Holly Mckay
Holly MackayFounder and CEO
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    • The Boring Money Best Buy Awards 2026

    We've been the independent voice cutting through the noise in UK investing for nine years. Through rigorous testing of live accounts, real conversations with providers, and insights from over 27,000 real investors, we spotlight the platforms that truly deliver. Our seal of approval carries weight across London's tubes, financial headlines, and boardrooms – because when it comes to your money, excellence should never be boring.

    Want more like this? Get Holly's weekly insights and plain English guides. Compare ISAs and pensions, track quarterly performance, calculate your retirement income, and ask our experts anything.

    Best Buy ISA 2026

    The very best Stocks & Shares ISAs in the UK today for mainstream savers and investors.

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    Best Buy Pension 2026

    The best Pensions in the UK today for mainstream savers and investors.

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    Best Buy LISA 2026

    The best Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISAs in the UK today for those saving for retirement or their first property.

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    Best Buy JISA 2026

    The best Stocks & Shares Junior ISAs in the UK today for non-expert people saving for kids.

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    Boring Money Low-Cost Category Awards

    Cost-effectiveness awards are granted based on platform charges and total investment costs across various portfolio sizes. Providers must offer mutual funds and direct share access, with evaluations focused purely on costs rather than customer feedback or feature testing.

    Best For Low-Cost ISA

    A pure cost comparison of platform fees and ready-made portfolios, without factoring in other criteria.

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    Best For Low-Cost ISA Funds and Shares

    The lowest cost ISA providers in the UK for investors looking to invest in funds and shares.

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    Best For Low-Cost Pension <£50k 2026

    The lowest cost Pensions in the UK for investors with less than £50,000 in their account.

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    Best For Low-Cost Pension >£50k 2026

    The lowest cost Pensions in the UK for investors with more than £50,000 in their account.

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    Boring Money Category Awards

    Six specialised awards recognise excellence across key investment categories: mobile app functionality, beginner-friendly platforms, share trading capabilities, customer service quality, research tools, and investment trust offerings. Each award focuses on specific criteria such as ease of use, customer support, platform features, and overall user experience in the UK investment market.

    Best App 2026

    The best, easy-to-use, informative, and functional investment apps in the UK today.

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    Best For Customer Service 2026

    The best providers in the UK with information, support and guidance for those who want a helping hand.

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    Best For Beginners 2026

    These providers offer the best experience and overall support for beginner investors in the UK today. 

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    Best For Share Traders 2026

    The best trading platforms in the UK based on customer reviews, ease of use and our live account testing.

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    Best For Investment Trusts 2026

    The best providers in the UK for information, support, and guidance across phone channels, support online and web chat.

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    Best For Investment Research 2026

    The best providers in the UK for innovative features, portfolio analysis tools and range of investments.

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    Best For ETFs 2026

    Winners demonstrated excellence in comprehensive testing of costs across scenarios, fee transparency, ETF selection breadth, analysis quality, intuitive user experience, and smooth dealing processes.

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    Best For Low Cost Advice 2026

    Winners offer best low-cost advice for £50k-£150k investors, assessed on charges, support quality, advice scope, consideration of wider finances, eligibility requirements, and overall process ease.

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    Best For Ready - Made Solutions 2026

    Winners delivered strong 5-year performance across low, medium and high risk portfolios (based on equity allocation), with medium and high risk options weighted more heavily in scoring.

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    Looking for the best workplace pension provider? Our independent Boring Money Rated badge of recognition goes to Aviva, Fidelity, Royal London, and Scottish Widows.

    These providers earned our badge of recognition through our rigorous four-pillar assessment system, combining independent expert evaluation with real customer feedback to identify the workplace pensions that truly deliver for members and employers.

    Looking for the best workplace pension provider? Our independent Boring Money Rated badge of recognition goes to Aviva, Fidelity, Royal London, and Scottish Widows.

    These providers earned our badge of recognition through our rigorous four-pillar assessment system, combining independent expert evaluation with real customer feedback to identify the workplace pensions that truly deliver for members and employers.

    The winners of the Boring Money Value For Money Award 2026 are AJ Bell, Barclays Smart Investor, eToro, Freetrade, HSBC InvestDirect, interactive investor, J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, Lloyds Share Dealing, Moneybox, Monzo, NatWest Invest, PensionBee, Revolut, and Trading 212. These providers were selected entirely by real customers - over 27,000 investors rated their platforms for value for money throughout 2024, making this the only award decided by actual platform users, not analysts.

    See the winners here.

    How do we choose our winners?

    We scour the investment market using our 9 years' of experience, a combination of 40+ live accounts, 100s of hours of call centre testing, rigorous cost analysis from our team of in-house analysts, and over 27,000 real customer reviews to help you find the best home for your money. The result? A hand-picked selection of the very best investment providers on the market today.

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    Important stuffHolly and the team have worked in the finance industry for many years but we are not regulated to give you personal financial advice. For every story on this website about a good investment, or something which went up by 10% or made someone £200, we could also share a story about a bad investment, something which fell in value or lost someone £200. We aim to provide general information and pointers – and btw we are totally agnostic about which providers you might pick – but if you have complex affairs, want personalised advice or need specific recommendations, please look at advice pages and see if regulated digital or traditional financial advice would be the best solution for your needs. Boring Money Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registration number 09459832 and we have our registered office at 10 Lower Thames Street, London, England, EC3R 6AF.
    Risk warningAs is always the case with investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
    Boring Money Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registration number 09459832 and we have our registered office at 10 Lower Thames Street, London, England, EC3R 6AF.