Ever wondered who would come out on top in a battle between Bestinvest vs Hargreaves Lansdown (HL)? Well, read on to find out how they compare for features, fees and much more.
Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) are two well-established investing providers available to UK retail investors. They’re also fairly comparable in terms of what they offer and their target audience. So, it make sense to pit Bestinvest vs Hargreaves Lansdown against each other in a head-to-head battle.
Both Bestinvest and HL offer a huge range of investments and plenty of account options, including a stocks and shares ISA and a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). So, check out our breakdown of Bestinvest vs Hargreaves Lansdown 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.
Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown are pretty close when it comes to their Finder score. Bestinvest has a score of 4.4 out of 5, whereas HL has a slightly lower 4.2 out of 5.
When it comes to fees, Bestinvest scores much better than HL. Bestinvest has a fee score of 3.7 out of 5, whereas HL has a lower 2.4 out of 5 for fees.
Both platforms were highly-rated in the Finder Investing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024, but HL was our overall winner (for the third year in a row) with 97% of investors saying they’d recommend the platform to a friend.
Both Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown tick most boxes when it comes to the account types available on each platform.
So, in this category it’s hard to separate Bestinvest vs HL. However, the fact that Hargreaves Lansdown also offers a lifetime ISA (LISA) means that it clinches a win here.
Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown (HL)
Round 2: Investment choice
Investment choice score
★★★★★
★★★★★
Available markets
3
4+
Number of investments
3,700+
11,000+
Number of ETFs/funds
1,930
1,500
Fractional shares
Min. initial deposit
£0
£1
Min. investment
Funds: £50 (£100 for some funds) Stocks and shares: £0 (must be one full share)
Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown both offer plenty of investments, especially when it comes to investment funds.
However, HL’s overall selection of 11,000+ is much more comprehensive than the 3,700+ Bestinvest has available. Unfortunately, neither broker has the option of fractional shares, but you can get started investing with a relatively small amount on either platform.
Neither platform score particularly brilliantly for fees, but when it comes down to Bestinvest vs Hargreaves Lansdown, it’s Bestinvest that comes out on top.
Both platforms have pretty similar platform fees, but HL’s whopping £11.95 for each trade you make is bordering extortionate, the only saving grace is that there’s no commission for fund dealing with HL.
It’s pretty neck-and-neck for ease of use, with Bestinvest and HL scoring highly.
Both platforms offer a range of ways to contact the support teams and are decently review on the App Store and Google Play.
You can also invest using your mobile or desktop with either, but HL probably offers a better mobile trading experience to Bestinvest, because Bestinvest takes you out of the app and into a browser when you want to make trades.
These are two top platforms when it comes to the tools and resources available (although both lack a social investing element).
Bestinvest and HL both publish their own independent investment research looking at various funds and assets.
Although they both offer a similar service, it’s HL that has the more in-depth research, analysis and investing tools.
Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown (HL)
Overall winner: Is Bestinvest better than Hargreaves Lansdown?
It’s tough to separate these two and Bestinvest mostly has a better overall Finder score because of its lower fees.
However, if you want all the account types available, a larger investment choice and plenty of research and tools to dig into – you might prefer HL.
Both platforms provide good value for different types of investors, so the winner is going to depend largely on how you plan to invest and what’s most important to you.
There are ways to invest more cheaply with HL, for example sticking to funds or setting up a regular monthly investment. But it you plan on ad-hoc share trading, steer clear because the commissions are sky-high.
Winner: Tie
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.
George is a deputy editor at Finder. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, Online Mortgage Advisor, Wealth, and Compare Forex Brokers. He's focused on making personal finance and investing engaging for everyone. To do this he draws from previous work and his Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA), sharing what he’s learnt. When he’s not geeking out about money, you’ll find him playing sports and staying active. See full bio
George's expertise
George has written 192 Finder guides across topics including:
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Here’s our methodology for scoring the features that matter, and picking the top share-trading platforms.
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