Hargreaves Lansdown Review 2026: Better Value After the Fee Cut, Still the Price of Comfort

Score: 71/100. Rank 5 of 10. Verified 19 September 2026.

Cost 30%	Accounts 15%	Range 15%	Research 10%	App 10%	Cash 10%	Trust 10%
3.1	10	10	9	8	6	9

Verdict in one paragraph

Consider a couple in their fifties with £400,000 across HL ISAs and SIPPs, mostly in funds. They have never had a problem, the phone is always answered, and the research is excellent. They are also paying around £1,250 a year for the privilege, which after the March 2026 fee cut is about £250 less than before but still roughly seven times what Interactive Investor would charge.

Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's largest platform because it is very good at everything except price. Our 20-year model puts it last of the ten on cost for ETF and share investors. If you value service, breadth and a brand that has been around since 1981, that premium may be worth paying. Just know you are paying it.

Who it is for

Investors who want the widest choice, the best telephone service and deep research, and who either have smaller portfolios where the caps bite gently or are willing to pay for comfort. Also strong for anyone wanting a Lifetime ISA, Junior SIPP, Cash ISA and Active Savings under one roof.

Hargreaves Lansdown Fees (from 1 March 2026)

Item	Charge
Funds custody (per account)	0.35% to £250,000, 0.25% to £1m, 0.10% to £2m, 0% above
Shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds custody	0.35%, capped at £12.50 a month (£150 a year) in ISA, SIPP and Fund and Share Account
Share dealing	£6.95 online; £3.95 with 20 or more trades in the previous month
Fund dealing	£1.95 (was free before March 2026)
Regular investing	Free
FX	0.99% to £10,000, 0.50% to £25,000, 0.20% above
Phone or post dealing	£29
Transfers out, drawdown	Free
Interest on cash	Tiered by account and balance, roughly 1.3% to 2.9% AER

What changed in March 2026: the account charge fell from 0.45% to 0.35%, share dealing fell from £11.95 to £6.95, a £1.95 fund dealing charge was introduced, and the share custody cap rose from £45 (ISA) and £200 (SIPP) to £150 across the board, and now applies to the previously free Fund and Share Account. Passive ETF investors in an ISA are worse off; fund investors and active share traders are better off.

Our model: a £20,000 ISA plus £500 a month in ETFs costs £8,945 in true terms over 20 years, the highest of the ten. A £100,000 ISA plus £500 a month in funds costs £28,441, also the highest.

Accounts

Fund and Share Account, Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA (no account or dealing charges), SIPP, Junior SIPP, drawdown, Cash ISA and Active Savings. Nothing missing.

Investment range

Thousands of funds including over 500 with negotiated discounts, UK and overseas shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds, gilts, VCTs and LTAFs. As broad as any UK platform.

Research and tools

The Wealth Shortlist, fund and share research, analyst commentary, retirement planning tools and portfolio analysis. Along with Interactive Investor, the best in-house research of the traditional platforms.

The catches

• Price. Even after the cut, 0.35% on funds is the highest of our ten, and the £150 ETF cap is more than triple AJ Bell's.
  

• FX. 0.99% on the first £10,000 is the most expensive on this list.
  

• Tiering is per account, not across your household or even across your own accounts, so a £200,000 ISA and a £200,000 SIPP both pay 0.35% on every pound.
  

• Fund dealing is no longer free.
  

• US persons. HL generally does not open new accounts for US persons, and existing US-person clients are restricted to shares and cash. Confirm directly before applying.

Trust

Hargreaves Lansdown was a FTSE 100 company until a consortium of CVC, Nordic Capital and ADIA completed a take-private in March 2025. It remains FCA-authorised and FSCS-covered, with around 21,000 Trustpilot reviews rated 4.4. Private-equity ownership means less public disclosure than before; the fee cut was one of the first visible consequences of the new owners.

Pros and cons

Pros: every account type; unrivalled range; excellent research and phone service; free regular investing; fee cut in 2026. Cons: most expensive for ETF and share investors in our model; highest FX; per-account tiering; new fund dealing charge; limited for US persons.

Frequently asked questions

What are Hargreaves Lansdown's fees in 2026? 0.35% a year on funds up to £250,000 (tiered lower above), 0.35% on shares and ETFs capped at £12.50 a month, £6.95 share dealing, £1.95 fund dealing, and 0.99% FX on the first £10,000.

Is Hargreaves Lansdown worth it? For service and choice, many investors think so. For cost, no: on a £100,000 SIPP in ETFs it costs about £10,800 in true terms over 20 years against under £2,000 at Interactive Brokers, Freetrade or Trading 212.

Did HL's fee cut make it cheap? It made it cheaper. It did not make it cheap. AJ Bell remains cheaper in every scenario we modelled, and flat-fee or zero-fee platforms are cheaper by a wide margin.

Sources

• ISA charges: https://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/isa/savings-interest-rates-and-charges

• SIPP charges: https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/sipp/charges-and-interest-rates

• Fee changes from 1 March 2026: https://www.hl.co.uk/help/income-and-fees/fees-explained/fee-changes

• Share dealing charges: https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/share-dealing/dealing-charges

• Interest rates (from 10 June 2026): https://www.hl.co.uk/charges-and-interest-rates

• FX tiers as published by Freetrade's comparison (as of 24 March 2026): https://freetrade.io/compare-plans

• Take-private completion: https://www.cvc.com/media/news/2025/cvc-nordic-capital-and-adia-complete-acquisition-of-hargreaves-lansdown/

• US-person policy: https://www.atamatax.com/hargreaves-lansdown-pfic and https://www.momofinance.co.uk/us-citizens-in-the-uk/investment-brokerage/

• Trustpilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.hl.co.uk

Alpesh Patel is a fund manager and the founder of Campaign for a Million. This page is information and opinion, not a personal recommendation or financial advice. Capital is at risk. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. Campaign for a Million receives no payment from any platform listed.