Vanguard vs CMC Markets

Vanguard vs CMC Markets Comparison Table 2025
Vanguard	CMC Markets
Review 2.8 Vanguard is #122 in our broker rankings.	Review 4.7
Traders from US accepted	Traders from US not accepted See available CFD brokers
Vanguard is a US-headquartered brokerage with 50 million clients globally and $8+ billion in assets under management. The brands offers investing in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs and options with low fees. The trusted broker is regulated by the SEC, FINRA and FCA.	Established in 1989, CMC Markets is a respected broker listed on the London Stock Exchange and authorized by several tier-one regulators, including the FCA, ASIC and CIRO. More than 1 million traders from around the world have signed up with the multi-award winning brokerage.
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Customer Reviews
	4.5 Based on 2 CMC Markets customer reviews
Comment by Reviewer
"We recommend Vanguard for long-term investors looking for managed accounts and self-directed trading opportunities. Fees are competitive, with zero-commission stock and ETF trading."	"With advanced charting tools and an extensive range of tradable CFDs, including an almost unrivalled selection of currencies and custom indices, CMC Markets provides a fantastic online platform for traders of all levels. "
Pros
Trusted since 1975 with strong regulatory oversight in the US and UK Retirement and ISA accounts available alongside traditional investing solutions Fully managed accounts providing a hands-off approach to investing Excellent education and user guides compared to alternatives Competitive fee structure with a 0.15% account fee Commission-free stock and ETF trading Well-designed mobile app ESG funds available	The CMC web platform delivers a fantastic user experience with advanced charting tools for day trading and customizable features, catering to both beginners and experienced traders. MT4 (but not MT5) and TradingView (added in 2025) are also supported. We've bumped up its 'Assets & Markets' rating after almost monthly product additions in early 2025, from extended hours trading on US stocks to new share CFDs. CMC offers excellent pricing, including tight spreads and low trading fees for all but stock CFDs. The Alpha and Price+ schemes also offer perks for active traders with up to 40% discounts on spreads. CMC Markets is heavily regulated by reputable financial authorities and maintains its stellar reputation, helping to ensure a secure and trustworthy trading environment. The brokerage continues to stand out with its wide range of value-add resources, including pattern recognition scanners, webinars, tutorials, news feeds, and research from respected sources like Morningstar.
Cons
Limited payment methods - credit cards, cheques and e-wallet are not supported High minimum investment amounts, including $3000 for the majority of mutual funds No demo account available to practise trading risk-free Focused on US clients	Despite improvements, the web platform still requires enhancements to make it as intuitive to trade on as software from rivals like IG. While CMC offers an above-average suite of assets, there is no support for trading real stocks and UK clients can’t trade cryptocurrencies. Trading stock CFDs incurs a relatively high commission, especially compared to the cheapest brokers like IC Markets. An inactivity fee of $10 per month is applied after 12 months of inactivity, which may deter casual investors. The CMC Markets app offers the complete trading package but the design and user experience trails category leaders like eToro.
Awards
	Best Trading App 2023 - DayTrading.com No.1 Platform Technology 2022 No.1 New Tool 2022 No.1 Most Currency Pairs 2022 Best Trade Execution 2021 Best Forex Broker For Beginners 2021 Most Transparent Forex Broker Europe 2020 Best Trading Platform 2020 Best Trading App 2019 Best Customer Service 2018
Instruments
Stocks, ETFs	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Treasuries, Custom Indices, Spread Betting
Demo Account
No	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$1	$0
Trading Platforms
Own	Web MT4 TradingView
Payment Methods
ACH Transfer Automated Customer Account Transfer Service Wire Transfer	Credit Card Debit Card Mastercard PayPal Visa Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
$1	0.01 Lots
Regulator
SEC, FINRA	FCA, ASIC, MAS, CIRO, BaFin, FMA, DFSA
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
	1%
STP Account
No	No
ECN Account
No	No
DMA Account
No	No
MAM Account
No	No
PAMM Account
No	No
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
No	No
AI / Machine Learning
Yes	No
Robo Advisor
Yes	No
Negative Balance Protection
No	Yes
Market Maker
No	Yes
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
Yes	Yes
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
App Review
	The award-winning app from CMC Markets has transformed mobile trading. The app’s modern and customizable interface offers a unique user experience, distinct from competitors. Moreover, with its comprehensive charting capabilities featuring 25 technical indicators and 15 drawing tools, as well as its fast and stable trading environment, it’s an exceptional choice for day traders.
Android App Rating
	3.7
iOS App Rating
	4.1
Auto Trading
Yes	Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Copy Trading
No	No
Social Trading
No	Yes
Trade Signals
	Yes
VPS Hosting
No	Yes
Tournaments
No	No
Demo Competitions
No	Yes
Ethical Investing
Yes	No
Custodial Account
Yes	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	Yes
Inactivity Fee
	$10
Islamic Account
No	Yes
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD NZD SEK NOK SGD PLN
Stock Exchanges
Dow Jones London Stock Exchange Nasdaq S&P 500	Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) CAC 40 Index France DAX GER 40 Index Deutsche Boerse Dow Jones Euronext FTSE UK Index Hong Kong Stock Exchange IBEX 35 Japan Exchange Group Nasdaq S&P 500 SIX Swiss Exchange Shenzhen Stock Exchange
Commodities
	Coffee Cannabis Copper Gasoline Gold Livestock Natural Gas Nickel Oil Orange Juice Palladium Platinum Precious Metals Silver Soybeans Steel Sugar Wheat
CFD Trading
CFD trading not offered	CMC lets you trade CFDs on 12,000+ assets across currencies, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and treasuries with new equities spanning quantum computing, AI learning, and digital car sales in 2025. Spreads are tight, there are no hidden fees and the industry-leading MetaTrader 4 platform is also supported for leveraged trading. Year after year, CMC shines as one of the best CFD brokers in the market.
Leverage
	1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
	1 pt
GBPUSD Spread
	0.9
Oil Spread
	3.5
Stocks Spread
	0.02
Forex Trading
Forex trading not offered	CMC presents an extensive array of 300+ forex pairs characterized by tight spreads and rapid executions, surpassing the offerings of many competitors in terms of currency diversity. Forex indices also present a fairly unique and holistic way to speculate on the value of key currencies like the USD, EUR and GBP.
GBPUSD Spread
	0.9
EURUSD Spread
	0.7
EURGBP Spread
	1.1
Assets
	300+
Currency Indices
	USD EUR GBP JPY CAD AUD NZD CHF
Cryptocurrency
Crypto trading not offered	CMC Markets offers trading on popular digital tokens like Bitcoin but really stands out for its crypto indices that provide broader exposure to the cryptocurrency market. There is also minimal slippage and an excellent 99.9% fill rate, making CMC a great option for active crypto day traders.
Spread
	From 1.3
Coins
	BTC BCH ETH LTC EOS TRON NEO ADA XLM
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	No
Auto Market Maker
No	No

Review	Review
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.