Capital.com Review 2021

Capital.com has low forex and CFD fees. It's great that commission-free real stocks are available for clients under FCA and CySEC. Non-trading fees are low, too, there are no inactivity or withdrawal fees. On the other hand, stock index CFD fees aren't competitive.

How we ranked fees

We ranked Capital.com's fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Capital.com for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading the most important fees are spreads, commissions and financing rates.

We also compared Capital.com's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, XTB and XM. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. Here is a more detailed rundown of Capital.com alternatives.

To have a clear overview of Capital.com, let's start with the trading fees.

Capital.com trading fees

Capital.com trading fees are low.

We know it's hard to compare trading fees for CFD brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compare brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.

We selected popular instruments within each asset class:

• Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50
• Stock CFDs: Apple and Vodafone
• Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP

A typical trade means buying a leveraged position, holding it for one week and then selling. For the volume, we chose a $2,000 position for the stock index and stock CFDs and $20,000 for the forex transactions. The leverage we used was:

• 20:1 for stock index CFDs
• 5:1 for stock CFDs
• 30:1 for forex

These catch-all benchmark fees include spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let's see the verdict for Capital.com fees.

CFD fees

Capital.com has low stock CFD and average stock index CFD fees. 

Forex fees

Capital.com has low forex fees.

Real stock fees

Capital.com offers zero-commission real stock trading.

Real stock trading is available only for clients under FCA and CySEC (typically UK  and EEA countries) and only in the mobile app. We had some difficultites in setting up a stock trading sub account in the app. In the end, a customer support agent had to set it up manually.

Non-trading fees

Capital.com has low non-trading fees. It is great that it does not charge an inactivity fee if you don't trade for a certain time, which is rare for CFD brokers. There are no account, deposit or withdrawal fees, either.

Capital.com has one of the best account opening processes we've ever seen: it is simple, quick, well-designed and intuitive. We are impressed.

Can you open an account?

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Capital.com accepts clients from all over the world with a few exceptions, notably the US. 

What is the minimum deposit at Capital.com?

The required Capital.com minimum deposit is $20 if the funds are transferred via credit/debit card or Apple Pay. For bank transfer, the minimum deposit is $250.

Account types

Capital.com offers three account types that differ in the services available for you. The account type you have depends on – and can change according to – your account balance, so if your balance goes up, you can 'unlock' additional services.

You can also open a corporate account, but you need to contact customer support directly to set this up.

Capital.com categorizes clients as either retail or professional. Even if you are initially categorized as a retail client, you can qualify to be a professional client later, which allows you, for example, to trade at higher leverage. To qualify, you have to meet the following criteria:

• 10 trades placed in the previous quarter; these trades have to be relevant with a significant size
• your portfolio exceeds €500,000
• you worked in the financial sector for at least one year

How to open your account

The account opening experience at Capital.com is excellent: it is a smooth ride, quick and easy. Our account was approved within 1 day.   

Here are the steps to open an account at Capital.com:

1. Create an account and you will have immediate access to the live platform. This allows you to become familiar with the platform before trading.

2. Within the platform, click 'Complete registration'.
3. Go through a list of questions about your basic data (country of residence, employment status, financial status). The clean design makes the process smooth and enjoyable.
4. Select your account currency.
5. Finally, upload your personal ID (passport, driver's license, or national ID card) and proof of residence (bank statement, utility bill, etc).

Deposits and withdrawals are free at Capital.com and many options are provided, including Apple Pay. However, only four major currencies (USD, GBP, EUR, AUD) and one smaller (PLN) are available.

Account base currencies

At Capital.com, you can choose from 5 base currencies. These are: GBP, USD, EUR, PLN, and AUD.

The selection offered here is similar to XTB's but lags behind XM's offering.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you don't have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Compare digital banks

Deposit fees and options

Capital.com charges no deposit fees.

In addition to bank transfer and credit/debit card, you can also use Apple Pay to add funds to your account.

A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with a credit/debit card is instant.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Capital.com withdrawal fees and options

Capital.com charges no withdrawal fees.

The options for withdrawing funds are the same as for deposits.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Capital.com? We tested the debit card withdrawal and it took 1 business day.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from Capital.com?

• Log in to your account.
• Click on 'Live' in the top right corner of the screen.
• Select 'Withdraw Funds' from the drop-down menu.
• Select your withdrawal method and enter the amount you wish to withdraw.

Compare to other brokers

Capital.com has an easy-to-use and well-designed web trading platform, with clear fee reports and a two-step login. However, it has limited customizability and lacks price alerts.

Capital.com has its own self-developed trading platform. Besides, you can also use MetaTrader 4 platform.

The web trading platform is available in many languages.

Look and feel

The Capital.com web trading platform is user-friendly and has a great design. All the important functions, such as searching and portfolio reports, can be found easily.

Its biggest drawback is that you cannot customize the platform to your own needs.

Login and security

Capital.com provides a more secure, two-step login option, which is great.

Search functions

The search functions are good. There are pre-set categories where you can search (e.g. US stocks, indices, commodities), but there is also a search bar where you can enter your search terms manually.

Placing orders

Capital.com offers the basic order types, with no advanced ones like One-Cancels-the-Other (OCO) available. You can use the following order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Guaranteed stop

To get a better understanding of these terms, read our overview of order types.

The web trading platform has only one order time limit you can use, which is Good 'til time (GTT).

Alerts and notifications

You cannot set price alerts and notifications on the web trading platform. This is a miss in our view as it is a useful feature for users.

Portfolio and fee reports

Capital.com has clear portfolio and fee reports. They can be found under the 'Reports' tab, and you can immediately send it to yourself in an email and download it as a CSV file, which is very convenient.

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Capital.com's mobile trading platform is user-friendly, has a modern design, provides two-step login as well as price alerts.

Similar to the web platform, Capital.com has its own self-developed mobile trading platform.

The mobile platform is available in many more languages than the web platform.

Look and feel

The Capital.com mobile trading platform is user-friendly. Similarly to the web platform, it is easy to use even after a short learning period.

Login and security

Capital.com provides a secure, two-step login for its mobile platform. Also, you can set biometric authentication on iOS platforms.

However, it would be great if this feature would be available on Android devices as well. 

Search functions

The search functions are good. There are pre-defined categories, such as Top Risers/Fallers or Most Volatile, or you can also search manually.

Placing orders

You can use the same order types and order time limits as on the web trading platform.

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the Capital.com mobile platform. To set up the alerts, you have to click on the asset and select the price level you would like to get notifications about.

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78.77% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Capital.com's desktop trading platform is provided by MetaTrader. It is highly customizable, has a clear fee report and you can set price alerts. On the other hand, it lacks a two-step login and the design is outdated.

Capital.com does not have an in-house desktop trading platform; rather it uses MetaTrader 4. MetaTrader 4 is available only for clients under CySEC.

Look and feel

Capital.com's desktop trading platform has great customizability. It is easy to change the size and the position of the tabs.

However, the platform feels outdated and some features are hard to find. For example, it took some time until we found how to add an asset to the watchlist.

Login and security

Capital.com provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure.

Search functions

The search functions are OK. You can find the assets in categories. However, categorization is a bit confusing as there are several forex categories. We also missed the usual search function where you can type in the asset names manually.

Placing orders

Here, you will not find very sophisticated orders like one-cancels-the-other. The following order types are available:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Trailing Stop

Trailing Stop is available only in the MT4 desktop platform.

If you are not familiar with the various order types, read this overview.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT)

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications in the form of email, push notifications to mobile, or notification to the desktop platform. 

To set email or mobile notifications, you have to add your email address and your mobile MetaQuotes ID (it can be found in the MT4 app's settings). To add them, go to 'Tools' and then click 'Options'.

Portfolio and fee reports

Capital.com has clear portfolio and fee reports. It is easy to find your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports can be found under the 'Account History' tab. Right click on one position, then choose 'Save as Detailed Report'.

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Capital.com has an impressive selection of CFD, forex and crypto products compared to other CFD brokers. However, it lacks popular asset types like real ETFs, funds, or futures.

Capital.com is a CFD and forex broker. To learn more about CFDs, read our CFD trading tips.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78.77% 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.

Capital.com has a great selection of CFD and forex products compared to other similar brokers.

Note that the FCA bans the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers from January 6, 2021.

Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels are high. You can change the size of the leverage, which is great. Changing leverage is a useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade.

Stocks and ETFs

Capital.com provides commission-free real stocks.

You can invest in stocks in the following markets: US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

This service is available only for clients under FCA and CySEC (typically UK  and EEA countries) and only in the mobile app where we had difficulties in setting up the sub account. We tried to create a new stock trading sub account, but this option was not available. In the end, a customer support agent had to set it up manually.

Capital.com has great research services. Its charting tool is easy to edit and it has a quality news flow. There are also great fundamental data and trading ideas.

Capital.com's research tools are available on its web trading platform. Just like the platform itself, every tool is easy to use, and the language options are also the same as on the web platform.

Trading ideas

Capital.com provides trading ideas through Trading Central, a third-party research provider. The ideas are based purely on technical analysis and cover certain commodities, stock indices, as well as most FX pairs. You can find them if you click on 'Insights' and then 'Analysts Views'.

In addition, there are high-quality analyses about market events and assets on Capital.com TV. These analyses can give you insights into what and how to trade.

Fundamental data

The best place to access fundamental data is Capital.com's economic calendar. We really liked the feature that allows you to gauge historical volatility and trends. If you see, for instance, that Japan's interest rate decision is coming up, you can click the 'impact' button and see how the USD/JPY price moved after recent decisions.

We missed fundamental data on stocks.

Charting

Capital.com has good charting tools. It is easy to edit the chart and you can use a lot of technical indicators.

News feed

The news feed is available by clicking on the 'Discover' menu icon. It is well-designed and unique. The news is easy-to-read, integrated into the platform and includes relevant images and charts. 

We liked Capital.com's news feeds, provided by Trading Central. You can find them under the 'Market Buzz' section.

Not only can you filter the news feeds for a specific asset, but you will also see a sentiment score for that asset. For example, if all the articles are bullish/positive, then a 100% positive score is given to that asset.

Additionally, there's a tool called 'Trend Analysis' with headlines saying that the asset "might fall" or "might rise" x%. The somewhat sensationalist headlines are based on technical analysis by AI software that is also presented among the trading ideas.

We think that the quality of the information presented in 'Market Buzz' is not good enough to make your trading decisions based solely on it, but it's still much more useful compared to other MetaTrader brokers' news feeds.

Other research tools you will enjoy

There are trading statistics on Capital.com's trading platform, such as the most traded or most volatile assets. You can find these statistics under the 'Discover' section.

Compare research pros and cons

Capital.com's customer service is exemplary, one of the best in the sector. We received fast and comprehensive answers on every channel, and support is available 24/7.

You can contact Capital.com via:

• live chat
• phone
• email

Additionally, you can also reach the broker on various other channels such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger or Viber, which is a big plus.

Capital.com has a great live chat service – any time we asked a question, day or night, we always got a response and were connected with someone within minutes. The relevancy of the answers was satisfactory.

Phone and email support were also fast and provided relevant answers. On the phone, we were connected within a minute, while by email we received replies with 10-20 minutes, even to more complicated queries.

Support is available 24/7, which is great.

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Capital.com's education services include a demo account as well as videos and courses. However, a walkthrough video for the trading platform is available only for premium accounts.

At Capital.com you can learn in the following ways:

• Demo account
• General educational videos
• Webinars
• Quality educational articles
• Glossary
• Learning courses (on different topics, ending with a quiz)

It is always good to have the option to try the trading platform for free before signing up, so Capital.com providing a demo account is a plus.

Educational articles are mostly grouped by asset type (e.g. forex, commodities, shares), and include integrated videos.

There is a platform tutorial walkthrough video available, but only if your balance exceeds $3,000 and you qualify for a premium account. 

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Capital.com is regulated by more authorities, including the top-tier FCA and ASIC. On the negative side, it does not have a banking license and publishes no financial information.

Is Capital.com regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

Is Capital.com safe?

To be certain if a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• what the background of the broker is

How you are protected

Whether you are covered by investor protection and to what amount depends on the legal entity you belong to. You can check out the available countries and regulators this handy spreadsheet.

*Capital.com has adequate insurance arrangements in place in accordance with local regulations.

Capital.com provides negative balance protection. If the balance on your account goes negative, you will be protected.

Background

Capital.com was established in 2016. It has offices in London, Cyprus, and Belarus. The longer the track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises. 

Find your safe broker

Capital.com is a great CFD and forex broker, regulated by the FCA, a top-tier authority.

On the plus side, the stock CFD and forex fees are low, the account opening is very user-friendly, and customer support is exceptional.

On the other hand, Capital.com offers only CFDs (equity, index, crypto, commodity, forex) and real stock asset classes. Minor account base currencies and price alerts are missing from the web platform.

As there is no inactivity fee and the account opening is fast, feel free to try Capital.com.

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We recommend Capital.com for forex and cfd traders looking for great trading platform and customer service.

Below you can find links to all aspects of Capital.com in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our Capital.com fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the Capital.com minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your Capital.com account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the Capital.com account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the Capital.com trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the Capital.com customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is Capital.com legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether Capital.com is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is Capital.com good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on Capital.com?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on Capital.com guide

I want to trade options, are they available at Capital.com?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on Capital.com?

What is the minimum account balance at Capital.com?

Check out the current account balance requirements at Capital.com in our What is the minimum account balance at Capital.com article.

Looking for commission and fees data for Capital.com?

We collected them in Capital.com commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from Capital.com?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on Capital.com.