Dodl vs Moneybox

We compare AJ Bell's investment app, Dodl, against Moneybox. See who came out on top.

Dodl was created by AJ Bell and has a set of ready-made portfolios to compete with Moneybox. We’ve put the 2 apps against each other to find out whether Dodl is better than Moneybox.

As Moneybox offers only robo-advice (compared with Dodl’s additional investment options), we’re only comparing the robo-advisor capabilities of these two providers. We’ve compared the products available, the portfolios on offer, fees, features and learning resources of both platforms.

Dodl vs Moneybox: Vital statistics

DodlMoneybox
Finder score★★★★★★★★★★
Customer satisfaction survey★★★★★★★★★★
Fees score★★★★★★★★★★
Stocks and shares ISA available?
FSCS protected?
More InfoGo to site
More Info
For vital stats, both Dodl and Moneybox score very well. Both offer stocks and shares ISAs and both platforms are protected with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means that you’re protected up to £85,000 if either company were to go bust.

Round 1: Products

DodlMoneybox
General investment account
Stocks and shares ISA
Lifetime ISA (LISA)
Pension (SIPP)
Junior ISA (JISA)/Junior SIPP (JSIPP)
Interest on cash balances
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk
More InfoGo to site
More Info

Both Dodl and Moneybox let you invest in a stocks and shares ISA, a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), or a Lifetime ISA (LISA). The LISA lets you save up to £4,000 each tax year for your first home or for retirement. The government contributes £1,000 for every £4,000 invested.

Winner: Tie

Round 2: Portfolios

DodlMoneybox
Portfolios rating★★★★★
Risk assessment quiz
Number of portfolios on offer73
Ethical portfolios on offer
Managed portfolios on offer
More InfoGo to site
More Info
Dodl has a great range of ready-made portfolios, with AJ Bell’s 7 fund portfolios available to invest in. These are fully managed and there is an ethical option. Moneybox has only 3 available, but you can choose a socially responsible option and they are all fully managed.

Winner: Dodl

Round 3: Costs

DodlMoneybox
Fees score★★★★★★★★★★
Annual cost of investing £10,000£15.00£87.00
Annual cost of investing £100,000£150.00£762.00
Annual cost of investing £1m£1500.00£7,512.00
More InfoGo to site
More Info
Dodl is the clear winner when we compare the fees of both platforms. Dodl charges a 0.15% platform fee (minimum £1 a month), plus there are ongoing fund charges for each of the ready-made portfolios. This is 0.31% for all funds except the responsible fund, which is 0.45%. Even once you’ve considered all these fees, Dodl comes out at around half the price of Moneybox annually.

Winner: Dodl

Round 4: Features

DodlMoneybox
Features rating★★★★★★★★★★
Desktop or web access
iPhone app
Android app
In-app news and research
In-app top-up
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk
More InfoGo to site
More Info
Both Dodl and Moneybox have mobile apps and they are both app-only. Dodl doesn’t have much news or research in the app – you can pretty much just see some information about each investment. Moneybox is more up to date with recent news that might impact your performance. You can top-up on mobile with both apps.

The graphs in Dodl are pretty nice, you can select a part of the graph and it tells you the price and the date, so they’re more interactive than other apps we’ve reviewed.

Winner: Moneybox

Round 5: Learning resources

DodlMoneybox
Resources rating★★★★★★★★★★
Guides
Videos and walkthroughs
In-depth learning tools (training courses, etc.)
Demo account
Advice
More InfoGo to site
More Info
When it comes to learning resources, both providers could offer more videos and walkthroughs, as well as a demo account to show beginners how it works, but both have guides to help their users find out what they need to know. We really like what Dodl is doing — it’s got a “learn” tab on the app with guides and in-depth tools that can help you get started, which we think is vital for a beginner investment platform.

Neither platform offers advice, but Moneybox has started to offer Mortgage advice.

Winner: Dodl

Our verdict: Is Dodl better than Moneybox?

Both Moneybox and Dodl have really great ready-made offerings for beginners, but Dodl came out better for fees and learning resources, and had a larger choice of portfolios available to invest in, so we think it just slightly works out better than Moneybox for beginners looking at investing in ready-made portfolios.

Moneybox has started to offer mortgages and free mortgage advice, so it may be the better choice for you if you’re saving for your first home. Meanwhile, Dodl has a range of shares and themed investments available to invest in, if you want to graduate to building your own portfolio down the line.

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.


George Sweeney, DipFA's headshot
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 177 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Investing
  • Personal finance
  • Tax
  • Pensions
  • Mortgages

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