Fidelity vs Vanguard Junior ISA: fees, funds and transfers compared

Fidelity and Vanguard are two of the names parents come across most when looking at stocks and shares Junior ISAs. Both are large, well-established and low-cost. They're built quite differently, though, and that difference matters more than any small gap in fees.

This guide puts them side by side, adds Hargreaves Lansdown for comparison, and looks at which kind of family each tends to suit. We don't declare a winner: there isn't one for everyone. Squids-In is independent, and we don't earn anything from any provider or fund we mention.

Charges checked September 2026 against each provider's own website. Charges change, so check the current price list before opening an account.

At a glance

Fund charges come on top in every case. Sources: Fidelity, Vanguard, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Fees: what you'd actually pay

A Junior ISA has two layers of cost: the account fee (the platform's charge) and the fund's own charge. Most families holding one index fund pay no dealing charges at all.

Fidelity charges no account fee on Junior ISAs, so for a single fund the only yearly cost is the fund's charge. The Fidelity Index World Fund, for example, charges 0.12% a year.

Vanguard charges 0.15% a year. The £4-a-month minimum fee on Vanguard's adult accounts doesn't apply to Junior ISAs. Its funds charge from 0.06% to 0.79%. The FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund, a popular choice for a single global fund, charges 0.23%.

Here's what that looks like each year with one global index fund:

These aren't identical funds (the Vanguard fund includes smaller companies and emerging markets; the Fidelity fund covers large and mid-sized companies in developed markets), so this compares typical set-ups, not like with like. Our index funds guide explains the differences.

Over 18 years, a gap of around a quarter of a percent a year can add up to a couple of thousand pounds on a steady monthly payment, as our providers comparison shows. Worth knowing, but much smaller than the difference between investing and not investing.

Fund choice: wide or focused

This is the biggest real difference between the two.

Fidelity is a platform. You can buy funds from Fidelity and from many other fund companies, as well as shares, ETFs and investment trusts. If you want a particular fund from almost any big manager, Fidelity probably offers it.

Vanguard is a fund company with its own platform. You can only buy Vanguard's own funds and ETFs. The range is smaller, but it covers the basics well, including global index funds and the LifeStrategy funds, which hold a fixed mix of shares and bonds in one fund.

Hargreaves Lansdown is the widest of the three, with individual shares and bonds as well as funds, plus a lot of research for parents.

Some families find a small menu reassuring. Others like knowing they can pick anything. Neither is wrong.

Minimums: starting small

Fidelity and Hargreaves Lansdown both start from £25 a month or a £100 lump sum. Vanguard's minimums are higher: £100 a month or £500 as a lump sum.

If you'd like to start with a small monthly amount and build up, that can decide it on its own.

Transfers

Moving a Junior ISA between Fidelity and Vanguard

You can move a Junior ISA from one to the other, in either direction. Always ask the new provider to arrange it. That keeps the money inside the Junior ISA the whole way.

• Into Fidelity: Fidelity says it moves investments across as they are where it can, or sells them and moves cash where it can't. It can take up to eight weeks. Fidelity doesn't charge for transfers and says it will pay back exit fees from your old provider, up to £500
• Into Vanguard: Vanguard accepts Junior ISA transfers, including cash Junior ISAs moved into its stocks and shares Junior ISA. As it only holds its own funds, other funds would usually need to be sold and moved as cash
• Out of either: neither charges to transfer out

If the investments are sold and moved as cash, the money is out of the market for a short time. That can work for or against you, and over 18 years it rarely matters much.

Child Trust Funds

If your child was born between September 2002 and January 2011, they probably have a Child Trust Fund. Neither Fidelity nor Vanguard accepts Child Trust Fund transfers into their Junior ISAs (Fidelity's FAQ, Vanguard's Junior ISA page). Hargreaves Lansdown does.

Our guide to finding a Child Trust Fund explains the options.

Fidelity vs Hargreaves Lansdown

These two look similar on price: no account fee on Junior ISAs at either, and the same £25/£100 minimums. The differences are smaller:

• Shares and ETFs: Hargreaves Lansdown charges nothing to deal online in a Junior ISA. Fidelity charges £7.50 a deal online, or £1.50 in a regular savings plan. For funds, neither charges
• Child Trust Funds: Hargreaves Lansdown accepts them; Fidelity doesn't
• Research and tools: Hargreaves Lansdown is known for its fund research and information; some parents value that, others find it a lot to take in

For a family buying one index fund each month, the cost is likely to be almost the same.

Which suits which family?

Fidelity may suit you if:

• You want no account fee
• You'd like a wide choice of funds from different companies
• You want to start from £25 a month

Vanguard may suit you if:

• You're happy with Vanguard's own funds, such as a global index fund or LifeStrategy
• You like a small, simple menu
• You can meet the £100-a-month or £500 minimum

Hargreaves Lansdown may suit you if:

• You want no account fee and no online dealing charges, including on shares and ETFs
• You're moving a Child Trust Fund
• You'd like lots of research and choice

Whichever you choose, you can move later. The provider matters much less than starting, paying in regularly and keeping the fund's charges low.

Key points

• Fidelity: no account fee, wide choice, from £25 a month
• Vanguard: 0.15% account fee (capped at £375), Vanguard funds only, from £100 a month or £500
• Hargreaves Lansdown: no account fee, no online dealing charges, accepts Child Trust Funds
• Neither Fidelity nor Vanguard accepts Child Trust Fund transfers
• Charges checked September 2026. Check the current price list before opening

Next steps

1. Decide what you'd like to hold: one global index fund, a ready-made mix, or more choice
2. Check the current charges on each provider's own website
3. Open the account (our step-by-step guide)
4. See what regular payments could grow to in our Junior ISA calculator

Related guides:

• Junior ISA providers compared
• Index funds for Junior ISAs
• How to open a Junior ISA
• Junior ISA mistakes to avoid

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This article is for education only and isn't financial advice. Charges change, so check current figures before opening an account. The value of investments can go down as well as up.