Is Freetrade worth it? A hands-on investing app review

Affiliate disclosure: this post contains a Freetrade referral link. If you use it and deposit £50, both of us get a free share worth between £10 and £100. It doesn't change the price you pay or the service you receive.

I signed up to Freetrade in 2022 using a friend's referral code. The free share I received was in an agriculture company I'd never heard of. I held it out of curiosity and it went up about 40% over the next few months before I sold it. That was a lucky draw (most people get something closer to £10), but it got me onto the platform, and I've been using it since.

Three things I'd tell you up front

1. Commission-free trading is real, but FX fees add up. Dealing commission is £0 on all three plans, on UK and US stocks alike. What you pay on US stocks is a foreign exchange fee: 0.99% on the free Basic plan, 0.59% on Standard, 0.39% on Plus. Invest £5,000 in US stocks over a year on Basic and that's roughly £50 in FX costs.
2. The free ISA is a genuine differentiator, and the free SIPP is newer. Hargreaves Lansdown charges 0.35% a year on shares held in its ISA, capped at £12.50 a month. Freetrade's Basic plan gives you a Stocks and Shares ISA, a Junior ISA and a SIPP for nothing.
3. The stock selection is good enough for most people, not all. Freetrade covers the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, S&P 500, popular ETFs, and investment trusts. If you want niche AIM stocks, international markets beyond the UK and US, or complex instruments like options, you'll need to look elsewhere.

If one of those three lines answers your question, you have what you came for. The rest of this post is the detail.

What Freetrade actually offers

Freetrade is a UK stock trading app that lets you buy and sell shares without paying commission. It launched in 2018 and has built its reputation on simplicity: the app is deliberately stripped back compared to traditional brokers.

You can hold UK stocks (FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and selected AIM companies), US stocks (S&P 500 names including Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft and Nvidia), index-tracking ETFs, and investment trusts such as Scottish Mortgage and City of London. Fractional shares mean you can put £2 into any of them rather than saving up for a whole share.

Account types available:

• General Investment Account (GIA): standard taxable account, free
• Stocks and Shares ISA: tax-free wrapper, free on Basic plan
• Junior ISA: the same wrapper for a child, free on Basic plan
• SIPP: personal pension for retirement investing, now free on every plan including Basic

Freetrade is FCA-regulated, your uninvested cash is FSCS-protected up to £85,000, and the platform has been recommended by Which? for its value and simplicity.

How much does Freetrade cost?

Freetrade's pricing model has changed a few times since launch. As of August 2026 there are three plans, not two, and every one of them includes commission-free trading and all four account types:

AER means the annual rate once interest compounding is counted, and each of those rates is capped at the balance shown: 3.5% on Plus applies to the first £3,000 of uninvested cash, not the whole balance.

The Basic plan is genuinely free. No platform fee, no ISA fee, no SIPP fee, no commission. The only cost is the 0.99% FX fee on US stock trades.

Upgrading is a foreign exchange decision, not an interest one. The interest caps are too low to cover either subscription: the most Standard's 2.5% can earn you over Basic is £40 a year against a £59.88 fee, and the most Plus's 3.5% can earn you is £95 against £119.88. What you are really buying is the cheaper FX rate. Standard's 0.40 percentage point saving pays for itself at about £15,000 of US trades a year; Plus's 0.60 point saving at about £20,000; and stepping from Standard up to Plus needs about £30,000 a year to justify the extra £60.

If you see two different prices for Plus, both are current. £9.99 a month is Plus billed annually, £11.99 is Plus billed monthly, and the annual commitment is where Freetrade's advertised 17% saving comes from.

What Freetrade does well

The app is clean. This sounds minor, but it matters when you're investing for the first time. There are no confusing menus, no CFD prompts, no margin trading nudges. You open the app, search for a stock, and buy it. Freetrade has resisted the temptation to bolt on complexity that serves active traders at the expense of everyone else.

The ISA is free. For long-term investors using their £20,000 annual ISA allowance, paying nothing to shelter your gains from tax is a real advantage. Over 10 years of investing, the ISA fee savings compared to a platform charging £100+/year are material.

Fractional shares work well. You can invest £2 in Amazon or £5 in Tesla. This is how most people should start: putting small amounts into diversified holdings rather than saving up for a full share of an expensive stock.

The referral programme is generous, with one string attached. A free share worth £10-£100 for depositing £50 is one of the better sign-up offers in UK investing. The expected value is skewed toward the £10 end, and the share and its proceeds can't leave the account for 180 days, but it's still a guaranteed reward.

Where Freetrade falls short

The FX fee is above average on Basic. At 0.99% it is more than six times Trading 212's flat 0.15%, and level with Hargreaves Lansdown's 0.99% on the first £10,000 of a deal. On £10,000 of US stock purchases you'd pay £99 on Freetrade Basic, £39 on Plus, and £15 on Trading 212. Paying Freetrade to close that gap costs more than it saves unless you trade US stocks in five figures a year.

The stock selection has gaps. If you want to invest in European stocks, Asian markets, or niche AIM-listed companies, Freetrade's universe may not cover what you need. The selection has grown significantly since launch, but it's still narrower than Trading 212 or any traditional broker.

Customer support can be slow. Outside of Plus subscribers with priority support, response times have drawn complaints on forums and Trustpilot. If you have an urgent account issue, waiting for an email reply is frustrating.

No advanced trading tools. Recurring orders, limit orders and stop losses are on every plan now, Basic included, but there's no advanced charting, no options and no short selling. If you're an active trader, Freetrade isn't built for you, and it doesn't pretend to be.

Trustpilot is 4.3/5. That's good but not exceptional. The main complaints centre on customer service speed and occasional app issues. The positive reviews consistently praise simplicity and the referral programme.

Freetrade vs Trading 212 vs Hargreaves Lansdown

These three represent the realistic choices for most UK investors. Here's how they compare on the things that actually matter:

Freetrade wins on: simplicity, free ISA with zero platform fee, clean design, Which? recommendation, generous referral bonus.

Trading 212 wins on: FX fees (significantly cheaper for US stocks), wider stock selection, more features for active traders.

Hargreaves Lansdown wins on: research and analysis tools, widest fund and stock selection, established reputation (founded 1981), comprehensive pension and retirement planning.

My take: for a beginner putting £50-£500/month into index funds and UK/US stocks, Freetrade or Trading 212 are the right choices. Freetrade if you want the cleanest experience and a free ISA. Trading 212 if you want lower US stock costs and a wider selection. Hargreaves Lansdown if you need professional-grade research or want a SIPP with broader fund access.

The referral: what you actually get

When you sign up through a Freetrade referral link and deposit £50, you receive a free share worth between £10 and £100. Here's what to know:

• You have to fund the £50 within your first 30 days, and it's net funding, so top-ups minus withdrawals
• The share is randomly selected from a list of UK and US companies, ETFs and trusts, weighted so the more expensive ones are rarer
• Most people receive a share closer to £10 than £100
• It lands in your General Investment Account, not your ISA or SIPP, for tax reasons
• You can sell it whenever you like, but the share and any cash from selling it are locked in for 180 calendar days from the award date, and breaching that means repaying its value
• Both the person signing up and the referrer get a free share, and a referrer can claim a maximum of 10 a month

My free share in 2022 was in an agriculture company worth about £11 at the time. It was one of the better outcomes because the company's share price happened to rise. But I'd set expectations at the £10-£15 range.

Freetrade FAQs

Is Freetrade safe?

Yes. Freetrade is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Your uninvested cash is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000. Your shares are held in a nominee account, which means they're segregated from Freetrade's own assets: if Freetrade went bust, your investments would still be yours.

Is Freetrade really free?

The Basic plan is genuinely free: no commission on UK or US stock trades, no ISA fee, no SIPP fee, no account maintenance fee. The main cost is a 0.99% foreign exchange fee on US stock trades. Above Basic sit two paid tiers, Standard at £4.99/month and Plus at £9.99/month when billed annually, and what they buy is a lower FX fee (0.59% and 0.39%) plus more interest on uninvested cash, not commission-free trading, which every plan already has.

What free share do you get with a Freetrade referral?

When you sign up through a referral link and deposit £50 in your first 30 days, you receive a randomly selected free share worth between £10 and £100, chosen from a list of UK and US companies, ETFs and trusts. It lands in your General Investment Account, and Freetrade aims to award it within 28 business days without guaranteeing anything faster. You can sell it at any time, but Freetrade's terms lock the share and any proceeds from selling it in the account for 180 calendar days from the award date.

Is Freetrade better than Trading 212?

It depends on what matters to you. Freetrade has a cleaner interface, a free Stocks and Shares ISA, and is Which? recommended. Trading 212 has a wider stock selection, lower FX fees (a flat 0.15% against 0.99% on Freetrade Basic and 0.39% on Plus), and a more feature-rich app. For beginners who want simplicity, Freetrade edges it. For active traders who want lower costs on US stocks, Trading 212 is stronger.

Can you lose money on Freetrade?

Yes. Freetrade is an investing platform, not a savings account. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This is true of any stock trading platform: the risk sits in the investments, not the app.

Who is Freetrade best for?

Best for:

• Beginners who want a simple, no-commission way to start investing
• Long-term investors using the free Stocks and Shares ISA
• People who invest primarily in UK stocks, US blue chips, and ETFs
• Anyone who wants to invest small amounts regularly (fractional shares from £2)
• People who value a clean, distraction-free app over feature density

Less ideal for:

• Active traders who need advanced charting, options, or short selling
• Heavy US stock investors who'd save significantly on FX fees elsewhere
• Investors who want access to European, Asian, or niche AIM markets
• Anyone who needs phone-based customer support
• People who already have a SIPP with a traditional broker (switching is a hassle)

The bottom line

For the majority of UK investors (particularly those starting out, investing in index funds, or building a long-term ISA portfolio) Freetrade is one of the best platforms available. It's where I'd point anyone who asked me "where should I start investing?" in 2026.

Get your free Freetrade share here -->

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