Putting money into a Junior ISA could provide future support for your child's educational journey, first home or their budding talents and ambitions.
Many providers offer a Junior ISA product so it can be hard to choose. We've done the hard graft for you and picked the best of the bunch, with options to suit your pocket, priorities, and plans. The list below contains our first hand verdicts on fees, investment options, portfolio performance and a selection of other characteristics that matter.
Note: this article focuses on stocks and shares Junior ISAs; ISAs that are invested. Cash Junior ISAs, where income is generated from interest on savings – are also available from other providers.
*We don’t make any money from the platforms for recommending them on this list. These are my totally impartial views that I think represent the best value for money.
No charges for managing a JISA, or for buying/selling investments. A free service from a large, established provider.
Capital at Risk
Ultra-low-cost trading platform, offering exceptional choice and trading tools for skilful traders.
Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IBKR. You must consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money.
Excellent historical returns on ready-made portfolios, minimum starting investment just £1.
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Offers a good range of account types, including a Junior ISA, and free financial advice.
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Massive menu of global shares, funds, ETFs and trusts to invest in, and reasonable prices for a Junior ISA.
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Well-established and trusted provider a reputation for good service and well-priced funds.
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No charges for managing a JISA, or for buying/selling investments. A free service from a large, established provider.
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There's no doubt which provider gets top billing in this product category since Hargreaves Lansdown took the decision to scrap all fees on their Junior ISA last year.
That means you're getting a totally free account with a premium, FTSE-listed company. With over 1 million clients, Hargreaves is the largest investment platform in the UK for private investors, so you're getting peace of mind that your money is in experienced hands.
Hargreaves Lansdown doesn't even charge currency conversion fees if you buy non-UK stocks and funds – something that is really unusual and where you normally find ‘hidden' costs adding up. But not so, here.
Hargreaves Lansdown also accepts transfers from other JISAs, and also from Child Trust Funds (CTFs). Not every provider does accept CTF transfers so it's always worth checking if this is where your funds are coming from.
There's a high standard of customer service, with a phone number that connects you to a UK-based Helpdesk. One thing to be aware of with many newer, low-cost providers, is that you might not have access to phone support and customer service can be less consistent and reliable. You'll also benefit from in-house expertise from the large investment team at Hargreaves Lansdown. There's great educational resources, free insights and investment tips, suggested funds if you're stuck for ideas on how to get the best returns for your investment, and if you're willing to pay, a personal financial advice service too.
With Hargreaves, you can also link up your JISA with other accounts, although the general investment account, standard stocks and shares ISA, self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and Lifetime ISA products aren't ones we recommend as highly, due to comparatively high costs.
If you're choosing a ready-made portfolio, it can be useful to look at past performance. (Although remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.) Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of historical data for Hargreaves' ready-made portfolios due to them only having been around for a couple of years in many cases. The one we can measure over the past 5 years is the Cautious Managed Portfolio. It shows 12.3% returns – a very decent result considering the industry average for ready-made portfolios is 9.9%.
The only downside of using Hargreaves for your JISA, is that you'll need to go through a rather old-school application process, printing off and sending a paper application form. There's no online onboarding with this investing giant, but it's a small price to pay for a free, premium-service JISA.
Fees
Yep, really, nothing to pay!
For any cash you hold within your JISA, you can expect to receive 3.04% – 3.76% interest (depending on the value of your portfolio).
Use this if
You want a fee-free Junior ISA from a premium investment brand with excellent customer service.
Investments
2.5
4.0
3.5
3.5
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To read our detailed no stone left unturned review of Hargreaves Lansdown
Read full review >Ultra-low-cost trading platform, offering exceptional choice and trading tools for skilful traders.
Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IBKR. You must consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money.
If you take Hargreaves Lansdown's fee-free Junior ISA out of the equation, then Interactive Brokers (IBKR) becomes the cheapest provider in our top-rated list.
With remarkably low trading commissions, and currency conversion fees of 0.03%, you normally wouldn't be able to buy and sell international stocks cheaper anywhere else. But as Hargreaves Lansdown scraps FX fees for trades made within its JISAs, they are the cheapest option even with FX fees thrown into the equation.
Unlike Hargreaves, which is a platform for investors, IBKR is a platform for seasoned traders. It's not geared towards investors simply looking for somewhere to buy and hold investments, and there are no ready-made portfolios to default to if you don't want the responsibility for building an investment strategy.
For those who can use the tools, navigate the platforms, and are confident in their trading strategy, IBKR is the full package.
Fees
Use this if
You are an experienced trader and want to choose your own investments rather than rely on a ready-made portfolio.
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5.0
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3.5
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For a detailed analysis of Interactive Brokers, check out our review for 2024
Read full review >Excellent historical returns on ready-made portfolios, minimum starting investment just £1.
Capital at risk.
Alongside its standard stocks and Shares ISA, personal pension, Lifetime ISA and general investment account, Moneybox also offers Junior ISAs.
Although it is not the cheapest provider on this list, Moneybox can boast the best performing ready-made portfolios of all the providers we included in our analysis of investment returns. If you'd had you money invested in Moneybox's ‘Adventurous' portfolio over the past five years, you'd currently be enjoying returns of 65.9%. The average Moneybox ready-made portfolio return is 54.2% – way above the industry average of 27.9%.
You won't find a staggering array of assets to fill your portfolio if you don't want a ready-made option: Moneybox only offers US stocks, and 36 funds to choose from. This might suit investors who are starting small (minimum deposit is £1) and not wanting to be overwhelmed by too many decisions. However, beware that £1 subscription fee that kicks in after the first three months – that will take a big bite out of small portfolios.
Fees
Use this if
You want to invest in a ready-made portfolio with strong historical performance. Bear in mind, however, that past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
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Read full review
Read full review >Offers a good range of account types, including a Junior ISA, and free financial advice.
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Bestinvest was founded in 1986 and is part of Evelyn Partners (previously Tilney Smith & Williamson) so it's a firm with heritage.
It tends to sit in the mid-range when comparing pricing with other providers, but it does have one advantage over other providers that might work for you if you're new to investing and after some advice on your Junior ISA. Unlike other providers, Bestinvest offers a free financial advice service. Advisors can't provider tailored advice so it's not quite a replacement for paid advice, but they can help with understanding the products, investment options and general financial planning tips.
Bestinvest's range of ready-made portfolios are particularly good value and have performed well over the past five years. Please remember, however, that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
The platform is slightly old-fashioned-looking but there's a good range of investment options on offer and a reliable, helpful customer service team to help with any issues.
Fees
Use this if
You want to trade US stocks, or you want to invest in one of Bestinvest's low-cost ready-made Smart Portfolios.
Or, you can make use of the free financial advice offered at Bestinvest.
Investments
3.5
3.5
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3.5
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For a detailed analysis of BestInvest, check out our review for 2024
Read full review >Capital at risk.
AJ Bell is one of the UK’s largest and most well-regarded investment platforms, trusted by over half a million customers and listed on the FTSE 250.
While AJ Bell can't compete on fees with Hargreaves Lansdown's free Junior ISA, if you are looking to open a JISA alongside other accounts, AJ Bell could work out cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown overall. That's because, Hargreaves tends to work out more costly on standard stocks and shares ISAs, SIPPs and for general investment accounts.
AJ Bell is a reliable platform with an reputation for excellent customer service, with a wide range of investment and account options, including its own range of ready-made funds which performed comparatively well over the past five years, coming in with average returns slightly above the industry average.
Note: Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Fees
Shares custody charge: 0.25% (maximum £3.50 per month)
Funds custody charge:
First £0–£250,000 – 0.25%
£250,000-£500,000 – 0.10%
Value over £500,000 – No charge
Dealing fees (shares): £5.00 – £3.50 (if you deal shares 10+ times in the previous month)
Dealing fees (funds): £1.50
Dealing fees (AJ Bell funds): No charge
Use this if
You want all of your investments with one well-respected brand, and want a provider that offers lower costs on other products than Hargreaves Lansdown.
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4.5
4.5
5.0
4.5
5.0
5.0
For a detailed analysis of AJ Bell, check out our review for 2024
Read full review >Massive menu of global shares, funds, ETFs and trusts to invest in, and reasonable prices for a Junior ISA.
Capital at risk.
With interactive investor, you get access to one of the widest ranges of global investments in the UK investment market: more than 40,000 stocks, shares, funds, ETFs and trusts from 17 global stock exchanges.
ii charges via a flat fee structure. That means, proportionally, it can be a pricey place to hold your investments if you have a small portfolio. There are some ranges where ii works out good value for money so if you plan to contribute the annual maximum (or thereabouts) into your child's Junior ISA, the good choice of assets, good customer service, and flat fee structure could work to your advantage. However, those subscription fees and high FX and dealing charges can make this an expensive platform for those with smaller ambitions. You may still feel like this popular and well-regarded platform is a provider you're prepared to pay for though.
Fees
Use this if
You have, or expect to build, a high-value Junior ISA.
Investments
3.0
4.0
3.5
4.0
4.0
4.0
For a detailed analysis of Interactive Investor, check out our review for 2024
Read full review >Well-established and trusted provider a reputation for good service and well-priced funds.
Capital at risk.
Fidelity offers a JISA but, much like Vanguard which also offers a JISA, it does not accept transfers from Child Trust Funds. So this won't be the provider for you if that's what you're looking to do.
However, if you're starting a JISA from scratch, rather than transferring a CTF, then Fidelity provides a Junior ISA without any service fees. You'll get the peace of mind and perks that come with a well-regarded brand and the option of personalised wealth management and financial advice to go alongside it if you're willing to pay the fair rate that Fidelity charges for it.
As Fidelity doesn't charge service fees on junior accounts, you'll just be paying dealing fees (and currency conversion fees if you're trading foreign securities). It's possible to keep dealing fees low if you set up a regular savings plan – just £1.50 per trade. That could make it a very low-cost option, especially if you're only trading UK funds or stocks, albeit not free like Hargreaves Lansdown's product.
Fidelity won’t be right for you if you’re looking for a vast choice of stocks from across the world to invest in, however. There's a great choice of funds from across the market, unlike Vanguard which only sells its own funds. Watch those standard price dealing fees if you're trading stocks too – they can soon add up.
Fees
Use this if
You want to buy funds from a low-cost brand with a strong reputation.
Investments
4.0
3.5
2.5
4.0
2.0
4.5
For a detailed analysis of Fidelity, check out our review for 2024
Read full review >To come to a decision on which platforms to include on this list, I looked at a number of key factors which I feel are the most important when it comes to choosing a provider for your Junior ISA:
Some platforms did well across the board; others excelled in one area but performed more poorly in others. I have purposefully included those platforms that only excelled in one or two areas in case they are areas that are particularly important to you.
To get an overview of how the platforms performed relative to each other, take a look at the table below.
The following tables demonstrate how each of the platforms recommended in this list perform on costs when compared side-by-side.
The top table shows Junior ISA fees without FX fees – so the charges you would incur if you only invested in UK securities. And the second table shows how those fees are affected by the addition of currency conversion fees – the costs you would incur to buy and sell non-GBP stocks, ETFs, and funds.
Unsurprisingly, Hargreaves Lansdown's ‘kids go free' Junior ISA comes out on top in both charts as even FX fees are scrapped on the Hargreaves JISA.
Interactive Brokers' low-cost JISA is runner-up in both charts, but there's movement between the providers thereafter. The message is, consider what you want to invest in, and whether currency conversion fees need to factor into your costs when weighing up the provider that meets your needs on fees.
If you're investing in a ready-made portfolio, you won't need to worry about FX fees.
A Junior Individual Savings Account (Junior ISA / JISA) is a tax-efficient way of saving for your child's future.
Only parents (or carers who have legal responsibility for a child) can open a Junior ISA, but anyone – parents, generous relatives or friends – can contribute to it.
To open a Junior ISA, the child you're opening it for must be under the age of 18. At 18, the ISA will automatically convert to a standard ISA.
There are two types of JISA: cash and stocks and shares.
Cash junior ISAs
A cash JISA is a savings account that is intended to grow by generating interest on savings. The money in a cash Junior ISA is not invested. That means it's protected from fluctuations in the stock market. However, there are still risks with a Cash ISA: if the cost-of-living rises, for example, the money you put in now might not be worth as much in the future.
Stocks and shares junior ISAs
With a stocks and shares Junior ISA, the money you put in is invested into the stock markets. This means it has the potential to grow more than a cash ISA, but it also has the potential to lose value as investing has risks, including the risk of losing your principle investment.
At any one time, you can only hold one of each type of Junior ISA for your child. (On this page, we have focused on stocks and shares Junior ISAs.)
The other limiting factor to this method of saving for your child is that you can contribute no more than the annual maximum allowance per year. For the tax year 2024/25, that maximum allowance is £9,000. If you hold both a cash Junior ISA and a stocks and shares Junior ISA, the £9,000 allowance must be split between the two accounts.
As with adult ISAs, a Junior ISA shields your investments from capital gains and income tax. You can put in up to £9,000 a year without incurring tax on any returns your investments or savings generate.
That can result in a very nice nest egg for your child when they reach the age of 18 and are starting out on their own life course.
Junior ISAs lock money away until a child reaches the age of 18 (although they can take control of the account and make decisions about how it is invested from the age of 16).
If you think you child might need earlier access, then a regular savings account, or an adult ISA that you use to save for your child, may be more appropriate.
Hargreaves Lansdown is a clear winner here as its Junior ISA product is fee-free. You can open, manage and buy and sell investments within a Hargreaves Lansdown JISA without incurring any costs.
Both Junior ISAs and child savings accounts allow you to save for your child's future. If you are happy to lock your child's savings away until they are 18, then a JISA has clear advantages – namely, that no income or capital gains tax is due on the returns your child's investments generate. Regular savings accounts don't offer this protection. However, they might be better if you envisage needing to access your child's savings earlier than age 18.
No. Although you can take control of you Junior ISA when you turn 16, meaning you can instruct your provider to change the way your ISA is invested, you cannot access the savings until you reach 18.
Due to rules limiting how much can be contributed to each Junior ISA within a year, it's not been possible for me to test buying and selling investments within the Junior ISA products offered by each of these platforms. Where I have not opened a Junior ISA, I have tested trade execution via the general investment accounts also offered by the providers.