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Best CFD Trading Platforms and Brokers in Germany 2024

Written By

James Barra

Written By

James Barra

James is an investment writer with a background in financial services. He has worked as a management consultant, where he delivered large-scale operational transformational programmes at some of Europe's biggest banks. James authors, edits and fact-checks content for a series of investing websites.

» James Barra Profile Page

Fact Checked By

Jemma Grist

Fact Checked By

Jemma Grist

Jemma is a writer, editor and fact-checker focused on retail trading and investing. Jemma brings a unique perspective to the forex, stock, and cryptocurrency markets and works across several investment websites as a researcher and broker analyst.

» Jemma Grist Profile Page

Updated

Mar 18, 2024

CFDs were introduced to the German market in 2005 and surged in popularity following the implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in 2007, which paved the way for online brokers to expand their CFD operations in Germany.

We’ve identified the best CFD trading platforms and brokers in Germany. Every CFD broker recommended is trusted and accepts German traders.

Top 5 CFD Trading Platforms in Germany

Following our comprehensive testing of nearly 500 brokers, these 5 platforms continue to stand out as the best for CFD traders in Germany:

1. Eightcap - Eightcap delivers in every area for day traders with a growing selection of charting platforms and AI-powered tools. Now sporting 250+ crypto CFDs and the Crypto Crusher market scanner, it's also become a stand-out choice for crypto trading, winning our 'Best Crypto Broker' award two years in a row.
2. AvaTrade - AvaTrade offers the full package for short-term traders. There is powerful charting software, reliable execution, transparent fees, and fast account opening with a low minimum deposit.
3. Deriv.com - Deriv.com will suit day traders looking to make fast-paced trades using CFDs and multipliers with high leverage up to 1:1000. The broker is also the industry leader in synthetic indices, which simulate real market movements and are available around the clock.
4. Pepperstone - Pepperstone stands out as a top choice for day trading, offering razor-sharp spreads, ultra-fast execution, and advanced charting platforms for experienced traders. New traders are also welcomed with no minimum deposit, extensive educational resources, and exceptional 24/7 support.
5. XM - XM is one of the best forex and CFD brokers we have tested. The flexible account types will suit a variety of short-term trading styles while the $5 minimum deposit and smooth sign-up process make it easy to start trading.

Best CFD Trading Platforms and Brokers in Germany 2024 Comparison

Best CFD Trading Platforms and Brokers in Germany 2024 Comparison

Broker	CFD Trading	EUR Account	Minimum Deposit	Markets	Platforms	Leverage	Visit
	✔	✔	$100	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto	MT4, MT5, TradingView	1:30	Visit
	✔	✔	$100	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds, Crypto, Spread Betting	WebTrader, AvaTradeGO, AvaOptions, MT4, MT5, AlgoTrader, TradingCentral, DupliTrade	1:30 (Retail) 1:400 (Pro)	Visit
	✔	✔	$5	CFDs, Multipliers, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities	Deriv Trader, MT5	1:1000	Visit
	✔	✔	$0	CFDs, Forex, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto, Spread Betting	MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, AutoChartist, DupliTrade	1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)	Visit
	✔	✔	$5	Forex, Stock CFDs, Turbo Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Precious Metals, Energies, Shares, Crypto, Futures	MT4, MT5	1:30	Visit
	✔	✔	$50	CFDs, Forex, Indices, Commodities	MT4, MT5	1:30	Visit
	✔	✔	$100	CFDs, Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Crypto	MT4, MT5	1:500	Visit
	✔	-	$50	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Smart Portfolios, Commodities, Futures, Crypto, NFTs	eToro Web, CopyTrader, TradingCentral	1:30	Visit
	✔	✔	€200	CFDs on Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Forex, Cryptocurrencies, US Synthetic Shares & ETFs, Shares Baskets	MT4, MT5	1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)	Visit
	✔	✔	$20	Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto	MT4	1:1000	Visit
	✔	✔	$0	Forex, CFDs, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Futures, Bonds, Cryptos (Bahamas Entity Only)	MT4	1:500 (entity dependent)	Visit
	✔	✔	$100	Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Indices, Commodities and Cryptos	Skilling Trader, MT4, cTrader, TradingView	1:30 (Retail) 1:200 (Pro)	Visit
	✔	✔	$0	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting	Web, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, MT4, AutoChartist, TradingCentral	1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro)	Visit
	✔	✔	$0	Forex, CFDs, stocks, indices, energies, metals, commodities, cryptos	MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, AutoChartist	1:500	Visit
	✔	✔	$50	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds	ProTrader, MT4, MT5, TradingView, DupliTrade	1:500	Visit

#1 - Eightcap

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Review

Why We Chose Eightcap

Eightcap offers a wide range of trading options with 800+ CFDs across stocks, indices, bonds, commodities, and cryptocurrencies (depending on location), with leverage up to 1:30/1:500. It excels in its tools, notably the AI-enabled economic calendar covering 25+ countries with impact filters (high, medium, low). However, its commodities offering, particularly in softs like cotton and wheat, as well as the limited precious metal and energy assets, is its weakest area.

• FTSE Spread: 1.2
• GBPUSD Spread: 0.1
• Stocks Spread: 0.03 (Apple Inc)
• Leverage: 1:30
• Regulator: ASIC, FCA, xCySEC, SCB
• Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView

About Eightcap

Eightcap is a multi-regulated forex and CFD broker established in Australia in 2009. The broker has proven popular with active day traders, providing 1,000+ instruments with tight spreads and notable improvements in recent years, integrating the leading TradingView platform, alongside AI-powered financial calendars and algo trading tools with zero coding experience required.

Pros

• After bolstering its roster in 2021, Eightcap offers one of the most extensive selections of cryptocurrency CFDs in the market, with crypto/fiat pairs, crypto/crypto pairs, plus crypto indices for broader exposure to the market.
• Having excelled across all key areas for day traders, Eightcap outperformed more than 490 competitors to win our 'Best Overall Broker' award for 2024, also securing our 'Best Crypto Broker' title.
• Eightcap stands out with a selection of powerful trading tools, including MT4 and MT5, the innovative algorithmic trading platform Capitalise.ai, and more recently the 50-million strong social trading network TradingView.

Cons

• In spite of an increasing variety of tools, Eightcap doesn't offer industry favorites like Autochartist or Trading Central, which offer cutting-edge charting analytics, live news, and market insights for short-term traders.
• The demo account expires after 30 days and can only be extended upon request - a notable inconvenience compared to the likes of XM with its unlimited demo mode.
• Eightcap needs to continue bolstering its suite of instruments to match category leaders like Blackbull Markets with its 26,000+ assets, featuring a particularly weak selection of commodities.

Visit Eightcap

#2 - AvaTrade

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Review

Why We Chose AvaTrade

AvaTrade's 1250+ leveraged CFD products span a wide range of asset classes including stocks, indices, commodities, bonds, crypto, and ETFs. You can speculate on underlying assets in the broker’s feature-rich web and mobile platforms with market-leading research tools to help discover opportunities.

• FTSE Spread: 0.5
• GBPUSD Spread: 1.5
• Stocks Spread: 0.13
• Leverage: 1:30 (Retail) 1:400 (Pro)
• Regulator: ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, ISA, CBol, FSA, FSRA, BVI, ADGM
• Platforms: WebTrader, AvaTradeGO, AvaOptions, MT4, MT5, AlgoTrader, TradingCentral, DupliTrade

About AvaTrade

AvaTrade is a leading forex and CFD broker, established in 2006 and regulated across 9 jurisdictions. Over 400,000 users have signed up with the broker which processes over 2 million trades each month. The firm offers multiple trading platforms, including MT4, MT5, and a proprietary WebTrader. 1250+ financial instruments are available for day trading, alongside a comprehensive education center and multilingual customer support.

Pros

• Day traders can access stable spreads and zero commissions with no hidden fees
• The broker’s unique risk management tool, AvaProtect, protects against losses up to $1 million and is easy to activate in the platform
• The broker offers reliable 24/5 multilingual customer support with fast response times during testing

Cons

• There’s an above-average $50 inactivity fee after three months, though this won't impact active day traders
• A high $2000 minimum investment is required to use DupliTrade, which will be out of reach for many beginners
• There is no ECN account with raw spreads

Visit AvaTrade

#3 - Deriv.com

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Review

Why We Chose Deriv.com

You can trade CFDs on popular markets, including the broker's exclusive synthetic indices which are available 24/7. There are plenty of charting tools available for technical traders, including over 20 indicators in the Deriv Trader platform. New users can also open an account and start trading CFDs instantly.

• FTSE Spread: 0.5
• GBPUSD Spread: 0.5
• Stocks Spread: 0.07
• Leverage: 1:1000
• Regulator: MFSA, LFSA, VFSC, BFSC
• Platforms: Deriv Trader, MT5

About Deriv.com

Deriv.com is a low cost, multi-asset broker with over 2.5 million global clients. With just a $5 minimum deposit, the firm offers CFDs, multipliers and more recently accumulators, alongside proprietary synthetic products which can't be found elsewhere. Deriv provides both its own in-house charting software and the hugely popular MetaTrader 5.

Pros

• Beginners and experienced day traders can access a good range of 20+ technical indicators in Deriv Trader vs 30+ in MT5
• The free demo account is ideal for practicing short-term trading strategies and no registration is required
• There's a good range of fast deposit and withdrawal methods with zero payment fees and low minimum deposits

Cons

• The range of 100+ assets trails some competitors such as Quotex which offers 400+
• There are limited copy trading tools and analysis features compared to alternatives like IQ Cent
• There's no loyalty program or rebate scheme for high volume traders

Visit Deriv.com

#4 - Pepperstone

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Review

Why We Chose Pepperstone

Pepperstone maintains its position as one of the fastest and most dependable CFD brokers during our latest round of testing. With execution speeds averaging around 30ms and an outstanding fill rate of 99.90%, the broker ensures a seamless trading experience without requotes or dealing desk interference. It also provides ample trading opportunities across over 1,300 assets.

• FTSE Spread: 1.0
• GBPUSD Spread: 0.4
• Stocks Spread: 0.02
• Leverage: 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)
• Regulator: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, CMA, BaFin, SCB
• Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, AutoChartist, DupliTrade

About Pepperstone

Established in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a top-rated forex and CFD broker with over 400,000 clients worldwide. It offers access to 1,300+ instruments on leading platforms MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, maintaining low, transparent fees. Pepperstone is also regulated by trusted authorities like the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, ensuring a secure environment for day traders at all levels.

Pros

• Award-winning customer support is available via telephone, email or live chat with response times of <5 minutes during testing.
• Pepperstone boasts impressive execution speeds, averaging around 30ms, facilitating fast order processing and execution that’s ideal for day trading.
• Now offering spread betting through TradingView, Pepperstone provides a seamless, tax-efficient trading experience with advanced analysis tools.

Cons

• Pepperstone’s demo accounts are active for only 30 days, which may not be not long enough to familiarize yourself with the different platforms and test trading strategies.
• Pepperstone does not support cTrader Copy, a popular copy trading feature built into the excellent cTrader platform and available at alternatives like IC Markets.
• Despite enhancements to its range of markets, crypto offerings are relatively limited compared to other brokers such as eToro, with no option to invest in real coins.

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#5 - XM

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Review

Why We Chose XM

Day traders can speculate on leveraged CFDs with zero commissions, spanning popular markets including currencies, equities and commodities. Additionally, the MetaTrader platforms collectively offer dozens of advanced technical indicators built for short-term strategies.

• FTSE Spread: 1.5 pts
• GBPUSD Spread: 1.9
• Stocks Spread: 0.002
• Leverage: 1:30
• Regulator: ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, FSC, FSCA
• Platforms: MT4, MT5

About XM

XM is a globally recognized forex and CFD broker with 10+ million clients in 190+ countries. Since 2009, this trusted broker has been known for its low fees on 1000+ instruments. XM is regulated by multiple financial bodies, including the ASIC and CySEC.

Pros

• XM continues to deliver diverse and multilingual educational materials and offers a useful live education schedule for its webinars and insights
• Transparent and low fees with spreads from 0.0 pips that will help protect day trading profit margins
• 1000+ instruments are available, including recently added thematic indices, providing exposure to emerging industries

Cons

• There is weak regulatory oversight through the global entity
• There's $5 inactivity fee after only 3 months, though this won't affect active traders
• PayPal deposits are not supported

Visit XM

How We Chose The Best CFD Trading Platforms In Germany

To identify the best CFD trading platforms in Germany, we took all the brokers in our almost 500-strong database, pinpointed those that accept traders from Germany, and then sorted them using their overarching rating, which considers key components for CFD traders:

Trust

Only CFD trading platforms we trust, after verifying their regulatory credentials, track record, and the observations of our hands-on testers made our top list.

For German investors, choosing a CFD broker regulated by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) will often provide the best safeguards.

That said, CFD brokers not directly overseen by the BaFin are still permitted to accept German traders via the EU passporting scheme, allowing them to operate with authorization from their domestic regulator.

The BaFin is a ‘Green-Tier’ regulator that’s stepped up its oversight of CFD providers in recent years. Its General Administrative Act of 2019 introduced restrictions that mandated CFD brokers in Germany must satisfy 5 requirements:

1. Leverage limits, varying depending on the underlying asset.
2. Negative balance protection so you can’t lose more than your deposit.
3. CFD positions closed out when the initial margin is 50% of the original margin.
4. Clear risk warnings that articulate the potential for loss.
5. A ban on providing trading bonuses.

Leverage Trading

Only CFD brokers with transparent leverage and margin requirements made our shortlist.

Leverage is a critical component of CFD trading, allowing you to multiply your buying power and trading results in return for an outlay, known as ‘margin’.

Let’s say I believe the share price of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW: FRA) is going to rise in the short term as the sale of its electric vehicles surpasses industry forecasts. A CFD broker offering me 1:5 leverage would allow me to multiply my €1,000 outlay by 5, giving me €5,000 in trading power.

The BaFin, in line with other regulators in Europe, requires authorized CFD brokers to provide leverage up to a maximum of:

• 1:30 on major currency pairs, e.g. EUR/USD
• 1:20 for minor currency pairs, e.g. EUR/GBP and major stock indices, e.g. the DAX
• 1:10 on commodities aside from gold, e.g. silver and non-major stock indices, e.g. the BIST
• 1:5 for shares, e.g. German equities
• 1:2 for cryptocurrencies, e.g. Bitcoin

Trading Markets

Only CFD brokers that provide access to popular markets made our list of recommended firms.

After years of using CFD trading platforms that accept German traders, we’ve observed that the top providers facilitate access to stocks, indices, forex, commodities and cryptocurrencies.

This provides short-term traders, including day traders, with ample opportunities to speculate on rising and falling prices across various regions, economies and sectors.

CFD Trading Fees

Only providers with competitive CFD trading fees, an assessment we make by regularly logging and analyzing charges on key markets, made our pick.

Low fees, notably spreads and /or commissions, are critical for day traders using CFDs, as a large volume of transaction costs can cut into profits.

That said, our years in the CFD trading industry have shown it’s important to balance pricing with tools, order executions, and research features.

For example, it may be worth paying more for CFD brokers that provide analyst insights into events that will affect equities listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange or economic calendars that track major announcements from Germany’s central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank.

Charting Platforms

Only firms with user-friendly and powerful CFD trading platforms, following our extensive testing, made our recommendations.

The MetaTrader suite, MT4 and MT5, are still the most widely available charting platforms at CFD brokers in Germany. Yet, with their clunky design and increasing competition from alternatives like cTrader and TradingView, users have more choices than ever.

These third-party platforms excel for their charting packages, featuring dozens of indicators and various timeframes for experienced short-term traders.

However, newer CFD traders may benefit from more modern, web-accessible CFD platforms designed in-house. After testing a long row of platforms, we’re finding these can sport a more intuitive design and user-friendly workspace for beginners.

Account Funding

Only CFD brokers with secure, affordable and accessible payment methods made our selection.

We know from first-hand experience using CFD trading platforms that convenient funding can make for a smooth experience, while withdrawal issues and high charges can be extremely frustrating.

Analysis from Rapyd shows that e-wallets are increasingly favored by Germans, while bank cards are experiencing a decline. PayPal is the most popular e-wallet, though Sofort and Giropay also make the list of the 10 most used online payment methods.

FAQ

Who Regulates CFD Trading Platforms And Brokers In Germany?

The Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), also known as the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, regulates CFD trading platforms and brokers operating in Germany.

The BaFin is a trusted regulator that requires authorized CFD brokers to provide various safeguards to retail investors, notably negative balance protection, leverage limits and clear risk warnings.

However, CFD trading platforms without direct BaFin authorization can also provide services to German traders through the EU passporting scheme, which enables operations throughout the EU with their home regulator’s endorsement.

How Much Money Do I Need To Open A CFD Trading Account In Germany?

After evaluating nearly 500 brokers, we’ve found you usually need between €0 and €250 to start trading CFDs in Germany.

Having said that, Pepperstone stands out with its €0 minimum deposit, making it an excellent option for German CFD traders with less starting capital.

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