To know what works well and what other brands are doing in this space I felt it would be beneficial to run a competitor analysis.
T212 is currently my brokerage of choice, and one thing I've noticed is that they genuinely give UX the time and attention it deserves. The app is frequently updated to improve the overall experience, though admittedly, some updates initially make things worse. That said, the team are quick to take on feedback and course correct. The design itself is sleek and modern, though it features little to no motion. Where they do lean into visual design is with illustrations, used for moments like a successful deposit or a scheduled action, which act as friendly, reassuring affirmations that let the user know their interaction was a success. Overall, I think T212 would be a great foundation to base my own brokerage app on and build out from there.
Commission-free investing for everyone | Trading 212
Robinhood is a much more widely recognised brokerage, primarily used in the US, though they've recently introduced an ISA for UK users. As a product, it isn't as competitive as T212; the fees are higher and the tools are more limited. Where Robinhood does have the edge, in my opinion, is in its UX and design. It incorporates more motion than T212 and feels like a brand that has been far more considered and intentional in its identity. These details alone can significantly shift how a user perceives and trusts a product. What I'd look to take from Robinhood is their design philosophy, specifically how they approach building for investing. They adopt a reductive, simplified aesthetic that complements the nature of investing well, pairing it back to what matters most: the numbers.
Robinhood: Commission-free Stock Trading & Investing App
Freetrade is one I haven't personally used, so I can only speak to it from the outside. It's a UK-based brokerage focused on beginner investors, and from what I can gather, design is something they take seriously, they've recently gone through a full rebrand and the app has a reputation for feeling intuitive and clean. Visually it feels the most expressive of the three, leaning into colour and illustration more boldly than both T212 and Robinhood. I'd place it somewhere between the two, it has Robinhood's design ambition without quite matching its level of polish. That said, I haven't used it first-hand, so it's difficult to say how it truly feels in practice.