{"id":307587,"date":"2020-05-18T12:19:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T11:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/?p=307587"},"modified":"2025-07-17T09:56:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T08:56:42","slug":"share-dealing-methodology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/share-trading\/share-trading-reviews\/share-dealing-methodology","title":{"rendered":"How do we rate investing and trading platforms?"},"content":{"rendered":"

To help find you the best trading platforms<\/a> in the UK, we\u2019ve spent countless hours testing and analysing all the major share trading sites and apps, allowing you to cut through noise and discover your ideal match. <\/p>

What is the Finder score?<\/h3>

Our expert team evaluates various products in our database, assigning each one a score out of 10. A higher score means the product is more competitive and may offer better value.<\/p>

<\/section>
\"Finder<\/div>

If you want peace of mind, this rating will give it to you. These products offer the best value and outcomes considering various product features, terms, conditions and price.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"Finder<\/div>

Well-balanced products that provide what you need, offering a healthy mix of competitive features at a good price. However, they\u2019re not quite the best in class.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"Finder<\/div>

Bottom line: You can find better, but these products still offer reasonable value and have the basics sorted.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"Finder<\/div>

These products may not offer much value in the long run, and there are better options available.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Our in-depth research looks at 35 data points spread across 6 key categories detailed below. This data combined with our hands-on expert assessment is what we use to create our overall Finder scores. <\/p>

To develop our scores, we asked current and prospective investors what matters most to them. We combined this insight with what our experts believe are key aspects of platforms that users don\u2019t always know about. <\/p>

What factors do we take into account?<\/h4>

We compare our platforms based on 6 key categories:<\/p>

  • Fees.<\/strong> Keeping fees low is a major priority for most investors. For this category we looked at platform fees (and costs based on various sized portfolios), investing commissions, foreign exchange (FX) fees, and any other discounts (or penalties).<\/li>
  • Investment choice.<\/strong> Markets are more accessible than ever and some platforms excel at opening up your investing horizons. We consider the type of assets available, the number of markets, investments and funds, along with whether you can buy fractional shares.<\/li>
  • Tools, resources & features.<\/strong> Whether you\u2019re a beginner or more experienced, tools help with your analysis. We considered each platform\u2019s analysis features, trading tools, social features, learning resources, and whether it offers any additional investing attributes. <\/li>
  • Account types & products.<\/strong> Every platform offers a general investment account (GIA), but not every provider offers tax-efficient accounts like a stocks and shares ISA, self-invested personal pension (SIPP), lifetime ISA (LISA), or saving for children with a junior ISA (JISA)\/junior SIPP (JSIPP). <\/li>
  • Ease of use.<\/strong> This reflects users\u2019 reviews from the app store as well how easy it is to reach the customer service team, and our expert opinion on the overall interface. <\/li>
  • Safety & security.<\/strong> This is a major concern for many investors. We evaluate the security features of each platform, how it\u2019s regulated, whether it comes with FSCS protection, and whether it\u2019s a publicly listed company (or part of one). <\/li><\/ul>

    How we\u2019ve rated fees<\/h4>

    We take into account:<\/p>

    • Platform fees<\/li>
    • Investing commissions<\/li>
    • Foreign exchange (FX) fees<\/li>
    • Discounts for regular or frequent investing<\/li>
    • Costs for withdrawing or depositing funds<\/li><\/ul>

      The most complex area is platform fees. Some providers are free, others charge flat monthly fees, and the remainder tend to charge a percentage of your portfolio (sometimes based on the type of investments you hold). <\/p>

      We\u2019ve worked out what it costs to hold portfolios of various sizes, allowing for fairer comparisons. <\/p>

      For commission, we checked the costs of buying various investments and scored them based on the results. <\/p>

      Because investing is a global marketplace, involving multiple countries and currencies, most platforms charge an FX fee for currency conversions when you buy an investment outside your base currency. These FX fees can vary wildly. We\u2019ve checked and gathered them. <\/p>

      There are platforms that charge higher fees, but offer discounts to frequent traders or those who set up a regular investing payment schedule. This may not be useful to everyone, but cheaper fees get some recognition. <\/p>

      The final area covers withdrawals and deposits. Most platforms don\u2019t charge you anything to put money in or take it out, but a handful do. So, we\u2019ve reflected that, too. <\/p>

      How we choose our \u201cbest\u201d trading platforms<\/h3>

      High-scoring platforms and those offering unique or best-in-class features are considered for our \u201cbest for\u201d picks. To decide on the best options, we\u2019ve used a combination of data and our expert assessment from trying out the apps and platforms.<\/p>

      We consider all major platforms available in the UK. All \u201cbest\u201d platforms must have a high overall score, plus additional factors that make them top in that category.<\/p>

      Beginners<\/h4>

      The best platform for beginners must be easy to use, offer learning resources and fractional shares, allow small investments, and include the option to use a stocks and shares ISA. It has to be a platform we consider accessible.
      0% commission<\/p>

      To take the top spot, a platform must offer a wide range of stocks, as well as trading with no commission.<\/p>

      Low fees<\/h4>

      The top platform must offer a low or zero platform fee, fractional shares, no withdrawal fee or minimum investment, and the option of a cheap stocks and shares ISA. <\/p>

      ETFs<\/h4>

      A platform needs to have one of the largest range of ETFs, offer low or no commission for trading ETFs, and come with additional ETF-specific platform features.<\/p>

      US shares<\/h4>

      The top platform needs to have 0% commission for US stocks, an FX fee of 0.5% or lower, and the option to hold US stocks in a stocks and shares ISA. <\/p>

      International trading<\/h4>

      A platform must score highly for the markets and exchanges available along with providing a decent range of assets. International investing should come without barriers. We want to recognise and commend the platforms breaking down global investing borders. <\/p>

      Social & community features<\/h4>

      Any platform in contention needs to offer specific social features and ways for like-minded investors to brainstorm. <\/p>

      Ready-made and managed portfolios<\/h4>

      The top platforms must offer ready-made portfolios with a management fee of less than 0.5%, rank highly for UI\/UX, and offer a decent range of pre-made options to keep things simple for you. <\/p>

      Security features<\/h4>

      The protection for our top platform must be like Fort Knox, with a perfect score for safety and security. It must also be well established and offer multiple ways for users to contact the support team.<\/p>

      Customer satisfaction<\/h4>

      The winner for this category goes to the highest-scoring platform in the yearly Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards. <\/p>

      Your reviews and our customer survey<\/h3>

      In January 2025, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on investing providers. The survey asked 752 respondents how satisfied they are with their investment platform on a scale from 1 to 5, and also whether they would recommend it to a friend or not.<\/p>

      You can see review stars at the top of our review pages, if we\u2019ve received more than 10. These are from consumers just like you who use our site and want to review the products and providers they use. We include ratings out of 5 and responses we\u2019ve received in our annual customer satisfaction surveys. <\/p>

      \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span> \u2013 Excellent<\/p>

      \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span> \u2013 Good<\/p>

      \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span> \u2013 Average<\/p>

      \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span> \u2013 Subpar<\/p>

      \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span> \u2013 Poor<\/p>

      We also show the percentage who would recommend each provider in a league table in guides and on our awards pages.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Here’s our methodology for scoring the features that matter, and picking the top share-trading platforms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1273,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130087],"tags":[],"asset_tag":[],"class_list":["post-307587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-share-trading-reviews"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow do we rate investing and trading platforms? - Finder UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Comparing brokers is complicated, so we've rated them. 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