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This Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown comparison investigates how Freetrade fares against the biggest UK investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Which broker you choose directly affects which assets you can buy, how much fees you pay, and how much profit you can make.
This is why you should read this Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown comparison before making a decision.
🪧 Should you sign up through my affiliate links, I may receive a commission at no cost to you.
Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown Comparison
Both Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown are legit investment platforms. Hargreaves Lansdown has more investment options but it is also more expensive.
Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown Comparison Overview
| Freetrade | Hargreaves Lansdown | |
| User ratings | 4.0/5.0 | 4.2/5.0 |
| Notable fees | Fixed depending on plan | 0.1%-0.45% DIY 1.33%-1.44% managed portfolios |
| Account types | GIA ISA SIPP | GIA ISA LISA SIPP Junior ISA |
| Platform | App | App and website |
| Markets | Shares, ETFs, funds | Shares, funds, ETFs, trusts |
| Minimum deposit | £1 | £25 per month or £100 lump sum |
| Investment style | DIY | DIY Managed portfolios Long-term investing |
| Sign-up bonus | Get a free share when you deposit £50 (terms apply) | None |
Company Backgrounds
Freetrade is an online investment platform founded in 2016. Based in London, it reached one million users last year. Read my Freetrade review for more details.
Hargreaves Lansdown is an established investment broker founded in 1981. Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s largest investment platform with over 1.7 million clients.
You can get all the details in my Hargreaves Lansdown review.
Overall, Freetrade is the newer and less established investment platform. But does this mean it performs worse?
User Ratings
Trustpilot
Freetrade has an average Trustpilot score of 4.3 out of 5.0. Overall, 80% of users rated the platform as great or excellent.
Meanwhile, Hargreaves Lansdown has an average score of 4.2 out of 5.0 on Trustpilot. Of these, 74% are great or excellent.
When comparing Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown, both platforms are popular on Trustpilot. Hargreaves Lansdown performs slightly better in terms of user ratings.
It also has much more reviews because it has been available for longer.
What Is Trustpilot?
Overall, there are over 120 million reviews on Trustpilot. This means you can generally get a good understanding of the legitimacy and customer-friendliness of a company.
Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown Fees
| Freetrade | Hargreaves Lansdown | |
| Sign-up free | None | None |
| Deposit fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | None | None |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Commission | None | None |
| Account fee | Basic: Free Standard: £4.99 per month Plus: £9.99 per month | 0.10%-0.45% for funds 0.45% for stocks 1.33%-1.44% for managed portfolios |
| Trading fee | None | £5.95-£11.95 |
| Other | 0.45% for currency conversion | – |
Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown use different fee structures. While Freetrade’s fees are fixed, Hargreaves Lansdown charges percentage-based fees.
What stands out is that Freetrade allows you to trade for free, whereas the trading fees on Hargreaves Lansdown are quite high.
This means that for traders, Freetrade will always be cheaper.
If you want to hold your assets long term, Hargreaves Lansdown is still more expensive, just the difference is not that pronounced. Overall, Freetrade is the cheaper platform of the two.
Account Types
With both Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown, you can open a/an:
- General investment account (GIA)
- Individual savings account (ISA)
- Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
Beyond that, Hargreaves Lansdown also offers a Lifetime ISA and a Junior ISA. Thus, they have more options than Freetrade.
Investment Markets
With both Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown you can buy:
- Shares, including fractional shares
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- Trusts
Hargreaves Lansdown has over 3000 funds and stocks listed on the UK, Canadian, and European stock exchanges. It also offers bonds and a set of pre-made portfolios.
Freetrade offers 1500 stocks on the free plan and up to 6000 on the paid plan.
Overall, Hargreaves Lansdown has more investment options than Freetrade.
User Interface
Freetrade is only available as an app. The web platform is currently in the beta phase. Hargreaves Lansdown has both a web platform and an app.
That said, the Freetrade app is well-designed and beginner friendly.
The Hargreaves Lansdown website is more complex compared to the Freetrade app.
This may be confusing for beginners but experienced investors may appreciate having more options.
Thus, which platform is better for you in terms of usability depends on your experience and what you want to get out of the platform.
Depositing and Withdrawing
With Freetrade, you can start investing with just £2. On the other hand, with Hargreaves Lansdown, you need to commit to £25 monthly payments or a £100 lump sum as a minimum.
There is no charge for depositing on either platform.
As for withdrawing, you can use your linked bank account with Freetrade. Withdrawals will take two to three business days. With Hargreaves Lansdown, withdrawals are typically instant.
Freetrade has a lower minimum investment amount. Thus, it is more suited for beginners and investors with smaller pockets.
Customer Support
Both Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown have a competent and quick customer support. The downside of Hargreaves Lansdown is that there is no live chat.
However, even with Freetrade’s live chat, it will take a few hours to get a response.
Sign-up Bonuses and Friend Referral Schemes
When you sign up to Freetrade as a new user, you can get a free share worth up to £100. the only condition is that you sign up via a referral link and deposit £50.
You can click the button below to get your free share:
Hargreaves Lansdown does not offer free shares or sign-up bonuses.
Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown Comparison Summary
Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown are two solid DIY investment platforms. Hargreaves Lansdown also offers pre-made portfolios.
Overall, Hargreaves Lansdown has more options but Freetrade is more beginner friendly. The outcome of this Freetrade vs Hargreaves Lansdown comparison is as follows:
- User ratings: Hargreaves Lansdown
- Fees: Freetrade
- Account types: Hargreaves Lansdown
- Investment markets: Hargreaves Lansdown
- User interface: Tie
- Depositing and withdrawing: Freetrade
- Customer support: Tie
- Sign-up bonus and friend referral scheme: Freetrade
Both platforms win an even number of categories. Both Hargreaves Lansdown and Freetrade are good brokers and which one you should choose depends on your preferences.
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