Top CFD brokers compared

About Top CFD brokers compared

Every broker below takes retail money for CFDs, and this ranking puts 116 of them in order. Cost and safety carry the most weight, because that is what a UK or European trader feels first: what the account costs to open and hold, what a single trade costs, and which regulator stands behind the balance if things go wrong. Most of these firms charge no account fee, so the differences that matter sit in the minimum deposit, the inactivity charge and the per-trade stock fee. Protection limits differ too, and the regulator lists run from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and the FCA through to ASIC and the Bank of Italy. Each brand also discloses a retail loss percentage, and the median for CFD brokers here is 72%, the single most useful number for reading the table. What separates the top of the list from the bottom is a combination of low cost, clear regulation and a platform list that suits the way you trade.

How we picked

Weights drive the order. Trust takes the largest share at 40%, with cost at 35% and the offer an account and platform set adds at 25%. Trust is scored from the regulators each firm names, the protection scheme attached to the balance and the retail loss percentage it publishes. Cost comes from the account fee, the stock trade fee, the minimum deposit, the inactivity charge and the deposit and withdrawal fees, read against the medians for CFD brokers: €0, €0, €43.85 and €4.38. Offer covers markets, platforms, features and the audiences a broker targets. Figures are drawn from each broker's own fee and charges documents and account pages, from regulator registers and from independent broker reviews, with a single value kept per field. Partner brands are listed first, in the order set by the score, and the remaining members follow on the same score. The loss data matters for reading the list, because the median for CFD brokers is 72%, so this is a cost and safety comparison rather than a returns comparison.

Our top picks

1. 1. ActivTrades

   ActivTrades closes this ranking on platform choice: ActivTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 includes its own ActivTrader platform plus both MetaTrader versions and TradingView, and markets cover stocks, etfs and forex with bonds alongside the usual CFD mix. A demo account, a mobile app and crypto are listed as features, and the firm was founded in 2001, the same year as Admirals at 2001, the member above it. The figure readers weigh most is the retail loss percentage of 84%, which sits near the top of the range in this ranking, and Admirals, ranked ahead, pairs similar markets with protection of FSCS up to GBP 85,000.

   • Minimum deposit: $0
   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0

   Pros

   • Stock trade fee sits at $0 for share dealing under commission free
   • Minimum deposit sits at $0, below eToro at $50
   • Funding terms read Free deposits and withdrawals for deposits and withdrawals
   • Platform access spans ActivTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 with added tools via crypto, demo account and fractional shares

   Cons

   • Retail accounts that lose money sit at 84%, above the CFD median at 72.05%
   • Currency conversion on funding costs 0.5% for balances held in other currencies
   • Cash interest sits at 3.3%, which limits appeal for cash heavy portfolios

2. 2. XTB

   XTB is in this ranking because it publishes the whole cost picture readers want: a commission-free and low-fees model, an account fee of €0, a stock trade fee of €0 and a stated FX fee of 0.5%, with a minimum deposit of €0. Deposits are free and withdrawals are free above a stated amount. Support is the widest live mix at email, chat and phone, and the regulators named are the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the FCA and KNF, with protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 and retail leverage of 1:30. The catch is the inactivity fee of €10. Octa, ranked next, charges $0 and lists a wider platform set that includes cTrader.

   • Minimum deposit: €0
   • Stock trade fee: €0
   • Account fee: €0

   Pros

   • Account fee of €0 on the standard account, and stock trades cost €0.
   • Minimum deposit of €0, so the account opens without a funding floor.
   • Regulated by CySEC, the FCA and KNF across Cyprus, the UK and Poland.
   • Free deposits, with withdrawals free above the stated threshold on Free deposits; free withdrawals above 100 EUR/USD.
   • Markets span stocks, ETFs, forex, CFDs and crypto on xStation 5 and xStation Mobile.

   Cons

   • An inactivity fee of €10 applies, unlike eToro, which has no such charge.
   • Forex and CFD trading is not cost free: fx trading costs 0.5%.
   • CFDs carry a high proportion of losing retail accounts, and XTB's own figure is 77%.
   • Leverage reaches 1:30 on retail accounts, so losses can build faster than on an unleveraged account.

3. 4. eToro

   eToro earns its place in this ranking with the account range UK and European readers get: an ISA alongside a commission-free model, an account fee of $0 and a stock trade fee of $0. Support runs on help centre, thinner than the phone and chat mix XTB lists further down. The regulators named are the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and SIPC, with protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000. Markets reach stocks, etfs and forex, adding futures to the CFI list, and features include fractional shares, copy trading and a demo account for beginners. Against Vantage, ranked next, eToro is the easier starting point, while Vantage runs a low-fees model and a higher retail loss figure of 74% to 89%.

   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0
   • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, Forex, and 3 more

   Pros

   • No commission on share dealing: stock trade fees are $0
   • No account fee on the standard dealing account: $0
   • Regulated in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, and a SIPC member in the US
   • One account spans stocks, etfs and forex
   • Fractional shares and a demo account let you start small and practise before committing money

   Cons

   • A separate management fee of 0% applies to the managed portfolio service, so headline dealing costs are not the whole bill
   • Support runs on help centre only, so there is no stated phone or live chat route for account problems
   • The same commission-free model at XTB comes with a stated stock trade fee of €0, so commission alone does not separate the two

4. P10. PrimeXBT: best for PrimeXBT

   Cryptocurrency and CFD trading platform covering commodities, forex and indices.

What to look for

What it costs to open an account

A low minimum deposit only helps if the rest of the bill is small. CFD brokers in this ranking show a median minimum deposit of €43.85, and the median account fee is €0, so the entry amount is where brands separate fastest.

What an idle account costs

Inactivity charges are the sleeper cost. The median inactivity fee for CFD brokers is €4.38 and the upper quartile is €10.79, so a dormant account can cost more than trading does at some brands.

What a trade costs

The median stock trade fee here is €0 and the upper quartile is €0.96. Spreads and FX charges decide the rest, so ask for both before opening more than one account.

Who stands behind the money

Regulator first, then the protection limit, which is the practical test. 69 of the brands in this ranking hold a licence, EU ICS members cite EU ICS up to EUR 20,000, and FCA-regulated members cite FSCS up to GBP 85,000.

The loss warning each firm publishes

The median retail loss percentage across CFD brokers in this ranking is 72% and the upper quartile is 74.5%. A higher figure tells you about the client base and the leverage used, so treat it as a warning rather than a verdict on the firm.

Whether the platform suits you

CFD brokers in this ranking cover cfds at 100% and forex at 94%, and 75.8% of them offer a demo account. Platform choice shapes daily use, so read the platform list before depositing.

Frequently asked questions

Top CFD brokers compared by country

• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• United Kingdom

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV