Menu
Policy and Terms What is InvestinGoal

InvestinGoal » Robinhood vs Trading 212: Comparison and Analysis

Robinhood vs Trading 212: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD trading

Robinhood and Trading 212 cannot be compared for CFD trading in the UK, because Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs to trade. If you want to trade CFDs and you do not know which to choose between Robinhood and Trading 212, Trading 212 is the better option of the two, because it offers CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks. Trading 212 charges 13.00 USD per lot to trade EUR/USD.

Our verdict · Real stock investing

Robinhood is better than Trading 212 for real stock investing in the UK by a small margin, because it lets you own crypto outright next to the ETFs and stocks both brokers cover and adds options and futures trading. Robinhood lets you buy fractional shares and credits deposits on the same day against 1 day. Trading 212, on the other hand, provides a demo account with no expiry date, which Robinhood does not offer, holds more account base currencies (three against one), opens professional accounts and allows hedging, expert advisors and API access. Trading 212 asks for a minimum withdrawal of 1.00 USD. Robinhood and Trading 212 are both regulated in the UK by the FCA. Both brokers charge no fees on US stocks, work on a proprietary trading platform and pay out withdrawals in 2 days. The two brokers are close on tradable symbols (10,818 at Robinhood, 10,000 at Trading 212) and on the minimum deposit (none at Robinhood, 1.00 USD at Trading 212).

Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD brokers: leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers: real shares and ETFs you own outright.

Best overall

Robinhood

StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Robinhood holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
not offeredCFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. 78StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

Best overall

Trading 212

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Trading 212 holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Trading 212 review ›
69CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. 73StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders Robinhood and Trading 212 are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.
1 / 12

Robinhood is better than Trading 212 for day traders, crypto traders and futures traders, while Trading 212 is better for professional traders, news traders and CFD stock traders. Both are a good fit for long-term investors and swing traders.

Best for
Overall score Robinhood not offered 78 Best Trading 212 69 73 -5
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise Robinhood and the ones that supervise Trading 212.
2 / 12

Robinhood and Trading 212 are both regulated in the UK, by the FCA.

Regulation
Section score Robinhood not offered 100 Trading 212 100 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that Robinhood and Trading 212 have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
3 / 12

Robinhood and Trading 212 both offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme. Robinhood also offers additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score Robinhood not offered 87 Best Trading 212 79 79 -8
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2013 2004
Parent company i Robinhood Markets, Inc. Trading 212 Ltd
CEO i Vlad Tenev Michael Byrne
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i Sutton Bank J.P. Morgan, Barclays
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 27,400,000 4,500,000
Annual revenue i USD 3,570,000,000 USD 299,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with Robinhood and with Trading 212 in United Kingdom, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be compared for CFD costs, because Trading 212 is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Robinhood is a stockbroker.

Robinhood is better than Trading 212 for real stock costs, because Robinhood does not charge deposit fees, unlike Trading 212. Neither Robinhood nor Trading 212 charges inactivity fees or account maintenance fees.

Costs
Section score Robinhood not offered 87 Best Trading 212 36 82 -5
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i
1.3 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 13
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.42 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.89 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Free Spread, Free
US stocks fees (real) i Free Free
ETF fees (real) i Free Free
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i USD 0.75
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i USD 0.5
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with Robinhood and with Trading 212 in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Only Trading 212 can be assessed for CFD markets, since Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs.

Robinhood is better than Trading 212 for real stock markets, given that Robinhood lets you own crypto outright, which Trading 212 does not, gives access to 10,818 tradable symbols (against Trading 212's 10,000), and offers futures on commodities, crypto and indices, which Trading 212 does not. Both Robinhood and Trading 212 let you own ETFs and stocks outright.

Available markets
Section score Robinhood not offered 100 Best Trading 212 65 30 -70
Total tradable symbols i 10,818 10,000
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i Commodities, Crypto, Indices
Options i Indices
Assets you can own i Crypto, ETF, Stocks ETF, Stocks

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that Robinhood and Trading 212 make available to their clients in United Kingdom.
6 / 12

Only Trading 212 can be assessed for platforms, since Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs.

Trading 212 is better than Robinhood for platforms, since Trading 212 offers social trading, one-click trading and 5-digit pricing, which Robinhood does not. Robinhood and Trading 212 both offer a proprietary platform and real-time pricing.

Platform
Section score Robinhood not offered 68 -13 Trading 212 81 81 Best
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of Robinhood and Trading 212 in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be compared for mobile trading, because Trading 212 is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Robinhood is a stockbroker.

Robinhood and Trading 212 are equally good for mobile trading, as Robinhood offers mobile charting tools while Trading 212 offers mobile trading signals. Robinhood and Trading 212 both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Mobile
Section score Robinhood not offered 74 Trading 212 74 74
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that Robinhood and Trading 212 allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.
8 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be set side by side for CFD trading features, as Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs, unlike Trading 212.

Trading 212 is better than Robinhood for real stock trading features, given that Trading 212 offers API access, which Robinhood does not. Both Robinhood and Trading 212 offer trailing stops and fractional shares.

Trading features
Section score Robinhood not offered 65 -24 Trading 212 76 89 Best
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD Agency
Average execution time i
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1
Gold leverage i 20:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1
Equities leverage i 2:1 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 1 USD 1
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at Robinhood and at Trading 212 in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be set side by side for CFD account types, as Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs, unlike Trading 212.

Trading 212 is better than Robinhood for real stock account types, as Trading 212 offers a demo account, an unlimited demo account and a savings account, which Robinhood does not. Robinhood and Trading 212 both offer a stock investing account and a margin investing account.

Account types
Section score Robinhood not offered 44 -25 Trading 212 38 69 Best
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with Robinhood and with Trading 212 in United Kingdom.
10 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be set side by side for account opening, as Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs, unlike Trading 212.

Robinhood and Trading 212 are equally good for account opening, since Robinhood does not require a minimum deposit (against Trading 212's 1 USD), and has no minimum withdrawal (against Trading 212's 1 USD). On the other hand, Trading 212 offers 3 account base currencies (against Robinhood's 1). Both Robinhood and Trading 212 offer credit cards and debit cards.

Account opening
Section score Robinhood not offered 65 Trading 212 65 65
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 1
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 1
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i USD EUR, GBP, USD
Deposit waiting time i Instant up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 2 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of Robinhood and Trading 212 in United Kingdom, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be set side by side for customer care, as Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs, unlike Trading 212.

Trading 212 is better than Robinhood for customer care, because Trading 212 offers customer support in 11 languages (against Robinhood's 1), and has a website in 11 languages (against Robinhood's 1). Robinhood and Trading 212 both offer live chat and email support.

Customer care
Section score Robinhood not offered 42 -16 Trading 212 58 58 Best
Number of languages supported i 1 11
Website languages i English Arabic, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i English Arabic, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that Robinhood and Trading 212 provide to their clients in United Kingdom.
12 / 12

Trading 212 and Robinhood cannot be set side by side for learning, as Robinhood is a stockbroker and does not offer CFDs, unlike Trading 212.

Robinhood is better than Trading 212 for learning, since Robinhood offers education for advanced traders, professional reports and daily trading ideas, which Trading 212 does not. Robinhood and Trading 212 both offer education for beginners and an education center.

Learning
Section score Robinhood not offered 70 Best Trading 212 43 43 -27
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
Robinhood
Open Account 73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Trading 212
Open Account 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

Robinhood vs Trading 212: which one should you choose?

Robinhood

Stocks Choose Robinhood if you want a stockbroker with options and futures trading, crypto to own outright and fractional shares.

Open Account 73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Trading 212

CFD Choose Trading 212 if you want a CFD and forex broker for automated trading, with a demo account.

Stocks Choose Trading 212 if you want a share dealing service with a demo account, several account base currencies and API access.

Open Account 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Other popular comparisons

Below are other head-to-head comparisons that include Robinhood or Trading 212, each scored with the same data and method as this page.

eToro vs Robinhood IG Markets vs Trading 212 Interactive Brokers vs Robinhood Oanda vs Trading 212 Charles Schwab vs Robinhood CMC Markets vs Trading 212