Interactive Investor Review 2026 – is it the best broker for your money?

Interactive Investor review

Interactive Investor is an award-winning comprehensive online investment platform with over 500,000 customers. In this Interactive Investor review, you will learn about the services provided by Interactive Investor (ii) as well as their costs, fees and the tools and investment information they provide. In the last section of this article, I also compare Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK's biggest investment platform. 

Interactive Investor offers

Interactive Investor SIPP offer - Get £200 cashback

New customers will get £200 cashback when they deposit or transfer at least £20,000 into an Interactive Investor SIPP* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Interactive Investor Stocks & Shares ISA offer - Get £100 free trades

New customers will receive £100 free trades when they open an Interactive Investor self-managed or Managed ISA* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Interactive Investor Trading Account offer - Get £100 free trades

New customers will receive £100 free trades when they open an Interactive Investor Trading Account* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Who is Interactive Investor

Launched in 1995 Interactive Investor* is an award-winning online investment service that provides the DIY investor with the tools and trading environment to help them make informed investment decisions. Its 500,000 customers, and the acquisition of rival TD Direct, makes Interactive Investor one of the most engaged and active investor communities in the UK, especially since Motley Fool closed its investment forums. In July 2019 Interactive Investor announced the acquisition of Alliance Trust Savings (ATS) from Alliance Trust PLC. The latest acquisition brings together the two largest fixed-price retail investment platforms and means Interactive Investor now has £70 billion assets under administration, cementing itself as the second biggest investment platform in the UK, behind Hargreaves Lansdown.

Interactive Investor does not offer investment advice so is an execution-only service but does provide a range of investment tools, a fund shortlist called the Super 60 and some investment information to help the DIY investor which I discuss later.

In 2025 Interactive Investor received the following awards:

• The Online Money Awards - Best Investment Platform 2025
• Which? Recommended SIPP provider 2025

In 2024 Interactive Investor received the following awards:

• AIC Shareholder Engagement Award 2024
• Which? Recommended SIPP provider 2024

In 2023 Interactive Investor received the following awards:

• ADVFN - Best Online Stockbroker 2023
• ADVFN - Best Stockbroker for International Dealing 2023
• Good Money Guide - Best Investment Account
• AIC Shareholder Engagement Award 2023

What services and products are offered by Interactive Investor?

Interactive Investor self-managed Stocks & Shares ISA

An Interactive Investor self-managed Stocks & Shares ISA* allows an annual tax-free investment of £20,000 (for the current tax year) in a variety of assets including funds, ETFs, investment trusts and shares. You can open an Interactive Investor ISA in less than 10 minutes and monitor your portfolio on a computer, tablet or mobile app. There is no minimum contribution to start an Interactive Investor ISA, however, those wishing to take advantage of Interactive Investor's free regular investing service would need to invest at least £25 per month, the latter of which is the same as Hargreaves Lansdown. Additionally, Interactive Investor is running a promotion where new customers will receive £100 free trades when they open an Interactive Investor self-managed or Managed ISA* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Interactive Investor Managed Stocks & Shares ISA

The Interactive Investor Managed ISA* was launched in May 2024 giving customers access to two investment styles ('Index' and 'Sustainable'), each with five levels of risk, meaning there are a total of 10 portfolios to choose from. Investors can access the Managed ISA portfolios as part of the monthly subscription fee and fund fees range from 013% to 0.29%. It can be opened with an initial lump sum of £250 or set up a regular direct debit for at least £50. Additionally, Interactive Investor is running a promotion where New customers will receive £100 free trades when they open an Interactive Investor self-managed or Managed ISA* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Interactive Investor Junior ISA

An Interactive Investor Junior ISA is a tax-efficient way of investing for a child's future. A person with parental responsibility can open an Interactive Investor Junior ISA and once open anyone can contribute to it, subject to the current annual allowance £9,000 for the 25/26 tax year. There is no minimum contribution to start an Interactive Investor Junior ISA, however, customers can take advantage of Interactive Investor's free regular investing service by setting up a direct debit for £25 per month. To see how Interactive Investor's Junior ISA compares, read our roundup of the Best Stocks and Shares Junior ISAs. After the age of 18 the proceeds from an Interactive Investor Junior ISA become the property of the child who can withdraw or convert it to an adult ISA.

Interactive Investor SIPP

An Interactive Investor SIPP* is a tax-efficient way of building up an income for retirement. All investments in a SIPP will currently qualify for tax relief up to a maximum of £40,000 per year or 100% of your annual income. Basic rate taxpayers will receive an uplift to any investment of 20%, so an investment of £8,000 will result in a sum of £10,000 being invested in a SIPP. Higher and Additional rate taxpayers can obtain additional tax relief through their annual tax return. Additionally, Interactive Investor is running a promotion where new customers will get £200 cashback when they deposit or transfer at least £20,000 into an Interactive Investor SIPP* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Interactive Investor Trading Account

An Interactive Investor Trading Account* is a dealing account offering a wide range of investments including funds, investment trust, ETFS and shares. You can reduce your currency costs by managing your money in up to 9 currencies across the world’s leading exchanges. By holding cash already in a foreign currency it reduces the need for FX and therefore FX charges. It's little wonder that ii has won awards for its international dealing. Interactive Investor also offers a comprehensive range of investment news, tools as well as an active investment forum. Additionally, new customers will receive £100 free trades when they open an Interactive Investor Trading Account* before 30th June 2026. Terms & fees apply. Capital at risk.

Other products and services

Interactive Investor Company Account

An Interactive Investor Company Account allows trading in the name of a UK Limited Company which offers the same benefits as a standard Interactive Trading Account. This sort of account is not offered by most other investment platforms. Investments can be made in a wide of investments including funds, investment trusts and up to four nominated individuals can place trades and manage the account on behalf of the company. 

Interactive Investor Pension Trading Account

An Interactive Investor Pension Trading Account allows investment in assets such as property which are not available within the Interactive Investor SIPP. A pension trading account can be set up in association with a SIPP/SSAS administered by your preferred pension provider.

What can you invest in using Interactive Investor?

With Interactive Investor investments can be made in shares, unit trusts, OEICs, investment trusts, retail bonds, ETFs, bonds, gilts and currencies. You can pick the actual investments yourself or use the guidance and tools, detailed in the next section, to help you. However, you can not invest in fractional shares.

Free tools and investment advice offered by Interactive Investor

Highly Rated Funds

Interactive Investor has replaced its 'Super 60' 'Best Buy' list with a data-driven tool called 'Highly Rated Funds'. The Interactive Investor Highly Rated Funds tool is ii's take on a range of active and passive funds, investment trusts, and ETFs that have received strong analyst ratings from the independent data provider, Morningstar. The aim is to help investors identify collective investments with consistent returns, and those which Morningstar analysts believe are good choices in the prevailing market environment. ii says that the investments are picked purely on quality and performance and are free of commercial incentives, using strict criteria such as Morningstar's Medalist Ratings (which assess the people and processes behind a fund) and Star Ratings (which look at historical risk-adjusted returns). Note that you must be logged in to your Interactive Investor account to access and view the full list of funds within the Highly Rated Funds tool.

The Hargreaves Lansdown Wealth Shortlist (previously known as the Wealth 50) is a well-known alternative. However, it historically met with some criticism as it included underperforming funds from Neil Woodford, the most high profile fund manager at the time. One disgruntled fund manager who was not included in the Wealth 50 took to the national press to question the shortlist. According to The Times, fund manager Terry Smith accused Hargreaves of "recommending funds based on their potential to maximise the fund supermarket's profits rather than their ability to outperform for clients". Hargreaves denied this and their previous incarnation of the Wealth 50 has produced strong returns, which suggests their selection process stands up to scrutiny.

However, the fact that Interactive Investor's Highly Rated Funds tool relies entirely on independent third-party research and includes ETFs and investment trusts alongside unit trusts is a huge positive. To be included in the tool, investments must also be at least £100 million in size and fully monitored by Morningstar's analyst team, providing an extra layer of reassurance for investors.

Quick-start funds

The ii Quick-start funds are meant to be "designed as a low cost, easy way to invest and grow your money over 3 years or more"

Basically, ii has picked 3 Vanguard Lifestrategy funds. They are a bit late to the party as here is a research article by me which was published in the Telegraph demonstrating how good these funds are - read 'The tracker fund that survives stock market routs'.

What is very exciting is that Interactive Investor is not only promoting these funds (other platforms don't promote them because they'd rather investors bought funds that earned them more money) but ii is also one of the cheapest ways to own Vanguard funds if you have over £48,000 invested. Not only that but you can hold these funds within the ii SIPP.

Sustainable Investing

If you prefer to invest ethically, Interactive Investor provides an impressive set of useful resources. Using Morningstar data, a lot of research has been collated to produce a wider sustainable investment universe (which you can easily filter via its Sustainable Investment Screener once logged in) as well as additional tools, such as a handy Sustainable Investment jargon buster.

Sustainable Investment Screener

Interactive Investor has replaced its previous 'ACE 40' list with a more comprehensive Sustainable Investment Screener. The screener uses Morningstar's Sustainable Attributes framework to help you find funds, investment trusts, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that align with your personal values.

Each of the investment options is attributed with a sustainable style based on its stated objectives, categorising them as:

• General ESG Investment - Funds that use environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria as a central part of their investment process.
• Sustainability Themed Investment - Funds that focus on long-term sustainability trends, such as climate action or human development.
• Employs Exclusions - Investments that deliberately exclude certain controversial sectors or practices, such as animal testing, tobacco, or fossil fuels.

Interactive Investor states that its approach to sustainable investing should:

1. Provide investors with a menu of choices of ethical investments, across a broad variety of markets and investment types, as it recognises there is no single 'right way' to invest sustainably
2. Ensure that there is no 'greenwashing' and that all investments are managed in a genuinely ethical manner by relying on independent Morningstar data
3. Help investors seek a balance between positive environmental and/or social good and the potential to deliver strong financial performance

How does the Interactive Investor platform work

Interactive Investor allows you to sign up to an account where you can invest via an ISA, SIPP etc. However, it also offers a wealth of research and tools, including 'Most popular' and 'Best performing' funds, which will interest both novice and experienced investors. Following recent changes to the website, it is worth noting that you must now be logged in to your account to access some of this deeper research.

The account offers what you would expect from a leading platform, such as a document history section where all the relevant investment documents are held relating to a client's investments. Transaction history shows details of all transactions conducted on the account.

The logged-in dashboard is where all the investment research and news (including newsletters) can be found. The old Interactive Investor forum has now been replaced by 'ii Community', a modern social feature that allows investors to connect, discuss strategies, and share insights.

What I do really like is the ability to create a Virtual Portfolio once logged in. This means you can create watchlists and track a portfolio of shares, investment trusts, unit trusts or ETFs and make notes. I hope other investment platforms follow suit as it is a useful tool in helping consumers understand risk and reward while (or indeed before) they invest.

The Interactive Investor platform is easy to use, allowing you to manage all your investment needs in one place via a desktop computer, tablet, or the Interactive Investor dealing app. The whole site has recently had a revamp, which I think has actually improved the user experience. Previously, Interactive Investor's design was more tailored to sophisticated investors (who have been its core customers), but the revamp makes it much more accessible to less experienced investors, especially with the introduction of its highly rated and quick-start funds.

Interactive Investor Fees

Interactive Investor charges a flat monthly fee for its ISA and has three plans to choose from including 'Core', 'Plus' and Premium'. I have summarised the fees and trade charges for each of the service plans below.

	Core	Plus	Premium
Monthly Fee	£5.99 per month	£14.99 per month	£39.99 per month
Portfolio limit	£100,000	No limit	No limit
What can you invest via	ISA, SIPP, trading account	ISA, SIPP, JISA, trading account	ISA, SIPP, JISA, trading account
Free monthly trades	N/A	1 free trade	2 free trades
Friends and Family	N/A	5 free members	Unlimited
Funds and Investment trust trades	£3.99	£1.49	FREE
UK & US share and ETF trades	£3.99	£3.99	£2.99
Other international share trades	£9.99	£7.99	£5.99
Dividend reinvestment	£0.99	£0.99	FREE
Regular investment	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
FX Fees	0.75%	Up to £50k - 0.75% Over £50k - 0.25%	0.25%

Interactive Investor ISA review

The Interactive Investor ISA* is suitable for all DIY investors from beginners to experts. The range of investment choices is one of the best among investment platforms and trading is quick and easy. The investment tools, research and investor forum add an extra dimension to Interactive Investor's offering. The downside is that there are standard dealing charges on switches, even for funds on the Core and Plus plans, which can make the platform expensive for those who have smaller pots and wish to regularly buy or switch investments.

Those with smaller pots (less than £100,000) can take advantage of the cheaper 'Core' plan, priced at £5.99 per month, however, dealing charges do need to be factored in when working out the overall cost. Those with portfolios of £100,000 or more will pay fees of £14.99 per month, however, as part of the 'Plus' plan service fee (See fee table above), investors do receive a free trading credit per month. Investors choosing the £39.99 per month 'Premium' plan get two free trading credits per month and reduced FX and dealing fees. Additionally, those investing via the 'Plus' plan can gift up to 5 free family account subscriptions (each saving at least £5.99 per month), and those subscribed to the Premium plan can gift an unlimited number of family accounts.

Overall, the investment choice is impressive and Interactive Investor becomes more cost-effective when you have a portfolio of a significant size. When we analysed all the investment ISA platforms in the market, based on cost, Interactive is particularly cost-effective when you have an ISA portfolio worth over £25,000 or you want to invest in a range of assets beyond just unit trusts.

If you don't plan to invest in more esoteric investments then for portfolios up to £25,000 Hargreaves Lansdown* offers one of the widest range of investment funds. Hargreaves Lansdown has introduced fund fees from 1st March 2026, charging £1.95 each time you buy or sell a fund. It also charges fees for transacting other asset types such as shares and ETFs, starting at £6.95. Interactive Investor charges £3.99 per trade on its Core service plan, regardless of asset type, and offers reduced trading fees for those on the Plus and Premium plans.

Another alternative is to consider is AJ Bell which while not the cheapest investment platform for ISAs it is among the best value across a range of portfolio sizes (from £15,000 to £200,000), negating the need to keep moving ISA providers as your portfolio grows.

If you want to simply invest in tracker funds then one of the cheapest ways to do this is via the Vanguard Investor platform, although you can only buy Vanguard's own tracker funds and ETFs. It is worth mentioning, however, that Vanguard has introduced a minimum monthly fee of £4 per month for self-invested products, meaning those with smaller investment pots may want to look at AJ Bell Dodl or InvestEngine. But if you want to invest £48,000 or more then it is still cheaper to buy Vanguard's funds through Interactive Investor.

Interactive Investor SIPP review

The Interactive Investor SIPP* is suitable for all DIY investors from beginners to experts. As a platform Interactive Investor becomes more attractive for investors with larger sums due to its fixed fee charging structure, as opposed to charging a fee based on a percentage of your assets as most platforms do. That means Interactive Investor is ideal for those investors with large SIPP portfolios particularly if they are interested in investing in more esoteric investments. However, if they trade frequently the trading costs will slowly mount up, although discounts are available as described below. When we compared the charging structures of all the leading SIPP providers out there, Interactive Investor is generally one of the cheapest options if your SIPP is worth over £25,000.

As for alternatives to the Interactive Investor SIPP, Vanguard Investor's SIPP charges a fee of 0.15%, capped at £375 (with a minimum monthly fee of £4 per month). However, if you intend to invest and hold more than £48,000 in Vanguard funds then it will still be cheaper to invest via Interactive Investor, plus with Interactive Investor you don't have to just invest in Vanguard funds. Check out our independent Vanguard SIPP review for more information. However, if your SIPP is worth under £25,000 and you just want to invest in investment funds (unit trusts) then Charles Stanley* is among the cheapest SIPP providers and also one of the most popular based on customer feedback we've received.

Does Interactive Investor pay interest on cash balances?

Yes, Interactive investor pays interest on cash balances for a number of account types including its ISA, Junior ISA, SIPP and Trading Account. We have detailed the interest payable on each type of account below.

Interest payable on cash held in an ISA or Junior ISA

• 1.10% up to £20,000
• 1.25% on cash balances between £20,001 and £50,000
• 1.35% on cash balances between £50,001 and £100,000
• 2.10% on cash balances over £100,000

Interest payable on cash held in a SIPP

• 1.70% up to £20,000
• 2.10% on cash balances between £20,000 and £50,000
• 2.20% on cash balances between £50,000 and £100,000
• 2.30% on cash balances over £100,000

Interest payable on cash held in a Trading Account

• 0.80% up to £20,000
• 1.05% on cash balances between £20,001 and £50,000
• 1.15% on cash balances between £50,001 and £100,000
• 1.80% on cash balances over £100,000

Interactive Investor customer reviews

Interactive Investor is rated as 'Excellent' on independent customer review site Trustpilot, with a total score of 4.6 out of 5.0 from over 28,400 reviews. The positive reviews make up around 90% of the total reviews and many mention the excellent customer service that Interactive Investor provide. Of the small proportion of negative reviews - around 7% - some have mentioned delays when transferring funds.

Is Interactive Investor safe?

Under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), investor assets are protected up to a maximum of £85,000 per person. Any cash held is pooled with that of other customers and deposited with a number of financial institutions. In the event that one of these fails then cash deposits are protected up to a value of £85,000 per person, per institution.

Summary - Interactive Investor review?

Interactive Investor suits those DIY investors who want to manage their own investments, possibly invest in more esoteric investments beyond unit trusts, investment trusts and ETFs and who have a significant portfolio. That's because Interactive Investor has a fixed fee platform charge rather than charging a fee based on your portfolio size. That means that if you have an ISA portfolio or SIPP portfolio worth over £25,000, Interactive Investor will be among the cheapest investment platforms out there. That is true even if you factor in their switch transaction charges. These transaction charges are even applied to unit trust switches, which some providers don't charge.

While there are many positives to Interactive Investor's platform there have been negatives. Their acquisition of rival platform TD Direct and the subsequent website upgrade was met with quite a lot of negative customer reviews online with some having difficulty trading. This is now behind them and the site has now been revamped. So take online reviews in context. It's not unusual, Fidelity customers experienced similar frustrations (see my Fidelity review) as a result of a website upgrade.

Also, for investors with ISA or SIPP portfolios under £25,000, there are other cheaper options, especially if you only plan to invest in unit trust funds. For those looking for excellent customer service, investment research and excellent online functionality then Hargreaves Lansdown* remains a popular option. Check out our article Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown for a full side-by-side comparison. Alternatively, the AJ Bell* platform is among the cheapest platforms for most people who are looking to invest in unit trusts and want to hold both their Stocks and Shares ISA and a SIPP on the same platform (read our full AJ Bell review).

 

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

If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. But as you can clearly see this has in no way influenced this independent and balanced review of the product. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses - Interactive Investor, Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Charles Stanley