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 Plus 500 platform with 100+ technical indicators.
1. No Commissions 2. Guaranteed Stop Loss 3. Wide Range of CFDs offered 4. Excellent Client Money Protection 5. 24/7 Customer Support
1. Range of Risk Management Tools (including dealCancellationand guaranteed stop loss) 2. Low Margin, Zero Spreads + $0 commission 3. Fixed Spreads (no slippage risks) 4. Choice of easy-to-use forex trading platform 5. Personal Account Service Manager and Personal Analyst
Weaknesses
1. Inactivity Fee 2. Overnight Funding Chargest 3. Relatively High Spreads 4. No Automated Trading Available 5. Limited Analysis Tools on Plus500 Platform
1. Lower Leverage (compared to industry benchmark) 2. Key Features offered on easyMarkets platform not offered on MT4 platform 3. Free Trade simulator only available for 8 days 4. No Stock/Share Market options
Spreads + Commissions
Spread Value
8.5
Commission Value
10
Spread Value
9.2
Commission Value
9.9
Forex Trading Platform
Plus500 platform - iPhone/iPad, Android, Windows Phone App, Windows 10 Trader, Web Trader
1. easyMarkets (custom platform) 2. MT4 by easyMarkets
1. 24/7 Chat Support 2. Email via Web Portal 3. No Phone Support 4. No Education Library
1. 24/5 Toll Free Phone support for Australia and and International 2. Live Chat 3. Facebook Messenger 4. Viber 5. Email
Bonus Programs
1. Trading credits for initial deposit 2. Rebate program
Receive 20% or up to a $2000 tradable bonus based on your first deposit.
Funding Methods
1. Bank Transfer 2. Debit/Credit card (Visa, Mastercard) 3. Electronic Wallets (Paypal, Skrill)
1. MasterCard, Visa (excluding China), AMEX, JCB (only Europe) 2. SOFORT (Germany, Austria, Begum, Netherlands, United Kindom) 3. giropay (Germany only) 4. Ideal (Netherlands online) 5. Local Bank Transfer with Ingenico 6. WebMoney (all countries excluding Europe and APAC) 7, BPay (APAC only) 8. Neteller 9. Skrill 10. fasapay (Indonesia only) 11. UnionPay (China only) 12. Bank Wire Transfer
Reviews
Trust Pilot 7.1/10 (679 reviews)
Trustpilot 5 out of 5 stars - 450 reviews
Recommended For
Beginner Traders Traders who desire risk management tools
1. Traders that wish to minimise risks 2. Traders that want fixed spreads and don't want 'slippage' risks 3. Traders that desire a personal account manager
Beginner Traders Traders who desire risk management tools
1. Traders that wish to minimise risks 2. Traders that want fixed spreads and don't want 'slippage' risks 3. Traders that desire a personal account manager
Spreads + Commissions
Spread Value
8.5
Commission Value
10
Spread Value
9.2
Commission Value
9.9
Execution Speeds
Trading Speed
8
Trading Speed
10
MetaTrader
cTrader
ECN Trading Account
Deal Cancellation
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Guaranteed Negative Balance Protection
No Fees On Deposits + Withdrawals
Stockbroking Services
MetaTrader
cTrader
ECN Trading Account
Deal Cancellation
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Guaranteed Negative Balance Protection
No Fees On Deposits + Withdrawals
Stockbroking Services
Trading Spreads and Fees – easyMarkets vs Plus500
Spreads
EUR/USD
USD/JPY
AUD/USD
GBP/USD
Plus500
0.60 or 0.00006
0.70 or 0.07
0.080 or 0.000008
0.90 or 0.000009
easyMarkets
1.8
2
1.8
2
Looking at the spreads, you will notice the spreads of Plus500 are narrower than those of easyMarkets. Although both brokers are market makers, the difference in spreads reflects reflect the features each broker include as part of their service.
Fixed vs Dynamic Spreads
easyMarkets spreads are fixed while Plus500 offer either fixed or dynamic spreads depending on the currency pair. Fixed spreads like easyMarkets offer, don’t change regardless of market liquidity or volatility. This provides the advantage of allowing you to plan your trade strategies around a spread prior to trading.
Volatile spreads on the 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 they may in fact, be wider than our table shows.
Risk Management Inclusions
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.
Additional Costs
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.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500 Spreads and fees
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 is very good if you are a risk-averse trader or am trading in a volatile market.
easyMarkets offer higher leverage than Plus500. The 400:1 leverage easyMarkets provides offers greater opportunity to maximise your profit opportunity with each forex trade you do. Plus500 however still offer a good level of leverage. Both traders allow you to reduce your leverage level if you prefer.
When trading on leverage, it is important to remember that you are taking on risk so it is important that you understand the risks you need to consider. Always research your trades and thoroughly you trading strategies before executing your trades. Both brokers offer decent risk management features that can help protect you against risks when trading. easyMarkets risk management tools are excellent for this.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500
easyMarkets higher leverage means more opportunity to achieve higher returns and this is backed by sound risk management tools that help secure your investments.
This broker offers a choice of 2 platforms. This is their own 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:
Access to easyMarkets risk management features such as dealCancellation and Freeze Rate.
Trading ticket for easy switching between different trading categories such as forwards or vanilla options.
Access to 200+ trading instruments via main trading screen
Good range of analytical tools
Easy to navigate interface
Zero slippage
Integrated news and charts
MetaTrader 4 by Metaquotes is the worlds 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:
Expert Advisors / Robots to automate your trading
MultiTerminal so you can see more information on different terminals
Excellent range of graphs and charts
Features easyMarkets proprietary platform offers that MT4 does not
dealCancellation
Vanilla options and froward deals
Integrated news and charts
No slippage guarantee
Plus500 Trading Platforms
Plus500 only offer their own custom platform. They do not offer platforms like MetaTrader or cTrader that many brokers offer. The Plus500 platform however, does have one unique feature, in addition to being able to use the platform via web-browsers. mobiles 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 also designed so you can easily use their risk management tools when you need.
If you like to test your trading strategies before putting them to practice, plus500 platform has a great feature allows for an easy switch between live and demo accounts.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500
Both easyMarkets trading platforms and Plus500 platform offer a number of 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 idea. 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 brokers risk management tools. Here is a brief rundown of what each feature is.
Features of note both brokers offer:
Guaranteed Negative Balance Protection: While most brokers only offer a margin call system to protect your account, these brokers guarantee your account won’t go into debt.
Guaranteed Stop Loss/Take Profit – easyMarkets offer this for all trades (without increasing the spread) while Plus500 offer this as an option (which will widen the spread. These features guarantee your forex currency pairs will be sold when prices hit you loss tolerance or have achieved a level of profit.
Trailing Stops
Features of note only easyMarkets offers:
Price Freeze – This is a free feature that allows you to freeze the bid/ask price of the currency pair before they change. This gives you an extra second to decide if you wish to take up the offer before the price changes.
dealCancelation – If you are dealing in a volatile market, you may wish to take up dealCancellation. When you purchase this feature, you gain the right to cancel your order with 60 minutes. For example, if price movements are unfavourable during this period, you can cancel your order and get you your investment back.
Hedging – If you want to insure yourself against possible unfavourable future currency movements then you may take advantage of forward contracts. This can help protect your investment however can also work against you if price movements are unfavourable.
Slippage – easyMarkets guarantee you will not experience slippage when forex trading.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500
easyMarkets are our recommendation when it comes to risk management features. Not only do easyMarkets offer more risk management tools, a lot of these tools are inclusive with all your trades. Plus500 also have a good deal of risk management option however you must nominate them in order to use.
Contracts for Difference (CFDs) – easyMarkets vs Plus500
easyMarkets are not a specialist all-in-one style broker in that they do not offer a large range of asset classes for trade. CFDs available include hard and soft commodities such as metals, agricultural goods, indices and cryptocurrencies.
Plus500, on the other hand, offers a far more comprehensive range of derivatives when we compare with easyMarkets. Plus500 offer an extensive range of cryptocurrencies, in addition to the common ones such as Bitcoin, they offer a few unique ones such as IOTA, Monero. They also offer the usual indices but have a few unique offerings such as Cannabis stock index which we have not seen on offer before. You will also find stocks, options and ETFs.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500
Plus500 offers more CFD features when it comes to trading different asset classes or derivatives than easyMarkets. We therefore, recommend Plus500 if you have a need to trade a wide range of different CFDs.
Bonus Offers – easyMarkets vs Plus500
easyMarkets
There are two main types of promotions that will be of interest to most. These 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
Plus500 offers a number of bonus programs. This includes a rebate program and 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. A 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. Likewise, if you earn 80 T-points when trading you will receive AU$80 or 10,000 T-points.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500
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.
Customer Server – easyMarkets vs Plus500
easyMarkets Customer Support
This broker have 24/5 customer support commencing 8am each Monday AEST time. easyMarkets have their support teams located in Sydney and Cyprus and available via Messenger (Facebook), Viber and Whatsapp in additional to the traditional methods contact methods.
easyMarkets Customer Service
The easyMarkets range of educational resources is solid. Educational features include:
Get Starting – This section found on their website s a series of video that covers all the fundamentals you need to know for trading with easyMarkets
Discover – This video series explains everything you need to know about the main trading instruments available with easyMarkets.
Free eBooks – If you prefer to learn by reading, easyMarkets offers eBooks you can download that cover a wide range of information about trading and easyMarket trading platforms
Knowledge Base – This feature explains the main topics in a simple and straightforward manner
FAQ – Here you will find all you questions answered
easyMarket services also include in-depth market analysis resources. These include:
Market News – These are feeds of events on the market throughout the world.
Trading Charts – These are charts that will help you predict future trading movements
Currency Rates – here you can find all the latest currency exchange rates around the world
Financial Calendars – This is advise on changes in policies that may impact markets you trade in
Forex News – This is a blog covering major news that will affect forex
easyMaket also offers a demo account. With this account you get $15,000 of virtual funds and access to all the key easyMarket features such as guaranteed protections and dealCancellation.
Plus500
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 offers. 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, do 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.
Conclusion – easyMarkets vs Plus500
Unless you have a need for 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 education tools you will need to help you trade successfully and have a great experience with easyMarkets/
Deposits and Withdrawals – easyMarkets vs Plus500
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 transfer, eWallets methods for managing your funds.
*Your capital is at risk
Conclusions – easyMarkets vs Plus500
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.
