The UK Best CFD Trading Platforms In 2021

Plus500 – CFD Risk Management And Negative Balance Protection

Plus500 is a good CFD UK broker for traders looking for risk management features. Our team of trained experts assessed online CFD provider Plus500 based on four brokerage features:

• Conditional stop-limit orders
• Guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSL)
• Trailing stop-loss order
• Negative balance protection

Manage your risk with our simple yet powerful trading tools

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, Plus500 Ltd is a leading international Forex and CFD provider, offering more than 2,000 financial instruments in a number of asset classes. Plus 500 is authorised to conduct financial services business in several jurisdictions, including:

• The UK, where it operates as Plus500UK Ltd, an entity regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Australia, where it operates as Plus500AU Pty Ltd, an entity regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The same company is also regulated in New Zealand by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and in South Africa by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
• Europe, where it operates as Plus500CY Ltd, an entity regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• The Seychelles, where it operates as Plus500SEY Ltd, an entity regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA)
• Singapore, where it operates as Plus500SG Pte Ltd, an entity regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Our team of industry experts have concluded that Plus 500’s CFD platform offers the largest variety of risk management tools, which allow UK-based retail investors to protect their active positions while being exposed to the relentless dynamics of the global markets.

Risk Management features offered by Plus500

Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are complex instruments, enabling retail traders to speculate on the price movements of a particular trading instrument by using leverage. We can say that leverage is a double-edged sword since it amplifies both potential gains and potential losses. Therefore, when trading CFDs with the use of high leverage ratios amid a highly volatile market environment, retail investors need proper tools to minimize risk.

In the UK, leverage for retail clients is limited to 1:30, as per the existing regulatory framework. But traders willing to qualify for a professional account may have access to higher leverage – up to 1:400.

What Plus 500 offers its UK clients as tools to manage high leverage are 3 valuable risk features. Our team of experts will outline below the different ways to manage trading risk on the Plus500 trading platform.

Stop Limit, Stop Loss Orders

The Stop Limit order, also known as Close at Profit, allows CFD traders to specify a price level at which their active position will be closed while gains will be locked in.

The Stop Loss order, also known as Close at Loss, allows traders to specify a price level at which their active position will be closed while losses will be limited.

Plus 500 offers this trading feature without charging any fees.

Guaranteed Stop Loss Order

Plus 500’s Guaranteed Stop ensures an absolute limit on potential losses while minimising the risk of slippage. If the price of a selected trading instrument moves in the opposite direction to what the client has anticipated, the software will automatically close his/her position at the price level specified.

On the downside, Plus 500 allows Guaranteed Stop on some financial instruments only and it will apply an extra spread.

Trailing Stop Order

The Trailing Stop feature enables clients to preserve gains and to place a Stop Loss order that will update automatically when price movement develops in the anticipated direction.

If the price goes in the opposite direction to the one anticipated, the Close at Loss order will be triggered. However, there is no guarantee that the position will close at the “Close at Loss” level specified, as slippage may occur.

On the plus side, the broker will not charge clients for using the Trailing Stop feature.

Negative Balance Protection

As a risk management tool, negative balance protection is not offered by all Forex and CFD brokers. Fortunately, Plus 500 does have such a policy. With a negative balance protection feature in place, retail investor accounts cannot lose larger fund amounts than those initially deposited. It has proven to be a valuable tool, particularly in times of heightened market volatility, when margin calls may not function as expected.

Final Words – Best UK CFD Broker with Risk Management Tools

With over 200,00 active traders on its proprietary CFD trading platform, Plus500 has proven to offer a complete range of risk management tools. Plus500 offers the best solution to properly manage your risk, which can be an essential tool, especially for UK novice traders. Grab your FREE demo account by clicking the button below.

View Plus500 Review >>Visit Plus500 >>

*Your capital is at risk ‘76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money’

eToro – Social Trading Platforms

Our independent review revealed that the best social trading platform in the UK is offered by eToro. eToro allows London traders to copy trades on a wide range of CFD financial markets. eToro was selected as the best copy trading and social trading platform in 2021 based on three factors:

• Low-cost social trading with 0% commission on CFD share trading
• Connect with a wide database of professional traders (Estimated yearly profits of 29.1%)
• Explore a wide range of CFD instruments (+2000 CFD financial instruments)

Join eToro and trade stocks from the world’s top exchanges with no commission

eToro is a leading Forex and CFD provider, recognised internationally for its social trading platform. eToro is authorised to operate in a number of jurisdictions, including:

• Europe, where it is regulated by the Cyprus-based CySEC
• The United Kingdom, where it is regulated by the FCA
• Australia, where it is regulated by the ASIC

eToro’s CopyTrader

CFD traders with insufficient trading experience, who may have a difficult time earning profits with their own trading strategies, will probably find eToro’s CopyTrader feature appealing. By copying positions of experienced traders, beginners are able to earn a passive income.

UK-based eToro clients have the freedom to locate and choose from more than 3,000,000 active traders on the broker’s platform by using certain parameters such as return, risk score, number of copiers or preferred markets to trade. Once beginners locate a top-performing trader, they can discuss trading strategies with him/her or exactly copy his/her trading portfolio.

To replicate the activity of a professional, copiers do not have to pay any management fees or other hidden costs. They simply allocate a part of their available account balance to copy his/her portfolio.

In order to access eToro’s CopyTrader, UK retail clients will need to ensure a minimum deposit of $200. We should also note that every copied position has to be at least $1 in value.

Traders, whose portfolios are copied, have the opportunity to earn an extra income each month by participating in eToro’s Popular Investor Program.

eToro Range of Financial Markets and CFDs

At eToro, UK-based traders can access and copy trades in real-time on a wide range of markets, including:

• 47 Forex currency pairs (GBP/USD, EUR/USD, AUD/USD, etc.)
• 13 Commodity CFDs (Oil, Gold, Copper, etc.)
• 13 Stock indices CFDs (UK100, SPX500, AUS200, etc.)
• +1000 CFD stocks from across global stock exchanges
• 147 ETFs with a spread of 0.09%

The eToro CFD platform is a top-of-the-line trading platform designed with the aim to help out beginner traders. The CFD multi-asset platform is a web-based trading platform that doesn’t require any installation and comes with the following features:

• eToro clients receive a free virtual portfolio of $100,000
• TIPRANKS Research Tab – captures market analysis from professional investors
• Procharts – enables CFD traders to analyse and compare different CFD markets
• Offline trading – enables trading when the CFD platform is down for maintenance
• One-click trading
• Stop Loss and Take Profit Orders
• Trailing Stop Loss Order

Final Words – eToro The Best Social Trading Network UK

Overall, eToro scored the highest number of points in our proprietary start scoring system for its CFD copy trading platform. The big number of CFD markets along with the CopyTrader platform makes eToro the best social trading platform in 2021. Start trading today on the foreign exchange market and hundreds of CFD instruments by clicking the button below.

XTB – Best CFD Platform for ETFs and Equities

Online trading provider, XTB UK offers the best CFD trading platform for share trading and ETF trading based on four factors:

• Award-winning CFD trading platform (Winner of ‘Best Trading Platform 2016’ by Online Personal Wealth Awards)
• Mobile trade alerts from XTB in-house expert analysts
• Advanced chart trading tools
• Trader performance statistic

At XTB you can choose from two world-class platforms+1,500 Stock + 80 ETFs

XTB is a stock exchange-listed, award-winning Forex and CFD provider with over 15 years of business history and offices in more than 13 countries across Europe. Headquartered in London, XTB Ltd is authorised and regulated by the UK’s FCA.

XTB offers access to over 1,500 derivative financial instruments across a range of six markets, including Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and Equities, all with competitive pricing.

Share CFD trading with XTB

When trading shares as CFDs, you are speculating on price movements rather than buying or selling the physical underlying asset, as with share dealing. XTB is a top share CFD broker thanks to two key factors – low fees and access to a wide range of stock markets.

The broker allows access to more than 1,700 high-quality US and European Stocks, including Apple, Adidas, Airbus, Amazon etc, with a maximum leverage of 1:5 and low commissions of 0.08% (minimum EUR 8 or $8) on its xStation 5 and MetaTrader 4 platforms.

Trading CFDs on ETFs with XTB

UK-based clients can trade CFDs on a total of 110 US and European ETFs with no requotes, maximum leverage of 1:5, low commissions of 0.08% (minimum EUR 8 or $8) and spreads of as low as 0.02 points on SDPR S&P 500 Trust and PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1.

XTB Demo Account

Before you sign up for a live CFD account and start risking real money, UK retail customers have the option to test CFD products and trading strategies via a demo account. XTB’s demo account provides access for 4 weeks, and you are provided GBP 100,000 in virtual funds.

XTB Funding

After building confidence in trading CFDs via your demo account, you can easily open a live CFD trading account with XTB.

The online broker requires a minimum deposit of £250, $250, or €250, depending on the account base currency you choose. You can fund your account using two different e-wallets, being Paypal and Paysafe (formally Skrill), as well as debit cards, credit cards, and bank transfers. Withdrawals are returned to your nominated bank account.

Final Words – XTB Best CFD Platform UK for Share Trading and ETF Trading

Among the CFD brokers in the UK we compared, XTB offers the best CFD trading platform for share and ETF trading. XTB’s xStation is great for CFD trading on US stocks, UK stocks, European stocks, and much more. For more details on the financial services offered by XTB, you can contact their customer support service, which is available 24/7.

XTB Review >>Visit XTB >>

FxPro – Recommended For cTrader

Among all UK CFD brokers reviewed, FxPro offers the best technological solution for the cTrader trading platform based on three factors:

• Available on multiple devices (desktop, web and mobile applications)
• cTrader Depth of Market (DOM) feature
• Advanced order routing

FxPro cTrader provides a larger range of modern features + cBot trading facilities

Founded in 2006, FxPro is one of the most reputable global CFD brokers with more than 70 awards, based in the United Kingdom. It offers 107 CFDs on a range of markets such as Forex, Shares, Spot Indices, Commodity Futures, Spot Metals and Spot Energies on popular trading platforms like MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader.

FxPro complies with strict regulatory standards in a number of global jurisdictions:

• The UK, where it operates as FxPro UK Limited, an entity regulated by the FCA
• Europe, where it operates as FxPro Financial Services Limited, an entity regulated by the CySEC
• South Africa, where it operates as FxPro Financial Services Limited, an entity regulated by the FSCA

FxPro’s cTrader Trading Platform Features

FxPro’s cTrader is that it ensures access to full market depth, which allows clients to receive the best available bid and ask for quotes. The award-winning cTrader platform can be downloaded on a range of operational systems, including Windows, MAC, iOS and Android. The trading platform can also be accessed via a browser.

With FxPro’s cTrader, UK-based retail clients can open trades using advanced order execution types, including:

• Good till Cancel (GTC) and Good till Date (GTD) – is a type of limit order that is executed only during a time window specified by the client
• Limit orders with no restrictions– traders can set their Stop Loss and Take Profit orders at the closest pip distance possible from the current market price. Thus, they can implement their trading strategies with greater precision.
• No maximum limit on the size of orders
• Smart Order Routing – traders will receive the best available price in 100% of the cases, while their orders will be executed automatically in 99.9% of the cases.
• Guaranteed order execution with no requotes.
• Average order execution speed of 37 ms.

FxPro’s cTrader Range of Markets

We consider the limited number of accessible markets as being the main disadvantage of FxPro’s cTrader platform. UK-based clients can access no more than 104 trading instruments in four asset classes (Foreign Exchange, Metals, Energies and Stock Indices). On the other hand, customers who seek to trade CFDs on Commodity Futures or Shares have the freedom to select the broker’s MetaTrader 4 platform.

Final Words – Best cTrader CFD Trading Platform in the UK

Overall, FxPro offers the best conditions for CFD trading on the cTrader platform. The advanced online trading tools integrated with cTrader along with the cBot feature for automated trading strategies make FxPro cTrader the best pick of CFD trading platform in the UK.

View FxPro Review >>Visit FxPro >>

City Index – CFD Trading Platform Range Of Markets

The best CFD trading platform in the UK with the largest variety of financial markets available for trading is offered by City Index UK. City Index took the most points in our star scoring system based on three factors:

• 8 different financial markets (total of 12,000 CFD instruments)
• Powerful proprietary CFD trading platforms that are user-friendly
• CFD educational centre (webinars, educational videos and articles and trading quizzes)

CityIndex offers Spread Betting, CFD and Forex Trading on 12,000+ global markets

City Index is a trading name of GAIN Capital UK Limited, which is registered in England and Wales and falls under the regulation of the UK’s FCA.

CFD Trading with City Index

With City Index, UK-based retail clients are granted access to a wide range of markets through several trading platforms – HTML5 Web Trader, MetaTrader 4 and AT Pro. The broker offers CFDs on 8 underlying assets as follows:

• Forex – 84 major, minor and exotic currency pairs with spreads of as low as 0.5 pips on EUR/USD and AUD/USD and as low as 0.9 pips on GBP/USD. The margin requirement for major FX pairs is 3.33%, with the exception of AUD/USD and NZD/USD where it is 5%
• Stock Indices – 21 major Indices with spreads starting from 1.0 point on FTSE 100 Index, Xetra DAX Index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index. Margin requirements for Indices range between 5% and 10%
• Equities – more than 4,500 global Shares with a margin rate of 20%. The broker will charge a commission of 0.08% or a minimum GBP 10 on trades in UK Equities. The minimum spread on UK Stocks is 0.1%, while on major US Stocks (Apple, Amazon etc.) it starts from $0.04
• Metals, Energies and Soft Commodities – more than 20 Commodities with spreads of as low as 1.5 points on US Crude Oil and UK Brent Oil and margin rate of 10%. The broker offers even lower fixed spreads on Commodity Futures such as Sugar (0.06 points) and Coffee (0.9 points). Gold CFDs can be traded with 0.3 points around market spread and margin rate of 5%
• Bonds – 12 Bond CFD contracts with fixed spreads of as low as 0.02 points on US T-Bond and 0.03 points on UK Long Gilt. The margin rate for Bonds is 20%
• Options – more than 20 Options markets with spreads starting from 4 points during market hours
• Interest Rates – 3 Interest Rate CFD contracts with spreads of as low as 0.02 points and margin rate of 20%

Final Words – Best UK CFD Trading Platform with Global Financial Assets

The best CFD trading platforms in the UK for accessing a large number of Contract for Difference is City Index. UK residents can open a live account with City Index with as little as GBP 100. Claim your free demo account and gain exposure to global financial assets.

ThinkMarkets – CFD Mobile Trading Platform

The best CFD trading Apps in the UK are offered by ThinkMarkets based on three factors:

• ThinkTrader next-generation mobile technology
• Powerful technical analysis tools
• Deposits and withdrawals directly from ThinkMarkets mobile Apps

Real-time CFD trading directly from ThinkTrader Mobile App with over 80 indicators + TrendRisk scanner.

ThinkMarkets is a multi-regulated Forex and CFD provider with a decade of business history. It is authorised to offer online trading services in:

• The United Kingdom, where it operates as TF Global Markets (UK) Limited, regulated by the FCA
• Australia, where it operates as TF Global Markets (Aust) Limited, regulated by the ASIC
• South Africa, where it operates as TF Global Markets (South Africa) Pty Ltd, regulated by the FSCA

Our review has concluded that ThinkMarkets offers the most competitive mobile trading application on the UK market.

ThinkTrader Mobile Trading Platform

ThinkTrader Mobile is an innovative CFD trading platform, which offers a set of distinct features such as:

• Innovative Analysis – a full suite of technical analysis tools, including over 80 indicators, 50 drawing tools and 14 chart types
• Quad Screen Display – traders can monitor 4 real-time charts at once on any iOS and Android-based device
• Multi Deal Closure – traders can close all active positions in a given instrument instantly and without effort
• Cutting-edge TrendRisk Scanner – an advanced market scanner that automatically looks for a number of trading instruments on several time frames and applies risk management
• Cloud-based Alerts – all the required market information can be obtained when traders need it without being logged in to their trading account
• Multi-touch Functionality – a given area on the chart can be dragged and highlighted, allowing traders to instantly determine the exact number of pips or points it represents
• Customisable trading history reports
• Real-time news from FX Wire Pro.

Final Words – Best CFD Mobile Trading Platform in the UK

ThinkMarkets offer the best mobile CFD trading platforms for UK traders. The CFD trading Apps offered by ThinkMarkets are powered through MetaTrader 4 mobile App, MetaTrader 5 mobile App and ThinkTrader App. Start your mobile trading journey with a minimum deposit of GBP 250 by clicking the button below.

View ThinkMarkets Review >>Visit ThinkMarkets >>

CMC Markets – Spread Betting and CFD Stock Trading

CMC Markets offer the best spread betting platforms UK and CFD stock trading based on three factors:

• Proprietary CFD share and spread betting trading platform Next Generation
• Innovative trading tools (client sentiment, pattern recognition, etc.)
• Easy-to-use orders

Spread bet tax-free across over 9,400 global stocks + Award-winning trading platform

CMC Markets is a reputable online trading services provider, based in London, and having offices across Europe and the Asia Pacific area. CMC Markets UK Plc and CMC Spreadbet Plc are entities, which comply with the stringent regulatory standards upheld by the FCA.

Our review has concluded that, in terms of spread betting conditions, CMC Markets clearly outpaces other regulated CFD and Forex brokers in the United Kingdom.

Similar to CFD trading, spread betting is a high-risk endeavour that may lead to capital losses due to leverage.

Currently, CMC Markets offers spread betting services only to customers from the United Kingdom and Ireland. They can spread bet on over 9,000 trading instruments in several asset classes – Forex pairs, Commodities, Stock Indices, Equities, ETFs and Treasuries.

CMC Spread Betting Account Specifications

The broker has no minimum deposit requirement on its Spread Betting Account, while Forex spreads start from 0.3 pips.

Spread betting is the favoured approach to short-term trading for many UK traders mainly because gains are not subject to capital gains tax (CGT) like with CFDs.

But, similarly to CFD trading, you are not required to pay stamp duty, because they simply speculate on the price movement of instruments and do not actually own the underlying asset.

The key features of CMC Markets’ spread betting platform include:

Stock CFD Trading with CMC Markets

The broker allows access to over 9,400 global Stocks, traded as CFDs with a margin rate of 20%. It will charge a commission of 0.10% for most countries, while for positions in US and Canadian Share CFDs the commission will be $0.02. The table below presents the minimum commission charged, the trading hours and other specifications related to Stock trading:

Final Words – Best Spread Betting Platform UK

Overall, CMC Markets offer the best spread betting platforms available across all your devices. There is no minimum deposit to start spread betting and share trading with CMC Markets. If you’re ready to start trading, click the button below.

View CMC Markets Review >>Visit CMC Markets>>

IG Markets – CFD Forex Currency Pairs

The top pick for the best CFD forex currency pairs platform is offered by IG Markets. For UK traders, IG supports 80 forex pairs on their award-winning platforms. IG Markets offers the best CFD trading platform to trade currency-based CFDs based on three factors:

• Wide range of forex trading platforms and CFD platforms (IG’s web trading platform, MetaTrader 4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer and Trading Apps)
• Direct Market Access (DMA)
• Tax-free spread betting (no capital gains tax and stamp duty)

Trade with the world’s No.1 spread betting and CFD provider

Note* With IG, you can spread bet and trade CFDs on over 17,000 financial instruments.

Trade CFDs on Forex Pairs with IG

UK customers of the IG Markets can choose between a wide range of CFD trading platforms. However, the most popular CFD trading platforms used by UK traders are IG’s proprietary Webtrader and the MetaTrader 4 powered by IG’s price technology.

IG’s online trading platform features are listed below:

• Wide range of order tickets – helps mitigate the forex risk
• Advanced charting package through ProRealTime
• Integrated economic calendar and news analysis (real-time updates from the Twitter feed, Reuters, DailyFX analysts)
• Exclusive access to IG’s TV channel
• Automatic alerts straight to your desktop or mobile
• Chart pattern recognition signals
• And much more

Additionally, IG’s MetaTrader 4 platform come with a range of free technical indicators and add-ons that helps UK forex traders analyse the price movements of their favourite currency pairs. IG offers for free the following technical analysis tools and add-ons:

• Mini terminal – is an upgrade of the MT4’s deal tickets
• Trade terminal – manage your trades from a single window
• Stealth orders – hides your forex trading orders from the market
• Correlation matrix – advanced forex currency pairs heat map
• Alarm manager – allows FX traders to set up price alerts
• Sentiment Trader – overview of the forex market sentiment
• Correlation trader – forex currency pair correlation
• Candle countdown – allow UK traders to see the remaining time till the candle close
• Session map – shows you which forex trading sessions are open

Final Words – IG Forex Trading Account

Overall, among all UK forex brokers we compared, IG Markets is the best broker for forex currency pairs trading. The IG’s retail investor accounts can be funded with a minimum deposit of GBP 250. Start trading now with one of the best CFD trading platforms for forex trading by clicking the button below.

View IG Markets Review >>Visit IG >>