Vanguard and InvestEngine are two of the cheapest 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 InvestEngine vs Vanguard against each other in a head-to-head battle.
Both Vanguard and InvestEngine offer a decent range of fund investments and a few account options, including a stocks and shares ISA and a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). So, check out our breakdown of Vanguard vs InvestEngine 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 | 9.3Excellent | 9.1Excellent |
| Customer satisfaction survey | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Fees score | 10Excellent | 9.5Excellent |
| Stocks and shares ISA available? | ||
| FSCS protected? | ||
| Go to site More info | More info |
Vanguard and InvestEngine are pretty neck and neck when it comes to their Finder score, with InvestEngine scoring an impressive 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 InvestEngine both received positive feedback in our most recent Finder Investing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024 results. However, InvestEngine was actually tied for first place.
The only slight difference between the two comes down to fees. Although both are extremely cheap compared to most of the competition, InvestEngine takes the crown as the cheapest place around to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
| | |
| 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 |
| Go to site More info | More info |
InvestEngine and Vanguard both offer a decent range of account options, however, both are lacking a lifetime ISA (LISA).
Vanguard’s account lineup also involves a junior stocks and shares ISA (JISA) and it pays interest on cash balances, giving it an edge vs InvestEngine.
Winner: Vanguard
| | |
| Investment choice score | 7.2Great | 7.8Great |
| Available markets | 1 (global ETF funds) | 4+ |
| Number of investments | 700 | 85+ |
| Number of ETFs/funds | 700 | 85 |
| Fractional shares | ||
| Min. initial deposit | £100 | £500 lump sum (or £100/month) |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| Go to site More info | More info |
Vanguard and InvestEngine both offer investor a selection of funds. However, with Vanguard you’re restricted to use its own funds.
Whereas with InvestEngine, you can buy Vanguard ETFs, or ETF investments from other brands as well.
So, both encourage a similar investing approach, but InvestEngine offers a great diversity of options.
Vanguard offers popular “LifeStrategy” options where you essentially get to pick an equity percentage allocation ranging from 20% to 100% (with the remainder invested in bonds). Recently, InvestEngine launched a similar product with its “LifePlans” that follow the same concept.
Although the LifeStrategy an LifePlan investments come with similar overall costs, there’s much less home-bias with InvestEngine’s options, which have a better global distribution, and it’s also a bonus that you can control and manage everything on its excellent platform – making the most of all the other tools available.
Winner: InvestEngine
| | |
| Fees score | 10Excellent | 9.5Excellent |
| Platform fees | 0% - 0.25% | 0.15% |
| Price per trade | £0 | |
| Funds/ETFs | £0 (ongoing ETF fees apply) | £0 |
| Foreign exchange fee | 0% | 0% |
| Regular investing | Yes (Savings Plans) | Yes |
| Withdrawal fee | £0 | £0 |
| Deposit fee | £0 | £0 |
| Inactivity fee | £0 | £0 |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| Go to site More info | More info |
As mentioned, these are two of the cheapest investing platforms around.
However, InvestEngine does come out on top because it costs nothing to use it’s DIY investing option where you pick your own ETFs, including the use of a stocks and shares ISA or a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
So, say for example you wanted to invest in Vanguard ETFs, it’s actually cheaper to buy them using InvestEngine than it is to get them directly from Vanguard.
Also, from 31 January 2025, Vanguard is going to be introducing a £4 minimum monthly fee for DIY investors with portfolios of less than £32,000 (at which point its 0.15% fee becomes equal to £4 a month). So, InvestEngine will be a much cheaper options for those with smaller or larger DIY portfolios.
Whereas InvestEngine recently removed its 0.15% SIPP fee, making the platform even cheaper than before, Vanguard is heading in the opposite direction with plans to hike its minimum fees for smaller investors, which is a shame.
Winner: InvestEngine
| | |
| Ease of use score | 9.3Excellent | 9.6Excellent |
| Apple iOS rating | 4.8/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Google Play rating | 4.5/5 | 3.7/5 |
| Ways to contact customer service | Contact form and social media | Secure message, email, phone, chatbot |
| UI/UX | Good | Good |
| Desktop or web access | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| Go to site More info | More info |
InvestEngine and Vanguard both offer a fairly stripped back investing experience, with simplicity at the core of both providers.
It’s hard to separate the two with the only difference really being that Vanguard offers more ways to contact its customer service team.
Up until recently, Vanguard didn’t offer a mobile app, but it now does (even though it’s not the most in-depth app around).
Winner: Tie
| | |
| Features score | 10Excellent | 6.7Standard |
| Analysis features | ||
| Tools for investing/trading | ||
| Social features | ||
| Learning resources | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
| Go to site More info | More info |
Vanguard has a pretty basic approach when it comes to any additional tools or investing resources.
The InvestEngine app has a lot more functionality and useful tools like the “one-click portfolio rebalancing” and its “look-through” feature where you can really see where your portfolio is invested.
InvestEngine appears like its always looking to improve and innovate, finding ways to make the experience of investing more interesting and engaging.
Vanguard has all the basics you need to get started but it doesn’t offer a completely well-rounded experience in terms of tools and features.
Winner: InvestEngine
Vanguard is an excellent platform but InvestEngine just has a more to offer, and it’s cheaper. Especially, once Vanguard’s £4 minimum monthly fee comes into play, investors with smaller portfolios are going to be much better off with InvestEngine.
Offering much lower fees (including no platform fee for the DIY ISA or SIPP), more ETF investment options and more tools means that InvestEngine takes the crown in this battle between Vanguard vs InvestEngine.
Winner: InvestEngine
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.
See the results of the Finder 2025 Customer Satisfaction Awards in the Investing category, including the winners and full ratings.
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