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.
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 |
 | ★★★★★ | Get a Welcome Bonus of up to £100 when you invest at least £100 with InvestEngine. 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 |
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.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the offers on the market today.
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.
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).
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 shareCapital at risk
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.
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.
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 sharesCapital at risk
Sign up to InvestEngine using our link and you’ll receive a bonus of between £20 and £100 (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 up to £100, 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.
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.
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 £20-24, while 20% receive £26-40 and 5% receive £72-100.
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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
All that’s left to do is choose where to spend 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!
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 giftCapital at risk
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.
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.
Unlike some platforms, with Wealthify you can get your bonus placed into your ISA.
Wealthify does not offer a DIY portfolio option.
Get offerCapital at risk
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.
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!
You’ll get 5 fractional share rewards, and Robinhood stated that 96% of participants will receive a net cash value of $7 to $8.
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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.
It’s a doddle – you just need to fill out a form and you’re good to go.
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.
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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).
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.
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
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.
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Warning: The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. *Disclaimer: The offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of products finder has access to track details from and is not representative of all the products available in the market. Unless indicated otherwise, products are displayed in no particular order or ranking. The use of terms ‘Best’, ‘Top’, ‘Cheap’ including variations, are not product ratings and are subject to our terms of use. You should consider seeking independent financial advice and consider your personal financial circumstances when comparing products.
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