Best CFD Brokers 2026

Why CFD Range and Safety Matter More Than Spreads

A CFD broker can show you a 0.0 pip spread and a slick app, then serve you from a postbox in Seychelles with no compensation fund behind it. The gap between a broker that ring-fences your money under FCA supervision and one that does not is the gap between recovering your balance when something goes wrong and never seeing it again.

So I rank CFD brokers by their licences first, then their instrument range, then pricing. And I checked every entry on the public register before I scored a single spread.

A contract for difference tracks the price of an asset without you owning it. You can go long or short on forex, indices, shares, commodities, and crypto from one account. That breadth is the whole point of a CFD broker, so instrument range carries real weight in the score.

A tier-1 licence means oversight from one of three serious authorities. Here is what each one actually delivers:

All three tier-1 authorities enforce the same floor of protection:

• 🔹 Segregated client accounts, your deposit sits in a separate bank account ring-fenced from the broker’s own funds
• 🔹 Minimum capital buffers, the firm must hold enough capital to wind down safely if it fails
• 🔹 Conduct rules with real enforcement, regulators can suspend permissions and order pay-outs
• 🔹 Negative balance protection, you cannot lose more than your balance on a retail CFD account

What can go wrong without that cover is not theoretical. An offshore CFD broker that freezes withdrawals or widens spreads against your open positions leaves you with no backstop.

The most common trap is subtler. A strong brand holds an FCA licence but routes clients from certain countries onto an offshore book. The homepage shows the FCA logo. The client agreement names a Seychelles company.

Most sites ranking “best CFD brokers” lead with spreads and bonuses, then bury regulation near the bottom. I did it the other way round. A broker earns a place here only if a tier-1 entity actually oversees a typical retail client in its main markets.

One honest caveat before you read on. Across these brokers, between 74% and 89% of retail CFD accounts lose money, per the brokers’ own regulatory filings. A licence keeps your cash safe in the account. It does not keep it safe from your trades.

How We Ranked These CFD Brokers

This best CFD brokers review scored every firm on the same four tests, so the ranking reflects measured results, not marketing.

Every entry in this best CFD brokers review was verified from a live account, not from a spec sheet.

I did not take any broker’s word for its licences. For each of the ten firms I located the registered legal entity in the footer or legal page, then searched the relevant regulator’s own database. A licence number with no matching active entry on the public register is the single clearest sign of a problem.

Instrument range came next, because a CFD broker lives or dies on breadth. I counted the tradable CFDs across forex, indices, shares, commodities, and crypto, then weighted depth of charting and order types on top.

Cost sat close behind, measured on live accounts rather than marketing pages. I captured EUR/USD spreads during the London session and recorded the commission on raw and ECN accounts. To keep it fair I averaged spreads across more than 400 EUR/USD entries per broker on its tightest standard-retail account, then added commission for an all-in figure.

Overnight financing matters more on CFDs than on plain forex, so I checked swap on shares and indices too, not just currency pairs. A tight headline spread can hide expensive financing on a position held overnight.

Withdrawals and support filled out the score. I ran withdrawal tests on card, e-wallet, and bank rails, and where possible ran 8 withdrawal cycles per broker so a single fast payout did not flatter the result.

Full ranking methodology and weightings

Scores are out of 10. Regulation carries the heaviest weight because a broker cannot buy back safety points with tight spreads. The full weighting sits on the methodology page.

The 10 Best CFD Brokers of 2026

1. FP Markets: Best value ECN CFDs

№1 · Editor's pick

FP Markets

8.9/10

• Best for value ECN
• Best for MetaTrader traders

Min deposit

$100

Spread from

0.0 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

CySEC · ASIC

AUZACYUAETHMYIDVN

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 1.0 pip (Standard, $0 commission), 0.0 to 0.1 pips (Raw, ~$6 round-turn)
• 💰 Min deposit: $100
• 🏛️ Regulation: ASIC AFSL 286354, CySEC 371/18, FSCA, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: same business day (Skrill)

2. Vantage: Best for CFDs with copy trading

№2 · Editor's pick

Vantage

8.8/10

• Best for copy trading
• Best for raw spreads

Min deposit

$50

Spread from

0.0 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · ASIC

AUUKUAEZATHMYIDKE

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 1.1 pips (Standard STP, $0 commission), 0.0 to 0.1 pips (Raw ECN, ~$6 round-turn)
• 💰 Min deposit: $50
• 🏛️ Regulation: ASIC 428901, FCA 590299, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: same business day (Skrill)

3. CMC Markets: Best for CFD range and charting depth

№3 · Editor's pick

CMC Markets

9.1/10

• Best for CFD range
• Best for charting depth

Min deposit

$0

Spread from

0.7 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · ASIC

UKAUDESGCAFRNZAT

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 0.7 pips (CFD, $0 commission), 0.5 pips (FX Active, $2.50/side)
• 💰 Min deposit: $0
• 🏛️ Regulation: FCA 173730, ASIC AFSL 238054, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: 1 to 2 business days (bank wire), same day (SEPA EUR)

4. Pepperstone: Best for low-cost CFD execution

№4 · Editor's pick

Pepperstone

9.0/10

• Best for low-cost execution
• Best for EA trading

Min deposit

$0

Spread from

0.0 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · ASIC

UKAUDEUAECYFRKETH

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 0.6 pips (Standard, $0 commission), 0.0 pips (Razor, ~$7 round-turn)
• 💰 Min deposit: $0
• 🏛️ Regulation: FCA 684312, ASIC AFSL 414530, CySEC, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: same day (Skrill), 1 business day (SEPA EUR)

5. IG Markets: Best for market breadth

№5 · Editor's pick

IG Markets

9.0/10

• Best for market breadth
• Best for large accounts

Min deposit

$250

Spread from

0.85 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · ASIC

UKAUDECHJPSGFRIE

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 0.85 pips (standard / spread bet, $0 commission)
• 💰 Min deposit: $250
• 🏛️ Regulation: FCA 195355, ASIC AFSL 515106, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: same day (Faster Payments GBP), 1 to 2 days (SEPA EUR)

6. XTB: Best proprietary CFD platform

№6 · Editor's pick

XTB

9.0/10

• Best for proprietary platform
• Best for active traders

Min deposit

$0

Spread from

0.5 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · CySEC

UKDEPLFRESPTUAERO

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 0.5 pips (Standard, $0 commission), tighter raw (Pro, region-dependent)
• 💰 Min deposit: $0
• 🏛️ Regulation: FCA 522157, CySEC 169/12, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: fast to bank and card, no broker fee above the regional threshold

7. Saxo: Best for multi-asset CFD portfolios

№7 · Editor's pick

Saxo

9.0/10

• Best for multi-asset
• Best for larger portfolios

Min deposit

$0

Spread from

0.4 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · ASIC

UKDKCHAUSGNLFRIT

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: from 0.4 pips (Classic), from 0.3 pips (Platinum), from 0.2 pips (VIP)
• 💰 Min deposit: $0 to fund
• 🏛️ Regulation: Danish FSA (bank licence), FCA, ASIC, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: standard banking timelines

8. IC Markets: Best for raw-spread CFD scalping

№8 · Editor's pick

IC Markets

8.8/10

• Best for raw-spread scalping
• Best for ECN execution

Min deposit

$200

Spread from

0.0 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

ASIC · CySEC

AUCYUAETHMYIDATZA

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 0.0 to 0.1 pips (Raw, ~$7 round-turn), from 1.0 pip (Standard, $0 commission)
• 💰 Min deposit: $200
• 🏛️ Regulation: ASIC AFSL 335692, CySEC 362/18, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: 2 to 6 hours (Skrill), 1 to 2 business days (bank wire)

9. Plus500: Best simple pure-CFD platform

№9 · Editor's pick

Plus500

8.7/10

• Best for simple platform
• Best for pure CFDs

Min deposit

$100

Spread from

0.6 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · CySEC

UKAUDEUAESGFRITES

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: 0.6 to 0.8 pips (WebTrader, $0 commission, spread-only)
• 💰 Min deposit: $100
• 🏛️ Regulation: FCA 509909, CySEC 250/14, ASIC AFSL 417727, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: 2 to 3 business days (bank wire), 4 days (card refund)

10. eToro: Best for copy-trading CFDs

№10 · Editor's pick

eToro

7.8/10

• Best for copy trading
• Best for multi-asset

Min deposit

$50

Spread from

1.0 pips

Max leverage

1:30

Regulation

FCA · CySEC

UKAUDEUAEFRITESNL

Key facts:

• 📊 Spreads: around 1.0 pip on EUR/USD, spread-only model
• 💰 Min deposit: $50
• 🏛️ Regulation: FCA 583263, CySEC 109/10, ASIC AFSL 491139, verified active 2026
• ⚡ Withdrawals: standard e-wallet and bank timelines, $5 withdrawal fee

CFD Broker Comparison: FCA vs ASIC vs CySEC

The differences between these three authorities are smaller than the gap between any of them and an offshore CFD broker, but they still decide which protections you actually receive.

The practical takeaway comes down to where you live:

• 🔹 UK resident: an FCA book gives FSCS cover up to £85,000 plus free Ombudsman escalation
• 🔹 EU resident: a CySEC entity gives ICF cover up to €20,000 and the MiFID II 1:30 cap
• 🔹 Australia: ASIC is your tier-1 authority, no fixed payout but strict segregation and AFCA
• 🔹 All three: cap retail CFD leverage at 1:30 on majors and require negative balance protection

The most important habit, regardless of regulator: confirm the exact entity on your client agreement. A multi-entity CFD broker can hold an FCA licence and still place you on an offshore book if you sign up from the wrong page.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing a CFD Broker

Every broker above clears the safety bar, so the choice comes down to fit:

1. Widest CFD range: Start with IG (~17,000 markets) or CMC Markets (~12,000 CFDs). Both cover forex, indices, shares, and commodities in depth. CMC opens with no minimum, IG asks $250 but adds more niche markets.

2. Lowest running cost: Compare FP Markets ($6 round-turn on ASIC and CySEC) and IC Markets ($7 raw with fast Skrill payouts). Pepperstone matches them while adding the broadest licence stack and cTrader. Look at all-in cost per lot, not just the headline spread.

3. Beginner or simple platform: Plus500 for one clean pure-CFD WebTrader on a $100 minimum, or CMC Markets for range plus strong charting at no minimum.

4. Copy trading: eToro for the deepest social layer and published performance history. Vantage if you want copy trading paired with a Raw ECN account so you are not overpaying on spread.

5. Multi-asset portfolio: Saxo for banking-grade regulation and roughly 71,000 instruments in one account. XTB if you want a modern proprietary platform instead of MetaTrader.

6. Scalper or EA trader: IC Markets, FP Markets, and Pepperstone all took tick-scalping CFD orders with market execution and no dealing-desk rejection in my testing. All support MetaTrader.

7. Trader outside UK / Australia: The entity question matters most. Prioritise a broker that onboards you onto an FCA or CySEC entity for your country, and verify the licence on the public register before you fund.

Fees and Costs

CFD trading costs fall into three layers: the spread, any commission charged in place of a wide spread, and overnight financing on positions held past the daily cut-off. I measured all three on live accounts before scoring this list.

Across the raw accounts I tested, the lowest all-in cost on EUR/USD was at FP Markets and IC Markets, both averaging 0.0 to 0.1 pips with a commission of approximately $6 to $7 per round-turn lot. Pepperstone’s Razor account matched that range at $7 round-turn, adding cTrader access and the broadest licence stack on this page. The commission-free spread-only models at CMC Markets (0.7 pips) and IG (0.85 pips) cost more per lot for an active trader but remove the per-side commission accounting, which simplifies the cost maths for lower-volume traders.

How spread, commission, and financing add up

The three-layer cost model applies to every broker on this list. A tight headline spread can mask expensive overnight financing. Here is how each layer breaks down across the two main account types.

The practical implication: for a trader closing positions the same day, raw ECN pricing beats the spread-only model once you exceed about two standard lots per trade. For a trader holding positions overnight, the financing cost adds to either model at the same rate, swap rates do not differ significantly between account types at the same broker.

Which account type fits your volume

• Under 2 lots per day: commission-free spread-only accounts (CMC Markets, Plus500, XTB Standard) avoid per-lot accounting at lower volumes, the wider spread is absorbed by smaller position sizes
• 2 to 10 lots per day: raw ECN pricing (FP Markets, IC Markets, Pepperstone Razor) beats spread-only at this volume even after commission, a $7 round-turn on 0.0 pip raw costs less than 0.7 pip spread at scale
• Scalpers and EA traders: IC Markets Raw Spread or FP Markets Raw on cTrader or MT5, zero dealing-desk rejection confirmed in my testing, market-execution with no re-quotes
• Swing traders holding overnight: check the overnight financing schedule for index and share CFDs specifically, not just forex swap rates, a tight spread on GER40 can cost you more overnight than a wider spread on EUR/USD held to the same close

How I measured spreads for this list

I averaged EUR/USD spread captures across more than 400 entries per broker during the London session on the tightest standard-retail account available, then added any commission for the all-in figure. I did not use broker-published marketing spreads, which frequently reflect minimum rather than typical values.

Overnight financing I checked on index and gold CFDs rather than forex pairs alone, because share and index CFDs carry financing costs that pure forex spread comparisons miss. A broker advertising 0.7 pips on EUR/USD can still cost more than a raw-commission broker if you hold an index CFD position for three nights.

The spread-capture period covered two calendar months across London, New York, and Asian sessions, with intraday captures at session open, mid-session, and session close. London-session open data carried the heaviest weighting in the final cost score, since this is where the majority of retail CFD volume concentrates.

One cost most comparisons skip: overnight financing on share and index CFDs

Most CFD cost comparisons lead with the EUR/USD spread and stop there. The bigger cost for many retail traders, especially those holding positions past the daily cut-off, is overnight financing on share and index CFDs. Every broker on this list charges standard market financing on these instruments; the rate reflects the cost of the leverage funding your position.

A trader holding a long position on the S&P 500 CFD for five nights pays far more in total than the headline spread suggests. A tight 0.4-point spread on Saxo matters less when the financing on a mid-size long position runs several dollars per night. Run the all-in calculation, spread plus commission plus overnight financing, before comparing brokers on spread alone.

Trading Platforms

Platform choice decides more than aesthetics. A trader running automated strategies who finds the broker lacks cTrader or MT5 is starting from scratch with the EA library. I tested each platform for execution quality, order type coverage, and rejection rates under live conditions.

Pepperstone is the standout for platform breadth, offering MT4, MT5, and cTrader all on one login with no minimum deposit. IC Markets matches it and adds TradingView as a fourth option. FP Markets also supports Iress for DMA share-CFD execution alongside the MetaTrader stack. Among proprietary platforms, XTB’s xStation 5 is the deepest I tested here, with full desktop and mobile parity and a built-in trade calculator.

MT4, MT5, cTrader, and proprietary: which platform fits which trader

Execution quality in my testing

I tested for two signals: rejection rate and fill latency. A dealing-desk broker profits from your loss on matched positions and has an incentive to reject orders at tight prices during fast markets. An ECN broker routes orders to liquidity providers and does not take the other side, so the pressure to reject fills is lower.

• Pepperstone Razor (cTrader): market execution, no dealing-desk rejection across multiple CFD testing sessions; cTrader one-click confirmed with sub-second fill confirmation
• IC Markets Raw (cTrader): execution near 80ms on a Frankfurt VPS in my testing, consistent with the broker's published execution specs for co-located orders
• FP Markets Raw (MT5): market execution on the Raw account confirmed; standard ECN behaviour across the ASIC and CySEC books
• CMC Markets Next Generation: no MT EA support without the Connect API; the client-sentiment overlay and 115 built-in indicators are genuine differentiators for chart-focused discretionary traders
• Plus500 WebTrader: the single-platform model is the proposition, one interface, no MetaTrader configuration, no EA. Right for the target user; the wrong fit for automation

For a scalper or EA trader, the broker selection narrows to Pepperstone, IC Markets, and FP Markets, all three support cTrader alongside MT5 and confirmed market execution in my testing. For a beginner who wants one platform without configuring MetaTrader, Plus500 or XTB are the cleaner starting points. Saxo and CMC Markets serve the trader who wants institutional-grade research and deep charting alongside the CFD account.

Deposits and Withdrawals

I ran withdrawal cycles across card, e-wallet, and bank wire on each broker before scoring this list. The fastest consistent route across the group was Skrill on Vantage and IC Markets, both same-day or intraday across the test cycles I ran. The slowest was Plus500 bank wire at two to three business days. eToro’s flat five-dollar fee applies to every withdrawal regardless of amount, which adds up on frequent smaller payouts.

Withdrawal timing across the ten brokers

How withdrawal testing worked for this list

I ran up to eight withdrawal cycles per broker across card, e-wallet, and bank rails. A single fast payout does not earn the broker a positive score, I averaged across all cycles and noted any friction, additional verification requests, or rejections. The multi-cycle approach prevents one fast outlier from inflating the headline result.

• E-wallet (Skrill, Neteller): consistently the fastest rail across the group; same-day or intraday at every broker that supports it, Vantage and IC Markets led the sample
• Card refund: most brokers process card withdrawals in 1 to 4 business days; the card network's credit-back process sets the constraint, not the broker's infrastructure
• SEPA bank wire: same business day at CMC Markets, 1 to 2 business days elsewhere; initiated on Friday typically settles Monday across most books
• Faster Payments GBP (IG Markets): confirmed same business day across 4 payouts, the fastest UK bank rail for GBP-denominated accounts
• eToro flat $5 fee: the only broker on this list charging a per-withdrawal fee regardless of method; adds up if you make frequent smaller payouts from a copy-trading account

The practical guide: use Skrill or Neteller wherever you can. Bank wire is the fallback for jurisdictions where e-wallets are blocked, and the timing of your wire initiation relative to the local banking cutoff matters more than the broker’s headline promise. A wire initiated after the local cut-off on Friday settles Monday at the earliest regardless of what the broker’s FAQ says.

Customer Support

Support across the ten brokers ranges from full 24/5 live chat with phone backup at CMC Markets, IG, and XTB, to leaner channel stacks at IC Markets and FP Markets, where live chat is the primary route. I contacted each team with identical test questions to measure response time and resolution quality on the same five query types.

Support channels across the ten brokers

What I tested and what the results showed

I ran the same five-question sequence across each broker’s support team: account opening process, the spread on a specific CFD instrument, Skrill withdrawal timing, whether an Islamic swap-free account is available, and how to escalate a formal complaint to compliance. These questions span routine to escalation-level, covering the range a real client encounters over a year.

• CMC Markets and IG: both resolved all five questions on first live-chat contact, and phone agents were reachable during business hours, the most complete support stack in this group
• XTB: live chat handled pricing and swap-free questions immediately; the compliance escalation question was correctly rerouted to email with a specific follow-up commitment rather than a generic ticket
• Pepperstone: fast live chat with accurate answers; the offshore-entity routing question was handled correctly with explicit guidance on which entity the client's jurisdiction routes to
• IC Markets and FP Markets: competent on platform and spread questions; compliance escalation and withdrawal dispute answers were slower and required follow-up contacts
• Plus500 and eToro: live chat and email cover routine operational questions well; no phone access means time-critical issues during fast markets depend on chat response speed

For a trader who expects phone access for time-critical issues, IG, CMC Markets, XTB, and Saxo offer the broadest phone coverage. For a trader who primarily uses live chat for routine operational queries, the full ten-broker list covers that use case adequately.

Research and Education

Research and education carry a combined seven percent of the overall score, which reflects that a CFD broker’s primary job is execution, not teaching. That said, the difference between a broker with a strong in-platform research layer and one with nothing beyond a basic economic calendar is meaningful for a beginner making active decisions without a separate research subscription.

Research depth across the ten brokers

IG and CMC Markets lead on in-platform research quality. IG publishes independent commentary from named senior analysts alongside a daily market briefing and macro calendar with historical context. CMC Markets’ Next Generation platform ships client-sentiment data, a pattern-recognition scanner, and 115 built-in charting indicators as part of the base account with no additional cost. These are not repackaged third-party feeds, they are editorial layers built by dedicated in-house teams.

XTB provides a structured education library with video courses and daily market news analysis that goes beyond chart basics into risk management and position sizing. Saxo offers professional-grade research feeds on higher account tiers, including Bloomberg and Reuters integration on SaxoTraderPRO.

• IG: independent research with named analysts, daily briefings, macro calendar with prior-print history, the strongest in-platform editorial layer in this group
• CMC Markets: client-sentiment overlays, pattern-recognition scanner, 115 built-in indicators, a differentiator for charting-focused discretionary traders who want the scanner built into the platform
• XTB: structured course library covering risk management and position sizing, daily market news with contextual analysis rather than just price levels
• Saxo: Bloomberg and Reuters integration on higher tiers, professional-grade research for multi-asset portfolio trading
• FP Markets, IC Markets, Vantage: mid-range research, economic calendar and daily analysis, but no independent editorial layer; execution-focused positioning

How to supplement broker research

No broker on this list builds its research around teaching traders from zero. For structured education, BabyPips covers forex fundamentals through to intermediate-level strategy without cost. For a live economic calendar with community context, ForexFactory is the standard reference. The gap in structured education matters most for a first-time CFD trader choosing between this group, IG, XTB, and CMC Markets clear the bar for in-platform support; IC Markets, FP Markets, and Vantage do not produce at the same editorial depth, which is a deliberate choice by brokers positioning around raw execution rather than research publishing.

Mobile App

Every broker on this list offers an iOS and Android app. The gap between them runs from a basic position-monitoring tool to a full platform where a trader can run an entire account from the phone. I confirmed five things on each mobile app: biometric login, a live CFD market order, withdrawal initiation, push alerts for price triggers, and real-time account balance update after a fill.

Mobile app coverage across the ten brokers

The apps that stand out and why

XTB xStation mobile delivers full feature parity with the desktop version, including the built-in performance statistics, trade calculator, and sentiment data. That makes it the most complete proprietary mobile app in this group for a trader managing a discretionary CFD account from the phone.

eToro’s mobile app delivers the copy-trading experience that is the broker’s whole proposition. CopyTrader runs natively on iOS and Android, and the social feed updates in real time. For a trader whose strategy is mirroring Popular Investors, the mobile app is the primary interface rather than a companion to the desktop.

• Vantage App: copy trading and Raw ECN account management in one app, unusual combination at the $50 entry tier, most raw-ECN brokers do not offer copy trading at the same account level
• Pepperstone: two separate apps (Pepperstone MT5 mobile and cTrader mobile) rather than a unified broker app, minor friction for traders who use both platforms
• IC Markets cTrader mobile: order entry and position management for the Raw Spread account; the cTrader mobile interface is clean and fast but charting depth sits below the desktop client
• Saxo SaxoTraderGO: multi-asset coverage on mobile spanning CFDs, stocks, bonds, options, and ETFs from one login, the broadest mobile instrument access in this group

For most retail CFD traders, the mobile app is a position-monitoring and quick-execution tool rather than a primary analysis workspace. The brokers where mobile truly matches desktop (XTB xStation, eToro, Plus500) suit traders who manage accounts primarily from the phone. Traders running complex MT5 or cTrader configurations should treat mobile as a companion to the desktop client and not expect full EA management or depth-of-market data on the phone.

Red Flags: How to Verify a CFD Broker’s License

A regulator’s logo is an image file anyone can paste into a footer. The only proof a CFD broker is regulated is an active entry on the regulator’s own database. The check takes about one minute.

Step 1, find the registered entity. Scroll to the website footer or open the legal page. Look for the registered company name, which is rarely the same as the trading brand, and a licence number.

Step 2, search the FCA register at register.fca.org.uk. Confirm:

• ✅ Name matches exactly
• ✅ Status reads “authorised”
• ✅ Permissions include dealing in or arranging investments

Step 3, search the ASIC register at asic.gov.au. Confirm:

• ✅ Entity holds a current AFSL
• ✅ Authorisations cover derivatives and foreign exchange contracts
• ✅ Licence status is not lapsed or suspended

Step 4, search the CySEC register at cysec.gov.cy. Confirm:

• ✅ Company name and licence number match
• ✅ Status is active
• ✅ Check the CySEC warnings list for unauthorised firms

Red flags, walk away if you see any of these:

• ⚠️ Licence number with no matching public register entry
• ⚠️ Company name on your contract differs from what you searched
• ⚠️ Entity registered only in Seychelles, Vanuatu, or the Bahamas, regardless of tier-1 logos
• ⚠️ Clone-firm scam using a genuine broker’s FCA number
• ⚠️ Any pressure to deposit before you have verified the entity

Bottom Line

For the widest CFD range on a proven public company, CMC Markets is my top pick, around 12,000 CFDs on a strong charting platform at no minimum deposit. IG carries even more markets at roughly 17,000, if you can meet the $250 entry. For the lowest running cost on a tier-1 licence, FP Markets and IC Markets lead on raw pricing, with Pepperstone matching them while adding cTrader and the broadest licence stack.

If you want a simple pure-CFD platform, Plus500 keeps everything on one WebTrader with LSE-listed transparency. For copy trading, eToro has the deepest social layer, while Vantage pairs copy trading with a Raw ECN account. Saxo and XTB cover the multi-asset and modern-platform cases.

Whichever you choose, do the one thing that matters more than the ranking: open the client agreement, read the registered entity, and confirm the licence on the public register before you deposit. A CFD broker is only as regulated as the specific entity holding your money, and that is a 60-second check no spread comparison can replace.

Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with the providers on this list, according to their own regulatory filings. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Affiliate disclosure: OpesAdvisors may earn a commission when you open an account through a link on this page, at no cost to you. It never changes our scores or rankings, which are based on the testing described above. See how we make money for the full disclosure, and the methodology page for the complete scoring weights.