# Compare Lightyear

How does Lightyear's Stocks & Shares ISA stack up against other investments and savings platforms in the UK?

Wondering if it's time to leave your current investing platform for Lightyear? Compare fees, FX rates and more - so you can decide which is right for your needs.

By default, this projection assumes a 5.00% annual growth rate - this is purely illustrative and is not a reliable indicator of future performance. We assume a 50:50 split of the yearly investment amount between stock and ETF investments, over a 10 year period. All ETFs are assumed to be in GBP (Pounds), and all stock purchases in USD (Dollars), incurring FX fees. We assume all purchases use newly invested funds (i.e. holdings are not sold, or sold and reinvested) and that the amount invested increases by 2% each year (in-line with inflation). It is your responsibility to check your investments are within any ISA annual contribution limit, where applicable.

Pricing data accurate as of 3rd June 2026:
- **Barclays**: Based on their [Investment ISA](https://www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor/accounts/investment-isa/). Charges include a £6 transaction fee on stocks and ETFs. FX fees are tiered: 1.00% on the first £5,000, 0.75% on the next £5,000, 0.50% on the next £15,000, 0.25% on the next £225,000, and 0.10% on values above £250,000.
- **Moneybox**: Based on their [Stocks & Shares ISA](https://www.moneyboxapp.com/faqs/fees-and-security/fee-breakdown/). There are no transaction fees, but a 0.45% FX fee applies on currency conversions. There is also an ongoing monthly account fee of £1 per month plus 0.45% of the portfolio value per year (captured under 'Account fees').
- **Hargreaves Lansdown**: Based on their [Stocks & Shares ISA](https://www.hl.co.uk/help/income-and-fees/fees-explained/fee-changes). Charges include a £6.95 transaction fee on both stocks and ETFs, a 0.99% FX fee on conversions up to £10,000, and a tiered annual account fee of 0.35% on balances up to £250,000 (capped at £150 per year when investing in exchange-traded instruments, as per our assumptions).
- **Trading 212**: Based on their [Stocks & Shares ISA](https://www.trading212.com/accounts/isa). There are no transaction fees and no ongoing account fee. A 0.15% FX fee applies when buying non-GBP instruments.
- **Interactive Investor**: Based on their [Stocks & Shares ISA](https://www.ii.co.uk/our-charges). Charges include a £3.99 transaction fee on both stocks and ETFs, and a 0.75% FX fee on currency conversions up to £50,000 (dropping to 0.25% above). There is a flat monthly account fee of £5.99 on their Core plan (portfolios up to £100,000), rising to £14.99 on their Plus plan (portfolios over £100,000).
- **Lightyear**: Based on our [Stocks & Shares ISA](/stocks-and-shares-isa). There are no transaction fees and no ongoing account fee. A 0.10% FX fee applies when buying non-GBP instruments. Explore our simple, transparent [pricing here](/pricing).

- Freetrade: Free trades can cost you. Invest wisely.

- Moneybox: Break out of the box. Lightyear offers smarter investing and low fees.

- Revolut: The real revolution is smarter investing.

- Interactive Investor: Their fees may be flat, but they could also be flattening your returns.

- AJ Bell: AJ Bell rings up the costs. Lightyear keeps them down.

- Hargreaves Lansdown: No-one grieves high fees once they've moved to Lightyear.

- Trading 212: Your future isn’t a bet. Invest with purpose.

## Start investing on Lightyear

Save on broker fees and earn easy-access interest through Vaults. When you invest, your capital is at risk.

## Questions a curious investor might ask

### How do you keep my money safe?

Trusting us with your money is not something we take for granted. Lightyear UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such is bound by strict regulatory obligations in how we handle and protect your money.

Customer money always sits separately to our own and is held in Citibank, Natwest and Qualifying Money Market Funds. There’s no way for creditors - in the unlikely event of anything happening to Lightyear - to get hold of the investments or cash that you hold with us.

FSCS does not cover losses due to poor investment performance. FSCS protection applies to client money only where held with UK banks, not where held in QMMFs or non-UK banks.

Read more about [how your assets are protected](/help/deposits-conversions-and-withdrawals/how-are-my-assets-protected) in our help centre.

### What do I need to know before I invest?

**Do you have cash reserves?:** It’s generally good practice to have easily accessible cash available to cover your ongoing short term expenses, as well as an emergency fund for any unforeseen sudden expenses (e.g. needing to replace your washing machine), before investing extra money you might have. It may also be sensible to pay off debts with available money, rather than investing it. 

**Can you accept losses?:** All investing contains an element of risk; your investment value can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than you invested, or in some cases, you may lose your entire investment. Generally the more risk you take gives you the opportunity for higher returns, but also increases the potential for greater losses. You should also think about how long you plan to invest for, and therefore whether you have the time to wait for any losses to recover. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.
[See explanations ](https://lightyear.com/gb/terms#5-risk-factors) of the types of risk each investment type provided by Lightyear might be exposed to here. This can be complicated, so please let us know if you need help.

Free, impartial guidance covering cash reserves, losses and more, is available at [MoneyHelper](https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk) & [InvestSmart (FCA)](https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart) including: [A beginners guide to investing](https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/investing/investing-beginners-guide), [5 questions to ask before you invest](https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest), [Make sure you understand the risks](https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/investing/thinking-about-investing-make-sure-you-understand-the-risks), [Is it the right investment for you](https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/right-investment-you).

### Is Lightyear a bank?

Lightyear is not a bank. We’re an investment platform, so there are a couple of key differences. The protection schemes are slightly different for investment platforms [(see here)](/help/deposits-conversions-and-withdrawals/how-are-my-assets-protected). With regards to customer funds, we cannot use customer money in the same way a bank does by lending it out. You have instant access to your Lightyear assets because of this.

### Why are your fees so reasonable? How do you make enough money?

We couldn’t agree more - our fees are very reasonable. We’re one of the most competitively priced investment platforms on the market and that's how we like it. Low cost, transparent pricing is in our DNA. Check out our full pricing information [here](https://lightyear.com/en-gb/pricing). Building a sustainable business that’s here to serve customers in 10, 20 and 100 years is something that’s paramount.

### How easy is it to withdraw my money?

Easy. We ensure you always have access to your money and we've made the process pretty painless for when you need to withdraw. Once requested, withdrawals may take up to 2 business days to be sent out to your requested bank account. Once sent out, the transfer time depends on the payout method:

- For GBP, your funds should typically arrive within 0-2 business hours.
- For EUR, your funds should arrive within 0-2 business days.
- For USD, your funds will arrive after 3-5 business days. As it's a [SWIFT payment](https://lightyear.com/en-gb/help/deposits-conversions-and-withdrawals/swift-payments) it may take longer, so contact your receiving bank for an estimation.

### Do you offer financial advice?

Lightyear doesn't offer investment advice. We don't assess if our services or instruments are suitable for you, but we do provide info about what we offer – our Target Market Matrix (which can be found on our Risk Disclosure page [here](https://lightyear.com/en-gb/risk-disclosures#risk-disclosure)) describes investor types based on their investment experience, financial objectives and how much risk they're comfortable with – to help you decide what investments might work best for you. You'll need to make sure your investment decisions meet your needs and amount of investment risk you're happy to take. If you don't feel you have the necessary knowledge and experience to make those decisions for yourself, you may want to get independent financial advice instead.

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Canonical: https://lightyear.com/en-gb/comparison