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Broker Comparison

AJ Bell vs Skilling

Compare AJ Bell and Skilling 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
Skilling

Skilling

CFD and forex traders, multiple platforms

Skilling is a CySEC-regulated CFD and forex broker offering 1,200+ instruments across forex, stocks, indices,…

Head-to-head comparison

AJ Bell vs Skilling
Feature AJ Bell Skilling
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 CySEC, FSA
Best for UK long-term investors and pension savers CFD and forex traders, multiple platforms
Markets & account
Stocks
ETFs
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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
Skilling

Skilling

Pros

  • Choice of three trading platforms: Skilling Trader, MT4 and cTrader
  • 1,200+ CFD instruments including 70+ forex pairs, 900+ shares, indices, commodities and crypto
  • Standard account minimum deposit of $100
  • Commission-free Standard account with spreads from 0.7 pips on EUR/USD
  • Free demo account with $10,000 virtual balance
  • Copy trading available via Skilling cCopy
  • Negative balance protection for retail clients
  • CySEC-regulated with ICF investor compensation up to EUR 20,000

Cons

  • No direct ownership of shares or crypto - all positions are CFDs
  • Premium account requires $5,000 minimum deposit
  • Research tools are limited compared to larger brokers
  • E-wallet withdrawals (Skrill, Neteller) carry third-party percentage fees
  • Customer support limited to weekdays (approximately 06:00-22:00 CET)
  • No US clients accepted
  • MT4 instruments limited to around 200 compared to 800+ on cTrader and Skilling Trader
  • Offshore FSA entity provides weaker investor protection than the CySEC entity
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.

Skilling

Skilling

Skilling is a CySEC-regulated CFD and forex broker offering 1,200+ instruments across forex, stocks, indices, commodities and crypto via MT4, cTrader and its proprietary Skilling Trader.

Visit Skilling Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

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