For this comparison review, I’ll be looking at Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown, two of the UK’s largest private investment platforms.

I’ll be comparing Interactive Investor (also known as ii) and Hargreaves Lansdown against a number of metrics to see which comes out on top. This includes investment options, portfolio performance, ethical offerings, products and, of course, fees.

Expensive fees can massively eat into your returns over time. So, as an experienced investor and a Chartered Accountant I know how important it is to balance costs against returns!

Get £100 Cashback

New customers who open an Interactive Investor ISA or Trading Account by 30th November and deposit or transfer £5k will receive £100 cashback.

Get £100 Cashback

Terms and fees apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

£100 Cashback Offer

New customers who open an Interactive Investor ISA or Trading Account by 30th November and deposit or transfer £5k will receive £100 cashback.

Get £100 Cashback

Terms and fees apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

Read on for my full Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown comparison, or use the links below to jump straight to a particular section.

• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: At A Glance
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Fees
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Products & Accounts
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Portfolios & Funds
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Ethical Portfolios & Funds
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Performance
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Research, Tools & Advice
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Which Has The Better App?
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Is My Money Safe?
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Pros & Cons
• Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Final Verdict

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• Moneyfarm vs Hargreaves Lansdown
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Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: At A Glance

Here’s my overview of Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown in case you don’t want to read the whole comparison. 

The table below looks at the key features compared against each other.

What You Need To Know

Best For:

• Investing in funds with ii gets cheaper the more you invest due to its fixed fee pricing, and is cheaper than HL for larger amounts
• Better option for investors seeking ready-made income portfolios, as ii has 2 to choose from (HL has none)
• Offers Joint Trading and Company Trading accounts, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown

Visit Interactive Investor

Best For:

• Hargreaves Lansdown is the cheaper platform for holding shares, whether that’s in an ISA or a GIA
• Wider range of products than ii, including a Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares LISA and Junior SIPP
• Offers personalised financial advice if you want guidance from a professional

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown

What You Need To Know

Best For:

• Investing in funds with ii gets cheaper the more you invest due to its fixed fee pricing, and is cheaper than HL for larger amounts
• Better option for investors seeking ready-made income portfolios, as ii has 2 to choose from (HL has none)
• Offers Joint Trading and Company Trading accounts, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown

Visit Interactive Investor

Best For:

• Hargreaves Lansdown is the cheaper platform for holding shares, whether that’s in an ISA or a GIA
• Wider range of products than ii, including a Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares LISA and Junior SIPP
• Offers personalised financial advice if you want guidance from a professional

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown

What is Interactive Investor?

Founded over 25 years ago, Interactive Investor is one of the leading investment platforms in the UK. It now has over 400,000 customers and offers a wide range of investment products and services.

In May 2022 it was taken over by Abrdn plc, one of the oldest and largest asset managers in the UK. As of April 2023, Interactive Investor has over £50 billion in Assets Under Administration.

Unlike many of its rivals, it charges a monthly subscription fee for its investment accounts instead of a percentage fee based on the size of your investments.

What is Hargreaves Lansdown?

Established in 1981, Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the largest retail investment platforms in the UK. 

It styles itself as the UK’s No.1 investment platform for private investors, and has over 1.6 million investors managing £135.5bn in investments.

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Fees

Let’s look in more detail at the all-important costs for Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown.

As mentioned, Interactive Investor charges subscription fees for its accounts. By contrast, Hargreaves Lansdown has a tiered fee structure based on how much you have invested and the type of assets you invest in:

Which is the cheaper platform will depend on the amount you have to invest and the type of accounts you want out of a Stocks and Shares ISA, JISA and SIPP.

At Generation Money we’ve done the maths for you, so here’s what you need to know for every Interactive Investor (ii) plan compared to Hargreaves Lansdown (as at November-23). 

Holding funds:

• ii Investor Essentials Plan (4.99 per month): if you have under £13,300 to invest, Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper. Under this amount, Hargreaves Lansdown is actually cheaper than ii for any ii plan type
  • Note, you cannot open a Junior ISA with ii’s Investor Essentials plan, and this plan is capped at £50k of investments
• ii Investor Plan (£11.99 per month): if you have under £31,973 to invest, Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper. Above this, ii is cheaper
• ii Super Investor Plan (£19.99 per month): if you have under £53,300 to invest, Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper. Above this amount, ii is cheaper
• ii Pension Essentials (£5.99 per month, max. £50k pension value): For a pension value under £15,973, Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper. From £15,974 to £50,000, Interactive Investor is cheaper
• ii Pension Builder (£12.99 per month, min. £50k pension value): Interactive Investor is cheaper for pensions worth more than £50,000

Holding shares:

Holding shares in a GIA is free with Hargreaves Lansdown. So, as long as you’re happy holding shares outside an ISA, Hargreaves Lansdown is the cheaper option than Interactive Investor for any amount of investment in shares.

Holding shares in an ISA:

• Hargreaves Lansdown has a cap of £45 on shares held in a Stocks & Shares ISA, which means it’s cheaper than any Interactive Investor plan

Holding shares in a SIPP:

• If you have under £15,974 to invest in your SIPP, Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper. Above this amount, ii’s Pension Essentials (up to £50k pension value) and Pension Builder (above £50k pension value) are both cheaper
• If you add a SIPP to an Investor Essentials plan, it costs £5 per month extra (instead of £5.99). This means that Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper for pensions valued below £13,333. Above this amount, Interactive Investor’s Pension Essentials is cheaper
• For all pensions valued at £50,000 or more, Ineractive Investor’s Pension Builder is cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown

Dealing Fees

Note that the above price analysis ignores dealing fees.

Interactive Investor’s dealing fee update earlier in 2023 means that it is cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown no matter how many trades per month you make.

All trades, except for international shares, are charged at £3.99 per transaction with Interactive Investor. International shares cost £9.99 per transaction.

With Hargreaves Lansdown, dealing fees are based on the number of deals you make in the prior month:

• 0 – 9: £11.95
• 10 – 20: £8.95
• 20+: £5.95

Even frequent traders will pay £5.95 per transaction which is higher than ii’s dealing fee.

However, if you trade this frequently you are likely to be better off with commission-free trading apps – read our guide to the best investment apps in the UK to see which is best for you.

Trading in international shares is £9.99 with Interactive Investor unless you have a Super Investor plan, where it costs £5.99 per transaction. Hargreaves Lansdown does not charge separate dealing fees on international shares, but an FX charge will be added of up to 1.0% of the value of the trade.

Get £100 Cashback

New customers who open an Interactive Investor ISA or Trading Account by 30th November and deposit or transfer £5k will receive £100 cashback.

Get £100 Cashback

Terms and fees apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

£100 Cashback Offer

New customers who open an Interactive Investor ISA or Trading Account by 30th November and deposit or transfer £5k will receive £100 cashback.

Get £100 Cashback

Terms and fees apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

Ready-Made Portfolios

For ready-made portfolios, ongoing charges vary depending on which portfolio you prefer from either platform. 

Interactive Investor offers two income portfolios as well as three growth portfolios. All 4 of Hargreaves Lansdown’s portfolios are growth portfolios. 

Generally, the ready-made portfolios offered by both Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor are more expensive than those provided by specialist robo-advisors. 

The exception is Interactive Investors Low-cost Income fund which has annual charges of 0.47%. This is very competitive for an income fund, which are themselves increasingly rare as interest rates rise.

However, for the lowest-cost fund investing, you should consider InvestEngine which is an investment platform that allows you to invest in over 550 ETFs. InvestEngine also offers ready-made portfolios, and they are all cheaper than both Hargreaves Lansdown’s and Interactive Investor’s.

But, InvestEngine only offers ETFs so you cannot invest in unit trusts or other types of funds like you can with Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown.

Up To £50 Welcome Bonus

Over 550 ETFs to invest in. Commission-free.

Get a free welcome bonus of up to £50 when you invest at least £100 with InvestEngine.

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Ts&Cs apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

Up To £50 Welcome Bonus

OFFER: Get a Welcome Bonus of up to £50 when you invest at least £100 with InvestEngine.

Claim Your Bonus

Ts&Cs apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

Read our detailed InvestEngine review for more.

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Products & Accounts

Both Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown offer a good range of products and investment options. Each provider offers thousands of shares, funds, bonds, investment trusts and ETFs to invest in. Both platforms are good options to consider for experienced investors.

Each offers a Stocks & Shares ISA, JISA, GIA and SIPP. However, Hargreaves Lansdown also offers a Stocks & Shares LISA, Junior SIPP and Cash ISA, so it has a wider range of products.

In addition, with Hargreaves Lansdown you can also purchase Personal Financial Advice if you want a professional to guide you through your investment and financial planning options. Hargreaves Lansdown also offers an FX service. Neither of these are available with Interactive Investor.

On the other hand, Interactive Investor offers joint trading accounts and company trading accounts which Hargreaves Lansdown does not. A joint trading account can be opened in the name of two people, so you may be interested in this if you have a partner you want to invest with.

It’s worth noting that Interactive Investor used to offer a Pension Trading account but this is now closed to new investors.

Overall, I give the edge to Hargreaves Lansdown as it offers more ISA options. However, there’s not much in it and Interactive Investor still offers a good range of investment accounts for most needs.

Hargreaves Lansdown – Switch Your Money On

ISAs, Pensions, Funds and Shares.

Thousands of stocks, bonds & funds to choose from with the UK’s largest platform for private investors.

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown

ISAs, Pensions, Funds and Shares.

Thousands of stocks, bonds & funds to choose from with the UK’s largest platform for private investors.

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Portfolios & Funds

Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor both offer ready-made portfolios to invest in. 

Each of Hargreaves Lansdown’s are based on risk appetite: Adventurous, Moderately Adventurous, Balanced and Cautious. They’re all growth portfolios, too, which means they seek to build value over time.

Interactive Investor has 5 portfolios, with 3 growth portfolios and 2 income portfolios to choose from. As you may expect, the income portfolios seek to invest in high-yielding funds to achieve an income for investors.

Therefore, if you’re interested in a ready-made income portfolio then Interactive Investor is your best choice compared to Hargreaves Lansdown. 

As mentioned under fees, the ready-made portfolios offered by both platforms are generally more expensive than specialist robo-advisors. 

Aside from ready-made portfolios, both providers offer their own shortlists of funds that they’ve chosen based on various criteria. 

Hargreaves Lansdown offers its Wealth Shortlist, which is a list of funds picked by Hargreaves Lansdown based on various criteria, which you can choose to invest in. 

In addition, Hargreaves Lansdown provides its HL Select portfolios which are also managed by Hargreaves Lansdown fund managers. These are actively managed funds. 

Interactive Investor has its own funds lists with its Super 60 and Winter Portfolios. 

Both platforms offer a huge range of funds, including ETFs, to choose from to construct your own portfolio of investments. The familiar funds from the likes of Vanguard, Blackrock and iShares are available through both platforms. 

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Ethical Portfolios

Investors increasingly want to know which companies and industries their money is going into to ensure that they align with their values. As a result, investment platforms often now offer a range of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) or Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) options.

Interactive Investor offers over 200 sustainable investment options to invest in. From these, it has created a shortlist called ACE 40 which is a list of funds sorted by asset class which Interative Investor has picked.

Hargreaves Lansdown doesn’t have a list of or guide to SRI/ESG portfolios. However, it operates what it calls a “responsible investment” strategy over the funds it manages and picks. 

In addition, unlike robo-advisors such as Moneyfarm and Nutmeg, neither Interactive Investor or Hargreaves Lansdown offer ethical or ESG options for their ready-made portfolios. So your options for hands-off ESG friendly investing are limited with both providers.

However, both platforms offer ESG funds as part of their huge range of funds to invest in, with ESG funds created by the likes of L&G, Blackrock and Vanguard. This allows you to build your own ethical portfolio which would suit a more experienced investor.

For more on ethical investing read our guide to the best ethical stocks and shares ISAs.

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Performance

Hargreaves Lansdown’s ready-made portfolios only launched in March-23 so they don’t have historical performance to compare against so far. To get a sense of the past returns with other funds available at Hargreaves Lansdown, you can view their investor factsheets and research on their website.

On the other hand, Interactive Investor’s ready-made portfolios have a few years of performance data which you can view on their website.

As with Hargreaves Lansdown, all of the funds listed with Interactive Investor have their historical performance available to view online and through the app.

The UK’s number one flat-fee investment platform.

Access 40,000+ UK and global stocks, plus the tools and analysis to help.

Visit Interactive Investor

ISAs, Pensions, Funds and Shares.

Thousands of stocks, bonds & funds to choose from with the UK’s largest platform for private investors.

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Research, Tools and Advice

Both Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown offer a range of tools, research and guides on their websites. An experienced, or confident investor, will probably make use of the tools on offer, which are more comprehensive than those seen with robo-advisors. 

Beginner investors are also well-served with both platforms providing a range of guides and explainers for those with less investing experience.

However, both lack the detailed tools and analysis that you can get with other trading and investment platforms. 

If you’re a seasoned investor, then you may prefer more sophisticated tools available with other providers, such as eToro. Read our detailed independent eToro review for more.

With Hargreaves Lansdown you can also get personal financial advice from a regulated professional. 

If you have a more complex financial situation, or simply want the advice of a professional, this could be a good option for you. Interactive Investor does not offer financial advice.

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Which Has The Better App?

Each provider has an app alongside their online platform. I tested both apps against each other for this comparison, although I’ve used Hargreaves Lansdown’s app for a number of years now.

Both apps allow you to see your investments and portfolios, as well as fund your account. Market news and updates are also regularly provided in-app with each provider.

Here’s a snapshot of each app:

It’s hard to pick which is better, as they both offer the features you’d expect from a major investment platform.

You’re able to trade, create or edit watchlists, view market research and news and fund your account directly through their apps.

Which has the better app out of Hargreaves Lansdown vs Interactive Investor is not going to be the key decision when deciding which platform to sign up with.

However, the best investment apps on the market tend to be the newer app-only investment platforms such as Plum and Lightyear. Capital at risk if you invest.

They’re typically aimed at younger and less experienced investors but are focused on tech and app experience. You may want to consider these as good alternatives for app investing.

The UK’s number one flat-fee investment platform.

Access 40,000+ UK and global stocks, plus the tools and analysis to help.

Visit Interactive Investor

ISAs, Pensions, Funds and Shares.

Thousands of stocks, bonds & funds to choose from with the UK’s largest platform for private investors.

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Is My Money Safe?

Both Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and have Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection.

This means that if either company were to go bust, your money would be protected up to the value of £85,000 by the regulator.

It should be noted that some of the funds offered by both Interactive Investor and with Hargreaves Lansdown are located outside of the UK and therefore are not covered by FSCS protection. This information is made clear in the Key Investor Information Document available online with both platforms.

The savings accounts offered by Interactive Investor are held with a range of different banks. Both Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor segregate client money from their own using custodian accounts held with secure 3rd parties. These also fall under FSCS protection.

Both platforms are well-established and have decades of experience managing investments and client assets.

Overall, when comparing safety between Hargreaves Lansdown vs Interactive Investor, they are pretty evenly matched.

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Pros & Cons

To summarise my comparison of Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown, I’ve outlined below what I believe are the main pros and cons of each investment platform.

Interactive Investor Pros & Cons

Interactive Investor Pros

• No minimum upfront investment, with regular investing starting at £25 per month
• 3 risk-based ready-made portfolios suitable for beginner investors
• 2 ready-made income focused portfolios, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown which does not currently offer income portfolios
• Thousands of investments to choose from across funds, shares and bonds
• Subscription fee based pricing means that when investing in funds, the more you have to invest the lower the effective cost, making Interactive Investor cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown for larger amounts of investment. See Fees section for full details
• Wide range of products to choose from, including the main ISA and SIPP accounts
• Customisable portfolios
• Cash savings provided by Flagstone, with FSCS protection
• Log in to your account online and through the app
• Lots of suggest funds lists to help you get started investing
• Curated list of ethical investment ideas (ACE 40)

Interactive Investor Cons

• More expensive to hold shares than it is with Hargreaves Lansdown
• No Stocks & Shares LISA or Junior SIPP
• No Cash ISA
• Does not offer regulated financial advice, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown Pros & Cons

Hargreaves Lansdown Pros

• Huge range of thousands of funds, shares and bonds to invest in
• Cheaper than Interactive Investor for holding shares
• Caters to wide range of users with an extensive mix of ready-made, actively managed and passive portfolios
• Extensive investment research and useful tools, good for experienced investors
• Offers regulated personal financial advice, good for those seeking guidance with their investments
• Foreign exchange services available
• Active Savings account brings together the best savings rates from a range of providers
• Log in to your account online and through the app
• Offers more products than Interactive Investor, including a Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares LISA and Junior SIPP

Hargreaves Lansdown Cons

• No ready-made income portfolios, unlike Interactive Investor
• More expensive for holding funds than with Interactive Investor for larger amounts of investment
• Lack of ethical or ESG options beyond funds provided by others
• Higher minimum investment for its ready-made portfolios and its SIPP (£100)

Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Final Verdict

Both Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown are good choices for more experienced investors, and those who want to pick their own investments. This is because they have a huge range of funds, bonds, ETFs and shares to invest in. 

If you want to hold shares in an ISA or GIA, then Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper as its ISA fees are capped for shares, and it does not charge platform fees on shares in a GIA.

However, for most other investments Interactive Investor works out cheaper. 

If you want guidance from a professional, then you’ll also prefer Hargreaves Lansdown as it offers regulated financial advice.

Hargreaves Lansdown also has a slightly wider range of account options, including a Cash ISA which is not available with Interactive Investor.

Get £100 Cashback

New customers who open an Interactive Investor ISA or Trading Account by 30th November and deposit or transfer £5k will receive £100 cashback.

Get £100 Cashback

Terms and fees apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

£100 Cashback Offer

New customers who open an Interactive Investor ISA or Trading Account by 30th November and deposit or transfer £5k will receive £100 cashback.

Get £100 Cashback

Terms and fees apply. Capital at risk if you invest.

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