A platform that lets you build an ETF portfolio for nothing sounds like a trick. Plenty of people suspect it is, and before they open an account they ask the same thing: how does InvestEngine make money?
We think the answer is more interesting than the question.
It starts with a Gumtree co-founder, a robo-advice product with a customer acquisition problem, and a decision to give the core service away.
What Is InvestEngine and Who Founded It?
InvestEngine is an FCA-authorised UK investment platform, founded by Andrey Dobrynin and Gumtree co-founder Simon Crookall, that offers commission-free ETF investing on its DIY portfolios.
The operating company, InvestEngine (UK) Limited, was incorporated on 20 October 2016 and carries FCA firm reference number 801128, according to InvestEngine’s own disclosures.
The company says it launched in 2019, and its first DIY portfolio arrived in 2021.
The free model was not the original plan. Crookall told ETF Stream that the company began with a robo-advice product, then built a free DIY platform to solve “the high cost of acquisition problem”.
Free investing became the way in.
How Does InvestEngine Make Money?
InvestEngine earns from interest on uninvested client cash, a 0.25% fee on managed portfolios and educational partnerships with ETF providers, according to its help centre.
The DIY portfolio itself carries no InvestEngine charge, although ETF costs still apply. The help centre, last updated on 4 March 2026, lists operational efficiencies as a fourth point.
InvestEngine’s blog adds a useful contrast.
It says traditional brokerages earn from trading commission and so benefit when customers trade more, while InvestEngine charges no dealing commission on DIY portfolios. It also describes its approach as similar, in some ways, to that of modern digital banks.
That is the core of the InvestEngine business model: the company earns from client cash, managed portfolio fees and ETF provider partnerships rather than DIY dealing commissions.
InvestEngine Revenue Streams
InvestEngine has three income sources: interest on uninvested cash, managed portfolio fees and ETF provider partnerships, while operational efficiencies keep its costs down.
InvestEngine earns interest on cash sitting uninvested in client accounts and keeps it. The help centre says this lets the company run its platform without charging fees on DIY portfolios. Which? confirms that clients receive no interest on that cash.
Managed portfolios cost 0.25% a year and are currently closed to new clients. InvestEngine charges no management fee on the cash element of a managed portfolio, but it keeps the interest that cash earns.
The partnerships are described as educational, with joint marketing arrangements. InvestEngine does not publish what they earn, and we found no figure. Those are the InvestEngine revenue streams the company discloses.
The SIPP is the stream to leave out.
InvestEngine’s blog once called the pension a key expected revenue driver, but the company removed its SIPP platform fee in December 2024.
Efficiency helps explain how costs stay low. InvestEngine’s help centre says it processes all orders once a day, and orders placed before 2pm UK time on a working day join that day’s trading cycle.
The company says this batching keeps costs down. It cuts costs rather than adding income.
InvestEngine Fees: What Customers Actually Pay
InvestEngine charges no platform fee on DIY portfolios, ISAs or its SIPP, but ETF fund fees apply and managed portfolios cost 0.25% a year.
The table leaves out one cost.
A customer who leaves cash uninvested gives up the interest it might have earned elsewhere, because InvestEngine keeps the interest on that cash.
The company itself says this can be viewed as an indirect cost. It is not a platform fee, but it is the clearest link between what customers give up and how InvestEngine makes money.
InvestEngine’s Business Model: Why Free Works and Where It’s Limited
The InvestEngine business model works because the company earns on client cash and keeps costs low, and it has raised capital, including two Crowdcube rounds.
The first round raised £1,304,879 from 1,120 investors at a £15,614,773 pre-money valuation. The second, which closed in April 2023, raised £1.94 million from 1,134 investors at £2.66 a share and a £27,605,741 pre-money valuation.
On growth, InvestEngine says it passed £1 billion in client assets and 75,000 customers by early 2025. Outside capital sits alongside the income lines, so how InvestEngine makes money is only part of how it is funded.
The limits are easy to list.
InvestEngine is ETF-only, so it does not offer individual company shares. Cash earns clients nothing. Managed portfolios are closed to new clients.
And the free DIY product depends on InvestEngine revenue streams that sit outside it.
We have left revenue and profit figures out until we can check them against InvestEngine’s filed accounts. The next set is due at Companies House by 31 December 2026.
We think the lesson for founders is plain.
Giving away the core product only works when something else pays for it.
InvestEngine vs Trading 212 and Freetrade
The three platforms earn differently: InvestEngine from cash interest and managed fees, Trading 212 from FX fees and share lending, Freetrade from FX fees, cash interest and subscriptions.
For customers, the difference comes down to where each platform takes its cut.
InvestEngine fees stay at zero on DIY portfolios and the cost sits in cash interest, while the other two charge when you convert currency. The InvestEngine business model is built around ETFs and client balances, while Freetrade also supports individual company shares, which InvestEngine does not.
FAQs
1. Is InvestEngine really free?
InvestEngine charges no platform fee on DIY portfolios, but ETF fund fees apply and uninvested cash earns clients no interest. On InvestEngine fees, the help centre says ETF charges on DIY portfolios start from 0.03% a year and come from the ETFs themselves.
2. Does InvestEngine pay interest on cash?
No. InvestEngine keeps the interest earned on uninvested cash, and clients receive none, according to its help centre. The same applies to the cash element of managed portfolios.
3. Is InvestEngine safe?
InvestEngine is authorised and regulated by the FCA, and eligible clients may be covered by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person, per firm, subject to the scheme’s rules. InvestEngine says client money is held in segregated accounts. FSCS cover does not protect against market losses.
Also Read: How Does Trading 212 Make Money? Inside Its £277.6M Business
Sources: InvestEngine help centre and blog, Which?, FSCS, Companies House, Crowdcube, UKTN, ETF Express, ETF Stream, Money to the Masses, MoneyMagpie, Trading 212 Help Centre, Freetrade. Figures reflect the most recent available data at the time of writing. Revenue and profit figures are omitted until verified against filed accounts.
The EP+ Editorial Desk covers UK startups, founder stories, and venture capital. All editorial content is independently produced and human-reviewed before publication.
