Our bottom line
Freetrade provides investors an easy-to-use app and platform that makes investing much simpler.
What’s even better is that this simplicity is topped off with a great value ISA platform fee and extremely low commissions.
The investment selection available is continually expanding, allowing investors a larger choice of options. Investing as a beginner using this platform couldn’t be easier, making it extremely appealing if you’re just getting started.
Of course, deciding whether to invest and what to invest in should take plenty of research. It’s important to avoid diving in without a plan because your capital is at risk.
A lack of complex fees means that you can just concentrate on researching your investments instead of jumping through hoops trying to calculate your costs each month. Simple, cheap, and straightforward investing – just as it should be.
Although Freetrade makes the process of investing easy, do keep in mind that you may get out less than what you put in and becoming a successful investor takes a lot of hard work and research.
Top feature of Freetrade’s Stocks & Shares ISA
The name somewhat gives it away, but the best feature from the Freetrade Stocks and Shares ISA is the ability to trade with no commissions and no account, inactivity or withdrawal fees, just a three pound fixed monthly fee!
Having no added commission fees to factor in when you’re buying or selling investments is excellent for building long-term wealth with your stocks and shares ISA.
Usability of Freetrade’s platform
Freetrade have done an excellent job of crafting a platform that’s dead simple to use, even if you’re a complete beginner to investing.
Some might argue that if anything, it makes the process of investing too easy. Freetrade opens the door to the world of investing, but it’s vital you still take plenty of care when considering whether to invest and what to invest in. The good news however is that Freetrade are taking steps to make this area of finance accessible to just about everyone.
The layout and interface of the app is so straightforward that most people should find it easy to navigate.
However, the only criticism for the platform is that it doesn’t provide a lot of information for finding investments. If you know the stocks or shares you’re looking for, searching is easy. But if you want to look for some inspiration, the ‘discover’ tab is fairly limited.
There are some automated categories that suggest areas such as ‘green energy’, or ‘female CEOs’, but these don’t provide much in-depth info for investors. Also, if you click on a sector – for example ‘tech’ it just takes you to a massive alphabetical list, which isn’t particularly intuitive.
Freetrade’s research offerings
This is the one area I’d say the platform falls fairly flat.
Although Freetrade is great for actually investing, there’s not a lot to help you research or dig into stocks and shares. The price action is provided (but only goes back as far as 2017). Other than that, there are some basic stats and a brief sentence describing the company or investment.
Realistically, it’s best to research your investments elsewhere and then simply use Freetrade to purchase and hold them in your stocks and shares ISA.
Freetrade’s website does provide some good resources and I’d thoroughly recommend signing up to their newsletter ‘Honey’ which is both fun and informative, something that aligns with our values here at The Motley Fool.
Freetrade’s customer service and support
You can get support from Freetrade through their in-app customer service chat or by email. Unfortunately there’s no phone support available.
Freetrade has an extensive FAQ library and an active community forum of online investors. They also maintain a solid social media presence on multiple platforms if you prefer to reach out for a helping hand that way.
In terms of customer reviews, on Trustpilot, Freetrade scores 4.3 out of 5 stars. As we write this, 81% have rated it ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great.’
Is Freetrade’s Stocks & Shares ISA a good choice for you?
If you’re seeking a platform that is very easy to use whilst also providing good value, then you should definitely check out Freetrade. However, if you’re looking for more advanced research resources and trading tools, this isn’t the app for you.
Similarly, if you’re not comfortable doing everything on an app and prefer to use the phone or even do things in person – the Freetrade Stocks and Shares ISA may not push your buttons.
There’s not much room for growth as you become a more educated investor. But for its few minor flaws, this stocks and shares ISA is a great place to start while you learn about the markets. This is because Freetrade eagerly ticks the boxes of being extremely cheap and straightforward.
The services on offer and investments available are always growing, and the Freetrade Plus membership offers some useful added benefits for an extra fee of £9.99 per month. So, it will be exciting to see what else this stocks and shares ISA might be able to offer you in the future.
Alternatives to consider
Some alternative cheap ISA brokerage platforms to consider that are good for beginners and also provide an investing app for your account include: