Trading 212 Review 2024

What is Trading 212?

Trading 212 started life in Bulgaria in 2005 but entered the UK market in 2016 as a forex trading app and was among the first to offer zero-commission share trading in 2017. Its mobile app is one of the most popular trading apps in the UK having amassed around 15m downloads worldwide and having received over 350,000 customer reviews.

The app lets users invest in shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), contracts for difference, gold, cryptocurrencies and an ISA all in one place. Additionally, if you are unsure about how well you would be at stock or CFD trading, there is an option to practice first with a virtual £50,000.

A Trading 212 account can be opened either through its website or smartphone app and you will be required to enter your personal details and submit an identity document and a selfie to prove who you are. The minimum age to open an account is 18 and you can start trading once your account is verified and approved.

Trading 212 key features

• Low minimum investment – Start share trading from just £1
• Earn interest on uninvested cash – Trading 212 pays interest on uninvested cash held in its accounts. Interest is paid on thirteen currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, PLN and CZK. The rate is 5.1% AER for GBP.
• Debit card with cashback – The new debit card allows you to spend your uninvested cash whenever you need it and earn up to £20 in cashback per month.
• Practice portfolio – Trade with a virtual £50,000 to see how good you really are on the stock markets.
• Zero commission investing – Most of the main brokers or DIY investing platforms charge a fee for buying or selling shares. This can be as much as £12 per trade, which is pretty costly for those trading regularly. Trades placed in the same currency are free with Trading 212
• Zero fee flexible Stocks and Shares ISA – There is often a platform charge for stocks and shares ISAs on DIY investing platforms but Trading 212 has no fee for the tax wrapper which is also flexible.
• Flexible Cash ISA with 5.1% AER – A free, flexible Cash ISA with the opportunity to earn 5.1% interest daily and withdraw your cash whenever you want to is available via the app.
• More than global stocks & ETFs – Large choice of shares in the world’s best-known companies such as Google and Tesla as well as the opportunity to spot rising stars.
• Fractional shares – Rather than purchasing a full stock, you are buying a fraction of a share, which helps keep costs low and means you can slowly build up your holding.
• Low 0.15% FX fee – Trading 212 uses the live Interbank rate and charges a 0.15% FX fee.
• Unlimited instant trades – No limits on the number of free trades and they are made instantly so you get the price you want.
• 24/7 live support – Get questions answered using Trading 212’s live chat service any time of day
• 212 hotlist – See a list of the most popular shares, listed by the number of users with holdings. Users can also track risers and fallers, a feature that tracks user ownership over a period of time
• Tutorials – Video guides help you learn the basics and terminology of investing as well as the more complicated strategies such as with CFDs.
• Multi-currency account – Investors can deposit and withdraw with the same currency as their bank account's currency to avoid conversion fees from their bank. Investors can also avoid paying FX fees by trading in the asset's currency.

Partner Spotlight

Get a free share worth £10 to £100

Open a Freetrade account:

• Receive a free share from £10-£100 when you deposit at least £50
• T&Cs apply, new customers, UK only 18+
• Capital at risk. The probability is weighted, so more expensive shares will be rarer.

Find out more*

Trading 212 accounts

There are four types of Trading 212 accounts. One for contracts for difference (CFDs), one for investing in shares, one flexible Stocks and Shares ISA, and a flexible Cash ISA as well. Users can switch between accounts in the app. In the following comparison table we have summarised the different Trading 212 account types but for a more detailed explanation of the accounts, see below the comparison table.

Trading 212 account summary

Trading 212 CFD

There are no commission fees for trading CFDs in the same currency. Trading 212 does however charge a fee of 0.50% for closing a position in a currency that is different to the account holder. It also charges a ‘spread', which is the difference between the ‘bid and ‘ask' (buy and sell) price in a currency pair. These prices are dynamic and change depending on the underlying market conditions.

It is important to remember that these types of products are best suited to the most sophisticated of investors who can afford to take more risks. A CFD is essentially a bet on whether an asset’s price will rise or fall. So for example with forex trading you can make a bet on the direction of a currency. There are plenty of risks as you can stand to lose a lot of money, and most people do, so it is important to understand the product.

Trading 212’s own figures show that 77% of its investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. It tries to take some steps to protect users against the volatility of the product by blocking accounts from going into a negative balance, unlike some brokers, and letting users choose a point at which to take profits and stop investing once losses reach a certain point. This is known as a stop loss alert or take profit option.

There is a minimum deposit of £10 and no fees for withdrawals. Users can trade in pounds, euros and dollars.

Trading 212 Invest

The Trading 212 Invest option offers more than 10,000 shares and ETFs that can be invested in from as little as £1. Shares can be purchased in companies listed in the UK, Germany, America, Netherlands, Switzerland and Madrid. It offers a slightly wider choice than its closest rival Freetrade which tends to focus more on shares from the UK and US. Trades can be placed with zero commission unlike other platforms that can charge up to £12 for share dealing, however, there is a 0.15% fee on all trades of stocks or ETFs that are in a different currency than that held in the customer's account.

There is a minimum investment of £1 (£10 if setting up a bank transfer). Users can trade in pounds, euros and dollars.

At the time of writing, Trading 212 pays interest on uninvested cash at the following rates:

• USD – 4.6%
• GBP – 5.1%
• EUR – 4%
• CHF – 1.5%
• HUF – 7%
• PLN – 6%
• CZK – 4%
• RON – 5%
• DKK – 2.5%
• NOK – 3%
• SEK – 3%
• CAD – 3.5%
• BGN – 2.5%

Trading 212 debit card

If you have a Trading 212 Invest account, you can apply for a debit card (there's a one-time £4.95 fee to cover the manufacturing and shipping) which allows you to spend the uninvested cash in your account instantly.

You'll also continue earning 5.1% interest on your uninvested cash balance, making this a lucrative way to earn interest on cash you can spend whenever you like. You can even withdraw up to £400 fee-free each month, although there is a 1% ATM withdrawal fee thereafter.

The debit card also allows you to earn up to £20 in cashback each month at a rate of 1.5% until January 2025. After the 1st of January, 2025, the cashback rate will revert to 0.5%.

If you're spending abroad, you can convert funds easily at the interbank rate, which is the rate banks use when they convert currencies with each other. Trading 212 does, however, apply a 0.15FX charge.

Trading 212 Stocks and Shares ISA

Returns earned from your investments can be taken tax-free by using Trading 212’s flexible Stocks & Shares ISA product. There are no charges for administration or dividend investment, unlike most other brokers.

There is a minimum investment of £1 (£10 if setting up a bank transfer). Users can trade in pounds, euros and dollars across all accounts.

Trading 212 also says it will execute all withdrawal requests within two business days and this can be done both on the app and through its website.

From time to time Trading 212 will run an ‘Invite a friend' campaign where the user and the friend can both earn a free share worth up to £100. Those looking for a trading app that offers a free share when they sign up for a Stocks and Shares ISA may want to look at Freetrade*. The free share is worth a guaranteed £10.

Trading 212 Cash ISA

Trading 212's Cash ISA offers 5.1% interest on your cash. As you're saving within an ISA, any interest you earn will be tax-free. Much like its Stocks & Shares ISA, the Cash ISA is fully flexible. This means that you can withdraw cash during a particular financial year and then add it again during the same financial year without losing any of your £20,000 tax-free allowance.

Trading 212's Cash ISA is also completely free. There are no administrative fees or account fees. In addition to this, the minimum deposit is just £1 and you can earn tax-free interest on your cash daily. It's also an easy-access ISA where you can withdraw your cash whenever you need it and as many times as you want without impacting your interest rate.

Trading 212 Pro account

Experienced users can upgrade to a pro account so long as they meet 2 of the 3 following criteria:

• You need to have traded on CFD (or Forex in significant size) an average of 10 times in each of the previous 4 quarters with Trading 212 and/or other providers
• You need to hold an investment portfolio that exceeds 500,000 EURO
• You need to have worked (for at least 1 year) in the financial sector in a position that means you have proven knowledge of how CFD trading works

Upgrading to pro is free, but users will be waiving some of the features that protect retail users, namely risk warnings and commission disclosures. Trading 212 Pro should only be considered if you are an experienced trader.

How much does Trading 212 cost?

Trading 212’s big unique selling point used to be its zero-commission trading, however, it does have some fees and charges which we have listed in the following table. In addition to the fees listed below, stamp duty is also payable on share and ETF purchases. The platform’s chief executive Ivan Ashminov has also previously indicated that additional ‘premium' services will be added to the platform, which users will need to pay to access.

Trading 212 fees and charges

How does Trading 212 make money?

Trading 212’s main way of making money is the spread between the highest or ‘offer' price for an investor to buy an asset such as a share and the lowest or ‘bid' price for them to sell it. Investors will generally pay closer attention to the high price to buy and sell nearer the low price. There are likely to be additional ‘paid for' features added as time goes by which will be another source of revenue for the platform.

Is Trading 212 safe?

Trading 212 is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority so it must take steps to keep your money safe such as by holding it in a separate client account. Up to £85,000 of your money will also be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if Trading 212 becomes insolvent. It also has a range of security measures to highlight any bugs and ensure customers are protected.

Remember, any investment decisions you make are done so at your own risk and share prices are just as likely to go down as they are to go up.

Alternatives to Trading 212

Below, we outline some of the alternatives to Trading 212.

Trading 212 vs Freetrade

Freetrade* is Trading 212’s closest rival. Both pride themselves on making share trading more accessible. Each offers a user-friendly app with details on shares and ETFs. It offers a larger choice of shares with more than 10,000 stocks listed in the UK, USA and Europe, whereas Freetrade offers a total of around 6,000 shares mainly from the UK and US. Although not for everyone, Trading 212 does have specialist investing options with its CFD product. Freetrade does, however, offer new customers a FREE share worth between £10 and £100*. Check out our independent ‘Freetrade review‘.

Trading 212 vs eToro

eToro is a share trading platform established in 2007 and has over 35 million registered users. It has a popular social trading feature that allows users to copy the trades of other successful traders in real-time. Users need to deposit an initial $100 when using eToro, compared to just £1 when using Trading 212. eToro also charges a 0.50% currency conversion fee as well as a $5 withdrawal fee. Check out our independent ‘eToro review‘.

Trading 212 vs Moneybox

Rather than free trading, another low-cost way to get exposure to the markets is by using apps such as Moneybox to invest your spare change. Moneybox links to your bank account and rounds up your spending to invest the ‘change’ in a Lifetime or Stocks and Shares ISA and a pension. Moneybox charges £1 a month for its investment accounts and there is a platform fee of 0.45% of the value of your investments per year.

In addition, you will also pay the fund management charges levied directly by the fund providers, of up to 0.58%. There is no monthly fee for its pension but you will need to pay the platform and fund charges. Check out our independent ‘Moneybox review‘

Trading 212 vs Plum

Similar to Moneybox, rather than actively trading, Plum* regularly assesses your income and expenditure and decides how much you can afford to save. This money can then be put into either shares or a mixture of shares and bonds. You'll need to pay a monthly fee to invest with Plum paying and depending on which subscription tier you choose you'll pay £2.99 or £9.99 per month. You'll also need to pay a product provider fee ranging between 0.15% to 0.45% depending on your plan, plus fund fees ranging from 0.06% to 0.90%. Read our independent ‘Plum review‘.

Trading 212 customer reviews

Trading 212’s app has a rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 on the Apple Store and 4.1 out of 5.0 on Google Play. The app has been downloaded more than 15 million times making it one of the most popular trading apps in the world. Reviews cite the good design and that the app makes investing fun.

It is rated as ‘Excellent' on Trustpilot, with a score of 4.6 stars out of 5.0 from over 35,000 reviews. Users say it is easy to use and a great tool for beginners. Of the few bad reviews, most complain about account verification issues and not being able to withdraw funds.

Pros and Cons of Trading 212

Below, we outline some of the pros and cons of using Trading 212.

Pros of Trading 212

• Free trading
• Large choice of assets
• Free flexible Stocks and Shares ISA and Cash ISA
• Multi-currency account
• Pays interest on uninvested cash

Cons of Trading 212

• High-risk
• No mutual funds available
• Not suitable for beginners

Summary

Share trading is traditionally more expensive than funds on DIY investment platforms and the level of downloads and reviews suggests there is a market for low-cost dealing. Trading 212 presents share and CFD dealing in a user-friendly way. It is quick and easy to sign up and you can get exposure to anything from shares to gold and cryptocurrency by easily switching between its investment and CFD account. There are even video guides and tools to help you understand and monitor the market. But there is a big risk as there is no one to check that users understand what they are watching or doing.

This means there is a risk of losing money by failing to build a diversified portfolio or by backing the wrong shares. The easy accessibility of CFDs is also dangerous as these are products more suitable for sophisticated investors rather than beginners as losses can be huge. Tax-free earnings via an ISA are attractive but you are limited to shares and ETFs with no option for mutual funds which can be more diversified and you also can’t use other tax wrappers such as a pension.

The Trading 212 debit card is an innovative way to access your uninvested cash without having to withdraw it. This means it can continue to earn interest until you need it. The boosted cashback rate available until January 2025 is another attractive feature.

Overall, Trading 212 is a good option for experienced and dedicated share traders but if you are just starting out it would be wise to utilise the practice £50,000 portfolio first so that you understand just how risky shares and CFDs can be. Those just starting out should check out our article ‘A beginner's guide to investing‘.

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