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Broker Comparison

AJ Bell vs Alpari

Compare AJ Bell and Alpari side by side: fees, regulation, platforms.

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

UK long-term investors and pension savers

AJ Bell is a UK investment platform founded in 1995, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, ISAs and SIPPs acro…

VS
Alpari

Alpari

Forex traders wanting ECN accounts

Alpari is a forex and CFD broker founded in 1998, offering MetaTrader 4 and 5, four account types including E…

Head-to-head comparison

AJ Bell vs Alpari
Feature AJ Bell Alpari
Minimum deposit - -
Stock trading fee £5 per trade; £3.50 per trade for frequent dealers (10+ deals in previous month); £25 by telephone -
Regulators FCA MISA
Best for UK long-term investors and pension savers Forex traders wanting ECN accounts
Markets & account
Stocks
ETFs
-
Forex
-
CFDs
-
Crypto
-
Bonds
-
Funds
-
Ready Made Portfolios
-
Investment Plans
-
Isa
-
Sipp
-
Savings Vaults
-
Margin
-
Demo Account
-
Multi Currency
-

Pros & cons

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Pros

  • FCA-regulated with FSCS protection up to £85,000
  • Share and ETF custody capped at £3.50/month in ISA and dealing accounts
  • SIPP platform fee capped at £10/month
  • Wide investment range: 4,000+ funds, 3,500+ ETFs, 16,000+ shares across 24 markets
  • No withdrawal or inactivity fees
  • Regular investing with no dealing charge from £25/month
  • Which? Recommended Provider for eight consecutive years (2019-2026)
  • ISA, SIPP, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA and dealing accounts all on one platform

Cons

  • No demo or practice account
  • No fractional shares
  • No cryptocurrency trading
  • Fund platform fee is not capped, making it expensive for large fund portfolios
  • FX conversion fee up to 0.75% on international trades
  • Basic charting tools compared to dedicated trading platforms
  • No multi-currency account - all holdings converted to GBP
Alpari

Alpari

Pros

  • Operating since 1998 with over 1 million clients
  • Four account types including commission-free Standard and ECN options
  • Pro ECN spreads from 0.0 pips
  • MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 support
  • PAMM copy-trading with minimum investment from $50
  • Demo account available with no restrictions
  • High leverage available (varies by account and instrument)
  • Multiple deposit and withdrawal methods including crypto

Cons

  • Regulated only by MISA, an offshore regulator - no Tier-1 license (FCA, ASIC, CySEC)
  • No compensation scheme beyond the Financial Commission's 20,000 EUR limit
  • $10 monthly inactivity fee after 3 months of dormancy
  • Deposit fees of up to 2.5% on some card methods
  • Limited educational resources compared to larger brokers
  • Alpari UK went into administration in 2015 - the current entity is a separate continuation of the brand
  • Standard account EUR/USD average spread around 1.7 pips is relatively wide
AJ Bell

AJ Bell

AJ Bell is a UK investment platform founded in 1995, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, ISAs and SIPPs across 24 international markets.

Visit AJ Bell Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Alpari

Alpari

Alpari is a forex and CFD broker founded in 1998, offering MetaTrader 4 and 5, four account types including ECN, PAMM copy trading, and 750+ instruments.

Visit Alpari Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

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