Barclays Smart Investor is the cheapest platform here at £1,000 in funds, £2,000 in funds, £5,000 in funds, £10,000 in funds, £20,000 in funds, £30,000 in funds and others.
| Pot | A year | % of pot | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | £72.00 | 7.20% | 7 of 12 |
| £2,000 | £72.00 | 3.60% | 7 of 12 |
| £5,000 | £72.00 | 1.44% | 6 of 12 |
| £10,000 | £72.00 | 0.72% | 6 of 12 |
| £20,000 | £72.00 | 0.36% | 6 of 12 |
| £30,000 | £72.00 | 0.24% | 6 of 12 |
| £50,000 | £72.00 | 0.14% | 6 of 12 |
| £75,000 | £72.00 | 0.10% | 6 of 12 |
| £100,000 | £72.00 | 0.07% | 6 of 12 |
| £150,000 | £72.00 | 0.05% | 6 of 12 |
| £200,000 | £72.00 | 0.04% | 6 of 12 |
| £250,000 | £72.00 | 0.03% | 6 of 12 |
| £500,000 | £72.00 | 0.01% | 6 of 12 |
| Pot | A year | % of pot | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £2,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £5,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £10,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £20,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £30,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £50,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £75,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £100,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £150,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £200,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £250,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 9 |
| £500,000 | £0.00 | 0.00% | 1 of 7 |
Every figure assumes 12 trades a year of £1,000 each, inside a stocks and shares ISA. It excludes Stamp duty at 0.5% on UK share purchases, the £1 PTM levy on orders over £10,000, fund manager charges (the OCF), and any foreign-exchange fee — every one of those is charged by someone other than the platform and is the same wherever you hold the money.
| Platform fee | £0 — the monthly customer fee has been removed on all investment accounts |
| Uk share dealing | £6 per trade online, £25 by telephone; regular investing free |
| Fund dealing | £0 |
| Fx fee | 1% on the first £5,000, 0.75% on the next £5,000, 0.50% on the next £15,000, 0.25% to £250,000, 0.10% above, plus a 0.03% international brokerage charge |
Charges read 19 August 2026 from Barclays Smart Investor's own pricing page. Rebranded to Direct Investing in May 2026 and dropped the monthly customer fee entirely — a significant change that makes it one of the few percentage-free platforms for self-directed investors. Interest is paid on uninvested cash. Re-read 19 Aug 2026: 'No customer fee* on all investment accounts', 'Buying or selling funds Free', 'Buying or selling shares £6 per trade'. The tiered percentages on the same page (1% / 0.75% / 0.5% / 0.25% / 0.1%) are the foreign-exchange fee on international shares, not a custody or fund charge — worth saying because they read like one.
Charges read 19 August 2026 from each platform's own pricing page. Platforms reprice with little notice, and nothing here is advice — it is arithmetic on published charges.