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Best Trading Platform UK – Top 10 For Forex, CFD, ETF

To be considered the best trading platform UK is a highly coveted goal of many of the top online brokers out there. In this guide, we are simply putting together the best platforms for forex, CFD, ETF, commodity, and stock trading in one simple list.

We will top that off with 10 things you may want to pay attention to when rating the best trading platforms in the UK for your own needs.

We have not made it easy to be included on this list of 10, just as we know you would not want us to. Probably high time then to dive right into the 10 best online trading platforms in the UK and where each one stands out from the crowd!

Best trading platform UK ranking list

Top 10 Best Trading Platforms UK

The 10 best trading platforms in the UK list is complete for now, you can find the short version here with much more detail on each of the platforms below.

  1. Pepperstone – Best trading platforms range
  2. Admiral Markets – Trusted, award winning platforms
  3. Tickmill – Advanced trading platform
  4. eToro – Best trading platform for beginners
  5. Skilling – Great crypto trading platform
  6. Plus500 – Best CFD trading platform
  7. IG – Best spread betting platform
  8. XTB – Award winning trading platform
  9. AvaTrade – Feature rich trading platforms
  10. Fineco – Best ETF Platform

1. Pepperstone – Best UK trading platform range with low spreads and great execution

pepperstone uk trading platform award winner

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £200
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, ASIC, DFSA, CMA
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, INDICES,
SPREAD BETTING, COMMODITIES, SOCIAL TRADING

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Full Pepperstone Review

When it comes to looking for the best trading platform UK, you will not find a list without Pepperstone. This is a broker that has Australian origins but a very much UK platform that delivers on many aspects.

More than 10 years of history and a continued effort to add additional services is a reflection of the investment in client services. You will find as a user of Pepperstone a free UK telephone number for customer support (08000465473) that is manned by helpful and attentive staff. For those of us that are still to fully appreciate online chat during complicated financial transactions, this is a nice plus.

The best trading platforms in the UK together under one umbrella
the best trading platforms include software from Tradingview, metatrader 4/5, and cTrader

The recent addition of the TradingView platform to sit alongside existing MT4, MT5, and cTrader options is a sure fire way to ensure every user if catered for. All this would mean nothing however if the trading offer was not competitive but Pepperstone do not let us down on this aspect as we see below.

We find spreads that are excellent, with account choices including Razor which can bring down GBP pairs to 0. You will need to offset that with the difference in commission on Razor but this is still ultra competitive all in.

Pepperstone offer a very simple account opening process with an industry average minimum deposit of £200. For those that like the little extra ongoing trading information on platform, there is a strong range of educational support including live webinars that can assist in delivering one of the best trading experiences all around on one of the best UK trading platforms.

Best For : Low spreads and great execution on a range of trading platforms including MT4/5, cTrader & TradingView.

WHAT WE LIKE

  • Spreads on Razor from 0.0
  • Great range of platforms
  • Execution and reliability are strong

TO IMPROVE

  • More instruments would be nice to see

2. Admiral Markets

Best For : Large range of tradeable instruments, complete with excellent spreads.

Metatrader Trading Platforms Admiral Markets

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £100
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, ASIC, EFSA
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, STOCKS, INDICES, ETFs, COMMODITIES

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Full Admiral Markets Review

WHAT WE LIKE

  • Spreads from 0.1 on Majors
  • Great range of instruments to trade
  • Commission free stock trading

TO IMPROVE

  • No proprietary app so far for mobile trading

3. Tickmill

Best For : A feature rich platform with advanced level functionality. Futures and options available alongside a wide range of more commonly found instruments.

Tickmill FCA regulated broker

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £100
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, FSCA, LFSA, FSA
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, FUTUREs, INDICES, ETFs
COMMODITIES, OPTIOJNS

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WHAT WE LIKE

  • Spreads from 0.0 on Pro
  • Great platform for advanced traders
  • Execution and reliability are strong

TO IMPROVE

  • Trading on app is more limited

4. eToro – Best UK trading platform for beginners

Best For : Real stocks and cryptocurrency trading under one platform is a real rarity. Globally recognized and trusted with a reputation for being amongst the best trading platforms for beginners.

Best Trading App

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £50
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, ASIC, FinCEN
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, STOCKS, CRYPTOCURRENCY, SOCIAL TRADING

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Full eToro Review

WHAT WE LIKE

  • Low minimum deposit
  • Huge instrument range available as both ‘real’ and CFD
  • Intuitive platform and social trading pioneer

TO IMPROVE

  • Reduced spreads
  • More advanced charting

5. Skilling

Best For : User-friendly platform, with large range of instruments and low spreads.

User friendly platform from skilling

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £100
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, STOCKS, CRYPTOCURRENCY

WHAT WE LIKE

  • Spreads from 0.1
  • Easy to use proprietary platform suitable for novices through to advanced

TO IMPROVE

  • Limited UK equities, mostly US catered

6. Plus500 – Best CFD Platform UK

Best For : CFD trading & one of the best trading platforms for beginners

Best CFD trading platform for beginners UK

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £200
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, ASIC
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, STOCKS, CRYPTOCURRENCY

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WHAT WE LIKE

  • Easy to use proprietary platform
  • Huge range of supported CFD instruments
  • Highly trusted and publicly listed broker

TO IMPROVE

  • Could add alternative trading apart from pure CFD

7. IG

Best For : Excellent all-around platform with wide range of listed instruments. Vanilla options and spread betting rare to find.

Best platform for uk AIM shares

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £50
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, ASIC, MAS, FSCA, DFSA, BaFIN, FINMA
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, CFDs, STOCKS, OPTIONS, SPREAD-BETTING

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WHAT WE LIKE

  • Spreads on Razor from 0.0
  • Great range of platforms
  • Execution and reliability are strong

TO IMPROVE

  • More instruments would be a good addition

8. XTB

Best For : Educational support is a great plus point to add to the award winning and easy to use xStation 5 platform.

UK FCA regulated trading platform

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £250
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, KNF, IFSC
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, STOCKS (CFDs), COMMODITIES, INDICES, ETF, CRYPTO

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Full XTB Review

WHAT WE LIKE

  • Spreads from 0.35
  • Intuitive and feature rich trading platform
  • Commission free stocks and crypto trading

TO IMPROVE

  • Real stocks and crypto would be a nice addition

9. AvaTrade

Best For : Globally regulated with a wealth of strong trading platforms to choose from on desktop & mobile.

Avatrae have one of the best trading platforms

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £100
REGULATION – CBI, FSCA, ASIC, BVI, FSC, JFSA, FRSA
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, STOCKS (CFDs), CRYPTOCURRENCIES, COMMODITIES, OPTIONS

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Full AvaTrade Review

WHAT WE LIKE

  • Great trading app
  • Feature rich platforms

TO IMPROVE

  • Spreads could be narrower

10. Fineco – Best ETF Platform UK

Best For : Excellent range of stock markets supported including FTSE and AIM listings. ISA accounts also available!

fineco trading platform logo

MINIMUM DEPOSIT – £250
REGULATION – FCA, CySEC, KNF, IFSC
INSTRUMENTS – FOREX, STOCKS, FUTURES, BONDS, OPTIONS, ETFS

Fineco have a very wide range of stocks, government bonds and ETFs available on the trading platform for UK users. Whilst Fineco do provide other instruments to trade, it is more as an investing platform, or an ETF platform that it stands out in the UK as one of the best.

The ability to trade AIM stocks in the UK is something that is offered by very few, so if you are looking for a FCA regulated UK trading platform that gives you multi asset investment options, including the potential for ISA accounts, then this could be the one for you.

WHAT WE LIKE

  • ISA accounts offered
  • Great range of stocks including AIM
  • Government bonds and futures supported

TO IMPROVE

  • Cryptocurrency trading would be welcome

10 Ways To identify the best trading platform uK

There are many different criteria you could use to decide on your best UK trading platform; we have decided to base our list on the below selection.

uk trading platforms GBP
  1. Cost structure & trading fees
  2. Broker minimum deposits
  3. User experience
  4. Trading features
  5. Good execution
  6. Solid reliability
  7. Instrument range
  8. Non trading fees
  9. FCA regulation
  10. Customer support

Universally, across the globe we are always looking for the best trading platforms to have excellent cost structures for traders. You don’t want to be wasting trading Pounds (or respective currency) on fees for deposits and getting started.

It is also of paramount importance that the barrier to entry and minimum deposit of the platform is within the reaches of the non Elon Musk’s amongst us (read low minimum deposit).

features of best uk trading platform

Then it is essential that the best trading platform UK has a good user experience and plenty of trading features, whilst simultaneously offering excellent execution and reliability.

Every trader will appreciate a trading platform with low spreads. A strong range of instruments and no hidden ongoing fees are also expected to be part of any of the best online trading platforms on this UK list.

For UK traders and platforms specifically, FCA regulation (or registration) is a must with a customer service team that is both knowledgeable, and readily available during the right time periods.

When a trading platform can meet all the above requirements, you will see them here on our shortlist. Hopefully as the general offer of many platforms improve over time, the list will continue to grow and there will be more variety for UK traders to choose from amongst the best trading platform UK.

We have covered the topic of how we rate the best trading platform UK and global platforms in more detailed terms here, so if you are looking for more on the topic you know where to go.

If you are interested in verifying the regulatory status of the trading platforms with the UK FCA, you can find that area also here for ease of reference.