Best CFD Brokers and Trading Platforms in the UK in 2024

Great Britain
  • Only reliable and regulated CFD providers (accounts); your funds are protected and segregated

  • Compare CFD brokers by trading features and tools, platforms, range of markets, and more

Online CFD Broker Comparison – United Kingdom

Broker
Markets
  • Common CFD Markets +
  • Cryptocurrencies

  • Options

  • Bonds and Interest Rates

  • Exchange Traded Funds

Platforms
  • Proprietary

  • TradingView
  • Mobile & Tablet

Open Account

64% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • Even though SpreadEx don’t offer MT4, they make up for it with a humongous range of stocks to choose from

  • Simple but advanced trading platform to make your trading experience as pleasant as possible

  • Access to over 10,000 markets, the Investment Trends 2023 winner of the best mobile platform and its reliability
  • SpreadEx is your ideal choice if you want to trade share CFDs

Broker
Markets
  • Common CFD Markets +
  • Options

  • Bonds and Interest Rates

Platforms
  • Proprietary AT Pro

  • WebTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • Mobile & Tablet

Open Account

69% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • Over 12,000 financial markets to choose from and trade on state of the art trading platform with free analytical and technical indicators; WebTrader and MT4 are also available to access all the markets on offer.

  • Cityindex is one of the oldest and most reputable CFD brokers with a proprietary trading platform to suit anybody’s needs.

  • Some beginners find the platform a bit overwhelming due to its extensive features and flexibility.

Broker
Markets
  • Common CFD Markets +
  • Cryptocurrencies

  • ETFs

  • Forwards

Platforms
  • cTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • MetaTrader 5

  • TradingView

  • Mobile & Tablet

Open Account

75% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • Razor sharp pricing, with some of the most competitive spreads/commissions in the industry

  • Fast execution, no dealing desk intervention and deep liquidity along with award-winning 24/7 customer support

  • Not the best broker if you want to trade exotic FX pairs or shares as only 1,200+ instruments are on offer

Broker
Markets
  • Common CFD Markets +
  • Cryptocurrencies

Platforms
  • WebTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • MetaTrader 5

  • Mobile & Tablet

Open Account

71% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • A great deal of trading tools: VPS, Traders Toolbox, Forex Calculator

  • Transparent pricing and fast execution, you get the real CFD market prices

  • It might be a great choice for the popular markets but not the best for more exotic ones

Broker
Markets
  • Common CFD Markets +
Platforms
  • WebTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • MetaTrader 5

  • Mobile & Tablet

Open Account

74% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • All clients benefit from Negative Balance Protection, so they are never at risk of losing more than their account balance

  • All clients enjoy the same fair and ethical trading conditions regardless of their net capital worth

  • A lack of markets is probably their weakest point but they offer decent spreads on the popular markets

Broker
Markets
  • Common CFD Markets +
  • Cryptocurrencies

  • ETFs

Platforms
  • xStation

  • xStation Mobile

  • No MetaTrader 4/5

Open Account

75% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • Great tools: trader’s calculator, performance statistics, sentiment

  • Fantastic trading platform: easy to use, fully customisable trading platform

  • A wide range of trading markets from a respected broker

  • Earn Interest on uninvested funds: 5% for GBP, 2% for USD, 2% for EUR cash balances

Finding a Good CFD Broker in the UK

Traders and investors of all walks of life know that it’s important to use only regulated and reputable providers but with so many CFD brokers on the market, they might be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed and confused when it comes to choosing a reliable brokerage. Depending on the trading experience and objectives, traders will have different requirements and needs and that is why it’s important to review what brokers have on offer and how to make the best use of the features and trading platforms provided; the comparison table above makes it easy to see what each CFD broker has to offer along with their pros and cons. Let’s look in more detail what to expect and how to make sure you trade only with the best CFD brokers.

Regulations

When it comes to choosing a Contracts For Difference broker that you can trust, the first vital benchmark you must consider is FCA regulation. In the UK, any broker accepting deposits is required to be regulated by the FCA as the body responsible for authorising and overseeing financial transactions, and it’s essential that you steer well clear of any UK broker who is not regulated. Companies that are registered and authorised by the FCA are as a result subject to more stringent controls, making sure traders get the fairest possible deal and preventing rogues or unfair business practices from impacting upon others’ trading success.

Choosing a CFD broker is a split-second decision for most traders, and as a result the number of traders who become quickly dissatisfied with the service level they are receiving is significant. In order to ensure your search goes fully according to plan, it’s important to remember to check for FCA authorisation as a preliminary step, in order to protect your money, your personal data and your trading portfolio from unfair, illegitimate influence.

FCA regulated brokers are authorised to do legitimate transactional business in the UK, and given the nature of CFDs it is recommended that traders look for a broker who is registered by the FCA to provide the level of certainty and security they require. We compare and review ONLY regulated CFD brokers to make it easier for traders and investors and help them save time on research.

Reputation of your CFD Broker

You wouldn’t trust your money to the first stranger you meet in the street, instead you open an account with a reputable bank so why not do the same when it comes to CFD trading? If you want to have a good broker, you need to check its reputation and what other traders have to say it. Fortunately, we’ve done the legwork for you and combed internet forums and review sites to make sure we list only reputable CFD brokers; the companies you can comfortably trade with and have a good trading experience.

Trading Costs and Spreads

Just like any other business, CFD brokers are in the business of making money and they charge their clients for every trade. It is important to understand what charges brokers have and how to minimise them in order to have a successful trading career.

CFD brokers mainly make their money from the spreads; spreads are the difference between buy and sell prices (ask and bid). Every time you place a trade you pay the spread and thus tighter spreads benefit traders. Normally, brokers will have variable spreads (unless stated otherwise) which will change depending on the underlying market conditions; we list only brokers with competitive spreads and transaction fees to make sure traders keep their trading costs down.

Overnight financing (swap rate) is a fee traders pay for holding their positions overnight, Contracts For Difference is a leveraged product, where you basically borrow money from your broker and in turn, your broker will charge you interest every night for holding your positions. This fee is usually around relevant interest rate benchmark +/-2.5% and if you plan on keeping your positions for a long time, this fee can really eat up into your profits and you might want to consider a swap free account.

Gone are the days of hidden fees such as deposit and withdrawal charge or inactivity fee, these days CFD providers try to make their charges as simple and transparent as possible.

Tradeable Instruments

What makes CFDs so attractive is the number of markets you can trade from a single account and that’s why it’s important to compare CFD brokers to make sure you can trade the markets you want. Comparison table above lists the markets each broker has to offer; every broker has common markets (indices, stocks, forex and commodities) but the number of stocks and other markets can vary considerably and can be anything between 1,000 and 20,000. Make sure your broker offers the markets you want to trade before opening a CFD account.

Features and Accounts

Normally, CFD brokers will have a number of accounts to choose from depending on your trading style, experience, and trading volume. Make sure you select the account which is most suitable for your trading needs as it will save a lot of time and confusion in the future.

If you’re not sure what account is best for you, it would be a good idea to give them a call or contact them through live chat so they could assist you. This way you get to test their customer service and end up with the right trading account; there’s no shame in asking customer support for help, there are there to assist you.

CFD Brokers in the UK

Best CFD Trading Platforms in the UK

CFD trading platform is a vital instrument which you should familiarise yourself with and spend some time practising to make sure you understand how to place trades and orders. Brokers will provide a free trading system for you to trade on but some brokers will offer you a choice of well known platforms. The choice of a trading software is entirely up to you as different people prefer different platforms but it’s better if you start trading on a platform you already know and understand or spend some time learning how to use it efficiently. You can always test drive a system by opening a free demo account and then move to a live account to trade when you’re ready.

Platform User Interface

Trading platforms have very similar designs and most of the time if you know how to use one system, you’ll be comfortable with another one so you should choose the platform you like the most. Every platform allows customisation so you can easily fine tune it and adjust it the way you want.

Range of Trading Tools

Every platform will have a set of trading tools available for traders but the range of tool can vary significantly and it’s important to use the system with the tools you need to trade successfully. Most of the platforms will have economic calendar and announcements, orders, charting software, indicators, ability to trade from the graphs and many more features. That’s where comparison table above comes handy as you can easily see what trading tools are available on each platform and what extra free features are provided by brokers.

If you are new to trading and just starting out as a CFD trader it’s important that you don’t overwhelm yourself with all the tools available; just because your trading platform has some nice tools, doesn’t mean you have to use them all at once. Use the tools rationally and only when you need them, just because your charting software has 50 indicators doesn’t mean you have to use them all for every single trade.

Order Types

Every trader should use orders, especially stop loss orders to control losses. Before you start trading make sure you understand how orders are placed to avoid confusion and frustration when you run a live trade. Different platforms handle orders differently, for example, some will ask you to set a price at which you want to exit the trade whereas others might ask for the number of “points” away from the current price. It really depends on you what orders you want to use, if any; nevertheless, orders will save you time and help you to control your emotions, so you don’t have to stay in front of a monitor watching every tick and panic when a trade goes the wrong way.

CFD Broker Choice in the UK

It’s an undeniable fact that trading with a reputable and regulated CFD broker will make your trading career much more enjoyable and profitable. That is why it’s so important that traders compare and review CFD trading platforms and providers to make sure they find the best deal on the market; it might sound complicated and tedious but it surely will pay off in the long run.

Best CFD brokers provide a safe trading environment, reliable trading platforms, outstanding customer service, and competitive pricing. Don’t leave your broker choice to chance, trade with reputable CFD brokers you can trust and rely on.

Who is the best CFD broker in the UK?

It really depends on your trading requirements, experience, and preferences and only you, as a trader, can answer which CFD broker is best for you but surely your broker should be trustworthy and regulated. When choosing a broker, it’s important that it offers the markets you want to trade with competitive spreads and commission structure.

Do I have to trade with a regulated broker?

You can trade with any CFD broker you want to but the regulations are there to protect you against unscrupulous and dishonest providers. Regulated brokers give you a greater peace of mind as they have to follow stringent requirements and rules.

Is it better to have more CFD markets?

Not necessarily, it really depends on what markets you want to trade. Most of the traders only trade commonly traded market so there’s no need for them to have thousands of stocks listed on their trading platform.

What CFD trading platform should I choose?

The best CFD platform is the one that provides all the necessary features and tools for you to implement your trading strategies and meet your trading objectives; trade on the platform you’re comfortable with.

What about CFD trading costs?

CFD market is saturated, and spreads are very low across the board. CFD brokers listed above have some of the most competitive spreads and swap rates in the UK.

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Great Britain
  • Only reliable and FCA regulated FX providers (accounts); your funds are protected by the FSCS

  • Beginner-friendly features: copy trading, market analysis, signals, chart analysis, and more

Compare Top Forex Brokers – United Kingdom

Broker
Platforms
  • Proprietary AT Pro

  • WebTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • Mobile & Tablet

Features
  • Free Trading Signals

  • Strategy Tools

  • Training Portal

  • NO EU Customers

Open Account

69% of retail investors lose money when trading forex (CFDs) with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • CityIndex are one of the oldest forex brokers on the market and a good choice for both new and experienced traders

  • Over 80 currency pairs, intelligent trading tools, trading ideas, and extensive market research

  • A great choice for traders who require a lot of free trading tools and forex signals

Broker
Platforms
  • cTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • MetaTrader 5

  • Mobile & Tablet

Features
  • Copy Trading

  • Smart Trader Tools

  • cTrader Automate

  • Free Autochartist

Open Account

75% of retail investors lose money when trading forex (CFDs) with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • Pepperstone offer tight spreads, fast and reliable execution of trades and orders

  • A good fit for those who trade the news with the free market analysis and research on offer

  • Trade over 60 currency pairs and currency index with a broker regulated by 6 major financial regulators

Broker
Platforms
  • WebTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • MetaTrader 5

  • Mobile & Tablet

Features
  • 7 Deposit Methods

  • Trading Tools

  • Transparent Pricing

  • Market Reports

Open Account

71% of retail investors lose money when trading forex (CFDs) with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • FP Markets offer tools for both beginners and experts with a number of trading platforms and extra functionality

  • A range of tools and features for experienced traders: Virtual Private Servers (VPS), ECN pricing, auto-trading, and scalping

  • Spreads start as low as 0.0 pips, raw pricing, fast execution, and no trading restrictions

Broker
Platforms
  • Proprietary

  • TradingView
  • Mobile & Tablet

  • NO MetaTrader 4/5

Features
  • Chart Analysis

  • Market Updates

  • 10,000+ Global Markets

  • Attractive Margin Rates

Open Account

64% of retail investors lose money when trading forex (CFDs) with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • Spreadex offer basic functionality and trading platform for forex traders, making it a better choice for novice traders

  • Access to over 10,000 markets, the Investment Trends 2023 winner of the best mobile platform and its reliability
  • Ultra low spreads from 0.6 pts on EUR/USD and 0.9 pts on GBP/USD, a great range of forex markets
Broker
Platforms
  • xStation

  • xStation Mobile

  • No MetaTrader 4/5

Features
  • Customisable Platform

  • Charts Trading

  • Trading Academy

  • Market Analysis

Open Account

75% of retail investors lose money when trading forex (CFDs) with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • XTB are a great choice for beginners, offering an innovative and easy-to-use trading platform, competitive spreads and margins

  • Beginners will also benefit from the trading academy, webinars, forex market news and analysis

  • As one of the biggest forex brokers, XTB offer superior customer support and an intuitive trading platform

  • Earn Interest on uninvested funds: 5% for GBP, 2% for USD, 2% for EUR cash balances

Broker
Platforms
  • WebTrader

  • MetaTrader 4

  • MetaTrader 5

  • Mobile & Tablet

Features
  • 25+ Payment Methods

  • 30 Languages Supported

  • Just 1000 Markets

Open Account

74% of retail investors lose money when trading forex (CFDs) with this provider

Notable Benefits
  • XM are probably more suitable for more experienced FX traders who can take advantage of resources on offer

  • Free access to forex trading signals, daily technical analysis, and forex market research

Choosing Your Forex Broker in the UK

Choosing the best forex broker can be a challenging endeavour, especially with the myriad of great choices from around the world. An important first step is to do your research thoroughly and carefully. The last thing that you want to happen is to trade with a company that doesn’t understand your needs. At the end of the day, this is your hard-earned money, and you need to be able to choose based on your preferences and personal requirements. Here are some important questions to ask yourself when comparing forex brokers:

Is It Trustworthy?

Trustworthiness and reliability are two important factors that you should look for in a forex provider. Trading currencies with a broker that you trust is crucial for success in the international currency market. Your broker’s goal should be to help you gain profits and not incur losses. Check online reviews on sites like TrustPilot or visit forex forums to see what other trader friends have to say about the broker. If they’re satisfied, then there’s a good chance that you’ll be, too. Even though, the list above contains only trusted and reputable brokers, you should do your own homework.

Is It Regulated by a Competent and Recognised Authority?

It is important for a forex brokerage firm to be licensed, regulated and to follow monetary regulations laid out by prominent financial authorities. This is for your protection, If the company is authorised and regulated, then you are assured that your funds are secure. To find a broker that is licensed, they need to comply with governing bodies. When you compare forex brokers, check if they are regulated by checking their licence number on their website. In this case your forex broker (and eventually, your trading account) should be authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

What Are Their Policies?

The best forex brokers adhere to several strict policies. The stricter the policies, the more secure and pleasant your trading experience will be. Brokers should post their initial deposit requirements, account security measures (your funds will be held in a segregated bank account to protect your deposits), account levels, and ways to deposit and withdraw money. All this information should be clearly laid out. If a prospective client is unsure of a specific policy or has questions, the FX broker should be able to provide a way to contact them and have their queries answered.

What Are the Trading Costs? Spreads? Fees on Deposits?

Forex brokers might charge the following fees (not necessarily all of them): commission, spreads, and interest rate swap. Additional costs include overnight financing charges, account fees, and fees for deposits and withdrawals. Overnight financing charges can either be a refund (net credit) or a loss (net debit). Forex brokerage firms usually have two fee models for traders: the commission model and the spread model. The commission fee is a fixed amount, and it largely depends on the trading volume. In this model, traders don’t need to pay an additional spread other than the commission. The spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of currencies. In the spread model, the broker earns money through an additional spread. Depending on trading supply and demand, the spread can widen or narrow. Depending on how often you plan to trade, those fees and spreads might add up to a considerable sum of money; here, you must apply your trading plan to figure out which forex trading account is best for you.

What fees you should expect from a reputable forex broker:

  • Tight spreads, competitive commission
  • $0 inactivity or account fees
  • $0 deposit and withdrawal fees
  • Overnight funding fee of (2.5% +/- LIBOR)

Types of Orders. What Are Its Different Trade Entry Types?

When you examine the trade execution screen of a trading platform (this can be accessed if you open a demo account or have a live account with another provider), you will see different trade entry types and stop orders. These are all safety provisions for the trader, designed to protect and help the trader. The forex broker should have a Limit Order, Market Order, Stop Order, Stop-Limit Order, Guaranteed Stop-Loss Order, and a Close All order.

Forex Trading Platforms

Gone are those times when an FX brokerage was someone that you dealt with over the phone. The advent of the internet has changed all that. Now, traders can use forex trading platforms downloaded on their phones or laptops or directly done on web browsers from their computers. With a number of forex platforms on the markets on top of the proprietary ones, you’re here for a treat. At this point, you should know which trading platform is best for you and you feel comfortable with.

Additional Features and Analyses

As it was mentioned before, forex market is super competitive with hundreds of brokers vying for new business with new marketing tricks and promotions. Since deposit bonuses were banned by the regulators, brokerages had to adapt and come up with new ideas. Depending on your trading style and strategies you should opt for a broker which offers you the necessary tools for free; for example, if you’re not sure how to trade you might want to decide to follow more experienced traders through copy trading or use free forex signals to save time on research. The possibilities are endless now. Comparison table above shows which extra features are offered by each broker.

Choosing the Right Trading Platform in the UK

Wherever you are, there are forex brokers that you can trade with. Brokers have various trading platforms that offer a range of financial offerings, trading education, research, customised features, and technical indicators. The best forex platforms allow investors to have a smooth trading experience. They also offer their clients more trading tools that are specifically designed to understand volatile currencies.

When you find a forex broker, you must make informed decisions about how and to trade and invest using their system. You can use your desktop or laptop, tablet, or even your mobile phone for more accessibility. Here’s what you should look out for:

It Should Have a User-friendly Interface

Forex traders should be able to have a great trading experience. With just one look at the platform, traders should know what to click and where to go. Luckily, nowadays, the software is beginner-friendly, intuitive, and easy-to-use.

It Should Provide Basic Functionalities and Additional Features

Forex traders of varying levels use the platform, so it should be flexible enough to accommodate beginners. It should be simple enough for novice traders to understand, with intuitive functions that understand how traders navigate through a site or a mobile app. However, it should also be customizable and should have options for more sophisticated features that cater to veteran traders.

Adequate Support Should Be Provided

Online forex brokers usually provide a helpline for clients who have queries and who need assistance in various areas. A lot of them provide a live online chat feature with an actual broker to advice clients while they’re trading. Most brokers also provide email support, FAQs, and online community forums so that traders can discuss their trades with others.

It Should Provide Trading Education and Research

Some of the best forex brokers in the world offer educational and training opportunities for traders. These usually come in the form of FAQs, training videos, and extensive informational articles. Forex brokers usually offer novice traders a chance to practice by offering demo accounts. It allows prospective clients to trade forex pairs using play money. This is an invaluable resource that allows the trader to examine the quality of the broker’s bid/ask pricing. Forex brokers should also provide economic analysis and comprehensive market research which helps traders watch out for short-term profit opportunities.

Forex Trading in the UK

To trade in the foreign exchange market, you need a forex broker. A forex broker, by its simplest definition, quotes current forex rates and execute customers’ trades and orders through their trading platform and will charge the spread or commission for the service.

When trading currencies, they come in pairs. The base currency is on top, and the quote currency is at the bottom. For instance, EUR/CAD or USD/GBP are translated as the euro versus the Canadian dollar and the US dollar versus the pound sterling, respectively. There is also a price associated with each pair. For example, if for EUR/CAD the price is 1.5, that means it costs 1.5 Canadian dollars to buy 1 euro. If it changes to 1.6, then the euro has increased in value and the Canadian dollar has decreased.

Traders usually take a position in a specific currency pair, speculating that there will be an upward movement in the currency that they are purchasing and conversely, a weakness in the currency that they are selling. If this happens, then they will make a profit. Although you can trade in many different currency pairs, the four major pairs that are most popular are the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the U.S. Dollar and the Japanese Yen, the euro and the U.S. dollar and the British pound sterling and the U.S. dollar.

Why Forex Trading?

As mentioned earlier, one of the main benefits of forex trading is its global market with around-the-clock trading. Since it happens all over the world, people can trade 24/5, at all hours of the day, five days a week. Currencies are traded worldwide in major financial hubs: New York, Hong Kong, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich, etc. There is always a transaction taking place somewhere in the world, and this is a very liquid market. The implication of this is that the trader has a lot of opportunities. Here are other reasons why you should try forex trading:

  • You can jump right into forex trading with the help of a forex broker without much capital. Forex trading has a lower trading cost compared to options and stocks.
  • The forex market is quite extensive. Some forex brokers allow clients to trade over 100 currency pairs.
  • You can choose to automate your trades based on certain buy and sell conditions.
  • You can trade on a level playing field because no single company controls the market and forex isn’t really owned by anyone. It is also decentralised so there’s no middleman. The forex broker merely acts as a facilitator of the trade.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking to trade in foreign currencies, a good forex broker will be able to help you to get accustomed to forex and assist you with their trading platform and trading technicalities. Finding the best forex broker ultimately depends on what you need and your preferred trading style. The bottom line is that forex brokers should have integrity, be regulated and reputable with a good and clean track record. Traders may compare forex brokers all they want, but this is the most important thing to consider, especially with today’s volatile market. Your trades, your money – your perfect broker.

Final Thoughts on Forex Brokers and Trading Platforms

What is the best forex broker in the UK?

It really depends on your trading style and requirements. It all comes down to what you really want from your fx account. The list above represents the most trusted brokers but it’s up to a trader to decide what broker to choose.

Should I trade with a regulated broker?

Absolutely, only trade with regulated brokers to avoid problems later in your trading career. Only trade with good and reputable currency providers to enjoy your forex trading experience. It’s worth checking broker reviews online to see what other traders think about your broker.

What are the features I need to successfully trade forex?

As you can see from the comparison table, forex brokers provide a variety of extra features you can use for free; but it really depends what features you want, for example, if you rely on forex trading signals you should sign up with a broker which provides those signals for free. And you can enjoy a wide range of features: copy trading, advanced charts, signals, economic calendar, and many more.

What are the best 5 forex brokers?

There are many good forex brokers and thus it’s hard to say who are the top 5 providers. We don’t do “best 5 forex brokers” or “top 8 forex brokers” as it’s impossible to put a number on it. The comparison table simply lists reliable and trusted forex brokers in the UK.

2024-08-14T05:00:49+00:00
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