Our team reviewed spread betting firm Spreadex to learn about its CFD trading, sports, and financial spread betting options. See how we rate them based on key features like platforms and accounts in our Spreadex Review.
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UK-based broker Spreadex specialises in financial spread betting, forex trading, and CFD trading. While we liked the competitive fees and low spreads, as well as the intuitive web trading platform, the limited research tools, and narrow product portfolio are its weaknesses. Customer service is very good but it may not be comprehensive enough for beginners and too comprehensive for technical traders. But for someone with an interest in sports betting (ahem, me) who also wants to explore CFDs and forex, it’s a nice compromise.
Spreadex offers two account types: one for CFD trading and one for spread betting. We tested both via a British team member, and I was pleased with the ease of opening an account and the overall user interface. Onboarding is a bit slower than average, however. It took Spreadex three days to verify the account – a day longer than I expected.
The accounts themselves are virtually identical: same minimum spread, same base currencies and same products available. Really, the only difference is what you do with your account once you open it. Either you spread bet on the financial markets or you trade forex and CFDs.
I reached out to Spreadex directly for more information about how their account types differ but didn’t receive a clear response. After trading and betting with both, I’m of the opinion that any distinctions that may exist are so minimal as to be practically non-existent.
Be aware, however, that you can only hold one account with Spreadex at a time, something we discovered when we tried to open a CFD trading account while maintaining a spread betting account. Closing it required sending an email to customer service explaining my reasoning, which I found a bit tedious.
Before diving into Spreadex specifically, let’s take a second to review the different types of fees we consider when calculating a broker’s trading costs score:
Trading fees. These are the costs associated with opening and closing a position, such as spreads, commissions, conversion fees, and financing rates.
Non-trading fees. These are the “hidden” costs some brokers attach to accounts. Funding fees, withdrawal fees, and inactivity fees are all examples.
We weigh trading fees more heavily in our analysis because they’re universal to all brokers and an easy-to-measure metric, but non-trading fees play a role, too. Low trading costs don’t matter much if your broker eats into your profits with a slew of monthly five and ten-cent fees.
Spreadex doesn’t share average spreads, which cost them some points in our testing. However, the information we do have supports the impression that it’s a low-spread broker overall.
As you can see from the module below, Spreadex offers minimum forex spreads compared to other brokers. Ross Collins also tested the actual average spread against the minimum published and found that Spreadex stayed admirably in line with its claims.
From my experience placing test bets, I found that Spreadex’s practice of capping its spreads helped a great deal in controlling costs and planning my strategy. Knowing, for example, that the spread for US stocks couldn’t exceed USD 3.50, helped me adjust my risk parameters and netted a greater gain on a winning bet. Likewise, I was pleasantly surprised at the low overnight fees for long positions – 3% over SONIA.
Visit SpreadexSpreadex doesn’t require a minimum deposit to begin trading and accepts a wide range of funding options. I wasn’t able to test some of their UK-specific options personally – I’m in Australia – but didn’t experience any lag or friction using my debit or credit cards, both of which draw on an Australian bank. The money arrived within 24 hours and I was ready to trade within a day of verification.
One wrinkle? They require withdrawals of at least GBP 50 – an unusually high amount for a broker of this size. I did appreciate that Spreadex offers direct-to-card withdrawals. When we tested this, the money appeared in our team member’s account after an hour and a half. Bank transfers took slightly longer due to enhanced security from the bank, but funds still arrived within the two-day window Spreadex quotes on their website.
If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I’m a fan of TradingView, so I was pleased to see it among the add-ons available for trading CFDs and forex.
Spreadex really stands out for its proprietary trading platform, especially the mobile option. Built entirely in-house, it reflects the decades of experience Spreadex has in this space, the platform is built for spread betting. In particular, I appreciated that the mobile app gave us the option to add technical indicators and overlays. Not that I recommend technical analysis on a tablet or phone, but it’s nice to have the option.
While I wouldn’t call Spreadex a great broker for beginners, it might be a good fit for someone who likes to learn by doing. The broker does offer a complete set of order types for risk management, including guaranteed stops, trailing stops, and price alerts. In that way, you can sandbox strategies easily and play around with indicators while controlling your losses.
Both the web app and mobile trading app allow trading directly from charts, as does TradingView. And while neither social nor copy trading is available, we were able to experiment with TradingView’s ‘social investing’ features.
If I had to describe the range of tradeable products available on Spreadex, I’d go with ‘solid’. 57 forex pairs, including the majors and minors you’d expect, as well as 16 indices, metal, and energy commodities, and ETFs.
More interesting is the variety of futures available to trade: 19 indices futures, 12 forex futures, commodity futures, and two interest rate futures. That’s enough to get my attention, given that comparable brokers usually only offer a handful of options.
In all honesty, I had more fun with the sports spread betting offering. Both retail and pro account holders can spread bet on virtually every major sport – including Australian football and cricket.
As you can see from the chart below, the trading experience with Spreadex doesn’t vary much whether you’re spread betting or trading CFDs. Both allow access to all major order types, allow you to go long, and provide access to leverage.
Where did we feel the difference? In the wallet. UK law treats spread betting profits as gambling winnings, so my good bets went straight to the bank. We still made money off of CFD trading, but knowing that a portion will go to the tax man always rankles. I also kept a running tally of trading costs for CFDs and spread bets and found that, pound for pound (pun intended), spread betting worked out to less per trade.
In a word: yes. All spread betting and financial trading comes with a degree of risk, but trading with a regulated broker significantly reduces the odds that you’ll lose money due to fraud or mismanagement by the broker.
Spreadex holds licenses from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as the UK’s Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission in the Channel Islands.
That said, our team gives higher rankings to brokers with multiple Tier-1 licenses. As an Australian, I would’ve preferred to see the Australian Securities and Investment Commission on this list, but would also accept another European regulator, such as BaFin or CySEC.
We tested customer service the old fashioned way: calling them up, emailing them, and typing increasingly complex questions into their search bar. Response times were in line with what we’d expect from a top broker: 24 hours for an email and less than 30 minutes for a chat. Everyone with whom we interacted was personable and knowledgeable. I especially liked that they didn’t just link me to a semi-relevant article in their help desk library. Agents actually understood trading and took the time to answer questions about how to open an account, make a withdrawal or find information about spread betting strategies.
I was also impressed with their response to a phone call expressing concern about account security. The agent provided an in-depth explanation of security measures and personally walked me through what to do if I thought my account had been compromised.
This was one area where I felt Spreadex could seriously improve. While the broker has excellent resources on how to use their platform, open an account and other nuts and bolts, it offers surprisingly few materials that explain how to actually trade and bet.
I would’ve liked to see more than just a glossary of trading terms and a few platform tutorials, but the biggest downside: no demo account. I can’t think of another Tier 1 broker that doesn’t allow potential customers the opportunity to test out the platform and features before committing, and it raised more than a few eyebrows on the team.
Even experienced traders might struggle. Spreadex doesn’t even offer a basic financial calendar, for pete’s sake! Forget it if you are hoping for some guidance on spread betting strategies.
While we found a lot to like about Spreadex, the spread betting opportunities and low trading costs, these didn’t make up for the missing features and thin product portfolio. If you’re in the UK and curious about spread betting or a casual trader who prefers mobile, then you may be able to overlook these issues. Serious traders, however, will likely have better luck with a more targeted broker with comprehensive forex and CFD offerings. With this in mind, it might be worth looking into some of the other better spread betting brokers such as Pepperstone, IG, CMC Markets, and Admirals.
Visit SpreadexWhen signing up with Spreadex, you need to nominate an account currency. This can be either USD, EUR, or GBP. However, others will be considered on request.
Yes, Spreadex is unique as it is the only company to have spread betting and fixed odds for sports betting on one account.
