a fantastic wealth-building tool. We’ve tried and tested more than 15 platforms offering investment ISAs and here are our top picks.
"Using a stocks and shares ISA usually means that you can invest tax-free – but there is an exception.
When you buy US stocks using your investment ISA, you won’t have to pay any capital gains or dividend tax in the UK. However, if your US stock pays dividends, a withholding tax (WHT) of 15% will automatically apply.
There’s nothing you need to do about this and your provider will take care of it for you but it’s worth being aware of this when people say that you pay absolutely zero tax on investments held in stocks and shares ISAs. This is true for UK investments, but you may still have to pay a little to Uncle Sam in the US."
Yes, but this is only due to recent changes made to the ISA rules in April 2024. Previously, you could only open and pay into one stocks and shares ISA each tax year. Now, the floodgates have opened and you have the flexibility to open more than one stocks and shares ISA, and as many as your heart (or wallet) desires.
We asked customers of the investing platforms featured in this table to rate their satisfaction with the brand and whether they’d recommend it to a friend. We’ve shown both and ordered the table by overall satisfaction. Our independent survey of 750 customers was carried out in January 2025.
| Brand | Logo | Customers who’d recommend | Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moneybox |  | 100% | Moneybox began as a place to save your change and now it’s a saving and investing app looking to compete with all the top platforms. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Hargreaves Lansdown |  | 100% | Hargreaves Lansdown is the largest retail investing platform in the UK and although on the pricier side, it’s well known for its high levels of customer service. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| eToro |  | 100% | eToro has quickly become one of the most popular investing platforms globally. There’s no platform fee, no stock trading commissions and you can even copy trades from other investors. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Revolut |  | 97% | Revolut is an app that covers lots of areas of personal finance, but it also has a share trading element and users can buy stocks on the popular app. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Fidelity |  | 97% | Fidelity is a huge investing brand in the US and it’s making waves in the UK with its robust investment platform. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Trading 212 |  | 97% | Trading 212 is a low-cost investing platform that has no commissions and a free stocks and shares ISA to boot. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Vanguard |  | 97% | Vanguard is the industry leader for low-cost index funds and its one of the largest asset managers in the world. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Charles Stanley |  | 93% | Charles Stanley is a well-respected brokerage offering a unique and boutique investing experience. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Bestinvest |  | 93% | Bestinvest is a platform with plenty to offer with free fund investing, no commission on US stocks and free investment coaching. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Moneyfarm |  | 93% | Moneyfarm is an all-round investing app with a strong focus on managed portfolios. It offers a range of account types and is often adding more features. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| XTB |  | 90% | XTB is a trading and investing platform with no commissions or platform fees. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| InvestEngine |  | 90% | InvestEngine is an ETF investing platform that’s free to use for DIY investments or it offers a managed portfolio for a fee. Customers like the easy sign up process and low fees. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Scottish Friendly |  | 90% | Scottish Friendly is a unique place to invest that only offers ISAs and funds. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| IG |  | 90% | IG is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to investment options, you’d be hard pressed not to find what you want in its huge library of shares, and it’s also one of the cheapest platforms around too. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Wealthify |  | 90% | Wealthify is a robo-advisor that completely refreshed its app to improve accessibility. It’s a simple and cheap way to invest in a managed portfolio that suits your risk profile. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Lightyear |  | 90% | Lightyear is a relatively new, low-fee platform with an excellent app and plenty of features. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| AJ Bell |  | 90% | AJ Bell , a well-established UK platform, offers thousand of investments and lots of account types. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Nutmeg |  | 87% | Nutmeg is the original robo-advisor platform, offering expertly managed ready-made portfolios for a fee. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Saxo |  | 87% | Saxo is a solid all-round that offers loads of global investing options, with decent investing value and plenty of tools to invest. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| interactive investor |  | 83% | interactive investor (ii) is one of the most popular investing platforms in the UK with an impressive range of investments and expert insights galore. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Halifax |  | 80% | Halifax offers a well-rounded investing experience with plenty of investments and different ways to invest. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Dodl |  | 80% | Dodl is a commission-free investing app from AJ Bell that’s designed with beginners in mind and comes with a low platform fee. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Freetrade |  | 77% | Freetrade is a commission-free investing platform with a slick app that makes investing more approachable, especially for beginners. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| Interactive Brokers |  | 77% | Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a comprehensive investing platform that’s geared more towards traders, but the fees are low and it has plenty to offer. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
| CMC Invest |  | 77% | CMC Invest is a relative newcomer and offers commission-free investing for a range of investments. | Read reviewCapital at risk |
Once you’ve decided on the right investing platform to hold your stocks and shares ISA, the next step is to sign up and open a share trading account.
To make the process as smooth as possible, you’ll want to have your bank and personal details to hand (including your NI number). Some of the best trading apps will be able to get you up and running within minutes, but some may take a little longer.
If you’re looking to make your first investment but don’t know where to start, we have an investing for beginners hub with plenty of guides for first-time investors like you.
There’s no single “best” stocks and shares ISA for everyone. The trick is to find one that suits your style of investing. And the best-performing ISA isn’t down to the platform, it’s down to the investments you choose to hold in the account.
Now that you can open and pay into multiple ISAs each year, you might even want try out a few accounts to find the one that best suits your needs, just remember to take care when investing and consider any investments carefully because you could lose more than what you put in.
See if you can make your money go further with free-share, sign-up or refer-a-friend offers from IG. Here’s what’s live right now.
Find out all the details you need to know about IG’s new cashback transfer offer.
Find out all the details you need to know about XTB’s new offer, where you can get a free share of your choosing. This is a deal that’s going to fly off the shelves, so you need to act fast.
Find out about IG’s new £300 free stocks offer, including how to get it, whether you’re eligible, and if it might make sense for you.
Find out how you can copy the trades of investors with more market experience, including how it works and where you can do it.
See if you can make your money go further with free-share, cashback or refer-a-friend offers from Trading 212. Here’s what’s live right now.
Some trading apps and platforms now offer competitive interest rates on uninvested cash.
We’ve reviewed the best online trading apps in the UK and explained what they’re each best at, with pros and cons for each for different types of investors.
A junior stocks and shares ISA account (JISA) is a tax-efficient way to save for your child’s future, here are the best options and how to compare.