Top futures trading platforms compared

About Top futures trading platforms compared

Futures trading platforms sit in an awkward corner of the market: the contracts carry leverage, losses run deep, and most accounts pay a share of what you trade. This ranking compares 80 platforms on the things that decide whether a futures account works for a retail trader in the UK or Europe: what it costs to hold and trade, who regulates the money, and what the account feels like to run. The main trade-off is cost against control. Cheap platforms win on the headline number and give up on support, platforms or protection. Pricier ones charge more and hand you more markets, more account types or better help. A median stock trade fee of €0.05 sits below the wider set held on this site, and the median account fee here is €0, so the deciding line is rarely the fee. It is what happens to your deposit, your leverage and your screen when a position goes wrong. Read each entry with that trade-off in mind. Members sit in rank order, and the reasons are given plainly.

How we picked

Every platform here is scored on three things. Trust carries the largest share at 40% and looks at regulation, the protection scheme behind the account and licensing. Cost counts for 35% and covers account fees, trading fees, minimum deposits, inactivity charges and withdrawal costs. Offer makes up the rest at 25% and covers market breadth, platforms, account types, features and support. Figures come from each brand fees page, product pages and regulator registers, alongside the retail loss warnings regulators publish and the brands carry. Medians and ranges come from data held on this site across 270 brands, of which 194 are licensed. Where a brand figure and a wider range disagree, the brand figure is the one shown. Two rules shape the order. Brands that are commercial partners are listed first, in the order their score gives them, and the top-pick label marks the highest of them. After that the list runs on score alone. No brand pays to sit higher than its own numbers support.

Our top picks

1. 2. eToro: best for top-pick

   eToro takes the top-pick slot in this ranking because it does several things at once: futures sit inside stocks, etfs and forex, the model is commission-free, and the account fee is $0. It also runs an ISA, a demo account and copy trading, so one account can hold a long position and a futures hedge. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and SIPC appear among its regulators, with EU investor compensation behind the balance. Against FXTM, the member below it, eToro wins on breadth and on keeping a broad market list in one place, while FXTM wins on a minimum deposit of $10.

   • 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

2. 3. Robinhood

   Robinhood makes this ranking on cost and simplicity rather than futures depth. The account fee is $0, the inactivity fee is $0, the stock trade fee is $0 and the options fee is $0, and a minimum deposit of $0 keeps the door open. Markets are stocks, etfs and options, account types cover an IRA, a Roth IRA and a joint account, and retail leverage reaches 10X. It is listed with the Bank of Lithuania. Against Kraken, the member below it, Robinhood is the wider retail account; Kraken is the crypto led exchange with stocks, etfs and crypto.

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

   Pros

   • Nothing to pay to open or hold an account, with an account fee of $0 and an inactivity fee of $0
   • Trading a share costs $0, so a small first order is not eaten by commission
   • You can start with a deposit of $0, lower than most brands on our data
   • Fractional shares, options, futures, crypto and a mobile app are all available on the same account
   • Supervised by the Bank of Lithuania and a SIPC member, so your money sits with a regulated firm

   Cons

   • Leverage is available at 10X, which magnifies losses as well as gains
   • Outgoing transfers carry a charge of $100 outgoing transfer
   • Margin borrowing is priced at a margin rate of 3.95%, so interest adds to your cost
   • The listed account types cover retirement and joint accounts rather than tax-sheltered UK and European wrappers

3. 7. Kraken

   Kraken closes this ranking on exchange heritage and a phone first support line. It lists stocks, etfs and crypto, runs a commission-free model with a stock trade fee of $0, and offers a Kraken App, Kraken Pro and Kraken Desktop so a futures trader can pick a proper terminal. It is registered with the Central Bank of Ireland, with SIPC named among its regulators and EU investor compensation behind the balance, and withdrawal charges vary by method and currency. Against Robinhood, which sits just above it, Kraken is the more crypto led account, so anyone wanting breadth across assets will find more of it earlier in this ranking.

   • Minimum deposit: $1
   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, Forex, and 2 more

   Pros

   • Stock trades priced at $0 within a model shown as commission free.
   • Entry at $1, below $50 at eToro for smaller starting balances.
   • Coverage spans stocks, ETFs and forex, pairing stocks and ETFs with crypto and futures.
   • Access through Kraken App, Kraken Pro and Kraken Desktop with focus shown as crypto and mobile app for app led use.

   Cons

   • Support runs on help centre only, without phone or live chat help found at many rivals.
   • Card funding terms run Free bank deposits, card 3.75% + 0.25, which adds cost next to bank transfer options.
   • Entry at $1 sits above $0 at ActivTrades and €0 at XTB for tight budgets.

4. 10. Webull

   Webull is in this ranking as the account pairing a commission-free model with one of the broadest retail market lists outside a bank. It trades stocks, etfs and options, charges a stock trade fee of $0 and an options fee of $0, and offers an IRA. Registered with FINRA and the SEC, it is among the few members here offering phone support alongside email, phone and help centre, and incoming stock transfers are free. Against Robinhood, the member below it, Webull lists bonds and funds where Robinhood lists fractional shares and a Roth IRA, and phone support stays in the package.

   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, Options, and 4 more
   • Regulators: FINRA, SEC, SIPC

   Pros

   • A stock trade costs $0 and an options contract $0 on the ira account.
   • Investor protection is SIPC up to USD 500,000, with registration under FINRA, SEC and SIPC.
   • A single app covers stocks, etfs and options, so shares, bonds, funds, options, futures and crypto sit together.
   • Fractional shares, a demo account and a mobile app are all in crypto, demo account and fractional shares, and incoming stock transfers are free.

   Cons

   • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, with no live chat listed.
   • Account choice is narrow, with ira the only type listed.
   • Across the brokers compared, the middle retail loss share is 70.15% and the top of the range 88%.

What to look for

Cost of holding and trading

Account fees here reach €219.24, yet the median is €0, so a platform charging nothing to hold an account is normal. Trading costs are the line that matters: the median stock trade fee is €0.05 and the upper quartile reaches €1.17. Read the inactivity charge too, median €0, because dormant accounts get billed.

Who holds your money

Only 34 of the 80 platforms in this category are licensed, so the regulator line is worth reading twice. Name the regulator, then check what the protection scheme actually covers: a compensation limit responds to insolvency, not to a losing futures position.

Futures beside the rest of your portfolio

Futures appear on 100% of the brands here, options on 65% and exchange traded funds on 75%. If you want a single account for a long term holding and a short term hedge, breadth usually matters more than any one fee.

Leverage, pace and account type

A median retail loss of 69% in this category is the backdrop to every futures account. Leverage decides how fast a balance can be worn down, so match the account to your pace: joint accounts show up on 76.5% of brands here and corporate accounts on 64.7%.

Support and platforms

A help centre is the most common support route at 85.1%, with phone support on 48.9%. Mobile apps are close to standard at 85.5%, and a demo account on 60.9% of brands lets you learn a futures platform without putting money at risk.

Frequently asked questions

Top futures trading platforms compared by country

• Brazil
• India
• Italy
• Singapore
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV