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CMC Markets vs Plus500: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino

Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date 28 September 2026 Last Updated 2 October 2026

Our verdict · CFD/FX trading

CMC Markets is better than Plus500 for CFD trading in India by a small margin. Plus500 does not operate in India. CMC Markets has a lower EUR/USD cost (7.00 USD per lot against 8.00 USD), requires no minimum deposit, where Plus500 asks for 100.00 USD, and covers more tradable symbols (12,000 against 2,800). It runs MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView next to a proprietary trading platform, opens corporate accounts and adds copy and social trading. Plus500, on the other hand, offers CFDs on crypto, settles deposits and withdrawals in 1 day against 2 days, holds more account base currencies (three against two) and provides a guaranteed stop loss. CMC Markets holds licences from BaFin, ASIC, the CSRC, the FCA, the FMA (New Zealand), CIRO and the MAS, and Plus500 from CySEC, ASIC, the DFSA, the FCA, the FMA (New Zealand), the FSA (Seychelles), the ISA, the MAS and the FSCA. Both brokers cover CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks, offer a demo account that does not expire and open professional accounts.

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Our verdict · Real stock investing

A comparison between CMC Markets and Plus500 for real stock investing in India is not possible. Plus500 does not operate in India. Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks to buy. If you want to buy real stocks and you do not know which of the two to take, CMC Markets is the better option, because it lets you own ETFs and shares outright.

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Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD/FX brokers (leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto), using the data of CMC Markets' UK entity and Plus500's Seychelles entity. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers (real shares and ETFs you own outright), using the data of CMC Markets' UK entity and Plus500's Seychelles entity.

Best overall Best overall

CMC Markets

CFD FX Stocks

84CFD/FX 78Stocks

Open Account

78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500

CFD FX

76CFD/FX not offeredStocks

Not available in India

CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

Best for

1 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Plus500 for long-term investors, scalpers and news traders. Plus500, on the other hand, is better for professional traders and crypto traders. High-volume traders, swing traders and CFD stock traders can choose either CMC Markets or Plus500.

Best for
Overall score	CMC Markets 84 Best 78	Plus500 76 -8 not offered
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

2 / 12

CMC Markets and Plus500 are both regulated by top-tier authorities, CMC Markets by BaFin, ASIC (Australia) and the FCA (United Kingdom) and Plus500 by CySEC, ASIC (Australia) and the FCA (United Kingdom). Plus500 does not operate in India.

Regulation
Section score	CMC Markets 100 100	Plus500 100 not offered
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

3 / 12

Both CMC Markets and Plus500 offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication. CMC Markets also offers an investor compensation scheme and additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score	CMC Markets 95 Best 95	Plus500 72 -23 not offered
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i	1989	2008
Parent company i	CMC Markets plc	Plus500 Ltd.
CEO i	Peter Cruddas	David Zruia
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i	NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds	N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i	1,000,000	30,000,000
Annual revenue i	USD 324,700,000	USD 768,300,000
Monthly website search traffic i	10.5M monthly visits

Costs

4 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Plus500 for CFD/FX costs, as CMC Markets is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 7 USD per lot (against Plus500's 8 USD), has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.5 points (against Plus500's 0.7 points), and has tighter gold CFD spreads, at 0.2 points (against Plus500's 0.75 points). Neither CMC Markets nor Plus500 charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

There is no like-for-like comparison for real stock costs, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Costs
Section score	CMC Markets 73 Best 44	Plus500 69 -4 not offered
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i	USD 5	Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i	0.7 pips	0.8 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i	USD 7	USD 8
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i	0.5 points	0.7 points
Gold fees (CFD) i	0.2 points	0.75 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i		USD 118.34
US stocks fees (CFD) i	USD 0.02	Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i		Spread
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i	Free
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

5 / 12

Plus500 is better than CMC Markets for CFD/FX markets, as Plus500 offers CFDs on crypto, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Plus500 offer CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks.

CMC Markets and Plus500 cannot be compared for real stock markets, because CMC Markets is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Plus500 is a CFD broker.

Available markets
Section score	CMC Markets 65 -10 30	Plus500 75 Best not offered
Total tradable symbols i	12,000	2,800
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i	Commodities, Forex, Indices, Stocks	Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i	ETF, Stocks

Platform

6 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Plus500 for platforms, because CMC Markets offers MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4 and social trading, which Plus500 does not. Both CMC Markets and Plus500 offer a proprietary platform and one-click trading.

CMC Markets and Plus500 cannot be set side by side for platforms, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike CMC Markets.

Platform
Section score	CMC Markets 97 Best 97	Plus500 72 -25 not offered
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

7 / 12

Plus500 is better than CMC Markets for mobile trading, since Plus500 offers mobile charting tools and mobile drawing tools, which CMC Markets does not. CMC Markets and Plus500 both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

There is no like-for-like comparison for mobile trading, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Mobile
Section score	CMC Markets 73 -7 73	Plus500 80 Best not offered
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

8 / 12

CMC Markets and Plus500 are equally good for CFD/FX trading features, as CMC Markets allows for scalping and automated trading while Plus500 offers guaranteed stop losses and API access. CMC Markets and Plus500 both offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

CMC Markets and Plus500 cannot be compared for real stock trading features, because CMC Markets is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Plus500 is a CFD broker.

Trading features
Section score	CMC Markets 69 -3 71	Plus500 72 not offered
Trade execution
Broker type i	Agency	Agency
Average execution time i	9 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i	0.08%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i	30:1	300:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i	20:1	300:1
Major indices leverage i	20:1	150:1
Minor indices leverage i	10:1	150:1
Gold leverage i	20:1	250:1
Commodities leverage i	10:1	150:1
Equities leverage i	5:1	20:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i		5:1
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i	0.01 lots	0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i	USD 0	USD 0
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

9 / 12

CMC Markets and Plus500 are equally good for CFD/FX account types, as CMC Markets offers a corporate account and a spread betting account while Plus500 offers an Islamic account and a swap-free account. CMC Markets and Plus500 both offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Only CMC Markets can be assessed for real stock account types, since Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Account types
Section score	CMC Markets 48 -3 45	Plus500 51 not offered
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

10 / 12

Plus500 is better than CMC Markets for account opening, as Plus500 offers 3 account base currencies (against CMC Markets' 2), supports e-wallets, which CMC Markets does not, and credits deposits faster, within 1 day (against CMC Markets' 2 days). However, CMC Markets does not require a minimum deposit at all (against Plus500's 100 USD). Plus500 does not operate in India.

CMC Markets and Plus500 cannot be set side by side for account opening, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike CMC Markets. Plus500 does not operate in India.

Account opening
Section score	CMC Markets 65 -7 65	Plus500 72 Best not offered
Minimum deposit i	USD 0	USD 100
Minimum withdrawal i	USD 0	USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i		PayPal, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i	EUR, USD	AUD, EUR, USD
Deposit waiting time i	up to 2 business days	up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i	up to 2 business days	up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

11 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Plus500 for customer care, given that CMC Markets offers a dedicated account manager, phone support and priority support, which Plus500 does not. Both CMC Markets and Plus500 offer live chat and email support.

Plus500 does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so CMC Markets and Plus500 cannot be compared for customer care.

Customer care
Section score	CMC Markets 73 Best 73	Plus500 58 -15 not offered
Number of languages supported i	9	29
Website languages i	German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i	German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

12 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Plus500 for learning, because CMC Markets offers professional reports, daily market commentary and an economic calendar, which Plus500 does not. CMC Markets and Plus500 both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Plus500 does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so CMC Markets and Plus500 cannot be compared for learning.

Learning
Section score	CMC Markets 100 Best 100	Plus500 75 -25 not offered
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i

CMC Markets

Open Account 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500

Not available in India CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

Our verdict

CMC Markets vs Plus500: which one should you choose?

CMC Markets

CFD/FX Choose CMC Markets, regulated by BaFin and ASIC, if you want a forex broker with low trading costs, no minimum deposit and a wide choice of markets.

Stocks Choose CMC Markets, regulated by BaFin and ASIC, if you want a broker for securities investing with no minimum deposit, TradingView and fast execution.

Open Account 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500

CFD/FX Choose Plus500, regulated by the FCA and CySEC, if you want a CFD and forex broker with a guaranteed stop loss, several account base currencies and fast withdrawals and live in a country where it accepts clients.

Not available in India CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money