AJ Bell and Vanguard are two of the most well-established investing providers available to UK retail investors. They’re also fairly comparable in terms of their target audience but Vanguard is a cheaper but more limited platform compared to AJ Bell. So, lets pit AJ Bell vs Vanguard against each other in a head-to-head battle.
Both AJ Bell and Vanguard offer a decent range of account options, including a stocks and shares ISA and a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). So, check out our breakdown of AJ Bell vs Vanguard and hopefully this will help you pick who’s best, depending on what’s most important to you – whether that’s fees, investment choice, account types or anything else.
 |  | |
| Finder score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Customer satisfaction survey | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Fees score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Stocks and shares ISA available? | ||
| FSCS protected? | ||
| More Info | More Info |
Vanguard and AJ Bell are pretty neck and neck when it comes to their Finder score, with AJ Bell scoring a solid 4.4 out of 5, and Vanguard scoring a slightly lower 4.3 out of 5.
Both platforms offer stocks and shares ISA, and both come with full Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection of up to £85,000.
Vanguard and AJ Bell are also both pretty even when it comes to their most recent Finder Investing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024 results.
However, where the platforms go slightly different ways is with the fees score. When you look at the AJ Bell fees vs Vanguard’s fees – AJ Bell has a score of 3.3 vs Vanguard’s 4.7 score for fees (both out of 5).
| | |
| General investment account | ||
| Stocks and shares ISA | ||
| Lifetime ISA (LISA) | ||
| Pension (SIPP) | ||
| Junior ISA (JISA)/Junior SIPP (JSIPP) | ||
| Interest on cash balances | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | More Info |
Both AJ Bell and Vanguard offer a wide range of account options, with plenty of tax-efficient options available.
The only key difference between the two is that AJ Bell offers a lifetime ISA (LISA), but this is something Vanguard doesn’t have in its account lineup.
Winner: AJ Bell
| | |
| Investment choice score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Available markets | 24 | 4+ |
| Number of investments | 19,000 | 85+ |
| Number of ETFs/funds | 3,400 | 85 |
| Fractional shares | ||
| Min. initial deposit | £1 | £500 lump sum (or £100/month) |
| Min. investment | £0 | £100 |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | More Info |
When it comes to investments, Vanguard is pretty limiting as you can only invest in index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On top of this, you’re also limited to Vanguard’s own funds. So there’s roughly about 85 options and that’s it.
AJ Bell on the other hand offers over 19,000 investments from over 24 markets. There’s also many more funds and ETFs compared to Vanguard’s measly 85. At the moment, AJ Bell has about 2,000 funds and over 3,000 ETFs to choose from.
You can get started with just £1 in your AJ Bell account, however a major downside is that you can’t buy fractional shares.
Winner: AJ Bell
| | |
| Fees score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Platform fees | 0.25% per month (max. £3.50) | 0.15% |
| US shares | £5 | £0 |
| UK shares | £5 | £0 |
| International shares | 0.75% on first £10,000 | N/A |
| Funds/ETFs | £1.50 | £0 |
| Foreign exchange fee | 1% | 0% |
| Regular investing | Yes (from £25/month and commission drops to £1.50) | Yes |
| Withdrawal fee | £0 | £0 |
| Deposit fee | £0 | £0 |
| Inactivity fee | £0 | £0 |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | More Info |
AJ Bell offers pretty good value on its platform, but the 0.25% account fee is higher than Vanguard’s 0.15%.
Also, it’s free to buy or sell funds on Vanguard, but AJ Bell charges a £1.50 commission each time you make a fund trade.
AJ Bell is reasonable but Vanguard just about pips it in terms of fees.
Winner: Vanguard
| | |
| Ease of use score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Apple iOS rating | 4.7/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Google Play rating | 3.2/5 | 3.7/5 |
| Ways to contact customer service | Phone, email, web chat and post | Secure message, email, phone, chatbot |
| UI/UX | Good | Good |
| Desktop or web access | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | More Info |
On paper, AJ Bell and Vanguard are fairly similar when it comes to ease of use.
However, from personal experience using both platforms to invest with, I think Vanguard is much better. AJ Bell can be quite clunky and doesn’t feel very smooth, whereas Vanguard is straightforward to use and a bit easier on the eye.
Vanguard’s desktop and mobile app are pretty basic, but they’re functional. AJ Bell’s can be a bit quite muddled and hard to make sense of as an investor. However, you can check out AJ Bell’s app-only platform Dodl if you want a slicker mobile investing experience.
Winner: Vanguard
Round 5: Tools, resources and features
| | |
| Tools, resources and features | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Analysis features | ||
| Tools for investing/trading | ||
| Social features | ||
| Learning resources | ||
| Additional features | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| More Info | More Info |
AJ Bell and Vanguard offer quite similar tools, but AJ Bell has much more to help investors research and dig into investments.
Both are lacking any sort of social features and Vanguard has no specific tools for investing or trading (because you can’t trade most assets or investments with Vanguard).
Winner: AJ Bell
It’s a bit difficult to judge these platforms side by side because AJ Bell offers a much broader investing experience (even though it is a bit pricier).
Vanguard has an excellent investing platform with lots of account types and low fees. However, it is much more limiting with what you can invest in.
Also, you could use AJ Bell to invest in the very same funds that are on Vanguard, but still have plenty other of investment options as well.
AJ Bell nicks this one because it offers UK investors much more than Vanguard and this is reflected in the overall Finder score.
Winner: AJ Bell
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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