Easy to use
It may take time for Freetrade to order stocksFreetrade review | App, pricing and features
Freetrade is cheap (as the name suggests) but what's the catch?
Easy to useIt may take time for Freetrade to order stocks
Trade the US market commission-free with Stake
Capital at risk
- Join using the referral code finderuk to get a free share
- Unrivaled access to over 3,700 Stocks and ETFs
- Unlimited commission-free trading with access to advanced order types
Find out more
Capital at risk
What's in this review?
What is Freetrade?
Freetrade is a trading and investment app that lets you buy individual UK and US stocks, and invest in a range of funds with a variety of ETFs. (What’s an ETF?).
With a slick interface and pink colour scheme, it’s aimed at millennials who are used to well-designed apps like Monzo and Starling and want to dip their toes into the choppy waters of investment.
Best for
Mobile
Best for
Low-cost
Best for
Beginners
Best for
Funds
Is Freetrade good?
Pretty good! If the name hadn’t given you a clue, Freetrade’s big selling point is the price.
By slashing costs, Freetrade undercuts traditional stockbrokers such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor and AJ Bell. A single trade with Freetrade costs £0 (this includes trades, which used to cost £1 up until Feb 28th). Hargreaves Lansdown charges £11.95, Interactive Investor charges £7.99 and AJ Bell charges £9.95.
This low-cost tactic is similar to Robinhood, the US zero-fee investment app, which has been around since 2013 and launched in the UK earlier this year.
How Freetrade works
With Freetrade you can, erm, trade for free.
Trading used to cost £1, but Freetrade scrapped this fee too.
Simply pick the stock of your choice and click trade to execute immediately.
Freetrade lists prices in GBP (pounds) rather than the industry standard GBX (pence), which is weird for a second, but probably aimed at making it as user-friendly as possible.
Freetrade features and products
Freetrade’s main features include:
- You can trade UK and US shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
- All orders are instant orders during stock market opening hours. If you place an order outside of stock market opening hours, then it will be executed the following day at 3pm to keep the costs low. All orders are commission-free (£0)
- You can start with as little as £2.
- The referral program can get you a free share when you refer a friend.
There are four products available with Freetrade: a general investment account (GIA), a stocks and shares ISA, Freetrade Plus and a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
Freetrade general investment account
This is Freetrade’s most basic account. It doesn’t have a monthly cost, and you can make free instant orders.
People usually choose to go with the general investment account after they have used up their ISA allowance for the year, as you may need to pay tax on any profits made (after a threshold). If you haven’t paid into an ISA in the current financial year (which runs from April to April) then the ISA is a more cost effective option.
Freetrade stocks and shares ISA
The Freetrade stocks and shares ISA is a personal account where you can invest up to £20,000 each year in the available stocks and ETFs and then never pay tax on any profit you make.
You can start an ISA using the Freetrade app, and will then pay a £3 fee per month (£36 a year). With free trades, plus the FX costs on US trades, it’s a pretty cheap offering compared with Hargreaves Lansdown or other traditional brokers – all of which charge anywhere between £5 and £12 for a trade.
Again, it’s worth remembering Freetrade has a bit of a limited trading universe. It’s not ideal for those who want to hold a variety of things in an ISA (namely, funds and shares from different markets).
On cost though, it is tough to beat, especially if you’re looking to invest serious money over the long-term. Any profit you make in your ISA will not be subject to capital gains or income tax.
You can also transfer your existing ISA into your Freetrade account.
Compare stocks and shares ISAs
Freetrade app review
You can’t use Freetrade without the mobile app, as the website is just for information about what’s available.
You can get insights about your investments through the app, with Freetrade aiming to give you tools to make well-informed investing choices.
There’s also features on the app to get some investment ideas through the “Discover” tab. Here, Freetrade has divided the stocks, shares and ETFs by popularity and sectors. It also has a list of the newest added stocks.
If you lose track of what you’ve been up to, you can see your activity on the “Activity” tab.
Setting up Freetrade
Setting up is super easy. You can download the Freetrade app on the App Store and Google Play.
Once you open the app, you’ll need to provide:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your National Insurance Number
Some of our team also had to provide additional info:
- Proof of address
- ID (driving license, but Passport seems to work better)
Once you’ve done that, you can then choose an account type.
Currently, you can only get a Freetrade Basic account, but the Freetrade Alpha account will be offered in future.
Funding your account
Once your account is set up you can use Apple/Google Pay or a bank transfer to fund it.
We did have a mixed bag when it came to depositing money in the app. For some it took about 10 minutes, while others waited for the top-up to come through for 6 or 7 hours.
That is one of our main criticisms of the platform, you can spend a lot of time in limbo wondering when your money will be topped up or when you’ll get your free share.
Freetrade referral and free share
After you buy your first share, you’ll be able to refer a friend. Send your lucky pal a link, and once they’ve signed up too, you’ll both get a free share up to £200 in value. Freetrade dish out the free shares on a Friday.
Freetrade fees and charges
| Fee type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Basic trades | Free |
| Basic account | Free |
| Stocks and Shares ISA | £3 per month |
| FX fee | Spot rate plus 0.45%. |
| Outgoing bank transfer | Free |
| Outgoing bank transfer (same day) | £5 |
What stocks can I trade on Freetrade?
Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Tesco… there’s over 500 UK and US stocks and ETFs on Freetrade, and it’s adding to this each week. You can see Freetrade’s stock list and search for what you’re looking for below.
| Name | Ticker | Currency |
|---|---|---|
| 888 | 888 | GBP |
| £ Corp Bond | SLXX | GBP |
| £ Corp Bond 0-5yr | IS15 | GBP |
| £ Corp Bond ex Fin | ISXF | GBP |
| £ Ultrashort | ERNS | GBP |
| 3i | III | GBP |
| 3i Infrastructure | 3IN | GBP |
| 3M | MMM | USD |
| 4imprint | FOUR | GBP |
| AbbVie | ABBV | USD |
| Abcam | ABC | GBP |
| Aberforth | ASL | GBP |
| ABF | ABF | GBP |
| Activision Blizzard | ATVI | USD |
| Admiral | ADM | GBP |
| Adobe | ADBE | USD |
| Advanced Medical Solutions | AMS | GBP |
| Advanced Micro Dev | AMD | USD |
| Ageing Population | AGES | GBP |
| Aggreko | AGK | GBP |
| AJ Bell | AJB | GBP |
| Alibaba | BABA | |
| Alliance Pharma | APH | GBP |
| Alliance Trust | ATST | GBP |
| Allianz Technology | ATT | GBP |
| Alphabet | GOOGL | USD |
| Amazon | AMZN | USD |
| American Investment | JAM | GBP |
| Amerisur Resources | AMER | GBP |
| Amex | AXP | USD |
| Amgen | AMGN | USD |
| Amigo Holdings | AMGO | GBP |
| Anglo American | AAL | GBP |
| Antofagasta | ANTO | GBP |
| AO | AO. | GBP |
| Apache | APA | USD |
| Apax Global Alpha | APAX | GBP |
| Apple | AAPL | USD |
| Ascential | ASCL | GBP |
| Ashmore Group | ASHM | GBP |
| Ashtead | AHT | GBP |
| Asia Dragon | DGN | GBP |
| ASOS | ASC | GBP |
| Assura | AGR | GBP |
| Aston Martin | AML | GBP |
| AstraZeneca | AZN | GBP |
| AT&T | T | USD |
| Autotrader | AUTO | GBP |
| Avast | AVST | GBP |
| Aveva | AVV | GBP |
| AVI Global | AGT | GBP |
| Aviva | AV. | GBP |
| B&M Retail Value | BME | GBP |
| BA Tobacco | BATS | GBP |
| Baidu | BIDU | USD |
| Baillie Gifford | BGS | GBP |
| Bakkavor Group | BAKK | GBP |
| Balfour Beatty | BBY | GBP |
| Bank of America | BAC | USD |
| Bank of Georgia | BGEO | GBP |
| Bankers Trust | BNKR | GBP |
| Barclays | BARC | GBP |
| Barr's | BAG | GBP |
| Barratt | BDEV | GBP |
| BB Healthcare | BBH | GBP |
| Beazley Group | BEZ | GBP |
| Bellway Homes | BWY | GBP |
| Berkeley Group | BKG | GBP |
| Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | USD |
| Beyond Meat | BYND | USD |
| BHP | BHP | GBP |
| Biffa | BIFF | GBP |
| Big Yellow Group | BYG | GBP |
| BlackRock | BLK | USD |
| Blackstone Group | BX | USD |
| Blue Prism | PRSM | GBP |
| Bluefield | BSIF | GBP |
| Bodycote | BOY | GBP |
| Boeing | BA | USD |
| Boohoo | BOO | GBP |
| Booking | BKNG | USD |
| Bovis Homes | BVS | GBP |
| Box | BOX | USD |
| BP | BP. | GBP |
| Breedon | BREE | GBP |
| Brewin Dolphin | BRW | GBP |
| Bristol-Myers | BMY | USD |
| British Land | BLND | GBP |
| Britvic | BVIC | GBP |
| BT | BT.A | GBP |
| Bunzl | BNZL | GBP |
| Burberry | BRBY | GBP |
| Burford Capital | BUR | GBP |
| Bushveld | BMN | GBP |
| Cairn Energy | CNE | GBP |
| Capita | CPI | GBP |
| Capital & Counties | CAPC | GBP |
| Card Factory | CARD | GBP |
| Carnival | CCL | GBP |
| Caterpillar | CAT | USD |
| Centamin | CEY | GBP |
| Central Asia Metals | CAML | GBP |
| Centrica | CNA | GBP |
| Ceres | CWR | GBP |
| Chemring Group | CHG | GBP |
| Chesapeake Energy | CHK | USD |
| Chesnara | CSN | GBP |
| Chevron | CVX | USD |
| Chi-Med | HCM | GBP |
| China Special | FCSS | GBP |
| Cineworld | CINE | GBP |
| Cisco | CSCO | USD |
| Citigroup | C | USD |
| City of London | CTY | GBP |
| Civitas Social | CSH | GBP |
| Clarkson | CKN | GBP |
| Clinigen | CLIN | GBP |
| Close Brothers Group | CBG | GBP |
| CLS Holdings | CLI | GBP |
| Coats Group | COA | GBP |
| Coca-Cola | KO | USD |
| Coca-Cola HBC | CCH | GBP |
| Colgate-Palmolive | CL | USD |
| Comcast | CMCSA | USD |
| Commercial Property | BCPT | GBP |
| Compass | CPG | GBP |
| Computacenter | CCC | GBP |
| ConocoPhillips | COP | USD |
| ContourGlobal | GLO | GBP |
| Convatec | CTEC | GBP |
| Countryside | CSP | GBP |
| Cranswick | CWK | GBP |
| Crest Nicholson | CRST | GBP |
| CRH | CRH | GBP |
| Crispr Therapeutics | CRSP | USD |
| Croda | CRDA | GBP |
| CVS | CVSG | GBP |
| Daejan Holdings | DJAN | GBP |
| DCC | DCC | GBP |
| Dechra Pharmaceuticals | DPH | GBP |
| Deere | DE | USD |
| Derwent London | DLN | GBP |
| Developed Property | IWDP | GBP |
| DFS | DFS | GBP |
| Diageo | DGE | GBP |
| Diploma | DPLM | GBP |
| Direct Line | DLG | GBP |
| Disney | DIS | USD |
| Diversified Gas & Oil | DGOC | GBP |
| Dixons Carphone | DC. | GBP |
| Domino's Pizza | DOM | GBP |
| Draper Esprit | GROW | GBP |
| Drax Group | DRX | GBP |
| Dropbox | DBX | USD |
| DS Smith | SMDS | GBP |
| Dunelm Group | DNLM | GBP |
| eBay | EBAY | USD |
| Edinburgh Trust | EDIN | GBP |
| Edinburgh World | EWI | GBP |
| Electrocomponents | ECM | GBP |
| Electronic Arts | EA | USD |
| Elementis | ELM | GBP |
| Emerging Markets | JMG | GBP |
| Emerging Markets | TEM | GBP |
| Emerging Markets | UEM | GBP |
| Emerging Markets | GSS | GBP |
| Emis | EMIS | GBP |
| Empiric Student Property | ESP | GBP |
| Energean | ENOG | GBP |
| Equiniti | EQN | GBP |
| Essentra | ESNT | GBP |
| Estee Lauder | EL | USD |
| Etsy | ETSY | USD |
| EURO STOXX 50 | CS51 | GBP |
| EURO STOXX Div | IDVY | GBP |
| Euromoney Institutional | ERM | GBP |
| Europe Small Co | JESC | GBP |
| European Opportunities Trust | JEO | GBP |
| European Values | FEV | GBP |
| Evraz Steel | EVR | GBP |
| Expedia | EXPE | USD |
| Experian | EXPN | GBP |
| ExxonMobil | XOM | USD |
| F&C Trust | FCIT | GBP |
| FB | USD | |
| FedEx | FDX | USD |
| Ferguson | FERG | GBP |
| Ferrexpo | FXPO | GBP |
| Fever Tree | FEVR | GBP |
| Fireeye | FEYE | USD |
| First Derivatives | FDP | GBP |
| First Solar | FSLR | USD |
| FirstGroup | FGP | GBP |
| Fitbit | FIT | USD |
| Flutter Entertainment | FLTR | GBP |
| Ford | F | USD |
| Foresight Solar | FSFL | GBP |
| Forterra | FORT | GBP |
| Fresnillo | FRES | GBP |
| Frontier | FDEV | GBP |
| FTSE 100 | ISF | GBP |
| FTSE 100 | VUKE | GBP |
| FTSE 250 | MIDD | GBP |
| FTSE 250 | VMID | GBP |
| FTSE All World | VWRL | GBP |
| FTSE All World Div | VHYL | GBP |
| FTSE Dev Europe | VEUR | GBP |
| FTSE EM | VFEM | GBP |
| FTSE Japan | VJPN | GBP |
| Fullers | FSTA | GBP |
| Funding Circle | FCH | GBP |
| Future | FUTR | GBP |
| G4S | GFS | GBP |
| Galliford Try Plc | GFRD | GBP |
| Games Workshop | GAW | GBP |
| Gamesys | GYS | GBP |
| Gamma Comm | GAMA | GBP |
| Gan | GAN | GBP |
| GB | GBG | GBP |
| GCP Infrastructure | GCP | GBP |
| GCP Student Living | DIGS | GBP |
| General Electric | GE | USD |
| General Motors | GM | USD |
| Genus | GNS | GBP |
| Gilead | GILD | USD |
| Glencore | GLEN | GBP |
| Global Clean Energy | INRG | GBP |
| Global Private Equity | HVPE | GBP |
| Global Water | IH2O | GBP |
| Go-Ahead | GOG | GBP |
| Gold Producers | SPGP | GBP |
| Goldman Sachs | GS | USD |
| GoPro | GPRO | USD |
| Grainger | GRI | GBP |
| Great Portland Estates | GPOR | GBP |
| Greencoat UK | UKW | GBP |
| Greencore | GNC | GBP |
| Greggs | GRG | GBP |
| Growth & Income | FGT | GBP |
| GrubHub | GRUB | USD |
| GSK | GSK | GBP |
| GVC | GVC | GBP |
| Halfords | HFD | GBP |
| Halliburton | HAL | USD |
| Halma | HLMA | GBP |
| Hammerson | HMSO | GBP |
| Hastings | HSTG | GBP |
| Hays | HAS | GBP |
| Henderson Smaller Companies | HSL | GBP |
| Herald Investment Trust | HRI | GBP |
| Hg Capital | HGT | GBP |
| HICL Infrastructure | HICL | GBP |
| Highland Gold | HGM | GBP |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals | HIK | GBP |
| Hill & Smith | HILS | GBP |
| Hilton Food | HFG | GBP |
| HL | HL. | GBP |
| Hochschild Mining | HOC | GBP |
| Home Depot | HD | USD |
| HomeServe | HSV | GBP |
| Honeywell | HON | USD |
| Howden Joinery | HWDN | GBP |
| HSBC | HSBA | GBP |
| Hunting | HTG | GBP |
| Hurricane Energy | HUR | GBP |
| HY Corp Bond | SSHY | GBP |
| HY Corp Bond Hdgd | STHS | GBP |
| IBM | IBM | USD |
| Ibstock | IBST | GBP |
| ICG Enterprise | ICGT | GBP |
| IG | IGG | GBP |
| IHG | IHG | GBP |
| IMI | IMI | GBP |
| Impax Enviro | IEM | GBP |
| Imperial Brands | IMB | GBP |
| Inchcape | INCH | GBP |
| Income & Growth | PLI | GBP |
| Indexed UK Gilts | INXG | GBP |
| Indian Investment | JII | GBP |
| Informa | INF | GBP |
| IntegraFin | IHP | GBP |
| Intel | INTC | USD |
| Intermediate Capital Group | ICP | GBP |
| International Public Partnerships | INPP | GBP |
| Intertek | ITRK | GBP |
| Intuit | INTU | USD |
| Investec | INVP | GBP |
| Iomart | IOM | GBP |
| IP Group | IPO | GBP |
| IQE | IQE | GBP |
| iRobot | IRBT | USD |
| ITM Power | ITM | GBP |
| ITV | ITV | GBP |
| IWG | IWG | GBP |
| J.P.M. EM $ Govt Bnd | SEMB | GBP |
| J.P.M. EM Govt Bnd | SEML | GBP |
| James Fisher & Sons | FSJ | GBP |
| Japan Small Cap | ISJP | GBP |
| Japan Trust | BGFD | GBP |
| Japanese Investment | JFJ | GBP |
| JD Sports | JD. | GBP |
| JD.com | JD | USD |
| JLEN Enviro | JLEN | GBP |
| John Laing | JLG | GBP |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ | USD |
| Johnson Matthey | JMAT | GBP |
| Johnson Service Group | JSG | GBP |
| JPMorgan | JPM | USD |
| Jupiter | JUP | GBP |
| Just Eat | JE. | GBP |
| Kainos Group | KNOS | GBP |
| KAZ Minerals | KAZ | GBP |
| Keywords Studios | KWS | GBP |
| Kier Group | KIE | GBP |
| Kimberly-Clark | KMB | USD |
| Kingfisher | KGF | GBP |
| Kraft Heinz | KHC | USD |
| Landsec | LAND | GBP |
| Law Debenture Corporation | LWDB | GBP |
| Learning Tech | LTG | GBP |
| Legal & General | LGEN | GBP |
| Levi's | LEVI | USD |
| Lloyds | LLOY | GBP |
| Lockheed Martin | LMT | USD |
| LSE | LSE | GBP |
| Lululemon | LULU | USD |
| LXI REIT | LXI | GBP |
| Lyft | LYFT | USD |
| M&C Saatchi | SAA | GBP |
| M&G | MNG | GBP |
| M&S | MKS | GBP |
| Man Group | EMG | GBP |
| Manchester United | MANU | USD |
| Marsh & McLennan | MMC | USD |
| Marshalls | MSLH | GBP |
| Mastercard | MA | USD |
| Match | MTCH | USD |
| McCarthy & Stone | MCS | GBP |
| McDonald's | MCD | USD |
| Mediclinic | MDC | GBP |
| Meggitt | MGGT | GBP |
| Melrose | MRO | GBP |
| Mercantile | MRC | GBP |
| Merchants | MRCH | GBP |
| Merck | MRK | USD |
| Metro Bank | MTRO | GBP |
| Micro Focus | MCRO | GBP |
| Micron Technology | MU | USD |
| Microsoft | MSFT | USD |
| Mitchells & Butlers | MAB | GBP |
| Mitie | MTO | GBP |
| Momentum factor | IWFM | GBP |
| Mondelez | MDLZ | USD |
| Mondi | MNDI | GBP |
| MoneySuper | MONY | GBP |
| Monks Trust | MNKS | GBP |
| Morgan Advanced | MGAM | GBP |
| Morgan Sindall | MGNS | GBP |
| Morrisons | MRW | GBP |
| MSCI China | HMCH | GBP |
| MSCI EM | EMIM | GBP |
| MSCI World | IWDG | GBP |
| Murray Income | MUT | GBP |
| Murray Int | MYI | GBP |
| Naked Wines | WINE | GBP |
| NASDAQ 100 | EQQQ | GBP |
| National Express | NEX | GBP |
| National Grid | NG. | GBP |
| NB Global | NBLS | GBP |
| Netflix | NFLX | USD |
| Network International | NETW | GBP |
| NewRiver | NRR | GBP |
| Next | NXT | GBP |
| NextEnergy | NESF | GBP |
| Nike | NKE | USD |
| NMC Health | NMC | GBP |
| Nokia | NOK | USD |
| Non-Standard Finance | NSF | GBP |
| Northrop Grumman | NOC | USD |
| Nvidia | NVDA | USD |
| Ocado | OCDO | GBP |
| OKTA | OKTA | USD |
| On The Beach | OTB | GBP |
| Onesavings | OSB | GBP |
| Oracle | ORCL | USD |
| Oriental Income | SOI | GBP |
| Overstock.com | OSTK | USD |
| Oxford Biomed | OXB | GBP |
| Oxford Instruments | OXIG | GBP |
| Pacific Ex-Japan | CPJ1 | GBP |
| Pagegroup | PAGE | GBP |
| PagerDuty | PD | USD |
| Palo Alto Networks | PANW | USD |
| Pantheon | PIN | GBP |
| Paragon Banking | PAG | GBP |
| Patient Capital | WPCT | GBP |
| PayPal | PYPL | USD |
| PayPoint | PAY | GBP |
| Pearson | PSON | GBP |
| Pennon Group | PNN | GBP |
| Pepsico | PEP | USD |
| Pershing Square Holdings | PSH | GBP |
| Persimmon | PSN | GBP |
| Personal Assets | PNL | GBP |
| Petrofac | PFC | GBP |
| Pets at Home | PETS | GBP |
| Pfizer | PFE | USD |
| Phoenix Group | PHNX | GBP |
| Physical Gold | SGLN | GBP |
| Physical Silver | PHSP | GBP |
| Picton | PCTN | GBP |
| PINS | USD | |
| Playtech | PTEC | GBP |
| Polar Technology | PCT | GBP |
| Pollen Street | PSSL | GBP |
| Polymetal | POLY | GBP |
| Polypipe | PLP | GBP |
| PPHE Hotel | PPH | GBP |
| Premier Oil | PMO | GBP |
| Primary Health | PHP | GBP |
| Procter & Gamble | PG | USD |
| Provident | PFG | GBP |
| Prudential | PRU | GBP |
| PureTech Health | PRTC | GBP |
| Purplebricks | PURP | GBP |
| PZ Cussons | PZC | GBP |
| Qualcomm | QCOM | USD |
| Quilter | QLT | GBP |
| Rank | RNK | GBP |
| Rathbone | RAT | GBP |
| Raytheon | RTN | USD |
| RBS | RBS | GBP |
| Reckitt Benckiser | RB. | GBP |
| Redde | REDD | GBP |
| Redrow | RDW | GBP |
| Relx | REL | GBP |
| Renewables Infrastructure | TRIG | GBP |
| Renishaw | RSW | GBP |
| Rentokil | RTO | GBP |
| Restaurant Group | RTN | GBP |
| Rightmove | RMV | GBP |
| Rio Tinto | RIO | GBP |
| RIT Capital | RCP | GBP |
| Riverstone Energy | RSE | GBP |
| Robo Global | ROBG | GBP |
| Robotics | RBTX | GBP |
| Rotork | ROR | GBP |
| Royal Mail | RMG | GBP |
| RSA | RSA | GBP |
| Russell 2000 | XRSG | GBP |
| Russell Midcap | XRSS | GBP |
| RWS | RWS | GBP |
| S&P 500 | IUSA | GBP |
| S&P 500 | VUSA | GBP |
| S&P 500 | CSP1 | GBP |
| S&P 500 Health Care Sector | IHCU | GBP |
| S&P Div Aristocrat | USDV | GBP |
| S&P UK Div | UKDV | GBP |
| Sabre Insurance | SBRE | GBP |
| Safestore Holdings | SAFE | GBP |
| Saga | SAGA | GBP |
| Sage | SGE | GBP |
| Sainsbury's | SBRY | GBP |
| Salesforce | CRM | USD |
| Sanne Group | SNN | GBP |
| Savills | SVS | GBP |
| Scapa | SCPA | GBP |
| Schroder Asia Pacific Fund | SDP | GBP |
| Schroders | SDR | GBP |
| Scottish American | SAIN | GBP |
| Scottish Invest Trust | SCIN | GBP |
| Secure Income | SIR | GBP |
| Segro | SGRO | GBP |
| Senior | SNR | GBP |
| Sequoia | SEQI | GBP |
| Serco Group | SRP | GBP |
| Serica | SQZ | GBP |
| Severn Trent | SVT | GBP |
| Shaftesbury | SHB | GBP |
| Shell | RDSB | GBP |
| Shopify | SHOP | USD |
| SIG | SHI | GBP |
| Sirius Minerals | SXX | GBP |
| Sirius Real Estate | SRE | GBP |
| Slack | WORK | USD |
| Small Cap 600 | ISP6 | GBP |
| Smaller Companies | BRSC | GBP |
| Smaller Companies | BGSC | GBP |
| Smart Metering Systems | SMS | GBP |
| Smith & Nephew | SN. | GBP |
| Smiths | SMIN | GBP |
| Smithson Trust | SSON | GBP |
| SMT | SMT | GBP |
| Smurfit Kappa | SKG | GBP |
| Snap | SNAP | USD |
| Softcat | SCT | GBP |
| Sony | SNE | USD |
| Sophos Group | SOPH | GBP |
| Special Values | FSV | GBP |
| Spectris | SXS | GBP |
| Spirax Sarco | SPX | GBP |
| Spirent | SPT | GBP |
| Sports Direct | SPD | GBP |
| Spotify | SPOT | USD |
| Square | SQ | USD |
| SSE | SSE | GBP |
| SSP Group | SSPG | GBP |
| St James's Place | STJ | GBP |
| St Modwen Properties | SMP | GBP |
| Stagecoach | SGC | GBP |
| Standard Chartered | STAN | GBP |
| Standard Life | SLA | GBP |
| Standard Life Private Equity Trust | SLPE | GBP |
| Starbucks | SBUX | USD |
| Stobart | STOB | GBP |
| STOXX Europe 600 | XSX6 | GBP |
| Strix | KETL | GBP |
| Stryker | SYK | USD |
| SuperDry | SDRY | GBP |
| Syncona | SYNC | GBP |
| Synthomer | SYNT | GBP |
| Taiwan Semi | TSM | USD |
| Take Two | TTWO | USD |
| TalkTalk Group | TALK | GBP |
| Tate & Lyle | TATE | GBP |
| Taylor Wimpey | TW. | GBP |
| TBC Bank | TBCG | GBP |
| Ted Baker | TED | GBP |
| Telecom Plus | TEP | GBP |
| Temple Bar Investment Trust | TMPL | GBP |
| Tesco | TSCO | GBP |
| Tesla | TSLA | USD |
| Teva | TEVA | USD |
| Texas Instruments | TXN | USD |
| The Gym Group | GYM | GBP |
| TI Fluid Systems | TIFS | GBP |
| TP ICAP | TCAP | GBP |
| TR Property | TRY | GBP |
| Trainline | TRN | GBP |
| Travis Perkins | TPK | GBP |
| Trip.com | TCOM | USD |
| Tritax Big Box | BBOX | GBP |
| Tullow Oil | TLW | GBP |
| Twilio | TWLO | USD |
| TWTR | USD | |
| Uber | UBER | USD |
| UDG Healthcare | UDG | GBP |
| UK All Share | FTAL | GBP |
| UK Commercial Property | UKCM | GBP |
| UK Dividend | IUKD | GBP |
| UK Gilts | IGLT | GBP |
| UK Gilts | VGOV | GBP |
| UK Gilts 0-5yr | IGLS | GBP |
| UK Property | IUKP | GBP |
| Ultra Electronics | ULE | GBP |
| Ultrashort $ | ERNU | GBP |
| Under Armour | UAA | USD |
| Under Armour | UA | USD |
| Unilever | ULVR | GBP |
| Unite Students | UTG | GBP |
| United Utilities | UU. | GBP |
| UnitedHealth | UNH | USD |
| UPS | UPS | USD |
| US Corp Bond | VUCP | GBP |
| US Finance Sector | UIFS | GBP |
| US Gvt Bnd 1-3yr | CU31 | GBP |
| US Gvt Bnd 7-10yr | IBTM | GBP |
| US HY Corp Bond | IHHG | GBP |
| US Tech Sector | IITU | GBP |
| Vale | VALE | USD |
| Verizon | VZ | USD |
| Vertu | VTU | GBP |
| Vesuvius | VSVS | GBP |
| Victoria | VCP | GBP |
| Victrex | VCT | GBP |
| Vietnam Enterprise | VEIL | GBP |
| Vietnam Opportunity | VOF | GBP |
| Virgin Money | VMUK | GBP |
| Visa | V | USD |
| Vivo Energy | VVO | GBP |
| Vodafone | VOD | GBP |
| Walgreen Boots | WBA | USD |
| Walmart | WMT | USD |
| Watkins Jones | WJG | GBP |
| WB | USD | |
| Weir Group | WEIR | GBP |
| Wells Fargo | WFC | USD |
| Wetherspoons | JDW | GBP |
| Whitbread | WTB | GBP |
| WHSmiths | SMWH | GBP |
| William Hill | WMH | GBP |
| Wood Group | WG. | GBP |
| World Mining | BRWM | GBP |
| World Wrestling En | WWE | USD |
| Worldwide Healthcare | WWH | GBP |
| WPP | WPP | GBP |
| Yellow Cake | YCA | GBP |
| Young & Co's | YNGN | GBP |
| Yum China | YUMC | USD |
| Yum! | YUM | USD |
| Zoom | ZM | USD |
Is Freetrade safe?
Yes. Freetrade is regulated and authorised by the FCA and covered by the FSCS, so you’ll be protected for up to £85,000 in the event the company goes bust.
Although as always when you invest, your capital is at risk.
Freetrade customer reviews
Reviews for Freetrade are generally positive.
On Trustpilot, Freetrade has 4 out of 5 stars and a rating of Great, based on more than 600 reviews.
The Freetrade app also has 3.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play, based on more than 2,000 reviews and 4.7 out of 5 stars in the App Store, based on over 5,000 reviews (updated 20 April 2020).
We carried out a customer satisfaction survey in July 2020.
Customers of Freetrade liked how easy the app is to set up and its ease of use for those just starting out with investing. A lot of its customers feel that the customer service is excellent and that any complaints are dealt with well.
Some negative points made were that it takes a long time for Freetrade to fulfil orders and that the refer a friend offer is complicated.
How does Freetrade make money?
Freetrade makes money in three ways:
- 0.45% FX fee for buying shares in other countries
- £3 per month for its stocks and shares ISA
- £5 for same day withdrawals
Freetrade also plans to launch a premium account called Freetrade Alpha which is coming soon.
Freetrade: Reddit’s review
Reddit users liked that the Freetrade app is easy to use and, of course, that it’s free to use. They share that it has great customer service, with really quick response rates with it’s in-app chat feature. The Freetrade team are known to give loads of information about what’s upcoming with the product.
Reddit users were frustrated with the limited list of investments available and that there aren’t any options or leveraged products, but on the whole, they like the app and look forward to what’s coming.
What is the Freetrade community?
The Freetrade community is a forum for all Freetraders to share investing tips, chat about other start ups, the economy and share their ideas on what can help make Freetrade better.
Downsides of Freetrade
Signing up, using the app and pressing “buy” is a breeze.
Everything after that point could use a bit of work.
A common criticism levelled at Freetrade is the pretty-but-not-that-helpful charts and graphs which are supposed to help you track the performance of your portfolio.
The charts aren’t actually labelled, and there’s not that much data here to help get a sense into how your stocks are performing. Freetrade have acknowledged the portfolio management side of the app needs improving.
Luckily – much like Monzo, Starling, Revolut and other big digital finance players – Freetrade makes regular updates to its app. You can see Freetrade’s roadmap on its website.
The verdict
Freetrade’s fees are the shining star here. Buying stocks and ETFs for free? Doesn’t get much better than that. No monthly fee or inactivity fee is also great, stopping your portfolio being slowly eroded over time. Opening the account is easy, and you’re quickly ready to go. The app is slick and satisfying to use.
But, the graphs are more pretty than helpful, and the app is quite limited. There are the caveats that come with free trading, as well as the additional costs for buying US shares. Equally, the app only covers products from the UK and US, so it is a bit limiting. Then we had a few problems with the app being laggy when loading money and getting the free referral share.
Overall, Freetrade is a great option if you’re a beginner not looking to invest too much. You can make the most of free trades so your investments aren’t eroded by fees, while having a decent play around and learning the basics.
Freetrade vs Trading 212
Another free trading option is Trading 212, but how does Trading 212 compare against Freetrade?
We decided that these are both pretty good free-trading options. Trading 212 is more suitable for those with a bit more experienced, as it’s a bit more complicated. We’ve compared both platforms and reviewed Trading 212 if you’re still deciding .
Compare similar trading platforms
Table: sorted by promoted deals first
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.
Frequently asked questions
Share dealing platform ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
Our customer satisfaction scores ("Customers say") are based on a survey of 752 customers carried out in December 2020.
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