Hargreaves Lansdown Review 2023

András I.
December 23, 2022

Hargreaves Lansdown Broker Review: Key Insights and Overall Rating

Hargreaves Lansdown is a UK-based brokerage firm regulated by the top-tier Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Its web and mobile trading platforms are thoughtfully designed, easy to navigate, and suitable for investors of all experience levels. The broker also provides well-organized, high-quality educational resources, and its customer support service is reliable and efficient. These strengths make it particularly appealing to beginners.

On the downside, stock and ETF trading fees are relatively expensive. Additionally, for clients residing outside the UK, the account opening process is not entirely digital, and accounts can only be held in GBP.

After an extensive assessment based on more than 500 evaluation criteria and practical testing through opening a live account, Hargreaves Lansdown received a rating of 4.6 out of 5.

Hargreaves Lansdown operates as a fully regulated brokerage firm under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), one of the most respected financial regulators in the United Kingdom. In certain jurisdictions, clients are also eligible for investor protection coverage, providing an added layer of financial security.

Our broker evaluations are carried out using real funds. This includes personally testing essential processes such as deposits and withdrawals to assess reliability, transparency, and the overall quality of the client experience.

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Hargreaves Lansdown pros and cons

Pros	Cons
• Easy-to-use trading platforms	• High fees for stocks and ETFs
• High-quality educational tools	• Offline account opening for clients outside the UK
• Great customer service	• Only GBP base currency

Hargreaves Lansdown main highlights

🗺️ Country of regulation	UK
💰 Trading fees class	Average
💰 Inactivity fee charged	No
💰 Withdrawal fee amount	$0
💰 Minimum deposit	$0
🕖 Time to open an account	1 day
💳 Deposit with bank card	Available
👛 Depositing with electronic wallet	Not available
💱 Number of base currencies supported	1
🎮 Demo account provided	No
🛍️ Products offered	Stock, ETF, Fund, Bond, Portfolio+, Venture Capital Trusts

To read much more details about the broker’s services and features, expand on the sections below.

Hargreaves Lansdown review

Fees

Hargreaves Lansdown has low fund and bond trading fees and there is no inactivity fee. However, the stock and ETF fees are high.

Pros	Cons
• Low non-trading fees	• High stock and ETF fees
• Low fund fees	• Currency conversion fee
• No withdrawal fee
• Low fees for funds and bonds

**Hargreaves Lansdown fees snapshot**
Assets	Fee level	Fee terms
US stock	High	Based on previous month’s activity. 0-9 trades: £11.95 per trade; 10-19 trades: £8.95 per trade; 20+ trades: £5.95 per trade
EURUSD	–	Not available
Mutual fund	Low	Tiered annual fee based on volume held. On first £250k, the fee is 0.45%, on the value between £250k-£1m it is 0.25%, on the value between £1m-£2m it is 0.10%, and there is no charge on the value above £2m.
Inactivity fee	Low	No inactivity fee

How we ranked fees

We ranked Hargreaves Lansdown’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let’s go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Hargreaves Lansdown for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing the most important fees are commissions.

We also compared Hargreaves Lansdown’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Charles Stanley Direct and Interactive Investor. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Hargreaves Lansdown alternatives.

To have a clear overview of Hargreaves Lansdown, let’s start with its trading fees.

Hargreaves Lansdown trading fees

Hargreaves Lansdown trading fees are average overall. Broken down by product category, stock and ETF fees are high and fund and bond fees are low.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Hargreaves Lansdown has generally high stock and ETF commissions.

**Hargreaves Lansdown stock and ETF commission of a $2,000 trade**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
US stock	$13.5	$8.4	$13.9
UK stock	$13.5	$8.4	$13.9
German stock	$13.5	$28.0	$13.9

Fund fees

Hargreaves Lansdown fund fees are low, especially if you want to buy and sell relatively frequently, because Hargreaves Lansdown doesn’t charge a commission for opening and closing mutual fund positions.

**Hargreaves Lansdown commission for a $2,000 fund purchase**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
Mutual fund	$0.0	$8.4	$2.1

Nevertheless, Hargreaves Lansdown charges an annual fee for holding funds. This fee is volume-tiered based on the value of funds you hold.

**Hargreaves Lansdown annual fund fees**
Value of funds held	Annual fee
First £250,000	0.45%
Value between £250,000 – £1 million	0.25%
Value between £1 million – £2 million	0.10%
Value over £2 million	No charge

If the volume of your asset holdings is more than in the first tier, you will be charged the rate for the first tier up to the set range, the rate for the second tier for the amount above it, and so on, for the other tiers as well. Holding value is checked at the end of the month and the proportional part of the annual fee is charged monthly.

Bond fees

Hargreaves Lansdown has generally low bond fees.

**Hargreaves Lansdown commission of a $10,000 government bond trade**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
US Treasury bond	–	–	–
EU government bond	$13.5	$8.4	$13.9

The fees are different for online and phone trades. We calculated the fees for online trading. These fees are the same as stock fees. Roughly half of the bonds can be traded only over the phone, which has quite a high fee: 1% of the trade value, with a £20 minimum and £50 maximum.

Portfolio+

Portfolio+ covers portfolios that are managed by Hargreaves Lansdown’s fund managers. The fees for Portfolio+ include two kinds of fees:

the ongoing annual charge for mutual funds
an annual management fee

The annual management fee varies over time, depending on the portfolios’ performance. At the time of the review, the management fees ranged between 1.25% and 1.42%.

Non-trading fees

Hargreaves Lansdown has low non-trading fees. It doesn’t charge an inactivity fee or withdrawal fee and there is no account fee for a standard Fund & Share account.

**Hargreaves Lansdown non-trading fees**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
Account fee	No	Yes	No
Inactivity fee	No	No	No
Deposit fee	$0	$0	$0
Withdrawal fee	$0	$0	$0

The annual account fees for SIPP and ISA accounts are 0.45% of the trade value. There is an annual fee cap, which means the yearly fees can’t be more than that amount. The annual fee cap is £200 for SIPP accounts and £45 for an ISA account.

If you trade assets denominated in currencies other than GBP, you also have to count with a currency conversion fee. This is charged as a percentage of the trade value, and is lower if you trade with higher amounts.

**Hargreaves Lansdown currency conversion fees**
Trade value	Currency conversion charges (% of trade value)
First £5,000	1.00%
Next £5,000	0.75%
Next £10,000	0.50%
Over £20,000	0.25%

Hargreaves Lansdown review

Account opening

Hargreaves Lansdown’s account opening process is quick and easy as long as you’re in the UK and electronic verification works. If this fails or you live outside the UK, you have to send photocopied documents by post.

Pros	Cons
• Fast	• Offline account opening for non-UK clients
• No minimum deposit
• Fully digital for UK clients

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What is the minimum deposit at Hargreaves Lansdown?

There is no minimum deposit at Hargreaves Lansdown, you can set up an account with as little as £1.

If you want to use the robo-advisory service Portfolio+ or invest in Venture Capital Trusts, the minimum account balance is £1,000 and £3,000, respectively.

Account types

**Hargreaves Lansdown account types**
Account type	Short description
Fund & Share Account – Tested Account	Basic investment account
Stocks and Shares ISA	ISA account to invest tax-free up to the yearly limit
Lifetime ISA	Similar to a regular ISA but the government adds contributions and the limits are different
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)	Tax-efficient pension investment account
Active Savings	Account for cash savings
Cash ISA	ISA account for saving up to £20,000 each tax year tax-free
Junior Investment Account	Basic investment account managed on behalf of a child
Junior Stocks and Shares ISA	ISA account to invest tax-free on behalf of a child
Junior Self-Invested Personal Pension	Tax-efficient pension investment account on behalf of a child
CFD and spread betting account (HL Markets)	Account provided by IG for forex, CFD and crypto trading (HL no longer accepts new applications to this service however)

How to open your account

For UK residents, the account opening process is straightforward. The whole thing takes about 10 minutes. They only require the most basic information and that you top up your account with a minimum of £1 during the process for verification purposes. If they manage to electronically verify your details you won’t even need to provide an ID or proof of address.

Things start to get complicated if their electronic verification fails, or if you’re not a UK resident.

Why would your verification fail? This can happen for a number of reasons: for example, if you recently moved, or recently moved to the UK. For a definite answer, you will need to contact Hargreaves Lansdown.

If your verification fails or you’re an EEA resident, then you will need to fill in their physical application form and post documents verifying your identity as well as your address. All in all, you would need to send the following:

filled-in application form
a copy of your: passport / driving license / firearms certificate or shotgun license / recent evidence of entitlement to a state or local authority funded benefit, tax credit, pension, educational or other grants
a copy of your: current council tax demand letter or statement (issued within the last three months) / current bank statement (postal issued, within the last three months) / utility bill (postal issued, within the last three months)
FOR UK ONLY: a cheque with the initial amount you wish to deposit in your account / direct debit instructions

Hargreaves Lansdown review – Account opening

Our best alternatives to Hargreaves Lansdown are:

The highest ranking competitors are:

Interactive Investor full review
AJ Bell Youinvest full review
Barclays full review
Charles Stanley Direct full review

Hargreaves Lansdown review

Deposit and withdrawal

Depositing and withdrawing money is easy and free with a debit card or fast bank transfers at Hargreaves Lansdown. Unfortunately, accounts are available only in GBP.

Pros	Cons
• Credit/Debit card available	• Only one account base currency
• Free withdrawal
• No deposit fee

Account base currencies

At Hargreaves Lansdown, the only available base currency is GBP.

**Base currencies at Hargreaves Lansdown vs similar brokers**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
Number of base currencies	1	9	1

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you don’t have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. They offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

Hargreaves Lansdown charges no deposit fees.

**Hargreaves Lansdown deposit options**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
Bank transfer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card	Yes	Yes	Yes
Electronic wallets	No	No	No

If you top-up with a debit card, the amount will be instantly visible in your account. Deposit via bank transfer can take up to two business days.

You can only deposit money from a bank account that is in your name, and it has to be the one that is specified in your account settings with Hargreaves Lansdown.

Hargreaves Lansdown review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit

Hargreaves Lansdown withdrawal fees and options

Hargreaves Lansdown charges no withdrawal fees.

**Hargreaves Lansdown withdrawal fees and options**
	Hargreaves Lansdown	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest
Bank transfer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card	No	No	No
Electronic wallets	No	No	No
Withdrawal fee	$0	$0	$0

How long does it take to withdraw money from Hargreaves Lansdown? We tested the bank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

How do you withdraw money from Hargreaves Lansdown? You can only withdraw funds to a nominated bank account in your name. Follow these steps:

Once logged in, hover over the ‘My Account’ button on the top right
Select your ‘Fund & Share Account’ from the options
On the right side of the page, select ‘Withdraw money’
Enter the amount you wish to withdraw and follow the instructions on the screen

Hargreaves Lansdown review

Web trading platform

Hargreaves Lansdown’s web platform is user-friendly and easy to use. However, it lacks a two-step login and customizability.

Pros	Cons
• User-friendly	• No two-step (safer) login
• Clear fee report	• Limited customizability (for charts, workspace)
• Good search function

**Hargreaves Lansdown platforms to choose from**
Trading platform	Score	Available
Web	3.7 stars	Yes
Mobile	3.9 stars	Yes
Desktop	–	No

Hargreaves Lansdown has its own self-developed trading platform.

Hargreaves Lansdown’s web trading platform is available only in English.

Look and feel

Hargreaves Lansdown has a well-designed and easy-to-navigate trading platform. However, it cannot be customized.

Hargreaves Lansdown review – Web trading platform

Login and security

Hargreaves Lansdown provides only a one-step login. They give you a Secure Number after registration, and each time you log in, you have to enter your password and three randomly selected digits of this Secure Number requested by the system.

Search functions

The search functions work as you would expect. You can search by typing both a company’s name or asset’s ticker and during the search, a relevant list appears.

If you search for funds, you can also search by selecting the fund provider or the sector. HL also has a separate Fund Finder service, where you can search for funds using filters by provider, sector and fund type, as well as funds recommended by HL analysts for their performance potential.

Hargreaves Lansdown review – Web trading platform – Search

Placing orders

You can use the following order types: Market, Limit, Stop loss, Stop trailing. To get a better understanding of these terms, read our overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use: Good ’til time (GTT), Fill or Kill (FOK).

Hargreaves Lansdown review – Web trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications, but only for UK stocks. We missed the ability to set alerts for non-UK stocks.

The range of alerts is limited. You can set alerts only for price moves, dividend payouts and regulatory news announcements.

Portfolio and fee reports

Hargreaves Lansdown has clear portfolio and fee reports. These reports can be found in the ‘My Account’ section.

When you select an asset, you can check the costs it would incur over the next 5 years, for a £5,000 trade. It would better if you could modify this trading scenario manually.

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Hargreaves Lansdown review

Mobile trading platform

The Hargreaves Lansdown mobile trading platform is great. It is user-friendly and well-designed. However, it lacks a two-step login and you cannot set alerts.

Pros	Cons
• User-friendly	• No two-step (safer) login
• Good search function	• No price alerts
• Touch/Face ID login

Look and feel

The mobile trading platform is the same as the web platform. It is well-designed and easy to navigate. Unlike the web trading platform, you cannot set alerts and notifications on mobile.

Hargreaves Lansdown review – Mobile trading platform