Hargreaves Lansdown vs InstaForex - BrokerCue
BrokerCue

Select your country to see eligible brokers

Account eligibility and broker availability depend on your country of residence. Setting this now allows us to hide brokers that do not accept clients from your country.

Broker Comparison

Hargreaves Lansdown vs InstaForex

Compare Hargreaves Lansdown and InstaForex side by side: fees, regulation, platforms.

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

UK long-term ISA and SIPP investors

Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's largest retail investment platform, offering ISAs, SIPPs, funds, shares, ETFs…

VS
InstaForex

InstaForex

Forex and CFD traders globally

InstaForex is a forex and multi-asset CFD broker founded in 2007, offering MT4, MT5 and WebTrader access to o…

Head-to-head comparison

Hargreaves Lansdown vs InstaForex
Feature Hargreaves Lansdown InstaForex
Minimum deposit - -
Stock trading fee £6.95 per online trade (0-19 trades/month); £3.95 per trade (20+ trades/month); £29 by phone; free via monthly Direct Debit regular investing -
Regulators FCA CySEC, BVI FSC
Best for UK long-term ISA and SIPP investors Forex and CFD traders globally
Markets & account
Stocks
ETFs
-
Forex
-
CFDs
-
Crypto
-
Bonds
-
Funds
Ready Made Portfolios
-
Isa
-
Sipp
-
Investment Plans
-
Money Market Funds
-
Margin
-
Demo Account
-

Pros & cons

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Pros

  • UK's largest retail investment platform with over 2 million clients
  • Wide product range: funds, shares, ETFs, bonds, gilts, investment trusts, VCTs
  • ISA, SIPP, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, and Junior SIPP accounts available
  • No inactivity or withdrawal fees
  • Free monthly Direct Debit regular investing for both shares and funds
  • Extensive research tools, analyst ratings, and educational content
  • Segregated client funds and FSCS protection up to £85,000
  • No account charge for Junior ISA holders

Cons

  • No demo account available
  • Share dealing fee of £6.95 is higher than several UK competitors
  • Fund annual charge is uncapped for smaller portfolios and can be expensive at scale
  • New £1.95 fund dealing fee introduced from March 2026 where trades were previously free
  • Annual share charge cap raised to £150 per year per account from £45
  • FX conversion fees apply on all overseas share trades
  • No CFDs, forex, crypto, or spread betting products
InstaForex

InstaForex

Pros

  • Minimum deposit from $1 across all account types
  • Zero spread on major forex pairs and select crypto CFDs on EU entity
  • No deposit fee and no inactivity fee
  • MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 supported
  • Swap-free (Islamic) account option available
  • Demo account available
  • Over 300 instruments including forex, indices, commodities and crypto CFDs

Cons

  • CySEC fined EU entity EUR 130,000 in 2018 for compliance failures
  • Multiple regulator warnings issued against InstaForex entities globally
  • Withdrawal fees apply, varying by method (up to 2.5% for bank cards)
  • Spread widths on Standard accounts are wide relative to raw-spread ECN brokers
  • Primary operating entity registered in BVI, an offshore jurisdiction
  • US clients are not accepted
  • Research and educational tools are more limited than comparable multi-asset brokers
Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's largest retail investment platform, offering ISAs, SIPPs, funds, shares, ETFs and ready-made portfolios to over 2 million clients.

Visit Hargreaves Lansdown Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

InstaForex

InstaForex

InstaForex is a forex and multi-asset CFD broker founded in 2007, offering MT4, MT5 and WebTrader access to over 300 instruments including forex pairs, indices, commodities and crypto.

Visit InstaForex Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Not the right match?

Line up any two brokers side by side, or browse the full list to find your next platform.

Compare another broker Browse all brokers