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Hargreaves Lansdown investment platform review
Is Hargreaves Lansdown any good?
In our latest customer satisfaction survey, Hargreaves Lansdown received a customer score of 71% for its stocks and shares Isa, putting it joint 16th out of 25 providers.
Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's largest platform by customer base and is a FTSE 250 company (and was recently in the FTSE 100).
Hargreaves Lansdown is consistently one of the most expensive platforms for investors with more than £25,000 in their portfolio, but it has average fees for smaller pots. Stocks and shares Isa users gave the platform a poor two stars for value for money.
Hargreaves Lansdown has a broad range of investments – nearly 15,000 assets in total – and in-depth analysis for customers to read on individual funds, shares and other investments.
The minimum investment into each fund on Hargreaves Lansdown is a £100 lump sum, but there's no minimum to open an account. Direct Debits can be set up from £25 a month upwards.
Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an investment platform before committing to any financial products.
- Find out more: Best investment platforms in the UK 2025
Hargreaves Lansdown stocks and shares Isa star ratings in more detail
| Aspect of service | Star rating |
| Customer service | |
| Ease of use | |
| Information on investments | |
| Value for money |
What do customers say about Hargreaves Lansdown?
Comments from Hargreaves Lansdown customers that took part in our survey include:
- ‘I know Hargreaves Lansdown is not the cheapest platform, but the ease of use, information provided and service levels are all very good. I consider it to be good value for money for an active investor.'
- 'Always answer the phone quickly. Polite, knowledgeable staff who speak clearly and resolve issues and queries quickly. Rarely have to call again.'
- 'Apart from one bad experience, the Neil Woodford fund, I have been very pleased with my experience of using Hargreaves Lansdown for nearly 15 years.'
Visit Hargreaves Lansdown to find out more about its accounts, services and investment options.
How much does Hargreaves Lansdown cost?
Investors in Hargreaves Lansdown's Fund and Share account – its general investment account – pay no platform fee on shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Stocks and shares Isa investors pay 0.45% on these types of asset, capped at £45 a year.
Platform charge
- 0.45% on shares in a stocks and shares Isa (capped at £45 a year)
- 0.45% on fund investments up to £250,000; 0.25% between £250,000 and £1 million; 0.1% between £1 and £2 million; no charge above £2 million or on shares in a Fund and Share account
Trading charge
- £11.95 on shares, investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, and bonds/gilts if you placed 0-9 deals in the previous month
- £8.95 if you placed 10-19 deals
- £5.95 if you placed 20 or more deals
- No charge for trading funds, or for regular direct debit investing
Foreign exchange charge
This applies to each trade of investments denominated in another currency, for example US stocks, on top of fund and trading charges.
- 1% on a trade value up to £5,000
- 0.75% on the next £5,000
- 0.5% on the next £10,000
- 0.25% on over £20,000
How much will I pay to invest with Hargreaves Lansdown?
We've estimated the cost of investing over the course of a year in a Hargreaves Lansdown stocks and shares Isa. We assumed that you'll make four purchases and four sales each year, spread out over different months.
Costs will vary depending on how much you invest and whether you trade funds or shares.
| Amount invested | Annual fund charges | Annual shares, ETFs and investment trusts charges |
|---|---|---|
| £5,000 | £23 | £118 |
| £10,000 | £45 | £141 |
| £25,000 | £113 | £141 |
| £50,000 | £225 | £141 |
| £100,000 | £450 | £141 |
| £250,000 | £1,125 | £141 |
| £500,000 | £1,750 | £141 |
Table notes: Annual charges include platform fee and any trading charges. We have not included other charges that might apply, such as foreign exchange fees or fund management charges that are levied by fund managers, as these vary depending on the specific investments you hold. Fund management fees can range from less than 0.1% for some passively managed 'tracker' funds, to 1.25% or more for actively managed funds or investment trusts.
- Find out more: Best investment platforms in the UK 2025
What can you invest in with Hargreaves Lansdown?
Hargreaves Lansdown accounts and services
Find out more about Hargreaves Lansdown by using the links below to view their accounts and services:
- General investment account
- Stocks and shares Isas (not flexible)
- Self-invested personal pension (Sipp)
- Junior Sipp
- Income drawdown
- Savings account
- Annuity
- Income drawdown
- Ready-made pension
- Junior investment Isa
Investments on Hargreaves Lansdown
- 4,027 funds (OEICs, multi-asset funds)
- 357 investment trusts
- 1,510 exchange-traded funds
- 7,713 stocks
- 389 bonds (plus you can now buy UK gilts at issue)
Correct as of January 2025
Is Hargreaves Lansdown good for ethical investors?
Despite having many different filters available to search for funds and other investments, Hargreaves Lansdown does not allow users to filter on ESG characteristics of any kind.
It does, however, have detailed information on each fund, such as its top 10 holdings and sectors, including where underlying funds are invested, so investors can get a sense of what's in their funds.
- Find out more: Ethical investing explained
Is your money safe with Hargreaves Lansdown?
Hargreaves Lansdown is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
When you invest with an investment platform that's registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, your money will be ring-fenced and should be returned if a company goes bust, without you having to wait alongside other creditors.
If ring-fencing failed, you would be compensated by the FSCS.
The FSCS will cover up to £85,000 of investments per person, per platform. You can claim for free online at fscs.org.uk. There's no reason to use a claims management company.
You won't be compensated for investments falling in value, or if a company in which you hold shares goes bust, unless this poor performance resulted from bad advice given by a regulated Independent Financial Advisor that has since gone bust.
- Find out more: How the FSCS works