Answers · UK 2025/26
What is a fund platform fee, and how much should I expect to pay?
A platform fee (or platform charge) is the annual fee an investment platform charges for holding and administering your ISA, SIPP or general investment account, separate from the ongoing charges figure charged by the underlying funds themselves. Typical platform fees range from around 0.15% to 0.45% a year for fund-based platforms, though some charge a flat fee instead, which can be cheaper for larger portfolios.
Full answer
When investing through an ISA, SIPP or general investment account via an online platform, you typically pay two separate layers of charges: the platform fee, charged by the platform provider itself for the administrative service of holding your investments, providing the dealing infrastructure, tax reporting and customer service; and the fund's own ongoing charges figure (OCF), charged by the fund manager for actually managing the underlying investment (buying and selling the shares or bonds within the fund, research, and fund administration). Platform fees for funds are most commonly charged as a percentage of the value held, typically ranging from around 0.15% to 0.45% a year depending on the provider and the total value invested (many platforms offer tiered pricing, where the percentage rate reduces for larger portfolio values, or caps the total fee at a maximum amount once your portfolio passes a certain size). Some platforms instead charge a flat annual fee (a fixed pound amount regardless of portfolio size) rather than a percentage — this structure tends to be considerably cheaper for larger portfolios (since a fixed £100 annual fee is a tiny percentage of a £200,000 portfolio but a much larger percentage of a £10,000 portfolio) but potentially more expensive for smaller investors just starting out. On top of platform and fund fees, some platforms charge separate dealing fees for buying or selling individual shares (as opposed to funds, which are more commonly free to trade on many platforms), and share-dealing-focused platforms often use flat dealing fees rather than percentage-based platform charges. Because even a seemingly small percentage difference in ongoing costs compounds significantly over a multi-decade investing horizon (a 0.5 percentage point higher total annual cost can reduce a pension pot's final value by a meaningful percentage over 30-40 years, purely through lost compounding), comparing total costs (platform fee plus fund OCF plus any dealing fees) across providers is one of the most reliable ways to improve long-term investment outcomes, alongside genuinely diversified asset allocation. Use the Compound Interest calculator to model the long-term impact of different total cost percentages on your investment growth.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.