Best CFD Platforms for Trading

Adding a contract for difference (CFD) to your portfolio could reduce your risk and increase your returns through diversification. A typical CFD trading platform lets you trade thousands of financial instruments and commodities, with no obligation to own the underlying asset. 

CFDs let you speculate on a price movement of an asset, whether stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities or forex, giving you the ability to diversify your trading over a wide range of assets. Keep in mind that trading in CFD contracts cannot be traded by U.S. residents. 

In the following article, Benzinga reviews the best CFD platforms currently available for trading, taking into account key features like commissions, markets, payments and regulation. 

Quick Look: Best CFD Platforms

• Best for Ease-of-Use: FOREX.com
• Best for Trading Experience: Pepperstone
• Best for Long Term Traders: Vantage Markets
• Best for Mobile Users: Plus500
• Best for Overall and Most Trusted: IG Markets
• Best for Social Trading: eToro
• Best for Forex Traders Who Want Choices for Trading Markets: FxPro
• Best for User-Friendly Platform: AvaTrade
• Best for MetaTrader Users: HYCM
• Best for Professional Traders: Interactive Brokers
• Best for Cryptocurrency CFDs: Capital.com
• Best for Easy-to-Use Forex Platform: Trade Nation

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Disclosure: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Best CFD Platforms for Trading

Here are Benzinga's top picks for the best CFD trading platforms.

1. Best for Ease-of-Use: FOREX.com

FOREX.com, a regulated firm, provides 220 CFDs in major asset classes under its FOREX.com brand. By testing FOREX.com's platforms and reviewing the provided information, one can confirm their reliability. FOREX.com provides CFD trading on stocks, commodities, and indexes, with exceptional platform speed and performance.

FOREX.com offers access to their Advanced Trading Platform, MetaTrader 4 platform, and web-based platform as well as mobile trading options for all traders. The accessibility options guarantee no missed experiences.

To initiate your account, a minimum deposit of $50 in your chosen base currency is necessary. FOREX.com suggests a minimum deposit of $2,500 to increase flexibility and enhance risk management during account trading.

FOREX.com offers 24/5 availability during market hours. FOREX.com provides CFDs exclusively in regions regulated by FCA and Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).

2. Best for Trading Experience: Pepperstone

An Australian forex broker that allows for algo trading, API trading, the use of Autochartist and much more. You can learn on the platform how to trade, buy in with no minimum deposit and invest in more than 5 dozen currency pairs.

Trading platforms include: MT4, MT5, cTrader, Web Trading Platforms and Mobile App. You can access 30:1 for retail clients and up to 500:1 for professional clients that allows you to grow your portfolio.

3. Best for Long Term Traders: Vantage Markets

Vantage Markets is a forex trader and CFD market that allows you to access CFDs with underlying assets that include, indices, oil, gas, gold and much more. High volume traders will find that there is quality liquidity here, and you will also enjoy:

• Low fees
• A 50% welcome bonus
• Negative balance protection
• No complications with deposits or withdrawals

With 24 hour support and Islamic accounts available, you can choose from over 200 CFDs that can easily populate and grow your portfolio.

4. Best for Mobile Users: Plus500

When you work with Plus500, you gain access to a European derivatives broker that focuses primarily on CFDs (contracts for difference). Because CFDs are similar to binary options, you need bit of organization that Plus500 offers.

CFDs are not offered in the U.S., they are popular around the world, and that’s where Plus500 steps in. There are no commissions on Plus500, and the platform only profits from the spreads that you pay.

Remember, however, that Plus500 is not necessarily for beginners. If you know what you’re doing, you can easily jump into the fray with Plus500, but there isn’t a lot of extra information for novice investors.

If you’re looking for a powerful mobile app, an unlimited demo account and the potential to diversify your portfolio massively, Plus500 is the place to be.

5. Best for Overall and Most Trusted: IG Markets

IG Markets is a highly reputable forex CFD broker that offers a wide range of trading products and services. With its user-friendly platform, traders can easily execute trades and access real-time market data. The company also provides a comprehensive selection of educational resources, such as webinars and tutorials, to help traders improve their skills and knowledge. IG Markets is known for its competitive spreads and efficient trade execution.

Additionally, the broker offers a variety of account types, including a demo account for beginners to practice trading without risking real money. IG Markets is a reliable and trustworthy broker that caters to the needs of both experienced and novice traders in the forex CFD market.

6. Best for Social Trading: eToro

In addition to CFDs, you can also trade a wide range of financial instruments via this multi-regulated broker’s excellent trading platform. eToro also provides excellent educational resources for novices.

eToro has a relatively low minimum deposit to begin trading for clients residing in the U.K., the EU and most other countries, although certain countries have higher requirements. Additional deposits need to be at least $50, and the minimum amount for a wire transfer deposit is $500. 

Experienced traders or investors based in the EU or U.K. might qualify for an eToro Professional account if they execute more than 10 significant transactions per quarter and have an investment portfolio in excess of €500,000.  

eToro helped pioneer the social trading phenomenon by providing an intuitive and easy-to-navigate copy trading platform to access its impressive social trading community, so it gets Benzinga’s top spot for social trading. 

• Forex: Trade 49 forex pair CFDs with a leverage ratio of up to 30:1 on major currency pairs such as EUR/USD and 20:1 leverage for non-major currency pairs. Dealing spreads are typically quite narrow, although they differ depending on liquidity.
• Stock Indices: Trade CFDs in 15 major indices with a leverage ratio of up to 10:1. 
• Stock CFDs: Trade up to 44 different major stock CFDs using a leverage ratio of up to 5:1.  
• Commodities: Trade 32 different commodity CFDs with a leverage ratio of 10:1 through eToro. Gold has a maximum leverage ratio of 20:1.  
• Crypto CFDs: Trade CFDs on 12 cryptocurrencies with a maximum leverage ratio of 2:1.

7. Best for Forex Traders Who Want Choices in Trading Markets: FxPro

FxPro offers traders like you the opportunity to trade in forex and contracts for difference (CFD) markets where you can access hundreds of assets, including forex, metals, indices, shares and cryptocurrencies.

You can work with 1 of 8 base currencies and save because there are no account or transaction fees. Inactivity fees will apply after 6 months if your account is not in active status.

There’s no commission charged and the spreads are very tight. Trade on MT4 or MT5 to get fast execution and reach out to the multilingual customer support team 24/5 for assistance.

8. Best for User Friendly Platform: AvaTrade

AvaTrade is recognized for its user-friendly forex and CFD trading platform. They offer various educational resources and tools to assist traders in enhancing their skills and knowledge. This makes it a suitable platform for both beginners and experienced traders seeking to improve their trading strategies. They provide a wide variety of currency pairs, commodities, stocks, and indices, offering traders numerous options to select from. Traders have the opportunity to diversify their portfolios and take advantage of various market opportunities.

9. Best for MetaTrader Users: HYCM

HYCM, which is a division of the Henyep Group, was founded in 1977 and is authorized by two tier-1 regulators. A deposit of $100 is required to access trading in indices, commodities, cryptocurrency, and 69 currency pairs.

HYCM provides users with three account options, each with unique fee structures, allowing for customization based on trade frequency and risk profile. The trading options provided are in compliance with Islamic standards.

HYCM offers support for both MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading software. It also has its own in-house trading platform. As a trader with HYCM, you will have access to an extensive collection of educational materials and tools for technical and fundamental analysis.

10. Best for Professional Traders: Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers offers some of the lowest commissions and fees for retail traders, as well as some of the highest quality features, research and services available for traders. Interactive Brokers is also one of the most professional and versatile online brokers currently available to retail traders who can afford its substantial initial deposit of $10,000 or the equivalent.

Interactive Brokers operates in 150 markets in 33 countries and you can open an account in 25 different currencies. Interactive Brokers is represented on all major world markets and exchanges, plus most regional stock, options and commodities exchanges. The broker is overseen by all major regulators around the world. While the broker is U.S.-based, its CFD trading operation is based in the U.K. 

Interactive Brokers placed first on Benzinga’s list for best CFD platforms for its research tools, excellent trading platform and access to a wide variety of tradable assets.

• Forex: Trade over 80 currency pair CFDs through Interactive Brokers with access to real-time data from 14 of the world’s leading forex-dealing banks. This feature along with a transparent low commission avoids conflicts of interest such as those that occur with brokers that deal for their accounts. Interactive Brokers’s order book lets you place orders away from or between the prevailing market in an electronic communications network (ECN) structure. You can also access FXTrader, an exclusive optimized interface that provides specially designed tools to trade the forex market.  
• Indices: Trade all major world equity indices in lots as small as 1X the index level. CFDs on indices do not expire, unlike the underlying futures contracts, which can save you rollover and other costs.  
• Metals: Trade CFDs on London gold and silver. The quoted CFD price comes from quote streams of approximately 10 major banks. The IB SmartRouting system then obtains the best price, which becomes the reference price for the CFD trade. Gold has a 0.015% per trade fee, while silver trades have a 0.03% fee, both with a minimum $2.00 charge.   
• Share CFDs: Trade approximately 8,000 different share CFDs from principal markets in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Share CFDs reflect the exchange quoted price for the underlying shares with IB SmartRouting technology used to determine the CFD reference price. Retail clients are subject to an initial 20% margin requirement, although commissions start at just 0.05% with lower commissions available for active traders. 

11. Best for Crypto CFD Traders: Capital.com

Capital.com is a global company with seven offices in the U.K. and elsewhere. The broker is overseen by the FCA, CySEC, ASIC, Seychelles’ FSA and the Belarus NBRB. The minimum deposit to open an account at Capital.com is only $20, but bank transfer deposits must be at least $250. NBRB-regulated accounts let you leverage cryptos, commodities, forex currency pairs and indices at a ratio of 100:1, while shares can be leveraged at 20:1.

Capital.com comes out on top for its large selection of cryptocurrency CFDs that do not require a key or wallet for taking possession of the cryptocurrency. You can trade CFDs on over 6,100 underlying assets through this broker.

• Indices: Trade 17 of the world’s largest stock indices. Leverage ratios are typically 20:1 for FCA and ASIC/CySEC regulated accounts.  
• Shares: Trade up to 1,700 different share CFDs on the world’s major stock exchanges. You can trade major stocks from global exchanges with leverage ratios typically 5:1 for FCA and ASIC/CySEC regulated accounts.  
• Commodities: Trade CFDs on energy, precious metal and agricultural commodities using typical leverage ratios of 10:1, except for gold which is 20:1 for FCA and ASIC/CySEC regulated accounts.  
• Forex: Trade CFDs on 7 major, 5 minor and 6 exotic currency pairs with leverage typically 30:1 for FCA and ASIC/CySEC regulated accounts.  
• Cryptocurrencies: Trade 25 cryptocurrencies and 450 crypto pair CFDs with leverage of 2:1 in an ASIC/CySEC regulated account.

12. Best for Easy-to-Use Forex Platform: Trade Nation

When you start using Trade Nation, you can do more than trade CFDs. You gain access to the whole forex market, allowing you to build your portfolio that much faster. You can trade in over 1000 markets, and you will see quite a lot of information for each asset in which you plan to invest. Plus, you confine this sort of trading to the Trade Nation site. If you need to trade ont he go, the mobile version is just as powerful and simple.

Yes, U.S. traders can’t use this platform, but it’s a really good place to start if you’re new or expand if you want more diversity.

Features to Look for in CFD Trading Platforms

Keep these things in mind when looking for a suitable CFD trading platform:

Trading Costs  

The less you pay out to your CFD broker in trading costs, the more money you will have in your trading account. Trading costs include trading commissions and fees, dealing spreads and account management fees. 

Tradable Assets 

You will want to select a CFD trading partner that offers CFDs on all the underlying assets you wish to trade. Assets that can be traded as CFDs include stocks, indices, commodities, currencies (forex), and cryptocurrencies. CFDs allow traders to speculate on the price movements of these underlying assets without actually owning them, offering potential profits from both rising and falling markets.

Customer Support

How easily and quickly you can access your broker in case a problem arises and how well they respond to queries and resolve issues can make a substantial difference to your success as a CFD trader. Also, novice traders may require more customer support and educational materials while they learn the ropes of CFD trading. 

Mobile App

Many CFD traders want to be able to watch asset markets, check their CFD trade executions, enter trades and perform market analysis using their smartphones or tablets while away from their desktop computers. A CFD broker having a mobile app suitable for your device can therefore become a priority feature. 

Trading from Charts

If you plan on doing technical analysis and then quickly entering a trade when you spot an opportunity, you will probably want to trade directly from price charts. Most decent CFD trading platforms will offer this important feature. 

Fast Execution

Since CFD trading opportunities are often fleeting, transactions need to be executed quickly. Make sure a broker you are considering has quick transaction times for clients based in your locale and that issues like order slippage and requotes are minimal. You can test execution speeds by making small transactions in a live account. 

5 Steps for How to Trade CFDs 

If you’re thinking of CFD investing or trading CFDs, remember that this activity is more like calculated gambling than investing, so only use risk capital that you can afford to lose completely as margin. Just follow the steps below to get started:

#1 - Select a CFD Trading Partner and Open an Account

Retail traders will probably need to use an online CFD broker and its supported platform to execute CFD transactions. Check out the selection of trading platforms listed above if you’d like help deciding which broker might suit you best as a trading partner. Visit your chosen broker’s website to open and fund a CFD trading account.

#2 - Develop and Test a CFD Trading Plan in a Demo Account

Trading with a plan helps avoid many pitfalls CFD trading novices can fall into. If you are new to trading, first educate yourself about what moves the markets you’ll be trading and how to analyze them. You can test trading ideas and strategies without risking real money in a practice account that most brokers let you open without obligation or funds. 

#3 - Fund your Account and use Your Plan to Identify Trading Opportunities

Once you have developed and tested a winning trading plan, you can fund a live trading account with risk capital and use your plan to identify potentially profitable trades. 

#4 - Use Broker’s Trading Platform to Execute Trades

When your plan identifies a good CFD trade, open up your broker’s trading platform that is connected to your live trading account and enter the trade. Once a position has been established, you can enter a stop loss and limit order to close out the position automatically.

#5 - Close a CFD Trade out

Depending on how you decide to manage your CFD position and how the underlying asset performs, you might close out your CFD trade for a net gain or loss. That amount is then either added to or deducted from your trading account balance less any transaction fees. 

How You Can Improve Your Finances

Improving your finances puts you in a better position from which you can then enjoy life as well as possible given your unique financial circumstances. Here’s some tips on how you can improve your finances: 

Understand your Debt-to-Income Ratio

Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is the total of your debt payments each month divided by your total monthly income. Lenders use this metric to measure your ability to repay the money you apply to borrow from them. Each lender and loan product might have different maximum DTI criteria.

Pay off Your Interest-bearing Debts

Interest-bearing debts are those that involve you paying interest on money you were loaned.  Examples might include loans from banks, mortgages, car loans, credit card balances and student loans. Paying off debts with higher interest rates can help improve your finances. Also, since some debts are secured, such as a mortgage or car loan, while others are unsecured, such as credit card debt, avoid exchanging unsecured debt for secured debt, even if you might get an interest rate advantage.  

Set up Automatic Payments

To help you save money and reduce the time spent making routine payments, you can set up automatic payments from the account where your income is deposited to your savings account, to debt repayment plans and to utility companies. 

Invest for the Future

Remember to set money aside for your future needs, the higher education of your children and your retirement. Investing generally involves putting money into assets that you expect will grow in value over time and that will help offset your money’s value reduction over time because of inflation. For example, you can invest in stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, real estate and collectibles, but make sure your investment horizon fits that of the asset you invest in. 

Save Money for Emergencies and Major Purchases

Prudent financial planning involves saving emergency money of up to six months of necessary expenses. You can also save money for large purchases, such as a home, car or boat, but if you cannot buy such an item with cash, you can instead save money for a deposit so you can finance the purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions