United Kingdom offers
7 live offers, checked 2026-10-01.
UK investing apps mostly give away a share rather than cash: a randomly chosen stock or fractional share, with headline values up to £100 but most awards at the bottom of the range. The list covers the free-share and referral offers we track from FCA-authorised apps, each checked against the app's own terms.
eToro
New eToro customers in eligible countries who deposit at least US$200 (£200 in the UK) and select stocks as their trading interest get US$10 to US$500 in free stocks, scaled to the first deposit: US$10 or US$30 for deposits under US$2,500, and US$500 only from US$5,000.
Trading 212
New Trading 212 clients who open and fund an Invest, Stocks ISA or SIPP account get one randomly selected free fractional share worth 8 to 100 in the account's currency (pounds in the UK, euros in the EU; 80% are worth 8 to 25), with the cash value locked for 30 days.
Trading 212
Refer a friend to Trading 212 and both of you get a randomly selected fractional share worth 8 to 100 in your account's currency (GBP for UK accounts, EUR elsewhere), most often 8 to 25, once your friend opens an Invest or Stocks ISA account and makes the minimum deposit. The current programme ends on 3 November 2026.
Lightyear
New UK users who deposit £100 and enter promo code MMB get a free fractional US share, most often worth £10 to £20, that must stay in the account for six months, along with your £100 deposit.
Lightyear
Refer a new UK customer who deposits at least £100 within 30 days and you both get a randomly valued reward of £10 to £100, with an 80% chance of £10 to £20, locked for six months.
Freetrade
New Freetrade customers who join via a referral link and fund their account with £50 get a randomly chosen free share worth between £10 and £100, which they must hold for 180 days before cashing out.
Freetrade
Refer a friend to Freetrade and both of you get a free share worth between £10 and £100 once the friend funds £50, but proceeds are locked for 180 days.
This list covers only the brokers named in it. For every offer we track there, see Broker bonuses in United Kingdom
Most UK free-share offers use a weighted draw. Freetrade's share is worth £10 to £100, Trading 212's £8 to £100 and Lightyear's £10 to £100, but the top values are rare by design. Lightyear publishes its odds: an 80% chance of £10 to £20, 15% of £21 to £50, 3% of £55 to £75 and 2% of £76 to £100. Trading 212 says 80% of its shares are worth £8 to £25. Plan on the bottom of the range.
eToro works differently. You pick from a list of qualifying stocks, and the amount depends on the size of your first deposit, from a £200 minimum. eToro buys the shares for you, so after fees you receive slightly less than the stated amount.
Each app ties the share to a deposit and to how long you keep money in the account. Freetrade needs £50 of net funding within 30 days, and the proceeds of selling the share cannot be withdrawn for 180 days. Trading 212 lets you sell straight away but locks the cash value for 30 days. Lightyear needs a £100 deposit and keeps the reward locked for six months, during which your net funding must stay at the deposit plus the reward. eToro asks you to keep the qualifying first deposit in the account for 90 days.
Break those rules and the app can take the share back, or ask you to repay its value if you have already sold it. Read the hold period on each card before you move money you might need.
Most of these offers run through a friend's referral link, and both people get a share. Freetrade's welcome share is the receiving side of its referral scheme, so you need a link to get it. Trading 212 issues links to existing clients on a limited basis and caps each referrer at five rewards per programme. Freetrade caps referrers at ten free shares a month, and Lightyear sets its monthly limit in the app.
New customer means new to the app entirely. If you have held an account before, even briefly, you will not qualify.
It depends on the app. Freetrade puts the share in your general investment account (GIA), and Lightyear requires a GIA for monetary rewards, so those shares sit outside the ISA tax shelter. Trading 212 credits the share to the account you opened and funded, which can be a Stocks ISA; only SIPP rewards are paid into an Invest account instead. The ISA allowance for 2026/27 is £20,000; if the share lands in an ISA, ask Trading 212 whether it counts toward it.
HMRC has not published guidance specific to promotional free shares, and the apps say tax is your responsibility. Gains on shares held outside an ISA fall under capital gains tax, which has a £3,000 annual exempt amount. Keep the award records with your other investment paperwork.
All four apps operate in the UK through FCA-authorised firms: Trading 212 UK Limited (FRN 609146), Lightyear UK Ltd (FRN 987226), eToro (UK) Ltd (FRN 583263) and Freetrade Limited, now part of IG Group. You can check any firm on the FCA register before you sign up.
If an authorised investment firm fails and cannot return your assets, the FSCS covers up to £85,000 per person per firm. It does not cover falls in the value of your investments, and eToro notes that crypto is not covered.
Researched by the BrokerBonuses editorial team. Last reviewed 2026-10-01. · How we research