How to get free stocks and shares in the UK

Trading and investing platforms are fighting to get you on board, and they’re willing to give away free stocks and shares to convince you. There are always conditions to be aware of – sometimes you’ll get free shares just for signing up and funding your account but you may not be able to “cash out” for a set period, for example.

We’ve tried to call out the key nitty gritty details in this guide for getting free stocks, shares or cash from UK investing platforms, and we’ve also included other types of promos like refer-a-friend deals.

Current free share promos

We’ve rounded up all the free share bonuses and referral offers available to UK investors, with promoted partners shown first. In all cases, T&Cs apply.

Platform	Finder score	Offer	Link
	★★★★★	Free stock worth £10-£100 when you sign-up with Finder’s link. T&Cs apply.	Get offer Capital at risk
	★★★★★	Fractional shares worth up to £100 when you sign-up with Finder’s link and use the code “FINDER”. T&Cs apply.	Get offerCapital at risk
	★★★★★	Welcome bonus of £10-£50. T&Cs apply.	Get offer Capital at risk
	★★★★★	Get a £25 card for you and another for a friend when you refer them and they open an ISA. T&Cs apply.	Get offer Capital at risk
	★★★★★	Refer a friend and both you and they will get £50 cashback. T&Cs apply.	Get offerCapital at risk
	★★★★★	5 individual fractional share rewards for each friend your refer. T&Cs apply.	Read reviewCapital at risk
	★★★★★	Invite a friend to join Wealthyhood, and you’ll both get a free ETF share worth up to £200. T&Cs apply.	Read reviewCapital at risk
	★★★★★	£30 gift voucher for you and your friend. T&Cs apply.	Read reviewCapital at risk

How to get your free shares in a few simple steps

Most of the time, getting free stocks is really simple and requires little effort. The process for each provider is slightly different, so check out our individual guides below for provider specific how-to lists.

1. Check the free offers available. We’ve listed some of the best ones above with the things you’ll need to consider.
2. Get a referral link (and click on it!) You might need to ask a friend to refer you. We have some referral links too.
3. Sign up. You’ll often need to be a new member for this process to work.
4. Deposit the minimum amount. A lot of providers have a minimum deposit. You’ll need to put this amount into your account before you get the shares.
5. Satisfy any additional conditions. There might be additional things you’ll need to do – such as keep your money invested for a certain period.
6. Get your free shares. See! We told you it was easy.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the offers on the market today.

Freetrade: £10-£100 free share

The OG commission-free trading app, Freetrade, is one of the few platforms offering a true sign-up reward. You don’t have to persuade friends to get involved (although you can do that too if you want, as part of a separate promotion). If you’re not across Freetrade, have a read of our review. We think it’s a super slick platform, although many features are reserved for paid plans only.

To get a free share, you need to be a new Freetrade customer and you need to fund your account with at least £50. At the time of writing, the offer’s only available through select sites (including Finder!). If you’ve got an account already, you can still refer friends to get free shares (see the last step in the “how to” guide).

The free share you receive for signing up will be worth at least £10 (max £100). You can refer up to 10 friends to get additional free shares.

How to get the free stock

1. Open an account. You’ll need to use Finder’s link.
2. Fund your account. Deposit at least £50 to qualify. Look out for Freetrade’s occasional “special offer” periods when the minimum funding is lower.
3. Fill out your W-8BEN form. This means you’re able to get a US share.
4. Get your shares. Between 7 and 10 days later, your free share will be added to your account.
5. The fun doesn’t stop there… You can get more free shares by referring your friends to Freetrade. They’ll need to use a link you generate in your app in order for you both to get your free shares.

How easy is it to get the free share?

Pretty easy! You don’t have to deposit too huge an amount into your account to get the free share, and there’s the chance to continue getting free shares through referrals (until you run out of friends).

Something to consider

Your free share won’t be put into your ISA, if you’ve got one. The stock is placed into your general investment account (GIA). You’re more likely to get a lower value than a higher value share, as the probability is weighted. 80% of participants will get a share worth £10 to £25, while 15% will get a share worth £25 to £50, 3% will get a share worth £50 to £75 and 2% will get a share worth £75 to £100.

Claim free share

Capital at risk

Trading 212: £8-£100 free shares

Join Trading 212 using Finder’s referral link and the code “FINDER” you’ll get free fractional shares worth up to £100. From time to time you can also then refer up to 5 friends to get more free fractional shares (we’ll update this page when the next refer-a-friend promo launches).

The free stocks you receive through the Finder link will be worth at least £8 and the maximum value is £100.

How to get the free stocks

1. Open an account with Finder’s link. Use the code “FINDER” or the link shared with you by a friend.
2. Verify. Once your account is open you’ll need to verfiy using an ID.
3. Deposit funds. Once your account is verified, you’ll need to make a deposit of at least £1.
4. Get your free stocks. Trading 212 states you should get your free share within 3 business days.
5. Keep referring friends. From time to time you can get more free stocks by referring your friends to Trading 212. You can refer up to 5 more people and they just need to follow the same process you did.

How easy is it to get the free stocks?

Trading 212’s referral system for bonus free shares is probably one of the easiest out there with very few hoops to jump through and the £1 minimum deposit makes it affordable for anyone.

Something to consider

The Trading 212 free share promotion only runs from time to time and there’s usually only a small window of a few weeks to get your free shares.

80% of participants receive £8-25 share value, 15% receive £25-50, 3% receive £50-75 and 2% receive £75-£100.

Claim free shares

Capital at risk

InvestEngine: £10-£50 sign-up bonus

Sign up to InvestEngine using our link and you’ll receive a bonus of between £10 and £50 (randomly generated) when you deposit and invest £100. InvestEngine also has a referral programme where both you and the person you refer will receive a bonus of between £10 and £50, paid into your InvestEngine accounts. You can refer up to 25 friends to InvestEngine to keep receiving referral bonuses.

Note that InvestEngine is all about ETFs – you can’t invest in individual shares. Learn more in our InvestEngine review.

How to get the InvestEngine welcome bonus

1. Use our link and create an account. Follow our unique referral link and create your account by clicking “get started”.
2. Complete registration and choose investments. After completing the sign up process, you need to deposit and invest at least £100, in line with InvestEngine’s T&Cs.
3. Claim your bonus. You’ll get a notification to claim an extra £10 to £50 and it will be added to your account with 5 business days.
4. Remain invested. You need to leave it invested for 12 months to keep your bonus, but you can refer friends and family to earn up to 25 more bonuses.

How to get the InvestEngine referral bonus

1. The person referred needs to open an account. If you’ve been referred, you’ll need to use the referral link your friend sends you from within their account.
2. Fund your account. You need to deposit at least £100, in line with InvestEngine’s T&Cs.
3. Choose your investments. This can be ready-made portfolios or you can create your own portfolio of exchange-traded funds.
4. Get your referral bonus. This usually happens fairly promptly, though you need to leave it invested for 12 months.

How easy is it?

It’s easy to get the welcome bonus but you do have to keep it invested with your original £100 for 12 months before you can withdraw it.

Something to consider

You need to fund your portfolio with £100 within 30 days, and it must stay invested with the welcome bonus for a year, or InvestEngine may take away your bonus. 75% of participants receive £10-12, while 20% receive £13-34 and 5% receive £35-50.

Scottish Friendly: £25 referral voucher

This isn’t really a free share, but it is a freebie. The £25 My Rewards gift vouchers can be redeemed at a range of outlets throughout the UK, including the Apple Store, John Lewis & Partners and Love2shop

How to get the freebie

1. Your friend opens an account. They can do this on the website. They’ll need to enter the code “RECAF” when completing the application form.
2. They’ll receive their gift 28 days after investing. They’ll also receive yours, and can pass it along.

All that’s left to do is choose where to spend it.

How easy is it?

It’s fairly straightforward, with the only real catch being that the referred friend (or friends – you can refer multiple) has to give you your reward, because they’ll receive both. Fine if you trust them!

Something to consider

Scottish Friendly just offers ISAs where you opt into ready-made investments (rather than picking your own stocks). So this is worth bearing in mind if you want access to wider investment options.

Get your welcome gift

Capital at risk

Wealthify: £50 referral cashback

Wealthify’s referral programme lets you refer friends after you’ve signed up.

If you’re a signed-up member with at least one invested plan, referring a friend gets both you and your friend £50 cashback. The referred friend needs to have deposited £250 and left it invested for 3 months for you to both get the referral fee.

How to get the referral bonus

1. The person referred must open an account. They’ll need to use the friend referral link.
2. Fund your account. If you’ve been referred, you need to deposit at least £250 (as a lump sum or over several deposits).
3. Leave at least £250 invested for at least 3 months. Then, you and your friend will both have £50 paid into your plans.

How easy is it?

Getting the referral bonus is easy, as long as you have friends to refer you to Wealthify. It takes a few months to reap the rewards and you have to deposit £250 to get the referral bonus if you are referred. There’s no limit on how many friends you can refer for them to get the bonus, but you’ll only get paid yourself for the first 30.

However it’s a big shame that there’s a 3-month wait for you and your friend to receive the referral fee.

Something to consider

Unlike some platforms, with Wealthify you can get your bonus placed into your ISA.

Wealthify does not offer a DIY portfolio option.

Get offer

Capital at risk

Robinhood: 5 fractional share rewards on referrals

Refer up to 5 friends to get free “fractional share rewards” (see the last step in the “how to” guide), but you can’t get one just for opening your own account.

The free stocks you receive will be worth at least $7 and the maximum value is $175. You can refer as many friends as you like until you hit $1,500 in bonus stock in a year.

Robinhood is for trading US stocks… commission-free, but US stocks only. You can open an account in the UK, but note that funds you deposit are immediately converted to USD. Learn more in our Robinhood review.

How to get the free stocks

1. Open an account. You’ll need a referral link – this could be one sent to you by a friend.
2. Refer friends. Once your account is open you’ll get a unique referral link that you can send to friends and family.
3. Wait until they sign up. Once your referral signs up, opens their account and deposits any amount you’ll be eligible for your reward.
4. Get your free stocks. Robinhood states you’ll be credited “as soon as your friends sign up, get approved and make their first deposit”.
5. Keep referring friends. You can get more free stocks by referring your friends to Robinhood. You get 60 days to claim each reward before it expires but you can the stock straight away if you want.

How easy is it to get the free stocks?

Robinhood could certainly make this more straightforward, and it doesn’t help that it’s a very hard company to contact, from our research.

While some other apps just give you your reward, Robinhood notifies you that it’s ready to claim, and you then have 60 days to do so. You can’t sell the stocks until 3 trading days after they were issued, and you can’t withdraw the cash from selling them for 30 days. Pretty frustrating stuff!

Something to consider

You’ll get 5 fractional share rewards, and Robinhood stated that 96% of participants will receive a net cash value of $7 to $8.

Capital at risk

Dodl: £30 referral voucher

Dodl has launched a referral promotion that lets you claim a free £30 Blackhawk voucher if you refer a friend or are referred by a friend. Blackhawk’s a gift card and reward provider that offers vouchers for a wide range of retailers and service providers, such as TK Maxx and Spotify.

The referred friend has to open a general investment account, ISA, LISA or pension and add at least £500 to the account within 120 days – this can either be with an account top-up or by transferring an account, but it can’t be transferred from AJ Bell.

Dodl is for UK stocks only, but it does offer commission-free trading. Learn more in our Dodl review.

How to get your gift voucher

1. Open an account with Dodl. You can choose any of the accounts that Dodl has on offer.
2. Fill out the referral form on Dodl’s website. It asks for the details of the person who referred you and the details you signed up with.
3. Deposit at least £500. This can be either with a brand transfer or by transferring your account from another provider.
4. Get your voucher. You and your friend will receive an email with a voucher code in the calendar month after your deposit.

How easy is it?

It’s a doddle – you just need to fill out a form and you’re good to go.

Something to consider

You’ll need to be a Dodl customer with at least £500 in your account when the voucher arrives and your voucher may be reclaimed if you close your account or transfer out within 12 months.

Capital at risk

Wealthyhood: £5-£200 free ETF share on referral

Wealthyhood is offering a free ETF share worth up to £200 (though it could also be as little as £5) to existing account holders when they refer friends to join (the friends get a free share too).

How to get the free stock

1. Open an account. At the moment, Wealthyhood only offers a General Investment Account.
2. Make your first investment. You can start investing from as little as £20.
3. Refer your friends. You can enter their email in your account or share your unique referral code or link.
4. Get your free ETF. This should only take around 5 days. You can’t sell your ETF for 60 days, and will also lose it if you close your account within 60 days.

How easy is it?

Pretty easy. Bear in mind that your friend will need to invest at least £100 within 7 days for you both to get your free ETF share. Wealthyhood states that your free share share will appear on each of your accounts within a maximum of 5 days.

Something to consider

In practice, your free ETF share may range anywhere from a minimum of £5 to a maximum of £200. You’re more likely to get a lower-value share as the probabilities are weighted. Wealthyhood doesn’t specifiy exact probabilities, but it says it tries hard to “reward genuine friend invites better”. Mysterious!

Wealthyhood currently only offers a General Investment Account (no ISA, for example).

Capital at risk

Bottom line

It’s possible to get free stocks and shares simply by signing up to some platforms, as long as you haven’t signed up for an account before and you meet all the criteria. Another option if you have an account is referring friends.

You should never invest in a hurry but these deals can sometimes have expiry dates or get changed at a moments notice. So act quick if you want to benefit from the cash or free stocks offer. Free shares shouldn’t be the only reason you join a platform, but it’s definitely a bonus.

Frequently asked questions

• Is it safe to invest using a trading app?

  As with all investing, there’s the risk that you could lose the money that you invest. You can help to protect yourself from investment risk by diversifying your portfolio (which is investment talk for not putting all your eggs in one basket).

• Will my free share be subject to tax?

  It could be. Some trading platforms won’t put your free share into your ISA, so any profits you make will be subject to capital gains tax, which is payable if you earn more than £3,000 in a tax year.

  If the provider allows you to redeem the free share in your ISA, then you won’t have to pay tax on the profits as long as it doesn’t take you over the £20,000 allowance in a year.

• Can I cash in my free shares?

  You can. Some providers ask that you don’t withdraw the money for a set period, while others let you sell and cash in right away. Make sure you know what your chosen provider lets you do.

• Is it possible to get a free share more than once?

  In many cases it is possible to get more than one free share — typically if the provider has some sort of referral program. You often can’t get the free share for signing up more than once, but you can refer friends for more.

• How can I trade stocks for free?

  There are plenty of “free” trading apps. These are typically commission free, so there could be additional charges for things like foreign exchange or withdrawing your money.

  Trading 212 and eToro are two popular commission-free trading apps.

• Can I buy shares in UK stock?

  You can! These shares are often listed on the London Stock Exchange, so look out for a provider that lets you buy these shares. We’ve listed some of the best trading apps to help you find one that suits you.

• Which is the best free share offer?

  There are loads of great ones. The best one for you will depend on what suits you best. Remember, you’ll likely be using the platform for a while, so choosing the right provider probably matters more than the freebies. (We won’t like though, a nice freebie is never gonna hurt).

• Which app gives free stocks?

  Freetrade and Stake both give out free shares to new members. Some other providers have freebies on offer to their new members in the form of vouchers or a top-up to your account, such as Scottish Friendly and InvestEngine.

• How can I earn free shares?

  In some cases, you can get free shares just by signing up, although you may need a referral link from a friend. Some providers are giving out free shares if you refer friends, too.

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