Best for
Low-cost
Dabbl review
Dabbl aims to make investing easy and jargon-free. Find out what we thought.
Best for
Beginners
Best for
Funds
Best for
Range of markets
Dabbl describes itself as “like Shazam for investing” thanks to its neat feature that lets you identify brands with photos of products that you take within the app. It says its aim is to encourage more people to invest by making investing easy and jargon-free. Find out some features of Dabbl, including the membership tiers and some pros and cons.
What is Dabbl?
Dabbl is an investing app that lets you buy shares in brands that you use day-to-day, such as Coca-Cola, Gap and easyJet. It was originally funded on Seedrs, which is a crowdfunding platform, and seems to have been inspired by the Seedrs approach to lossing a letter in your brand name.
What products are available with Dabbl?
You can only invest in a general investment account with Dabbl. There aren’t any ISA products available, which means that you have to pay tax on any profits over £12,300 in each tax year.
There aren’t any junior or pension products with Dabbl.
How does Dabbl work?
You can start off by watching companies to keep an eye on how they’re doing. The app keeps track of how the share prices move from the date you started watching them.
If you decide to invest then you have two membership options: pay as you go or member.
Pay as you go
Pay as you go has no monthly cost, but you will spend more on each individual investment. The prices are outlined below.
| PAYG | UK trades | Non-UK trades |
|---|---|---|
| Dabbl Now | £7 | £10 |
| Dabbl Later | £4 | £7 |
Member
It costs £2 per month to be a member which reduces the costs of individual investments and gives you 3 commission-free trades per month.
| Member | UK trades | Non-UK trades |
|---|---|---|
| Dabbl Now | £5 | £8 |
| Dabbl Later | £1 | £1 |
Once you’ve decided to invest in a company, the process is quick and easy.
How you’re charged depends on your membership type and when you want the purchase to be finalised – the options are Dabbl Now and Dabbl Later.
Dabbl Now
Choosing Dabbl Now means that your purchase is finalised instantly. As the information on screen has a 15-minute delay, you are given a real-time price before you proceed with the purchase.
Dabbl Later
If you opt for Dabbl Later then the transaction goes through at 3pm GMT, or 3pm the next day if you buy shares after 3pm. The share price can fluctuate until it’s gone through. You can cancel the purchase before it goes ahead.
Is Dabbl safe?
Dabbl is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). All investments are covered up to £80,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means that your investments are covered if Dabbl was to go bust.
Investing is always a risk. You could end up with less money than you started with.
Pros and cons of Dabbl
Pros
- Photo feature is a nice touch
- No hidden fees – all charges are laid out on the website
- Can start small – allows you to dabble without too much commitment
Cons
- App has a lot of errors
- No stocks and shares ISA
- Can’t add funds with a debit card
- Difficult to compare as the prices are all in different currencies
Our verdict: Is Dabbl any good?
Dabbl is a low-cost option for investing and allows you to try it out without much commitment. Its photo feature is a nice touch and allows you to find brands with only a photograph of the product. It outlines important information about the companies which allows you to make a more informed decision. There are potentially some teething issues with the app showing the error message “Cannot connect to server” while you’re using the photo feature or searching for companies, but these are likely to be ironed out in the future.
Prices are relatively low, especially as you are able to “dabble” in investing with pay as you go (PAYG) before committing to a membership fee. Buying UK shares can cost as little as £1 for members and £4 for PAYG users.
The app is bright and minimalist, and is likely to appeal to anyone attracted to the ease of challenger banks offering good functionality without clutter.
If you’re looking for an investment app that gives you a lot of detail then you may want to consider other options such as opening a stocks and shares ISA or you can check out our guide to the best trading apps.
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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.
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