Lightyear Review 2024

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.

Pros

Commission-free ETF and low commission on stock trades
High interest on uninvested cash
Quick account opening
Easy-to-use mobile trading platform

Cons

Missing asset classes (e.g. options or funds)
Only email support available
Lack of educational tools

Fees

Score: 4.8/5

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.

Pros

Low stock fee
Commission-free ETFs
High interest on cash
No inactivity or custody fee

Cons

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

Lightyear stock and ETF commission
Broker	US stock
Lightyear	$1.0
Trading 212	$0.0
Revolut	$5.4

It’s extremely great that Lightyear provides commission-free ETFs.

No inactivity fee, no 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.

Lightyear inactivity, withdrawal and other fees
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 FX conversion for a $10,000 conversion
	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).

Check out this article for a detailed analysis of all the fees, commissions and other charges levied by Lightyear.

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