Stake or Trading212 – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare Stake and Trading212 in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
Stake is an Wall Street brokerage offering 6,000+ stocks on a mobile investing app. This multi-reglated broker has gained a strong reputation since its inception in 2017, with over 450,000 customers. The brand offers competitive fees, with just a $3 brokerage charge and 0.5% for FX conversion, making it popular with global traders.
Trading 212 is a European and UK-regulated CFD broker that also offers stock investing and ISAs. It’s best known for its commission-free trading model and beginner-friendly app, which has helped it attract 2.5 million users and £3.5 billion in client assets.
Pros
Strong regulatory oversight with licenses and memberships with FINRA, SIPC and the FCA
Excellent range of 6,000 US stocks and ETFs, plus a useful stock comparison tool
Free first 'mystery' stock when you sign up and fund your account within 24 hours
Competitive $3 brokerage charge and free fractional shares, plus no inactivity or account fees
Sleek and user-friendly mobile interface with price charts, a financial news stream and market data
Attractive 'Stake Black' membership for Australian and New Zealand clients, offering instant fund settlements and more
Educational content and market overviews are posted to help investors stay up to date with the US and Australian markets
Fractional trading and stock lending help Stake offer a complete investing package
Clients can take advantage of free trades on Wall Street stocks and ETFs
One of the standout features of Trading 212 is its commission-free trading, meaning you can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments without incurring traditional brokerage fees
Trading 212 has an intuitive and user-friendly platform that is especially accessible for beginners, with a straightforward layout and a reasonable range of tools for analysis
The platform offers a good suite of instruments, including stocks, indices, ETFs, currencies, commodities, and CFDs. This variety can help you to create a diversified investment portfolio
A sleek mobile app lets you trade on the go. It’s well-designed and offers features similar to the web platform, making it convenient if you prefer mobile trading
Up to 5.2% interest on uninvested cash is available, appealing to hands-off investors
Cons
Stake charges hefty deposit and withdrawal fees, and up to A$20 per month for its top account levels
To unlock market depth, company financial data and OTC stock trading, investors need to pay up to A$20 per month for Stake Black
UK investors are limited to bank transfers when making deposits and withdrawals
There is only one method for clients to contact the customer support team
The brokerage does not support trading using leverage or margin
There are limited technical analysis tools in the app
There is a narrow range of trading instruments
Experienced traders who rely on sophisticated technical analysis tools will find Trading 212’s charting features to be somewhat basic, especially compared to alternatives like IG
While Trading 212 offers leveraged trading through CFDs, there are restrictions on leverage for certain instruments. If you want high leverage for your strategies, you will find these limitations constraining
There’s no copy trading, a significant drawback given Trading 212's client base is largely beginners and brokers like eToro offer this feature
There is no support for algorithmic or automated trading, nor third-party apps like MetaTrader 4, which will deter advanced traders. IC Markets ticks these boxes
Trading212 have positioned themselves at the front of the mobile trading movement. Their platform is based on a ‘mobile-first’ model, so they prioritize this type of trader. The app offers 1800+ instruments, zero commissions and a free practise account. Download the app risk free and try it out.
iOS App Rating
Android App Rating
Margin Trading
No
Yes
MetaTrader 4
No
No
MetaTrader 5
No
No
cTrader
No
No
AlgoTrader
No
No
OmniTrader
No
No
TradingView
No
No
Autochartist
No
No
eSignal
No
No
Trading Central
No
No
STP Account
No
Yes
ECN Account
No
No
DMA Account
No
No
MAM Account
No
No
PAMM Account
No
No
LAMM Account
No
No
Demat Account
No
No
AI / Machine Learning
No
No
Robo Advisor
No
No
Negative Balance Protection
No
Yes
Market Maker
No
Yes
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
No
No
Auto Trading
AutoInvest Portfolio
Copy Trading
No
No
Social Trading
No
Yes
VPS Hosting
No
No
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
No
Yes
Custodial Account
No
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
No
Inactivity Fee
$0
Islamic Account
No
No
Account Currencies
USD
GBP
AUD
NZD
BRL
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
SEK
NOK
DKK
CHF
PLN
CZK
HUF
Commodities
Gold
Silver
Gasoline
Oil
Copper
Palladium
Coffee
Cotton
Platinum
Corn
Sugar
Cocoa
Livestock
Wheat
Soybeans
Natural Gas
Lead
Lean Hogs
CFD
Engage in leveraged CFD trading across a wide array of instruments, encompassing forex, stocks, commodities, and indices. Yet while the selection of asset classes is satisfactory, the charting software and floating spreads for short-term traders fall behind that of competitors.
Leverage
1:30
FTSE Spread
2.5
GBPUSD Spread<
0.00028
Oil Spread
0.4
Stocks Spread
0.2% Var
Forex
Trade over 180 major, minor, and exotic forex pairs on the Trading 212 platform, featuring floating spreads and leverage up to 1:30. It’s important to note, though, that the forex broker has a history of adjusting margin requirements without providing adequate notice. As a result, CMC Markets is a better pick for forex traders with more currency pairs and a cleaner record.
