Interactive Investor Review 2023

András I.
January 2, 2023

Interactive Investor Overview

Interactive Investor is a UK-based investment provider offering a clear, intuitive platform that is easy to navigate, even for those with limited investing experience. Deposits and withdrawals are generally processed quickly, smoothly, and with little to no cost. Customer support is another strong point, as phone assistance is typically prompt and helpful. Overall, the service is particularly appealing to beginners who are just starting their investing journey.

That said, the platform does have some limitations. Its investment selection is relatively narrow and mainly centered on traditional assets, such as UK-listed funds and shares. More advanced charting features and detailed analytical tools are not available, and users are required to pay a fixed monthly subscription fee. Despite these drawbacks, extensive evaluation and hands-on testing place Interactive Investor among the higher-rated platforms in its category.

Regulation and Investor Protection

Interactive Investor operates as a fully authorized brokerage and is overseen by a well-respected top-tier regulator in the United Kingdom. Clients also benefit from investor compensation arrangements in specific jurisdictions, providing an additional safeguard for their funds. Broker assessments are carried out using real money, with hands-on testing that includes evaluating how efficiently and reliably the withdrawal process works in practice.

Interactive Brokers pros and cons

Pros	Cons
• User-friendly trading platforms	• Limited product portfolio
• Fast and easy deposit and withdrawal	• Basic charting and analytic tools
• Great phone customer service	• Monthly account fee

Interactive Investor 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 days
Deposit with bank card	available
Depositing with electronic wallet	Not available
Number of base currencies supported	9
Demo account provided	Yes
Products offered	Stock, ETF, Fund, Bond

Our overall Interactive Brokers rating

Fees

7
Account opening

10
Deposit and withdrawal

8.6
Web trading platform

8.6
Mobile trading platform

7.6
Markets and products

6.4
Research

6
Customer service

5.6
Education

10

Interactive Investor review

Fees

Interactive Investor has average trading fees, including low fund fees, while regular investments are free. On the other hand, there is a monthly account fee.

Pros	Cons
• Low fund fees	• Monthly account fee
• Regular investments are free

**Interactive Investor fees snapshot**
Assets	Fee level	Fee terms
US stock	Low	“Investor” and “Pension Builder” fees: £5.99 per trade; “Super Investor” fee: £3.99 per trade
EURUSD	–	Not available
Mutual fund	Low	“Investor” and “Pension Builder” fee: £5.99 per trade; “Super Investor” fees: £3.99 per trade
Inactivity fee	Low	No inactivity fee

How we ranked fees

We categorized Interactive Investor’s costs as low, medium, or high by benchmarking them against the fees charged by all other brokers we have reviewed.

Before diving into the details, it’s useful to clarify the main types of brokerage costs. The two key categories to consider are trading-related fees and non-trading charges.

Trading fees apply when you place trades and may include items such as commissions, bid-ask spreads, financing costs, and currency conversion fees. Non-trading fees, on the other hand, are not directly linked to trading activity and can cover expenses like withdrawal charges or inactivity penalties.

In the sections that follow, we outline the most important fees Interactive Investor applies across different asset classes. For instance, when investing in shares, commission costs are typically the most relevant factor.

We also benchmarked Interactive Investor’s pricing against two comparable platforms, AJ Bell Youinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown. These peers were selected using objective criteria such as the range of products offered, typical client profiles, and overall pricing structures. A more in-depth comparison of alternatives to Interactive Investor is available separately.

To build a clear picture of Interactive Investor’s cost structure, we begin by examining its trading fees.

Interactive Investor Trading Costs Overview

Interactive Investor’s trading charges fall into the mid-range compared with other brokers.

Clients can select from three different pricing plans, each varying in monthly subscription costs and transaction fees for specific instruments. Under the Investor plan, account holders receive one free trade per month, while the Super Investor plan includes two complimentary trades. The Pension Builder plan does not include any free trades by default, unless the plan is upgraded.

The Pension Builder option is designed as a straightforward Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). For an additional monthly charge, it can be enhanced to include an ISA, a standard trading account, unlimited Junior ISAs for each child, and one free trade per month.

Subscribers to the Super Investor plan also gain complimentary access to Interactive Investor’s Friends and Family scheme, which allows them to gift up to five Investor plan memberships at no extra cost.

In addition, no commission is charged on regular monthly investments made through the platform’s recurring investment feature. This benefit applies across all plans, with a minimum investment amount of £25 per transaction. Each account can support up to 25 scheduled monthly investments, covering eligible assets such as funds, widely traded shares, ETFs, and investment trusts.

For UK-based clients, Interactive Investor offers both ISA and SIPP accounts. SIPP access is provided through the Pension Builder plan, which is priced at £12.99 per month.

**Interactive Investor fee plans**
	Investor	Pension Builder	Super Investor
Monthly flat fee	£9.99	£12.99	£19.99
Fee per trade, UK stocks*	£5.99	£5.99	£3.99
Fee per trade, US stocks**	£5.99	£5.99	£3.99
Fee per trade, other stocks***	£19.99	£19.99	£5.99
Fee per trade, UK funds	£5.99	£5.99	£3.99

*different fees apply to trades over £100,000
**trades over £100,000 are charged 0.04%
***trades over £25,000 are charged 0.1%

When it comes to fees, fund trades cover OEICs, Unit Trusts and Investment Trusts. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are treated as shares.

In this review, we calculated with the ‘Investor’ service plan.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Interactive Investor has overall average stock and ETF commissions and has favorable rates compared to its close competitors if you trade UK and US shares.

Interactive Investor stock and ETF commission of a $2,000 trade

Interactive Investor

AJ Bell Youinvest

Hargreaves Lansdown

US stock

$6.8

$13.9

$13.5

UK stock

$6.8

$13.9

$13.5

German stock

$22.6

$13.91

$13.5

Fund fees

Interactive Investor fund fees are low, however its close competitors have much lower charges.

Please move your cursor over the dollar amounts to view the exact rundown of costs in pounds.

**Interactive Investor commission for a $2,000 fund purchase**
	Interactive Brokers	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
Mutual fund	$6.8	$2.1	$0.0

Bond fees

Interactive Investor has generally low bond fees. It charges less than its closest competitors.

Please hover over the dollar amounts to view the exact rundown of costs in pounds.

**Interactive Investor commission of a $10,000 government bond trade**
	Interactive Investor	AJ Bell Youinvest	Hargreaves Lansdown
US Treasury bond	–	–	–
EU government bond	$6.8	$13.9	$13.5

Non-trading fees

Interactive Investor has low non-trading fees.

It charges no inactivity fee and there is also no withdrawal fee for standard withdrawals. Withdrawal fees are charged, though, if you make an instant withdrawal in sterling or euro, or if you make a regular withdrawal in currencies other than these.

On the negative side, there is a monthly account fee, which ranges from £9.99 to £19.99 depending on which service plan you use.

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

Interactive Investor’s currency conversion fees are high for amounts under £100,000. You can either convert your cash manually or, alternatively, the system will do it for you if you want to buy a security in a currency other than what is on your account (e.g. if you want to buy a US stock quoted in dollars and you have your cash balance in pounds).

**Interactive Investor currency conversion fee**
	Currency conversion fee
£0 – £24,999	1.50%
£25,000 – £49,999	1.25%
£50,000 – £99,999	1.00%
£100,000 – £599,999	0.50%
£600,000 –	0.25%

Bear in mind that when using automatic conversion for trades that required multiple fills to execute, you will be charged the FX conversion rate applicable to each individual fill. This may result in a higher FX charge than would be calculated against the whole.

Interactive Investor review

Account opening

Opening an account with Interactive Investor is fast, fully digital, and involves no minimum deposit, but only UK addresses are accepted.

Pros	Cons
• Fast	• Only UK residents accepted
• Fully digital
• No minimum deposit

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What is the minimum deposit at Interactive Investor?

There is no required minimum deposit at Interactive Investor.

However, as there is a flat monthly subscription fee to use the platform, you need to have this amount available on your account. Alternatively, you can set up a direct debit to pay monthly fees.

Account types

Interactive Investor has a variety of accounts available in the UK:

**Interactive Investor account types**
Account types	Short description
rading Account – Tested Account	Basic investment account; Joint Trading Account also available
Stocks and Shares ISA	ISA account to invest tax-free up to the yearly limit
Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)	Tax-efficient pension investment account
Junior Stocks and Shares ISA	ISA account to invest tax-free on behalf of a child
Company Account	Trade in the name of a UK Limited Company
Pension Trading Account	Invest in assets (e.g. property) that aren’t tradeable via Interactive Investor
Free Research Account	A demo account
Cash Savings Account	A standalone account that gives access to interest rates from different banks

In this review, we tested the Trading Account.

In Ireland, only the Trading Account is available.

How to open your account

For UK residents, opening an account is a straightforward and fast procedure. Verification takes place online; if successful, you’re done in about 10 minutes. However, there is no option to provide a non-UK address.

If, for any reason, online verification fails, you’ll need to send in certified copies of your:

proof of identity, e.g. passport or UK driver’s license, and
proof of residence, e.g. bank statement or utility bill.

In our experience, these copies are received and processed surprisingly quickly (1-2 business days). However, we had a hiccup with the verification process, so the documents that were posted were not immediately accepted by Interactive Investor. Following this, they didn’t reply to our email for 14 days, but then they replied to our follow-up email the next day. It was an experience of extremes: Interactive Investor was either super responsive or extremely unresponsive.

Interactive Investor review – Account opening

Our best alternatives to Interactive Investor are:

The highest ranking competitors are:

AJ Bell Youinvest full review
Hargreaves Lansdown full review
Barclays full review
Charles Stanley Direct full review

Interactive Investor review

Deposit and withdrawal

Deposit and withdrawal are easy, quick and mostly free. On the negative side, electronic wallets and credit/debit cards are not accpeted for withdrawal.

Pros	Cons
• Credit/Debit card available	• No credit/debit card withdrawal
• No deposit fee
• Free withdrawal in GBP or EUR

Account base currencies

At Interactive Investor, you can choose from 9 base currencies. This compares favourably to its peers. The available base currencies are GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, HKD, SGD, AUD, SEK, CHF If you live in Ireland, CHF and SEK are not supported.

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

Depositing money is free with Interactive Investor.

Using a debit card, you can deposit money instantly up to £99,999. You can also send money via bank transfer. If you wish to transfer money in a currency other than GBP or EUR, you will need to contact Interactive Investor for details of the appropriate bank account where you should transfer the money.

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

A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with a credit/debit card is instant.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Interactive Investor review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit

Interactive Investor withdrawal fees and options

Standard withdrawals in pounds and euros are free with Interactive Investor. Withdrawals can only be made via bank transfer.

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

If you request a same-day withdrawal in GBP or EUR, or choose to withdraw funds in any other supported currency, a fixed charge of £15 applies.

Withdrawal processing times at Interactive Investor are generally quick. Requests submitted before 2:00 pm can reach your bank account as early as the following business day. Instructions placed after this cutoff are typically completed within two working days. Urgent transfers are processed on the same day, provided they are requested before 2:00 pm. Please note that withdrawals are only permitted to bank accounts held in your own name.

How to withdraw funds from Interactive Investor

After signing in to your account, follow these steps:

Select “Cash and transfers” from the top navigation bar.
Choose “Withdraw/transfer cash.”
Click on “Bank transfer.”
Add a new bank account or select one you have already saved, then press “Transfer” next to the desired account.
Enter the withdrawal amount, select the investment account the funds will come from, choose the transfer type (standard or urgent), and decide whether to set up a recurring withdrawal.
Accept the withdrawal terms by ticking the confirmation box and select “Check and Preview.”
Review the details carefully and click “Confirm” to complete the request.

Interactive Investor review

Web trading platform

Interactive Investor’s web trading platform is user-friendly and easy to use, but the platform cannot be customized.

Pros	Cons
• User-friendly	• Limited customizability (for charts, workspace)
• Clear fee report
• Two-step (safer) login

**Interactive Investor platforms to choose from**
Trading platform	Score	Available
Web	4.3 stars	Yes
Mobile	3.8 stars	Yes
Desktop	–	No

Interactive Investor has its own web platform, available only in English.

Look and feel

The Interactive Investor web trading platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate. The platform’s customizability is limited though.

Interactive Investor review – Web trading platform

Login Security and Search Features

Interactive Investor uses an additional verification step when you sign in from a new browser or device, provided you have a mobile number linked to your account. In these cases, a one-time security code is sent to your phone via SMS to confirm your identity.

After successfully logging in for the first time on a device, you can opt to save that browser. If you do so, the extra verification step will be skipped for the next 30 days, allowing faster access without repeatedly entering a code.

Search functionality

On the platform is straightforward and intuitive. Users can look up investments by entering a company name or ticker symbol, which then returns a list of matching results. It is also possible to browse investments by asset category or by market.

Search bars are conveniently placed throughout the interface, including at the bottom of certain pages and within the Research section under “Find an investment.”

Interactive Investor review – Web trading platform – Search

Placing orders

You can use the following basic order types. The list is quite limited, you won’t find very sophisticated order types like “one-cancels-the-other”:

Market
Limit
Stop Loss

To get a better understanding of these terms, read this overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use:

Fill or Kill
Good ’til Date (GTD)

Interactive Investor review – Web trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications via email or text (SMS). The range of alerts is very limited, though, as you can set alerts only for price movements.

Portfolio and fee reports

Interactive Investor has clear portfolio and fee reports. These can be found in the ‘Portfolio’ section.

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Interactive Investor review

Mobile trading platform

The Interactive Investor mobile trading platform is user-friendly and has a good search function. However, it lacks a two-step login and you can’t set alerts.

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

Interactive Investor rolled out a new mobile app in early 2021, which is a notable improvement from the previous mobile platform.

It is available only in English, for both iOS and Android. We tested it on Android.