Nutmeg is a robo-advisor, which means that it manages your investments on your behalf based on your risk appetite. Hargreaves Lansdown is an established investment platform that’s typically used for share dealing, but it does have some ready made portfolios for those looking for a robo-advisor. We’ve compared them side by side on their products, portfolios, features and costs to help you choose.
 |  | |
| Finder score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Customer satisfaction survey | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Costs score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Stocks and shares ISA available? | ||
| FSCS protected? | ||
| More Info | Go to site More Info |
Both Nutmeg and Hargreaves Lansdown have individual savings accounts (ISAs) available. These let you invest up to £20,000 in the 2024/2025 tax year without paying any tax on your profits.
Both providers are FSCS protected. This means that up to £85,000 of your deposits are covered if they were to go bust.
| | |
| General investment account | ||
| Stocks and shares ISA | ||
| Lifetime ISA (LISA) | ||
| Pension (SIPP) | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | Go to site More Info |
Both providers have stocks and shares ISAs, lifetime ISAs and pensions available.
As we mentioned before, a stocks and shares ISA lets you invest up to £20,000 in the 2024/2025 tax year without paying any tax on your profits. A lifetime ISA is another type of tax wrapper that lets you save up to £4,000 per year towards your first home or retirement and get a top of from the government.
A private pension locks away your savings until you turn 55, and you get a top up from the government for it too.
Winner: Tie
| | |
| Portfolios rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Risk assessment quiz | ||
| Number of portfolios on offer | 36 | 6 |
| Ethical portfolios on offer | ||
| Managed portfolios on offer | ||
| More Info | Go to site More Info |
Hargreaves Lansdown has 6 ready-made portfolios available to invest in – 3 income and 3 growth. This is on par with its competitors, where you generally see up to 5 portfolios. You get a choice of 3 different risk profiles for each type. It doesn’t have a dedicated portfolio for ethical investing.
Nutmeg has the highest number of portfolios from the robo-advisors we’ve reviewed, with 30 in total. You can choose between Smart Alpha, fixed Allocation, socially responsible and fully managed portfolios. Each one has either 10 or 5 risk profiles to choose from.
Winner: Nutmeg
| | |
| Costs score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Annual cost of investing £10,000 | £105.00 | £45 |
| Annual cost of investing £100,000 | £1050.00 | £250 |
| Annual cost of investing £1m | £6,900.00 | £1000 |
| More Info | Go to site More Info |
Both Nutmeg and Hargreaves Lansdown charge based on how much you invest. They have very similar costs, but which one you decide to go with will depend on how much you are investing.
Nutmeg’s fees are pretty simple. For its fully managed portfolio, it charges 0.75% on investments up to £100,000 and then 0.35% on investments beyond that. Nutmeg also charges a 0.19% investment fund cost and a market spread cost of 0.07%.
Hargreaves Lansdown has a very similar charging structure. It charges 0.45% on investments up to £250,000, 0.25% on investments between £250,000 and £1 million, 0.1% on investments between £1 million and £2 million, and investments over £2 million are free.
We got Nutmeg’s figures from the handy calculator on its website. You can enter in the amount that you plan to invest and it’ll give you the cost. In the case of Hargreaves Lansdown, we did it the old fashioned way, with a calculator, pen and paper and the costs outlined above.
Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown
| | |
| Features rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Desktop or web access | ||
| iPhone app | ||
| Android app | ||
| In-app news and research | ||
| In-app top-up | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | Go to site More Info |
Both Hargreaves Lansdown and Nutmeg have desktop access and iPhone and Android apps. You can access news and research in both apps and top-up within the app.
Winner: Tie
| | |
| Resources rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Guides | ||
| Videos and walkthroughs | ||
| In-depth learning tools (training courses, etc.) | ||
| Demo account | ||
| Advice | ||
| More Info | Go to site More Info |
Hargreaves Lansdown is the clear winner here for its learning resources as it’s got guides, videos, walkthroughs, a demo account and an advice service. Nutmeg has some guides on its products available and a paid for advice service.
Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown
Nutmeg is suitable if you are interested in basic investing with pre-made portfolios, but if you’re looking for share trading or DIY portfolios then you’re more suited to Hargreaves Lansdown. Hargreaves Lansdown covers all bases with basic investing, share trading, share dealing, a pension, lifetime ISA and ready-made portfolios. It also has competitive prices, as you can see above.
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.
Charles Schwab now offers a brokerage service to UK investors. Find out what Finder’s investing expert thought when testing and using this broker.
Commission-free share-trading app Robinhood has launched in the UK. Our investing expert tried it out – find out the pros and cons.
Saxo is a solid all-rounder that’s widely respected in its field, offering loads of global investment options and research tools.
Both Freetrade and Trading 212 offer the chance to trade without paying any commission. Find out how they compare on features.
eToro and Trading 212 allow you to buy and sell stocks and ETFs without paying a commission for trading using the platform.
Both Moneyfarm and Moneybox invest on your behalf using information about your risk appetite. Both let you invest in a stocks and shares ISA.
Find out what we thought of Vanguard’s stocks and shares ISA, what its pros and cons are, and the fees and charges for this low-cost investment option.
We took a look at interactive investor to find out about its products, features, fees and app. Read our guide to get the full scoop about this investing platform.
Online trading giant eToro lets you buy stocks with no commission, but is it the best option for traders and investors?
The Freetrade app lets you buy and sell UK, US, and EU stocks with minimal fees. We look under the bonnet to find out whether there are any catches.