Why choose Lightyear
Lightyear is a great choice for long-term investors, not least because of its low fees including commission-free ETFs. As someone conscious about safeguarding the value of my savings, I also appreciated the high interest Lightyear pays on uninvested cash. On top of that, it has one of the finest mobile apps I’ve ever tested. Lightyear is not an ideal fit for active traders, though, as it offers no derivative products and its charting capabilities are fairly basic.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ Commission-free ETF and low commission on stock trades ❖ High interest on uninvested cash ❖ Quick account opening ❖ Easy-to-use mobile trading platform | ❖ Missing asset classes (e.g. options or funds) ❖ Only email support available ❖ Lack of educational tools |
Lightyear at a glance
| 🗺 Country of regulation | UK, Estonia |
|---|---|
| 💰 US stock fee | 0.1%, max $1 per trade |
| 💰 Inactivity fee charged | No |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 💵 Available base currencies | GBP, EUR, USD, HUF |
| 💵 Conversion fee of deposits in non-base currency | 0.35% currency conversion fee |
| 💳 Deposit with bank card | Available |
| 🕖 Time to open an account | 1 day |
| 🎮 Demo account provided | No |
| 🛍️ Products offered | Stock, ETF |
Fees
Score: 4.7/5
Lightyear has commission-free ETFs and low stock fees, and also pays high interest on univested cash. There are no account, inactivity, custody or withdrawal fees. However, there is a 0.35% FX conversion fee and a 0.5% fee for card deposits above a certain limit.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ Low stock fee ❖ Commission-free ETFs ❖ High interest on cash ❖ No inactivity or custody fee | ❖ 0.35% FX fee and 0.5% card fee after a limit |
We compared Lightyear‘s fees with two similar brokers we selected, Trading 212 and Revolut. These competitors were selected based on objective factors like products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed comparison of Lightyear alternatives.
Low stock and ETF commission
Lightyear US stock fees are less than half of the industry average. US stock fees are calculated as follows: 0.1%, max $1 per trade
| Broker | US stock |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | $1.0 |
| Trading 212 | $0.0 |
| Revolut | $5.4 |
It's extremely great that Lightyear provides commission-free ETFs.
Low mutual fund commission
Lightyear Mutual fund fees are about half of the industry average. Mutual fund fees are calculated as follows: 0.30% under €1 million, 0.20% between €1 million and €25 million and 0.09% for amounts above €25 million
| Broker | Mutual fund |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | $6.5 |
| Trading 212 | – |
| Revolut | – |
No inactivity fee, low withdrawal fee
There is no account, inactivity, or withdrawal fee.
There is also no fee for bank transfer deposits. However, debit card/Apple Pay/Google Pay payments have a lifetime free allowance of only €500. It means that if you reach this limit, you will be charged 0.5% for deposits.
| Broker | Inactivity fee | Withdrawal fee |
|---|---|---|
| Lightyear | $0 | |
| Trading 212 | $0 | |
| Revolut | $0 |
There is also a 0.35% FX fee if you trade a stock denominated in a currency other than the cash you invest (e.g. if you hold USD but trade a EUR-based stock).
| Lightyear | Trading 212 | Revolut | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion fee | 35.0 | 32.5 | 45 |
Unlike some other brokers, Lightyear allows you to hold multiple currencies at the same time. This is great because you can easily avoid FX conversion by holding the currencies you need for investments (e.g. holding USD if you invest in US stocks).
Safety
Lightyear is regulated by authorities in Estonia and in the UK. US stocks are protected up to the value of $500,000, while non-US assets and cash are protected up to €20,000. On the negative side, Lightyear is not listed on any exchange and does not have a banking license.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ Majority of clients belong to a top-tier financial authority ❖ US stocks are protected up to $500k | ❖ Does not hold a banking license ❖ Not listed on stock exchange |
Is Lightyear regulated?
Yes, Lightyear Europe is regulated directly by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA).
There is an indirect regulation in the UK. Lightyear Financial Ltd is an appointed representative of RiskSave Technologies Ltd, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Lightyear is working on getting a license from FCA.
Is Lightyear safe?
To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:
- how you are protected if something goes wrong
- the background of the broker.
How you are protected
Trading US stocks with Lightyear goes through its US partner, Alpaca Trading, therefore your US shares are protected up to $500,000 under the US Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
Lightyear's European legal entity handles non-US investments. This entity enjoys €20,000 Estonian investor protection.
| Country of clients | Protection amount | Regulator | Legal entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| All clients | $500,000 for US stocks €20,000 for non-US assets and cash | Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA) | Lightyear Europe AS |
It's also important that customer assets (securities and cash) are fully segregated. This means if the broker goes to bankruptcy, you can still access your assets.
Background
Lightyear is based in the UK and was founded in 2020. Lightyear Financial Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
Deposit and withdrawal
Score: 3.6/5
Lightyear‘s deposits and withdrawals are user-friendly and mostly free of charge. You can hold multiple currencies at the same time, which can save you currency conversion. On the negative side, only bank transfers are available for withdrawal.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ Free withdrawal ❖ Multicurrency account ❖ Debit card available | ❖ Only bank transfer for withdrawal ❖ 0.5% card deposit fee after a limit |
Account base currencies
At Lightyear, you can choose from the following 4 base currencies: GBP, EUR, USD, HUF.
This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Trading 212 and Revolut offer more base currencies.
| Broker | Number of base currencies |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | 4 |
| Trading 212 | 12 |
| Revolut | 36 |
Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you won't have to pay a conversion fee.
A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.
Deposit fees and options
Lightyear charges no deposit fees.
Payments through cards (debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay) have a lifetime free allowance of €500/£500, which is not much. After reaching the limit, there is a high 0.5% fee charged.
| Broker | Bank transfer |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | |
| Trading 212 | |
| Revolut |
A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with a credit/debit card is instant. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.
There are a lot of deposit options at Lightyear, including electronic wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDeal.
You can find below a screenshot from Lightyear's website that presents the length and fees of different deposit methods.
Lightyear review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit
Lightyear withdrawal fees and options
Lightyear charges no withdrawal fees. For withdrawals, you can use only bank transfers.
| Broker | Bank transfer |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | |
| Trading 212 | |
| Revolut |
You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.
How long does it take to withdraw money from Lightyear? We tested the bank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.
How do you withdraw money from Lightyear?
- Log in to the mobile trading platform.
- Click on “Cash balance”.
- Select the currency and enter the amount you wish to withdraw.
- Add the bank transfer details (if you haven't added them previously).
- Initiate the withdrawal.
Account opening
Score: 5/5
Account opening at Lightyear is fast, fully digital, and user-friendly. It's also great that you can start with any amount. Corporate accounts are available as well.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ Fast ❖ Fully digital ❖ No minimum deposit | None |
Can you open an account?
No, you can't open an account at Lightyear if you live in the United States!
the United States
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Capital at risk
What is the minimum deposit at Lightyear?
The required Lightyear minimum deposit is $0.
Account types
Lightyear provides accounts for individuals. In addition, corporate accounts are available for Estonian private limited companies.
How to open your account
The account opening process takes roughly 15 minutes and it's extremely user-friendly. The verification process is really fast, our account was verified within 1 hour.
Thesteps of opening an account at Lightyear:
- Download the app on your mobile phone.
- Provide your phone number, where you'll receive a confirmation code.
- Give your personal details, like name, date of birth, and email address.
- Add your address and nationality.
- Add tax details.
- Provide some data about your source of wealth.
- Finish the verification with your national ID and a selfie.
To verify your identity and residency, you may need to upload your national ID. You can upload the following documents:
- Proof of identity: national ID / Passport / Driving license / Residence permits
- Proof of residency: Utility bill (e.g. electricity, water, gas, telephone or internet bill) / Bank/credit card statement / Residence permit if your address is listed on it / Signed rental agreement / Document issued by an acceptable public (government) authority e.g. municipality bill, social insurance statement, or local government registry extract
Lightyear review – Account opening
Mobile app
Score: 4.8/5
Lightyear has a user-friendly and well-designed mobile trading platform, with an efficient search function and with nicely made asset groups. However, you can't use stop or advanced order types.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ User-friendly ❖ Good search function ❖ Price alerts ❖ Well-designed | ❖ Limited order types |
Lightyear offers an in-house developed mobile trading platform with a nice design.
The mobile trading platform is available in English on both iOS and Android. We tested the platform on Android.
Look and feel
The Lightyear mobile trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed. You'll become familiar with the platform within seconds.
Lightyear review – Mobile trading platform
Login and security
Lightyear provides a safer, two-step login for its mobile platform.
The first time you log in, you get an SMS with a verification code.
You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.
Search functions
The search functions are good.
You can search by asset name or asset class. We liked the categorization as well. You can browse assets by type (ETF or stock), popularity, company type, industry or country of origin (e.g. UK, US).
Lightyear review – Mobile trading platform – Search
Placing orders
You can use the following order types on the mobile trading platform:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
We also liked that you can set a recurring order. You can set up orders to repeat daily, weekly, or monthly. This is a great feature if you focus on a dollar-cost investing strategy.
Stop-loss orders and other more advanced order types are not available. Order time limits are not available either.
Lightyear review – Mobile trading platform – Order panel
Alerts and notifications
You can set alerts and notifications on the Lightyear mobile platform.
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Capital at risk
Desktop platform
Score: 3/5
Lightyear‘s web trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed. On the other hand, the platform is not customizable, only market orders are available, and price alerts are missing.
| ✅ Pro | ❌ Cons |
| ❖ User-friendly ❖ Well-designed platform | ❖ Limited customizability (for charts, workspace) ❖ Limited order types ❖ No price alerts |
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Capital at risk
Product selection
Score: 2.1/5
Lightyear has a limited product portfolio that covers only stocks and ETFs. There are no other asset classes available, like mutual funds, bonds, or options.
| Broker | Stocks |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | |
| Trading 212 | |
| Revolut |
This selection is average compared to competing brokers.
Stocks and ETFs
Lightyear gives access to US, UK, and EU stocks. Also, ETFs listed on EU exchanges are available. You can also invest in some non-American companies, which have American Depositary Receipts (ADR) that are listed on US exchanges, like Barclays or Alibaba. Lightyear offers US stock trading through Alpaca Trading.
It's also great that you can invest in fractional US shares. This is great if you have smaller amounts to invest or don't want to invest in stocks with a high share price. Fractional shares are only available to US stocks, but not to EU stocks/ETFs.
Lightyear curates the list of stocks available based on the preferences of its community, but bigger names like Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, Google are, of course, all available.
| Broker | Stock markets (#) |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | 7 |
| Trading 212 | 15 |
| Revolut | 3 |
Funds
Lightyear offers Blackrock money market funds to trade.
| Broker | Fund providers (#) |
|---|---|
| Lightyear | 1 |
| Trading 212 | – |
| Revolut | – |
FAQ
Lower fees, lower costs?
We detailed this in our Lightyear fees article.
What about the minimum deposit?
Our ultimate guide to the Lightyear minimum deposit is updated regularly.
How to start your Lightyear account?
Look no further than our evaluation of the Lightyear account opening.
How's their trading app?
Here's our expert view after checking the Lightyear trading app.
Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?
All you need to know about the Lightyear customer service.
Legit or scam?
Is Lightyear legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.
Free or premium? Or both?
A glance at actual costs and whether Lightyear is really free.
Is this broker good for beginners?
We checked it in Is Lightyear good for beginners.
Should you buy your silver bullets on Lightyear?
Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on Lightyear guide
I want to trade options, are they available at Lightyear?
We explored the topic in Can you trade options on Lightyear?
What is the minimum account balance at Lightyear?
Check out the current account balance requirements at Lightyear in our What is the minimum account balance at Lightyear article.
Looking for commission and fees data for Lightyear?
We collected them in Lightyear commission and fees.
How do you withdraw money from Lightyear?
We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on Lightyear.