Freetrade FX Fee: Which Plan Is Actually Cheapest
Freetrade charges an FX fee on non-GBP trades that varies by plan: 0.99% on Basic, 0.59% on Standard at £5.99 a month, and 0.39% on Plus at £11.99 a month (as of August 2026). Because the subscription buys a lower rate, the cheapest plan depends entirely on how much foreign currency you convert.
Reviewed by Yaniv Barshaf, CPA · Fees verified August 2026 · Our methodology
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Where each plan breaks even
The arithmetic is simple and worth doing before you subscribe. Moving from Basic to Standard saves 0.40 percentage points on conversion and costs £5.99 a month, so it pays for itself at roughly £1,500 of non-GBP trading a month. Moving from Standard to Plus saves a further 0.20 points for another £6.00 a month, which needs around £3,000 a month in foreign trades to justify. Below those thresholds the free Basic plan is genuinely the cheapest option, subscription savings notwithstanding. Above them, staying on Basic is the expensive choice. The trap is subscribing for the perceived discount while trading too little to recover the fee.
FX is the main dealing cost at Freetrade
Freetrade charges £0 commission on all UK and US stocks, ETFs and investment trusts across every plan, and adds no spread markup of its own. That means currency conversion is effectively the entire explicit cost of buying a foreign share. For a UK investor buying US stocks, the FX fee applies on the purchase and again on the sale, so a round trip on Basic costs close to 2% in conversion before any market movement. That is a material drag on short holding periods and much less relevant on a long one, which is another reason the right plan depends on behaviour rather than on portfolio size alone.
How Freetrade's FX compares
Even on Plus at 0.39%, Freetrade is not the cheapest converter in the market. Interactive Brokers charges 0.03% with a $2 minimum, and Trading 212 charges 0.15% with no subscription required. DEGIRO's AutoFX is 0.25%. Revolut is free up to a monthly allowance then 0.5%, unlimited on paid plans. Webull UK is 0.50% on the free account and 0.35% on Meridian at £5.00 a month, a very similar structure to Freetrade's. eToro is around 0.75% on local-currency accounts, and XTB charges a 0.5% margin rising to 0.8% at weekends and on holidays. If FX is your dominant cost, the comparison worth running is Freetrade Plus against Trading 212's flat 0.15% (as of August 2026).
The bottom line
Freetrade's FX rate is a plan decision, not a fixed cost. Below about £1,500 a month in foreign trades stay on Basic; above it the subscription pays for itself. Compare the resulting rate against Trading 212's flat 0.15%.
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Capital at risk. This is not financial advice. Investing involves risk of loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Freetrade FX fee?
0.99% on the Basic plan, 0.59% on Standard (£5.99/mo) and 0.39% on Plus (£11.99/mo), charged on non-GBP trades (as of August 2026).
Is the Freetrade Standard plan worth it for the FX saving alone?
Only above roughly £1,500 of non-GBP trading a month. Standard saves 0.40 percentage points for £5.99 a month, so below that threshold the free Basic plan works out cheaper.
Does Freetrade charge commission as well?
No. Commission is £0 on all UK and US stocks, ETFs and investment trusts on every plan, and there is no added spread markup, so FX is the main dealing cost on foreign shares (as of August 2026).