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Is CMC Markets free?

Your expert
Adam N.
Fact checked by
Updated
Jan 2024
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Is CMC Markets free as of January 2024?

Disclaimer: 67% 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.

CMC Markets does not provide access to real stock trading on US markets. If you are looking for a zero-commission broker to trade on US stock exchanges, you can check our article detailing the best apps offered in this category of brokers. If you wish to stick with CMC Markets though, then you will find the fees they charge below.

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

BrokerChooser score
4.5 4.5 /5
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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Overview of CMC Markets fees and charges

It's safe to say that CMC Markets's fees are low in general. They either don't charge a brokerage fee for things that other brokers do, or they only charge a small amount.

Here's a high-level overview of CMC Markets's fees

CMC Markets Fees snapshot
Assets Fee level Fee terms
US stock fee - Available to AU clients: $0, but minimum order size of AUD 1,000 is required
EURUSD fee Low The fees are built into the spread, 0.7 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours.
US mutual fund fees - Not available
Inactivity fee Low £10 monthly fee after 12 months of inactivity

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets fees explained

Online brokerages in general charge much lower brokerage fees than traditional brokerages do - this is largely because online brokerages' businesses can be much better scaled: from a purely technical standpoint, it doesn't make that much of a difference for them if they have 100 or 5,000 clients.

This is not to say, however, that they don't charge any fees at all. They make money by charging you various rates for various actions or events. Usually you need to keep an eye on the following three types of fees:

  • Trading fees - these are brokerage fees that you pay when you actually carry out a trade, like buying an Apple share or an ETF. What you pay is either a commission, a spread or a financing rate. Some brokers apply all of these.
    • A commission is either fixed or based on the traded volume.
    • A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
    • A financing rate or overnight rate is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.
  • Non-trading fees. These are usually related to some operations you carry out in your account, such as depositing money, withdrawing money, or not trading for an extended period.

We compare CMC Markets fees with its closest competitors, IG and XTB.

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets trading fees

CMC Markets's trading fees are low, which makes it suitable for you even if you trade often (i.e. several times a week).

Let's break down trading fees according to the different asset classes available at CMC Markets.

Trading fees

CMC Markets's trading fees are low.

Forex fees

CMC Markets's forex fees are low.

Forex fees of a $20,000 30:1 position (open, 1-week-hold and close)
IG
XTB
EURUSD benchmark fee
$10.7 $13.3 $9.5
EURGBP benchmark fee
$11.7 $13.6 $12.1

Data updated on January 24, 2024

CFD fees

CMC Markets has average CFD trading fees.

CFD fees and commissions on a $2,000 trade
IG
XTB
Apple CFD
$10.1
$15.1
$2.6
Vodafone CFD
$11.8
$13.1
$3.9
Germany
- $11.9
$9.1

Data updated on January 24, 2024

Currency conversion fee

CMC Markets will charge a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account. The fee is charged as the following: 0.5% mark-up.

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets non-trading fees

When it comes to non-trading fees, CMC Markets is a rather cheap broker.

Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at CMC Markets that are not related to buying or selling assets. This can be a withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee or account fee.

A high-level overview of how CMC Markets stacks up in terms of non-trading fees
IG
XTB
Withdrawal fee
$0
$0
$0
Deposit fee
$0
$0
$0
Inactivity fee
Yes
Yes
Yes
Account fee
No
No
No

Data updated on January 24, 2024

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

BrokerChooser score
4.5 4.5 /5
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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets deposit fee

Usually, brokers don't charge anything for deposits, and CMC Markets is no different.

CMC Markets deposit methods
IG
XTB
Bank transfer
Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card
Yes Yes
Yes
Electronic wallets
No Yes Yes
Deposit fee
$0
$0
$0

Data updated on January 24, 2024

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets withdrawal fee

CMC Markets generally doesn't charge a withdrawal fee.

CMC Markets withdrawal fees and options compared
IG
XTB
Bank transfer
Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card
Yes Yes
Yes
Electronic wallets
No Yes Yes
Withdrawal fee for bank transfer
$0
$0
$0

Data updated on January 24, 2024

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

CMC Markets inactivity fee

CMC Markets does apply an inactivity fee and it is £10 monthly fee after 12 months of inactivity. Keep this in mind to avoid getting charged after a longer idle period. The fact that CMC Markets charges an inactivity fee makes it less ideal for you if you are a buy-and-hold investor.

The inactivity fee charged by CMC Markets is low.

IG
XTB
Inactivity fee
Yes
Yes
Yes
Inactivity fee
£10 monthly fee after 12 months of inactivity $/£12/€14 per month after 2 years of inactivity €10 per month after 1 year of trading inactivity and if no deposit was made in the last 90 days

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67% of retail CFD accounts lose money

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Author of this article

Adam Nasli

Financial Wizard | Trading • Safety • Market Analysis

I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

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