Last updated: 15 October 2026. I checked every fee in this Monzo Invest vs Freetrade comparison on each provider's own site on 14 October 2026.
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.
Not financial advice. This comparison is information, not a personal recommendation, and CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Nothing here tells you which account to open or what to buy. If you are unsure, speak to a qualified financial adviser. MoneyHelper explains how to choose one.
Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
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Monzo Invest, Freetrade and Lightyear, priced in pounds
If you already bank with Monzo, the easiest place to start investing is the tab you already have open. This Monzo Invest vs Freetrade comparison, with Lightyear as the third app, asks what staying put costs you. So I priced all three on the same jobs. That means the yearly fee on a £2,000 and a £20,000 pot, the charge for buying US shares, and the accounts each one will open. In short, Monzo charges £50 a year to hold £20,000. Freetrade's free plan and Lightyear charge nothing to hold it, but they bill you every time pounds become dollars.
Section 01 / The numbers
Monzo Invest vs Freetrade vs Lightyear: what each one costs
Three apps, three different ways of charging, and a different winner depending on what you buy.
Monzo charges a percentage of everything you hold. By contrast, Freetrade and Lightyear charge nothing to hold your investments, and make their money elsewhere, mostly on currency conversion. Therefore the cheapest app depends on two things: how big your pot is, and whether you buy shares priced in dollars.
Specifically, the fees below are the ones in Monzo's investment fees, Freetrade's plan comparison and Lightyear's pricing page.
The yearly platform fee, in pounds
On a £2,000 pot, Monzo's 0.25% comes to £5 a year. On £20,000, however, it is £50. If you pay for Monzo Perks or Max, the rate drops to 0.20%, so £4 and £40. Monzo also caps the fee at £250 a year (£200 on Perks or Max), which you reach at £100,000. After that, Monzo charges nothing on every extra pound you add.
Meanwhile, Freetrade's Basic plan and Lightyear charge £0 at both pot sizes. However, you still pay the running cost of whatever fund or ETF you buy, on all three apps. Because that charge comes out of the fund's price, you never see it leave your account.
The all-in cost of Monzo's ready-made funds
Monzo's own worked example puts its three ready-made funds (Careful, Balanced and Adventurous) at 0.39% a year in total. That includes the platform fee and BlackRock's fund charge, so it comes to about £7.80 a year on £2,000 and £78 on £20,000. The other 14 investments, by comparison, carry their own fund charges, which the app shows before you buy.
That 0.39% is also why my managed investment platforms comparison found Monzo's ready-made funds the cheapest done-for-you option you can open. Freetrade and Lightyear are cheaper still to hold. Even so, you choose and rebalance the funds yourself.
The cost of buying US shares
For example, buy £1,000 of a US share and the currency conversion costs £9.90 on Freetrade Basic (0.99%) and £1 on Lightyear (0.1%). Monzo, on the other hand, does not sell individual shares at all. It charges no currency conversion fee either, just the 0.25% platform fee and the fund's own charge.
Freetrade also cuts its FX fee if you pay for a plan: 0.59% on Standard (£59.88 a year on annual billing) and 0.39% on Plus (£119.88). On the FX saving alone, Standard pays for itself once you convert more than about £14,970 a year, and Plus once you convert more than about £19,980, compared with staying on Basic. For the wider field, my FX fee comparison runs the same sums across seven apps.
Monzo costs £50 a year on a £20,000 pot. Freetrade Basic and Lightyear cost nothing to hold it, and charge when you buy in dollars.
Section 02 / Side by side
Monzo Invest vs Freetrade vs Lightyear, side by side
Every figure comes from the providers' own pages, apart from Lightyear's minimum, which is from my own account.
| Monzo Investments | Freetrade (Basic) | Lightyear | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | 0.25% a year, capped at £250 (0.20% and £200 on Perks or Max) | £0 | £0 |
| Fee on £2,000 | £5 (£4) | £0 | £0 |
| Fee on £20,000 | £50 (£40) | £0 | £0 |
| Dealing charge | None | None | None |
| FX on US shares | No individual shares and no FX fee | 0.99% (£9.90 per £1,000) | 0.1% (£1 per £1,000) |
| What you can buy | 17 BlackRock funds: 3 ready-made, 11 themed or regional, short-term bonds, gold and silver | More than 8,600 shares, ETFs and investment trusts, plus mutual funds, gilts and Treasury bills | UK, US and EU shares, ETFs, funds, gilts and ready-made Plans |
| Accounts | Stocks and shares ISA, general investment account, pension (SIPP), Junior ISA (no Monzo fee on a Junior ISA) | Stocks and shares ISA, Junior ISA, SIPP, general investment account | Stocks and shares ISA, cash ISA, general investment account |
| Minimum | £1 | US shares from £1 | $2 on a US share buy, in my own account |
| Catch | Needs a Monzo current account; UK residents 18+ | High FX on the free plan | No pension and no Junior ISA |
| Sign-up offer | No investments referral running | Free share, £10 to £100 | Random reward, £10 to £100 |
| FCA-authorised firm | Monzo Bank Limited, FRN 730427; assets held by Seccl Custody Limited, FRN 793200 | Freetrade Limited, FRN 783189 | Lightyear U.K. Ltd, FRN 987226 |
Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.
Section 03 / The three apps
Who each app suits, and what it is bad at
Each one does a different job well, and each has one flaw that may rule it out for you.
Monzo Investments
I've paid £50 a month into Monzo's Adventurous fund since November 2025, through the general investment account, with round-ups and my savings interest swept in on top. In practice, that automation is the reason to stay. Round-ups, a regular payment and the interest sweep all run from the same app as my bank account. As a result, I never have to remember to invest. My full Monzo Investments review covers how that has gone.
The limit, however, is choice. There are 17 investments, every one of them a BlackRock fund, and no individual shares. The fee is also a percentage, so it grows with your pot until the £250 cap. On the other hand, if you hold Monzo's Aura credit card, Monzo waives the investment fee on your ISA and general account. I covered the February 2026 cut from 0.45% to 0.25% in what Monzo's fee cut means. Similarly, my Monzo plan prices guide prices the paid plans that bring it down to 0.20%.
For the Monzo customer who wants to invest without opening another app.
Freetrade
Freetrade is where I keep my own self-managed stocks and shares ISA and general investment account. Its Basic plan costs nothing and opens all four accounts: a stocks and shares ISA, a Junior ISA, a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and a general investment account. As a result, it is the only one of the three where you can run an ISA, a pension and a child's ISA in one place for £0. In addition, you get 1% AER on up to £1,000 of uninvested cash.
The weak spot, though, is the 0.99% FX fee on Basic. If you mostly buy shares and funds listed in London, you will rarely pay it. But if you buy US shares every month, it adds up quickly. Paying for Standard or Plus only makes sense at the volumes above. Meanwhile, my Freetrade review covers the app itself.
For someone who wants an ISA, a pension and a Junior ISA in one free account.
Lightyear
Lightyear charges no account fee, no dealing fee on shares, ETFs or gilts, and 0.1% to convert currency at the live interbank rate. So on a £1,000 US purchase that is £1, against £9.90 on Freetrade Basic. Lightyear also holds pounds, dollars and euros in a general investment account, so you are not converting back and forth on every trade.
The gap, however, is pensions. Lightyear offers a stocks and shares ISA, a cash ISA and a general investment account, but no SIPP and no Junior ISA. Paying in by card also costs 0.6%, so a bank transfer is the free route. I only use Lightyear for my AI portfolio experiment, where US buy orders under $2 get skipped because of its minimum. Otherwise, my Lightyear review has the rest.
For someone who buys US shares often and does not need a pension in the same app.
Not financial advice. Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Section 04 / Protection
What the FSCS covers, and what it does not
Protection pays out if a firm fails. It never covers your investments falling in value.
The FSCS protects eligible investments up to £85,000 per person per FCA-authorised firm. However, that protection only applies if an authorised firm fails and your money or investments go missing as a result. It does not protect you from investment losses. In other words, if your fund drops 20%, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme pays nothing, on any of the three apps. The FSCS investments page sets out the rules.
For Monzo, the firm providing the service is Monzo Bank Limited. Seccl Custody Limited, meanwhile, holds the investments and acts as ISA manager. Also, investment protection is separate from the £120,000 that covers cash in your Monzo current account and savings pots.
Section 05 / Before you move
Monzo Invest vs Freetrade: can you use both?
Yes. You can split your ISA allowance across more than one provider.
Since April 2024 you can pay into more than one stocks and shares ISA in the same tax year. The only rule is that the total across all your ISAs stays within £20,000. So Monzo Invest vs Freetrade does not have to be a choice. You could keep Monzo's round-ups running and buy shares on Freetrade, or US shares on Lightyear, without breaking a rule. My investment ISA guide covers the allowance in more detail.
If you are moving an existing ISA, ask the new provider to transfer it rather than withdrawing the money yourself. Otherwise it loses its tax-free wrapper. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. To compare more platforms, my ETF platform comparison prices eight platforms on the same £2,000 and £20,000 pots.
Monzo Invest vs Freetrade: FAQs
Is Monzo Invest better than Freetrade?
It depends on what you want to buy. For instance, Monzo suits someone who wants three ready-made funds and automatic round-ups inside their bank app, and costs 0.25% a year. Freetrade, by contrast, suits someone who wants individual shares, ETFs and a free SIPP. It costs £0 on Basic, with a 0.99% FX fee on non-sterling trades.
Which has the lowest fees?
To hold a pot, Freetrade Basic and Lightyear both charge £0, while Monzo charges 0.25% (£50 a year on £20,000). To buy US shares, however, Lightyear is cheapest at 0.1%, against 0.99% on Freetrade Basic. I checked those fees on 14 October 2026, and fund charges apply on all three.
Can I have a Monzo ISA and a Freetrade ISA?
Yes. You can pay into more than one stocks and shares ISA in a tax year, provided your total ISA payments stay within the £20,000 allowance. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.
Does Monzo Investments offer a pension?
Yes. A Monzo Pension is a SIPP for 18 to 70 year olds, with the same 0.25% fee. The £250 cap also applies across your Monzo investment and pension accounts combined. Similarly, Freetrade's Basic plan includes a SIPP. Lightyear does not offer one.
Is my money protected if the app goes bust?
The FSCS protects eligible investments up to £85,000 per person per FCA-authorised firm, but only if a firm fails. Even then, the FSCS never covers losses because your investments fell in value.
Is there a Monzo Investments referral bonus?
Not at the moment. Currently, Monzo's referral scheme covers the current account, not Investments. My Monzo Investments referral page tracks whether it comes back.
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Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not financial advice or a personal recommendation. Fees, rates, offers and terms change, so check each provider's own site before you act, and consider speaking to a qualified financial adviser. Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Eligible investments are protected up to £85,000 per person per FCA-authorised firm by the FSCS, which only applies if a firm fails and never covers investment losses. This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.
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