Best Forex Trading Platform UK Comparison

Best cTrader Forex Broker = FxPro

FxPro has been awarded by our team of experts as the best cTrader Forex broker and the best UK spread betting platform. Many advanced trading tools help FxPro to stand out from the other cTrader brokers.

The cTrader trading platform is the second most popular forex trading platform, which is why it becomes the leading multi-asset trading platform for many advanced forex traders.

From the FxPro trading platform download centre, traders can have access to the cTrader for both PC and Mac.

The FxPro cTrader platform is an award-winning platform that comes with the following capabilities:

Ultra-Fast Order Execution Capabilities

The trading conditions offered through the FxPro cTrader platform are unmatched among top forex brokers. FxPro pride itself by using an execution model that has deep liquidity from top-tier liquidity providers and a number of global banks.

This enables FxPro to provide retail investor accounts with:

• Ultra-fast order execution
• Tight spreads
• Execution speed is ultra-fast
• Orders are filled instantly in under 11.06 milliseconds
• More than 7,000 orders being executed each second.

With an initial deposit of $100, you can have access to an award-winning order execution model that is fully transparent. For optimal trading conditions, FxPro recommends opening retail CFD accounts with at least $500.

In the table below you can discover how FxPro compares to other UK  Forex brokers in terms of the minimum deposit, maximum leverage, and the EUR/USD spreads.

Full Live Market Depth

cTrader offers three types of Depth of Market (DOM) on a range of currency pairs:

1. VWAP Depth of Market
2. Standard Depth of Market
3. Price DOM

Currency trading with the liquidity available for each price can give you an extra edge and trade alongside institutional traders. This is an outstanding feature for big traders that execute large sizes. You can use the Depth of Market as an order management tool and place your buy and sell orders directly on the price you wish to trade.

Additionally, the Depth of Market is available even for CFD trading.

 cTrader Automate

A key powerful feature of the FxPro cTrader is the algorithmic trading platform designed to build cBots and custom-made indicators. The cTrader Automate feature is a versatile tool that enables advanced optimization of trading parameters even when trading CFDs.

FxPro was among the first UK CFD brokers to offer cTrader Automated including all the integrated algo trading tools that come with it. When you opt to trade with FxPro cTrader you have access to a competitive trading platform that can supply all your trading needs.

Forex Trading For Beginners = Plus500

• Plus500 – Best Forex Trading Platform For Beginners
• eToro – Best Social Trading Platform
• Interactive Brokers – Best Automated Platform

Plus500 is the largest CFD online broker in the world that comes with its own in-house proprietary trading platform. Plus500 has a rich history being in the online trading business since 2008 when it started serving clients around the world.

Our team of experts has awarded Plus500 as the best forex trading platform for beginners for the following reasons:

Intuitive Trading Platform

Its own proprietary trading platform is pretty intuitive and very simple to use for beginners. The main user interface is designed to help beginners trade in an environment that focuses on simplicity.

You can trade via the web-based trading platform and trading Apps on both iOS and Android. Mobile trading has integrated the same trading feature that comes with the Plus500 web-based trading platform.

Opening a Plus500 demo account is just as easy as the platform interface. The fast account opening procedure is done using your Facebook or Google account.

Safe Trading on Plus500 Platform

The Plus500 trading platform is safe to start trading because it’s regulated by CYSEC the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and it’s listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In terms of regulation, they have tighter regulations around the world by the main regulatory agencies. Client funds are held in segregated bank accounts and you have protection in case of bankruptcy.

+2000 Financial Instruments Traded on Plus500

The Plus500 offers a wide range of markets. There are over +2000 financial instruments traded through the Plus500 trading platform. You can trade CFDs on the following instruments:

• Forex
• Cryptocurrencies
• Stock Indices
• Shares
• ETFs
• Commodities
• Options

Inside the spread betting trading platform, you have tools that can help you search for your favourite trading instrument as well as populate your favourite list with your chosen instruments.

Guaranteed Stop

The Plus500 offers guaranteed stop on its +2000 traded instruments. This trading feature comes very handily during volatile times when the market can experience rapid and sharp price movements. This risk management tool guarantees that you’ll never lose money when trading CFDs. The advantage of using a guaranteed stop-loss order is that you’ll never encounter slippage on your stop loss. With this kind of protection, FX traders will never lose more than the stop loss size.

Real-time Alerts

The Plus500 real-time alerts service allows you to get notified based on:

• The latest changes in the price
• Predefined buy and sell prices by the user
• Traders’ Sentiments alert

Traders have three options on how they get notified: by email, SMS or either by push-notifications. This unique price alert tool will automatically trigger an alert signal once the conditions set by the user are satisfied.

The real-time alerts come free of charge you only need a demo account and you’re set to go.

Overall, for beginner UK forex traders Plus500 is the recommended option with the choice of opening a live or demo account.

Open a demo account >>Visit Plus500 >>

Best Social Trading Account = eToro

eToro is the world’s leading social trading platform that allows millions of investors to copy trade in real-time. eToro’s innovative social trading technology allows traders around the world to copy other successful traders or to open manual trades in the financial markets.

Our team of experts evaluated eToro alongside other copy trading platforms by being committed to rigorous standards. We awarded eToro the prize of the best social trading network because of the outlined trading features:

eToro Powerful Copy Trading Platform

eToro social network platform connects traders from over 140 countries and lets them mimic the trading activity of the most talented traders. eToro proprietary trading platform is recognized around the world for its collective advantageous social ecosystem.

Professional traders can share their success inside the eToro social network and generate an extra passive income from their trading ideas. eToro can facilitate communication between a losing trader and a profitable trader in up to 20 languages.

Traders looking for a user-friendly and intuitive online trading platform can be satisfied with the eToro interface. The powerful dashboard can help you easily navigate to your favourite trading tools:

• Copy trader analysis and stats
• Technical tools
• Order execution
• Newsfeed and market trends
• ProCharts tool

You can enjoy social live trading on your mobile devices: iPhone and Android. eToro minimum deposit for a live account start just at $50 for Australia and USA  residents, and for the rest of the world, the minimum deposit amount is $200. Residents of Israel are required a minimum deposit of $10,000 to start trading with eToro.

Powerful Risk Management Tools

eToro offers powerful risk management tools to identify the most decent trading strategies. The risk management tool offers advanced trading functions and stats to better assess the performance of a trader.

eToro Enjoys Strict Regulation

eToro social platform works by following the strict licensing requirements imposed by multi-regulatory bodies including:

• UK’s FCA
• Australia’s ASIC
• Cyprus’s CYSEC

Investors can trade with peace of mind and be assured that eToro has safety and compliance standards set in place. Additionally, US residents can also conduct live trading through the eToro USA LLC, which is a registered entity that complies with FinCEN, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

 eToro CopyPortfolio

The CopyPortfolio is a tool that helps investors to copy an entire portfolio of instruments or traders. This portfolio management tool includes three types of new investment opportunities:

• Market Portfolios
• Top Traders Portfolios
• Partner Portfolios

The Top Trader Portfolio features eToro’s most successful and profitable traders, while the market portfolios include instruments of the same type. If you’re an investment manager you can create your own CopyPortfolios with eToro.

A Wide Range of Markets

eToro brings a wide range of asset to its global user base including:

• Stocks
• ETFs
• CFDs
• Cryptocurrency
• Currency Pairs
• Commodities

The wide array of instruments makes eToro one of the best brokers in the UK when it comes to social trading.

eToro Cryptocurrency Trading Platform

eToro dedicates a unique focus on cryptocurrency trading. If you want to buy and sell Bitcoin you can do so through their exclusive eToro Cryptocurrency trading platform. The main feature that comes with the cryptocurrency trading platform is the ultra-fast market order execution speed. eToro advertises itself as:

“near-immediate execution of market orders.”  

Through eToro you can have access to the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap. A total number of 17 digital currencies are available on eToro social trading platform including:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ripple
• Litecoin
• Stellar XLM
• Etc…

One of the most unique eToro features is commission-free crypto trading.

Overall, no UK forex broker comes close to eToro when it comes to the social trading features of eToro. If this feature is what you’re looking for when it comes to a CFD broker in the UK, then you should consider opening a live account or trial a demo account.

Open a demo account >>Visit eToro >>

Best Automated Platform = Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers offers access to one of the best automated trading platforms in the UK. The algorithmic trading software comes with advanced tools dedicated to the most sophisticated quants and math geeks.

In today’s dynamic trading world, dominated by algos you need to have access to more sophisticated trading tools if you want to compete with the algos that run the markets. Our team of experts has determined that Interactive Brokers automated trading platform is the best platform for developing automated trading strategies, for the following reasons:

TWS Algorithmic Trading

The Trader Workstation (TWS) automated trading software is designed for all types of high-risk algo development. To have access to the IB’s full range of trading platforms you need to have an IBKR PRO live client account.

Interactive Brokers Trader Station offers 12 pre-integrated algorithmic tools among which the most popular and effective programming tools are:

• Accumulate/Distribute Algo
• Dark Ice Order
• Variant Algos
• Minimize Impact Algo
• VWAP Algo (Best-Efforts)

The only downside that comes with Interactive Brokers TWS is that it’s not user-friendly and it’s difficult to figure out all the advanced features without first investing the proper time into it.

We recommend IB Trader Workstation (TWS) for professional traders that have a deep understanding to cope with a complex trading platform and are looking for an efficient algo building tool.

+100 Order Types and Algos

IB TWS offers access to over 100 order types and in-house automated algos that are designed to:

• Limit risk
• Faster order execution
• Opportunity for price improvements
• Allows privacy for big orders

Additionally, the automated trading platform offers groundbreaking third party algos order types, including:

• CSFB
• Fox River
• Jefferies and Quantitive Brokers (QB).

 Accumulate/Distribute Algo

IB’s Accumulate/Distribute Algo is a proprietary automated software designed to break large orders into multiple smaller increments. This innovative tool can help you receive price improvements on your large orders and at the same time enjoying privacy.

In addition, the algo can be customized for a more efficient order management process. The all-inclusive interface has the following main features:

• Randomized order submission times
• Programming the algo to respond to changes in the market price and trend
• Order Summary tab
• Supports multiple instruments including stocks, forex, options, and futures

Effective TWS API Feature

IB’s proprietary API allows traders to develop automated trading strategies that can profit from IB’s:

• Fast order routing algorithms
• And deep liquidity

The Interactive Brokers’ API provides professional traders to implement algorithmic trading solutions in multiple programming languages including:

• Python
• Java
• Visual Basic for ActiveX
• C++
• DDE for Excel.

Interactive Brokers offers you the option to open a TWS demo account so you can backtest your automated trading strategies before you commit any of your hard-earned money. Before you use the Client Portal Web API make sure you read all the relevant risk warnings so you trade in compliance with Interactive Brokers’ standards.

Overall, Interactive Brokers offers access to the best automated trading platform in the forex space. With the TWS platform, you have access to complex algo tools that can compete with the most sophisticated trading tools used on Wall Street.