In this guide

  • Our verdict
  • How we rated Trading 212's investment features
  • Trading 212 fees
  • Trading 212 investment choice and stocks
  • Is Trading 212 safe?
  • Trading 212 account types and products
  • Trading 212 ease of use
  • Trading 212 customer reviews
  • Trading 212 tools, resources and features
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Your reviews
Trading212
4.7
★★★★★
Finder score
4.1
★★★★★
Capital at risk
Price per trade
0% commission
Min. initial deposit
£1

Our verdict

Trading 212 is a popular investing platform with low fees, a free stocks and shares ISA and plenty of investments right at your fingertips.

Trading 212 offers a ton of functionality with minimal fees. The practice mode is a fantastic way to get the hang of things, but keep in mind that you'll need some external learning too if you want to invest successfully. Luckily, Trading 212 provides a wide range of resources to help you learn the ropes.

Trading 212 lets you allocate your funds into "pies". With this nifty feature, you can create a personalised "pie" that divides your funds among the stocks and ETFs you've chosen, based on the proportions you want. Whenever you add more money to your portfolio or receive dividends, the pie automatically redistributes the funds accordingly. It's a great way to create an investing plan that matches your goals and budget.

It’s hard to knock Trading 212 when it comes to value. No platform fee, a free stocks and shares ISA wrapper, zero investing commissions and a competitive foreign exchange (FX) fee of 0.15%. On top of the low prices, you can invest in over 13,000 investments with as little as £1.

Pros

  • No platform fee to open and hold an account
  • 0% commissions
  • Fractional US and UK shares
  • Low FX fee of 0.15%
  • Free stocks and share ISA
  • Over 13,000 investments
  • Interest paid on cash balances
  • AutoInvest feature
  • Practise mode to get the hang of the platform

Cons

  • No pension or other type of tax-efficient account
  • The tutorial for the practise mode isn’t very in-depth
  • Limited learning and research tools
  • Withdrawing funds takes up to 3 business days

In this guide

  • Our verdict
  • How we rated Trading 212's investment features
  • Trading 212 fees
  • Trading 212 investment choice and stocks
  • Is Trading 212 safe?
  • Trading 212 account types and products
  • Trading 212 ease of use
  • Trading 212 customer reviews
  • Trading 212 tools, resources and features
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Your reviews
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

How we rated Trading 212's investment features

FeatureRatingDetails
Fees

★★★★★ 4.8/5

Trading 212 offers excellent value and is pretty unbeatable for fees across the board.
Investment choice

★★★★★4.9/5

It offers plenty of investments and a decent range of asset types.
Safety and security

★★★★★ 4.6/5

Trading 212 offers a secure and safe place for people to invest.
Account types and products

★★★★★ 3.8/5

The platform is somewhat limited when it comes to account types.
Ease of use

★★★★★ 4.8/5

Trading 212 offers a solid investing experience that most customers seem happy with.
Tools, resources and features

★★★★★ 5/5

Trading 212 offers a comprehensive range of tools, features and resources.

Trading 212 is a popular commission-free investing app, known for its diverse range of assets and low fees. Trading 212 provides access to an extensive selection of over 12,000 global stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from 8 major exchanges.

Trading 212 is one of the UK’s most popular trading apps for beginner investors. For new investors, the main draw of Trading 212 is the fee-free stocks and shares ISA. We’ve compiled the key features of Trading 212, including details about its demo account, whether there truly are no fees and what Trading 212 customer reviews say.

Expert test: I tried out Trading 212's investing app

georgesweeney profile pic
George Sweeney

Deputy editor

There's plenty to like about Trading 212. I'm a big fan of the low fees for buying shares and holding an account (including a free stocks and shares ISA). Also, using the app to research stocks and invest is a pleasure. I was suprised by how much is packed into the Trading 212 platform. A personal highlight is the ability to create Pies, which are like mini-portfolios you can share, copy or discuss with other investors.

Trading 212 fees

Fees score

★★★★★

Platform fee£0
UK shares£0
US stocks£0
International shares£0
Funds/ETFs£0
Foreign exchange (FX) fee0.15%
Regular investingYes (AutoInvest feature)
Withdrawal/deposit fee£0 (0.7% deposit fee for more than £2,000 on card, Google Pay or Apple Pay)
Inactivity fee£0

Trading 212 charges no commission for buying or selling stocks, and there are minimal other fees to be aware of.

If you decide to buy US or international stocks, you’ll need to pay an 0.15% FX fee, which is great value compared to most other platforms.

You’ll also still have to pay UK stamp duty (like with other platforms for some investments), and things like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and investment trusts will have ongoing fees. But neither of these are under Trading 212’s control.

There’s not much more to be said in the way of fees, which is why Trading 212 scored almost perfectly in our assessment of its costs.

Trading 212 investment choice and stocks

Investment choice score

★★★★★

Asset options4+
Markets3+
Number of investments13,000+
Number of ETFs/funds2,000+
Fractional shares
Minimum deposit£1/€1/$1
Minimum investment£1/€1/$1

Trading 212 allows you to invest in top shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), plus access to stocks from the two biggest US exchanges – the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) along with a number of options in European markets.

There are over 2,000 options for ETF investing, and you can also use investment trusts for an expertly managed investment approach.

One of the coolest things about Trading 212 is the “pies” feature. This allows you to build and create your own portfolio (pie) using whatever mix of assets you like. You can then set your desired allocation and invest whenever you want.

Or use the “AutoInvest” feature to automate your pie process. Another piece of this pie action is the option to view and copy pies from other investors. Additionally, Trading 212 offers automatic reinvestment of dividends and the option to adjust slice proportions and rebalance portfolios with ease.

The minimum deposit for the Trading 212 app is £1, and the minimum investment you can make is £1 with fractional shares. Trading 212 is also one of the only platforms available with the option to buy fractional UK shares.

Is Trading 212 safe?

Safety and security score

★★★★★

Biometric login/2FA
FCA regulated
FSCS protection
SSL certificate
Public company

As you’d expect, Trading 212 is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It’s also a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) so your deposits up to £85,000 are protected should Trading 212 go bust.

The Trading 212 app also comes with plenty of security features and ring fencing of funds to keep your portfolio secure.

Although as always when you invest, your capital is at risk.

Trading 212 account types and products

Account types and products score

★★★★★

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

Trading 212 has 3 products to choose from:

  • Trading 212 Invest. A general investment account (GIA) with no platform fees and zero commissions. This might be what you’d use if you’d used up your ISA allowance of £20,000. (Read our full stocks and shares ISA guide if you need to get clued up on ISAs).
  • Trading 212 ISA. This is the same as the invest account, but it has a tax-free ISA wrapper. That means you can invest up to £20,000 in the 2023/2024 tax year and pay no tax on most profits and any money withdrawn doesn’t impact your income tax.
  • Trading 212 CFD. This is a much riskier way of trading — contracts for difference (CFDs) allow you to trade contracts based on asset price movements. The key thing is that your money is leveraged, so you could gain or lose much more than you’re putting in.

Trading 212 Invest

Trading 212’s Invest product allows you to invest in stocks and shares without paying any commission. Here are the key features:

  • Start with as little as £1
  • Zero investing commissions.
  • Unlimited instant trades
  • Fractional shares are available
  • FX fee of 0.15% for international stocks
  • You may need to pay UK dividends or capitals gains tax (CGT) if you breach your yearly allowances

Trading 212 ISA (individual savings account)

Trading 212’s stocks and shares ISA allows you to do everything its Invest product does but with the added benefit of paying no UK tax on profits or dividends when investing up to £20,000 in the 2023/2024 tax year.

So, with the Trading 212 ISA, these are the main things to know:

  • Like any ISA, you can invest up to £20,000 in the 2023/2024 tax year with mostly tax-free profits
  • You’ll pay no administration charges
  • Zero commissions for trades
  • There are no charges for dividend reinvestment
  • The ability to buy fractional shares and a low FX fee of 0.15% for international stocks

Trading 212 CFD

Instead of trading shares, you can trade a CFD. This is kind of like betting on the direction the stocks will move instead of buying real stocks.

Here are the available instruments with Trading 212’s CFD account:

  • Stocks. Movements in the value of stocks, like Apple, Tesla and Lloyds.
  • Forex. Trade on 150 major foreign exchange pairs with tight spreads.
  • Indices. Price fluctuations for major indices, such as Nasdaq, S&P 500 and UK100.
  • Commodities. Buy or sell derivatives linked to commodities such as cocoa, cotton, coffee, gas, oil and sugar, among others.

Features of the Trading 212 CFD account include:

  • Zero commissions
  • Tight spreads
  • Stop Loss and Take Profit
  • Negative balance protection
  • Instant execution
  • 0.5% FX fee

CFDs are complex and risky. If you’re new to CFD trading, then we have a guide that could help.

It’s also worth checking out our guide to CFD trading risks.

Trading 212 ease of use

Ease of use score

★★★★★

Apple iOS rating4.6/5
Google Play rating3.9/5
Ways to contact customer servicePhone, email and in-app chat
UI/UXGood
Desktop or mobile appBoth

Trading 212 scored well in our ease of use assessment. We particularly like that there are a few ways to get hold of the support team and invest using either the mobile app or on the desktop.

On the App Store, Trading 212 scores an impressive 4.6 out of 5, and on Google Play it has a 3.9 out of 5 (as of February 2024).

Trading 212 customer reviews

Reviews platformScore
Trustpilot4.6/5
User reviews4.1/5

Trading 212 did well in our 2024 customer satisfaction survey, with 90% of its customers saying they’d recommend the platform.

Feedback included praise for its reliable and accessible service, and many customers described Trading 212 as “easy to use”.

One customer commented: “It offers a very straightforward way to buy and sell shares with minimal commission.”

Not all comments were totally positive. Another customer felt “exchange rate changes and effects on investment were not explained” by Trading 212.

On Trustpilot, users are also positive about the brand – Trading 212 has a high 4.6 out of 5 rating, classed as “excellent” (last updated: February 2024).

Case study: Sabina chose Trading 212 for the low fees and finds it really easy to use the app

Sabina Mistura profile pic
Sabina Mistura

London

I’ve been using Trading 212 for a year. I chose it because a friend recommended it to me because of its low fees.

I’d class myself as beginner-intermediate and I find it really easy to use the app so I think it can work for either beginners or if you’re a bit more advanced. As with all trading apps I’ve used, you have to upload identity documents at the start as part of the security process.

If there's one tip you'd tell a friend who's thinking of using an investment app like Trading 212, what would it be?

It scared me at the start that I had to upload a picture of my passport. I wasn’t expecting this and I wish there had been more of an explanation about it. Lots of apps ask for this, but very few explain it well.

Trading 212 tools, resources and features

Tools, resources and features

★★★★★

Analysis features
Tools for investing/trading
Social features
Learning resources
Additional Features

Trading 212 has lots on offer in the way of features and tools. Alongside basic financials and key ratios for stocks, you can also access and use:

  • Watchlists
  • Price alerts
  • News feed and social investing communities
  • ESG screening
  • Pies and AutoInvest (including ready-made pies to copy)
  • Learning guides
  • A range of order types
  • Demo account

There’s plenty packed into the Trading 212 platform, especially when you consider it’s free to use and there’s no cost to hold an account and access all these features and resources.

If you want to test out the platform before investing with real money, you can use a demo account (known as practice mode).

Trading 212 practice mode

Trading 212 has a demo feature on the site and app that allows you to test the platform with £50,000 of fake money. It’s fun to play around with to get a feel of the site and how it works before committing actual money to your investments.

You can “buy” anything that you can in the regular app. This lets you see how the investments fluctuate over time. It’s a useful learning tool to get a feel for investing as a whole.

Trading 212 has a strong focus on teaching people about the basics of investing and how to use the platform. It has a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos to teach you about share dealing and some handy guides on the basics and terminology.

It also has the demo feature for CFD trading, but if you don’t have much exposure to CFDs, then this can be overwhelming and may put you off investing altogether. But if CFDs are what you’re after, it’s worth dipping your toes in with the practice mode to start understanding how it works.

Real money

Once you reckon you’ve played around with fake money enough, you select “switch to real money”. It will take you through some basic information, such as your contact details and some basics on your income and savings. Select the accounts and currency you want to trade in, and you’re good to go.

When buying shares, you can choose how many you want, and the app gives you the cost in your chosen currency, which is helpful. You have the choice to create limit orders. This allows you to enter the maximum you’re willing to go to when buying shares. If the stock prices drop below this amount before the end of the day, it will automatically place the order for you. You can also do this when selling shares by entering the minimum you’re willing to sell for.

Trading 212 Invest vs CFDs: What’s the difference?

CFD trading is a lot more complex than investing in stocks. When you trade CFDs, you speculate on the movements in value rather than purchase the underlying asset or share.

This means you’re not entitled to receive dividends, as you never own the shares. It does mean you can take advantage of prices going down in value as well as up.

There’s more complexity to this than just the contract, as CFDs allow for leverage (which means borrowing money to hold larger trade positions).

Trading 212 Invest vs ISA: What’s the difference, and which should I go for?

These 2 accounts are virtually identical.

If you don’t have a stocks and shares ISA already, you should consider opening a Trading 212 ISA and take advantage of the tax benefits that come with it.

If you do have a stocks and shares ISA and have paid into it this year, you’ll need to open up the Trading 212 Invest account, because you’re not allowed to pay into more than one type of ISA per year.

Remember, every UK adult is also allowed £6,000 of potential gains (in the 2023/2024 tax year) as a tax-free capital gains tax (CGT) allowance. This means your first £6,000 of capital gains (i.e., growth of your investments) won’t be subject to tax. Once you exceed £6,000, you’ll start paying tax unless you’re using an ISA. You may also have to pay tax on any dividends over £1,000 each year.

Frequently asked questions

Share dealing platform scores

★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor

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.

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.
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