Moneybox app review
- Price per trade
- 0.45%
- Min. initial deposit
- £1
Our verdict
Moneybox is a one-stop shop for saving and investing. It’s a cheap place to invest and the app is excellent, find out more about the benefits and limitations.
Moneybox is a saving and investing app that’s come a long way in recent years. It started out as somewhere to round-up your spare change. Today, it’s a fully-fledged one-stop shop for putting your money to work, and even buying a home.
The app design for Moneybox is great and beginners will have no issue getting to grips. Also, the simple fee structure and low costs make it a useful place to start investing. Money box isn’t without its limitations but for the type of investors it’s targeting, it’s hard to fault it.
There’s plenty packed into this sleek app and something for everyone. Whether you’re investing for yourself, for a child, for your retirement or looking to invest before buying a home - you can find it all on Moneybox.
Pros
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Simple app that’s great to use
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Lots of tax-efficient account options
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Low fees
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Ideal for beginners
Cons
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Limited choice of investments
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Lacking in some areas
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App-only
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More experienced investors may want more tools
How we rated Moneybox's investment features
Feature | Rating | Details |
---|---|---|
Fees | 4.3 ★★★★★ | Moneybox offers excellent value and is quite a cheap platform across the board. |
Investment choice | 3.3 ★★★★★ | It offers a decent choice of investments but is limited compared to some other platforms. |
Safety and security | 4.6 ★★★★★ | Moneybox offers a secure and safe place for people to invest. |
Account types and products | 5.0 ★★★★★ | Moneybox scores flawlessly, covering all account types. |
Ease of use | 4.3 ★★★★★ | Moneybox offers a well-rounded investing experience that most customers seem happy with. |
Tools, resources and features | 3.0 ★★★★★ | With simplicity at its core, Moneybox is lacking in some additional investing tools and resources. |
Moneybox is a saving and investing platform that’s quickly becoming a fan favourite across the UK. It might look tidy and cute, but it’s an app that packs quite a punch.
There’s a lot going for Moneybox and like a fine wine, it only seems to be maturing with age. Find out what we thought about the features, fees, accounts and much more when it comes to investing with Moneybox.
What is Moneybox?
Moneybox is a saving and investing app that aims to make both of these things a seamless part of your everyday life.
With as little as £1, you can invest in top US stocks, ready-made portfolios or index funds and exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) for a broad approach.
By connecting your bank card to the Moneybox app, you can set up an investment account from your mobile phone in a couple of minutes. This gives those with little or no investment experience an easy starting point.
"Moneybox is nice and simple to set up and use, and unlike some platforms that claim to be designed for beginners, Moneybox really does make those first few steps of investing a breeze. It only takes a few minutes to create an account and pick your starting investment, which you can do with just £1 – making it affordable, even if you only want to try investing with a small amount.
Experienced investors probably won’t love the simplicity of the Moneybox interface, but it’s not built for those looking to dive deep into the markets with complex investing strategies. The goal of Moneybox is to show people that investing doesn’t need to be scary or feel overhwelming. I really like that it’s intuitive app walks the walks and backs up its promise of making investing more accessible to people who might have otherwise remained savers."
Moneybox fees
Fees score | 4.3 ★★★★★ |
---|---|
Platform fee | £1/month (plus 0.45%) |
UK shares | N/A |
US stocks | £0 |
International shares | N/A |
Funds/ETFs | £0 |
Foreign exchange (FX) fee | 0.45% |
Regular investing | Yes (including round ups) |
Withdrawal/deposit fee | £0 |
Inactivity fee | £0 |
Overall, Moneybox provides a cheap place to start investing. There’s no commission for buying or selling investments, and the platform fees are extremely competitive.
There’s a flat £1 monthly subscription fee (free for the first 3 months) and you’ll also pay an extra 0.45% platform fee (based on the size of your portfolio). This applies across all account types, so if you open additional investment accounts, you still just pay the flat £1 monthly subscription fee.
Moneybox charges no commission to buy or sell US stocks, but there is a 0.45% FX fee based on the size of your trade. The other fees to be aware of is that funds will each have ongoing costs (maximum around 0.58%) – these are charged by the funds, not Moneybox.
Other than those, there’s no extra charges or hidden fees you need to pay which is why we scored Moneybox so highly for its fees.
Moneybox investment choice and stocks
Investment choice score | 3.3 ★★★★★ |
---|---|
Asset options | 3+ |
Markets | 2+ |
Number of investments | 45+ |
Number of ETFs/funds | 24+ |
Fractional shares | |
Minimum deposit | £1 |
Minimum investment | £1 |
Moneybox has limitations when it comes to investment choice, but that’s on purpose. This isn’t a guns-blazing, invest all over the place sort of app. The whole point of Moneybox is to make investing straightforward and accessible, while still providing a decent choice of options.
The main investments available are:
- US stocks
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds
- Ready-made portfolios
There’s only around 20 US stocks on the app, so you’re not going to be drowning in choice. It’s worth bearing in mind you can only invest in individual US companies with the stocks and shares ISA.
If you want to invest in ETFs and funds, there’s around 20 options – enough to cover most investment areas that a beginner would want.
Finally, for the ready-made portfolios, there are 3 to choose from, which it calls “starting options”:
- Cautious. This fund aims for modest growth with lower-risk investments with a heavier weighting towards bonds and cash.
- Balanced. A slightly more aggressive fund that holds no cash, fewer bonds and more equities.
- Adventurous. Aims for the highest amount of growth with riskier investments, meaning a higher allocation towards equities and only a small amount invested in bonds.
Each starting option includes a global shares fund and you can opt for this to be a socially responsible ESG fund if you prefer.
What’s also great is that you can actually customise these ready-made portfolios by choosing your own allocations and even adding in more investments once you learn the ropes and want more control over your portfolio. This is something that most platforms don’t offer.
Is Moneybox safe?
Safety and security score | 4.6 ★★★★★ |
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Biometric login/2FA | |
FCA regulated | |
FSCS protection | |
SSL certificate | |
Public company |
Moneybox is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. So your deposits of up to £85,000 are covered in the event that Moneybox goes bust. Moneybox also uses 256-bit TLS encryption to protect your personal data.
Like any other type of investment, your capital is at risk when you invest using Moneybox and you may end up with less than what you originally invested. The performance of investments will vary, and there is no guarantee of return.
Moneybox account types and products
Account types and products score | 5.0 ★★★★★ |
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General investment account (GIA) | |
Stock and shares ISA | |
Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) | |
Lifetime ISA (LISA) | |
Junior ISA (JISA)/Junior SIPP (JSIPP) | |
Business Account | |
Interest on cash balances |
Moneybox scores highly for this category and offers a full-house of personal account options, including:
- General investment account (GIA)
- Stocks and shares ISA
- Junior ISA (JISA)
- Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
- Lifetime ISA (LISA)
- Cash savings accounts
- Cash ISA
- Notice savings accounts
Keep on reading to find out more about these products and the main differences between them.
Moneybox general investment account
This is Moneybox’s basic trading account. It’s typically used once you’ve used up your ISA allowance and you may need to pay capital gains tax on profits over the £3,000 tax-free allowance, or if you earn dividends above the £500 allowance.
You can invest in a range of individual funds which can get you exposure to thousands of companies. Or, you can use the starting options for a simple approach.
Moneybox ISAs
Moneybox has a few different individual savings accounts (ISAs). These include your typical stocks and shares ISA, which lets you invest your money.
There’s also the lifetime ISA (LISA) for saving for your house or retirement, and the junior ISA (JISA), to save for your child.
Moneybox stocks and shares ISA
The Moneybox stocks and shares ISA lets you invest without paying tax on most profits.
There’s an ISA allowance each year, which is the maximum amount that you can invest in all ISAs combined (cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs and LISAs). The ISA allowance for the 2024/2025 tax year is £20,000.
As with the general investment account, you can invest in thousands of companies through tracker funds but you can also invest in individual US stocks if you want as well.
Moneybox LISA
The Moneybox LISA lets you save or invest towards your first home or retirement. You can invest up to £4,000 per tax year in a LISA.
The government adds 25% to whatever you put in, so for every £4,000 you invest, you get an additional £1,000 added in from the government.
The money has to be spent on either a house or retirement, though. If you withdraw it for anything else, you suffer a 25% loss (that’s what the government added and then some extra for good measure), so make sure you know what your intentions are before contributing.
With the Moneybox LISA, you can choose to keep it as cash and earn interest or invest it in an attempt for higher returns.
Moneybox JISA
The junior ISA (JISA) is a savings account that you can set up for your child. Here are the key features and things to consider:
- For under-18s
- Has an annual allowance of £9,000 per year
- Choose between saving or investing
- Need to be an existing Moneybox customer to set one up
- Other family members and friends can contribute
- The child gets access to the money once they turn 18
- Must be opened by a parent or guardian
Moneybox SIPP
You can now apply for a Moneybox private pension. You can move your old pensions to Moneybox if you want too.
To set up a Moneybox SIPP, you can create a SIPP from scratch or transfer over old pensions.
However, Moneybox won’t accept a pension you or your employer are currently paying into, or any old pensions that provide guaranteed benefits when you retire.
With your Moneybox SIPP, there’s no additional fee and you can pick funds or invest in the starting options.
Read the full review of Moneybox’s pension
Moneybox savings accounts
For now, Moneybox offers the following savings accounts:
- Notice savings account. This can be opened with as little as £1. You get the option to pick 32/45/95/120 days notice.
- Cash ISA. You can use part of your yearly ISA allowance to hold cash with Moneybox and it will pay you interest. The minimum deposit is £500.
- Simple saver. This account is like an easy-access savings account and you can open with just £1 but can only withdraw once a month.
- Cash LISA. All the same rules as an investment LISA apply, you can open with £1 and the only difference is this holds your funds as cash earning interest instead of investing it.
Moneybox ease of use
Ease of use score | 4.3 ★★★★★ |
---|---|
Apple iOS rating | 4.8/5 |
Google Play rating | 4.7/5 |
Ways to contact customer service | Email and in-app chat |
UI/UX | Good |
Desktop or mobile app | Mobile |
Moneybox scored pretty well in our ease of use assessment. We like that there are a couple of ways to get hold of its online customer support team.
On the App Store, Moneybox scores an impressive 4.8 out of 5, and on Google Play it has an equally impressive 4.7 out of 5 (as of January 2024).
There’s no desktop platform and you can invest only with the Moneybox app but you can tell a lot of care has gone into building a great app.
Moneybox customer reviews
Reviews platform | Score |
---|---|
Trustpilot | 4.4/5 |
Finder user reviews | 3.8/5 |
In the 2024 Finder customer satisfaction survey, 79% of Moneybox customers said they’d recommend the platform. Several felt it was simple, straightforward and easy to use.
One customer commented:”It makes the process extremely easy, particularly if you’re starting out on your investment journey.”
Another said: “They offer a user friendly interface with helpful customer service advice.”
Trustpilot reviewers gave Moneybox a 4.4 out of 5 “excellent” rating (as of January 2024).
Moneybox tools, resources and features
Tools, resources and features | 3.0 ★★★★★ |
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Analysis features | |
Tools for investing/trading | |
Social features | |
Learning resources | |
Additional Features |
With the goal of keeping things simple, Moneybox has a limited range of tools and resources.
However, there’s still a decent amount packed into the Moneybox app like:
- Investment charts and info
- Fund video explainers
- ESG investing options
- Ready-made portfolios
- Round up ability
Although the investing features may be limited, there’s still lots else on offer with Moneybox when it comes to saving – things like being able to add partners to see combined LISA savings and getting mortgage advice, for example.
Who might Moneybox suit?
This platform is going to be best-suited for those who want an excellent app and don’t want to overcomplicate their inveting approach. Moneybox is simple, cheap and straightforward – but is limited in terms of investment options.
If that’s not you, why not compare share trading platforms to find the right fit to match your style.
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Finder Scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey. Our full methodology explains more, including we pick the best platforms for different uses.