Plus500 offers low spreads from 1.9 pips and has over 400 reviews exceeding 67% approval based on customer support. Plus500 is a leading CFD provider with a wide range of Financial instruments for trade and includes negative balance protection.
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Our 2023 Plus500 review found a number of positive and negative elements which are listed below.
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*Your capital is at risk ‘72% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
Plus500 earns money through the difference of bid/ask spreads when users trade the financial instruments offered by the online provider. As seen below, Plus500’s spreads are very competitive compared to other local forex and CFD providers.
This CFD broker offers variable spreads, while other financial instruments are offered with a dynamic spread. The average EUR/USD spread is 0.8 pips respectively 1.3 pips on GBP/USD. Trading is available in micro, mini and standard lots.
The only other fees Plus500 charges is for long-term currency holding (1+ hour or overnight fee) and an amount of $10 USD if you don’t use your account for 3 months (inactivity fee). View the full fee article for greater detail on Plus500 fees.
Within global financial markets, Plus500 is one of the most reputed CFD traders with high turnover and outstanding corporate governance. The firm has a mission and motto named “Sustainable and Perfectionist Trading Services” and the company strives to match the standards of the market. The CFD provider makes use of the latest security protocols and technology, providing Plus500 clients’ the best trading environment with minimum security loopholes. As far as customer support is concerned, Plus500 offers bilingual support, which is comprehensive with fast responses. Support is also 24/7 with chat support in 16 different languages. An even greater advantage is the fact that the platform is available in over 30 languages with a local Sydney office, meaning issues are resolved in a timely manner.
When completing this review, we found Plus500 staff members to be cordial and efficient. They provided immediate attention to our enquiries, and we didn’t encounter any delays in their responses. Customer support is available in several languages via email and live chat. Another positive feature of Plus500 is the numerous “Traders Guide’s” available to customers on the main website.
In our best forex trading platform Australia analysis as shown below the Plus500 trading platform is the most user-friendly forex platform and interface. This was based on spending significant time testing out the CFD Provider’s live account while comparing Plus500’s features to others online.
Plus500’s doesn’t offer MT4 or MT5 but its own trading platform that is compatible with PC and mobile-based platform (Android and iOS). The online derivatives provider also offers its platform as a web trading platform, allowing users to access their account from anywhere. The platform focuses on ‘no frills’ trading with all the key information required to trade on a single screen. This can be useful for beginner and intermediate traders, as all the critical information needed to make a trade is at their fingertips, yet it may be too restrictive for expert traders.
Open a demo accountVisit Plus500
*Your capital is at risk ‘72% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
One of the advantages of Plus500 is its CFD trading platform. Beginner traders especially will enjoy its clean and uncluttered interface, however, expert CFD Traders that are used to other platforms such as MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader may find this too restrictive as the platform offers no option to use features such as an API feed and advanced charting. Overall, the Plus500 platform is great for those looking for just the data that matters, not those experts who require advanced features.
Plus500 Australia CFD trading can be completed on mobile devices including android which offers:
Disclosure: At Plus500, shares trading is done through CFD (Contract for Difference), traders never actually own the underlying assets. When you’re trading stocks such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Alibaba or ACN, CFD traders are only speculating on the price movement of the underlying assets.
There is also an iPhone and iPad application available for Apple devices. Each mobile app allows for not only CFD mobile trading but also includes price alerts and the ability to get real-time quotes on stocks and currency pairs. This is ideal for technical analysis and developing trading strategies. They also offer demo accounts or you can start trading with real money through a live account. It’s recommended to commence on a demo account first and build up trading experience prior to a real account.
The main weakness of Plus500 is their social trading (copy trading ability) which is a strength of eToro.
Although the customer support of Plus500 is listed as a strength and remains so, one concern for Plus500 LTD is their lack of immediate contact. Although they have email addresses, live chat and office hours, there is no direct phone line. As such, customers with pressing issues are unable to make fast contact with the CFD provider. As the industry of forex trading happens very fast, with decisions sometimes needing to be made quickly, this is a concern for customers of Plus500 looking for advice. This really needs to be addressed for Australian fx traders.
Plus500au Pty Ltd is the Australian regulated subsidiary of Plus500 for Australian traders. The head office is in Sydney (1 O’Connell Street) and trades under AFSL #417727. This means they are regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC regulated). ASIC allows retail traders to access maximum leverage of 30:1 for forex.
A trader with a Plus500 account can trade CFDs over financial assets such as Forex, Stocks, Commodities, Options and Indices. Trading CFDs is similar to Forex, with leverage provided to amplify any movements in either direction for traders. This increases the opportunity and risk of trading but is necessary for something like indices CFDs trading, which normally only moves a few percentage points each day.
As of 2017, thanks to advances in the safety and security of Cryptocurrency markets, Plus500 offers bitcoin trading and other Cryptocurrencies.
For trading CFDs, Forex & Cryptocurrency, a Plus500 account can be funded by:
Withdrawals can be made to the same four funding sources shown above, provided they are verified by the user. Photo ID will be required and in some cases, additional documentation to avoid fraud and scams. The number of business days a transfer takes depends on the withdrawal method used and the banks involved. All client funds are segregated in a separate Bank Account are required by ASIC’s regulations for trading CFD providers.
The minimum deposit differs depending on the deposit method. Bank transfers require a minimum deposit is $100, while a credit or debit card minimum requirement is $100. There are constant across all retail investor accounts.
Plus500 supports 5 depositing methods including debit and credit cards, bank transfer and electronic wallets (PayPal or Skrill).
Plus 500 is a CFD provider based in Israel and listed on the London Stock Exchange. The global online CFD provider is regulated by top-tier authorities around the world, including MAS (Singapore), ASIC (Australia), CySEC (Cyprus), FMA (New Zealand), and the FCA (UK).
Clients of Plus500 in the United Kingdom should be aware of some differences compared to Plus500 international. These differences are required to keep Plus500 compliant with FCA regulation, which needs to follow directives of ESMA MiFID. While trading accounts for Plus500 UK traders are the mostly same worldwide for Plus500, there are differences in Plus500 leverage levels for retail and professional traders.
FCA regulations restrict the leverage online brokers can offer retail traders. This is to protect retail traders who may not have the trading skills to use leverage correctly, which may place them at risk of crippling losses. Professional traders are permitted more generous leverage, as they are likely to have the education and skills to use leverage responsibly and funds to handle any losses they may experience.
The below table summarises the leverage differences
| Max Retail Leverage | Max Professional Leverage | |
|---|---|---|
| Forex - Majors | 1:30 | 1:300 |
| Forex - Minors | 1:20 | 1:300 |
| Cryptocurrency | 1:2 | 1:20 |
| Indices | 1:20 | 1:300 |
| Commodities - Gold | 1:20 | 1:150 |
| Commodities - Other | 1:10 | 1:150 |
| Shares CFD | 1:5 | 1:20 |
| Options | 1:5 | 1:2- |
| ETFs | 1:5 | 1:100 |
Traders with a professional account will also have:
These features are notable, as most other brokers will no longer provide these benefits to professional clients.
The one feature clients will lose is the automatic stop out if the maintenance margin falls below 50%. FCA requires that brokers exit retail positions when their equity falls before 50%.
To qualify for a professional account, then you will need to satisfy the following criteria
Not only does Plus500 offer bitcoin trading, but they also boast a range of cryptocurrencies for trading and speculation too. If you’re wanting to take advantage of the hype and volatility of cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple and IOTA with Plus500 you’re in luck. Unlike other financial markets, the cryptocurrency market is open 24/7. If you’re wanting to trade on the weekends, no problems as long as it’s not for 2 hours between 12:00 and 14:00 UTC on Sundays.
Yes. All withdrawal methods supported with Plus500 carry a minimum withdrawal threshold. To find out the exact Plus500 minimum withdrawal amount please refer to the trading platform’s withdrawal screen.
Our Plus500 review found that this company is great for fx traders with relevant experience. This is because they have low fees and fixed spreads, negative balance protection and simple to use platform combined with a guaranteed stop offering. Expert CFD Traders though may not like these features and prefer more mainstream forex platform options and higher leverage to increase their risk profile. They may also appreciate the vast amount of trading products the company offers. Overall, the CFDs Provider is worth considering for those looking to make their first steps towards currency trading.
All reviews and forex provider comparison tables were created by Australians who don’t work for any of the forex providers compared. The forex provider comparisons information was gained from each provider’s website (including this Plus500 Review) or from demo & trading accounts. The forex comparisons look at elements, including the trading platforms, spreads and key trading features. Each financial services provider compared must be ASIC regulated, including the account types offered. Tables were designed to make forex trading setup easier, providing the pros/cons of different providers. The providers selected are all nationally certified with a strong market share to avoid scams or other poor conduct of some smaller unregulated forex service providers.
You can compare Plus500 to FP Markets, AvaTrade or FxPro below.
Spreads
Leverage
Trading Platforms
Forex Pairs + CFDs
Minimum Deposit
Regulation
Customer Support
Ask an Expert
Does Plus500 offer negative balance protection?
Historically Plus500 distinguished itself from many brokers as they always included Negative Balance Protection.
While Plus500 still include this feature, all brokers regulated by ASIC, FCA or European Regulators such as CySEC of BaFIN much offer Negative Balance Protection.
Is Plus500 a Forex Broker or CFD Provider?
Plus500 prefer to call themselves a CFD Provider rather than a broker. This might be to emphasise their range of product which is quite diverse
Can you owe money on Plus500?
No, all clients with Plus500 receive negative balance protection