Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Ranking

Best CFD brokers 2026

CFDs are leveraged derivatives — ESMA had data showing that between 74% and 89% of retail accounts lose money trading them, and every provider has to publish its own current figure in its risk warning. If you use them anyway, watch three things: the spread, the overnight financing charge (often 3–5 percentage points over the benchmark rate) and the regulatory status. Negative balance protection is mandatory for retail clients in the EU, UK and Australia, but far from guaranteed offshore.

Investor's country

Shows only brokers that accept clients from the selected country.

brokers rated: 36
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026

Country of residence:No country of residence chosen — all offers are shown.

CFDs

The top 3 in detail

Why these three lead — derived from the criteria this category weights most heavily.

Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.

IG

The most complete leveraged-trading operation in Europe — and it prices like it knows that.

Ahead on Safety & regulation (4.9) and Trading platform (4.7) — together those two carry 44% of this category's weighting.

Around 17,000 tradable markets in a single account — shares, indices, FX, commodities, bonds, ETFs, turbo warrants and crypto CFDs, subject to regional restrictions
Six top-tier licences — FCA (FRN 195355), BaFin, FINMA, ASIC (AFSL 515106), MAS and JFSA — plus a mid-tier DFSA licence in Dubai; the FINMA licence among those six is a full Swiss banking licence at IG Bank S.A., which puts Swiss cash under esisuisse protection
Zero commission on UK and international shares, and the GBP 24 quarterly custody fee was scrapped outright in January 2026 rather than merely waived for active traders
Platform stack that scales with the trader: web and mobile for most, ProRealTime for charting and backtesting, L2 Dealer for full order-book DMA, plus MT4, TradingView and documented REST/streaming APIs

Group index 100/100Protection depends on your legal entity

FCABaFinFINMAASIC

StocksETFsOptionsFuturesForexCFDsCryptoBonds+5

4.5

Category score

Overall score: 4.5 / 5

Strengths in this category

Fees32%

4.0

Safety & regulation24%

4.9

Trading platform20%

4.7

Customer support10%

4.3

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 0.9 pips

Open account Read review

Investing involves risk. Your capital is at risk.

Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

CMC Markets

One of the best charting packages in retail CFD trading, wrapped around a narrower product range than the market count suggests.

4.5

Ahead on Trading platform (4.8) and Safety & regulation (4.6) — together those two carry 44% of this category's weighting.

Next Generation is one of the strongest charting suites bundled with a retail CFD account —115+ indicators, 70 chart patterns, 12 chart types and pattern-recognition scanners, at no extra cost
0% commission on UK and European share CFDs (Greece the sole exception at 0.45%), against IG's spread-plus-conversion model
EUR/USD averages around 0.7 pips on the standard account, and FX Active delivers from 0.0 pips for USD/GBP 2.50 per side per 100,000 notional

Group index 94/100Protection depends on your legal entity

FCAASIC

StocksETFsOptionsForexCFDs+5

Strengths in this category

Fees32%

4.3

Safety & regulation24%

4.6

Trading platform20%

4.8

Stocks (per order): Free (CFD)
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 0.7 pips

Open account Read review

Investing involves risk. Your capital is at risk.

Pepperstone

Raw spreads and five platforms for traders who care about execution cost, not about owning the asset.

4.4

Ahead on Fees (4.6) and Customer support (4.5) — together those two carry 42% of this category's weighting.

Razor all-in EUR/USD cost of about 0.8 pips - a 0.0 to 0.1 pip raw spread plus USD 3.50 per lot per side
No inactivity fee, no account-keeping fee and no account closure fee, confirmed on Pepperstone's own costs page
Five execution venues on one account: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and the in-house Pepperstone Platform

Group index 82/100Protection depends on your legal entity

FCAASIC

StocksETFsForexCFDsCrypto+4

Strengths in this category

Fees32%

4.6

Safety & regulation24%

4.4

Trading platform20%

4.6

Stocks (per order): 0.1 % (CFD)
Minimum deposit: US$10
EUR/USD spread: 0.8 pips

Open account Read review

Investing involves risk. Your capital is at risk.

Also worth a look

Rank 4 and below, ordered by category score.

Saxo

4.4

A Danish bank that trades like a professional platform — broad, polished, and no longer expensive.

Multi-asset portfolios
Bond investors

Tiered — Improved pricing at higher account tiers

Stocks (per order): 0.08 %
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 0.7 pips

CFDsStocksETFsOptions+7

Pros: Full Danish banking licence (Finanstilsynet licence 1149) and SIFI designation — a stronger structural safeguard than a broker-only permission
Cons: Currency conversion costs 0.25% over mid-market for EU and Swiss clients, and up to 0.60% at the UK entity's Classic tier — the single largest hidden cost for cross-currency investors

Group index 96/100

DFSAFCA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Capital.com

4.3

A polished retail CFD platform in Europe, provided you accept that CFDs are the whole product.

Active CFD traders
Forex day trading

Stocks (per order): in the spread
Minimum deposit: US$20
EUR/USD spread: 0.7 pips

CFDsStocksETFsForex+4

Pros: No commission on any CFD and no inactivity fee whatsoever — unusual in the CySEC/FCA CFD segment
Cons: 0.7% currency conversion markup on every trade settled outside your base currency — the single largest hidden cost here

Group index 77/100

FCAASIC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

XTB

4.3

One of the strongest trading platforms in the commission-free bracket - xStation 5 is a professional workspace attached to a zero-commission share account.

Serious charting on a budget
Commission-free European stocks

0% — 0% commission on stocks and ETFs up to the monthly volume cap

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 0.9 pips

CFDsStocksETFsOptions+4

Pros: xStation 5 is one of the strongest platforms in the commission-free bracket - a real screener, market heat map, sentiment data, economic calendar and news in one workspace, on web, desktop and mobile with near-identical features.
Cons: The 0.5% currency conversion charge (0.8% at weekends and on public holidays) applies whenever the instrument currency differs from your account currency. For a EUR investor buying US stocks it is charged on the way in and again on the way out, and it dwarfs the commission it replaces.

Group index 72/100

FCAKNF

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

IC Markets

4.2

One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.

Algorithmic and EA traders
Scalping and high-frequency FX

Stocks (per order): 0.1 % (CFD)
Minimum deposit: €200
EUR/USD spread: 0.8 pips

CFDsStocksFuturesForex+5

Pros: All-in EUR/USD cost of roughly 0.6 to 0.8 pips on Raw Spread - a 0.0 to 0.1 pip raw spread plus USD 3.50 per lot per side
Cons: Most non-EU, non-Australian clients contract with Raw Trading Ltd under Seychelles licence SD018 - an offshore regulator with no investor compensation scheme behind it

Group index 70/100

ASICCySEC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

CapTrader

4.2

Interactive Brokers' market access wrapped in German regulation, German support and a German phone number.

German-speaking options and futures traders
Active traders who want IBKR pricing with German support

Stocks (per order): 0.1 %
Minimum deposit: €2,000
EUR/USD spread: n/a

CFDsStocksETFsOptions+7

Pros: BaFin-supervised German investment firm (institution number 10156708) with a Düsseldorf address, German contract law and a free German hotline until 20:00
Cons: No Abgeltungsteuer is withheld. German investors gain a compounding advantage but must declare everything themselves via Anlage KAP, and a Freistellungsauftrag is not possible — for many people that alone rules CapTrader out

Group index 81/100

BaFinCBI

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Questrade

4.2

Canada's biggest independent broker, now genuinely commission-free — with a 1.5% currency spread as the sting in the tail.

Canadian self-directed investors
Registered account investing (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP)

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 1.9 pips

CFDsStocksETFsOptions+6

Pros: CAD 0 commission on every Canadian and US stock and ETF trade, on both the buy and the sell side, with no ECN fees at all on Canadian orders
Cons: The 1.5% CAD/USD conversion charge is high and unavoidable unless you deliberately manage currency; on a CAD 20,000 US-stock purchase it costs CAD 300, dwarfing any commission saving

Group index 76/100

CIROOSC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

ThinkMarkets

4.1

Raw-spread pricing, six licences and a strong mobile app - held back by its withdrawal record.

Active FX traders
Mobile-first traders

Stocks (per order): in the spread (CFD)
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 1.1 pips

CFDsStocksETFsForex+4

Pros: ThinkZero all-in EUR/USD cost of about 0.8 pips - raw spreads from 0.0 pips plus USD 3.50 per lot per side on forex and metals
Cons: 75 percent of ThinkMarkets UK retail accounts lose money trading CFDs, and disclosures across the group's entities have ranged from roughly 68 percent to 89 percent

Group index 79/100

FCAASIC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Trading 212

4.1

One of the cheapest mainstream ways to buy stocks and ETFs in Europe - 0% commission, 0.15% FX, and almost nothing else to pay.

Low-cost ETF investing
Monthly savings plans

EUR 8–100 reward — Reward via promo link or promo code

Note: this button leads to the Trading 212 home page and is not a promo link. The reward is only available through a promo link, or a promo code you enter no later than ten days after opening the account.

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: €1
EUR/USD spread: n/a

CFDsStocksETFsForex+3

Pros: One of the lowest all-in costs among mainstream European brokers for buy-and-hold investors: no commission, no custody fee, no inactivity fee, free withdrawals with no minimum, and a 0.15% FX conversion fee.
Cons: Research is the weakest of any broker at this size. There is no meaningful screener, no analyst consensus, no fundamental data worth the name and no export tooling - you will make every decision using data from somewhere else.

Group index 75/100

FCABaFin

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Admirals (Admiral Markets)

4.1

The rare CFD broker that also settles real shares — broad, well-priced and unusually forgiving about dormant accounts.

Real share investing
MetaTrader users

Stocks (per order): US$0.02/share
Minimum deposit: €100
EUR/USD spread: 0.9 pips

CFDsStocksETFsForex+4

Pros: Real share and ETF ownership through Invest.MT5 — roughly 4,800 listed companies and 200-plus ETFs from USD 0.02 per share with a USD 1.00 minimum, with no custody or platform fee.
Cons: Support is weekday office hours only, with no weekend desk — a genuine gap for anyone holding crypto CFDs over a Saturday.

Group index 72/100

FCAASIC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

OANDA

4.1

Thirty years, six top-tier licences and one of the strongest mobile apps in FX - attached to spreads you have to work around.

Beginners
Mobile-first traders

Stocks (per order): 0.06 % (CFD)
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 1.7 pips

CFDsStocksETFsForex+6

Pros: Regulated by six tier-1 authorities - CFTC/NFA, FCA (542574), CIRO, ASIC (AFSL 412981), MAS and the JFSA - a licence footprint almost nobody in retail FX matches
Cons: The default spread-only account is expensive: EUR/USD has been measured at 1.4 to 1.7 pips against roughly 0.8 pips all-in at raw-spread competitors

Group index 89/100

CFTC/NFAFCA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Dukascopy Bank

4.0

A real Swiss bank running a real ECN — with a tariff sheet that punishes anyone who moves money often.

Experienced ECN and algorithmic FX traders
Clients who want a bank, not a broker

Stocks (per order): 0.06 % (CFD)
Minimum deposit: US$100
EUR/USD spread: 0.1 pips

CFDsStocksETFsForex+4

Pros: Licensed by FINMA as both a bank and a securities firm — full Swiss banking supervision, capital requirements and audit obligations, not a CFD-broker permission
Cons: Bank transfer withdrawals are priced per currency and rail — EUR 2.3 over SEPA up to EUR 20, USD 19 up to USD 35, and nominally much more in minor currencies such as HUF 5,500 or JPY 2,500 — and card withdrawals add EUR 1.5 plus 2.5%; cash movement is the single worst part of the tariff

Group index 82/100

FINMAJFSA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

LYNX

4.1

The friendliest front door to Interactive Brokers in the German-speaking market — and the most expensive one.

German-speaking investors who want IBKR access without TWS
Options and futures traders

Stocks (per order): 0.14 %
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: n/a

CFDsStocksETFsOptions+7

Pros: LYNX+ is a genuinely good browser platform, and having it alongside full Trader Workstation access means you can start simple and grow into the terminal
Cons: The most expensive of the German Interactive Brokers introducing brokers on equities: 0.14% with a EUR 5.80 Xetra minimum and a USD 5.00 minimum on US shares, against CapTrader's EUR 4.00 and USD 2.00

Group index 80/100

AFMBaFin

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Quick comparison

The numbers that decide this category, side by side. Scroll right on narrow screens for every column.

Best CFD brokers — Quick comparison
Broker	Category	Overall	Fees32%	Safety & regulation24%	Trading platform20%	EUR/USD spread	Minimum deposit	Regulation	Action
1IG	4.5	4.5	4.0	4.9	4.7	0.9 pips	None	FCABaFin, FINMA, ASIC, MAS, JFSA, DFSA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
2CMC Markets	4.5	4.4	4.3	4.6	4.8	0.7 pips	None	FCAASIC, BaFin, MAS	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
3Pepperstone	4.4	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.6	0.8 pips	US$10	FCAASIC, BaFin, CySEC, DFSA, SCB, CMA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
4Saxo	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.7	4.7	0.7 pips	None	DFSAFCA, FINMA, MAS, JFSA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
5Capital.com	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.3	4.3	0.7 pips	US$20	FCAASIC, CySEC	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
6XTB	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.6	0.9 pips	None	FCAKNF, CySEC, CNMV, DFSA, FSCA, FSC	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
7IC Markets	4.3	4.2	4.7	3.9	4.5	0.8 pips	€200	ASICCySEC, FSCA, FSA, SCB, CMA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
8CapTrader	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.0	4.6	n/a	€2,000	BaFinCBI, FCA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Our methodology

How we build this ranking

No editorial gut feeling — a published calculation. This category shifts the weights of our rating model towards what its audience actually needs.

Weighting in this category

36 brokers rated

The pale tick marks the weight in the general Brokaro model.

Category weight
Base model

The formula

The category score is 70% the category-specific weighting and 30% the general overall score. A strong all-rounder therefore does not drop out simply because it fails to lead one single criterion.

Category score = 0.7 × Σ(w_i × s_i) + 0.3 × Overall score

Full methodology

Requirements to be listed

A broker that misses these never appears in this list, no matter how it scores.

The broker has to actually offer CFDs — not merely advertise it.

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