Here are some of the best platforms to invest tax-free
Stocks and Shares ISAs let you invest tax-free — which means you won’t pay tax on capital gains, dividends or any interest earned on the money you put in them. You have a £20,000 ISA allowance each year, which includes any Cash ISAs or Lifetime ISAs you have. This means that you can pay up to £20,000 into ISAs each year and for as long as the money is held in them, it is tax-free.
There are broadly two types of Stocks and Shares ISA to choose between, do-it-yourself and fully managed. We explain in more detail what each of these mean below.
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Here at Be Clever With Your Cash, we’re not regulated to give you financial advice. We aim to give you the facts about a provider or investment but it’s up to you to decide if it’s suitable for you. If you’re looking for more personalised guidance, find a financial adviser who can give you specific advice. Remember that your capital is at risk when investing — don’t invest more than you are prepared to lose.
Best DIY Stocks & Shares ISAs
Do-it-yourself Stocks and Shares ISAs are ones where you choose the investments for your portfolio yourself. This could be a range of company shares, different types of funds and possibly even some commodities or precious metals. You’d be in control of managing your portfolio and ensuring it reflects the risk you plan to take.
Our picks below assume that you’re mostly interested in passive investing, which is mostly suited to beginners. This would mean you’d want to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or index funds. With many of these providers, you can also invest in shares, but this takes a lot more knowledge and skill.
Our top picks
Up to £100 welcome bonus and up to £4,000 Tax Year End bonus
Get up to £100 welcome bonus when you invest £100 or more. Sign up via the button or use promo code BCWYC (T&Cs apply). Plus, get an additional Tax Year End bonus of up to £4,000 when you open a new ISA or transfer your ISA by 31 May 2025 (T&Cs apply). You need to stay invested for at least 12 months to qualify for the bonus. We may receive commission from those who sign up through our link. ETF costs apply.
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Additional Info
You can't invest in individual shares with InvestEngine, just exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Flexible ISA: Yes
Foreign exchange fee: N/A
Fund fees: When you invest in funds you'll also have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.89%, depending on which ones you choose
Offer details: £100 welcome offer ends 31 August 2025. The amount you'll get for the Tax Year End bonus depends on how much you deposit or transfer, ranging from £12,000 for a £50 bonus to £3m for a £4,000 bonus. You need to stay invested for at least 12 months to qualify for the bonus. We may receive commission from those who sign up through our link.
New customers get a free fractional share worth up to £100 when you sign up via our link or use the code BCWYC
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Additional Info
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Fractional shares: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: 4.90%
Flexible ISA: Yes
Foreign exchange fee: 0.15%
Fund fees: If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.78% depending on the funds you choose
Offer details: Once the account is open, you then need to add at least £1 to your account within 10 calendar days. It will take about three days for the share to be added. This offer is only for Trading 212 Invest or the Trading 212 Stocks & Shares ISA.
Further details: Remember, the value of any money invested, which includes your free share, could go up or down.
You can only invest in funds with the ISA. You need a Plum Pro account which costs £2.99 per month to start investing in Plum funds.
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Additional Info
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Flexible ISA: No
Foreign exchange fee: 0.45%
Fund fees: When you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.78%
Further details: You're limited to 16 funds to invest in, and can invest in the full range of 26 funds with the Premium plan which costs £9.99 per month
Trading fees: You get £50 worth of free trades every 6 months. Funds cost £4 per trade and shares cost £10 per trade.
Fund fees: If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.78% depending on the funds you choose. There are no platform or trading fees when you invest in Charles Stanley Multi Asset Funds
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Fractional shares: No
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Flexible ISA: No
Foreign exchange fee: 1.00%
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Best managed Stocks and Shares ISAs
Managed Stocks and Shares ISAs are where you choose from a range of ready-made portfolios made by investment experts. You’d usually choose one based on your appetite for risk and it’s already built from a range of stocks, funds, commodities and even bonds or gilts. The “robo” element that some providers offer refers to them using technology to decide when to buy and sell investments, or where technology is used to help find a portfolio to suit you.
There are a few different types of portfolios that you’ll come across – these include:
Fully managed portfolios: these have real people managing them. They buy and sell the investments in the portfolio to make sure they perform well and reflect the risk profile.
Fixed allocation portfolios: these have been created by experts but aren’t managed day-to-day. They get rebalanced routinely to ensure they still fit your chosen risk profile.
Ethical or responsible portfolios: these invest in companies that are aiming to improve the world, such as by not investing in weapons or fossil fuels — you can get both fixed allocation and fully managed ethical portfolios. You can see more about what makes the funds ethical or responsible from your chosen provider.
Thematic collections: these are collections of funds that fit specific themes, such as technology, British, woman-owned, energy or sports. You would choose a few of these that match your own values to build a portfolio with little effort. These aren’t quite the same as managed portfolios, but they still allow you to passively invest.
You could earn £50-500 cashback. Register by 30.06.25 and you'll then have 6 months to deposit or start your transfer of £5,000 or more. Capital at risk. Tax treatments depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
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Additional Info
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Flexible ISA: Yes
Further details: Wealthify Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 662530). Over 18s, UK residents and UK taxpayers only. Up to £85,000 of eligible deposits is protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Platform fees: Fees are reduced the more you invest. You're charged 0.45% on up to £250,000, 0.25% on the next £750,000, and 0.1% on the next £1,000,000. For amounts over £2m there is no charge.
A useful addition. But when you mention dealing fees you need to take into account that some providers charge different fees depending on what you are buying /selling. For instance, you say that the Hargreaves Lansdown trading fee is £11.95. That is true for shares/ETFs but there is no fee for trading in funds. AJ Bell is £5 for shares/ETFs but £1.50 for funds.
Also the section on fund fees is rather generic. It says “If you invest in funds, you’ll have to pay fund fees between X and Y”. It says that for Trading 212 when, in reality, Trading 212 doesn’t offer funds at all.
A couple more providers that charge no platform fee at all which you might want to consider including are Prosper and IWeb
Hi, the offer is listed in our tables as “up to £100”, and the full terms are explained on the landing page when you click through, which state it’s a variable amount beetween £20 and £100
A useful addition. But when you mention dealing fees you need to take into account that some providers charge different fees depending on what you are buying /selling. For instance, you say that the Hargreaves Lansdown trading fee is £11.95. That is true for shares/ETFs but there is no fee for trading in funds. AJ Bell is £5 for shares/ETFs but £1.50 for funds.
Also the section on fund fees is rather generic. It says “If you invest in funds, you’ll have to pay fund fees between X and Y”. It says that for Trading 212 when, in reality, Trading 212 doesn’t offer funds at all.
A couple more providers that charge no platform fee at all which you might want to consider including are Prosper and IWeb
The InvestEngine welcome bonus needs correcting, I believe it’s the “Variable Partner welcome bonus” as stated here https://investengine.com/terms-incentives/#variable-partner-welcome-bonus
I say this because I recently signed up with the code mentioned on this article, and only received a £24 bonus, not the £100 I was led to believe.
Hi, the offer is listed in our tables as “up to £100”, and the full terms are explained on the landing page when you click through, which state it’s a variable amount beetween £20 and £100
My apologies! Thanks for clarifying