BrokerCue

Broker Comparison

AJ Bell vs CMC Markets

Compare AJ Bell and CMC Markets side by side: fees, regulation, platforms.

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

UK long-term investors and pension savers

AJ Bell is a UK investment platform founded in 1995, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, ISAs and SIPPs acro…

VS
CMC Markets

CMC Markets

Active forex and CFD traders

CMC Markets is a CFD and forex broker founded in 1989, with MT4, MT5, TradingView and its own web and mobile …

Head-to-head comparison

AJ Bell vs CMC Markets
Feature AJ Bell CMC Markets
Minimum deposit - There is no minimum deposit required to open an account
Stock trading fee £5 per trade; £3.50 per trade for frequent dealers (10+ deals in previous month); £25 by telephone -
Regulators FCA BMA
Best for UK long-term investors and pension savers Active forex and CFD traders
Markets & account
Stocks
ETFs
Forex
-
CFDs
-
Crypto
-
Bonds
Funds
-
Ready Made Portfolios
-
Investment Plans
-
Isa
-
Sipp
-
Savings Vaults
-
Spread Betting
-
Demo Account
-

Pros & cons

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Pros

  • FCA-regulated with FSCS protection up to £85,000
  • Share and ETF custody capped at £3.50/month in ISA and dealing accounts
  • SIPP platform fee capped at £10/month
  • Wide investment range: 4,000+ funds, 3,500+ ETFs, 16,000+ shares across 24 markets
  • No withdrawal or inactivity fees
  • Regular investing with no dealing charge from £25/month
  • Which? Recommended Provider for eight consecutive years (2019-2026)
  • ISA, SIPP, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA and dealing accounts all on one platform

Cons

  • No demo or practice account
  • No fractional shares
  • No cryptocurrency trading
  • Fund platform fee is not capped, making it expensive for large fund portfolios
  • FX conversion fee up to 0.75% on international trades
  • Basic charting tools compared to dedicated trading platforms
  • No multi-currency account - all holdings converted to GBP
CMC Markets

CMC Markets

Pros

  • No minimum deposit required to open an account
  • No CMC deposit or withdrawal fees currently charged
  • FX Active spreads from 0.0 pips on six major FX pairs
  • 25% spread discount on 300+ other forex pairs with FX Active
  • $2.50 commission per $100,000 currency trade on FX Active
  • 0% commission on UK and European share CFDs
  • GSLO premium refunded 100% when the order is not triggered
  • MetaTrader accounts allow hedging positions by default

Cons

  • £10 monthly inactivity fee after one year without trading
  • Market data subscriptions may apply for some share CFDs
  • Guaranteed stop-loss orders require a premium
  • MT4 CFD accounts cannot access Next Generation or TradingView
  • MT4 offers only currencies, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies
  • MT4 and MT5 demo accounts expire after 30 days of inactivity
  • MetaTrader close-out can occur below 50% of margin requirement
  • Term deposits for client money may require up to 95 days' notice
AJ Bell

AJ Bell

AJ Bell is a UK investment platform founded in 1995, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, ISAs and SIPPs across 24 international markets.

Visit AJ Bell Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

CMC Markets

CMC Markets

CMC Markets is a CFD and forex broker founded in 1989, with MT4, MT5, TradingView and its own web and mobile platforms.

Visit CMC Markets Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Not the right match?

Line up any two brokers side by side, or browse the full list to find your next platform.

Compare another broker Browse all brokers