Both are FCA-regulated and FSCS-protected. The real difference is fees, account types and how each platform feels to use. Verified against each provider’s published charges.
Fees verified July 2026. Capital at risk. Information, not financial advice.
Cost-conscious DIY investors who want to keep every fee at zero.
Hands-off investors happy to hold only Vanguard index funds and LifeStrategy.
Tick what you need. No account, no email. The answer is on this page.
Tick what you need above and we'll tell you which of the two covers it.
Account availability verified July 2026. Capital at risk. Information, not financial advice.
Reviewers consistently rate the app as easy to use and good value, and many mention the competitive interest paid on uninvested cash.
The most common criticisms are slow identity verification for new accounts and support that can take time to respond.
Read Trading 212 reviews on TrustpilotLong-term investors praise the low fund costs and the simplicity of LifeStrategy portfolios.
The £4 minimum monthly fee frustrated smaller investors when it landed, and some reviews mention slow customer service.
Read Vanguard reviews on Trustpilot| Fee | Trading 212 | Vanguard |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | £0 | £4/month minimum below £32k; 0.15% above £32k, capped at £375/year |
| Share dealing | £0 commission | Not available (funds and Vanguard ETFs only) |
| Fund dealing | ETFs only, £0 commission | Free |
| FX fee | 0.15% | None (GBP funds) |
| Stocks & Shares ISA | Free | Platform fee applies |
| SIPP | Free | Platform fee applies |
| Withdrawals | Free | Free |
| Minimum to start | £1 | £100/month or £500 lump sum |
A 0.25% yearly fee gap sounds small. On £50,000 over 20 years it is about £5,900 (illustrative). Add your ISA and pension balances to Delphina yourself and see what your charges cost by retirement and whether you're on track.
See what my fees costIllustrative: £50,000, 5% a year growth before charges, 0.25% vs 0.50% a year in charges, no further contributions. Not a recommendation of Trading 212 or Vanguard. Delphina is guidance, not financial advice.
Trading 212 built its name on removing fees. There is no platform fee, no dealing commission and no account charge on its ISA or SIPP. The only cost most investors pay is a 0.15% currency conversion fee when buying shares priced in dollars or euros.
The trade-off is scope. You can hold shares and ETFs but not traditional funds, and support is app-based. For an investor who wants a global tracker ETF inside an ISA at close to zero cost, it is very hard to beat on price.
Vanguard UK is the default answer for one-fund index investing. If your plan is a LifeStrategy or FTSE Global All Cap fund and nothing else, the combination of cheap funds and a capped 0.15% platform fee is excellent, especially above £32,000.
Below £32,000 the £4 monthly minimum changes the maths, and a free platform like Trading 212 or Prosper holding a similar Vanguard ETF can work out cheaper. You also cannot hold individual shares or other fund managers' products.
On fund-only holdings of £10k, £50k and £100k, Trading 212 is cheaper in every scenario for the platform fee. The reason is mechanical: Trading 212 charges 0% to hold investments, Vanguard charges 0.15% on its Investor account (capped at £375 a year for the new product). On £100k, the Vanguard platform fee alone is £150 a year before any fund charge. Trading 212 does not currently offer Vanguard's own funds; you would hold VWRP or VWRL on a different platform and use Trading 212 for shares and ETFs. If your plan is to hold only Vanguard's own funds, Vanguard's own platform is the cheapest place to do it.
For different jobs. Trading 212 is the better fit if you want to trade shares and ETFs commission-free with fractional shares and a simple ISA wrapper. Vanguard UK is the better fit if you want to hold Vanguard's own low-cost funds (VWRP, VWRL, LifeStrategy and the rest) inside an ISA, SIPP or Junior ISA, with no dealing charges on Vanguard funds. The two platforms do not overlap as much as the comparison suggests. Many UK investors end up using both: Vanguard for the global tracker, Trading 212 for shares.
Trading 212 offers a Stocks and Shares ISA. Vanguard UK offers a Stocks and Shares ISA, a Junior ISA and a SIPP. Neither offers a Lifetime ISA (LISA) as a wrapper. If a LISA is part of your plan, you would hold a LISA on a different platform (Moneybox, AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and others offer LISAs alongside their other accounts).
Yes. Vanguard's ETFs (VWRP and VWRL) are London-listed and trade on the London Stock Exchange, so they are available on Trading 212 in the same way as any other share or ETF. You cannot hold Vanguard's OEIC unit trust versions (the same funds, different wrapper) on Trading 212. The OEIC versions are only available on Vanguard's own platform and on a small number of other UK platforms. If you specifically want the OEIC rather than the ETF, Vanguard's own platform is the simplest place.
Trading 212 offers fractional shares on most US and UK stocks and on most ETFs, so you can build a £500 portfolio with £20 positions. Vanguard UK does not offer fractional shares on its platform; trades are in whole share units. Trading 212's fund range is effectively zero (it does not sell unit trusts or OEICs). Vanguard's fund range is the Vanguard catalogue only (around 80 funds). If you want a broad third-party fund range, neither of these is the right fit.
Both platforms are FCA-regulated and offer FSCS protection on eligible cash and investments up to the standard limits. Trading 212 holds client assets in segregated accounts with custodian banks; assets held in the Stocks and Shares ISA are protected by the ISA wrapper on top of FSCS. Vanguard UK holds client assets under the standard FCA custody model. There is no Trading 212 exit fee for transferring out to another broker, and no Vanguard exit fee for transfers between Vanguard products. If you are leaving Vanguard for a third-party platform, check the destination's transfer-in policy first.
It depends on what you hold and how often you trade. Trading 212's platform fee is £0, against £4/month minimum below £32k; 0.15% above £32k, capped at £375/year at Vanguard. On dealing, Trading 212 charges £0 commission for shares and eTFs only, £0 commission for funds, while Vanguard charges not available (funds and Vanguard ETFs only) for shares and free for funds. Fees verified July 2026.
Trading 212 is best for cost-conscious DIY investors who want to keep every fee at zero. Vanguard is best for hands-off investors happy to hold only Vanguard index funds and LifeStrategy. Both are FCA regulated and covered by the FSCS.
On Trading 212's ISA: Free. On Vanguard's ISA: Platform fee applies. Both offer a flexible ISA, so you can withdraw and replace money in the same tax year without using up allowance. Minimums are £1 at Trading 212 and £100/month or £500 lump sum at Vanguard.
Trading 212 offers a SIPP (free). Vanguard offers a SIPP (platform fee applies).
Trading 212 scores 4.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot (Excellent) from tens of thousands of reviews. Vanguard scores 4.8 out of 5 (Excellent) from 5,332 reviews (checked 12 October 2026). The most common criticisms are slow identity verification for new accounts and support that can take time to respond. The £4 minimum monthly fee frustrated smaller investors when it landed, and some reviews mention slow customer service.
Yes. UK platforms accept ISA and SIPP transfers in, and you start the transfer with the receiving provider rather than the one you are leaving. Trading 212 charges free on withdrawals and Vanguard charges free. Transfer as cash and you are out of the market while it settles; transfer in specie and you keep your holdings but it takes longer.
Trading 212 or Vanguard, the account is the easy part. What decides when you can retire is how much goes in and for how long. Delphina works that out from what you already hold and what you pay in each month.
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