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With online trading gaining popularity over the past few years, more and more investors are venturing into the financial stock market. In addition to trading stocks, regular investors are trying their luck with other trading instruments like options, futures, ETFs, and even CFDs. 

CFD, also known as Contracts for Difference, is a complicated and tricky market involving buying and selling of CFDs. It is hard to find a reputable trading platform for CFDs, as they are not traded in the United States. To conduct successful CFD trading, reputable CFD brokers act as intermediaries between the buyers and sellers, serving as a platform for both parties to exchange their trading instruments. However, choosing the best CFD broker is significant as some offer a wide range of CFD options while others don’t. 

Before you choose a CFD broker, you need to ensure that they have a user-friendly interface and do not have any restrictions in your specific jurisdiction. To make things easier, we have come up with a list of some of the best CFD brokers to access the financial markets. 

The Best CFD Brokers

CFD trade

Before you choose a CFD broker, you need to ensure that they have a user-friendly interface and do not have any restrictions in your specific jurisdiction. To make things easier, we have come up with a list of some of the best CFD brokers to access the financial markets. 

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FEATURED BROKER

Rating

Total Fees (for 12 months)
€ 64.41
What we like
  • 0% commissions on the purchase of shares
  • Friendly and easy-to-use platform
  • Highly regulated brokerage
Fixed commissions per operation
Account Fee
Mobile App
9/10
Features
Bonds Cfds Copy Portfolio Etfs Funds Krypto Robo Advisor Savings Plan Stocks
Payment methods
Credit Card Giropay Neteller Paypal Sepa Transfer Skrill Sofort
Total Fees (for 12 months)
€ 64.41

CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money quickly through leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs from this provider.

Account Info

Account From
$50
Deposit fees
-
ETFS
150
Inactivity fees
21
Leverage
1:30
Operating margin
Yes
Minimum operation
$25
Stocks
2.000+
CFD Position
-
CFDS
-
Trading fees
-
Withdrawal fees
$5

Fees per operation

Bonds
ab 2 Pip
Cryptocurrencies
ab 0,09%
CFDS
-
DAX
0%
Copy Portfolio
-
ETFS
0%
CFD Position
-
Stocks
0%
Savings Plan
0%
Robo Advisor
ab 0,75%
Funds
0%

Etoro 

eToro is one of the best social trading brokers that holds a good reputation among traders. Developed by three partners in 2006, eToro came into existence with an aim to provide a suitable trading platform for traders of all experience levels. With easy and convenient features and tools, it has become one of the most popular and largest CFD brokers that caters to around 7 million users from 150 countries globally.

This financial trading platform is fully regulated and has licenses from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchanges Commission (CySEC), USA FinCEN, and Authority of Australian securities (ASIC). Since eToro features a demo account and a live trading account, novice traders can get familiar with the platform before trading in the live market with real money. 

CFD trading eToro

Registration and account opening won’t take long, in just a few minutes your account can be created, and users can seamlessly navigate through the platform. With an initial minimum investment of $200, users can trade using different instruments such as portfolios, stocks, commodities, metals, Forex, CFDs, and even cryptocurrencies. 

Pros:

  • User-friendly trading platform. 
  • Safe and secure. 
  • Has hassle-free retail investor accounts opening procedure.
  • No commission fees. 

Cons:

  • Not apt for advanced traders who prefer to do a lot of technical analysis. 

Known as one of the top winning CFD brokers, eToro is home to millions of investors, providing traditional shares and CFD markets. Irrespective of the trading instrument you choose, this platform is 100% free of commissions.

VISIT ETORO

Don’t invest in crypto assets unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

Capital.com

Capital.com is a CFD broker and online investment platform with headquarters in Cypress, UK, Australia, Belarus, and Gibraltar. Established in 2006, this brokerage firm gives traders access to around 4000 markets with zero hidden fees or commission. This easy-to-use trading platform is well regulated and holds licenses of high trust from CySEC, NBRB, FCA, and ASIC. 

Capital.com provides a wide range of services and products customized to suit specific requirements and enables retail investor account holders to trade using different instruments such as indices, Forex, stocks, CFDs, and cryptos. As it is fully regulated and authorized by industry-leading license holders, you need not worry about the software being a scam. Though it is a safe global CFD broker, you need to be careful about trading on margin as it carries high risk.

While starting an account on Capital.com, you can choose between the three different account types: standard, premier, and plus. Each of these retail investor accounts provides unique services and has extra functions suitable for trading effectively. Traders can either open the demo account and test their trading skills using different strategies or head straight to the live account feature. 

Pros:

  • Provides both proprietary and MT4 platforms.
  • Free Demo Account. 
  • Compatible on desktop, mobile, and web-based platforms. 
  • Has no limitations on trading strategies. 
  • Zero inactivity fees.

Cons:

  • Charges high stock index CFD fees. 

By maintaining a transparent pricing policy, you will notice that capital.com does not charge any brokerage fees. Broker’s fees mostly depend on the spread charges, which are competitive across the Forex market.

Pepperstone 

Pepperstone is a global trading platform established in 2010 as a specialist forex broker. It was originally developed to provide low spread pricing and interbank execution access. Later, Pepperstone established itself as an execution-only broker by providing institutional and retail traders services using low-cost pricing methods. 

The account opening and registration process are completely digital, and within a few minutes, you can start trading in the live Forex market. Known as a reliable CFD broker, it is fully regulated and has top-tier licenses of the best watchdogs, including BaFIN, SCB, ASIC, CMA, DFSA, CySEC, and FCA. 

Due to the wide range of educational resources in advance to in-depth features, Pepperstone has more than 80,000 traders of all levels. This platform mainly uses trade instruments such as commodities, shares, indices, metals, forex, and cryptos. With a minimum deposit of $200, this platform conducts superfast order execution using a wide range of leveraged CFD options. 

Pros:

  • Needs only a minimum initial deposit of US$200.
  • Zero Internal fees for withdrawals or deposits. 
  • Safe and reliable for trading. 
  • Offers multiple add-ons to ensure a seamless experience.

Cons:

  • Free demo account is available only for a 30 days trial. 
  • Offers only limited instruments.  
  • Lacks 24/7 customer support. 

With more than 1200 financial instruments, Pepperstone allows users to conduct automated trading on desktop, web, and mobile trading platforms. This CFD broker witnessed rapid growth over the years and has successfully emerged as one of the largest CFD and Forex providers globally.

Plus500

Established in 2008, Plus500 is an Israel-based regulated CFD broker that operates various entities worldwide through Australia, Singapore, Cyprus, and much more. Being a regulated financial CFD provider, Plus500 caters to more than 300,000 active account holders. The trading performance of Plus500 is completely legit and provides a standard trading account for all users. All you need to do is create a trading account and activate it with a minimum initial deposit of $100 to start real trading. 

Plus500 allows professional and retail account holders to trade in a wide range of CFD assets in more than 50 nations worldwide. The global coverage has enabled the platform to operate in 16 languages and offer investment opportunities to financial markets using developed CFD trading technology.

This reputable broker is listed and complies in accordance with the ASIC, MAS, FCA, and CySEC licensed regulatory bodies. This easy to CFD trading platform is one of the best brokers that comes with a mobile app, making it easy for users to execute trades.

Pros:

  • Easy to navigate.
  • Professional customer support team. 
  • Provides tight spreads. 
  • Has lots of trading features, including price fluctuation alerts. 

Cons:

  • Depends solely on CFDs. 
  • Lacks comprehensive trading educational support. 

Plus500 is a user-friendly online trading platform suited for advanced and experienced traders. Since it trades mainly using complex financial products like CFDs, the software can be tough to maneuver for inexperienced or moved traders.

IG 

Being a pioneer company established in 1974, IG has been at the forefront of building the concept of online dealing using financial spread betting from 1998 onwards. With years of experience, IG has emerged as a well-organized, regulated, and reliable broker with more than 200,000 users actively trading on the platform globally. The platform is authorized to provide CFD trading accounts to more than 100 nations using a wide range of products. 

With its headquarters located in London, this CFD l broker has operations in Australia, Japan, the US, Singapore, New Zealand, and many other European countries. Known as one of the most trusted online CFD brokers worldwide, it complies with strict regulations and holds licenses from DIFC, FCA, FINMA, ASIC, JFSA, MAS, and CFTC. 

The IG brokerage firm is listed on the Stock Exchange for added security and transparency in its operations. To start trading in the live market, account holders must make an initial minimum deposit of GBP 250. Using this platform, traders can conduct trades using more than 80 different currency pairs, including the less liquid currencies such as South African rand or Mexican peso. 

Pros:

  • MT4 and IG proprietary platforms are available. 
  • Easy to navigate. 
  • Access to professional resources. 
  • Packed with powerful tools.
  • Best suited for Forex trading.

Cons:

  • Does not provide ETFs or traditional stocks to US traders.  
  • Charges significant activity and subscription fees. 

The platform does not charge any commission for withdrawals, and users can withdraw their profits into their retail investor accounts using different withdrawal options. By providing low cost for Forex instruments, the trading conditions of IG are much better than most other CFD brokers in the market. 

Interactive brokers  

CFD trading platform

Interactive brokers are well-known discount CFD brokers that came into existence in 1977 to trade equity options. With years of integration and development, it started providing brokerage services to more than 120 destinations globally. Today, it is one of the largest trading providers that align with trading technology development. 

Designed to allow sophisticated and new investors to trade in the financial market, Interactive Brokers offers impressive tools that enable users to trade effectively. Experienced and advanced investors can use a wide range of instruments, including Forex, options, stocks, mutual funds, Futures, Metals, warrens, bones, CFDs, inter-commodity spreads, and structured products. 

By directing their financial offerings to client-oriented requirements using low commissions and transparent policy, Interactive Brokers was able to gain a great reputation. Furthermore, this regulated CFD broker is licensed and strictly follows the regulations set by FCA, CFTC, and US SEC regulatory bodies. 

Pros:

  • Offers good charting tools. 
  • Real-time view of reports.
  • IB WebTrader and TWS platforms. 
  • User-friendly trading platform.

Cons:

  • Slightly complicated for beginner traders.
  • May encounter regional restrictions. 

Interactive brokers provide a wide range of trading tools and platforms to meet the demanding needs of their clients. Users will be charged maintenance fees for inactivity if they do not use their trading account frequently. 

CMC markets

Known as a reliable forex broker, CMC Markets was established in 1989 as a global CFD brokerage service provider. It is considered safe to invest your hard-earned money in this firm, as it has a long track record of generating profitable trades and responsible conduct. In addition to that, CMC Markets is listed on the London stock exchange and is strictly regulated, and holds licenses from top-tier global authorities such as Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

By using CMC Markets, investors can take part in spread betting and trade using CFD instruments such as commodities, indices, Forex, Treasuries, shares, Cryptos, and ETFs. It also enables advanced traders to create a diversified portfolio to attain better trading opportunities.

The online training platform has a wide range of features that support chart analysis. The risk management feature is beneficial for novice traders as it manages the level of trading risks associated with live trading in the Forex market. The platform does not charge any withdrawal or deposit fees and offers a wide range of sophisticated research tools to trade effectively.

Pros:

  • Well-regulated services. 
  • Safe and secure.
  • Easy account opening procedure. 
  • Rich educational research and platform tools.

Cons:

  • Lacks 24/7 customer support service.
  • High stock CFD trading fees.
  • Lesser product portfolio. 

CMC Markets has a mobile app that is compatible with both android and iOS devices, making it easier for investors to trade and view their retail investor accounts wherever they go. Being a regulated broker, this platform adheres to the Client Assets (CASS) regulations to protect all account holder’s funds. 

XTB

Established in 2002, the XDB platform offers incredible CFD trading options and is used by more than 200,000 investors worldwide. With headquarters in Poland and the UK, a reputable brokerage firm initially introduced Forex trading in Poland. With years of operating experience, this platform offers good trading options for both professional and new traders.

Investors can deposit the funds into their trading account through any of the popular payment methods. To start trading, investors must deposit a minimum amount of $250. PRO account holders and active traders will have to maintain a certain balance amount to cover all the required margins. XTB guarantees high protection when it comes to client funds. All account holder’s funds are held in separate accounts and regularly audited for FCA compliance.  

After creating an account on XTB, account holders can choose between three types of trading accounts: Standard, pro account, and specific Islamic account. The Islamic account is for investors who follow the Sharia laws and comes with applicable laws and conditions once the identity and status of the trader’s have been verified and confirmed by affiliated brokers.

Pros:

  • Uses MT4 and xStation 5 platforms. 
  • Demo account is available. 
  • Suitable for day trading or CFD trading. 
  • Bank transfer withdrawals are mostly free.

Cons:

  • Charges inactivity fees.
  • Limited order types.
  • Certain jurisdictions may face restrictions. 

An established brokerage firm adheres to regulations and holds licenses from top-tier regulatory bodies such as IFSC, FCA, and KNF. The low costs and excellent research and educational learning tools attract investors of all levels to try online trading using this platform.

What is CFD Trading?

CFD trading

CFD, otherwise known as a contract for difference, is a deal written between two parties, including the investor known as the spectator and a provider who happens to be the CFD brokerage firm. At the end of a specified contract term, both parties agree to pay or receive the opening and closing price difference of an exchange rate, asset, or underlying financial instrument. Neither the CMD spectator nor provider owns the actual asset or financial instrument. 

Since no one owns the financial products or assets while trading CFDs, the asset’s price movement, whether it goes up or down, is simply speculation. If both parties expect the price of the CFD Product to go down, it is known as short CFD trading. If the price of the CFD contract is expected to rise, it is known as long CFD trading.

CFD trading includes derivative products such as Commodities, shares, Forex, options, futures, and any other underlying assets that you need not take any ownership of. Since CFD trading is based on price speculation, the amount of risks associated with this trading is relatively high. It is essential to note that CFD speculators receive revenue only based on the price fluctuations of the financial instrument or asset and owe money to the CFD providers for the same reason. 

VISIT ETORO

Don’t invest in crypto assets unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

How To Make Profit Using CFD Trading?

Similar to any other type of online trading, you can generate passive income through CFD trading by speculating the price movement of the underlying assets or financial products in the future. With or without using leverage, once you place a trade, you’ll be able to figure out if you have gained profit or loss based on the spread betting you made with the broker. 

You can start trading in the live market by depositing an initial minimum amount. Certain CFD brokers charge commissions fees, inactivity fees, and brokerage charges. Go ahead and choose a reputable CFD broker that does not charge many fees to avoid losing money for other fees. Once you have gained profit by executing a successful trade, you can withdraw the profits earned into your bank account using any of the withdrawal options provided by the CFD trading platform. Your money will be credited into your bank account within 3 to 5 working days for bank transfers.

Should CFD Brokers Be Regulated?

CFD broker

CFD Brokers need to be regulated and licensed by any of the regulatory bodies such as the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), USA FinCEN, Authority of Australian securities (ASIC), or Cyprus Securities and Exchanges Commission (CySEC). The regulations and compliance of rules vary based on the local jurisdiction. 

Entering into a deal with well-regulated and licensed CFD brokers protects the investors from fraudulent practices and reduces the risk of losing money. Also, lesser broker regulations may result in poor and lacking financial services, eventually causing financial harm. 

The main reason CFD brokers must be regulated is to stop all sorts of fraud and protect the account holders’ funds. It is also essential that the trading platform must segregate the broker’s working capital and the client’s funds in a separate account. Failure to do so will result in the usage of the client’s money to conduct business activities.

Final Thoughts 

Well-regulated and licensed CFD brokers play a major role in enabling investors to find luck with their CFD trading ventures. With a wide variety of choices available in the market, make sure to choose regulated CFD brokers, maintain transparency, and have an incredible online trading platform. 

Our best choice goes to the eToro trading platform among the CFD brokers reviewed. Being one of the most popular CFD trading brokers, it holds a good reputation in the market among traders. The introduction of advanced features has taken this platform to the next level. As the platform offers both demo accounts and live trading account features, it’s suitable for both experienced and novice traders. 

EToro users can easily open an account and start trading in different instruments such as commodities, stocks, portfolios, CFDs, metals, Forex, and even Cryptos. You need not worry that this platform is a scam, as it is heavily regulated and has trustworthy licenses from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchanges Commission (CySEC), and Authority of Australian securities (ASIC). 

Experienced traders know what to expect from a CFD broker, whereas novice traders need to conduct careful research and choose their brokers carefully to avoid risking their hard-earned money. 

VISIT ETORO

Don’t invest in crypto assets unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

FAQ

Who is a CFD broker?

CFD broker is a financial trading broker specializing in trading with CFDs. Most of them generate income from the spreads quoted in the live financial market. In other words, each time an investor enters into a deal with them, they make a certain amount of profit through the price difference of the speculated financial instruments. These CFD traders do not own any of the underlying assets in the market.

What do the best CFD brokers have in common?

Best CFD Brokers offer CFD trade with negative balance protection. Also, they should be regulated by a financial sector conduct authority. Complex instruments such as graphs and charts are also often provided to users.