Trading 212 review is it any good? 2025

Trading 212 serves clients worldwide, with operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. As of 2025, the company reports having approximately 4.5 million users with funded accounts.

Trading 212 is one of the UK’s most popular online trading platforms and the most downloaded trading app on iOS and Android. With its commission‑free trading, intuitive web and mobile apps and FCA regulation, Trading 212 has become the go‑to platform for new UK investors. Complete training in financial markets such as “Forex,” “Stock Market,” and https://traderoom.info/is-trading212-a-reliable-brokerage-firm/ “Cryptocurrencies” only becomes comprehensive with tested trading tools and strategies. “Trading Finder,” with its experience, aids traders and investors in gaining a correct understanding and deep learning. The training programs are designed based on tools for traders of all levels, from “beginner to advanced.” Copy trading is not available, but features like interest on cash and share lending exist.

At present, this rate is 4.90% and applies to balances in both the Invest account and the ISA accounts. FX fees range from 0.15% to 0.5%, depending on the account type. No, it only offers its proprietary trading platform and does not support MetaTrader. The broker also supports fractional share investing and “Pie” portfolios for automated and recurring investments. Cryptocurrency trading has been discontinued for retail clients, aligning with regulatory constraints in the UK. Funding your Trading 212 account is designed to be smooth, fast, and transparent.

The most famous of which is Berkshire Hathaway, where a single share would set you back $496,000. Few could afford a Berkshire Hathaway share, but with fractional shares, you wouldn’t have to buy a whole share to invest in the company. You could by a tenth of a share, or if that is too expensive (due to the extreme example used) a hundredth of a share.

  • Despite these efforts, some users have reported continued difficulty in getting their issues resolved in a timely manner.
  • This is one of the stand out, and most popular features of Trading 212.
  • New investors are usually encouraged to invest in funds or indices, but if you’re interested in expanding your range of investments, Trading 212 has you well covered.
  • In the UK we’re charged stamp duty when buying UK shares over £1,000.

Trading 212 interface – great for beginners

  • The platform has no trading or platform fees and allows minimum investments of £1.
  • A pie is a collection of stocks or ETFs, each represented as a slice of the pie.
  • Uninvested cash within the platform earns an Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) that is variable.
  • When it comes to order execution Trading 212 offers comprehensive stops and limits options.

Trading 212 offers Invest, CFD, and ISA accounts for stocks, ETFs, and leveraged CFD trading. A lot of platforms have an auto invest function, some such as HL are even free (only UK stocks, ETFs, and funds). Users can purchase portions of shares, broadening access to high-priced stocks. Investors may select ready-made portfolios or pies based on different risk levels. These tools allow users to automatically sell assets if values drop below or rise above preset thresholds. An in-app learn section introduces essential trading concepts.

What account types are available?

I also have an account with Freetrade, but more on that later. Launched in the UK in 2016, it stood out with commission‑free trading, an intuitive web and mobile interface and full FCA regulation. I first joined Hargreaves Lansdown around 2014, when brokers charged up to £11.95 per trade. If you traded often or in small amounts, those fees could quickly erode your returns. Uninvested cash within the platform earns an Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) that is variable.

Swap Fee at Trading 212

To begin trading with Trading212, you need to create an account and verify your identity. This quick setup process connects you to one of the most accessible trading platforms in the market. All that, before mentioning that it’s the cheapest platform around. Overall, the platform has generally been well-regarded by users for its user-friendly design, wide range of investment options, and competitive fees.

Trading 212 issues and controversies

By contrast, IB’s interface (in 2023) resembles 1993’s release of Microsoft Windows 3.11. CFDs are leveraged trades, and it’s easy to lose more than you expect if you don’t fully understand how they work. You can start with £1 and deposit up to £20,000 each tax year. Uninvested cash earns 4.05% AER, often higher than many cash ISAs. I’m a financial journalist and have used Trading 212 for more than eight years. In that time I’ve invested over £40,000 via the Invest account and Stocks and Shares ISA, earned thousands in returns and interest, and taken a few losses on CFDs.

The platform supports a variety of funding channels, from classic bank transfers to instant and electronic payment systems, allowing traders worldwide to deposit funds securely in multiple currencies. Trading 212 maintains one of the most transparent fee structures in retail trading. The broker charges no inactivity or withdrawal fees, while only specific deposit and currency conversion situations may incur minor costs. Trading 212 offers a proprietary trading platform that’s available in both web and mobile versions. The platform features TradingView-powered charting with 100+ indicators and intuitive drawing tools.

One of the features that helped Trading 212 to grow as much as it has done is its ‘free fractional shares’ offer. Another new feature of Trading 212 is the share lending program. This is a way to make additional returns from shares you are holding long term.

Trading 212 takes auto investing to the next level with the introduction of Pies. A pie is a collection of stocks or ETFs, each represented as a slice of the pie. You can hold up to 50 stocks in a pie and have multiple pies all based around various themes, or risk levels.

The platform also offers a comprehensive Help Centre on its website, which includes answers to frequently asked questions and detailed explanations of its features and services. Overall though the fees are still much lower than any traditional platform in the UK, and compare well, if not better than its peers. I actually found that the spreads were better or equal to many of the more established trading platforms, so Trading 212 must be making its money in a different way. In addition to earning interest on uninvested cash, Trading 212 now offers a debit card that you can use to access the money in your invest account.

ETFs, or exchange traded funds, are funds which are listed on the stock exchange. Just like regular funds these can be based around a theme or industry, for example fintech, or manufacturing. This actually happened to me with pharmaceutical stock I had been trading on HL. When I switched to Trading 212, the stock wasn’t available, so I contacted them about it, and the stock was added a few days later. If there is a stock you are interested in that isn’t yet covered, you can contact Trading 212, and they will consider adding it to the platform if the demand is high enough. New investors are usually encouraged to invest in funds or indices, but if you’re interested in expanding your range of investments, Trading 212 has you well covered.

Many of these are available to some degree in other platforms, so I’ll use this section to cover the most popular, and important features, found on Trading 212. There’s also an overnight fee if you hold a position open for more than a day. You can see the full breakdown on Trading 212’s CFD pricing page.

The minimum deposit is $1 for Invest/ISA accounts and $10 for CFD accounts. Across the UK and European markets, the company has been celebrated for its low-cost structure, user-friendly platform, and commitment to empowering everyday investors. While Trading 212 doesn’t offer a traditional copy trading feature, unlike some other brokers, it does provide some interesting investment options. Trading 212 provides withdrawal options for major currencies with generally no broker fees. Processing typically takes up to three business days, though bank procedures or currency conversions may affect timing. Other than the variable spreads and other fees mentioned above, there are no costs for inactivity periods, deposits, and withdrawals.

Can I trade cryptocurrencies on Trading 212?

There’s a whole section on the Trading 212 community boards, discussing and sharing pies. The cool thing about pies is that if you see a pie you like created by someone else, you can copy it, and add it your own portfolio, or share your pie for others to copy. Trading 212 on the other hand is straight forward and intuitive. In fact, it’s been criticised for almost being too easy, making trading seem more game-like and thus detaching users from the risks involved when trading. Compared to HL, IG and Vanguard, Trading 212 offers a clean, simple, easy-to-use interface.

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