Best CFD brokers in Australia in 2023 - Top CFD trading platforms

While many CFD brokers catering to clients in Australia offer an excellent service, the ones in our toplist go the extra mile.

Popularity of the best CFD brokers in Australia

Interested in what others think? Here's how many people chose these brokers at BrokerChooser in the last 6 months.

How much you pay in fees for a given CFD trade is a key broker selection criteria. We calculated a benchmark fee for the most important CFD costs, which you can see in the table below. This is the total of how much you have to pay in spreads, commissions and other costs for each asset class if you open a position and hold it for a week before closing.

If you are unsure how brokerage fees work, check out this article on the various fees, charges and costs.

Non-trading fees are charges not directly related to a given trade and typically include the account maintenance fee, deposit/withdrawal fees, and the inactivity fee.

The brokerages in our toplist offer a range of products in addition to CFDs. See what else you can trade at the best CFD brokers.

Trading CFDs is legal in Australia and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) does an excellent job at regulating the market and the service providers. Before you open an account with a broker, make sure it's regulated by ASIC or another top-tier regulator such as the FCA in the UK or BaFin in Germany.

ASIC imposed a set of conditions on the issue and distribution of CFDs in 2021 that the regulator plans to keep in place until May 2027. The limitations are the following:

• leverage ratio limits ranging from 30:1 to 2:1
• standardisation of margin-close out rules
• negative balance protection
• prohibitions on offering or giving of certain inducements.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. If you are not familiar with CFDs, start by reading our guide to CFD trading.

And now, let's see the best CFD brokers for Australians one by one, starting with the winner, eToro.

eToro is a well-known Israeli fintech company and a social trading broker, established in 2007.

Check out our eToro review tailored to the needs of beginner investors and traders.

eToro serves UK clients through a unit regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Australians through an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)-regulated entity. All other customers are served by a Cypriot unit that is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

eToro is not listed on any stock exchange, does not disclose its annual report on its website and does not have a bank parent.

Being regulated by the top-tier FCA and ASIC is a good sign for eToro's safety.

HEADS UP: Minimum deposit based on residency and account activation – Be sure to check the minimum deposit that is required to activate your account. After uploading your documents, a deposit is also needed in order to make trades. The amount of the deposit required is based on your residency, and ranges from $10 to $10,000. More details are available in the review’s Account opening section.

eToro USA LCC does not offer CFDs, only real Crypto assets available.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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AFSL 491139. Capital at risk. See PDS and TMD.

Admirals (Admiral Markets) is a Global forex and CFD broker founded in 2001. It is overseen by multiple regulators in the various regions it serves. These regulators are the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC). Of these, the FCA and the ASIC are top-tier financial authorities.

Admirals is considered safe because it has a long track record, discloses its financials, and its parent company, the Admirals Group is listed on a stock exchange.

Admirals was formerly called Admiral Markets, but it is currently going trough a rebranding process. This should be of no concern to clients, as this doesn't affect the broker's services in any negative way.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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80% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Plus500 is a London Stock Exchange-listed global CFD broker that was founded in 2008 in Israel. It is regulated by several international financial authorities, including top-tier ones like the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Plus500 has three different platfroms, Plus500 CFD, where you can trade CFDs, Plus500 Invest, where you can trade stocks and Trade Sniper, where you can trade futures. Trade Sniper is only available for US citizens.

Being listed on a stock exchange, regulated by several top-tier financial authorities, and disclosing its financials publicly are all good signs for Plus500's reliability.

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86% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IG, established in the UK in 1974, is one of the biggest CFD brokers in the world. It is regulated by several bodies globally, including top-tier regulators like the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). IG Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

IG is considered safe because it is listed on a stock exchange, discloses its financials and is overseen by top-tier regulators.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are not provided for US clients. Forex trading involves risk. Losses can exceed deposits.

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75% of retail CFD accounts lose money

City Index is a global CFD and FX broker founded in 1983. City Index is the trading brand of StoneX Financial Ltd., whose parent company StoneX Group Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The company is regulated by top-tier financial authorities, such as the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

City Index is considered safe because it has a long track record, it is regulated by top-tier financial authorities, and its parent company is listed on a stock exchange.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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72% of retail CFD accounts lose money

ActivTrades is a global forex broker founded in 2001. It is regulated among others by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) of Luxembourg.

ActivTrades having a long track record and being regulated by the FCA, a top-tier financial authority, are all good signs for its safety.

ActivTrades operates both UK and EU websites (under the co.uk and .eu domains), as well as an international one (.com). Some products, fees and conditions may differ depending on the entity concerned.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74-85% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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74-85% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets is a global CFD and forex broker, founded in 1989. It is regulated by several authorities globally, including the top-tier UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company is also listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Having a long track record, being listed on a stock exchange and being regulated by top-tier authorities are great signs for CMC Markets' reliability.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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76% of retail CFD accounts lose money

MultiBank is a global CFD and FX broker. MultiBank Group was established in California, USA, in 2005 with headquarters in Hong Kong. They are a global financial group whose member companies are active in areas from asset management to brokerage. MultiBank's brokerage service is operating under several legal entities, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and other financial authorities. In this review, we will use MultiBank as a name for the brokerage service.

MultiBank is considered safe because it is regulated by the top-tier ASIC and has a reasonably long history, dating back to 2005.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

XM is an online broker whose parent company is Trading Point Holding, a global CFD and FX broker founded in 2009.

XM is available globally and is regulated by three financial authorities: the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Services Commission of Belize (FSC).

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74.89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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74.89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

AvaTrade is a global CFD and forex broker founded in 2006. It is regulated by several top-tier financial authorities, including the Central Bank of Ireland.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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71% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Answer a few questions and get a personalized broker list!

• We checked whether the broker is regulated by a trusted regulator,
• Compared fees (including spreads, withdrawal fee, commission),
• Specifically compared CFD fees,
• Checked minimum deposit requirements,
• Looked at the range of CFDs available,
• Opened an account and tested the platform (charting, features, usability) with real money.

BrokerChooser evaluates 9 key areas for all brokers including fees, safety, ease of account opening, education, and trading platforms. We check more than 500 criteria for each broker and finetune our methodology every year based on our own and our users' experiences. We have more than 100 brokers reviewed on our site and our team of analysts examines more than 50,000 data points overall.