How to Buy Shares Online in the UK: A Step-by-Step Guide

Updated for 2026 🏅

Introduction

Buying shares online has never been cheaper or easier. Particularly in the UK, we're blessed with a rich ecosystem of financial services, many of which are available to consumers for free. This is advantageous, but it can also be confusing to know where to start: there is information everywhere, much of it conflicting.

So which platform should you use? What do you actually need?

For that reason and to answer those questions and many others, we've put together a brief guide walking you through the entire process and decision rationale, meaning that you can take advantage of what's out there in the market to the best of your ability.

Quick Answer: How to Buy Shares in 3 Steps

Let's start off by outlining exactly how you can go about this if you want to distill it down to 3 very simple steps.

1. First, choose a platform. As we've said, there are plenty out there to choose from and any one of the big ones will do fine. Freetrade, Trading 212, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor and more. In fact, we've already put together a guide to compare them all.
2. Now you've chosen one, you can click through the onboarding process to open an account and verify your ID (this should take no more than 5-10 mins and you'll need your passport handy)
3. Fund your new account and purchase your first share (this should be pretty much instant depending on the platform you chose and the funding method you use)

That's it! If you feel like that's enough to get started, by all means go ahead. If not, read on for the detailed walkthrough.

What You Need Before You Start

Before you get started you'll need to put together a few bits to get you started.

1. Photo ID (this can be a driving license or a passport)
2. Proof of Address (bank statement or utility bill - usually has to be from the last 3 months)
3. National Insurance Number
4. UK bank account (in order to fund your account)

Take the time to make sure you have everything you need before you start. Now, you'll also obviously need some funds available to start investing.

1. There is normally no minimum on most platforms (Freetrade, Trading 212, Hargreaves Lansdown)
2. It is recommended if you're a beginner to start with £100-500 until you feel comfortable enough to add more
3. Basic personal finance principles dictate that you should aim to have 3-6 months of living expenses as emergency funds available before you start investing

Finally, the time required.

1. Account Setup: this will probably take 5-10 minutes
2. Identity Verification: this can be instant, but can sometimes take up to 48 hours so be aware
3. First trade: 2-3 minutes, will settle when the market opens

Step 1: Choose Your Platform

The first thing that you'll have to do before you start any of this is to choose a platform. There are a great number - if you're new to investing, probably best to go with a brand that you've heard of for peace of mind, but any FCA regulated firm will have the same mandatory protections in place.

Fortunately, we've put together a detailed guide comparing the different platforms and recommending which one is best for each difference scenario. Start there and then come back here for the How to Guide.

Here's a quick summary of the findings:

For beginners (£100-500 / month):

Freetrade or Trading 212 came out on top, both with £0 fees

For active traders:

For active traders, Trading 212 came out on top as the name would suggest. It has the best FX fees

For research / support:

Here Hargreaves Lansdown is ahead - the service is a bit more premium and includes regular research reports and insights

For larger portfolios (£50k+):

Here your needs are slightly different. We like Interactive Investor as it has flat fees rather than % of assets, so they don't rise as your portfolio grows

Finally, here are a few extra things to consider before you start:

• Look at trading fees and estimate how often you'll be investing
• Don't forget platform fees - some platforms have a flat rate for using them
• Investment choice - how many investments are available on the platform and what will you be buying?
• Do they offer an ISA?
• How is the mobile app?
• Do you need research tools? Are they available
• How is the customer support? Read some reviews for this

Step 2: Open Your Account

Here's a step by step guide for you to follow.

2a. Signup Process (every platform)

1. Visit website / download app
   
   1. All major platforms are on iOS and Android
   2. Mobile-first design is also common as most people invest by phone
2. Enter your basic details
   
   1. Name, email, DoB, address
   2. This should take no longer than 2-3 minutes
3. Choose your Account Type
   
   1. The options here are ISA, GIA (General Investment Account) or SIPP
   2. The first one to use is your ISA (see below for an explanation in full)
   3. You can only have ONE stocks and shares ISA per tax year
   4. If you fill this up, you can always add a GIA later down the line
4. Create your Password
   
   1. We recommend using a Password manager (LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden etc)
   2. Always enable 2 factor authentication if offered the chance
   3. Keep your login details secure

2b. ISA vs General Account: Which One to Choose

What's an ISA?

• A stocks and shares ISA is a wrapper that protects your investment account, meaning tax free investing
• You get a £20,000 allowance per tax year, which resets on the 6th April each year
• There is zero UK income tax on dividends received into it
• There is zero UK capital gains tax on profits

What's a General Investment Account (GIA)?

• GIAs offer unlimited investing. There is no cap, unlike the ISA
• However, they are taxable. This means that Capital Gains Tax will be liable on all gains over £3,000 per year, and dividend tax liable on income over £500 per year
• That being said, they are also more flexible. You can switch providers mid year with a GIA if you so wish

Decision Tree:

In simple terms, you should choose an ISA if:

• You are investing less than £20,000 this tax year
• You want tax-free growth
• You don't already have a Stocks & Shares ISA elsewhere

Conversely, you should choose a GIA if:

• You have already maxed out your £20,000 ISA with another provider
• You want to invest more than £20,000 this tax year
• You already have an ISA with another platform

Tax example:

Let's say you have a £10,000 portfolio which gives you £500 in dividends and £2,000 in capital gains.

• ISA: £0 tax
• GIA: £0 tax (you are under the annual allowances)

Now what about with a £50,000 portfolio with £1,500 of dividends and £8,000 in gains?

• ISA: £0 tax
• GIA: £1,088 tax (£1,000 CGT + £88 dividend tax)

The bottom line is that you should always choose the ISA first if you have the opportunity. Use your £20,000 tax free allowance up each year before you even consider a GIA.

2c. Verify your Identity

You will have to verify your identity before you're allowed to progress any further.

Why this happens:

• To adhere to the FCA regulation (anti-money laundering laws)
• Every platform is legally required to verify your identity
• This is a legal requirement: it's not optional

There are two main verification methods:

Method 1: Automated (most common)

• Upload a photo of your ID (passport or driving license)
• Take a selfie on your phone (facial recognition)
• The platform does these checks in real time
• There is usually instant approval

Method 2: Manual Review

• Again, you upload the documents
• The platform team will review these themselves manually
• This can take 24-48 hours
• This will be triggered if the automated process fails

Timing by platform can vary - some are much more efficient than others. In our experience, you can expect to wait the following times for different major platforms.

• Freetrade: this is usually instant
• Trading 212: this is also usually instant
• Hargreaves Lansdown: this can take 1-2 business days
• Interactive Investor: this one can also take 1-2 business days
• Barclays / HSBC: finally, these also take 1-2 business days

So what happens if verification fails? Well firstly you should check the document in question is in date. Secondly make sure the quality of the photo is good (ie it's well lit, there's no glare etc). Next, double check that the name on your account exactly matches the name on all documents. Finally, if none of those work you should contact platform support.

Step 3: Fund Your Account

So now we're at crunch time: you'll have to deposit funds into your account in order to start investing. There are a number of different ways to do this, and you'll want to follow along step-by-step to make sure that you get your money in the market and working for you as quickly as possible.

Deposit Methods

1. Bank Transfer (recommended)
   
   1. This is free on all platforms
   2. Funds will arrive same day (often faster with Faster Payments)
   3. Process:
      
      1. Get platform's bank details from the app
      2. Set them up as a payee in your online banking portal
      3. Transfer the funds over using the reference code provided to you
      4. This should show in your account between 2h later and same day
2. Debit Card
   
   1. This is instant deposit again
   2. It's also free on most platforms, with the exception of Trading 212 which charges 0.7% after the first £2,000
   3. Process:
      
      1. Enter your card details in-app
      2. The money is available immediately
3. Direct Debit
   
   1. This is better for regular monthly investing
   2. You can choose a set amount (eg £100 / mo)
   3. It's transferred automatically on your chosen date
   4. You can cancel this at any time

How Much to Deposit

So the first thing to think about is what the platform minimums are.

• Freetrade: £0 minimum
• Trading 212: £0 minimum
• Hargreaves Lansdown: £0 minimum
• Interactive Investor: £0 minimum (but £5.99 / month fee regardless)

The recommended starting amount that we usually tell people is £100-500 for your first deposit. This is large enough that it matters, but small enough that you can learn without causing any serious harm. Remember, you can always add more via small top-ups that will credit your account instantly as we covered above. d

Don't forget, the basic principles of personal finance still apply. Before you invest a single penny, you should make sure that you have 3-6 months of living expenses in an emergency fund so that you don't need to draw on your invested money in an emergency. You should have cleared down any high-interest debt, and you should only be investing money in stocks that you won't need in the next 3-5 years.

This means that if there is a prolonged market downturn, you won't be forced to sell your holdings at a loss.

Step 4: Buy Your First Share

4a. Finding a share

Here we are! Time to pull the trigger. First thing to do is find a share. You can do this in three ways. The first is to search by company name (eg Apple, Tesco, BP), which will show all matches. The second is by ticker symbol, a unique reference that all stocks will have (eg AAPL, TSCO, BP). This is faster and more precise if you know what the ticker symbol is.

Finally, you can browse by category. These can be things like Tech, Finance, Energy, Consumer Goods. This is useful for discovering companies if you know which sector you'd like to invest in but be wary about investing in companies that you haven't researched properly.

Company Information

When you find the company that you're interested in, you'll see a whole range of information about that company and how it's doing. This will include its current share price, today's change (eg ↑ £0.52 +2.3%), a company description, the market cap and what, if any dividends it pays. All of this helps you build up a picture of what the company does and whether it is a good place to park your money.

4b. Choosing How Much to Buy

So now you've found a company or share, it's time to choose how much to buy. There are two methods of doing this

1. Method 1: By Pound Amount
   
   1. "I want to buy £100 worth of Apple"
   2. The platform will calculate £100 / £150 per share = 0.67 shares
   3. This is a fractional share - Trading 212 and Freetrade offer this, but some others don't
   4. The benefits are that this allows for easy budgeting and you can invest exact amounts. You're also now eligible to buy expensive shares that might otherwise be out of reach ie £50 of a £500 share
2. Method 2: By Number of Shares (Traditional)
   
   1. "I want to buy 5 shares of Tesco"
   2. The platform then calculates 5 x £3.20 = $£16
   3. This allows for whole shares only (you can't buy 5.5 shares)
   4. The benefits are that it's easier to track this ("I own 10 shares) and it's more traditional

Our recommendation for beginners is that you use the pound amount to begin with for fractional shares, as this is easier to get started.

4c. Order Types

To make it even more complicated, there are a few different order types when you decide to buy. The first, and the one you should definitely use as a beginner, is a market order. This means that you will be making the purchase immediately at the current market price. During market hours this should usually execute in seconds. It's the simplest and the most common for this reason. Example: "Buy £100 of Apple at whatever price it is right now."

For the more advanced investor, there's what's called a Limit Order. This is where you might say: "Only buy if the price drops to X" and the order will sit waiting until the price hits the target. Of course, this means that it may never execute if the target isn't achieved. Example: "Buy Apple, but only if the price drops to £145 or below." You would use this when you want a specific entry price.

Finally, there is also what's called a Stop-Loss Order. Here you'd say "Automatically sell if the price drops to £X." This helps advanced investors protect against big losses, and is useful for active traders. Example: "Sell my Tesla shares if it drops to £200 per share." You'd use this when you want downside protection on a trade.

As a beginner you should always stick to market orders to be on the safe side until you know what you're doing.

4d. Review and Confirm

So before you finally click "Buy" just quickly review your order. A few examples below:

Cost Breakdown Example:

Buying £1,000 of Tesco on Hargreaves Lansdown:

• Share cost: £1,000
• Trading fee: £6.95
• Stamp duty (0.5%): £5
• Total cost: £1.011.95

Same trade on Freetrade:

• Share cost: £1,000
• Trading fee: £0
• Stamp duty (0.5%): £5
• Total cost: £1,005.00

Buying £1,000 of Apple (US stock) on Trading 212:

• Share cost: £1,000.00
• Trading fee: £0.00
• FX fee (0.15%): £1.50
• Stamp duty: £0.00 (US stocks exempt)
• Total cost: £1,001.50

Same trade on Freetrade Basic:

• Share cost: £1,000.00
• Trading fee: £0.00
• FX fee (0.99%): £9.90
• Stamp duty: £0.00
• Total cost: £1,009.90

Finally, double check you've chosen the correct company (many have similar names and tickers!), you've invested the right amount, you've understood all fees and you're completely happy with the total cost before you proceed. Then, you can click "Buy" or "Confirm Order."

4e. Execution and Confirmation

Be aware that market hours vary depending on what shares you're buying. For UK shares, the London Stock Exchange is open Monday to Friday 8am-4:30pm. For US shares, the market is open 9:30am-4pm EST (which is 2:30pm-9pm UK time). Orders made outside these hours will execute as soon as the market next opens.

Note that there are often market movements at opening hours so orders made outside opening hours may experience some small level of price volatility.

Settlement

As soon as settlement happens, you own the shares immediately. This means that you can sell them immediately if you so wish. Cash settlement usually takes what's called T+2 (which is the trade + 2 business days). Be aware that you can't withdraw the cash until the trade has settled (even if you can sell the shares).

This is important to note if you are thinking about making a sale and withdrawal. Make sure to leave plenty of time as there will be several days of delay before you can access your funds.

In your account, you will see the following:

• Number of shares owned
• Current value
• Today's gain / loss
• The total gain / loss since purchase

Understanding Costs

Here are some real examples of what you will actually pay. For a more detailed breakdown, we put together a specific guide for the cheapest way to buy shares.

Let's use 3 real scenarios to illustrate these.

Scenario 1: A Beginner buys £500 of UK Shares (Tesco)

Freetrade:

• Share cost: £500
• Trading fee: £0
• Stamp duty: £2.50 (0.5%)
• Total: £502.50

Hargreaves Lansdown:

• Share cost: £500
• Trading fee: £6.95
• Stamp duty: £2.50
• Total: £509.45
• HL costs £6.95 more

Scenario 2: Buying £1,000 of US shares (Apple)

Trading 212:

• Share cost: £1,000
• Trading fee: £0
• FX fee: £1.50 (0.15%)
• Total: £1,001.50

Freetrade Basic:

• Share cost: £1,000
• Trading fee: £0
• FX fee: £9.90 (0.99%)
• Total: £1,009.90
• Trading 212 saves £8.40

Scenario 3: Active Trader - 10 UK trades / month (£500 each)

Annual cost (120 trades):

Freetrade:

• Trading fees: £0
• Stamp duty: £300 (£2.50 × 120)
• Total: £300/year

Hargreaves Lansdown:

• Trading fees: £834 (£6.95 × 120)
• Stamp duty: £300
• Total: £1,134/year
• Freetrade saves £834/year

So what's the key insight here? Well, firstly even £0 commission platforms charge stamp duty on UK shares by law. That being said, you will still save hundreds by avoiding the trading fees, so pay attention to which platform you actually use.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Now we've covered off most of the basics, it's important to quickly run over some common mistakes that you will want to avoid. As follows, 7 common pitfalls that beginner investors tend to make often:

1. Not using your ISA allowance:
   
   1. For example investing £10k in your GIA when your ISA allowance has been left unused
   2. The cost in this would be hundreds or eventually thousands in tax over time
   3. Fix: always max out your ISA first (don't forget you have a £20k / year allowance to use up)
2. Overtrading
   
   1. The mistake here is buying or selling 3+ times per week
   2. The cost: even free platforms have to charge stamp duty at 0.5% of each UK purchase
   3. Fix: buy and hold for years, not days
3. Chasing "Hot Tips"
   
   1. The mistake here is buying something because Reddit or Twitter said so
   2. The cost: following trends means you often buy at the peak, losing 20-50%
   3. Fix: research companies yourself and ignore the hype
4. Putting all your money in one stock
   
   1. The mistake here is putting £5,000 in one company
   2. The cost: if the company fails, you'll lose everything
   3. Fix: spread this across 10-20 companies or use ETFs
5. Panic Selling
   
   1. The mistake here is selling when the share price drops 10% or more
   2. The cost: you're locking in losses. By trying to catch a falling knife, you'll also miss the recovery
   3. Fix: don't panic sell - expect volatility and only buy for 5+ years
6. Forgetting about Fees
   
   1. The mistake here is assuming £0 commission actually means totally free
   2. The reality: stamp duty is 0.5%, FX fees are 0.15%-1%, and then platform fees go on top
   3. Fix: calculate your total annual cost with our handy guide
7. Not diversifying
   
   1. The mistake here is in only buying UK shares for example, or only tech stocks
   2. The cost: you're concentrating your risk here and exposing yourself
   3. Fix: mix countries, sectors and company sizes

So there you have it! Avoid all of these pitfalls and you'll end up making a success of it automatically.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even with our help, we know that it is easy to run into trouble from time to time. So we've also done a little troubleshooting guide for the most common problems users face.

Issue 1: "My identity verification failed"

Common causes:

• Document expired or unclear photo
• Name spelling doesn't match exactly
• Address doesn't match recent bank statement
• Photo has glare or is cropped

Solutions:

• ✅ Retake photos in good lighting
• ✅ Ensure document is in date
• ✅ Use recent proof of address (within 3 months)
• ✅ Check name matches across all documents exactly
• ✅ Try different document if available
• ✅ Contact platform support if still failing

Issue 2: "My bank transfer hasn't arrived"

Normal timing:

• Faster Payments: 2 hours max (usually instant)
• BACS: 3 working days
• Weekend transfers: May process Monday

Checklist:

• ✅ Used correct account number?
• ✅ Sent from YOUR bank account (not joint/business)?
• ✅ Included reference code?
• ✅ Weekend or bank holiday delay?

If genuinely missing (4+ hours for Faster Payments):

• Contact platform support with transfer reference
• Provide screenshot of transfer confirmation

Issue 3: "I can't find the share I want to buy"

Possible reasons:

• Platform doesn't offer that share
• Company delisted or too small
• Need different account type (some platforms: US shares require GIA not ISA)
• Searching wrong ticker

Solutions:

• ✅ Check platform's investment universe/share list
• ✅ Try searching ticker symbol not company name
• ✅ Try different platform if share not available
• ✅ Some platforms limited: Freetrade has ~6,500, Trading 212 has ~12,000

Issue 4: "Why is my order 'pending'?"

Reasons:

Market closed:

• UK market hours: 8am-4:30pm GMT
• US market hours: 2:30pm-9pm UK time
• Order placed outside hours executes at next open

Limit order:

• Your limit price hasn't been reached yet
• May take days/weeks or never execute
• Cancel and use market order if you want immediate execution

Issue 5: "Can I cancel my order?"

Before execution: Yes, if status shows "pending"

• Click "cancel order" in app
• Must be before market opens if placed outside hours

After execution: No, trade is final

• Shares already bought
• Can sell shares, but can't undo purchase

What Happens After You Buy?

So, you have successfully set up your account and you own your shares. What's next? Well, now we need to set some expectations for ongoing ownership.

Monitoring Your Investment

You'll want to periodically check your portfolio in the trading platform's app. This will show the current value, as well as today's gain or loss (green = up, red = down). You'll also see the total gain or loss since purchase. What's important here is not to obsess over short term changes. Daily movements are normal: what you want to be paying attention to is the long term trend.

Receiving Dividends

If you've invested in stocks that pay dividends, these will automatically appear as cash in your account when they're paid out. Where relevant, they are usually paid twice per year (with the dates varying by company). There is no action needed from you here. Once received, you have the option to leave them as cash, reinvest them manually or to auto-reinvest.

You will see the biggest growth over the long term by reinvesting dividends and this is generally a good principle to follow.

Tax Documents

What about tax documents? Well, for your ISA there are no document needed. These are completely tax free holdings. For General Investment Accounts (GIAs), the platform you use will show you the capital gains you've made along with any dividend income you've received.

You can use these to complete a Self Assessment with HMRC if your gains exceed the annual allowances.

Rebalancing

You should review your portfolio at least quarterly in order to check if your allocation has drifted. What does this mean? Well, if you decide that you want to invest say 25% in tech stocks and these grow much more than the remaining 75% of your portfolio, they will soon represent a larger proportion. In order to retain your target allocation, you can sell your overweight positions and buy your underweight positions.

By doing this periodically, you will keep your target allocation (eg 60% stocks, 50% bonds).

Long-Term Mindset

Overall, you should be investing in the stock market with a long-term mindset. You should have a 5+ year minimum timeframe - if you're going to need the money sooner than that, it's probably not a good idea to put it in stocks in case of market volatility. After you've invested, ignore daily, weekly or even monthly swings as these will always be temporary.

In that vein, don't panic sell in market crashes and always remember that companies grow in value over decades, so you want to be in it for the long run. Remember, as the old adage goes: "time in the market beats timing the market."

Next Steps: Building Your Portfolio

We want to leave you with a rough roadmap for building up your portfolio after the first share. After all, as we've been telling you it's a long term game.

So first things first: you've bought your first share - congrats! Here's a breakdown of the next steps:

Month 1:

1. Buy 2-3 more companies and get some diversification in there
2. Total: £100-500 invested
3. Goal: the goal here is to get comfortable with the platform and the process

Month 2-3:

1. Add 3-5 more holdings
2. You will now have 5-8 different companies or funds
3. Start doing some research before you buy. Hargreaves Lansdown is good for this

Month 4-6+:

1. Now you're getting into the habit. Set up some regular investing (£50-200 / month to begin with)
2. Automate this using a direct debit to your trading platform
3. Your total is now at 10-15 holdings

Year 1 Goal:

1. You want to end your first year with 10-15 different companies OR a few ETFs for diversification
2. You'll now have £5,000-10,000 invested
3. Most importantly, you've built up the habit of regular investing, which will serve you very well over the long term

Learn as you go:

1. You can go as deep as you like: read company reports and keep abreast of financial news
2. Understand what you own - read up on your holdings!
3. Track your performance vs benchmarks eg S&P 500: this is how you'll know how well you're doing
4. Use Strabo to see all your investments in one place

Resources:

1. Building a Portfolio for the Long Term
2. A Platform by Platform Comparison
3. The Strabo Platform: Track Your Portfolio

FAQs

Q: How much money do I need to start buying shares?

A: Technically there is no minimum on most platforms (Freetrade, Trading 212, Hargreaves Lansdown). To be completely honest, you can start with £5-10 on the platforms that offer fractional shares. That being said, this isn't really practical - we'd recommend starting with £100-500 just so that the fees don't eat into your returns too much. Don't think too much about the amount. What's more important is that you build up 3-6 months of emergency savings first, and then only invest money that you won't need for 5+ years.

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Q: Is buying shares online safe?

A: This isn't a stupid question at all. The caveat is to make sure that you're using an FCA certified platform (all of the major ones are). Your shares are held separately from the platform's assets (this is called ring fencing). This means that even if the platform goes bust, you own the underlying assets so they will simply be transferred to a new platform. Cash is also protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If in doubt, use a name that you've already heard of: think Freetrade, Trading 212, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, Fidelity, Barclays, HSBC.

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Q: Can I buy shares on my phone?

A: Yes! All the big platforms have mobile apps for iOS and Android. In fact, over the past few years things have changed and the majority of people now make their investments on mobile; it’s simply much easier than desktop. Most major platforms have good apps - you can buy shares, sell them, monitor your portfolio, deposit money and manage your account all from your phone.

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Q: What’s the difference between an ISA and a GIA?

A: They are both just account names - both can hold shares inside them. The ISA, however is tax free and has an allowance of £20,000 per year (which resets on the 6th April), whereas the GIA has no limit but is liable for tax on any gains or dividends over the allowances. These are £3,000 / year capital gains and £500 / year dividends.

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Q: Do I need to report shares to HMRC?

A: It depends. If they’re in your ISA then no, this is never necessary - tax free and platforms report ISA subscriptions automatically. In your GIA, then yes IF you exceed the allowances above. In this case you’ll need to file a Self Assessment by downloading the tax certificates from your account.

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Q: Can I sell my shares anytime?

A: Yes, during market hours. They can sell in seconds but the money will usually take 2 business days to appear in your account. You can usually buy shares with unsettled cash though.

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Q: What if the company goes bankrupt?

A: You can lose your entire investment if the company you bought shares in goes bankrupt. In this case, your shares would be worthless and shareholders are last to be paid in bankruptcy. This is why diversification is crucial: never put all your eggs in one basket. You should have a minimum of 10-20 companies or use ETFs / index funds to spread automatically. Note that established companies very rarely go bankrupt, but smaller companies carry much more risk.

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Q: Can I buy shares in foreign companies?

A: Of course. Most platforms offer US shares and some offer European and Asian shares too. Note that you’ll pay FX (foreign exchange) fees buying non UK shares as the platform will convert your money into the required currency. Check the platform’s investment range is right fore you before you sign up.

Key Takeaways

So, to summarise for you in full. Buying shares online is incredibly straightforward: choose a platform based on your fees and needs. Open an account in 5-10 mins, upload your ID and wait for approval. Deposit your money via bank transfer (free, same day), search the company name you’re interested in and choose the amount. Click buy and you’re done in 20-30 minutes total!

Don’t forget to use your ISA allowance first (£20k / year tax free), start small (£100-500) while you’re still learning the platform, diversify across 10-20 companies or funds and think long term (ignore daily price swings!). Finally, fees matter: £0 commission trading platforms can save you hundreds per year. 

That’s it, you’re ready! The hardest part is taking the first step.

Investing and Tracking with Strabo

Once you start buying shares across multiple platforms (ISA here, SIPP there, old pension elsewhere), tracking everything becomes messy. Strabo connects all your accounts in one dashboard - see total portfolio value, performance, fees, and asset allocation at a glance.

[Get started free →]

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