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AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown are two of the UK’s largest investment platforms, offering a range of accounts and assets. We’ve taken a look at what these providers offer, and how their services compare.
AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown at a glance
With approximately 1.9 million clients, Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s largest investment platform. It launched in 1981, making it a well-established and trusted brand in the UK’s financial landscape.
AJ Bell is slightly newer to the scene. Since it launched in 1995, the platform has garnered more than half a million clients.
Both platforms allow customers to buy, sell and hold a wide range of investments, through several different types of account. Each also operates a mobile app, allowing clients to invest from their phone, along with online and telephone investing services.
AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means customers’ deposits and investments are protected up to the value of £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Data correct as of November 2024
Account types
Both providers offer a good range of investment accounts:
Hargreaves Lansdown also offers junior SIPPs, and bare trust accounts (where a donor can give assets to a fixed named beneficiary).
Cash savings
Elsewhere, both platforms operate their own cash savings platform.
AJ Bell’s Cash Savings Hub allows customers to open a range of fixed rate bonds and notice accounts with several partner banks.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s Active Savings platform offers customers a choice of easy access accounts, notice accounts and cash ISAs with 21 partner providers.
Overall, these providers have a good range of accounts on offer – though Hargreaves Lansdown has the edge when it comes to cash savings and junior accounts.
Investment options
A wide range of assets, from individual shares to funds and ETFs, are available through both platforms – though Hargreaves has a slightly broader offering.
AJ Bell investment options
AJ Bell gives investors access to 8,200 shares, more than 2,000 funds, 3,400 ETFs, 450 investment trusts, and 134 bonds and gilts across 24 global markets including the UK, US, Europe and Japan.
Hargreaves Lansdown investment options
Hargreaves Lansdown customers can choose from 8,500 shares, 3,000 funds, 1,400 ETFs, 400 investment trusts and more than 200 bonds and gilts across the UK, US, Europe and Canada.
News and insights
Like most investing platforms, both Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell provide access to educational content, market news and expert insights.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s content library is generally easier to navigate. It’s accessible directly from the home page, organised by topic, and includes plenty of video content.
That said, AJ Bell’s downloadable investing guides could be a valuable resource to new investors who prefer a printable format.
Expert guidance
Hargreaves Lansdown runs a financial advisory service alongside its DIY investing options, which could make it a better fit for investors who want extra guidance and support. This service does come with additional fees, however.
Both platforms curate a list of expert-recommended funds – AJ Bell’s Favourite Funds, and Hargreaves Lansdown’s Wealth Shortlist.
Beyond these lists, both platforms also provide navigation tools that filter investments by sector or geography.
When it comes to ethical investing, both platforms perform well, offering a range of funds that operate with ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations in mind.
AJ Bell also runs its own Responsible Growth fund, which invests exclusively in companies that meet its ESG criteria.
Both providers offer ready-made investment portfolios. These diversified funds are designed to be an all-in-one solution for investors who don’t want to build a portfolio from scratch. They’re available at varying risk levels, ranging from ‘cautious’ to ‘adventurous’.
Neither platform offers fractional shares (a portion of a whole share), however.
Fees and charges
Overall, AJ Bell charges lower fees for its investing services.
Its platform fee – which applies to both funds and shares – is charged on a tiered basis:
- balances under £250,000 are charged at 0.25%
- any portion of the balance between £250,000 and £500,000 is charged at 0.10%
- no additional charges for balances above £500,000.
Platform fees are capped at £42 per year, which could make AJ Bell a better fit for larger portfolios.
When it comes to dealing fees, AJ Bell is also the cheaper platform. Buying or selling shares costs £5 – or £3.50 if 10 or more trades were made the previous month.
Meanwhile, dealing funds costs £1.50. There’s no discount for regular fund trading, however.
Hargreaves Lansdown also makes use of a tiered platform fee.
For holding funds, it charges:
- 0.45% on the first £250,000
- 0.25% on the value between £250,000 and £1 million
- 0.10% on the value between £1 million and £2 million
- no additional charge on any part of the balance over £2 million.
There’s no charge for holding shares in its general investing account – but holding them in a stocks & shares ISA comes with a 0.45% platform fee, capped at £45 per year.
The platform’s share trading fee is £11.95, which falls to £8.95 when 10 or more trades are made in the previous month, and £5.95 when 20 or more trades are made.
Although Hargreaves Lansdown is the more expensive option for general investing accounts and stocks & shares ISAs, its junior stocks & shares ISA comes free of charge – with no platform or trading fees to pay.
This could make it the better option for individuals investing on behalf of a child.
Elsewhere, the cost for trading international shares is similar for both platforms.
AJ Bell’s foreign exchange fees break down as follows:
- 0.75% on the first £10,000
- 0.50% on the next £10,000
- 0.25% on values over £20,000.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s foreign exchange fees are only slightly more expensive:
- 1.00% on the first £5,000
- 0.75% on the next £5,000
- 0.50% on the next £10,000
- 0.25% on values over £20,000.
Both providers also pay interest on uninvested cash balances.
The amount customers earn varies depending on the type of account and value of their balance – but Hargreaves Lansdown has slightly higher rates overall.
Customer service
Hargreaves Lansdown is known for excellent customer service, operating an easy-to-navigate online help centre, along with a telephone helpline that’s open six days a week.
AJ Bell also offers phone support, with similar operating hours, and both platforms provide email support.
AJ Bell could be a better fit for investors who prefer to get support online, since there’s also a webchat function.
In terms of customer service independent review site, Fairer Finance scores Hargreaves Lansdown at 67.7% and AJ Bell slightly higher at 72.2%.
AJ Bell vs Hargreaves Lansdown – which is best?
AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown are both strong contenders for would-be investors.
With low platform and trading fees, AJ Bell might be a better choice for larger portfolios. While the range of investments isn’t as extensive as Hargreaves Lansdown’s, the platform still gives DIY investors plenty of options to choose from.
On the other hand, Hargreaves Lansdown may suit investors who want plenty of guidance and support, due to its financial advisory services.
Since the junior stocks & shares ISA is free to use, it could be an equally strong choice for individuals investing on behalf of a child.
Hargreaves also pips AJ Bell at the post when it comes to the range of investment options on offer, with roughly 1,000 additional funds to choose from.
While AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown are two of the UK’s largest providers, they’re not the only investing platforms out there. For more options, check out our pick of the best trading platforms.
