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The best stocks and shares Isas in 2025

Find the top rates on fixed and easy-access accounts and how to choose the right one for you

Illustration of a hand holding a trophy and another hand pointing to a bar chart with a line graph, symbolizing successful investments.

Michael Brown

Monday November 17 2025, 12.00am GMT, The Times

For those thinking about investing, a stocks and shares Isa is a good place to start.

Every adult gets an annual £20,000 allowance to invest across the different types of Isa every year, with all returns free of income and capital gains taxes.

But while these accounts are tax-efficient, many investors could be losing out by choosing the wrong investment platform to hold their Isa with. Some have with high fees, poor customer service, and a limited array of investments.

Switching to a platform with lower fees could make a huge difference over the long term, and to help you out, we have listed some of the best across the market.

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What is a stocks and shares Isa and how do they work?

A stocks and shares Isa is a tax-free wrapper that protects investments from dividend, income and capital gains tax. The £20,000 annual allowance begins on April 6 every year.

That allowance can be spread as you wish across cash Isas and investments in a stocks and shares Isa. You could also use a Lifetime Isa if you’re eligible. They can be opened by those aged 18 to 40 who can deposit up to £4,000 a year until they are 50, earning a 25 per cent bonus of up to £1,000 from the government each year. They can be used to buy your first home or for spending after the age of 60 — if you withdraw money for anything else you pay a 25 per cent penalty.

To open a stocks and shares Isa, you’ll need to go through a bank or a specialised investment platform.

Each firm will offer its own selection of investments, including funds, shares and bonds, and its own fee structure. Some have an annual fee based on a proportion of your total investments, and a one-off fee every time you buy or sell an investment.

The best stocks and shares Isa platforms

How to choose

The right investment platform for your stocks and shares Isa will depend on what is important to you. Wander Rutgers, the chief executive of the investment platform Lightyear, said that for most, it will primarily come down to fees.

“Make sure you have a proper look over all the details, from buying and selling costs to foreign exchange fees to any ongoing charges that you pay just for holding an account,” he said.

Some stocks and shares Isa firms advertise fee-free services with buzzwords such as “zero commission”, making their services seem cheap. But in reality, they’ll make their money by being more expensive in other areas, with high foreign exchange fees for investing outside the UK or fees on more complex investments.

Sarah Coles from the investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown said that those investing in funds should pay special attention to fund charges — the fees that go to the manager of your fund, such as BlackRock or Legal & General.

“Annoyingly, different platforms negotiate different discounts on the fund charges, so there may be some maths to do,” she said.

Fees aside, other factors that you should consider are the platform’s customer service, how easy its app or website is to navigate, the variety of investments on offer, and the information it provides to help you make investment decisions.

The importance of each will depend on you, but Coles and Rutgers both say that information should be easy to understand. “Access to clear, high-quality insights shouldn’t be limited to professionals or hidden behind paywalls,” Rutgers said.