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Broker Comparison

AJ Bell vs SMARTBROKER+

Compare AJ Bell and SMARTBROKER+ 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
SMARTBROKER+

SMARTBROKER+

German investors seeking low-cost ETF trading

SMARTBROKER+ is a German online broker offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, derivatives and crypto with free …

Head-to-head comparison

AJ Bell vs SMARTBROKER+
Feature AJ Bell SMARTBROKER+
Minimum deposit - -
Stock trading fee £5 per trade; £3.50 per trade for frequent dealers (10+ deals in previous month); £25 by telephone EUR 0 via gettex (orders >= EUR 500); EUR 1 via gettex (orders < EUR 500); EUR 4 flat at Tradegate, Lang & Schwarz and other exchanges
Regulators FCA BaFin
Best for UK long-term investors and pension savers German investors seeking low-cost ETF trading
Markets & account
Stocks
ETFs
Crypto
-
Bonds
Funds
Ready Made Portfolios
-
Investment Plans
Isa
-
Sipp
-
Savings Vaults
-
Margin
-

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
SMARTBROKER+

SMARTBROKER+

Pros

  • Free custody and account management
  • No deposit, withdrawal or inactivity fees
  • Commission-free gettex trading for orders of EUR 500 or more
  • Over 4,600 savings plans with free execution for ETFs, stocks, funds and crypto ETPs
  • Access to 9 domestic and 18 international exchanges
  • Bonds trading available since April 2024
  • Weekend trading available since November 2025
  • Deposit protection up to EUR 100,000 via statutory scheme plus voluntary fund

Cons

  • No demo account available
  • No joint or junior accounts
  • Platform and customer support primarily in German
  • EUR 4 flat fee at exchanges other than gettex
  • Currency conversion cost of approximately 0.25% on international trades
  • No source tax recovery service
  • Mixed customer reviews on Trustpilot regarding customer support response times
  • Parent company has reported losses in recent years
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.

SMARTBROKER+

SMARTBROKER+

SMARTBROKER+ is a German online broker offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, derivatives and crypto with free custody and commission-free gettex trading from EUR 500.

Visit SMARTBROKER+ Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

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