Between 54-87% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Based on 69 brokers who display this data.
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BrokerDNA™
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
Plus500
8.9
/10
VISIT PLUS500
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
City Index
9.2
/10
VISIT CITY INDEX
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
XTB
10
/10
VISIT XTB
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
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About |
Plus500 UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909). Plus500 have provided CFD trading services since 2008. |
City Index is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. City Index have provided Forex trading services since 1983. |
XTB is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. XTB have provided Forex, CFD, and social trading services since 2002. |
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Why choose them? |
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Headquarters | Haifa, Israel | London, UK | Level 34, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5AA, London, UK | |
TRADING SERVICES OFFERED |
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Spot Forex | ||||
Forex (CFD) | ||||
CFD | ||||
Spread Betting | ||||
Social Trading | ||||
MARKETS & INSTRUMENTS | ||||
Forex (currency pairs) | 61 | 84 | 48 | |
Commodities Offered | 17 | 26 | 21 | |
Stocks Offered | 1816 | 4500 | 1606 | |
Bitcoin | ||||
Majors | ||||
Indices | ||||
US Stocks | ||||
Penny stocks | ||||
Energies | ||||
Metals | ||||
Agriculturals | ||||
FTSE | ||||
Dow Jones | ||||
Dax | ||||
Nikkei | ||||
ETFs | ||||
IPO | ||||
See all instruments
76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
See all instruments
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See all instruments
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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PLATFORM & FEATURES |
See the platforms and features offered by each broker |
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Screenshot |
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MT4 | ||||
MT5 | ||||
MT4 Mac | ||||
WebTrader | ||||
Mirror Trader | ||||
ZuluTrade | ||||
Sirix | ||||
cTrader | ||||
PAMM | ||||
Custom Platforms | No | AT Pro, Advantage Web | Xstation5 | |
APPS |
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iOS |
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Android |
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Windows |
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Available Languages |
English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Polish, Arabic, Hebrew, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian and Chinese |
English, Spanish, German, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese |
English, Spanish, Czech, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Turkish, Arabic, and Russian. |
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See platform & features
76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
See platform & features
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See platform & features
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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ACCOUNT INFORMATION |
From micro accounts to ECN accounts, compare the accounts offered by Plus500 and City Index |
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Demo account | ||||
Mini account | ||||
Micro account | ||||
Standard account | ||||
ECN Account | ||||
Islamic account | ||||
Zero spread account | ||||
VIP account | ||||
Fixed spreads | ||||
Variable spreads | ||||
See account options
76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
See account options
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See account options
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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TRADING CONDITIONS |
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Scalping | ||||
Hedging | ||||
Expert advisors (EAs) | ||||
Virtual private server | ||||
Direct market access | ||||
STP broker | ||||
Market maker | ||||
Min trade | Varies | 1 Lot | 0.01 Lot | |
Max trade | Varies | Varies | 100 Lot | |
Min deposit | $100 | $25 | $1 | |
RISK MANAGEMENT |
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Stop losses | ||||
Limit orders | ||||
One-click trading | ||||
Trailing stops | ||||
Price alerts | ||||
Signal trading | ||||
FUNDING METHODS |
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Credit card | ||||
Bank transfer | ||||
Standard account | ||||
Paypal | ||||
Neteller | ||||
Skrill | ||||
Payment processing time | Varies | 2-3 business days | Same day if requested before 1PM | |
Withdrawal processing time | Varies | 2-3 business days | Same day if requested before 1PM | |
See all funding options
76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
See all funding options
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See all funding options
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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DETAILED INFO |
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Excluded countries | US,CF,TD,CG,CI,CU,GN,ER,FR,GW,HT,IR,IQ,KR,LB,LR,LY,MM,NZ,NG,SL,SO,SD,SY,TM,UZ,VE,EH,YE,ZW,CA,CV,KY,CM,KH,BI,BF,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,GL,GU,GT,HN,HK,IN,ID,IL,JM,JP,JO,KZ,KW,KG,LA,LV,MG,MY,MV,MU,MR,MX,FM,MN,MS,MZ,NA,NP,PK,PA,PY,PH,PE,PN,RW,LC,WS,SA,LK,SZ,TW,TZ,TH,TT,TN,UG,AE,VI,UM,ZM,VN,TV,KE,KP,GH,FJ,SV,EC,DO,DJ,BR,BT,BD,BH,BB,AZ,AR | US,CF,TD,CG,CI,CU,GN,ER,FR,GW,HT,IR,IQ,KR,LB,LR,LY,MM,NZ,NG,SL,SO,SD,SY,TM,UZ,VE,EH,YE,ZW,CA,CV,KY,CM,KH,BI,BF,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,GL,GU,GT,HN,HK,IN,ID,IL,JM,JP,JO,KZ,KW,KG,LA,LV,MG,MY,MV,MU,MR,MX,FM,MN,MS,MZ,NA,NP,PK,PA,PY,PH,PE,PN,RW,LC,WS,SA,LK,SZ,TW,TZ,TH,TT,TN,UG,AE,VI,UM,ZM,VN,TV,KE,KP,GH,FJ,SV,EC,DO,DJ,BR,BT,BD,BH,BB,AZ,AR | US,IN,PK,BD,IQ,IR,IL,AF,AU,CA | |
Contact email | Send Email | Send Email | Send Email | |
Phone number | No | 0845 355 0801 | 44 2036953085 | |
Live Chat | ||||
Website | http://www.plus500.co.uk/ | www.cityindex.co.uk | www.xtb.com | |
Spreads: | ||||
EUR/USD (Average: 0.7 pips) | 0.01% | 0.7 pips | 0.1 pips | |
GBP/USD (Average: 1.1 pips) | 0.01% | 1.7 pips | 0.1 pips | |
USD/JPY (Average: 1.1 pips) | 0.02% | 0.6 pips | 0.1 pips | |
AUD/USD (Average: 0.8 pips) | 0.01% | 0.6 pips | 0.2 pips | |
USD/CHF (Average: 2.3 pips) | 0.02% | 2.3 pips | 0.2 pips | |
USD/CAD (Average: 2.9 pips) | 0.02% | 0.5 pips | 0.3 pips | |
NZD/USD (Average: 3.6 pips) | 0.05% | 2.8 pips | 0.3 pips | |
EUR/GBP (Average: 2.4 pips) | 0.02% | 0.5 pips | 0.1 pips | |
View all spreads
76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
View all spreads
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
View all spreads
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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FEES |
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Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | No | |
Commission | No | 0.0015 | Yes | |
Deposit Fee | No | Varies | No | |
Withdrawal Fee | No | Varies | No | |
View All Fees
76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
View All Fees
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
View All Fees
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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Last update |
All information collected from http://www.plus500.co.uk/. Last updated on 01/03/2021. |
All information collected from www.cityindex.co.uk. Last updated on 01/03/2021. |
All information collected from www.xtb.com. Last updated on 01/03/2021. |
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Company |
Plus500 is an online trading service provider who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (UK). To open an account with Plus500, minimum deposits start from £100. |
Since establishing themselves as one of the first spread betting providers in the UK. , City Index have grown to a global company in over 50 countries completing over two million trades every month. City Index provide some of the most competitive spreads across thousands of markets including indices, shares, currencies, commodities and many more. For more information about trading with City Index, we have put together an indepth City Index review with some of the pros and cons about this broker. |
XTB provides hyper fast execution and facilitates seminars with external professional traders, providing personalised education depending on your individual circumstances. |
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Popular comparisons |
Popular comparisons feat. Plus500
Plus500 vs eToro |
Popular comparisons feat. City Index
City Index vs IG |
Popular comparisons feat. XTB
XTB vs IG |
If you’re a trader looking for a broker that offers Islamic accounts, Plus500 may be the better option. However, if you want a broker that offers MetaTrader4 as a trading platform, City Index may be more suitable.
You can determine a broker’s reliability & trustworthiness by looking at eight factors:
Based on these eight factors, we consider City Index to be the more reliable broker. We’ve broken down why below:
Plus500 is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909) and Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (License No. 250/14). Plus500AU Pty Ltd (ACN 153301681), licensed by: ASIC in Australia, AFSL #417727, FMA in New Zealand, FSP #486026; Authorised Financial Services Provider in South Africa, FSP #47546, while City Index is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, ASIC and MAS.
XTB are also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
If a broker has been around for a long period of time, they’re likely to be more reliable (in comparison, most scam brokers only exist for several years before they disappear).
This also suggests that a broker has good risk management processes that have prevented them being caught out by major financial events, as was the case with Alpari UK going bust when they were there was a policy reversal of capping the Swiss Franc against the Euro.
Plus500 has been around for 13 years, while City Index have been around for 38 years. Our third alternative broker, XTB, have been around for 19 years.
You wouldn’t want your broker paying their staff out of the same bank account account that you’re depositing your trading funds into, would you?
Fortunately, all regulated brokers must use segregated bank accounts to hold client money. This is one of the reasons why we only feature regulated brokers here on BrokerNotes.
All three brokers above will hold your money in a separate bank account.
Most tier-1 banks like Barclays and HSBC have been around for over 100 years and manage trillions of dollars of assets, proving that they have stood the test of time.
Both Plus500 and City Index use tier one banks, but we are not sure of which bank specifically.
If a broker has been penalised by a regulator in the past five years, it may mean that they were caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing - which may be of concern to you as an end client.
We’re not aware of any penalties or fines imposed by regulators on Plus500 or City Index in the past five years.
While not always the case, the number of traders a broker has can be a good metric for understanding how reputable a brokers is.
According to their websites, Plus500 is more popular with over 300,000 traders, while City Index is used by 140,000 traders. XTB, in comparison, is used by 230,000.
Companies that are publicly listed on a stock exchange tend to be considered more reputable as they will be required to disclose their financials, and aspects of their operations, to the public.
Plus500 is a publicly listed company, while on the other hand City Index is still a privately owned company.
Most reputable brokers tend to be headquartered in a major capital city or a financial hub such as Cyprus.
Plus500 are based in Haifa, Israel, while City Index are based in London, UK .
Assuming the brokers you’re choosing between are reputable, the next point to consider is whether they offer all of the features you require to trade.
This can be broken down into three categories:
If you’re looking to trade currency pairs, both Plus500 and City Index offer forex trading. City Index have a slightly larger variety of currency pairs with 84 pairs, compared to 61 offered by Plus500. Also, if you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies, Plus500 offers a handful of cryptocurrency CFDs to trade, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
Both Plus500 and City Index allow you to trade commodities like gold, silver and crude oil.
In addition to the platform, you’ll also want to ensure that the broker you choose offers the account type best suited to your needs. City Index, for example, offer a mini account, standard account and VIP account.
If you have a certain trading style (e.g. scalping, hedging, or using EAs), you’ll want to double check that the broker you choose allows this, as not all of them do.
While City Index does not allow scalping but does allow hedging. You can't trade with EAs (expert advisors) on Plus500 but you can trade EAs (expert advisors) with City Index.
In terms of risk management tools, Plus500 does offer negative balance protection to prevent you owing your broker more than you’ve deposited, but City Index doesn't offer this.
Plus500 also offer stop losses, limit orders, and price alerts to help you automate aspects of your trading strategy.
Plus500 accept Paypal while City Index accept Payoneer.
Comparing the fee structures of different brokers can be a minefield at times. The important thing to consider is what the spreads & fees are on the specific instruments and account type that you will be using.
For trading EUR/USD, Plus500 charges 0.60 points, while City Index charges 0.50 points. Therefore, City Index is the more affordable for this instrument. If you want to compare their spreads across more instruments, You can jump back up to our comparison of their currency pair & indice spreads above.
Another consideration is whether or not your broker charges inactivity, deposit/withdrawal fees, or commissions on trades. If you’re a frequent trader, inactivity fees are unlikely to be an issue.
There’s no such thing as a perfect broker, but some are going to be a better fit for you than others.
Objectively, City Index is more reliable based on our criteria above. Plus500 has a wider range of instruments to trade. City Index offer lower spreads on popular forex instruments like EUR/USD and are used by more traders.
Both brokers offer demo accounts, allowing you to test their platforms to see which is suitable for you. You can test drive their demos using the links below:
Finally, if you’re really not sure you can always use our free tool (takes 15 seconds) that will help you find a suitable broker based on your precise requirements here.