Is Hargreaves Lansdown free?
Hargreaves Lansdown does charge a commission for real stock trading on US markets, so in this sense it is not a free-to-trade broker. However, it might still be a reasonable choice for some of you, as there are many other aspects other than commissions that are important when you choose a broker. If you wish to stick with Hargreaves Lansdown though, then you will find the fees they charge below. Alternatively, you could check our article detailing the best zero commission brokers and how their apps scored in our test.
We should note that the payment-for-order-flow model, which is used by some zero-commission brokers to generate income (rather than relying on commissions), could potentially create a conflict of interest between you and your broker. This could result in trade execution (like routing your orders to specific market makers) that might be unfavorable for you under certain market conditions, especially when using market orders (as opposed to limit orders, which seem to be less affected).
Confused about fees? Use this tool to see what the commission fee of a specific stock trade would be at Hargreaves Lansdown. To check and compare fees at other brokers, go to our main Fee calculator page.
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Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Overview of Hargreaves Lansdown fees and charges
When it comes to brokerage fees, Hargreaves Lansdown is a mixed bag. To see how they may affect you, first you need to figure out your approach to trading - i.e. whether you are more of a buy-and-hold investor or if you want to trade frequently; or what type of assets and in what volumes you'll want to trade. Alternatively, use our questionnaire to help you tell whether Hargreaves Lansdown fees are beneficial for you. Continue reading about Hargreaves Lansdown fees and charges to see if this is the right broker for you, or if a similar broker like Interactive Investor or AJ Bell Youinvest might suit you better.
Here's a high-level overview of Hargreaves Lansdown's fees
| Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| US stock fee | High | Based on previous month's activity. 0-9 trades: £11.95 per trade; 10-19 trades: £8.95 per trade; 20+ trades: £5.95 per trade |
| EURUSD fee | - | Not available |
| US mutual fund fees | Low | Tiered annual fee based on volume held. On first £250k, the fee is 0.45%, on the value between £250k-£1m it is 0.25%, on the value between £1m-£2m it is 0.10%, and there is no charge on the value above £2m. |
| Inactivity fee | Low | No inactivity fee |
Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Hargreaves Lansdown fees explained
Online brokerages in general charge much lower brokerage fees than traditional brokerages do - this is largely because online brokerages' businesses can be much better scaled: from a purely technical standpoint, it doesn't make that much of a difference for them if they have 100 or 5,000 clients.
This is not to say, however, that they don't charge any fees at all. They make money by charging you various rates for various actions or events. Usually you need to keep an eye on the following three types of fees:
- Trading fees - these are brokerage fees that you pay when you actually carry out a trade, like buying an Apple share or an ETF. What you pay is either a commission, a spread or a financing rate. Some brokers apply all of these.
- A commission is either fixed or based on the traded volume.
- A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
- A financing rate or overnight rate is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.
- Non-trading fees. These are usually related to some operations you carry out in your account, such as depositing money, withdrawing money, or not trading for an extended period.
We compare Hargreaves Lansdown fees with its closest competitors, Interactive Investor and AJ Bell Youinvest.
Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Hargreaves Lansdown trading fees
Hargreaves Lansdown's trading fees are mixed, which means that some asset classes come with high trading fees - be sure to check these carefully.
Let's break down trading fees according to the different asset classes available at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Trading fees
Hargreaves Lansdown's trading fees are average.
Stock fees and ETF fees
Hargreaves Lansdown has high stock trading fees.
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell Youinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock | $14.8 | $7.4 | $12.3 |
| UK stock | $14.8 | $7.4 | $12.3 |
| German stock | $14.8 | $24.8 | $12.3 |
Fund fees
Hargreaves Lansdown fund fees are low.
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell Youinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual fund | $0.0 | $7.4 | $1.9 |
| EU mutual fund | $0.0 | $9.6 | $1.8 |
Bond fees
Hargreaves Lansdown has low bond fees.
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell Youinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Treasury bond | - | - | - |
| EU government bond | $14.8 | $7.4 | $12.3 |
Currency conversion fee
Hargreaves Lansdown will charge a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account. The fee is charged as the following: first £5,000: 1.00%; next £5,000: 0.75%; next £10,000: 0.50%; over £20,000: 0.25%.
Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Hargreaves Lansdown non-trading fees
When it comes to non-trading fees, Hargreaves Lansdown is a rather cheap broker.
Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at Hargreaves Lansdown that are not related to buying or selling assets. This can be a withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee or account fee.
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell Youinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Inactivity fee | No | No | No |
| Account fee | No | Yes | No |
Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Hargreaves Lansdown deposit fee
Usually, brokers don't charge anything for deposits, and Hargreaves Lansdown is no different.
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell Youinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | No | No | No |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Hargreaves Lansdown withdrawal fee
Hargreaves Lansdown generally doesn't charge a withdrawal fee.
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell Youinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | No | No | No |
| Withdrawal fee for bank transfer | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Hargreaves Lansdown fees
Hargreaves Lansdown inactivity fee
Hargreaves Lansdown does not apply an inactivity fee, which is great because your account won't be charged even if you do not trade for an extended period (like several months or years).
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