If you hold London Stock Exchange shares alongside US tech, global ETFs and a bit of crypto, the right portfolio tracker has to speak GBP, handle your ISA and SIPP next to a general investment account, and show your foreign holdings without hiding the currency swing. This guide compares six trackers UK investors actually use, with real prices, honest limitations and a checklist you can run yourself.
What does a UK investor actually need from a portfolio tracker?
A UK investor needs a tracker that shows London Stock Exchange (LSE) prices in GBP, holds US and global positions in the same view, and separates the currency gain or loss from the share gain. A portfolio tracker is software that records what you own, values it in real time, and reports your total return across accounts, brokers and currencies in one place.
Most UK portfolios are not single-wrapper, single-currency affairs. A typical setup mixes:
- LSE-listed shares and investment trusts, priced in pence or pounds, sometimes in an ISA.
- US and global stocks and ETFs, priced in USD, often in a SIPP or a general investment account (GIA).
- Crypto, held on an exchange or in self-custody, priced around the clock.
The hard part is not listing them. It is valuing a USD holding in GBP honestly, so a 20% share rise and a 5% sterling move do not blur into one confusing number. Few free tools get this right.
Why wrappers matter for your tracker, not just your broker
UK wrappers change your tax, not your share price, so a tracker should at least let you group holdings by account. The ISA and Lifetime ISA shelter gains and dividends; the SIPP shelters a pension pot; the GIA is taxable and is where HMRC self-assessment, the capital gains allowance and the dividend allowance come into play. A tracker that mixes a taxable GIA and a tax-free ISA into one blob makes your real position harder to read.
What is the UK landscape you should research before signing up?
Before choosing a tracker, map the UK tools and accounts it has to work with, because coverage of these is what separates a global app from a usable one. The names below are the ones you will check against any tracker's import and pricing support.
Wrappers and accounts
- ISA (Stocks and Shares ISA) and the Lifetime ISA.
- SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension).
- General investment account (GIA), the taxable catch-all.
UK brokers
- Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell and Interactive Investor, the big full-service platforms.
- Trading 212 and Freetrade, the commission-light app brokers.
- Vanguard UK, for index funds and ETFs.
Tools people already use
Many UK investors start with Yahoo Finance, a Google Sheets model, Sharesight, or just the broker apps themselves. Each works up to a point; the point is usually multi-currency, alerts, or consolidating several brokers. If you want the fuller argument for moving off a spreadsheet, our portfolio tracker versus spreadsheet comparison lays out where manual models break.
Six portfolio trackers compared for UK investors
Here are six trackers a UK investor realistically considers, with the one fact that matters most: price, free tier, strength, and the catch. Prices are shown in the currency each tool publishes and are not converted.
| Tool | Price | Free tier | Best for / Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PortfolioTrackr | Starter USD 9/mo, Pro USD 19/mo, Lifetime USD 299 once | 3-day trial, everything in Starter, no card | LSE + global + crypto in GBP with currency gain split out; priced in USD not GBP |
| Sharesight | See their site | Yes, limited holdings | Dividend and tax reporting across markets; alerts and crypto breadth are not its focus |
| Simply Wall St | Premium 119.40/yr, Unlimited 239.40/yr | 1 portfolio, 10 holdings | Reading a stock's fundamentals at a glance; holding caps and yearly-only billing |
| Getquin | Premium EUR 89.99/yr, Wealth EUR 149.99/yr | Yes, unlimited broker connections | A real social and community layer; EUR-first, not built around UK wrappers |
| Stock Events | Pro USD 49.99/yr; Connect sync +USD 0.99/wk | Free, 15 stocks | Dividend and events calendar; auto-sync is a separate paid add-on |
| Ghostfolio | Premium USD 48/yr; self-host free | Yes, cloud Basic | Privacy and self-hosting; no native iOS app, setup effort on you |
For a broader, non-UK-specific run through many of the same tools, see our data-driven comparison of six trackers.
How does each tool hold up for a UK portfolio?
The short version: each tool is strong at one thing and stops somewhere specific for a UK investor juggling LSE, US holdings and wrappers. Here is where.
Sharesight
Sharesight is the tool most UK investors reach for when they care about dividend and tax reporting. It handles multiple markets, tracks dividend income and franking-style detail well, and supports LSE listings. Where it stops for some UK users is price alerts and crypto depth: it is built around performance and tax reporting, not minute-by-minute level alerts to your phone. Pricing is tiered, so check their site for the current plan that covers your holding count.
Simply Wall St
Simply Wall St is best at making a stock's fundamentals instantly readable, condensing valuation, growth, financial health and dividends into a single visual across 120,000+ stocks. For a UK portfolio its limits are the holding caps (the free tier is one portfolio of 10 holdings, Premium is three portfolios of 30 each) and yearly-only billing. It is a research tool with portfolio features, not a GBP consolidation hub.
Getquin
Getquin's standout is its community, with portfolio sharing and per-stock forums on a usable free tier that includes unlimited broker connections. The catch for UK users is that it is EUR-first and built around DACH-market habits rather than UK wrappers like the ISA and SIPP by name. If you value the social layer, it is unique; if you want wrapper-aware GBP tracking, it is not the natural fit.
Stock Events
Stock Events shines at the dividend and events calendar, with a forward payout view, yield-on-cost and earnings alerts in a polished mobile app. The thing to watch is that auto broker sync is a separate add-on (Connect at USD 0.99 a week) on top of Pro, so full sync plus Pro lands near USD 100 a year. Manual and watchlist use is generous on the free tier at 15 stocks.
Ghostfolio
Ghostfolio is best for privacy and self-hosting: the full product runs on your own server, open-source, and you can sign up anonymously. The trade-off is effort. There is no native iOS app, the managed cloud Basic tier omits the portfolio summary and allocations, and self-hosting means you maintain it. For a hands-on UK investor who wants control, it is compelling; for most, it is work.
Where PortfolioTrackr fits, and where it does not
PortfolioTrackr is built for the mixed portfolio this guide describes: LSE shares in GBP, US and global holdings beside them, and crypto in the same view. More on that below. Its honest limitation for a UK investor is that it is priced in USD, not GBP, and it is not a deep fundamentals-research or social tool the way Simply Wall St or Getquin are.
How should UK investors think about foreign dividend withholding and tax?
Foreign dividends can be taxed at source before you ever see them, and the form that reduces US withholding to the treaty level is the W-8BEN. We will name the concepts and leave every rate out, because rates change and a wrong number in a tax guide is worse than none.
- For US shares, your broker usually has you sign a W-8BEN so your US dividends are taxed at the UK treaty rate rather than the full non-treaty rate.
- Inside an ISA or SIPP, UK tax on gains and dividends is sheltered, but foreign withholding rules still apply at source on the foreign side.
- In a taxable GIA, your gains and dividends may feed into HMRC self-assessment, against the capital gains allowance and the dividend allowance.
A good tracker helps here by recording each dividend at the pay-date exchange rate and each trade at its own date's rate, so your records line up with what HMRC expects. PortfolioTrackr converts the cost of a foreign holding at the rate of the day it was bought, the value at today's rate, dividends at the pay-date rate, and its tax report shows the rate on every row. None of this is tax advice; it is record-keeping that makes your own return simpler to file.
How does PortfolioTrackr fit a UK portfolio specifically?
PortfolioTrackr supports the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with prices in GBP, holds multi-currency portfolios with every value convertible to GBP, and shows the currency gain or loss as its own line so a sterling move never hides inside a share return. That currency split is the feature most free tools lack.
The specifics a UK investor can rely on:
- LSE in GBP, alongside US and global markets. See the full list of supported markets and exchanges for coverage.
- Cost converted at the purchase-day rate, value at today's rate, and the currency difference shown separately.
- Price alerts at levels you set, checked once a minute while the market is open and around the clock for crypto, sent by WhatsApp, Telegram, email or push. The LSE trades Monday to Friday and skips the Saturday and Sunday weekend, so stock alerts pause when the market is closed; see the London Stock Exchange trading hours and holidays and set up WhatsApp and Telegram alerts from there.
- Direct broker sync with Alpaca, Bybit and Interactive Brokers on every plan, and 42 brokers through the SnapTrade bridge on Pro or Lifetime. Manual entry, voice, text, CSV and screenshot import work on every plan. More on importing in our guide to connecting a brokerage account to a tracker.
- Pricing is a 3-day free trial with everything in Starter and no card, then Starter USD 9 a month, Pro USD 19 a month, or Lifetime USD 299 once; current figures are on the pricing page.
The apps for iPhone and Android keep the same GBP view in your pocket. Alerts report status against your own levels, still below target, Target 1 reached, or stop-loss level reached, and nothing more. PortfolioTrackr does not give buy or sell signals.
Where it is not the right tool: if you mainly want deep fundamentals research with analyst estimates, or a social feed to discuss stocks, a dedicated research or community app will serve you better.
How to choose a UK portfolio tracker: the checklist
Run any tracker, including this one, through the same questions before you pay. None of these tell you what to buy; they tell you whether the tool fits your portfolio.
- Does it price LSE holdings correctly in GBP, in pence or pounds as listed?
- Can it hold US and global positions next to UK ones and convert everything to GBP?
- Does it separate the currency gain or loss from the share gain, or blend them?
- Can you group holdings by ISA, SIPP and GIA so your taxable and sheltered accounts read clearly?
- Does it record dividends and trades at the right-date exchange rate for your HMRC self-assessment records?
- Does it import from your broker, whether by sync, CSV or screenshot, without forcing a connection you do not want?
- Are the alerts, delivery channels and crypto coverage what you actually need?
- Is the price, in whatever currency it is billed, worth it versus the free tier you would otherwise use?
Investors outside the UK can run the same checklist locally: our Australia tracker guide and Canada tracker guide apply it to those markets.
The bottom line
The best UK portfolio tracker is the one that shows your LSE and global holdings in GBP, splits out the currency gain, and keeps records your HMRC self-assessment can use, while fitting the way you hold across ISA, SIPP and GIA. Sharesight leans on tax reporting, Simply Wall St on research, Getquin on community, Stock Events on dividends, and Ghostfolio on privacy. PortfolioTrackr covers the LSE in GBP with the currency split, level alerts by WhatsApp or Telegram, and flexible import on a 3-day free trial. Run the checklist, use the free tiers and trials, and decide for yourself.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best portfolio tracker for UK investors in 2026?
The best UK tracker is the one that prices LSE shares in GBP, holds US and global holdings beside them, and separates the currency gain from the share gain. PortfolioTrackr does all three, with level alerts by WhatsApp or Telegram and a 3-day free trial. Sharesight, Simply Wall St and Getquin each lead on tax, research or community respectively.
Can a portfolio tracker show my ISA and SIPP separately?
Yes, a good tracker lets you group holdings into separate portfolios so your ISA, SIPP and taxable GIA read clearly rather than blending into one number. This matters because the ISA and SIPP shelter UK tax while the GIA feeds HMRC self-assessment. Most trackers support this through multiple portfolios or accounts.
How do UK investors track US stocks and dividends in GBP?
Use a multi-currency tracker that converts each US holding to GBP and records dividends at the pay-date exchange rate. PortfolioTrackr converts the cost at the purchase-day rate and the value at today's rate, shows the currency gain as its own line, and lists the rate on every tax-report row for your HMRC records.
Do I need to sign a W-8BEN to track US shares in my portfolio?
The W-8BEN is filed with your broker to reduce US dividend withholding to the UK treaty level, not with your tracker. Your tracker simply records the dividends you receive. Signing the form happens at account setup; many UK brokers prompt you automatically. This is record-keeping context, not tax advice.
Is there a free portfolio tracker that supports the London Stock Exchange?
Several tools offer free tiers that include LSE listings, including Simply Wall St, Getquin, Stock Events and Ghostfolio, though each caps holdings or features. PortfolioTrackr offers a 3-day free trial with everything in Starter and no card, covering the LSE in GBP, so you can test the full currency-split view before paying.