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Vanguard and Wealthify are two popular investing platforms available to UK retail investors. They’re slightly different in their approach as Wealthify is basically a robo-advisor, and Vanguard is a platform where you get to hand-pick your index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, there is some crossover, so we’re going to pit Wealthify vs Vanguard against each other in a head-to-head battle.
Both Vanguard and Wealthify offer a limited 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 Wealthify 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.
Wealthify vs Vanguard: At a glance
Finder score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
---|---|---|
Customer satisfaction survey | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
Fees score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
Stocks and shares ISA available? | ||
FSCS protected? | ||
Go to site More Info | More Info |
Vanguard and Wealthify are pretty even when it comes to their Finder score, with Vanguard scoring a solid 4.3 out of 5, and Wealthify scoring a slightly lower 4.2 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.
However, Vanguard scored slightly better than Wealthify in the most recent Finder Investing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024 results. 90% of Vanguard customers said they’d recommend the platform to a friend.
The platforms also go slightly different ways with their fees score. When you look at Wealthify fees vs Vanguard fees – Wealthify has a score of 4.2 vs Vanguard’s 4.7 score for fees (both out of 5).
Round 1: Products
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 |
Both Wealthify and Vanguard offer a wide range of account options, with plenty of tax-efficient options available. However, neither offers the option to use a lifetime ISA (LISA).
However, two things Vanguard has going for it that Wealthify doesn’t is that Vanguard will pay interest on cash in your accounts and it offers a junior stocks and shares ISA (JISA).
Winner: Vanguard
Round 2: Investment choice
Investment choice score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
---|---|---|
Available markets | 1 (global funds) | 4+ |
Number of investments | 10+ | 85+ |
Number of ETFs/funds | 10 | 85 |
Fractional shares | ||
Min. initial deposit | £1 | £500 lump sum (or £100/month) |
Min. investment | £1 | £100 |
Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk |
Go to site More Info | More Info |
Both Wealthify and Vanguard offer a limited range of investments. Vanguard has funds you can pick yourself (or a managed stocks and shares ISA for an added fee that basically works like a robo-advisor). Wealthify only offers ready-made portfolios of funds, as part of its robo-advisor service.
The barrier to entry is much lower with Wealthify. Even though it’s more limiting in terms of investments, you can get started with just £1, which is accessible to just about everyone.
Winner: Vanguard
Round 3: Portfolios
Portfolios rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
---|---|---|
Risk assessment quiz | ||
Number of portfolios on offer | 10 | 21 |
Ethical portfolios on offer | ||
Managed portfolios on offer | ||
Go to site More Info | More Info |
Both platforms are pretty similar in terms of the portfolio set up, but Vanguard offers more options overall.
Winner: Vanguard
Round 4: Fees
Fees score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
---|---|---|
Platform fees | 0.6% | 0.15% |
US shares | N/A | £0 |
UK shares | N/A | £0 |
International shares | N/A | N/A |
Funds/ETFs | £0 (ongoing percentage fees based on fund) | £0 |
Foreign exchange fee | 0% | 0% |
Regular investing | Yes | 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 |
Although Wealthify offers a competitive platform fee at 0.6%, it’s still much higher than Vanguard’s 0.15% platform fee (or 0.35% if you want a managed portfolio).
Winner: Vanguard
Round 5: Ease of use
Ease of use score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
---|---|---|
Apple iOS rating | 4.4/5 | 4.4/5 |
Google Play rating | 3/5 | 3.7/5 |
Ways to contact customer service | Phone, secure messaging and live chat | 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 |
It’s hard to separate these two in this category with both platforms offering a simple but functional investing experience that’s easy to get to grips with.
Winner: Tie
Round 6: 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 |
Go to site More Info | More Info |
Wealthify and Vanguard offer a fairly limited selection of tools and resources making them difficult to separate in this area.
However, Wealthify offers investors slightly more tools and resources for investing on its recently re-designed app.
Winner: Wealthify
Overall winner: Is Wealthify better than Vanguard?
Wealthify offers an excellent robo-advisor platform, but unfortunately, Vanguard does everything Wealthify can do – and more! Not only this, but Vanguard does it for cheaper with some of the lowest investing fees available for UK investors.
Winner: Vanguard
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