Freetrade: Trading & Investing 4+

Good but needs work.

I understand this is a relatively new platform, so teething problems are expected and that’s how systems get better. This has been a good app for me as I’ve been able to dive straight into the stock market and experience the excitement and devastation of earning and losing money. This platform isn’t great if you’re looking to day trade as the charts are very much delayed and inaccurate, however it is possible to use other charts and just purchase the stock through the app. This app stands out as the fees to date are free and you can execute a trade at no charge, other than small amounts of tax for each trade. Other platforms charge anywhere from £7-14 for one trade which is extortionate for someone having a dabble with a couple of hundred pounds. I would definitely recommend this app to experience the high and lows of buying stocks, but it’s very difficult to judge the market especially when you’re up against advanced AI systems that execute trades automatically. Be mindful and be careful and only invest what you can afford.

Easy, but still dangerous

On Freetrade’s platform and pricing:
The app is targeted towards amateur investors, welcoming them into investing in the most seamless way possible. The app itself is very easy to use, albeit almost “gamifies” investing which may be quite dangerous, and I’m not sure if I agree with. This is shown through various examples such as a limited amount of information being provided for each stock, making it incredibly easy to buy/sell stocks, and getting free stocks for getting someone to sign up and top up as if it were a game. I am not saying I think every investing platform should have an overly complicated UI, but perhaps there is a reason not everyone should get into investing. The charges are reasonable for the amateur investor, but only for someone in a very small investing bracket: for a person who wants to try day trading, 1£ per instant order makes no sense, and is absolutely a steal; for a longer term investor who is an average person with no extreme wealth background, 36£ per year (3£/mo) for an ISA is also a bit of a steal. Nonetheless the basic feature of the app provides an ideal introduction for someone starting out in investing. The only concern I have is in terms of the app functionality, where at times features may not work, such as Apple Pay top ups, which seriously limits my capacity to trust the platform. This is our money we’re dealing with after all.

Middle ground

Like many, I started looking at stocks during the pandemic, and Freetrade was the easiest to get the hand of at the time (Trading212 had stopped sign ups). I found it quite easy to see prior performance and some reports in their apps on different stocks, and felt the info I needed was there. Where the app loses for me is in how it slightly gamifies your stocks - you’re usually shown the most drastic rise/decrease on the main screen rather than one that reflects longer performance. On top of that, every recent IPO I have considered buying (Roblox, Instacart, ARM) require subscription to buy, and some of the stocks I already have now require subscription to buy meaning I can’t increase how much I’ve put in. This seems unintuitive to me. I’d rather subscriptions offered something of value rather gatekeeping the stocks available to you. Another issue is the fees aren’t super transparent - I can’t tell you what is going to be taken off any of my stocks right now if I were to withdraw… that’s an issue. You get an initial readout and fee deducted when you buy, which is clear however. I do feel this is a useful app, the interface is clear enough for a casual user who only wants to check in here and there, but I worry the other aspects are unhealthy!

Developer Response ,

Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review on your experience.

Similar to the rest of the industry, our charts in the app display 1D, 7D, 1M, 3M, 6M, 1YR and MAX views which offer both a short term and long term look at a stocks performance.

The core of our business is commission-free trading, customers will always continue to enjoy this benefit whilst purchasing a range of popular stocks. Our chargeable plans deliver advanced features and a wider selection of stocks such as new IPOs. Our pricing is continually reviewed against the wider market to ensure this remains a competitive offering.

Our fees are transparent and can be found both on our website and by contacting our Customer Service team. UK stocks are subject to Stamp Duty (0.5%) on purchases, where as, US and EU stocks are subject to FX fees on buys and sells. The FX fee varies depending on which subscription plan you’re on.

Basic plan: Exchange rate + 0.99%

Standard plan: Exchange rate + 0.59%

Plus plan: Exchange rate + 0.39%

We believe our FX fees are competitive, however, our goal is to create the best possible app for our customers, so your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions are helping us identify areas to improve on.