Choose the best trading platform, we did the research for you. We tested in-depth 16 quality online brokers available for Europeans. Evaluated fees, made online trading platform comparisons, checked product portfolios, tested account opening, investigated research and much more. Our top five picks for the best trading platform for Europeans in 2018 are:
| Saxo Bank | Interactive B. | Strateo | DEGIRO | tastyworks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee structure | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Online trading platform (web) | ★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Product portfolio | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★ |
| Account opening | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Research | ★★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★ | ★★ |
| Two-step login | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Overall rating | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 |
Not sure which one to choose or if it is available in your country? For a personal broker recommendation, check out Brokerchooser's broker selection tool. Input your preferences and you get a personal recommendation fitting your needs. To check whether an EU broker or an international trading platform is available for you, go for the same selection tool. EU broker does not specifically mean it is only for Europeans.
Want to see more options for the best trading account? Comparing all reviewed brokers, visit the broker comparison section.
Choose the best CFD broker, we did the research for you. We tested in-depth 16 quality online brokers available for Europeans. We evaluated fees, funding, withdrawal, product portfolios, account opening, trading platforms and more to find the best CFD trading platforms for your needs.
We have created two categories for CFD trading brokers, stockbrokers offering CFDs and CFD-only brokers. The two groups substantially differ in several areas, like fee structure, so it makes sense to create the two peer groups.
Our top eight picks for the best CFD brokers in 2018 are:
Stockbrokers offering CFDs
| Saxo Bank | Interactive B. | DEGIRO | Comdirect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee structure | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★ |
| Funding and withdrawal | ★★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| CFD product portfolio | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Account opening | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Trading platform (web) | ★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Overall rating | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
CFD-only brokers
| XTB* | IG** | Markets.com | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee structure | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Funding and withdrawal | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| CFD product portfolio | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Account opening | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Trading platform (web) | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Overall rating | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
*Real stocks and ETFs are available for European clients except for UK and Hungarian clients
**Clients from the UK and some other countries can trade with stocks as well
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. If you don't have a clue what a CFD is, start by reading more about CFD trading.
Not sure which one to choose? For a personal broker recommendation, check out Brokerchooser's broker selection tool. You input your preferences and you get a personal recommendation fitting your needs. Just a short FYI for US customers: CFD trading is banned in the US.
Want to see more options? For comparing all the brokers, visit our comparison page.
There are a lot of misconceptions about online trading especially in depicting the real job of a pro trader. This time we will show what it takes to become a professional trader, what are the different paths you can experiment with.
I am pretty sure you already imagined several times to invest in the stock exchange, gain enough cash to travel the world and rest for your entire life.
Achieving this vision is not easy but you have to start somewhere, and to purchase shares online is one of the best ways for that. The good news is you can do this fully online. In this article I will explain jargon-free how to invest in shares online. It is not as easy as watching TV series, but don’t worry it is not rocket science either.
There are two main motivations for you to ask the question: how to buy and sell shares online. The first is profit and the second is experience.
Both can provide fun if you select the right stocks.
If the share you bought pays dividends or its price increases, you can make a profit. If you do this in the long run, these profits can add up and make you even a millionaire, like it happened with Mr. Gremel. The 98-year-old Mr. Gremel bought 20 Walgreens shares for $1000 in 1953. This investment today is worth $2 million.
On the experience side, you will improving your financial literacy is one of the best long term investments. Did your friends or neighbours talk about investments and the stock market, and you had no clue about the topic? Once you start investing and learning about it, this will not happen again. You will understand better how the stock market works and how it influences the economy and your everyday life.
Last but not least, as a shareholder you will be part of a company's story. Want to know how to buy company shares? Have you ever wanted to participate in a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting? If you buy some Berkshire shares, you will have the opportunity, just have to master the buying of shares.
Let's take a look at the six steps to buy shares online.
„I found the website to be extremely useful. I had wanted to open an investment account for a while but whenever I was searching online, Google only came up with American companies which require at least a green card, so I eventually gave up. The website is very easy to navigate, and makes it truly simple to compare the account offerings of different banks. Of course you could find a million different selection criteria for a bank account but this website does a great job at selecting and highlighting few truly relevant ones to make the choice simple for those that don't want to get into too much detail, however we can find further explanations in case we do want to dig deeper. I ended opening an account at one of the banks and the opening process was also just as described on the website. I can only recommend it: 5/5”
„Brokerchooser helped me a lot in reviewing online service providers. A few months ago I decided to invest my savings in the stock market. I wanted to start with normal stocks and also was thinking about leveraged fx positions. At the beginning, I spent some serious time on gathering together information about broker accounts. My friends also recommended service providers they were using, but this made the picture more opaque. At this point Brokerchooser just came in my way and made the picture clear. Thank you guys.”
„I am trading on my own since 2010 and I am always curious if I can save some trading fees with another platform. Brokerchooser comparison table gave me a good overview of the different broker fees. I know trading cost is just one aspect and security is also very important, but I was absolutely convinced that Brokerchooser compares only the most secure players.”
FCA Innovation Hub
Selected by the FCA Innovation HubWe work everyday to help you find your best online broker.
Co-founder and CEO of Brokerchooser. Tibor believes in having a good broker should be everybody's privilege. He worked extensively in the financial industry including at an investment bank, Morgan Stanley, and top-tier management consulting firm, The Boston Consulting Group.
Finding a service provider for my investments was a pain. When I asked simple questions, there were only super complicated answers. Or no answer available at all. Can I open an account in Switzerland? Which broker is the cheapest? How secure is XY broker? Information, was scarce, complicated, or misleading. I thought, this should clearly be an easier process. So, I started to put clarity into brokerage.
In his private time Tibor is a dedicated backpacker traveling on a shoestring. His favorite countries are Vanuatu, Namibia and New Zealand.
Gergely is the co-founder and CPO of Brokerchooser. His aim is to bring more clarity into personal investing. Gergely has 8 years of experience in financial markets with GE Money, KPMG and MOL. He concluded thousands of trades as a commodity trader and financial portfolio manager.
I invest 100% of my savings in the capital markets, so I put a great emphasizes on who my service provider is. The idea of Brokerchooser came up when I was trying to find a cheap but reliable online broker. Even though I have extensive experience in brokerage I got completely lost in the unstructured data dump. At this point I sat down and compiled a comparison table about a few providers. This is how it all started.
When Gergely is outside of the office he is searching for new adventures. His favorites are mountain climbing, trail running, wakeboarding and backpacker traveling.
