Best Spread Betting Brokers
In spread betting the trader places a bet if the market will go up or down. There is no acquiring done of any instrument or its contract for difference, rather simply betting on the market trends. The profits or losses are determined by the changes in value and not by the closing price.
Spread betting is a popular choice for active investors who would like to trade a range of different markets both short (sell) and long (buy), without actually owning the underlying asset. Spread betting can be suitable for scalping, day trading and swing trading on thousands of financial markets, including indices, shares, currencies, commodities and more.
When you open a spread bet, you’ll see two prices listed: the buy price and the sell price. Using this, you can choose whether you want to go long or short. If you think the value of your chosen market will go up, you click buy. If you think it will fall, you click sell. Then, to close a spread bet, you trade in the opposite direction to when you opened it. Therefore, if you bought at the outset, you would look sell to exit – and vice versa.
In order to start spread betting online, you will need an account with a broker and access to a spread bet platform. There isn’t a great deal of spread betting brokers out there, which is why we have compiled this handy guide to help you discover some of the more established spread betting companies.
Top 10 Spread Betting Brokers
ASIC, BaFin, CFTC, DFSA, FCA, FINMA, FMA, FSA, FSCA, JFSA, MAFF, MAS, METI, NFA
$250
1974
1:200
AvaTrade
AvaTrade is committed to providing its traders with the best trading platform and trading tools available. They offer spread betting on a wide range of financial instruments with rapid execution, powerful analytical tools, live interactive trading charts and tight spreads on the award winning MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform.
The MT4 platform is probably the world’s most popular and customizable spread betting platforms. There are hundreds of financial instruments available, live price trading charts tailored to your needs and technical and fundamental analysis tools. The MT4 platform is the most innovative and flexible trading terminal available to retail traders.
IG
With IG, you can try and take advantage of rising or falling markets by spread betting. They offer seamless execution on a wide range of more than 18,000+ markets and around the clock phone support. They are considered to be one of the best brokers and are well regulated in multiple jurisdictions. IG actually invented financial spread betting in 1974 and I think they are a top choice for anyone in the UK who is looking to spread bet with industry leading conditions.
Pepperstone
Founded in 2010, Pepperstone have continued to deliver industry leading trading conditions. You can spread bet on thousands of different instruments like indices, commodities, forex and more. They provide you with industry leading platforms that come equipped with all of the tools you need to analyse the markets and manage your positions.
It’s quick and easy to open a spread betting account with Pepperstone. You can apply in minutes with a simple application process. It is worth mentioning that spread betting accounts are only available to traders in the UK and Ireland.
City Index
Spread betting with City Index provides a convenient way to trade on thousands of financial markets via powerful and versatile trading platforms for all of your devices. Not only do you get access to some of the best spread betting conditions but they also provide you with an excellent selection of dynamic and innovative trading tools that can help to navigate volatile markets.
City Index offers a fantastic choice of thousands of spread bet markets, including:
- Indices such as the UK 100, Wall St and Germany 40
- FX such as GBP/USD, GBP/EUR and JPY/USD currency pairs
- Shares such as Rio Tinto, Amazon and General Electric
- Commodities such as oil, gold and cocoa
- Other markets including bonds, interest rates and options
Performance analytics lets you discover the strengths and weaknesses of your own trading history and discover the achievable changes you can make to improve your trading. With SMART signals, you can receive trade ideas that are based on current market conditions and tested against historical data for accuracy. Forex.com is another trading broker under the same umbrella which further emphasises the size of the company.
Spreadex
It couldn’t be a list of the brokers for spread betting without including Spreadex. Formed in 1999 and regulated by the FCA, Spreadex has a reputation for innovative products and excellent customer service. Financial spread betting with Spreadex offers a fast, reliable, simple and cost-effective means of trading the global markets.
The Spreadex trading platform gives investors access to trade on global shares, indices, FX, commodities and much more via spread bets, CFDs or options. You can access tight spreads, low margins, trade via charts, trailing stops, one-click dealing, market alerts and much more.
You can choose from a wide range of products with 24-hour trading and spreads from 0.6 points on our more popular markets. Trade via your choice of trading platforms including a customisable desktop platform, tablet app or mobile app. Alternatively you can trade by calling their team of friendly and knowledgeable traders.
Trade Nation
Trade Nation is a multi-regulated broker where clients can buy and sell various financial instruments via easy to use platforms with extremely competitive trading conditions including fixed spreads.
CMC Markets
Established in 1989, CMC Markets offers a great selection of over 10,000 trading instruments on sophisticated and versatile trading platforms. They also provide comprehensive analysis, trading tools and educational materials.
OvalX
OvalX is financial services company providing financial derivatives trading such as contracts for difference and financial spread betting along with corporate brokerage services for professional clients.
FXCM
FXCM is an established and well-regulated online broker with an excellent range of powerful trading platforms that are loaded with tools and market insights to help you discover trades and make informed decisions.
FxPro
FxPro is a regulated online broker that offers hundreds of tradable assets on multiple sophisticated platforms; cTrader, MetaTrader and FxPro Edge. They also offer trading tools, third-party analysis and trader education. However, the spreads and fees are not the lowest.
Conclusion
Here you will find our best spread betting brokers, based on thousands of hours of extensive research, testing and analysis across hundreds of brokers. Upon conclusion of each of our broker reviews, we have assigned each broker with a rating.
Some of the most important factors that contribute towards a good broker for spread betting online have been considered including things such as the available markets, other financial instruments, platforms, apps, tools, execution, liquidity, fees, education, funding options, regulation, customer service and more.
Each of our chosen spread bet brokers have undergone and passed our stringent broker reviews with flying colours, based on what we consider to be amongst the most important considerations when choosing a spread betting broker. These brokers are well-established within the online trading industry, providing top trading conditions to traders and investors of all experience levels.
Having the best spread bet brokers according to our findings listed in one place, can help you save time when looking for the best spread bet broker for your own individual needs.
Relevant Articles
Best Stock Brokers
Stocks are a way for retail investors to own a share in some of the…
Brokers with Instant Deposits
Investors can quickly execute a trade before the market moves thanks to brokers who offer…
Brokers with Instant Withdrawals
For traders who need to access their winnings right away, brokers who offer instant, same-day,…
cTrader vs TradingView
It's interesting to note that both cTrader and TradingView were introduced in 2011, a year…
TradingView vs NinjaTrader
NinjaTrader and TradingView are two distinct platforms, each with advantages and disadvantages of its own.…
MetaTrader (MT5) vs TradingView
It's crucial to keep in mind that TradingView is a charting program, but MetaTrader 5…