Plus500 is a CFD broker with a vision to become a leading provider in technology, innovation and online trading. They were one of the first brokers I tried many years ago and it is good to see they have continued to build upon and improve their services since then, remaining one of the most prominent brokers in the industry. The broker was founded and is headquartered in Haifa, Israel. Plus500 Ltd is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. It is also part of the FTSE 250 index. The broker is regulated in UK, Cyprus, Australia, South Africa, amongst others.
Plus500 is a truly global broker with offices and clients in different countries. Clients are offered a myriad of instruments spanning across several asset classes. You can trade and invest with very good conditions and all of the resources that you need at your disposal. The following fees can be applied to the trader’s account: Overnight funding, Currency Conversion Fee, Guaranteed Stop Order, Inactivity Fee. Its proprietary platform is easy to use, yet replete with essential trading tools. Plus500 is mainly compensated for its services through the spread. Plus500 offers dynamic spreads and a spread which does not typically change over time when the position is open. This does mean that spreads may be higher than some other brokers who have spreads starting from zero pips, such as XM Group.
On the Plus500 platform, you can trade the following CFDs: 28 stock indices, 95 exchange traded funds (ETFs), 70 forex pairs, 22 commodities, 11 cryptocurrencies, more than 560 options CFDs and about 1,900 share CFDs drawn from over 25 countries. CFDs in Cryptocurrencies are not available to retail clients from the UK. In general, there is a great selection with something for everyone to build a diversified portfolio according to their own interests and financial goals.
Plus500 Instruments Summary
| CFD Instruments | Plus500 |
|---|---|
| Forex CFDs | ✓ |
| Stock CFDs | ✓ |
| Indices CFDs | ✓ |
| Commodities CFDs | ✓ |
| Crypto CFDs (Availability subject to regulation) | ✓ |
| Options CFDs | ✓ |
| Bonds CFDs | x |
| ETFs CFDs | ✓ |
Commission and Spread Fees
Plus500 does not charge commission on trades, rather its trading fees is factored into the spreads. When it comes to fees, Plus500 is transparent; there are no hidden fees. The broker has variable spreads that depends on the trading instrument and are constantly adjusted according to the market spread.
When you close a trade and the profits or losses realized is in another currency that is not your account currency, Plus500 converts it to your account currency and charges a conversion fee of 0.7%. Swap fees are charged or paid for open positions that are left overnight. Generally, the broker’s fees are average when compared to other competitors such as eToro.
Plus500 does not designate account types with special deposit limits and conditions for each type. However, European clients can be classified as retail or professional clients.
There is a non-refundable addition spread charge when you use ‘guaranteed stop’ on the platform. The charge will be displayed for your approval before it is charged.
Please make sure that you check all of the latest brokers fees from the relevant page on the official website. Fees include overnight, inactivity, currency conversion, and guaranteed stop.
| Fee | Standard Account |
|---|---|
| Commission (per standard lot per side) | $0 |
| Spreads from | Variable |
Inactivity Fees
Plus500 will start charging $10 monthly from an account if there is no login or trading activity for a period of 3 months. If you want to avoid these fees than you could consider Trading 212 as an alternative option.
Plus500 WebTrader
Plus500 does not offer third party platforms; traders are only provided with its own proprietary WebTrader. The trading platform is available in multiple languages and comes with a simple and user friendly interface. Below are some of its features:
- You can easily find your asset of choice using the search bar.
- Assets list can be customized using ‘favorites’.
- Switch between real and demo account with one click.
- Multiple order types including trailing stop, pending orders, stop loss, etc
- Charts can be displayed in up to 11 timeframes.
- Live market statistics and traders’ sentiment on forex pairs.
- It has over 100 technical indicators.
- Comes with the economic calendar.
Plus500 Mobile Trading App
The mobile app version of the Plus500 platform is available for iOS, windows and android devices. It has the same features of the WebTrader. From the trading app, you can monitor market prices, trade over 2,000 CFD assets, adjust your positions and analyze the markets. It also has notifications and other features of the WebTrader.
Plus500 Platforms Summary
| Platform | Plus500 |
|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | x |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | x |
| cTrader | x |
| Proprietary | ✓ |
| Desktop | x |
| Web | ✓ |
| Mobile | ✓ |
| Social Trading | x |
| Other | x |
Platform Tools
The following useful tools come with the Plus500 WebTrader platform:
Economic Calendar
A well designed and customizable economic calendar is featured in the P500 WebTrader. The calendar lists the dates and times of economic events; their expected impacts, related instruments, analysts forecast and history.
Market Trend
On the platform, traders’ trend is displayed in real time. This shows the percentage of buyers and sellers of an asset in real time. This information is important to some traders especially those who rely on sentimental analysis to confirm their strategies.
Alerts
Traders can set alerts on the platform to notify them when some market changes happen. Alerts are available on the platforms, that it, web and mobile. This can be a great way to get notified when your setup appears without needing to watch price charts all day long. You can set alerts using the following alert types:
- Price alerts: to get notified when a specific asset reaches a certain price.
- Change percentage: to be notified when a certain % in price happens.
- Sentiments alert: to be notified when a defined % of buyers or sellers reach a certain percentage.
Guaranteed Stop
Activating this feature sets an absolute stop to your losses even if the market gaps, there will be no slippage. However, it is not available on all assets and comes with additional spread charges. It cannot be added to an existing position and once activated; it cannot be edited or removed.
Plus500 presents a daily article on the recent market happenings and trading insights. There is no real-time updated market news. If you are looking for a broker that provides lots of market analysis to inspire your daily trading activity, then you may want to have a look at CM Trading.
Trader’s Guide
This section comprise of 10 videos and articles introducing new clients to CFD trading and how to trade CFDs with Plus500. It also includes lessons on trading options, rollover fees, trading alerts, slippage, etc.
eBook
Plus500 has a free eBook that can be read or downloaded from the website. The book focuses on teaching new clients about Plus500, CFD trading, terminologies used and how to trade on Plus500 platforms.
Plus500 Research and Education Summary
| Resources | Plus500 |
|---|---|
| Market Analysis | x |
| Guides | ✓ |
| Videos | ✓ |
| Webinars | x |
| Autochartist | x |
| Trading Central | x |
| Economic Calendar | ✓ |
| Other | ✓ |
Being a global broker, most of the services offered by Plus500 are customised to fit the client’s country of residence. The payment options available to a trader depend on his country. Generally, bank transfers and credit card payments apply to most areas. Online payments are available for different clients. Generally, the minimum deposit is $100 and there are no deposit fees. But, if you want to use bank transfer, the minimum is $500. They charge a withdrawal fee if traders exceed the monthly limit (5 withdrawals per month). If you are looking to get started with a smaller amount, XTB have a $1 minimum deposit requirement.
Plus500 Funding Summary
| Payment Method | Deposit | Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| Wire Transfer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Credit/debit Card | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electronic Wallets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cryptos | x | x |
Plus500 is a trading name belonging to Plus500 Ltd. The company has several subsidiaries which are regulated as follows:
- Plus500UK Ltd authorized & regulated by the FCA (#509909).
- Plus500CY Ltd authorized & regulated by CySEC (#250/14).
- Plus500SG Pte Ltd, licensed by the MAS (#CMS100648-1) and IE Singapore (#PLUS/CBL/2018).
- Plus500SEY Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (Licence No. SD039).
- Plus500AU Pty Ltd (ACN 153301681), licensed by:
- ASIC in Australia, AFSL #417727, FMA in New Zealand, FSP #486026; Authorised Financial Services Provider in South Africa, FSP #47546.
- You do not own or have any rights to the underlying assets. Please refer to the Disclosure documents available on the website.
In compliance with the regulatory stipulations, all funds received from clients are kept in segregated bank accounts. Plus500 does not invest or use clients’ funds for hedging or trading activities. Rather, it is segregated so that even if the broker runs into financial difficulty, clients’ fund will be returned to the depositors and will not be used to bail out the broker.
UK clients are further insured through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If Plus500 becomes insolvent, its clients will be entitled to compensations capped at £85,000 per client.
Plus500 Regulation Summary
| Regulator | Plus500 |
|---|---|
| ASIC (Australia) | ✓ |
| IIROC (Canada) | x |
| CySEC (Cyprus) | ✓ |
| SFC (Hong Kong) | x |
| JFSA (Japan) | x |
| MAS (Singapore) | ✓ |
| FINMA (Switzerland) | x |
| FCA (UK) | ✓ |
| CFTC (USA) | x |
| Other (FSCA, FMA, FSA) | ✓ |
Plus500 Safety
Owing to the multiple regulations across all tiers, we can conclude that Plus500 is a trustworthy brokerage. It is a genuine broker whose operations are licensed and monitored by the appropriate authorities in several countries. They are one of the most well-regulated brokers that I have ever come across, up there with the likes of IG and City Index in terms of regulation.
Plus500 asserts that it client support desk operates round the clock; all day, all night (24/7). The team has provided a frequently asked question (FAQ) page on its website. But, after going through the FAQ and you wish to contact the support desk, you can do so by filling the form on the website or by sending an email. A faster way of reaching the team is by initiating a chat on the website or on WhatsApp. You can also follow Plus500 on social media via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Plus500 is a well established broker that has been around for over a decade. Its brokerage operations are regulated in several countries making it a genuine broker that must act in accordance with the rules. It offers its clients access to trade more than 2,000 CFD instruments via its proprietary WebTrader and mobile apps.
Plus500 fees are modest when compared to other competitors. But, traders are stuck on only one platform that is not customizable, expandable and does not support trade automation via trading robots. Though, some training resources are provided, there is no comprehensive trading academy.
In general, Plus500 is a trusted and reliable brand that has gone global with thousands of clients from all over the world. If you are looking for a way to trade on user-friendly platform with a leading broker, it is certainly worth consideration.
81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
