easyMarkets is the leading forex broker for beginners CFD trading based on their forex platform, 31 charting tools, fixed spreads and risk management tools while Plus500 is more tailored to intermediate traders who understand how CFDs work and can use the Plus500 platform with 100+ technical indicators.
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| Spreads | EUR/USD | USD/JPY | AUD/USD | GBP/USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus500 platform | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.90 |
| easyMarkets platform VIP account | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| easyMarkets MT4 platform - VIP account | 0.9 | 1 | 1.2 | 1,3 |
Looking at the spreads, you will notice the spreads Plus500 offer are more narrow than easyMarkets. The difference in the spreads reflects what each broker offers as part of their service. easyMarkets offer free inclusions for their client such as risk management tools, and this is paid for through the wider spread. Plus500 charge a premium for some of their features.
You will also notice that spreads for easyMarkets MT4 account are more narrow than their custom forex trading platform. This is because the MT4 platform does not have many of the exclusive risk management tools easyMarkets offer such as free guaranteed stop loss, no slippage guarantee, dealCancellation, Inside Viewer, Freeze Rate.
easyMarkets spreads are fixed while Plus500 offer either fixed or dynamic spreads depending on the currency pair.
easyMarkets don’t or rarely change their fixed spreads, no matter how volatile the condition might be. This provides the advantage of allowing you to plan your trade strategies around a spread before trading.
easyMarkets held their fixed prices through one of the more dramatic economic events in recent memory. In 2015 the Swiss National Bank surprised the market by announcing they would stop pegging the Swiss Franc against the Euro, which resulted in a drop of 2000 pips for the CHF/EUR currency pair. Despite this, easyMarkets did not change their spreads.
Volatile spreads on the other hand are subject to market liquidity and conditions of the market. So while variable spreads may generally be narrower than fixed spreads, the fluctuating nature means spreads may be wider than our table shows.
| Risk Management Tools included | easyMarkets | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Stop Loss | Complementary | Optional (spread will be wider) |
| Guaranteed Take Profit | Complementary | Optional (spread will be wider) |
| Guaranteed Negative Balance Protection | Complementary | Complementary |
| Price Freeze | Complementary | No |
| Deal Cancellation | Yes - with fee | No |
| Slippage | No | Yes |
| Hedging | Yes | No |
| Trailing Stops | See guaranteed take profit/loss | Optional |
| Close at Profit/Loss | See guaranteed take profit/loss | Optional |
easyMarkets come with a large range of complementary risk management tools. These tools are part of all your forex trades and explain why spreads are wider than those of Plus500. Plus500 does offer some risk management features, but these are optional and will result in a wider spread.
| Costs | easyMarkets | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling/Overnight Fees | None (included in spread) | Yes |
| Inactivity Fees | No | Yes |
| Guaranteed Stop Order | No (Included in spreads) | Yes |
| dealCancellation | Yes | Not offered |
| Maximum monthly withdrawals penalty | No | Yes |
| Deposit and withdrawal fees | No | Limited (ie. Incoming and outgoing bank transfers from your bank account to Plus500 account. ) |
It is important to note that neither broker charges commissions however easyMarkets include most of their “hidden” costs in their spread which are fixed. Plus500 have a few changes that will be applied after you make your purchase.
If you are after the narrowest spreads then choose Plus500 however, the complementary features easyMarkets offer means this broker is well worth considering. easyMarkets offerings are very good if you are a risk-averse trader or are trading in a volatile market.
Clients in Australia and all other countries outside Europe and the UK can choose from 3 types of accounts. The VIP account has a higher minimum deposit but offers tighter spreads. The standard account has a lower minimum deposit but wider spreads.
Clients from Australia and other eligible countries can access the leverage of 200:1 with the easyMarkets platforms and 400:1 with MT4. Traders in Australia receive ASIC protection, traders in most other countries receive the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA) protection.
For the best value, we recommend the VIP if you have the funds to meet the minimum deposit requirement.
easyMarkets clients in the UK and Europe only have one account available. This is the VIP account. To open an account, only 100 euros is required.
Traders in the UK and Europe are regulated by CySEC. To abide by leverage requirements. Major forex pairs for retail traders are restricted to 30:1 and 20:1 for minor currency pairs. This can be increased if you qualify as a professional trader.
Plus500 keeps things simple when choosing a trading account, as they only offer one account. The account offer traders the following:
Note: Clients in the UK and Europe who wish to increase leverage by applying for a professional account will need to show the broker that they have a financial portfolio of at least 500,000 euro and have carried out at least 10 major transactions per quarter over the past 12 months.
This broker offers a choice of 2 platforms. This is their custom platform and MetaTrader 4.
easyMarkets own proprietary offers all the standard tools one expects when trading. This platform which is available via web and mobile includes excellent features for new and intermediate traders. The platform offers the following key benefits:
MetaTrader 4 by Metaquotes is the world’s most popular trading platform and the platform we like to recommend. Mt4 is built for both beginner and advanced traders and has a few features easyMarkets proprietary platform does not offer but also is missing a few features. MT4.
Features MT4 offers that easyMarkets own platform does not:
Features easyMarkets proprietary platform offers that MT4 does not
Plus500 only offer their custom platform. They do not offer platforms like MetaTrader or cTrader that many brokers offer. The Plus500 platform does have one unique feature, in addition to being able to use the platform via web-browsers. Mobile and tablets users can also access their platform via their Apple Watch. The platform is specifically designed to operate seamlessly across different operating systems and interfaces (i.e. mobiles, tablets) which will appeal to you if you wish to be mobile.
The platforms easy interface makes it easy for users to see all the information they need for different trading derivatives. It is also designed so you can easily use their risk management tools when you need them.
If you like to test your trading strategies before putting them to practice, the plus500 platform has a great feature that allows for an easy switch between live and demo accounts.
Both easyMarkets trading platforms and the Plus500 platform offer several benefits, the other platforms do not offer. It is best to consider your trading needs when choosing a platform. For example, if you need risk management features, then easyMarkets proprietary platform might be ideal. If you desire integration between different platform interfaces and operating systems, then Plus500 might be best. MetaTrader 4 has the advantage of being widely available, which means you can change brokers in future but continue to use the same platform.
Both easyMarkets and Plus500 are known for their risk management features. easyMarkets include many of their risk management features in their spreads while Plus500 make their features optional.
We have already shown a comparison for each broker’s risk management tool. Here is a brief rundown of what each feature is.
Features of note both brokers offer:
Features to note that only easyMarkets offers:
easyMarkets are our recommendation when it comes to risk management features. Not only do easyMarkets offer more risk management tools, but a lot of these tools are also inclusive of all your trades. Plus500 also has a good deal of risk management options however you must nominate them to use.
easyMarkets offer over 200 trading CFDs instruments, Markets available for trade include:
With easyMarkets, you can trade 4 different ways. These are CFDs, Options, Forwards and easyTrade.
Plus500 offers a far more comprehensive range of derivatives than easyMarkets.
Instruments available with Plus500 include
Plus500 offers more CFD features when it comes to trading different asset classes or derivatives than easyMarkets. We recommend Plus500 if you need to trade a wide range of different CFDs.
Note: Traders from the UK with Plus500UK (United Kingdom) will not be able to trade cryptocurrencies as FCA does not allow this derivate to be offered for trade.
Two promotions that will be of interest to most retail traders are the “First Deposit Bonus” and the “Refer a Friend” offer.
The “First deposit bonus” will result in you receiving up to 20% or $2000 in tradeable bonus depending on the size of your first deposit provided you meet the Plus500 terms and conditions. This offer simply means you receive bonus credit you can use to trade with.
The “Refer a Friend” offer simply means easyMarkets will credit you up to USD$750 in trading credit for each friend you introduce to easyMarkets. The more your friend trades in their first month from sign up, the more credit you will receive.
Plus500 offers several bonus programs. This includes a rebate program and a first deposit program. In both programs you will be rewarded with trading credits based on how much you deposit when you join Plus500 or how much trading activity you engage with each month.
With the “First Deposit program”, The first-time deposit of AU$300 will result in AU$80 while a deposit of AU$75,00 will give you $10,000 in trading credit. So the more you deposit when you open your account, the more trading credit you can earn.
The rebate program means you can earn T-points every time you trade. The more you trade, the more points you can earn.
Both brokers offer a good range of bonus features however Plus500 offer more value in the long term when it comes to trading features thanks to their credit rewards in their rebate program.
This broker has 24/5 customer support commencing 8 am each Monday AEST time. easyMarkets have their support teams located in Sydney and Cyprus and are available via Messenger (Facebook), Viber and WhatsApp in addition to the traditional methods of contact methods.
The easyMarkets range of educational resources is solid. Educational features include:
easyMarkets services also include in-depth market analysis resources. These include:
easyMarkets also offers a demo account. With the demo account, you get $15,000 of virtual funds and access to the most easyMarkets features such as guaranteed protections and dealCancellation.
This broker is unusual in that their support features are more limited when we compare with other brokers. For example, although Plus500 offers 24/7 live chat and email support, there is no phone support.
Plus500 also don’t offer much in the way of trading education. This is interesting given it is a standard feature many other online brokers offer. This doesn’t mean Plus500 is an inferior product, it just means they assume you will use other resources freely available on the web when researching.
This broker, however, does offer one of the better demo accounts. While most broker offer time limits or fund limits for their demo account, Plus500 place no access or limit restrictions.
Unless you require 24/7 customer support, easyMarkets are our recommendation. easyMarkets provide a wide range of contact options for customer support. Not only is their support better, but they have more services. easyMarkets offer all the educational tools you will need to help you trade successfully and have a great experience with easyMarkets.
Neither broker charge fees for making deposits or withdrawals however, Plus500 does have a deposit and withdrawal minimum of $100 requirements. Both brokers offer a good range of cards, bank transfers, eWallets methods for managing your funds.
*Your capital is at risk ‘72% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Given both brokers do not charge for funding transfers and offer mostly the same services don’t see a need to recommend one broker over the other.
*Your capital is at risk ‘72% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Ask an Expert
Are all of the spreads I get on EasyMarkets fixed spreads?
Yes, easyMarkets is a fixed spread broker. The broker has a reputation for keeping spreads fixed no matter how volatile market conditions are or how low liquidity is.