Best Investment Apps UK: Investing From Your Mobile in 2021

Moneyfarm

To kick things off let’s take a look at Moneyfarm. Moneyfarm may not have received the same amount of press as some as the other apps on this list, but it is certainly worth looking into. The app is intuitive and friendly enough to appeal to most beginners and casual investors, and what’s more, you can ask the app to provide you with a starter portfolio based on your knowledge level. Moneyfarm appears to take risk level with knowledge and attitude pretty seriously – which is a good thing.

You can invest via a pension, a general investment account or an investment ISA as you see fit. As the service is managed, there’s a maximum of a 0.7% fee available here, though funding fees are pretty low at around 0.2%. There’s nothing to pay on trading either. So it’s all very competitive in terms of fees.

Moneyfarm is a nice and easy platform to get started with. Their responsible attitude to risk levels along with fully managed portfolios and competitive fees makes it a great option for casual or beginner investors looking to get started without any fuss.

Best For: Passive investors who want a simple no fuss approach

Wealthify

I’ve looked at Wealthify in more detail elsewhere, and it’s safe to say that it does impress quite a bit. It’s probably one of the best money investment apps in the UK right now purely based on its freedom of choice.

Wealthify lets you take the bull by the horns to a wide degree, meaning that if you’re unsure how much you’d like to invest, or if you want to plunge straight in and invest a stack of money in a given fund or sector, the app will support you. You can easily set goals and parameters through this app, and it’s pretty easy to manage everything from a small screen. On top of this, Wealthify will never charge you extra if you want to take your money away.  That’s a definite plus point.

Fund charges appear to level out around 0.22% for the year, and you can expect a maximum of 0.7% applied to your yearly investments. There are, however, transaction fees you need to look out for, with a rate of 0.7% applying on the flat. 

The bright and breezy appeal of the interface, as well as the lack of a minimum investment requirement, is going to appeal to plenty of people. It’s one of many Android investing apps that’s worth looking at if you really don’t know where to start.

Best For: Ready made portfolios with guidance and support to get started

Nutmeg

Nutmeg is one of many stock investment apps in the UK that appears to have been getting a fair amount of press. Levelling itself to customers as a simple, friendly way to invest your cash in ISAs, pensions and general markets, Nutmeg should appeal to anyone who’s keen to escape those pesky platform fees. Fees are low and straightforward. Plus you can avoid fees altogether for the first 6 months by signing up via our link below!

Nutmeg will appeal to people based on its flexibility, too. It’s one of very few money investment apps out there which lets you set things up based on a set ‘profile’. For example, you can choose for your portfolio to receive full management, to be fixed, or to look for those investments which are thought to be socially responsible. With socially responsible investment being a very big thing at the moment, it’s likely Nutmeg is going to make a lot of waves.

However, before you go ahead and download the app for iOS or Android, do be aware that you need at least £500 to invest before you can start. This is where other apps and programs are likely to take the lead – it’s a fairly high opening gambit. Choose a lifetime ISA for stocks and shares and this threshold falls to £100, but it’s still a bit of a peak from the competition. If you only have a smaller amount to start with then Wealthify, as mentioned above, is worth a look. You can compare both platforms with out Nutmeg vs Wealthify comparison.

Best For: Longer term investors looking for a solid all round platform with low fees

Moneybox

Moneybox goes even lower on the opening investment threshold than Wombat. Here, providing you have £1 to your name, you can open an account. Tracker funds are the name of the game here, meaning that you are given a pretty simple platform to start from. 

You have access to various ISAs, such as junior ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, lifetime ISAs and more. You can also invest in your pension as well as more general investments, too.

All Moneybox appears to ask for is a flat rate of £1 per month. However, that’s if you don’t go ahead and invest anything. Competing well with Wombat, you can expect to pay 0.45% a year on anything you invest. 

As with Wombat, it’s available for iOS and Android phones, and you can expect to pay up to 0.3% in fund provider rates. That, at the very least, compares very well with Wombat. The interface, too, is likely to appeal to anyone new to investing who doesn’t want to have to fiddle around too much with awkward menus, drop-downs and charts. It’s an app that lets you invest your change and doesn’t mind if you don’t have stacks of capital available.

Best For: Getting started quickly with a hands off approach

Best ‘DIY (Self Invested)’ Investment Apps:

The following investment apps offer a low cost entry for those who want to build their own stocks and shares portfolio. Ideal for more advanced investors and those who want a more hands on investing option.

Stake

Stake were born in Australia and are now taking aim at the UK. They are a digital brokerage platform who specialise in US stocks. In particular making is easy for those in the UK to trade US stocks and shares at very low cost. They boast an impressive 3,800 US stocks and ETFs. More than any other commission-free investment platform available in the UK.

Yes you read that correctly – Stake offer 100% unlimited commission-free trades. That’s even available with their free account. Another major plus with Stake is fractional shares. So even if you are starting out small you can still own a slice of Amazon, Apple or Google.

What’s more you if you sign up using our link you can get started with a free stock. All you need to do is fund your account within 24 hours of sign up. You’ll then be allocated a random free share in either GoPro, Dropbox or Nike! If you want to find out more about how we got on when trying out the platform you can read our full Stake review.

Best For: Trading US stocks with no fees

Trading 212

Trading 212 is another trading platform which focuses on commission-free trading. There’s also a very low barrier to entry as you can start trading with as little as £1. Like Stake, Trading 212 offer a large number of US stocks. Although they don’t have quite as many on offer. They do however also have a strong selection of UK stocks and ETFs.

Another benefit of Trading 212 is as well as an excellent app, they also have a detailed desktop version. So you can check your stock portfolio on the go and on the big screen.

Trading 212 also offer fractional shares. Which means even with a low initial investment you can still own a piece of some of the big players like Amazon and Google. All in all an excellent trading app which is accessible for beginners and ideal if you are looking to trade both UK and US stocks on the same platform.

Best For: Trading stocks in the UK, US and European markets

Freetrade

Freetrade, as the name suggests, focuses on free trading (for a more in depth look and to find out how to get a free stock worth up to £200! check out our Freetrade review). It’s always good to find a service that does what it says on the tin!  Offering simple trading for absolutely nothing, you can also set up the app with a basic investment account without having to pay a penny. Stocks and shares ISAs will incur a platform fee of £3 a month, which does put it away from the competition slightly, but it’s still a very reasonable rate for what you get.

Freetrade appears to be aiming itself squarely at millennial’s, which means the app is pretty nippy and offers a lot of different features hidden away behind basic menus. Freetrade is very popular with people who are just getting into trading and investments, likely making it one of the best investment apps for beginners in the UK. However, there’s nothing to say experienced traders can’t come and take a look, either.

Freetrade allow instant trades with no commission. However there is an FX rate of 0.45% in play if you trade in foreign stocks. What’s worth bearing in mind with Freetrade is the fact that all its help and customer care is based online. Therefore, if you need help, there’s no phone number for you to call.

Best For: Beginners looking to try out stock trading