So, what are the benefits of investing with Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the largest investment platforms in the UK, compared with investment app Moneybox?
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - which is better?
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Moneybox | |
| Minimum investment | £1 (Fund and share account)
£100 to open an ISA or SIPP (or £25 per month if investing regularly) |
£1 |
| Fees (platform charges) | On the value of your portfolio between £0-£250,000 there is a 0.45% annual charge.
Between £250,000-£1m - 0.25% per annum charge Between £1m-£2m - 0.10% per annum charge Over £2m - 0% per annum charge Reduced fee of 0.25% for Lifetime ISA (capped at £45 per year) No charge for Junior ISAs No charge for holding shares |
£1 monthly subscription (waived for first 3 months)
0.45% annual platform fee (No monthly subscription for SIPP, 0.45% platform fee up to £100,000, 0.15% over £100,000) |
| Products available | Active Savings
Cash ISA Fund and share account Stocks & Shares ISA, GIA (General Investment Account), Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISA, Junior Stocks & Shares ISA, SIPP, Junior SIPP |
Simple saver and notice accounts
Cash ISA, Cash Lifetime ISA & Junior Cash ISA Stocks & Shares ISA, Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISA, Junior Stocks & Shares ISA, General Investment Account and SIPP |
| Number of portfolios | 4 | 3 |
| Ethical portfolios | n/a | 3 |
| Customer reviews (Trustpilot) | 4.2 out of 5.0 | 4.5 out of 5.0 |
| Read our full review | Hargreaves Lansdown | Moneybox |
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - minimum investment
You can open a Hargreaves Lansdown fund and share account from as little as £1. A Hargreaves Lansdown ISA or SIPP requires a minimum investment of £100, or alternatively, you can start with a regular contribution of £25 per month. While Moneybox doesn't have a minimum requirement, it does however have a monthly subscription fee of £1, although this is waived in the first 3 months. It doesn't charge a monthly subscription fee for its SIPP (see table above).
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - fees
In addition to Moneybox's subscription fee, it has a platform fee of 0.45%, which falls to 0.15% on balances over £100k within its pension product. Hargreaves Lansdown also has a sliding scale of platform fees, starting at 0.45% for investment balances up to £250,000, but this drops to 0.10% on any balance between £1m-£2m (there is no charge on any balance over £2m). See the above table for the full breakdown. It also has a separate fee model for share dealing, charging 0.45% for ISAs (up to a maximum of £45 per year), with dealing fees starting at £5.95 for 20 deals made in the previous calendar month, going up to £11.95 for 9 deals or fewer.
Those interested in a Lifetime ISA or Junior ISA should look to Hargreaves Lansdown as there is a reduced fee for a Lifetime ISA and no annual management charge for a Junior ISA.
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - products
Hargreaves Lansdown is characterised by the level of choice it offers, with the capacity to invest directly in more than 4,000 funds, shares, corporate and government bonds, ETFs and investment trusts. It also has an Active Savings account, Cash ISA, as well as a Stocks & shares ISA, GIA, Lifetime ISA (LISA), JISA, SIPP and Junior SIPP. Moneybox also has a range of savings accounts, including a Cash ISA, Cash LISA, as well as a Stocks & Shares ISA, GIA, JISA, LISA and SIPP. While this range is likely to be sufficient for the majority of users, investors with more experience may prefer the extra tools and investor insight available with Hargreaves Lansdown.
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown allows investors to create their own investment portfolios, offering guidance through its Wealth Shortlist of recommended funds. Additionally, Hargreaves Lansdown offers four actively managed ready-made portfolios, Cautious, Balanced, Moderately Adventurous and Adventurous.
Moneybox has a more streamlined offering, with three portfolios: Cautious, Balanced and Adventurous. These are built from a range of tracker funds, although there is also the option for more confident investors to create their own portfolios from a choice of 25 underlying funds.
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - ethical portfolios
While Hargreaves Lansdown doesn't have specific ready-made ethical portfolios, it does have an overarching "responsible investment" strategy, which includes trying to proactively encourage positive change in the companies it invests in through its own funds, as well as providing access to ethical funds for those who want to create their own portfolio. On the other hand, Moneybox has ethical portfolios that sit alongside its main range, mimicking the risk-rating structure but investing solely in passive funds with a SRI or ESG focus.
Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox - performance
With so many investment options available with Hargreaves Lansdown, it is difficult to draw a direct comparison between it and Moneybox. Even looking specifically at the ready-made portfolios - the fact they are managed completely differently, with Hargreaves Lansdown combining its own actively run multi-manager funds to furnish its portfolios while Moneybox uses passive ETFs to construct its options, makes that tricky.
As such, you can find the past performance on the fund factsheets for Hargreaves Lansdown's portfolios, or in our full Hargreaves Lansdown review. For Moneybox, there is information on its longer-term track record in our Moneybox review, but below we list the returns for 2022 and 2023:
Moneybox returns in 2021 & 2022
| Moneybox Portfolio | Returns in 2022 | Returns in 2023 |
| Cautious | -5.2% | 5.3% |
| Balanced | -8.6% | 12.6% |
| Adventurous | -9.3% | 14.4% |
Summary: Hargreaves Lansdown vs Moneybox
Hargreaves Lansdown* and Moneybox represent quite different propositions and are likely to attract different types of investors. As an app-only platform, with no minimum investment and pared back investment choice, Moneybox may appeal to a younger audience and perhaps those new to investing, however, the £1 monthly fee does make investing small amounts fairly expensive.
By contrast, Hargreaves Lansdown has a wealth of choice, with options to invest directly in shares and funds, as well as having four ready-made portfolios.
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