Head to head
Capital.com vs Saxo — which broker is better?
Capital.com or Saxo? 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.
Saxo
A Danish bank that trades like a professional platform — broad, polished, and no longer expensive.
- Stocks (per order)
- 0.08 %
- Minimum deposit
- None
- 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.
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 Saxo takes it, 4.4 against 4.3 out of 5. The two pricing models cannot be converted like for like; the fee rows in the table carry the detail. Saxo scores 96 against 77 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. Saxo covers more ground with 11 of 14 asset classes against 8. On platform and app Saxo is ahead, 4.7 against 4.4 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
Capital.com- 4.3
Saxo- 4.4 — Better
Capital.com- in the spread
Saxo- €4.00
Capital.com- 77 of 100
Saxo- 96 of 100
Capital.com- 8/14
Saxo- 11/14 — Better
Capital.com- 4.4
Saxo- 4.7 — Better
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. | Saxo 4.4 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 | 4.4 — Better |
| Group index | 77 of 100 | 96 of 100 |
| Best for | Active CFD tradersForex day tradingMobile-first tradersBeginners learning leverageCrypto CFD exposure | Multi-asset portfoliosBond investorsOptions and futures tradersPlatform quality seekersEuropean investors wanting a bank |
| Regulation | FCAASICCySECCySEC | DFSAFCAFINMAMASJFSA |
| Top-tier licences | 2 | 5 — Better |
| Investor protection | £85,000 | CHF 100,000 — Better |
| Listed group | No | No |
| Banking licence | No | Yes |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | None | None |
| Founded | 2016 | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Limassol, CY | Copenhagen, DK |
| Fees | 4.4 — Better | 4.2 |
| Safety & regulation | 4.3 | 4.7 — Better |
| Trading platform | 4.3 | 4.7 — Better |
| Product range | 3.6 | 4.8 — Better |
| Mobile app | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Research | 4.2 | 4.5 — Better |
| Customer support | 4.2 — Better | 3.8 |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.5 — Better | 4.0 |
| Account opening | 4.6 — Better | 4.2 |
| Education | 4.6 — Better | 4.0 |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | in the spread | €4.00 |
| Minimum deposit | US$20 | None — Better |
| Stocks (per order) | in the spread | 0.08 % |
| US stocks | in the spread | 0.08 % |
| ETFs | in the spread | 0.08 % |
| Options | Not offered | US$2 |
| Futures | Not offered | US$3 |
| Crypto | in the spread | n/a |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | 0.2 % |
| Funds (order) | n/a | Free |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.7 pips | 0.7 pips |
| Index CFD spread | 1 points | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.7 % | 0.25 % — Better |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Custody fee | n/a | 0.15 % p.a. |
| Withdrawal fee | free | free |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | 4.05 % | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 8 | 11 — Better |
| Exchanges | n/a | 50 |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Futures | No | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto | Yes | No |
| Bonds | No | Yes |
| Funds | No | Yes |
| Commodities | Yes | Yes |
| Indices | Yes | Yes |
| Warrants | No | Yes |
| Spread betting | Yes | No |
| Social trading | No | No |
| Platforms | Capital.com Web PlatformCapital.com Mobile AppMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingView | SaxoTraderGOSaxoTraderPROSaxoInvestorSaxo mobile appSaxo OpenAPITradingView integration |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | Yes | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 · Pro 1:300 | 1:30 · Pro 1:200 |
| Account opening | Under 10 minutes — fully digital, usually verified the same day | Fully online with electronic ID in most markets; often same day, otherwise 1–3 business days |
| Account types | Standard (Retail)ProfessionalCapital.com Invest | ClassicPlatinumVIP |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalApple PayGoogle PaySkrillNeteller | Bank transferSEPA |
| Account currencies | USDEURGBPPLNAUD | EURUSDGBPCHFDKKSEKNOKAUDCADJPY+9 |
| Deposit time | Instant for cards and e-wallets, 1–3 business days for bank wire | SEPA same day to 2 business days; international wire 1–3 business days |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days | Usually 1 business day to the registered bank account |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishGermanSpanishItalianFrenchPolishArabicDutchRomanianCzech | EnglishDanishGermanFrenchItalianSpanishDutchPolishCzechSwedish+4 |
| Channels | EmailLive chatPhone | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system |
| Availability | 24/7 | Monday to Friday, local office hours across 16 service locations; trading desks cover market hours |
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
Saxo
A Danish bank that trades like a professional platform — broad, polished, and no longer expensive.
Pros
- Full Danish banking licence (Finanstilsynet licence 1149) and SIFI designation — a stronger structural safeguard than a broker-only permission
- US stocks and ETFs at 0.08% with a USD 1 minimum on the entry-level Classic tier, and 0.05%/0.03% at higher tiers
- Roughly 71,000 instruments including 23,000 stocks, 7,400 ETFs, 5,200 bonds, 3,100 listed options and 250 futures across 50-plus exchanges
- SaxoTraderGO and the mobile app are the best-designed retail trading interfaces in Europe, and the app is not a cut-down version of the web platform
- Mutual funds carry no transaction commission, no custody fee and no platform fee
- One of very few retail platforms with a genuinely usable bond offering — 5,200 government and corporate issues with live prices
- No inactivity fee, no minimum deposit on Classic, and free withdrawals
- Majority-owned by J. Safra Sarasin since 2026, adding a large private-banking group behind the balance sheet
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
- A holding fee of up to 0.15% a year on shares, ETFs and bonds still applies at several booking entities; coverage varies by country and is easy to overlook
- No spot cryptocurrency trading — exposure is limited to exchange-traded products
- No fractional shares on ordinary orders, so building small positions in high-priced US stocks is awkward
- Bank transfer is the only funding route since card deposits were withdrawn in April 2025
- Trustpilot sentiment sits around 3.8 with responsiveness of support the recurring complaint, despite good published coverage
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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