Best stock trading apps for beginners 2026

If you’re looking for the best trading apps, I’ve got you covered. Whether you’re a beginner making your first investments or someone who’s already got skin in the game, I’ve tried and tested over 35 UK share trading accounts to bring you our picks of the best trading platforms.

Best for beginner trading

Go to Site

Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.

Copy picks from top traders

Commission-free trades
Fractional shares
Free to open an account

Best stock trading app

Go to Site

Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.

Free share up to £100

Commission-free trades
Free ISA
Free SIPP

Best for beginners overall

Go to Site

Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.

Get up to £100 in a free US fractional share

Low 0.1% FX fee
0% commission
Over 6,000 investments

Finder’s best trading apps and platforms in the UK for 2026

• Best for beginners overall: Lightyear
• Best for beginner trading: eToro
• Best for trading ISA: XTB
• Best for mobile app: IG
• Best stock trading app: Freetrade
• Best for low costs: InvestEngine
• Best for small investments: Trading212
• Best for investment choice: interactive investor
• Best for US stocks: Robinhood

Finder Score	Price per trade	Min. initial deposit	Platform fees
Best for beginners overall
9.2Excellent Lightyear	9.2Excellent	£0	£0	£0	Free share: Get up to £100 in a US stock to your GIA when you sign up and deposit at least £100 and use the code "FFLIGHTYEAR26". T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it Lightyear's sign up process is extremely straightforward, taking just a few minutes. The app itself is very simple to use with just 3 tabs - explore, accounts/portfolio, transactions. There's no commission to invest in ETFs or stocks in any of the accounts, and no platform fee to open and hold a stocks and shares ISA (there's also a free cash ISA). Depositing/withdrawing/converting money only takes two clicks, everything is easy to navigate and it presents all the investment metics and analyst info in an extremely simple way. Pros & cons Pros 0% commission Free flexible stocks and shares ISA Cash ISA with high interest Interest paid on vaults Excellent app with loads of features Low 0.1% FX fee Cons Asset choice is fairly limited 0.6% fee for card deposits Only certain stocks are fractional
Best for beginner trading
9Excellent eToro Finder AwardFree Trades	9Excellent	£0	$50	£0	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it eToro is our top pick for beginner traders largely because of its free CopyTrader feature that lets you copy the moves of other more experienced traders. It's a feature that’s well designed and straightforward enough for beginners to use. If you’re a beginner and looking to trade stocks, it might be worth piggy-backing off the knowledge of more experienced investors, and eToro lets you do this. As with all investing, success is not guaranteed. It’s free to open and hold an account with eToro and although it costs nothing to use CopyTrader, the minimum investment is slightly steep at $200. A key thing to take note of is that everything on eToro is denominated in USD and you have to pay a foreign exchange (FX) fee of 0.75% each time you convert your pounds into dollars and vice versa (unless you deposit using a separate eToro Money app). There are plenty of other great features on the eToro platform and although it might not be the overall best for beginners, it’s extremely well designed for those who want to learn the ropes of trading. Pros & cons Pros Commission-free stock trading Over 5,500+ stocks from 20 exchanges Fractional shares from $10 Social features like CopyTrading and News Feed Cons $5 withdrawal fee Emphasis on trading over long-term investing Inactivity fee after 12 months $50 minimum first deposit No in-built ISA
Best for trading ISA
9.2Excellent XTB Free Trades	9.2Excellent	£0	£0	£0	Free share: Free Rolls-Royce share for new XTB customers who join and make a deposit. Choose from 5 UK stocks when you sign-up with code FNSHARE. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it XTB has quickly become a top choice for investors and traders thanks to its user-friendly app that makes stock trading accessible to everyone. What really sets it apart, though, is its free stocks and shares ISA wrapper, giving investors a simple and cost-effective way to grow their portfolio tax-efficiently. With no ISA platform fees eating into returns, investors can put more of their money to work, while still using fractional shares and enjoying the sleek design and powerful trading tools the platform is known for. It’s a standout feature that makes XTB one of the best stock trading apps for anyone looking to future proof their portfolio from day one. Pros & cons Pros 0% commission on stocks and ETFs Free stocks and shares ISA Demo account available Excellent trading app No minimum deposit Fractional shares Cons Emphasis on trading and CFDs £10 minimum trade value Large orders over £100,000 incur extra fees Lots of analysis is price-movement focused
Best for mobile app
9Excellent IG Free Trades	9Excellent	£0	£0	£0	Cashback: Get 5% cashback (up to £200) on your investments made by 30 March. Use code CASHBACK200. Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it IG Invest makes beginner investing effortless on its new app, without compromising on quality or features. If you’re just getting started with trading and want an app that feels intuitive from the first tap, IG Invest is our top pick. The app combines a clean, beginner-friendly interface with simple but powerful features that help you learn and grow at your own pace. With 0% commission on shares and ETFs and no platform fee, it can work out as an extremely cheap app for beginner traders. Everything is laid out clearly, whether you’re buying your first stock or would prefer a ready-made portfolio from BlackRock for instant diversification. While IG's flagship platform is known for its professional-grade tools, the IG Invest app is tailored to beginners, making it an ideal trading app for learning the ropes and sticking to simple investing strategies. Pros & cons Pros No platform fees Great learning resources and a demo account Massive choice of over 13,000 investments Ready-made "Smart Portfolios" Commission-free investing Over 5,000 UK and international ETFs Cons Heavy emphasis on trading Choice of options, tools, and markets might overwhelm newbies The flagship platform isn't very intuitive No fractional shares
Best stock trading app
9.1Excellent Freetrade Free Trades	9.1Excellent	£0	£0	£0	Free share: Get a free share worth up to £100 when you sign up and deposit at least £50. Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it Freetrade ticks plenty of beginner must-haves: it’s cheap, easy to use, and doesn’t have an overwhelming interface. But what makes it stand out is the simplicity of its app. Freetrade's 0% commission stock trading app does an excellent job of packing thousands of investments and features into a slick platform. There's no minimum deposit to open an account, and you can invest in fractional US shares from just £2. Previously, Freetrade held back most features for paying subscribers, but you can now access its full range of investments and even use a free stocks and shares ISA or SIPP wrapper with the Basic plan. Pros & cons Pros Free to use a Basic account Over 6,500 investments 0% commission No fee to use a stocks and shares ISA or SIPP Fractional US shares Access to stocks, ETFs, funds, gilts Cons Analysis and research is fairly simple Some features are behind a paywall Interest on uninvested cash is capped High 0.99% FX fee on basic No fractional ETFs or UK stocks
Best for low costs
9.3Excellent InvestEngine Finder AwardFree TradesFunds Only	9.3Excellent	£0	£100	0% - 0.25%	Welcome bonus: Get a welcome bonus of up to £200 when you invest at least £100. Use code 'FINDER'. Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it InvestEngine is our pick of the bunch when it comes to low-cost investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), one of the most popular types of beginner-friendly investments. If you haven’t heard about this type of investment yet, you can find out all about them in our ETFs for beginners guide. InvestEngine has over 830 ETFs to choose from, which isn’t the largest library around, but the platform has much more to offer beginners than most. It’s free to open and hold an account (including a stocks and shares ISA or a SIPP), and you can buy pieces of ETFs from just £1. It also offers actionable insights and useful tools to keep beginners on track - like automated savings plans and one-click portfolio rebalancing. Also, if picking your own ETF portfolio sounds a bit complicated to begin with, you can let InvestEngine create and manage an investment portfolio for you for a low 0.25% annual fee. Pros & cons Pros Build your own portfolio Over 800 ETFs The platform interface and features are excellent No fee for a stocks and shares ISA or SIPP Low fees all around Cons Percentage fees can add up for managed portfolios You can only invest in ETFs Limited learning resources and tools Relatively small range of ready-made portfolios £100 initial minimum investment
Best for small investments
10Excellent Trading212 Free Trades	10Excellent	£0	£0	£0	Free share: Get free fractional shares worth up to £100 when you sign up with Finder’s link or use the code “FINDER”. T&Cs apply.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it Trading 212 is our top pick for beginners looking to make smaller investments because it costs nothing to open and hold an account (including a stocks and shares ISA), and you can invest from just £1 into any of the thousands of investments on the platform. The Trading 212 app is nice and simple to use and we think beginners won’t find it confusing to get to grips with. There are also cool features like the “pies” where you can copy portfolios created by other investors (or create your own if you’re feeling adventurous). There are plenty of investments and features packed into Trading 212 and if you’re just looking to get started with small investments, we think you’ll like what the platform has to offer. Pros & cons Pros No platform fee and free ISA wrapper 0% commissions Fractional shares from £1 Low 0.15% FX fee 13,000 stocks and ETFs Cons No pension or SIPP Limited learning and research tools Withdrawing funds takes up to 3 business days Deposit fees for some methods
Best for investment choice
8.5Great interactive investor	8.5Great	£3.99 (free regular investing available)	£1	From £5.99 a month	Cashback: New or existing customers can get £100-£3,000 cashback when opening an Stocks & Shares ISA/GIA with at least £20,000 before 5 April. Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it Although interactive investor (ii) is a pretty comprehensive platform, it has a lot to offer beginners, too. It’s our top pick for investment choice because no matter what strategy you follow as a beginner, you’ll likely find the investments you want with over 40,000 to choose from. What makes it handy for beginners is the fact that the mobile app and desktop platform are really easy to use, there’s a wide range of investments to suit whatever style you want to start with, and it has loads of great tools like fund recommendations. There’s even a free Managed ISA (where ii’s experts manage your investments) to help you get your portfolio off the ground. interactive investor’s flat fee structure isn’t the cheapest for smaller portfolios but it’s still decent value and helpful to know as a beginner exactly how much you’ll be paying each month in platform fees. Some other platforms use percentages which means the fee can vary month-to-month. Pros & cons Pros Flat monthly fee is good value for large portfolios Massive choice of investments A platform designed for every type of investor Lots of account choices Invest online or with the ii app No commission for regular investing Cons Platform fee is expensive for small portfolios You must upgrade your plan after £100,000 Share dealing charges are quite high No fractional shares
Best for US stocks
8.8Great Robinhood Free Trades	8.8Great	£0	£0	£0	Free share: Get a free share worth up to $175 when you join. Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.	Go to Site Capital at risk More info Compare product selection Compare	loading	Why we like it After bringing investing to the fingertips of beginners in the US, Robinhood is now available in the UK, and it’s our top pick for investing in stocks across the pond. At the moment, the app is slightly limited in what it can offer UK investors, but it’s a great option if you’re looking to invest in US stocks. There’s no platform fee, no commissions, no fee to use a stocks and shares ISA, plus a low foreign exchange (FX) fee. So, you can deposit and invest from as little as $1 in your favourite US stocks without worrying about a bunch of fees eating away at your portfolio. This isn’t a complete investing package for beginners yet, but it’s a useful place for those who want to try things out with a cheap, well-designed platform. Pros & cons Pros Over 6,000 US stocks Invest from just $1 No platform fee (including stocks and shares ISA) No trading commissions 0.1% FX fee High interest paid on idle cash Cons US stocks only Everything is denominated in US dollars Limited asset types (no ETFs)

loading

Best trading platforms by expert score

• Customer satisfaction ratings methodology

  Working with Censuswide, we asked people who’d used an investing provider within the previous 12 months to rate their satisfaction with the service they received and whether they’d recommend the provider to a friend. Our independent survey of 750 current account customers was carried out in February 2026.

  We have shown the percentage recommended score in the table above and used these ratings to decide the winners of our awards. Where there was a draw on the “would recommend percentage”, we used the overall rating out of 5 as a tie-breaker.

What makes a good beginner trading app?

There are few universal elements that help make investment platforms stand out as a top option for beginners. Here are some key thing to look out for when looking for the best app:

• Easy to use. First things first, a beginner-friendly app needs to be straightforward to use. This means it should be simple to sign up and open accounts, and the process of making investments should be as seamless as possible.
• Low fees. Most beginners are going to start off with smaller investments, so it’s important that the platform fees and commissions (cost of buying or selling an investment) don’t take a big bite out of your portfolio before you even get started. Check out our guide on investment fees to find out more about the different types of costs you might come across.
• Simple pricing. Unfortunately, some platforms are cheap, but you need a PhD to decipher all the fees. A beginner-friendly app should be both affordable and clear when it comes to fees and costs.
• Beginner-friendly investments. You don’t want to jump into the deep end with complex “trading instruments”. As a beginner, you should be looking to use investments you can grasp, such as funds, ETFs and individual shares.
• Learning materials. While you’re finding your feet, it can be helpful for platforms to provide learning resources or even a demo account, but you can often find this info elsewhere if you need.

How to pick a beginner-friendly platform

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help you find an app and get started investing:

• Do you want an app with no platform fees? Some apps are free to download and use but there can be limitations compared to other options.
• How much are you planning to invest? If it’s only a small amount to start with, you’ll want a platform that allows smaller investments, and ideally no commissions so the fees don’t erode your investments.
• What do you want to invest in? Each platform will offer various types of investments. Think about what you’d like to invest in and find an app that offers what you want.
• Are you looking to practise first? Some trading apps, such as eToro and Trading 212, let you use a demo account so you can learn how things work before investing with real money.

Beginner investor jargon buster

Here’s a quick overview of some key terms and phrases that you may have been scratching your head over:

• Stocks and shares ISA. This is a type of investing account that’s exclusive to people in the UK. At the moment, you can put in up to £20,000 each tax year into this type of ISA (but this could change in future). It’s sometimes called a “tax wrapper” because the account itself works in the same way as a normal investing account but it’s wrapped with a layer of protection to prevent any UK taxes needing to be paid if you make profits from your portfolio.
• Lifetime ISA (LISA). This is another category of ISA (individual savings account) where you can hold your savings as cash or invest them. The rules are slightly different, you need to be aged between 18 and 40 to open an account and you can only put in up to £4,000 each tax year. The main benefit is that the government will top up your deposits by 25%, so you could get an extra £1,000 every year. But, here’s the kicker – the money can only be used towards your first home or retirement. For anything else you pay a 25% penalty which would leave you with less money than you started with.
• Exchange-traded fund (ETF). This is a type of investment that bundles together a bunch of investments (usually stocks) so that with one single purchase, you can own a whole basket of assets. This helps you spread your risk and stay diversified, it can also save you money in fees and commissions if you only have to make one trade (instead of multiple trades). But, it’s important to be aware you don’t get to pick the stock held in an ETF and they usually have a small ongoing fee that you’ll have to pay when holding the ETF.
• Portfolio rebalancing. When you’re holding multiple investments in your portfolio, over time, you might find that things become slightly unbalanced and different to your original strategy because some investments will gain value and others might lose value. This means that occasionally you may need to even out how much you’re investing in each area with a tactic known as portfolio rebalancing.

What makes a trading app beginner friendly?

When analysing trading apps, our experts decide which type of investor each platform is suitable for: beginners, intermediate investors and expert investors. Beginner platforms won’t have riskier options like contracts for difference (CFDs) available, and it will have easy to read charts without too much detail.

In order to rank the beginner platforms, we use our Finder star ratings — high scoring platforms that are suitable for beginners make the shortlist of the best trading apps for beginners, with the top spot getting the title.

Top trading apps for customer satisfaction

We asked trading app users to rate their platform and tell us whether they’d recommend it to a friend. Our independent survey of 750 investing customers was carried out in February 2026.

Frequently asked questions

• What is the best beginner trading app in the UK?

  This will depend on what you’re looking for as an investor. Each platform is designed with a target audience in mind, so it’s best to think about what type of investor you want to be and then you can find the best trading app to suit your style.

• Is online trading safe?

  In most cases, yes. We only include apps and platforms on Finder that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s top tier regulator.

  However, it’s worth keeping in mind that when investing, you could get out less than what you put into an investment. So always take plenty of time to research your investments and try to keep a long-term outlook.

• Is it worth getting an expert trading app?

  At some stage, you might want to do this. But if you’re a beginner, try out one of the apps designed for investors like you first. You can always upgrade to a more sophisticated app once you learn more about trading and investing.

  There’s usually no fee to close your account so there’s nothing to stop you from moving to another platform later.

• Which is the best platform for trading?

  This depends on the type of trading strategy you’re planning to use. We’ve used different categories to help you find the best trading platform, but key things to look out for are that it should be straightforward to use and make trades, and the fees and costs should be as low as possible.

• What platform do most day traders use?

  MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is probably the most popular trading platform software used by day traders, closely followed by MetaTrader 5 (MT5). However, if you use this day trading software, you need to link it up with a brokerage like IG or XTB. However, some trading platforms like Interactive Brokers (IBKR) are not compatible with MT4 or MT5.

• What is the best trading platform for forex?

  If you’re looking for the best forex broker, you want to use a platform that allows fast trade executions, has a large range of currency pairs, and has low spreads for forex trading. Some of the best trading platforms that tick all these boxes include XTB, eToro, IG, Saxo and Interactive Brokers.

• Can I start trading with £100?

  Yes! Some platforms will let you start trading or investing with as little as £1 or £2. For example, Freetrade you can invest in fractional shares from £2, or XTB lets you invest from just £10. With eToro you can invest from $10 (but you need $100 to open your account), and if you want to start trading ETFs you can open an account with InvestEngine from £100, but then you can invest with just £1 after that.

Written by

George Sweeney, DipFA

Deputy editor

George is a deputy editor at Finder. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, Online Mortgage Advisor, Wealth, and Compare Forex Brokers. He's focused on making personal finance and investing engaging for everyone. To do this he draws from previous work and his Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA), sharing what he’s learnt. When he’s not geeking out about money, you’ll find him playing sports and staying active. See full bio

George's expertise

George has written 275 Finder guides across topics including:

• Investing
• Personal finance
• Tax
• Pensions
• Mortgages
• Cryptocurrency