A good CFD trading platform will allow CFD trading across a range of markets like Forex currency pairs, ETFs and Cryptocurrencies and have feature for mobile and social trading and even risk management tools. See our selection of the best CFD brokers and their platforms.
See our review for best CFD trading platforms in Australia below:
By Justin Grossbard / Updated: Wednesday, May 27th, 2020
Below are out best CFD trading platforms from ASIC regulated CFD providers
Pepperstone is a globally regulated forex and CFD broker, offering the best CFD trading platforms (MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5). Established in Melbourne, Australia, in 2010, Pepperstone Group Limited is authorized as a financial service provider and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
In the UK, Pepperstone Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), while in South Africa, the broker falls under the regulation of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
Among the best CFD brokers in Australia, we reviewed, Pepperstone clearly outpaces competition for the MetaTrader 4 and the MetaTrader 5 platforms it offers.
MT4 is largely considered to be the standard for Forex trading and CFD trading. What Pepperstone offers is an easily customizable trading platform that features live quotes, real-time charts, in-depth news and analytics, a variety of technical indicators and order management tools as well as Expert Advisor (EA) compatibility.
Pepperstone’s MetaTrader 4 offers:
What also makes Pepperstone’s MT4 CFD trading platform competitive is a combination of low costs and fast execution speeds.
Australian retail clients can trade major Forex pairs such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD or USD/JPY with spreads of as low as 0.0 pips on the broker’s Razor trading account. In fact, the average spreads on Pepperstone’s entire list of CFD products are quite competitive. When trading forex, Pepperstone customers gain access to low spreads that on average are significantly tighter than competitors. For instance, EUR/USD and USD/JPY currency pairs average 0.13 pips with Pepperstone, while brokers such as AxiTrader and ForexTime offer 0.40-0.70 pip spreads.
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Commission Spreads
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0.13 | 0.18 | 0.13 | 0.24 | 0.27 |
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0.40 | 0.50 | 0.40 | 1.10 | 0.80 |
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0.44 | 0.42 | 0.20 | 0.83 | 0.30 |
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0.30 | 0.40 | 0.30 | N/A | 0.50 |
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0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.50 |
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0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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0.40 | 0.70 | 0.50 | 0.80 | 0.80 |
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0.16 | 0.29 | 0.24 | N/A | 0.68 |
Since clients can enjoy ECN-style trading conditions, the broker will charge a commission on its Razor Account. For MT4, Pepperstone will charge commissions as follows:
On the plus side, commission discounts (rebates) are offered to customers with Pepperstone’s Active Trader program. The rebates depend on standard lots traded per month. In other words, the larger the trade volume, the higher the commission discount.
As Pepperstone uses a network of tier-one liquidity providers, it can ensure lightning-fast order execution. The broker has disclosed that the majority of trade orders by Australian customers are filled in less than 30 ms. When compared to competing top brokers, it was found that Pepperstone offers the second-fastest execution speeds for market orders and the fastest execution for limit orders.
Note* A third-party test was conducted via a demo CFD trading account and revealed that the Australian-based CFD broker offers the fastest order speeds (85ms) among the FX and CFD brokers tested.
Last but not least, with Pepperstone, depositing and withdrawing funds is free-of-charge.
Built on the MQL5 programming language, MetaTrader 5 features advanced functionality and superior analytical tools. MQL5 has certain advantages over MT4’s MQL4 language, including:
Pepperstone’s MetaTrader 5 offers:
Another notable addition, which MT5 offers, includes Shares CFDs. Pepperstone allows access to over 60 high-quality US Stocks such as Amazon, Boeing or IBM with a margin rate of 20% and maximum leverage of 1:5.
Similar to its MetaTrader 4 platform, the broker will charge a commission when trading on MT5 via a Razor Account. Depending on the trade volume and the base account currency used, the commission charged will be as follows:
Both MT4 and MT5 platforms grant access to Pepperstone’s Smart Trader Tools package, which includes 16 trading tools and 15 custom indicators. Among its main features the most essential are:
The best CFD trading platforms in Australia are offered by Pepperstone, based on three factors – low trading costs, faster order speeds and access to smart trading tools. Many of the Australian CFD brokers we compared can’t provide CFD traders with this combination of trading advantages. Claim your FREE demo CFD trading account by clicking the button below.
View Pepperstone Review >>Visit Pepperstone >>
IC Markets ranks for the best CFD trading platforms with the largest list of global markets. IC Markets is the trading name of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, an issuer of over-the-counter high-risk instruments – Contracts for Difference (CFDs). It is granted an Australian financial services license (AFSL) by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to provide financial services in the country.
Note* Additionally, IC Markets (EU) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
With IC Markets, Australia-based retail customers are granted market access to a wide range of asset classes through 3 powerful trading platforms:
The broker offers CFDs on 7 underlying assets as follows:
Depending on the account base currency and traded volume (Micro or Standard Lots), ICE Markets will charge commissions on its MT4 Raw Spread Account as follows:
Trading 1 Standard Lot with AUD as the base currency will be associated with a commission of AUD$7.00 per round turn.
ICE Markets will charge a commission per side, per 1 Standard Lot traded on its cTrader platform – $3.00 USD per 100,000 USD traded. We should note that the US Dollar amount of the commission is then converted to the client’s account base currency at the current spot rate. An example for trading 1 Standard Lot in EUR/USD on cTrader and the associated commission is provided below:
IC Markets’ attractive list of CFD products along with raw spreads starting from 0.0 pips, fast order speeds of 40ms, deep liquidity pool, reduced slippage and powerful trading platforms, makes this CFD provider a top choice for retail traders. Australian residents can open a CFD trading account with IC Markets with a minimum deposit of $200 or equivalent in Australian dollars.
Among the online CFD providers we evaluated, Plus500 has the best CFD trading platform equipped with trading risk management tools. Plus500 is the trading name of Plus500 Ltd, a globally recognized Forex and CFD provider with more than a decade of business history. Plus500 Ltd is the parent company of:
Our review has concluded that Plus500’s user-friendly CFD platform offers the best risk management tools, which could be quite useful for Australia-based beginner traders.
To trade CFDs is a risky endeavour since leverage is used. In a volatile market environment, higher leverage ratios could lead to larger losses (and larger gains respectively). The maximum leverage allowed on CFD trading in Australia is 1:300, as per local regulatory framework, while elsewhere it is even lower. Therefore, to minimize risk retail clients need appropriate trading tools to safeguard their active positions in the market.
To manage higher leverage, Plus500 clients are able to use 3 essential risk management tools:
The Close at Profit and Close at Loss orders enable traders to specify a rate at which their position will be closed, allowing them either to preserve gains or to limit losses. This feature is available free-of-charge.
The Guaranteed Stop order puts an absolute limit on a trader’s possible loss. In case the market goes considerably against him/her, the trader’s position will automatically close at the price level he/she has specified. The risk of slippage is minimized. However, Guaranteed Stop can only be used on some financial CFD instruments. For a small premium fee (wider spread), the GSL order helps CFD traders to lock in the potential loss. Plus500 applies an extra spread for this feature.
The Trailing Stop order allows a trader to lock in gains, while also placing a Close at Loss order that updates automatically when the market moves in your direction. The Stop Loss order will be triggered when the market moves against him/her, but it is not certain if the position will be closed at the specified “Close at Loss” level due to slippage. On the other hand, no charges are associated with the Trailing Stop feature.
Negative balance protection is another useful feature to minimize risk, especially when market volatility is high and margin calls or stop-outs may not function in a proper manner. With this feature in place, Plus500 retail clients cannot lose greater amounts than their initial deposit.
Overall, Plus500 ranks in the best CFD trading platform Australia review for its risk management trading tools. Australian CFD traders can better protect their positions with the trading tools offered by Plus500. Opening a live trading account with Plus500 is extremely easy. At Plus500, you can gain access to a wide range of markets with a minimum deposit of USD 100.
View Plus500 Review >>Visit Plus500 >>
*Your capital is at risk ‘76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
Over the past decade, eToro’s social trading platform has gained a lot of popularity among traders across the globe. The platform enables Australian residents with little or no trading experience and those who do not have the time to track price movement to earn a passive income by copying positions of experienced traders.
As a CFD provider, eToro complies with strict regulatory standards in several jurisdictions:
By using eToro’s CopyTrader feature, Australian retail investors are able to locate other CFD traders, who could meet their investing needs, based on certain parameters such as risk score, gain, location etc. Once retail clients locate a top-performing CFD trader, the platform will allow them to copy exactly his/her trading activity.
Note* Replicating the activity of a professional trader is not associated with any management fees or other hidden costs.
With eToro’s social trading platform, Australia-based clients can also discuss trading strategies with top-performing traders and take a look at their portfolios. To take advantage of the CopyTrader feature, retail customers will have to put down a minimum deposit of $200, while every copied position needs to be at least $1 in value.
Traders, who get copied, will be paid directly by the broker, as they participate in its so-called Popular Investor Program.
CFD traders with experience, who employ a reliable trading strategy, have the opportunity to earn an extra income when followed or copied by other eToro clients. A trader, who gets copied, will be paid a fixed amount of up to 2% of his/her annual assets under management (AUM). A trader’s AUM equal the total amount, which other eToro customers have allocated to him/her to replicate his/her trading activity.
A trader, who participates in eToro’s Popular Investor Program, will have his/her 2% payment credited to his/her trading account on a monthly basis. Once the funds clear into the trader’s account, he/she will be able to withdraw them immediately.
The broker has structured its Popular Investor Program into four different levels – Cadet, Rising Star, Champion and Elite. Each level has specifications of its own. We can say that the more a trader increases his/her AUM, the larger his/her extra income will be. The details of each level included in the Program can be viewed below:
eToro is one of the best CFD trading platforms that took the most points in our star scoring system for their social trading platform. Australian CFD traders can gain market access on 7 key asset classes, including stock trading with 0% commission. Click the button below to start trading on the forex market and CFD market.
ThinkTrader mobile App was awarded the best CFD mobile trading platform by our team of experts. With ThinkMarkets trading Apps, both CFD and forex traders can access in real-time via mobile devices, a wide range of CFD financial instruments with spreads as low as 0.1 pips on EUR/USD and 1 point spread on AUS200.
Founded in 2010, ThinkMarkets is a leading multi-regulated Forex and CFD provider. It is authorized to conduct financial services business in several jurisdictions as follows:
After carefully reviewing the features of CFD trading platforms offered by top regulated brokers in Australia, our team of experts at Compare Forex Brokers concluded that ThinkMarkets’ mobile trading application was the most competitive on the market. Australian traders have unlimited possibilities for forex trading and CFD trading via:
ThinkTrader Mobile is ThinkMarkets’ proprietary CFD trading platform, accessible on any iOS or Android-based devices. What makes ThinkTrader Mobile unique is a set of trading features and technical analysis tools such as:
In addition, Australia-based retail clients with an interest in trading CFDs on Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) may take advantage of ThinkMarkets’ ETF product offering. Clients will find 49 US ETFs, which can be traded on the broker’s MetaTrader 5 and ThinkTrader platform. Details of some of them are presented in the following table:
After we compared the best mobile trading Apps and their functionalities we concluded that ThinkTrader Mobile offers the best technological solution. ThinkMarkets’ mobile trading Apps offer Australian CFD traders the option to trade on the go directly from your smartphone. Funding your CFD trading account with ThinkMarkets is easy, you’ll need a minimum deposit of USD 200 (or equivalent in Australian dollars).
IG Group is a leading Forex and CFD provider with presence in 16 countries, which grants its more than 178 000 clients access to a massive range of markets via several powerful trading platforms, including:
IG Markets Limited is authorized and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). Over the years, IG Markets has become one of the most popular Forex brokers in Australia. Research firm Investment Trends awarded IG Markets as the Number 1 in Australia by primary relationships and CFDs in its December 2019 Leveraged Trading Report.
IG Markets allows its clients to trade Forex in two possible ways:
The broker offers variable spreads on its Forex CFDs, which depend on liquidity and time of the day. Spreads can also be affected by the release of major macroeconomic reports or by political events.
With IG Markets, Australian retail clients are able to choose from more than 80 major, minor and exotic currency pairs, with spreads on EUR/USD and AUD/USD starting from 0.6 pips. The table below highlights the contract specifications of the most popular Forex pairs:
We should note that the average spreads have been calculated over the 12 weeks ending May 31st 2019.
Intended for professionals, Forex Direct allows for Forex trading with access to the physical market with no dealing desk intervention. The direct market access enables clients to view the best bid and offer price available for a particular instrument as well as more prices on either side of the order book. However, Forex Direct comes at a cost – IG Markets will charge a commission based on trade volume. Higher commissions will apply to clients with lower trade volumes, as can be seen in the table below.
If a trader has generated less than $100 million in trade volume during the past month, the brokerage will charge a commission of $60 per $1 million traded.
On the other hand, Forex Direct keeps average spreads low since price quotes are provided by major banks.
Overall, IG scored the highest number of points for the best Australian CFD broker for forex trading. Our Australian CFD broker review took into consideration three factors when awarding IG – the range of CFD trading platforms, Forex direct market access (DMA) and low average spreads on major currency pairs.
The best CFD broker in Australia to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is FP Markets. Founded in 2005, FP Markets is an award-winning global Forex and CFD trading provider, allowing access to a full suite of products in the global markets. The broker is authorized to conduct financial services business in the following jurisdictions:
Our review has concluded that FP Markets’ Crypto CFD offering is the most competitive on the Australian CFD market. The broker allows low-cost Cryptocurrency CFD trading on its proprietary Iress CFD platform. 5 popular Cryptocurrencies are available to trade with no commissions and tight spreads (as low as 2.02 points on BTC/USD):
The table below presents the minimum and the average spreads for these trading instruments on FP Markets’ Standard and Raw ECN Accounts.
Overall, FP Markets offer the best bitcoin CFD trading platforms that are compatible with any trading style. Among the top CFD brokers in Australia we reviewed, FP Markets offers the best trading conditions for cryptocurrency CFD trading. CFD traders can trade Bitcoin against the AUD dollar, with a maximum leverage of 2:1, without the need of a crypto wallet or an exchange account.
Our team of industry experts is easily recognized as the go-to authority on Forex and CFD brokers review content. To find the best CFD trading platforms in Australia, our team of experts did the research for you. We have tested and reviewed all the Australian CFD brokers and found that the most popular CFD trading platforms are:
Australian residents looking for a CFD broker with advanced technological solutions can open a live trading account with Pepperstone if you want to trade through MT4 and MT5 platforms. Both trading platforms can be found across all Australian CFD brokers, but Pepperstone ranks as the best option.
IC Markets come as the second-best choice for Australian traders, while Plus500 offers the most sophisticated risk management tools. Additionally, eToro offers the best CFD social trading platform for CFD traders looking for trading signals.
More, ThinkMarkets proprietary mobile trading platform is the best choice for CFD trading Apps, while IG and FP Markets are the best choices for forex currency trading and respectively cryptocurrency CFDs.
Risk Warning: When trading CFDs the counterparty risk of your trades is your CFD provider.
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Innovative Analysis – a full set of technical analysis tools that allow clients to utilize trading opportunities while being on the move. Clients have more than 80 indicators, 50 drawing tools and 14 chart types at their disposal
