The best & cheapest SIPPs 2026 – build a low cost DIY pension

Partner Spotlight

A simple, low‑cost way to save for retirement

Open a SIPP with Quilter Invest and manage your pension online with clear charges and investment choice.

• Platform fee at 0.15% a year
• Simple online pension transfers
• View your SIPP in one place
• Ready‑made portfolios managed by Quilter experts

Provided by our partner

Find out more*

The value of investments can go down as well as up

What is a SIPP?

A SIPP is a DIY pension where investors can choose their own investments. The full title is Self Invested Personal Pension. Traditional personal pensions limit your investment choices to a small number of funds typically run by the pension provider's fund managers. With a SIPP, you can invest anywhere you want, making your own choice of pension funds and managing them over time. That way, you can ensure you are in the best pension funds and maximise your pension fund at retirement.

How do SIPPs work?

A SIPP works in a similar way as investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA via an investment platform, the only difference is that you get income tax relief on your SIPP contributions when investing in a SIPP. Using a SIPP to build a private pension fund gives investors complete control over their investments, potentially leading to a greater return than a simple personal pension product like a stakeholder pension, which offers limited investment choices.

The growth of fund supermarkets and online investment platforms in recent years has meant the cost of investing in a SIPP has fallen dramatically, often comparable with that of a Stocks and Shares ISA. If you are considering investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA read our guide – The best stocks and shares investment ISA (& the cheapest fund platform).

Should I consider investing in a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)?

If you are currently in a company pension scheme, particularly one where your employer makes contributions then you will probably be better off remaining in that scheme. If, however, you are investing directly into a personal pension via a pension provider then you may want to consider moving to a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), especially if you are comfortable with choosing your own SIPP funds and regularly monitoring them.

If you wish to learn how to choose which funds to buy and when, even if you are a complete novice, then sign up to receive my FREE short series of emails which teaches you how. It takes just 2 minutes a day and is the result of thousands of hours of research and a career as an investment analyst. You will learn the simple tools and techniques that the very best fund managers use which you can too when DIY investing.

Of course, if you would rather someone managed your investments for you there are a number of new managed robo-advice pensions which are listed at the foot of this article. They will invest your money for you. However, the rest of this article will assume you are looking to invest your own money in a full SIPP.

What should I look for when choosing a SIPP provider?

If you are simply looking for a cheap pension provider then there are a number of pension charges to consider when choosing your SIPP provider. These costs vary depending on the investments you make and the size of your pension pot. Yet the fees charged are only part of the story. Some providers will only allow you to invest in funds, others also offer access to shares and investment trusts. Some cheap SIPP providers offer a basic service while others provide a more comprehensive service including a selection of useful tools and guides to help with your investment research.

What fees are charged when investing in a SIPP?

The main SIPP charges and costs are as follows:

• Admin fees – an administration fee can be charged monthly, quarterly or annually, however, not all providers charge this type of fee. There might also be further charges applied for transferring money in or out of your SIPP (known as SIPP transfer charges)
• Dealing charges – this is a fee charged when dealing in funds or shares and they vary between SIPP providers. You need to make sure the provider you choose has a charging structure that meets your requirements
• Fund manager charges and other fees – fund managers also charge an annual fee. Some SIPP providers negotiate cheaper fund deals and pass this reduction on to their investors. Also, check out the fund platform's full fee list for any extra fees charged before you make your final choice

Later in this article, we include a full SIPP comparison table of the costs of each SIPP provider so that you can find the cheapest SIPP provider for the size of your pension pot.

However, as previously mentioned, you shouldn’t just focus on cost but instead, consider value for money as well as the level of service provided. If good customer service (including helplines), as well as research and tools, are important to you then you need to look beyond cost. A lot of DIY investors require the ability to buy and sell investments quickly and easily online or via an app – so make sure your SIPP provider offers this capability. Also, not all SIPP providers allow you to invest in shares and investment trusts, something the more experienced DIY investor might want to do. So if this is important to you then check your permitted investment choices.

Partner Spotlight

A simple, low‑cost way to save for retirement

Open a SIPP with Quilter Invest and manage your pension online with clear charges and investment choice.

• Platform fee at 0.15% a year
• Simple online pension transfers
• View your SIPP in one place
• Ready‑made portfolios managed by Quilter experts

Provided by our partner

Find out more*

The value of investments can go down as well as up

Which is the best SIPP?

The Best SIPP provider for tools & functionality – Interactive Investor SIPP

Interactive Investor SIPP*

• one of the cheapest SIPPs thanks to its flat fee subscription model
• those with a pension pot under £100,000 will start on its ‘Core' plan charged at just £5.99 per month
• those with more than £100,000 in a SIPP will pay the ‘Plus' service plan charged at £14.99 per month (includes one free trade per month)
• no exit fees
• fund dealing and share dealing charges are £3.99, £1.49 or Free, depending on the chosen plan.
• No annual administration charge and no drawdown fees

Partner Offer

£200 Pension Cashback Offer

Make a qualifying deposit or transfer a pension to our partner Interactive Investor.

• Deposit or transfer a pension of at least £20k and you could earn £200 cashback
• Terms and Fees apply, Capital at risk
• New & Existing customers opening a SIPP​
• Offer ends 30th June 2026

Before starting your transfer, check you won't lose any valuable benefits (such as guaranteed annuity rates or a lower protected pension age) and find out what exit fees you might have to pay

Provided by our partner

Find out more*

Qualifying investment must remain invested for 12 months to qualify.

Cost-effective managed pension for beginners – Quilter

Quilter Invest*

• start investing from as little as £10
• annual fee is just 0.15%, fund fees apply
• choose from 5 curated, readymade MyGoal funds, tailored to your risk appetite
• MyGoal fund options include conservative, balanced, moderate, dynamic & adventurous
• UK-based customer service team

Which is the cheapest SIPP provider?

If you are just interested in low-cost SIPPs then use our SIPP charges comparison tables below to compare UK SIPP providers and find the cheapest SIPP for your portfolio size. Our calculator takes into account the SIPP fees applied to portfolios ranging in size from £5,000 to £1million to help you find the cheapest SIPP.

The cheapest SIPP for most people – AJ Bell or Vanguard

AJ Bell*

• annual charge for funds at 0.25% up to £250,000, 0.10% for £250,000 up to £1m, 0.05% for £1m – £2m, no charge over £2m investment
• fund dealing is a flat fee of £1.50 online
• share dealing is £5.00 per deal for zero to nine deals, and £3.50 per deal for 10 or more deals in the previous month
• there are no dealing charges on regular monthly investments in funds, shares, ETFs, and investment trusts
• £500 for a one-off or a monthly payment of £25

AJ Bell* – click for more details

Vanguard

• annual charge of just 0.15% per year, capped at £375
• no admin charges or exit fees
• no charge for drawdown
• invest from £500 lump sum or £100 per month
• minimum fee of £4 per month on self-managed products applies

Vanguard – click for more details

Alternative SIPPs that provide good value

Interactive Investor SIPP*

• one of the cheapest SIPPs thanks to its flat fee subscription model
• those with a pension pot under £100,000 will start on its ‘Core' plan charged at just £5.99 per month
• those with more than £100,000 in a SIPP will pay the ‘Plus' service plan charged at £14.99 per month (includes one free trade per month)
• no exit fees
• fund dealing and share dealing charges are £3.99, £1.49 or Free, depending on the chosen plan.
• No annual administration charge and no drawdown fees

Fidelity SIPP*

• a low cost SIPP
• no set up or annual fees
• annual fund admin fee is applied at £45 p.a. flat fee up to £7,500 then 0.35% up to £250K, then 0.2% on larger portfolios up to £1m with no fee charges on assets held above £1m. Fee paid monthly in arrears
• share dealing charged at £10 per trade or £1.50 as part of a regular savings or withdrawal plan
• £1.50 charge for dividend reinvestments
• Online service not as slick as the likes of Hargreaves Vantage SIPP

 Bestinvest*

• annual charge for funds and shares of 0.40% up to £250,000 (minimum of £120), 0.20% from £250,000 to £500,000, 0.10% from 500,000 to £1m, no charge over £1m
• can invest in ready-made portfolios with fees starting at 0.20%
• fund dealing is free while share deals will cost you £4.95 per deal
• no annual administration fee (minimum service fee is £120 per year)
• pays 2.98% interest on uninvested cash

Charles Stanley Direct*

• annual account charge of £100 +VAT (waived if combined assets across the platform of £30,000 – excludes joint accounts)
• Charges a platform fee of 0.30% per annum on the value of all investments held across all accounts. Minimum of £60 and maximum of £600 per year.
• fund deals cost £4 per trade, online share dealing is £10.00 per trade. £50 free trades credited every 6 months
• transfer out fee £10 per holding

Cheapest SIPPs if investing in shares, investment trusts and ETFs

 – Freetrade*

• No platform fee for investing in a SIPP
• commission-free share trading
• easy setup and user-friendly app
• invest in fractional shares
• Free share worth between £10 and £100* T&Cs apply. Capital at risk

The cheapest SIPP provider comparison tables

If you are only focused on getting the cheapest SIPP then the below tables compare SIPP charges for all the major SIPP providers.

SIPP charges comparison table if you want to pick your own funds (unit trusts)

The table below shows the cheapest SIPP for those wanting to choose their own portfolio of unit trusts. Simply look at the column that most closely matches the size of your pension pot for an estimate of the annual cost if your SIPP was held with each fund platform. All the figures in the table show the annual platform/SIPP charges, ignoring the underlying fund charges which are typically another 1.0% to 1.5% a year irrespective of which platform you choose. The table assumes you only invest in funds and that you make 10 trades per year. You can also view this table as a coloured heatmap where green is the cheapest SIPP for a given portfolio size and red the most expensive. Cheapest SIPP heatmap.

Cheapest stock and shares SIPP if you only want to invest in shares, investment trusts and ETFs

The table below assumes that you want to invest in shares, investment trusts and ETFs and that you make 20 trades a year. You will have to pay additional charges levied by the funds you invest in on top of the figures quoted but they will be fairly standard across all platforms.

Cheapest Managed Pensions

There has been an increase in the number of companies offering managed investment services. The tables below compares the cost of the managed pensions currently available. The difference between these managed pensions and the SIPPs listed in the table above is that the companies below run your money for you whereas the above SIPPs require you to pick your own investments yourself. The first table below is comparable to the one above for the DIY SIPPs because it strips out the underlying fund charges. The second table below compares the total cost of the pension including the underlying fund charges.

Managed pension management fee comparison (i.e. without fund charges)

Provider	Minimum investment	£5,000 portfolio cost	£25,000 portfolio cost	£50,000 portfolio cost	£100,000 portfolio cost	£250,000 portfolio cost	£500,000 portfolio cost	£1,000,000 portfolio cost
Quilter Invest*	£10	£8	£38	£75	£150	£375	£750	£1,500	Partner Spotlight
J.P. Morgan Personal Investing fully managed	£500	£38	£188	£375	£750	£1,275	£2,150	£3,900
Moneyfarm*	£500	£38	£175	£350	£575	£1,100	£1,975	£3,725
Wealthify*	£1,000	£30	£150	£300	£600	£1,050	£1,800	£3,300

Managed pension comparison – total costs

Provider	Minimum investment	£5,000 portfolio cost	£25,000 portfolio cost	£50,000 portfolio cost	£100,000 portfolio cost	£250,000 portfolio cost	£500,000 portfolio cost	£1,000,000 portfolio cost
Quilter Invest*	£10	£26	£128	£255	£510	£1,275	£2,550	£5,100	Partner Spotlight
J.P. Morgan Personal Investing fully managed	£500	£49	£243	£485	£970	£1,825	£3,250	£6,100
Moneyfarm*	£500	£44	£205	£410	£695	£1,400	£2,575	£4,925
Wealthify*	£1,000	£38	£188	£375	£750	£1,425	£2,550	£4,800

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. The following links can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses or take advantage of any exclusive offers – Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, AJ Bell, Moneyfarm, Fidelity, Bestinvest, Charles Stanley