In this article
Our assumptions
- You pay in a single lump sum and its value stays the same for the year. We don't include growth, tax relief or inflation.
- Funds: on the DIY platforms we add a typical tracker fund charge of 0.20% a year, so they compare fairly with the managed pensions, which include their own fund costs.
- Shares: we assume you buy 10 UK shares or ETFs in the first year. We don't include the running charges of any ETFs or investment trusts you buy.
- Yearly cost is what you'd pay each year at that pot size. First-year cost adds the dealing fees to buy in.
- We leave out foreign exchange, transfer and drawdown charges.
| Provider | Platform or plan charge | Fund costs included | Dealing to buy in |
|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell SIPP | Funds 0.25% to £250k, 0.10% to £500k, free above. Shares 0.25%, capped at £120 | 0.20% tracker | £1.50 a fund, £5 a share |
| AJ Bell Ready-made Pension | 0.35% all-in, whatever the size of your pot. Choice of five AJ Bell funds | Included in the 0.35% | Free. No shares |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Funds 0.35% to £250k, 0.25% to £1m, 0.10% to £2m. Shares 0.35%, capped at £150 | 0.20% tracker | £1.95 a fund, £6.95 a share |
| Interactive Investor | Core £5.99 a month up to £100k, Plus £14.99 a month above | 0.20% tracker | £3.99 a fund on Core, £1.49 on Plus. £3.99 a share, one free a month on Plus |
| Fidelity | £90 a year under £25k (no monthly savings plan), 0.35% to £250k, 0.20% on the whole pot above, free above £1m. Shares capped at £90 | 0.20% tracker | Funds free, £7.50 a share |
| Bestinvest | Funds and UK shares 0.40% to £250k, 0.20% to £500k, 0.10% to £1m, free above. £120 a year minimum | 0.20% tracker | Funds free, £4.95 a share |
| Vanguard | 0.15%, capped at £375. £48 a year minimum under £32k | 0.20% tracker | Free. No shares |
| Moneybox | Moneybox Funds: 0.15% service fee, capped at £150 | 0.29% fund fee | Free. No shares |
| PensionBee | Tracker plan: 0.50% all-in, halved on the part above £100k | Included in the 0.50% | Free. No shares |
| Nutmeg | Fixed Allocation: 0.45% to £100k, 0.25% on the part above | About 0.18% (funds and spread) | Free. No shares |
| Moneyfarm | Active portfolio: management fee 0.45% to £50k, 0.20% to £100k, 0.10% to £1.5m, free above, plus 0.25% platform fee | About 0.12% | Free. No shares |
What's the best pension for £100,000?
With £100,000 in funds, Interactive Investor is the cheapest of the 11 pensions we review at around £272 a year, including a 0.20% tracker fund. Its flat £5.99 a month fee covers pots up to £100,000, so the platform part of the bill is just £72. AJ Bell Ready-made Pension (£350) and Vanguard (£350) come next. Moneyfarm costs the most at around £695, so the gap from cheapest to dearest is £423 a year.
If you'd rather have your pension managed for you, AJ Bell Ready-made Pension (£350) and Moneybox (£440) are the cheapest of the managed options at this size.
Hold shares, ETFs or investment trusts instead and the caps on share charges change the order: Interactive Investor (£72), Fidelity (£90) and AJ Bell SIPP (£120) are the cheapest, before dealing fees. One thing to watch: just above £100,000, Interactive Investor moves you to its £14.99 a month Plus plan, which adds £108 a year.
| # | Provider | Yearly cost | First year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interactive Investor | £272 (0.27%) | £276 |
| 2 | AJ Bell Ready-made Pension | £350 (0.35%) | £350 |
| 2 | Vanguard | £350 (0.35%) | £350 |
| 4 | Moneybox | £440 (0.44%) | £440 |
| 5 | AJ Bell SIPP | £450 (0.45%) | £452 |
| 6 | PensionBee | £500 (0.50%) | £500 |
| 7 | Fidelity | £550 (0.55%) | £550 |
| 7 | Hargreaves Lansdown | £550 (0.55%) | £552 |
| 9 | Bestinvest | £600 (0.60%) | £600 |
| 10 | Nutmeg | £630 (0.63%) | £630 |
| 11 | Moneyfarm | £695 (0.69%) | £695 |
| # | Provider | Yearly cost | First year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interactive Investor | £72 (0.07%) | £112 |
| 2 | Fidelity | £90 (0.09%) | £165 |
| 3 | AJ Bell SIPP | £120 (0.12%) | £170 |
| 4 | Hargreaves Lansdown | £150 (0.15%) | £220 |
| 5 | Bestinvest | £400 (0.40%) | £450 |
| n/a | AJ Bell Ready-made Pension | No shares | |
| n/a | Vanguard | No shares | |
| n/a | Moneybox | No shares | |
| n/a | PensionBee | No shares | |
| n/a | Nutmeg | No shares | |
| n/a | Moneyfarm | No shares | |
What's the best pension for £500,000?
With £500,000 in funds, Interactive Investor (£1,180), Vanguard (£1,375) and PensionBee (£1,500) are the cheapest of the pensions we review. At this size, fund charges make up most of the bill: a 0.20% tracker alone costs £1,000 a year, so the platforms with a flat fee or a cap pull ahead. Bestinvest (£2,500), Hargreaves Lansdown (£2,500) and Moneyfarm (£2,575) cost the most, a gap of £1,395 a year between cheapest and dearest.
In shares, ETFs and trusts, the caps make a big pot very cheap to hold: Fidelity (£90), AJ Bell SIPP (£120), Hargreaves Lansdown (£150) and Interactive Investor (£180) all charge under £200 a year. Bestinvest has no share cap, so it costs around £1,500.
Over 20 years, a difference of £1,395 a year adds up to around £27,900, before any growth on the money you'd keep. That's why fees matter most on larger pots.
| # | Provider | Yearly cost | First year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interactive Investor | £1,180 (0.24%) | £1,181 |
| 2 | Vanguard | £1,375 (0.27%) | £1,375 |
| 3 | PensionBee | £1,500 (0.30%) | £1,500 |
| 4 | Moneybox | £1,600 (0.32%) | £1,600 |
| 5 | AJ Bell Ready-made Pension | £1,750 (0.35%) | £1,750 |
| 6 | AJ Bell SIPP | £1,875 (0.38%) | £1,877 |
| 7 | Fidelity | £2,000 (0.40%) | £2,000 |
| 8 | Nutmeg | £2,350 (0.47%) | £2,350 |
| 9 | Bestinvest | £2,500 (0.50%) | £2,500 |
| 9 | Hargreaves Lansdown | £2,500 (0.50%) | £2,502 |
| 11 | Moneyfarm | £2,575 (0.52%) | £2,575 |
| # | Provider | Yearly cost | First year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fidelity | £90 (0.02%) | £165 |
| 2 | AJ Bell SIPP | £120 (0.02%) | £170 |
| 3 | Hargreaves Lansdown | £150 (0.03%) | £220 |
| 4 | Interactive Investor | £180 (0.04%) | £216 |
| 5 | Bestinvest | £1,500 (0.30%) | £1,550 |
| n/a | AJ Bell Ready-made Pension | No shares | |
| n/a | Vanguard | No shares | |
| n/a | Moneybox | No shares | |
| n/a | PensionBee | No shares | |
| n/a | Nutmeg | No shares | |
| n/a | Moneyfarm | No shares | |
Why the cheapest pension changes as your pot grows
Pension providers charge in three different ways, and each one suits a different pot size. That's why there's no single "cheapest pension". The right answer depends on how much you have and what you hold.
Percentage fees
You pay a set percentage of your pot, such as 0.25% at AJ Bell, 0.35% at Hargreaves Lansdown, or 0.35% all-in on AJ Bell's Ready-made Pension. Cheap for small pots, but the bill keeps growing as your pension does, although most providers lower the rate on larger amounts.
Capped fees
A percentage fee with a ceiling. Vanguard stops at £375 a year, Moneybox's service fee stops at £150, and AJ Bell, HL and Fidelity cap the fee on shares, ETFs and trusts at £90 to £150 a year.
Flat fees
Interactive Investor charges £5.99 a month up to £100,000 and £14.99 a month above that. Poor value on a £10,000 pot, but hard to beat once your pension passes around £50,000.
Funds or shares: why it changes the answer
Several platforms charge funds and shares differently. On funds, the percentage fee usually has no cap. On shares, ETFs and investment trusts, AJ Bell caps its fee at £120 a year, Hargreaves Lansdown at £150 and Fidelity at £90. So a large pot held in ETFs can cost less than £200 a year in platform fees at any of them.
The catch is dealing fees. Every time you buy a share or ETF you pay £3.99 to £7.50 a trade, so if you trade often those costs add up. Funds are often free or cheap to buy, which is why the first-year column can rank providers quite differently from the yearly one.
Vanguard, PensionBee, Nutmeg, Moneyfarm, Moneybox and AJ Bell's Ready-made Pension don't let you buy individual shares, so they drop to the bottom of the table when you choose shares.
Cost isn't everything
A cheaper pension leaves more of your money invested, and over 20 or 30 years that adds up. But the cheapest option isn't always the right one. It could make sense to pay a little more for something that suits how you invest:
- Doing it yourself or having it done for you. PensionBee, Nutmeg, Moneyfarm, Moneybox and AJ Bell's Ready-made Pension choose and rebalance your investments. The DIY platforms leave that to you.
- Investment choice. Vanguard only offers its own funds. AJ Bell, HL, Interactive Investor, Fidelity and Bestinvest offer thousands of funds, shares and trusts.
- Drawdown when you retire. Most of these providers offer free drawdown, but Fidelity needs at least £50,000 to open a drawdown account, and AJ Bell's Ready-made Pension doesn't offer drawdown yet, so you'd move to the AJ Bell SIPP (free) to take money out.
- Help and research. HL has the deepest research, Bestinvest offers free one-to-one coaching and Fidelity has retirement specialists on the phone.
Before moving an existing pension, check for exit fees and valuable guarantees, such as a guaranteed annuity rate or protected tax-free cash. You could lose these by transferring.
Frequently asked questions
Which pension has the lowest fees?
It depends on how much you have and what you invest in. For a £10,000 pot in funds, AJ Bell Ready-made Pension (£35), Moneybox (£44) and AJ Bell SIPP (£45) are the cheapest of the providers we review. From around £50,000 upwards, Interactive Investor's flat fee usually wins for funds, while AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity and Interactive Investor are all very cheap for large pots held in shares or ETFs. Use the tool above to check your own amount.
What is a good annual fee for a pension?
As a rough guide, on a £100,000 pot invested in a tracker fund, the DIY platforms we review cost 0.27% to 0.60% a year all-in, and the managed pensions cost 0.35% to 0.69%. Anything well above 1% a year is worth questioning, unless you're getting advice or a service you value.
What's the difference between a pension and a SIPP?
A SIPP (self-invested personal pension) is a type of personal pension where you choose the investments yourself, from funds to individual shares. AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, Fidelity and Bestinvest offer SIPPs. Vanguard, PensionBee, Nutmeg, Moneyfarm, Moneybox and AJ Bell's Ready-made Pension are personal pensions with a narrower, ready-made choice of investments.
Why are shares cheaper to hold than funds on some platforms?
AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Fidelity cap the platform fee on shares, ETFs and investment trusts at £120, £150 and £90 a year. Funds have no cap, so on a large pot they cost far more. You do pay a dealing fee each time you buy or sell a share, though.
Is it worth moving my pension to save on fees?
It can be, but check first. Look for exit fees, guaranteed annuity rates, protected tax-free cash and any employer contributions you'd lose. AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Fidelity will cover exit fees of up to £500 on qualifying transfers. Defined benefit transfers worth over £30,000 need regulated financial advice.
How up to date are these charges?
Every figure comes from our individual provider reviews, which we check against each provider's published charges. Charges do change, for example Hargreaves Lansdown cut its fees in March 2026 and Interactive Investor changed its plans in February 2026, and AJ Bell cut its Ready-made Pension fee to 0.35% in October 2026, so always confirm with the provider before you decide.
Do providers pay to appear higher in the table?
No. The order is worked out from the charges alone, using the same assumptions for every provider. Some links on our site may earn us a commission, which never changes the ranking.
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Jamie Kyte APFS
Jamie Kyte APFS is a Chartered Financial Planner and Independent Financial Adviser with over a decade of experience helping people plan for retirement. He specialises in retirement income planning, pension drawdown and helping clients make confident decisions about when they can afford to stop working.
Jamie holds the Chartered Financial Planner title awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute, alongside the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (Level 6) and the Diploma in Financial Planning (Level 4). He is the founder of When Can I Retire? and Kyte Financial Planning.
Kyte Financial Planning is an Appointed Representative of ValidPath Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can verify Jamie’s regulatory status on the FCA Register and connect with him on LinkedIn.
More from JamieThis comparison is for information and education only and is not financial advice. Pension and investment values can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. Charges are taken from our provider reviews and can change at any time, so always check the provider's current charges before making a decision. If you're unsure what's right for you, speak to a regulated financial adviser.