Don’t Let Hidden Fees Gobble Your Global Gains!
So, you’re ready to expand your investment horizons beyond the FTSE 100. You’ve been eyeing up those US tech giants or perhaps some promising European stocks. That’s fantastic! Investing globally is one of the best ways to diversify your portfolio and tap into worldwide growth. But before you dive in, there’s a sneaky cost that many new investors overlook: foreign exchange (FX) fees.
Every time you buy shares in a currency different from your own (like buying Apple stock in US dollars with your British pounds), your broker has to convert your money. For this service, they charge a fee, and trust me, these fees can vary wildly between platforms. A seemingly small percentage can nibble away at your profits over time, turning a great investment into a mediocre one.
So, how do you keep more of your hard-earned money? By choosing a trading app with low FX rates. We’ve done the digging to find out which UK share trading apps are the best for cost-conscious global investors.
The Low-Fee Champions: Where to Get the Best Rates
For those who want the absolute lowest FX charges, two platforms consistently come out on top:
- Interactive Brokers: This platform is a favourite among serious and frequent traders for a reason. It boasts an incredibly low FX fee of just 0.03%. This is about as close to the raw market rate as you can get as a retail investor, making it a powerful choice for those making larger or more frequent international trades.
- Trading 212: A hugely popular app, Trading 212 offers a very competitive and simple flat FX fee of 0.15%. Its user-friendly interface combined with this low rate makes it an excellent all-rounder for both new and experienced investors looking to trade overseas.
The Challenger Apps: Hot on Their Heels
The fintech revolution has brought a wave of new, agile platforms challenging the old guard. These apps often focus on transparency and low costs:
- Lightyear: A newer entrant to the scene, Lightyear is making waves with its transparent fee structure. It charges a flat 0.35% on currency conversions, placing it firmly in the low-cost camp and making it a strong contender.
- Freetrade: Known for its commission-free trading model, Freetrade operates a tiered FX fee system. Your rate depends on your subscription plan: the free Basic plan has a 0.99% fee, which drops to 0.59% on the Standard plan, and an attractive 0.39% on the Plus plan.
A Note on Traditional Brokers
What about the more established, traditional brokerage platforms? While they offer a wealth of research and a huge range of investments, their FX fees are often higher and more complex. Platforms like Interactive Investor and AJ Bell use a tiered fee system, where the percentage fee gets lower as the size of your trade increases. This can be cost-effective for very large lump-sum investments, but for smaller, regular purchases, the fees can be significantly higher than the newer apps.
The Secret Weapon: Multi-Currency Accounts
Here’s a pro tip: some platforms, including Trading 212 and Lightyear, allow you to hold cash in different currencies within your investment account. This is a game-changer for active international investors. You can convert a larger sum of pounds to dollars in one go (paying just one FX fee) and then use that dollar balance to buy and sell US stocks as often as you like, without incurring conversion fees on every single trade.
The Bottom Line
Choosing the right platform can make a real difference to your long-term returns. While commission-free trading is a great headline feature, it’s crucial to look under the hood at other costs, especially if you’re investing internationally. For UK investors, the evidence is clear: for the lowest FX fees, Interactive Brokers and Trading 212 are leading the pack.
UK Trading App FX Fee Comparison
| App | Foreign Exchange (FX) Fee | Key Feature |
| Interactive Brokers | 0.03% | Industry-leading low rate for active traders. |
| Trading 212 | 0.15% | Simple, low flat fee and multi-currency account option. |
| Lightyear | 0.35% | Transparent flat fee and multi-currency account option. |
| Freetrade | 0.99% (Basic) 0.59% (Standard) 0.39% (Plus) | Tiered fees based on subscription plan. |
| AJ Bell | Tiered (Higher for smaller trades) | Fee percentage decreases as trade value increases. |
| Interactive Investor | Tiered (Higher for smaller trades) | Fee percentage decreases as trade value increases. |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Generally higher tiered rates | Established platform with extensive research tools. |