Freetrade or Core Spreads – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare Freetrade and Core Spreads in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
Freetrade is a London-headquartered investing platform that offers zero-commission trading on thousands of UK, European and US stocks and ETFs through a beginner-friendly platform. Open a standard investment account, a self-invested pension or a stocks and shares ISA and start building a portfolio from as little as £2.
Core Spreads is an FCA-licensed broker offering CFD and spread betting opportunities on a proprietary platform or MetaTrader 4. Traders can access more than 1000 instruments, including company shares, commodities, indices and forex. Spread bets have fixed spreads that start from 0.4 with no commission, while CFDs start from 1 pip plus a $1.50 charge per lot.
Pros
FCA-regulated brand with FSCS cover for investors
Thousands of US and UK stocks and hundreds of ETFs to choose from
Very competitive pricing vs competitors with low fees and zero commissions
Earn interest on uninvested cash with competitive rates
Transfer/move ISAs from other accounts
News and blog feed updated regularly
Built-in customer support via live chat
Fast revenue withdrawals
Dividends on stocks
Reliable, FCA-regulated broker with FSCS protection and good customer service
Strong range of assets with 1000+ stocks and shares and 40 forex pairs
MT4 support plus proprietary platform for spread betting
Good spreads available on spread betting
Demo account on both platforms
Free deposits and withdrawals
No inactivity fee
Cons
Competitors have larger selection of assets
Trading platform lacks deep analytical tools
Less suitable for active, high-volume traders
Many countries not accepted
No leveraged trading
No demo account
CFD spreads and charges are more expensive than some competitors
Narrow range of CFDs
No MetaTrader 5 platform
Awards
Best Online Trading Platform 2020 - British Bank Awards
Best Share Trading Platform 2019 - British Bank Awards
People’s Choice 2019 - Good Money Guide
Best New Investment Service 2019 - Consumer Investment Awards
Core Spreads offers CFD trading on 40 forex pairs plus 13 commodities, including metals and energies, and 13 global stock indices including the UK100 and US30. CFDs are traded through the MT4 platform with leverage up to 1:30 in line with UK regulations.
Leverage
1:30
FTSE Spread
1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.6
Oil Spread
3.5
Stocks Spread
Variable
Forex
Core Spreads offers trading on 34 forex pairs through spread betting and 40 currencies through CFDs, with both vehicles covering major and minor pairs. Spread betting spreads start from 0.6 for EUR/GBP; CFD spreads are variable and start from 1.2 pips on EUR/GBP.