Trading 212 SIPP vs Vanguard vs InvestEngine - which one for a passive ETF investor in 2026

[Anvil33]

With Trading 212's SIPP now live and accepting waitlist users, the UK pension landscape has a compelling zero-cost option for self-directed investors. Here is how the main platforms compare for someone building a passive ETF pension in 2026.

Trading 212 SIPP: 0% platform fee, 0% dealing fee, 0.15% FX on non-GBP only. 13,000+ stocks and ETFs. No flexi-access drawdown yet. Waitlist still active for some users.

Vanguard SIPP: 0.15% per year capped at 375 pounds. Limited to Vanguard funds only. Drawdown available. Simple interface.

InvestEngine SIPP: 0% platform fee, ETFs only, commission-free. Over 600 ETFs. No drawdown yet.

AJ Bell SIPP: 0.25% capped at 120 pounds. Full range of stocks, funds and ETFs. Drawdown available.

Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP: 0.45% capped at 200 pounds for shares. Premium service, excellent research tools, full drawdown.

Freetrade SIPP: Included in Plus plan (9.99 pounds per month). Smaller fund range. No complex drawdown options.

The cost crossover point between T212 and Vanguard on ETFs: because T212 is literally zero and Vanguard charges 0.15%, T212 wins from pound one

[Debbie]

The no flexi-access drawdown is the dealbreaker if you are within 5 years of wanting to access your pension. You need to know that feature is coming and approximately when before committing your retirement savings to a platform that cannot yet pay them back to you

[VoidSentinel74]

AJ Bell at 120 pound cap per year is the right answer for anyone with a substantial pension pot already. Once you have more than 48,000 pounds in a SIPP, the percentage-fee platforms all start to look expensive compared to the flat-cap providers

[Fan22]

I have both an InvestEngine SIPP and a T212 SIPP now because the T212 waitlist took longer. InvestEngine is excellent for ETF-only investing and the interface is clean. But T212 having 13,000 instruments vs InvestEngine's 600 ETFs is a meaningful difference if you ever want individual stocks

[RightNutter82]

For someone in their 30s or 40s building a pension in a world index ETF like VWRP or HSBA the Trading 212 zero fee structure is genuinely hard to beat. Over 20 years the compounding effect of not paying 0.15% annually is significant

[PaleCipher]

Hargreaves Lansdown at 0.45% is very hard to justify for a passive investor who is just buying index ETFs. You are paying a premium for research tools and customer service that a buy-and-hold investor does not need

[MiniElliot]

The FCA taking six years from T212 first announcing a SIPP to finally granting approval is the detail that should make everyone uncomfortable about the regulatory timeline for UK fintech innovation. The product is great. The path to getting it approved was absurdly slow