Want to bet on the price movement of securities like stocks in Apple without owning the shares? You can do this on a spread betting platform, where your profit or loss depends on how accurate you are and your stake size.
We’ve been testing the biggest names in the industry to find the best spread betting platforms in 2026.
Top 5 Spread Betting Brokers
Many spread betting firms impressed us during testing, but these 5 platforms emerged a cut above the rest:
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- Demo account
- Regulator: ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, BVI FSC
- Platforms: Web Platform, MT4, MT5, TradingCentral
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- Demo account
- Regulator: FCA, ASIC, FSCA, VFSC, CIMA
- Min. deposit: $50
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- Demo account
- Min. deposit: $0
- Min. trade: 0.01 Lots
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- Demo account
- Regulator: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, SCA, SCB, CMA-Kenya
- Platforms: Web Platform, MT4, TradingView
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- Demo account
- Regulator: FCA, CMVM, SCB, FSC, BACEN, CVM
- Platforms: ActivTrades, MT4, MT5, TradingView
Learn how we test brokers and why you can trust our ratings.
Why Are These Providers The Best For Spread Betting?
Here’s a quick rundown on why these platforms stand out as the best for spread betting:
- Markets.com is the best spread betting platform in Iran in 2026 4.4/5 Spread betting at Markets.com is accessible with a low $200 minimum deposit and a wide choice of markets, from IPOs and commodities to curated stock “blends.” Traders can use both MT4 and the proprietary platform, gaining access to advanced charting, XRay live trading tips, and analysis tools that work well for both beginners and seasoned investors.
- Vantage 4.7/5 Vantage continues to offer commission-free spread betting on forex, indices and precious metals. With 15 indices, including less commonly offered instruments like the VIX and Bovespa, Vantage is particularly suited to experienced equities traders. It’s also one of the few brokers that offers an unlimited demo account, allowing you to practice your strategies continuously.
- IG 4.8/5 IG offers spread betting on 17,000+ markets, including currencies, indices, shares and commodities - more than almost every alternative. Notably, IG also offers spread bets on less commonly offered assets like IPOs, allowing experienced traders to diversify their portfolios. For casual traders, IG also offers the opportunity to spread bet on weekend markets – a terrific feature that we don’t come across often.
- Capital.com 4.0/5 For UK clients, spread betting on Capital.com is basically the same day-trading workflow as CFDs - same platform feel and similar pricing conditions, just with the appeal of simpler UK tax treatment for many traders. The experience trade-off is practical: you get the same clean mobile monitoring and alerts, but annoyingly you can’t practice it in a dedicated spread-betting demo the way you can at some competitors, so you have to learn live if you’re new to spread bets.
- ActivTrades 3.4/5 Spread betting is available across forex, shares, indices, ETFs, commodities and bonds - offering a more diverse selection of underlying assets than top competitors like Vantage. You can spread bet in any of the broker's platforms, though the standout option for us is the ActivTrader web platform, which comes equipped with superior risk management tools including progressive trailing stop.
How Safe Are These Spread Betting Platforms?
How secure are the top spread betting brokers and how do they protect your funds?
| Broker | Trust Rating | Guaranteed Stop Loss | Negative Balance Protection | Segregated Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | |
| Vantage | ✘No | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | |
| IG | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | |
| Capital.com | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | |
| ActivTrades | ✘No | ✔Yes | ✔Yes |
Compare Mobile Spread Betting
Find out how good these providers are for placing spread bets on mobile devices:
| Broker | Mobile Apps | iOS Rating | Android Rating | Smart Watch App |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | iOS, Android | ✘No | ||
| Vantage | iOS & Android | ✘No | ||
| IG | iOS & Android | ✔Yes | ||
| Capital.com | iOS & Android | ✘No | ||
| ActivTrades | iOS & Android | ✘No |
Are The Top Spread Betting Brokers Good For Beginners?
Beginners should use a broker that allow spread betting with a demo account plus other features new traders need:
| Broker | Demo Account | Minimum Deposit | Minimum Trade | Education Rating | Support Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | ✔Yes | $200 | 0.01 Lots | ||
| Vantage | ✔Yes | $50 | 0.01 Lots | ||
| IG | ✔Yes | $0 | 0.01 Lots | ||
| Capital.com | ✔Yes | $20 | 0.01 Lots | ||
| ActivTrades | ✔Yes | $0 | 0.01 Lots |
Are The Top Spread Betting Brokers Good For Advanced Traders?
Experienced traders should look for powerful tools to maximize the spread betting experience:
| Broker | Automated Trading | VPS | AI | Pro Account | Leverage | Low Latency | Extended Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader | ✘No | ✘No | ✔Yes | 1:500 | ✔Yes | ✘No |
| Vantage | Myfxbook AutoTrade, Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader | ✔Yes | ✘No | ✘No | 1:500 | ✘No | ✘No |
| IG | Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, build your own on ProRealTime | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | 1:30 (Retail), 1:250 (Pro) | ✔Yes | ✔Yes |
| Capital.com | Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader | ✘No | ✔Yes | ✔Yes | 1:30 | ✔Yes | ✘No |
| ActivTrades | Yes (APIs), Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader | ✘No | ✘No | ✔Yes | 1:30 (UK and EU), 1:400 (Global & Pro) | ✔Yes | ✘No |
Compare The Ratings Of Top Spread Betting Brokers
Discover how the top spread betting score in every critical area based on our in-depth testing:
| Broker | Trust | Platforms | Assets | Mobile | Fees | Accounts | Research | Education | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | |||||||||
| Vantage | |||||||||
| IG | |||||||||
| Capital.com | |||||||||
| ActivTrades |
Compare Spread Betting Fees
Spread betting costs add up over time - here’s how the top providers compare on pricing:
| Broker | Cost Rating | Fixed Spreads | Inactivity Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | ✘No | $10 | |
| Vantage | ✘No | $0 | |
| IG | ✘No | $12 | |
| Capital.com | ✘No | $10 | |
| ActivTrades | ✘No | €/£10 |
Community Sentiment
See how users rate these brokers based on the average customer ratings submitted on DayTrading.com, plus ratings from Trustpilot, the Apple App Store and Google Play.
| Broker | Our Users' Rating | Trustpilot Score | Trustpilot Reviews | iOS App Rating | Android App Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets.com | 1256 | ||||
| Vantage | 15680 | ||||
| IG | 10153 | ||||
| Capital.com | 15202 | ||||
| ActivTrades | 1062 |
How Popular Are These Spread Betting Platforms?
Many traders gravitate toward the most popular spread betting brokers - the ones with the largest client base:
Why Spread Bet With Markets.com?
Markets.com is best suited to retail investors who trade frequently but don’t want to calculate commissions, thanks to its spread-only pricing (EUR/USD around 1.3 pips). It especially appeals to short-term traders who value fast execution, flexible asset choice spanning 2,200+ instruments and proprietary tools like hedge fund confidence indices and insider trade alerts.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
Markets.com quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Commodities, Indices, Crypto, ETFs, Bonds
- Regulator
- ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, BVI FSC
- Platforms
- Web Platform, MT4, MT5, TradingCentral
- Minimum Deposit
- $200
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, ZAR, SEK, NOK, DKK, CHF, PLN, CZK
Pros
- Markets.com provides commission-free trading on most assets with spreads starting from around 0.6 pips on major forex pairs, making it cost-effective for casual traders.
- Switching between the proprietary web platform (great for alerts and quick analysis) and MT5 (strong for algorithmic EAs) was smooth in our tests; positions synced across desktop, web, and mobile without gaps or re-quotes.
- Within the 2,200+ CFDs, Markets.com offers thematic baskets like the Warren Buffett Blend and Cannabis Blend, which behaved like ready-made mini-ETFs during testing, saving the work of balancing weights manually.
Cons
- During sign-up, we hit unclear account type explanations and got stuck in an email verification loop that locked us out for an hour - way less streamlined than other brokers we’ve tested.
- Inactivity charges kick in after just 3 months, while variable spreads are wider than top ECN brokers during testing, which may deter day traders and high-frequency traders.
- While CySEC and FSCA oversight is solid, the SVGFSA and BVIFSC entities offers 1:500 leverage under a light-touch framework, meaning protections like compensation schemes and strict conduct rules lag behind the strictest regulatory standards.
Why Spread Bet With Vantage?
Vantage remains an excellent option for CFD traders seeking a tightly-regulated broker with access to the reliable MetaTrader platforms. The fast sign-up process and $50 minimum deposit make it very straightforward to start day trading quickly.
Jemma Grist, Reviewer
Vantage quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds
- Regulator
- FCA, ASIC, FSCA, VFSC, CIMA
- Platforms
- ProTrader, MT4, MT5, TradingView, TradingCentral, DupliTrade
- Minimum Deposit
- $50
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, HKD, SGD, PLN
Pros
- It’s quick and easy to open a live account – taking less than 5 minutes
- Vantage maintains its high trust score thanks to its strong reputation and top-tier regulation from the FCA and ASIC
- The app was upgraded in 2026 with wider asset visibility bringing together balances across Contract, Copy, and Funding accounts on one screen
Cons
- A steep $10,000 deposit is needed for the best trading conditions, which include the $1.50 commission per side
- The average execution speeds of 100ms to 250ms are slower than alternatives based on tests
- It's a shame that some clients will need to register with the offshore entity, which offers less regulatory protection
Why Spread Bet With IG?
IG continues to provide a comprehensive package with an intuitive web platform, best-in-class education for beginners, advanced charting tools bolstered by its recent TradingView integration, real-time data, and robust trade execution for experienced day traders.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
IG quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs (not in US), Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting (UK only)
- Regulator
- CFTC, NFA, FCA, BaFin, ASIC, FINMA, MAS, JFSA, FMA, DFSA, BMA
- Platforms
- Web, L2 Dealer, MT4, TradingView, AutoChartist, TradingCentral, ProRealTime
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, ZAR, SEK, DKK, CHF, HKD, SGD
Pros
- IG offers an extensive collection of professional and engaging educational resources, including webinars, articles, and analysis.
- IG obtained a crypto asset license from the FCA, allowing it to re-enter the UK market to provide buying, selling and storing opportunities on 55+ digital tokens with fees from 1.49%, and all within an FCA-licensed environment.
- IG is amongst the best in terms of its range of instruments, which includes stocks, forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, plus added US-listed futures and options as well as an AI Index, providing diversification opportunities.
Cons
- IG applies an inactivity fee of $12-$18 per month after 2 years, deterring casual investors.
- IG has discontinued its swap-free account, reducing its appeal to Islamic traders.
- Beginners might find IG’s fee structure complex, with various fees for different types of trades or services, potentially leading to confusion or unexpected charges.
Why Spread Bet With Capital.com?
Capital.com is a great match for day traders with its thousands of CFDs, SmartFeed providing tailored market updates, and TradingView charts for advanced technical indicators paired with Capital.com’s fast and reliable order execution.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
Capital.com quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs on Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto
- Regulator
- FCA, ASIC, CySEC, SCA, SCB, CMA-Kenya
- Platforms
- Web Platform, MT4, TradingView
- Minimum Deposit
- $20
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, SEK, NOK, DKK, CHF, HKD, PLN, CZK, AED, HUF, MXN
Pros
- The Capital.com app performed excellently during testing, with smooth orders, trade management and alerts, while it sits among the highest rated trading apps on the App Store for iOS users.
- Capital.com offers a unique 1X CFD account option that lets you trade without leverage, though market risk still exists. This is great for beginners or cautious day traders who want exposure without the risks of margin or overnight fees, something few CFD brokers provide. Availability depends on jurisdiction.
- Capital.com’s SmartFeed curates news and market updates tailored to your watchlist and trading style. This proactive feature helps day traders stay on top of relevant events without feeling overwhelmed by generic market noise.
Cons
- Capital.com offers primarily a standard CFD account and a professional account (subject eligibility) with higher leverage, but it lacks ECN/raw spread accounts or tiered pricing, which can limit trading flexibility for high-volume scalpers.
- While Capital.com supports MT4, it lacks MT5 integration, limiting access to advanced trading features, including additional timeframes, indicators, and order types.
- The broker’s research resources focus on educational content and in-house analysis but do not currently include third-party tools such as Trading Central, Autochartist, sentiment indicators, and professional-level screeners that some top competitors offer.
Why Spread Bet With ActivTrades?
ActivTrades is an obvious choice for day traders at all levels, with almost unmatched execution speeds of 4ms and a choice of leading trading software, from MT4, MT5 and TradingView to ActivTrader, which sports a simple and elegant interface that aspiring traders will enjoy using.
Christian Harris, Reviewer
ActivTrades quick facts
- Demo Account
- ✔Yes
- Instruments
- CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Bonds, ETFs, Futures, Cryptos (location dependent)
- Regulator
- FCA, CMVM, SCB, FSC, BACEN, CVM
- Platforms
- ActivTrades, MT4, MT5, TradingView
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Minimum Trade
- 0.01 Lots
- Account Currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, CHF
Pros
- ActivTrades is highly trusted, boasting 20+ years in the industry, authorization from 3 ‘green tier’ bodies under DayTrading.com’s Regulation & Trust Rating, and it goes the extra mile for UK traders with £1M in investor compensation (exceeding the £85K through the FSCS) in the event of brokerage insolvency.
- With execution speeds averaging just 4ms, an order fulfilment rate of 93.6%, and no restrictions on short-term strategies, ActivTrades offers an excellent environment for fast-paced strategies like day trading.
- ActivTrades offers tight spreads, particularly for forex trading with spreads starting from 0.5 pips on major currency pairs without additional commissions. The €/£10 inactivity fee doesn’t kick in for 52 weeks either, so it doesn’t penalize active traders.
Cons
- There's a varied selection of 1000+ markets, such as forex, commodities, indices, and ETFs, but the range of asset classes overall is limited, notably there are zero stocks outside the US, UK and Europe, while BlackBull offers a superior 26,000+ markets.
- There are no copy trading or social trading features, which is a drawback for traders seeking passive investment opportunities or the ability to mimic the trades of more experienced traders, especially compared to eToro and Vantage.
- ActivTrades still has some way to go to match firms like XTB and CMC Markets in the education department, with some well-presented, informative webinars but limited courses and quizzes for a more comprehensive and engaging learning journey.
How Did We Chose The Best Spread Betting Platforms?
We took our database of 143 brokers and trading platforms and pinpointed the 25+ that offer spread betting trading.
We then ranked the shortlisted providers by their overall rating, which blends 200+ data entries with the direct observations of our testers following hours of hands-on evaluations.
- We checked that every broker offers a spread betting account with an accessible deposit of <$250.
- We only recommended brokers we’d trust with our own money after verifying their regulatory credentials.
- We prioritized brokers with excellent spread betting fees after evaluating their spreads and other charges.
- We confirmed brokers offer a range of financial markets, providing diverse trading opportunities.
- We selected brokers with reliable support based on our spread betting inquiries during testing.
- We investigated each broker’s order execution because fast speeds are key for successful spread betting.
- We examined each broker’s margin requirements to ensure they are transparent for traders using leverage.
How To Pick A Spread Betting Broker
Trust
Only use an established spread betting provider with many years in the industry and authorization from a ‘green tier’ regulator. This is the best way to protect yourself from trading scams.
This is key given that the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service has highlighted the dubious practices adopted by some spread betting companies. In one case study, “Geraldine made significant losses on a spread-betting platform” that she thought was making money by referring clients to a workshop that taught useless strategies so they could profit from their users’ losing trades.
Spread betting is legal and regulated in several prominent countries, including Australia, Singapore, South Africa and Ireland. However, the largest market is in the UK, where the top providers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – a ‘green tier’ body.
- Pepperstone has earned and maintained an excellent 4.6/5 Trust score owing to its authorization from four ‘green tier’ regulators and stellar reputation since 2010. It has also scooped our ‘Best Overall Broker’ and ‘Best Trading App’ awards in recent years.
Markets
Pick a broker that offers spread betting on the financial markets you’re interested in.
From our investigations, most platforms offer spread bets on stocks, indices, forex and commodities. However, some providers stand out by providing a much richer suite of trading opportunities, such as bonds, interest rates, and cryptos, that may appeal to seasoned traders.
- IG blows the competition out of the water with over 17,000 markets you can spread bet on, from currencies, indices, and commodities to upcoming IPOs. It’s also one of the few brokers we’ve used that supports spread betting on the weekend via IG’s out-of-hours markets.
Fees
Choose a platform with low trading fees to help you towards a successful spread betting journey.
Unlike contracts for difference (CFDs), commissions are not typically charged on spread bets so the primary cost to consider is the spread – the difference between the bid and ask price. Spread betting companies normally incorporate a fee for their services into the spread.
Some companies specialize in certain markets with low prices. However, they will then offer other markets at less attractive prices, just to ensure they have a presence. Specific spread betting forex brokers, for example, may offer you a better deal than a jack of all trades, master of none firm.
Also, while less relevant for day traders, if you hold a spread bet open overnight you may incur a charge (futures can be more cost-effective for longer-term trades).
- Vantage stands out with excellent fees on spread betting markets during tests, including 0.1 on EUR/USD, 0.3 on oil and 3.1 on S&P 500, delivering a low-cost trading environment across a variety of asset classes. With no deposit, withdrawal or inactivity fees, it also keeps additional costs to an absolute minimum.
Tools
Choose a broker that offers reliable and powerful charting platforms. The best software will offer a wide range of tools for technical analysis, including various chart types, drawing tools and timeframes.
Some providers offer proprietary platforms with unique tools, notably IG’s Online Platform, CMC Markets’ Next Generation platform, and FXCM’s Trading Station.
Alternatively, or additionally, brokers may offer third-party solutions which do not natively offer spread betting, but can support this style of trading. The most widely available platforms we see are TradingView, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader.
I don’t think TradingView can be beaten when it comes to ease of use and features – it offers the complete trading experience in my view. It’s also being increasingly integrated by spread betting brokers, notably Pepperstone.
Jemma GristAuthor- FXCM caters to all types of spread betters at every experience level with their wide range of platforms, including Trading Station, MT4 and TradingView. There’s also an unlimited number of demo accounts, which are a great place to start for all spread betters, so you can find the platform that ticks your boxes.
Execution Quality
Choose a broker with fast and reliable order execution – these are crucial for fast-paced trading styles like spread betting.
High-quality execution will help ensure your trades are executed at the requested time and price. In general, we view anything below 100 milliseconds (ms) as ‘fast’, but some trading platforms go much further.
- FxPro is one of the fastest spread betting platforms that we’ve evaluated, with extremely impressive speeds of less than 11 ms. Prices are sourced from 12+ liquidity providers, making the firm an excellent choice for active spread betters looking for fast execution, tight spreads and reduced price slippage.
Margin Requirements
A key component of spread betting is leverage – which allows you to trade much larger positions by putting down a small outlay, known as ‘margin’.
It’s essential to choose a provider with transparent margin requirements so you understand how much capital you need to put down and maintain in your account, plus how much leverage (borrowed funds) you can access. For example, equities often require a 10% margin. So, if you’re a high-volume trader you’ll need significant capital.
Notable spread betting jurisdictions like the UK cap leverage to a maximum of 1:30.
This means that if I want to bet on EUR/USD with a margin of $250, my potential profits could be magnified to the value of $7,500 (30 x $250), less any fees.
Of course, my losses will also be magnified so risk management is essential, with tools like stop-loss and take-profit orders popular with spread bettors.
Jemma GristAuthor- Trade Nation offers transparent leverage and margin depending on the entity you sign up with, with 1:30 available at the FCA and ASIC-regulated entities. Higher leverage of 1:500 is also available globally, though we don’t recommend high leverage for beginners.
Support
Access to convenient, prompt and dependable support is key when you’re using short-term trading products like spread betting. It’s also an important safety cushion for beginners who typically need more support getting started.
Most platforms provide assistance through live chat, telephone and email as standard, though the trend towards automated chatbots I’ve found extremely frustrating in recent years, sometimes hampering your ability to get urgent trading issues resolved quickly.
- Pepperstone is one of the few brands that offer assistance that’s performed excellently over the years, with 24/5 response hours and staff that are knowledgeable about spread betting products. It also offers some well-written guides for beginners new to spread betting.
Should I Start With A Spread Betting Demo Account?
Spread betting demo accounts are an excellent starting point for newer traders and those unsure about which provider to use. We have indicated in our comparison table above which platforms offer a demo mode for spread betting.
Importantly, a good demo account should closely imitate the live spread betting platform. This is crucial not only to familiarize yourself with a particular software, assets and tools, but also in helping you select the broker which best suits you.
Users are able to test the amount they want to invest in spread betting assets as any losses incurred will only be of the virtual money the platform allocates when the account is opened. Some demo accounts remain open indefinitely, while some close after a set period. Some firms will also replenish your virtual bankroll if you run out of funds.
Article Sources
- FCA Restricts CFDs and Spread Bets - FCA
- Case Study - Geraldine Lost Money On A Spread-Betting Platform - Financial Ombudsman Service
The writing and editorial team at DayTrading.com use credible sources to support their work. These include government agencies, white papers, research institutes, and engagement with industry professionals. Content is written free from bias and is fact-checked where appropriate. Learn more about why you can trust DayTrading.com