Compare stocks and shares ISAs

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Name	Product UKFST	Finder Score	Minimum deposit	ISA fee	Price per trade	Offer	Brand description	Link
OFFER Freetrade stocks and shares ISA Freetrade stocks and shares ISA Finder Award	OFFER	4.4 ★★★★★	£2	£4.99 per month	£0	Get a free share worth up to £100 in your general investment account (GIA) when you sign up and deposit at least £50. ISA eligibility and tax rules apply. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.		Go to site Capital at risk Platform details Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CMC Invest flexible stocks and shares ISA CMC Invest flexible stocks and shares ISA Finder Award		4.4 ★★★★★	£0	£10 per month	£0			Read review Capital at risk Platform details Compare	loading Fetching your data...
interactive investor stocks and shares ISA interactive investor stocks and shares ISA		4.2 ★★★★★	£9.99 a month	£4.99 per month	£3.99	Get £50 worth of free trades if you open an ii ISA before 31 October. T&Cs apply. New customers only. Capital at risk.		Go to site Capital at risk Platform details Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Hargreaves Lansdown stocks and shares ISA Hargreaves Lansdown stocks and shares ISA Finder Award		4.2 ★★★★★	£100	0.45%	£11.95			Go to site Capital at risk Platform details Compare	loading Fetching your data...
InvestEngine stocks and shares ISA InvestEngine stocks and shares ISA		4.4 ★★★★★	£100	0.25%	£0	Get a Welcome Bonus of up to £50 when you invest at least £100 with InvestEngine. T&Cs apply.		Go to site Capital at risk Platform details Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Moneyfarm stocks and shares ISA Moneyfarm stocks and shares ISA		3.6 ★★★★★	£500	0.35% (DIY) 0.75% (managed)	£3.95 (DIY) £0 (managed)			Go to site Capital at risk Platform details Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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What is an ISA?

ISA stands for “individual savings account”. The difference between saving in an ISA compared with other savings accounts is that any interest you receive isn’t subject to any tax.

Mostly, ISAs are just “wrappers” for savings or investment accounts, kind of like an invisibility cloak that lets you, totally legally, hide your profits from the tax man.

Everyone has an annual limit to how much you can put into an ISA. This is your ISA allowance, and it differs year on year. The 2024/2025 ISA allowance is £20,000. For the savers under eighteen, the annual Junior ISA (JISA) allowance is £9,000.

How to choose the best stocks and shares ISA account

Sometimes, a trading app is considered the best because…well, it’s a great app and has loads of features. A lot of the time, it’s down to you, and what features you’re looking for. You wouldn’t judge a goldfish on how well it can climb a tree, would you?

There are loads of different things that you should consider when choosing the best stocks and shares ISA account for you, such as:

• Fees and charges. Some platforms charge a flat fee, while others charge based on how much you invest.
• What you can trade. Such as shares, ETFs and funds.
• How easy the platform is to use. Some platforms are designed for more experienced investors, so might be quite complicated and difficult to use.
• Market research and tools. The tools available on the platform can be helpful in understanding your investments.
• Demo account. If there’s a demo account available then you can give it a go without putting down any real money, this is a nice touch if you’re a newbie to investing

Our top picks for stocks and shares ISA platforms

Best for low fees

Go to site
Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.
£10-£50 welcome bonus
DIY and ready-made portfolios
Zero commissions
No extra cost for an ISA
Best for customer satisfaction

Finder Award
Go to site
Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.
93% would recommend
No commissions for funds
Expert research and insights
Low 0.45% fee for ISA
Best for investment choice

Go to site
Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.
Get £50 worth of free trades. T&Cs apply.
Flat monthly fee
40,000+ investments
Ready-made ISA portfolios

How we chose our best stocks and shares ISAs

To choose the best investment ISA for each category, we evaluated all the share dealing platforms we’ve reviewed on our site (that offer ISAs) against a range of metrics, and then selected platforms offering stand-out features for specific investing aspects. Keep in mind that our best picks may not always be right for you – it’s important to compare for yourself. Read our full methodology here to find out more.

What is a stocks and shares ISA?

A stocks and shares ISA is a type of ISA which lets you invest your savings in the stock market. As with all ISAs, you can invest up to £20,000 per year tax-free.

If you want to, you can split your allowance between different types of ISAs, such as cash ISAs or Lifetime ISAs (LISAs). You need to ensure that you stay within your allowance.

There are several different ways that you can invest with a stocks and shares ISA.

For example, you might do some research and open an account with a share trading provider and decide that you want to invest in companies that you know or use, like Greggs, boohoo or Barclays. You can choose the shares yourself and manage the investments yourself.

Another option is to choose a managed account and let the experts look after the money for you. You might choose which sector you want to be invested in, or how ethical your investments are, but the experts will keep track on your investments and try to ensure that they perform in the way that you want them to.

You can also get a mix of the two.

With a stocks and shares ISA your money is at risk, but the potential reward is growth on your investments that is higher than your average savings accounts.

Should I open a stocks and shares ISA?

Before you ask this, ask yourself what your financial goals are and what your current situation looks like.

• If you’re able to put money aside and leave it for a long time, then a stocks and shares ISA is a good bet.

But:

• If you have lots of debt, you should look into ways to clear debt first.
• If you might need quick access to the money, you should look into a current account or easy access savings account.
• If you want to build a pot of money and still earn interest, look into simple savings accounts.
• Riskier than a savings account or cash ISA.

Before you open a stocks and shares ISA thinking you’re the next Warren Buffet, you need to weigh up whether you’re willing to take risk that comes with investing.

In the 2008 crash for instance, many people’s stocks and shares ISAs lost a lot of value. We’ve gone into just how badly it hit people’s stocks and shares below.

A simple rule of thumb is this: if your investments are going to keep you up at night, don’t do it.

Some providers, such as IG, Moneyfarm and Fidelity have risk assessment quizzes which give you an indication of how suitable you are for investing.

How much do stocks and shares make?

There are plenty of different ways to work out how much stocks and shares return over a period of time. You can look at the performance of specific providers’ funds to see how they’ve performed over several years or at specific funds. The FTSE100 is a collection of the top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Since it started in 1984, the FTSE 100 has risen by 654% in price. This is an annualised return of 5.77%. At the moment, the most you can generally get in returns for a typical savings account is somewhere between 1% and 5%.

The returns you’ll receive could differ from these figures. Past performance isn’t indicative of future results. Your returns will depend on how much you invest, what you choose to invest in, and how long you invest for.

Let’s say, for example, you invested £10,000 in the FTSE 100 over a time period of 10 years (this is sometimes called an “investment horizon”).

This graph shows the rough difference between investing your money in the FTSE 100 and putting it in your average savings account. You can toggle to the table to see the numbers in a bit more detail.

What can you invest in with a stocks and shares ISA?

With a stocks and shares ISA you can invest in a whole load of things. Here are a few examples:

• Corporate bonds. Lend your money to a company in return for interest.
• Government bonds. Same as above, but you’re lending to the government.
• Shares. Invest in individual companies. Having a share is like having one fraction of the company. If the company’s value goes up the share’s value goes up, if not it goes down.
• Funds. These are the most common type of investment. Funds can include shares, bonds and cash, in different combinations.

What else do I need to know?

• To open an ISA you have to be 18 or older.
• You must be a UK tax resident.
• You can only open one stocks and shares ISA per tax year.
• You can transfer in to most new ISAs for free.

Frequently asked questions

• Can you withdraw money from a stocks and shares ISA?

  Yes you can. You can do this at any time, but individual platforms will have different rules around how much notice they need and whether withdrawing will cost you anything.

• Can you have more than one stocks and shares ISA?

  Yes. The rules for stocks and shares ISAs are the same as with any ISA. You can only pay into one each tax year, but can open a new one with a different platform each year if you want.

  If you have more than one stocks and shares ISA open, you are only allowed to pay into one of them each tax year.

• What is the stocks and shares 2023/24 allowance?

  In the 2024/2025 tax year, the allowance amount is £20,000.

• Do stocks and shares ISAs pay dividends?

  They can. If the shares you’ve bought are dividend paying shares then you’ll get them. You won’t pay tax on these either.

• Am I guaranteed a return on a stocks and shares ISA?

  No. Your investment can go up as well as down.

• Can I put money into a Cash ISA too?

  You can put money into any type of ISA in each tax year. The limit is £20,000 over all ISA types.

• Can I put my full allowance into an ISA every year?

  Yes. You can save up to a maximum of £20,000 per year.

• Do you have to declare ISA interest on your tax return?

  Most people don’t have to report the income and capital gains from their ISAs on their tax return.

  Remember though that the tax rules for ISAs can change. Although the government will announce these changes in advance of them taking affect.

Start stocks and shares ISAs comparison

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.