Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown

If you are looking for the best investment platform to invest your money with, both Charles Stanley* and Hargreaves Lansdown* are large, well-established options. In this comparison, we break down the key features of both platforms, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each one to help you choose which is the best option for you.

Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown - which is better?

	Charles Stanley	Hargreaves Lansdown
Services	Wealth Management Discretionary Management Fund Lists Multi-asset funds "New to investing" guides	HL Select Funds Wealth Shortlist Ready-made portfolios Foreign currency exchange
Products	Trading account ISA, General Invest Account (GIA), Junior ISA, SIPP	Active Savings Cash ISA Fund and share account ISA, General Investment Acount (GIA), Lifetime ISA (LISA), Junior ISA, SIPP, Junior SIPP
Minimum investment	No minimum investment for those managing their own investments	£1 for a fund and share account £100 for an ISA or SIPP (or a regular £25 per month)
Fees	Annual charge - 0.30% (min £60 and max £600 per annum) Online trading charge (after Trading Credits have been used) - £10 for shares and £4 for funds FX fees (trade value): £0 - £9,999 - 1% £10,000 - £49,999 - 0.75% £50,000 - £499,999 - 0.50% £500,000 - £999,999 - 0.30% £1,000,000 or more - 0.15% No platform or trading charges when you buy or hold one of Charles Stanley's Multi-Asset Funds	Up to £250,000 - 0.35% per annum charge Between £250,000-£1m - 0.25% per annum charge Between £1m-£2m - 0.10% per annum charge Over £2m - 0% per annum charge Additional underlying fund charges Reduced fees of 0.25% for Lifetime ISA (capped at £45 per year) No charge for Junior ISAs Account charge for holding shares, ETFs, investment trusts and bonds in a fund and share account, ISA or SIPP - 0.35% capped at £150 per year Dealing charges for shares, ETFs, investment trusts and bonds (based on deals completed in previous month): 0-20 deals - £6.95 20+ deals - £3.95 A dealing charge of £1.95 for funds was introduced on 1st March 2026
Customer reviews (Trustpilot)	4.2/5.0	4.4/5.0

 

Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown - services

Both Charles Stanley and Hargreaves Lansdown offer services ranging from those aimed at people starting out in investments through to more sophisticated investors and those with more substantial amounts of money to invest. In this latter area, Charles Stanley has a range of wealth management, discretionary management and inheritance tax management services available. For Hargreaves Lansdown, meanwhile, it offers high-quality independent research, a user-friendly interface and options including spread betting and CFDs for more experienced investors.

Both platforms have their own multi-asset funds, while Hargreaves Lansdown also offer ready-made portfolios. They also both have lists of their recommended funds.

Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown - products

While both Charles Stanley and Hargreaves Lansdown have a good range of products available, including trading accounts, Hargreaves Lansdown has both a Lifetime ISA and a Junior SIPP, which Charles Stanley doesn't. However, Charles Stanley does have a flexible ISA, which means investors can take out money from their ISA account and put it back in during a single tax year without it affecting their ISA allowance. This is quite rare among investment platforms and may be an attractive feature for some investors.

Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown - minimum investment

While Charles Stanley has no minimum investment requirements for those happy to manage their own investments online, Hargreaves Lansdown has different requirements for different products. There is a £1 minimum investment for its fund and share account, while its ISAs and SIPPs require £100 as a lump sum or a regular monthly payment of £25 per month.

Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown - fees

Charles Stanley represents good value with a flat 0.30% annual fee capped at £600. This doesn't include the underlying fund charges, which will alter depending on the underlying funds held in the portfolio. Trading shares costs £10 while trading funds costs £4. All account holders receive £50 worth of credits every six months which can be used to trade for free. This translates to up to 5 free share trades or roughly 12 free fund trades.

Hargreaves Lansdown can provide good value for money when it comes to trading as well. This is because its headline trading fee of £6.95 is cheaper than Charles Stanley's fee of £10, plus, this fee is further reduced to £3.95 if you complete 20 or more deals in the previous month that cost drops the more trades you complete per month. In terms of fund fees, Charles Stanley charges £4 per trade whereas Hargreaves Lansdown charges £1.95.

In order to understand which option will offer you better value, you need to assess what you are likely to invest in and how often you are likely to make changes if you opt to invest in investment trusts, ETFs or shares.

Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown - customer reviews

According to the independent customer review site Trustpilot, Hargreaves Lansdown is rated higher by its users than Charles Stanley, with 4.4 out of 5 stars. Charles Stanley, meanwhile, was awarded 4.2 out of 5, meaning it is categorised as "Great" compared with Hargreaves Lansdown's "Excellent".

Summary: Charles Stanley vs Hargreaves Lansdown

The choice between Charles Stanley* and Hargreaves Lansdown* mainly comes down to what you are likely to invest in, how much you are looking to invest and whether you require a specific product or service. If you are only investing in funds, Charles Stanley offers a flat 0.30% platform fee capped at £600 (with a £60 minimum annual fee). However, if you want to trade investment trusts, ETFs or shares, it may be cheaper to invest with Hargreaves Lansdown if you are likely to make multiple monthly trades.

A big appeal of Charles Stanley is its flexible ISA, although if you are looking specifically for a Lifetime ISA or Junior SIPP, you will only get those with Hargreaves Lansdown. Moreover, if you value an easy-to-use website, high-quality research and investment guides and the option to access spread betting or CFDs, Hargreaves Lansdown may be the better option.

For more detailed information, read our Hargreaves Lansdown review and Charles Stanley review.

When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

 

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