Capital.com Review 2022

Forex CFD fees are low and some clients can trade real stocks for free, but stock index CFD fees are high. As a plus, there are no inactivity or withdrawal fees.

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 trading fees.

All fee-related information was collected between November 1, 2021 and December 10, 2021.

Capital.com trading fees

Capital.com offers low trading fees. 

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 CFDs: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP

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

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

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

Stock and index CFD fees

Capital.com has high stock index CFD fees, which are mostly higher than those charged by its closesxt competitors. 

Forex CFD fees

Capital.com has low forex CFD fees.

Real stock fees

Capital.com charges zero commission on real stock trades.

Real stock trading is available only to clients under FCA and CySEC (typically the UK and EU countries) and only on the mobile app. We encountered difficulties 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. We appreciated that the broker does not charge an inactivity fee if you don't trade for a certain period of time, which is rare among CFD brokers. There are no account, deposit or withdrawal fees, either.

Capital.com has one of the best account opening processes we've ever encountered: 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, most notably the US. 

What is the minimum deposit at Capital.com?

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

Account types

Capital.com offers individual accounts as the standard account. 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 as 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 or PayPal. 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: 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 or PayPal (for UK and EU clients) 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, the platform has limited customizability and lacks price alerts.

Capital.com has its own self-developed trading platform. Besides, you can also use the 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 search 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
• Stop-loss / Take profit
• Guaranteed stop

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

The web trading platform has two order time limits you can use: Good 'til time (GTT) and Good 'til cancel (GTC).

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.

Similarly 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, users can learn how to use the various functions in a short time. 

Login and security

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

It would be great if this feature were 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, and you can also search by entering the terms 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, click on the asset and select the price level you would like to get notifications about.

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Capital.com's desktop trading platform is provided by MetaTrader. It's highly customizable and supports price alerts, but it lacks a two-step login and the design is outdated. MetaTrader platform is not available in the UK.

Capital.com does not have an in-house desktop trading platform; it uses MetaTrader 4. MetaTrader 4 is available to all accepted clients, except customers from the UK.

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 quite some time until we figured out 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. Available assets iare categorized, however, the 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

Sophisticated orders like one-cancels-the-other are not supported by the platform. The following order types are available:

• Market
• Limit / Stop
• Stop-loss / Take profit
• Guaranteed stop

Trailing Stop is available only in the MT4 desktop platform.

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

These are the 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 notifications to the desktop platform. 

To set email or mobile notifications, 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 click on '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 products compared to other CFD brokers. However, it lacks popular asset types like real ETFs, funds, or futures.

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

Disclaimer: Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75.26% 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 products compared to other similar brokers.

Note that the FCA banned the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers as of January 2021.

Be careful with forex and CFD trading as the preset leverage levels are high. The broker allows its clients to change the size of 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 clients can trade real stock commission-free.

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

This service is available only to clients under FCA and CySEC (typically the UK and EU 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 charting tools and analyses on its website. However, we missed fundamental data and other analytical tools like pattern recognition.

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 the same as on the web platform.

Trading ideas

Capital.com doesn't provide trading ideas, i.e. analysts' recommendations for a specific asset to buy, hold, or sell. On the other hand, there are high-quality analyses about market events and assets on Capital.com TV and in the 'News and features' section. You can find these tools on the website. These analyses give insights into what and how to trade.

Fundamental data

Capital.com doesn't provide fundamental data.

Charting

Capital.com has good charting tools. The charts are easy to edit and you can use a lot of technical indicators.

News feed

Capital.com provides a great news feed, which is available under the 'Discover' menu icon. The feed is easy-to-read, integrated into the platform and includes relevant images and charts. 

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 in the 'Discover' section.

Compare research pros and cons

Capital.com's email and live chat support are exemplary, one of the best in the sector. We received fast and comprehensive answers, and support is available 24/7. On the other hand, we couldn't reach agents via phone.

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 and 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.

Email support works well too, we received replies within a day, even to more complicated queries. We also liked that we received relevant FAQ pages automatically after we sent our email. Those pages were relevant in most cases.

One area that could be improved is phone support. We tried contacting agents via phone, but we were redirected to email and live chat support as no agents were available.

Client support is available 24/7, which is great.

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Capital.com's education services are excellent. The tools include a demo account, videos, and courses.

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

• Demo account
• General educational videos
• Platform tutorial 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.

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Capital.com has group entities that are authorized and regulated locally by authorities, like 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, Capital.com has group entities that are authorized and regulated locally by authorities, like the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the 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 in 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  into negative territory, 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 that it has successfully survived previous financial crises. 

Find your safe broker

Capital.com is a great CFD broker, regulated by top-tier authorities such as the UK's FCA and ASIC in Australia.

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

Among drawbacks, stock index CFD fees are high, Capital.com offers only CFDs (equity, index, crypto, commodity, forex) and real stocks as tradable products. Only major currencies are supported as account base currencies and price alerts are not available on 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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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.