Head to head
Capital.com vs Markets.com — which broker is better?
Capital.com or Markets.com? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.
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.
Capital.com
A polished retail CFD platform in Europe, provided you accept that CFDs are the whole product.
- Stocks (per order)
- in the spread
- Minimum deposit
- US$20
- EUR/USD spread
- 0.7 pips
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.
Markets.com
Strong sentiment and analyst research wrapped around pricing that is merely average — and a dormancy fee that punishes casual users.
- Stocks (per order)
- in the spread (CFD)
- Minimum deposit
- US$100
- EUR/USD spread
- 1.2 pips
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.
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.
The verdict in numbers
Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.
Overall Capital.com takes it, 4.3 against 3.7 out of 5. The two pricing models cannot be converted like for like; the fee rows in the table carry the detail. Capital.com scores 77 against 74 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. Both cover 8 of 14 asset classes. On platform and app Capital.com is ahead, 4.4 against 3.9 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
- Capital.com
- 4.3 — Better
- Markets.com
- 3.7
- Capital.com
- in the spread
- Markets.com
- in the spread (CFD)
- Capital.com
- 77 of 100
- Markets.com
- 74 of 100
- Capital.com
- 8/14
- Markets.com
- 8/14
- Capital.com
- 4.4 — Better
- Markets.com
- 3.9
Compare brokers side by side
Up to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | Capital.com 4.3 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. | Markets.com 3.7 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. |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 4.3 — Better | 3.7 |
| Group index | 77 of 100 | 74 of 100 |
| Best for | Active CFD tradersForex day tradingMobile-first tradersBeginners learning leverageCrypto CFD exposure | Research-led discretionary tradersMetaTrader usersMulti-asset CFD tradersBond CFD exposure |
| Regulation | FCAASICCySECCySEC | FCACySECFSCABVI FSCFSA SVG |
| Top-tier licences | 2 — Better | 1 |
| Investor protection | £85,000 | £85,000 |
| Listed group | No | No |
| Banking licence | No | No |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | None | None |
| Founded | 2016 | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Limassol, CY | Nicosia, CY |
| Fees | 4.4 — Better | 3.2 |
| Safety & regulation | 4.3 — Better | 4.1 |
| Trading platform | 4.3 — Better | 3.9 |
| Product range | 3.6 | 3.7 — Better |
| Mobile app | 4.6 — Better | 3.8 |
| Research | 4.2 — Better | 4.1 |
| Customer support | 4.2 — Better | 3.6 |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.5 — Better | 3.8 |
| Account opening | 4.6 — Better | 3.9 |
| Education | 4.6 — Better | 3.5 |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | in the spread | in the spread (CFD) |
| Minimum deposit | US$20 — Better | US$100 |
| Stocks (per order) | in the spread | in the spread (CFD) |
| US stocks | in the spread | in the spread (CFD) |
| ETFs | in the spread | in the spread (CFD) |
| Options | Not offered | Not offered |
| Futures | Not offered | Not offered |
| Crypto | in the spread | in the spread |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | in the spread |
| Funds (order) | n/a | n/a |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.7 pips — Better | 1.2 pips |
| Index CFD spread | 1 points | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.7 % | 0.6 % — Better |
| Inactivity fee | None — Better | US$10 · after 3 months |
| Custody fee | n/a | n/a |
| Withdrawal fee | free | free |
| Deposit fee | free | n/a |
| Overnight financing | 4.05 % | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 8 | 8 |
| Exchanges | n/a | n/a |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | No |
| Futures | No | No |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds | No | Yes |
| Funds | No | No |
| Commodities | Yes | Yes |
| Indices | Yes | Yes |
| Warrants | No | No |
| Spread betting | Yes | No |
| Social trading | No | No |
| Platforms | Capital.com Web PlatformCapital.com Mobile AppMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingView | Marketsx (proprietary web platform)Markets.com Mobile AppMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingView |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | Yes | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 · Pro 1:300 | 1:30 · Pro 1:300 |
| Account opening | Under 10 minutes — fully digital, usually verified the same day | 10–20 minutes online, verification usually within one business day |
| Account types | Standard (Retail)ProfessionalCapital.com Invest | Standard (Retail)Professional |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalApple PayGoogle PaySkrillNeteller | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardSkrillNetellerPayPal |
| Account currencies | USDEURGBPPLNAUD | USDEURGBPZAR |
| Deposit time | Instant for cards and e-wallets, 1–3 business days for bank wire | Instant for cards and e-wallets, 1–3 business days for bank transfer |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days | 1–5 business days depending on method |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishGermanSpanishItalianFrenchPolishArabicDutchRomanianCzech | EnglishItalianFrenchArabicSpanishGerman |
| Channels | EmailLive chatPhone | EmailLive chatPhone |
| Availability | 24/7 | 24/5 (Monday 00:00 to Friday 23:55 GMT+2) |
Strengths and weaknesses side by side
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
Capital.com
A polished retail CFD platform in Europe, provided you accept that CFDs are the whole product.
Pros
- No commission on any CFD and no inactivity fee whatsoever — unusual in the CySEC/FCA CFD segment
- EUR/USD averages roughly 0.7 pips all-in, with spreads advertised from 0.6 pips
- Free deposits and free withdrawals, with a USD 20 minimum via card, Apple Pay or PayPal
- Roughly 5,585 tradeable symbols including 125 FX pairs and about 450 crypto CFDs
- Top-tier regulation through the FCA (793714) and ASIC (513393) alongside CySEC (319/17)
- Mobile app is genuinely at feature parity with the web platform, not a cut-down version
- Choice of proprietary platform, MT4, MT5 and native TradingView integration
- Investmate education and the built-in trading-bias detector are substantive, not marketing filler
Cons
- 0.7% currency conversion markup on every trade settled outside your base currency — the single largest hidden cost here
- Overnight funding adds roughly 4.05% per year over the benchmark rate, which makes multi-week leveraged holds expensive
- No exchange-traded options, futures, bonds or mutual funds — the product set is essentially CFDs only
- Real share dealing (Capital.com Invest) covers only about 1,000 stocks and is limited to selected European countries
- Not publicly listed and founded only in 2016, so there is less financial transparency than at an exchange-listed broker
- Crypto CFDs are unavailable to UK retail clients, and the broker does not accept clients in the US, Canada, Japan, Belgium or Hong Kong
Best for
Markets.com
Strong sentiment and analyst research wrapped around pricing that is merely average — and a dormancy fee that punishes casual users.
Pros
- Regulated across five jurisdictions including the FCA (607305) and CySEC (092/08), with FSCS and EUR 20,000 ICF cover on the respective entities
- Marketsx platform includes sentiment, analyst-consensus and positioning tools that are rare in the CFD segment
- 116 cryptocurrency CFDs — an unusually deep crypto book for a regulated CFD broker, subject to entity and country restrictions
- Bond and treasury CFDs are available, which most retail CFD brokers omit entirely
- Full MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 support alongside the proprietary platform, so algorithmic traders are covered
- No withdrawal fees, and support runs 24/5 in six-plus languages including German
- Operating since 2008, which is a materially longer track record than most of its Cypriot peer group
Cons
- EUR/USD averages around 1.2 pips — roughly double the cost of the cheaper commission-free competitors
- USD 10 per month inactivity fee kicks in after only about three months of no trading, which is unusually aggressive
- 0.6% currency conversion fee on every trade settled outside your base currency, stacked on top of an already-wide spread
- USD 100 minimum deposit is five times what several direct competitors require
- CFDs only — no real share ownership, no ETFs you can actually hold, no fractional shares, no options or futures
- The asset list is modest: roughly 530 CFDs in total and only 248 single shares, where several CFD rivals list several thousand
- Trustpilot sentiment is mid-pack at roughly 3.7 across about 1,250 reviews, with recurring complaints about live-chat response times
Best for
Open an account with either
A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.
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.
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.
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