Is interactive investor good for investing?
Independent review by Boring Money
Investment expert’s opinion
interactive investor has kept innovating on cost and there are good value, fixed fee plans for all types of investors and account sizes. There is good research and content and a huge range of investment choice. More experienced traders may like the community and discussions. I still find it a bit tricky to navigate and harder to use than some peers. A good option for cost-conscious investment enthusiasts.
*This is the view of investment expert Holly Mackay based on her first-hand customer experience as a test account holder. This does not constitute regulated advice. You can read more about Holly's investments here.
Who is interactive investor?
It is a subscription-based investment platform founded in the UK in 1995. Based in Manchester with offices in London and Leeds, interactive investor – often shortened to ‘ii’ - boasts over 400,000 customers and has assets under administration of over £50 billion. Ii’s parent company abrdn is the largest active asset management firm in the UK. Interactive Investor's acquisition by abrdn was completed in May 2022. Prior to this, ii had acquired a few firms in the D2C space, including The Share Centre, TD Direct Investing and EQi. This makes them one of the largest groups in the market, second only to Hargreaves Lansdown. Interactive investor states one of its core principles is that “investing should be simple and open to all” and it strives to facilitate this through “transparent, fair fees” and “simple language”.
Who is interactive investor good for?
The fixed fees make this a very low-cost option for most people with more than £30,000 to invest. The support and research will be most helpful to experienced investors and share traders - it still feels a bit overwhelming for the less confident. Good for international trading.
Pros and cons
Investments
There is a very wide range of over 40,000 different investments on ii, including:
UK and international shares |
Funds |
Investment trusts |
ETFs |
Bonds |
Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) |
Interactive investor customers can also opt to invest more sustainably by selecting from ii’s list of sustainable investments, including funds and bonds which ii has specially chosen to “reflect your own values”.
The fund research is outsourced to Morningstar which is fine if undistinguished. It’s been coded and designed by a linear thinker and is bare but functional which some will like. Trading is straightforward enough and a nice feature is that a graph and key data is shown to the right of the screen as you enter the share’s name and trade instruction.
This service is still more comfortable with shares than funds. They have a helpful price alert which will notify users of changes to specific investments they are tracking.
Accounts
Interactive investor offers a range of accounts. The table below shows a breakdown of which ones are available and you can scroll down for more information about ii’s ISA, Pension and JISA.
Stocks & Shares ISA | Private Pension (SIPP) | General Investment Account (GIA) | Lifetime ISA | Junior ISA |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ |
ISA & Trading Account offers on interactive investor*
Get £50 worth of free trades when you open an ii Stocks & Shares ISA or Trading Account.
Capital at risk. Offer ends 30th November. *Terms & trading fees apply. New customers opening an ISA or Trading Account. Existing customers adding an ISA only. No minimum deposit required.
SIPP offers on interactive investor*
Get £200 cashback when you open an ii Personal Pension (SIPP).
Capital at risk. Offer ends 30th November. *Terms & trading fees apply. New & existing customers opening a SIPP. Not available to existing SIPP holders. £15,000 minimum deposit required.
Fees and charges
The cost of investing with ii will vary depending on which subscription plan you have, what account you have and what you invest in.
The monthly subscription fee, however, is flat – meaning it stays the same amount even as the size of your account grows. This sets ii apart from many other investment platforms currently on the market for being comparatively cheap for larger portfolios.
The table below illustrates the key costs for each subscription plan.
Investor Essentials £4.99 per month up to £50,000 investment | Investor £11.99 per month | Pension Essentials £5.99 per month up to £50,000 investment | Pension Builder £12.99 per month | Super Investor £19.99 per month | |
What this account includes | |||||
Stocks and Shares ISA | ✔️ | ✔️ | You can add an ISA and Trading Account for £4 | ❌ | ✔️ |
Trading Account | ✔️ | ✔️ | You can add an ISA and Trading Account for £4 | ❌ | ✔️ |
Junior ISA | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ |
SIPP | You can add a SIPP for £5 per month | You can add a SIPP for £10 per month | ✔️ | ✔️ | You can add a SIPP for £10 per month |
Trading fees for UK Shares and Funds and US Shares | £3.99 | £3.99 | £3.99 | £3.99 | £3.99 |
Trading fees for Other international Shares | £9.99 | £9.99 | £9.99 | £9.99 | £5.99 |
Interactive investor offers a flexible Friends and Family program across its subscription tiers. Investor Essentials and Pension plan holders can add up to 5 free subscriptions for £5 extra per month, with each beneficiary able to invest up to £50,000 in an ISA or GIA. The standard Investor Plan includes 2 free Friends and Family subscriptions, with the option to increase to 5 for an additional £5 monthly. Super Investor Plan members receive all 5 Friends and Family subscriptions at no extra cost.
All plans charge an additional Dividend Reinvestment fee of £0.99.
For larger trades, interactive investor applies different fee structures. UK trades over £100,000 incur a flat £40 fee, while US trades above the same threshold are charged at 0.04% of the trade value. For other international shares, trades exceeding £25,000 are subject to a 0.10% fee.
See our guide to fees here.
See how much it would cost you
Use the handy calculator below to calculate the cost of an account. Just select which type of account you want to use, type in the amount you want to invest and - hey presto! - our calculator will give you an estimate of how much it costs. Please note estimated fees are calculated excluding promotional offers.
Step 1. Select account type.
Step 2. Enter the amount you are looking to invest.
Estimated fees:
£63.87
+ Investment fees
Cost shown is the administration fee only. There may be additional third-party investment or fund fees, which depend entirely on what you pick. Expect these to add about 0.25% to 1% a year to the total cost.
The boring disclaimer bit
This is a free resource for our readers. We’ve tried really hard to ensure that these calculations are correct and can promise you there’s no monkey business or favouritism going on. But please don’t rely on these calculations without double checking yourself. If you do think you have seen an error please contact community@boringmoney.co.uk and help us to make this better. More information on the assumptions we've used to calculate these investment fees can be found here.
Customer reviews
Interactive investor customers generally like the “clear” and “low” fees, “easy to use” website, and the very wide range of investment options to choose from. Negative feedback includes the need for more research tools and “too much downtime” on the app due to regular updates.
Your opinion matters!
Leave a review for Interactive Investor
07 July 2025
Excellent customer service and generally good returns on my investments, which I am holding for the long term. The website is constantly being updated and changed, which makes it hard to find the details at times. I wish they'd leave it as it is.
06 July 2025
Difficult to use
06 July 2025
It is relatively low risk
Most asked questions
Is interactive investor safe?
Cash savings with Interactive Investor are covered by the UK government’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which guarantees reimbursement up to the value of £85,000 per person in the event that Interactive Investor fails. Any amount above this threshold is unlikely to be covered. Investments with Interactive Investor, on the other hand, are not guaranteed - by their nature, investments can and will go up and down in value.
Who owns interactive investor?
Interactive investor is a privately-owned company which means you cannot buy shares of ii itself. In May 2022, ii was acquired by global asset management firm abrdn (formerly Standard Life Aberdeen).
Does interactive investor have an app?
Yes, interactive investor customers can view and manage their account on the mobile app. The mobile app is cleaner and easier to use than the desktop site and there is two-factor authentication as well. Users are able to research, trade and add money to their portfolio which is not common across all apps - there's good depth. There are features to appeal to those who trade regularly such as watchlists and in-depth market research.
You can download it on the Google Play Store and App Store.
What is trading credit on interactive investor?
As part of ii’s Investor and Super Investor plans, members receive free trading credits as a reward for their subscription. These credits can be put towards trading fees in any account for the following investments:
UK and international shares
ETFs
Funds
Investment trusts
Dividend reinvestment
Note that the free trading credit is only available for 31 days after it is issued.
Members will receive their first free trading credit up to 48 hours after your initial service plan fee is successfully taken. Subsequent credits are issued up to 48 hours after your monthly service plan fee is successfully taken.
You can read more about free trading credits on the interactive investor website.
Does interactive investor pay interest on cash?
Yes, interactive investor pays interest on cash balances in its ISA, GIA, JISA and SIPP accounts held in British Pounds and US Dollars.
At the time of writing, for ISA, GIA and JISA accounts, cash interest applies at the following rates: 1.76% AER on the first £10,000, 2.78% on the value between £10,000.01 - £100,000, and 3.82% on anything over £100,000.
For SIPP accounts, cash interest is 2.78% AER on the first £10,000, 3.56% on the value between £10,000.01 - £100,000, and 4.07% on anything over £100,000.
Interest on all interactive investor accounts is calculated on your daily cleared credit balance and credited on or around the 25th of each month.
These rates are subject to change. For the most up to date information, go to the interactive investor website.
Glossary
Not 100% sure you understand something we’ve written in this review?
Discover jargon-free definitions of the most common words and technical terms used in the world of investing.
Risk warning
As is always the case with investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
All information in this review correct as at 01/01/2024.
