Trading Education Platform SystemSubscribe for FreeSupport
Brokers / Freetrade
BROKER RIGOR REPORT · VERIFIED 11 OCT 2026

Freetrade: what the sources say

96
Evidence 100%

Key facts

The questions, with sources

QuestionWhat the sources saySource
Main entity
Freetrade Limited, United Kingdom
Listed parent
yes: IG Group Holdings plc (LSE: IGG, FTSE 250); acquisition for GBP 160.0m completed 2025-04-01 per IG FY25 results RNS
Regulation
Major regulator. FCA (United Kingdom): Freetrade Ltd, FRN 783189, confirmed in FCA Second Supervisory Notice (8 Feb 2022) and Freetrade terms; FCA register entry itself not opened (not in search results).
Compensation scheme
Yes. FSCS Investments up to GBP 85,000; eligible cash up to GBP 120,000 per person (as stated by Freetrade). FSCS's own page not opened; terms s.6.8 state 'We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme'.
Client assets separated
Yes. Terms s.19.1: cash held in Freetrade accounts treated as client money and held separately from Freetrade's own cash, pooled with other clients (s.19.6); investments in nominee account (keeping-you-safe page).
Public financials
Yes. Parent IG Group Holdings plc is LSE-listed (LSEG:IGG, FTSE 250); FY25 results RNS (24 Jul 2025) discloses Freetrade FY25 revenue GBP 29.1m (+22%), 457,300 active customers added, GBP 189m client cash. Freetrade Limited also files at Companies House (no. 09797821) and publishes MIFIDPRU 8 disclosures (Dec 2025).
Who can open an account
Terms s.7.2: must be 18+, UK resident for tax purposes and living in the UK, hold a personal UK bank account, not a US Person.
Markets
UK and US listed shares/ETFs (terms refer to UK/US investments; Wikipedia: UK and US equities and ETFs, US fractional shares).
ETFs / fractional shares
ETFs: yes. Fractional shares: yes.
US stock commission
Freetrade states unlimited trades with no dealing commission on Basic (GBP 0/month), Standard (GBP 4.99/month), Plus (GBP 9.99/month); 'other charges may apply'
Cost to buy 1,000 USD
0%. Commission 0 on Basic plan per official pricing page (no dealing commission on any plan); FX fee (0.99% Basic) excluded.
Currency conversion
Non-GBP trades: Basic 0.99%, Standard 0.59%, Plus 0.39%
Inactivity / account / withdrawal
No inactivity fee found in terms; dormant-account rules only.; Freetrade states no ongoing account fee and no fee to hold funds; subscription plans optional; Not stated on pricing page; terms s.12.4 state a charge for transferring out US investments (amount in linked schedule, not read).

"Not verified" means we could not confirm it from a source we could read. Check the entity and rules for your own country. Education only, not investment advice.

Score

How the points add up

  • Regulation 20 of 20. Licensed by a major financial regulator (see the broker page for the register entry)
  • Client protection 20 of 20. Investor compensation scheme applies: FSCS; Client assets held separately from the broker's own (stated in its documents)
  • Transparency 10 of 10. Annual financial statements are public (listed parent or published report)
  • Security record 15 of 15. No incident found in our search of the last five years (not an exhaustive guarantee)
  • Compliance record 21 of 25. 1 regulator or court action(s) in the window; reports from press only are shown but not scored
  • Costs 10 of 10. Buying 1,000 USD of a US stock or ETF: 0% commission at the published base tier (FX and spread not included)

Points earned of points available. A criterion we could not verify is left out and lowers the evidence share. See how we score.

Record

Security incidents

  • No incident found in our search. Search depth: full. That is not proof there is none.
Record

Regulator and court actions

  • 2021-12-14 / 2022-02-08 FCA: First Supervisory Notice (14 Dec 2021) and Second Supervisory Notice (8 Feb 2022) directing Freetrade Ltd (FRN 783189) to remove all paid-for sponsored influencer advertisements and posts across social media and confirm removal; breaches of COBS 4.2.1R (fair, clear, not misleading) and COBS 4.5.2R(2) (risk warnings). Outcome: Directions imposed, remain in force until varied or cancelled; no fine. Press: https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/fca-orders-freetrade-to-pull-down-misleading-social-media-promotions/ source

Actions reported by press only are shown and not scored.

Not scored

Other reports

  • Freetrade complaints data 1 Jan-30 Jun 2026: Investments 489 opened, 384 closed, 41.41% upheld; Decumulation 107 opened, 48.15% upheld (company page).
  • HMRC 2023 position that fractional shares were not qualifying ISA investments (Wikipedia; no regulator action against Freetrade found).

Reports that are not security incidents or regulator actions against the broker, shown for completeness and not scored.

Summary

Key facts in five lines

  • Freetrade Ltd is FCA-regulated, FRN 783189, per the FCA's Second Supervisory Notice [source 8].
  • IG Group Holdings plc (LSE: IGG) completed its GBP 160.0m acquisition of Freetrade on 1 April 2025 [source 9].
  • Freetrade states no dealing commission on Basic, Standard or Plus plans; FX fee is 0.99%/0.59%/0.39% by plan [source 3].
  • Freetrade states FSCS covers investments up to GBP 85,000 and eligible cash up to GBP 120,000; terms treat cash as segregated client money [source 4].
  • In Feb 2022 the FCA directed Freetrade to remove paid influencer promotions for COBS breaches; no fine was imposed [source 8].
Questions

Questions about Freetrade

Is Freetrade safe?

We do not give a yes or no. We record its regulation (FCA), whether an investor compensation scheme applies, and what we found about incidents and regulator actions. Read the sections above, and check which entity holds your account.

Does Freetrade charge commission on US stocks?

Freetrade states unlimited trades with no dealing commission on Basic (GBP 0/month), Standard (GBP 4.99/month), Plus (GBP 9.99/month); 'other charges may apply'

Sources

Where this comes from

Not verified: Incidents: 4 searches found no verified Freetrade-specific incident; the Sept 2026 DriveWealth data incident (press, DriveWealth notice) names Revolut, Stake and Hatch but not Freetrade; Freetrade community threads (e.g. 'accidental share lending', 'security of account access') now redirect to a closed forum and could not be read. Legal: 3 searches found only the 2021-22 FCA supervisory notices (authority PDF now cited); FOS decisions not assessed. FCA register entry itself not opened. FSCS own page not opened (limits as stated by Freetrade). Transfer-out fee amount not read.

To report an error, use corrections and right of reply.