Bestinvest Review 2026: Genuinely Low Fees, but Who Does It Actually Suit?

Bestinvest operates a two-tier fee structure depending on what you hold:

Ready-made Portfolios and US shares:

• 0.20% on the first £500,000
• 0.10% on £500,000–£1,000,000
• 0% above £1,000,000

Third-party funds and UK shares:

• 0.40% on the first £250,000
• 0.20% on £250,000–£500,000
• 0.10% on £500,000–£1,000,000
• 0% above £1,000,000

The split matters more than most investors realise. A £100,000 portfolio entirely in ready-made portfolios costs £200 per year in platform fees. The same amount in third-party funds costs £400. That's a £200 gap on the same balance — enough to buy 40 extra shares trades at Bestinvest's £4.95 rate.

No minimum service fee applies to ISAs, Junior ISAs, or General Investment Accounts. The SIPP carries a minimum of £120 per year (£10/month), excluding Junior SIPPs. At 0.40%, the percentage fee only exceeds the £120 minimum once your SIPP passes £30,000 — below that, you're effectively paying a flat fee regardless of balance.

Cash held on the platform earns 4.1% AER, paid monthly, set by custodian SEI. In ISAs and SIPPs that interest is tax-free. With the Bank of England base rate at 3.75%, Bestinvest is paying above base rate on uninvested cash — a genuine differentiator when many platforms still pay negligible interest on idle balances. For investors who rotate between positions or hold temporary cash during market volatility (like the current Iran-driven uncertainty), this feature earns its keep.

Fund dealing is free — no charge to buy or sell any of the 3,000+ funds on the platform. This is standard among percentage-fee platforms but still matters: if your portfolio is entirely funds, your only ongoing cost is the service fee plus the fund's own OCF.

UK share and ETF dealing costs £4.95 per trade. That is cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown (£11.95) and Fidelity (£7.50), and comparable to AJ Bell (£5 or £3.50 for regular investing). Limit orders are free, and dividend reinvestment carries no charge.

US share dealing is where Bestinvest has quietly become one of the more competitive mainstream platforms. There is no dealing fee on US shares — you only pay the 0.95% FX conversion charge. Combined with the lower 0.20% service fee tier for US shares, an investor buying £10,000 of Apple or Microsoft pays just £95 in FX fees and £20 per year in service fees. Compare that to Interactive Investor, which charges 1.5% FX — that's £150 on the same £10,000 purchase.

The 0.95% FX fee still adds up for heavy US traders. Someone making ten £5,000 US purchases a year pays £475 in conversion costs. Dedicated multi-currency platforms can do better. But for UK investors making occasional US share purchases inside an ISA, 0.95% is reasonable and the zero dealing fee sweetens it.

Telephone dealing costs £30 per trade. Avoid it unless you genuinely cannot access the website.

The platform offers access to over 3,000 investments: funds, shares, ETFs, investment trusts, VCTs, and IPOs. That's broader than Vanguard's own-brand range and roughly comparable to Fidelity's self-invested universe.

The standout feature is the Best Funds List — a curated selection recommended by Bestinvest's in-house research team. Unlike Hargreaves Lansdown's Wealth Shortlist (which drew criticism over the inclusion of Woodford funds before the 2019 suspension), Bestinvest's list has maintained a cleaner track record. The curation genuinely helps: 3,000 funds is paralysing for most investors, and a researched shortlist that doesn't appear commercially conflicted adds real value.

The FCA's guidance on investment platforms requires platforms to act in clients' best interests. Bestinvest's curated list is one area where this principle shows up practically, rather than being buried in compliance documents.

Account types are comprehensive: Stocks & Shares ISA, SIPP, General Investment Account, Junior ISA, Junior SIPP, bare trusts, discretionary trusts, and SSAS. The Junior SIPP is a genuine rarity among mainstream platforms — most competitors don't offer it. For parents thinking about long-term pension provision for children, this is a meaningful differentiator. With compound growth over 50+ years, even modest Junior SIPP contributions can grow substantially.

Ready-made portfolios are available for investors who want a managed approach. These carry the lower 0.20% service fee, plus an average OCF of around 0.35% for the Smart fund range — a total cost of roughly 0.55%. That undercuts robo-advisers like Nutmeg (0.75% total) while offering access to Bestinvest's coaching and the broader platform. If you want hands-off investing with human backup, this is one of the cheapest routes.

For context on the ISA allowance and types, the current £20,000 annual limit applies across all ISA accounts. With the cash ISA contribution cap dropping to £12,000 from April 2027 for under-65s, the stocks and shares ISA on platforms like Bestinvest becomes more important — see our ISA hub for more.

The sweet spot: £20,000–£250,000 fund portfolios. At these balances, Bestinvest's 0.40% fee is competitive against Hargreaves Lansdown (0.45%) and meaningfully cheaper than any platform still charging 0.45%–0.50%. Free fund dealing means your only ongoing cost is the platform fee plus the fund's OCF. For a £100,000 portfolio in funds with an average OCF of 0.40%, your total annual cost is £800 — reasonable for a platform with Bestinvest's features.

SIPP investors above £30,000. Below £30,000, the £120 minimum makes Bestinvest more expensive than the percentage fee would suggest. Above £30,000, the percentage kicks in normally. For context on where SIPPs fit in retirement planning, see our pensions hub.

Investors who want guidance without paying for it. The free coaching sessions are an underrated differentiator. You don't get regulated advice — that's a separate service at £495 per session — but access to a financial coach to sense-check your approach has genuine value. Most self-directed investors occasionally want a sanity check, especially during periods of market stress like the current Iran-driven volatility. Bestinvest is one of the few platforms where you can get that without paying advisory fees.

The 4.1% cash rate clinches it for cautious investors. If you hold a mix of funds and cash — say 70/30 during uncertain markets — the cash interest meaningfully offsets the platform fee. On £30,000 in cash within an ISA, that's £1,230 per year in tax-free interest. Many platforms would pay you nothing on that balance. For more on whether to hold cash or invest right now, see our cash ISA vs stocks and shares debate.

Who should look elsewhere:

Active share traders making 20+ trades per month will find the £4.95 dealing costs add up. Interactive Investor's flat-fee model includes free regular investing and bundled trades that work out cheaper for frequent traders.

Very small portfolios under £5,000 are poorly served by any percentage-fee platform. Vanguard at 0.15% is cheaper for beginners, or consider a cash ISA while you build up capital.

Investors wanting advanced charting and research tools will find Bestinvest functional but not exceptional. Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor both offer richer research environments.

Bestinvest is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA reference 183418). Client assets are held in nominee accounts, segregated from the firm's own assets — if Bestinvest became insolvent, your investments would not form part of the estate.

Cash is protected up to £85,000 per institution under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and investments are covered up to £85,000 if the platform fails due to fraud or mismanagement. For investors holding more than £85,000 in cash on the platform, be aware the FSCS limit applies per banking group, not per account.

The Evelyn Partners group structure adds institutional-grade backing. With over 35 years in operation and more than £3.5 billion in assets under management on the Bestinvest platform alone (the wider group manages £60bn+), this is not a startup carrying operational risk. That history and scale matter when choosing a home for a SIPP that might need to last 30 years.

Bestinvest currently offers up to £500 towards exit fees if you're transferring from another provider — a useful sweetener that removes one of the main barriers to switching platforms. Check the latest terms on their website as promotional offers can change.

The three closest competitors in the percentage-fee space are Fidelity, AJ Bell, and Hargreaves Lansdown.

Fidelity charges 0.35% on the first £250,000, capped at £7.50/month for ETFs and shares held in an ISA. For fund-only portfolios under £25,000, Fidelity is cheaper. But Fidelity's share dealing is £7.50 per trade — 50% more than Bestinvest's £4.95.

AJ Bell charges 0.25% on shares with a cap, which sounds cheaper. But the cap structure creates unexpected cost dynamics at mid-range portfolio sizes — our AJ Bell fee breakdown shows where the headline figure doesn't survive contact with a real portfolio.

Hargreaves Lansdown charges 0.45% (reduced from historical rates), with share dealing at £11.95. It offers the broadest investment range and the best app, but charges more at every portfolio size below £1m.

For a detailed side-by-side comparison across all portfolio sizes, see our flat-fee vs percentage-fee analysis. And for a direct head-to-head, our Bestinvest vs AJ Bell comparison runs the exact maths.

The SIPP comparison is where Bestinvest's position gets more nuanced:

Bestinvest sits in a sensible middle ground: not the cheapest for any single scenario, but consistently reasonable across a wide range of investor profiles. The Best Funds List, free coaching, 4.1% cash interest, and Junior SIPP availability tip the balance for investors who want more than just the lowest possible fee. For an investor building a £150,000 ISA and SIPP combination over the next decade, Bestinvest's total cost of ownership is competitive — and the Evelyn Partners backing offers a reassurance most fintech-only platforms can't match.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek independent financial advice before making any investment decisions.