ETX Capital Review 2020

ETX Capital has high trading fees and financing rates. The non-trading fees are average. On the plus side, there are no withdrawal fees.

How we ranked fees

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

To get things rolling, let's go over some lingo 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 ETX Capital for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading, spreads, commissions and financing rates are the most important fees.

We also compared ETX Capital'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. See a more detailed rundown of ETX Capital alternatives.

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

ETX Capital trading fees

ETX Capital trading fees are average.

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 have chosen 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 is:

• 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 ETX Capital fees.

CFD fees

ETX Capital has generally average to high CFD trading fees.

As we can see above, index CFD's are about average with their competition. When it comes to individual stock CFD's though, we can see that they are quite a bit higher than the same competitors with XM being much cheaper.

Forex fees

ETX Capital forex fees are high.

In every benchmark measured, we found that ETX Capital's forex fees were higher than XTB's and XM's. This is unfortunate because these three stock brokerages all have the same target market making ETX Capitals rates relatively unattractive to potential clients.

Non-trading fees

ETX Capital has average non-trading fees.

It does not charge an account fee or withdrawal fee up to 5 withdrawals per month. If you withdraw more than 5 times, you will be charged a $10 fee per additional transaction.

Unfortunately, they do charge an inactivity fee of $25 per month after at least 6 months of inactivity. It's important to note that these types of charges are hard to find on their official website making their commission structure not completely transparent.

ETX Capital's account opening is hassle-free and straightforward. Your account should be ready for trading on the same day.

Can you open an account?

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What is the minimum deposit at ETX Capital?

The required ETX Capital minimum deposit is £100 or the currency equivalent.

Account types

ETX Capital has one basic live account type, and it only serves individual accounts, no corporate accounts are offered.

You can fill out the online application within 20 minutes. Afterwards, our account was verified on the same day.

How to open your account

1. Give your name, email address, and telephone number
2. Select the trading platform (TraderPro or MT4) and the base currency
3. Add your address details, like country of residency
4. Give your financial information and answer questions about your financial knowledge
5. Verify your ID and residency. You can upload national ID, passport, or driver's license for verifying your ID. Utility bill and bank statements are accepted for residency verification.

ETX Capital's deposit and withdrawal are free, the processes are fast, and can be done in several methods.

Account base currencies

At ETX Capital, you can choose from 3 base currencies. The available base currencies are: GBP, EUR USD

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. Revolut or Transferwise both 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

ETX Capital charges no deposit fees. Besides the bank transfer and credit/debit cards, you can use a lot of electronic wallets such as:

Neteller, Skrill, Sofort, GiroPay, China Union Pay

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

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

ETX Capital withdrawal fees and options

ETX Capital withdrawal is free for up to five per month. Beyond that, it is $10 for one withdrawal. Furthermore, if you want to withdraw less than $100, a $10 fee will be charged.

For withdrawal, you can use the same methods as deposits.

How long does it take to withdraw money from ETX Capital? We tested the credit card/bank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from ETX Capital?

• Log into the web trading platform
• Click on the "Payment" section and select "Withdraw funds"
• Add the amount you wish to withdraw and click on proceed

Compare to other brokers

ETX Capital has a great web trading platform. It is user-friendly with a great search function and customizability. On the negative side, it lacks two-step login and a clear fee report.

ETX Capital offers two platforms that each specialize in different devices. Here is a comparison:

In this review, we tested the TraderPro web trading platform as it has only a web-based platform. It is available in English.

Look and feel

The ETX Capital web trading platform is user-friendly. You will easily find features after using it for a few minutes and is very customizable.

Login and security

ETX Capital provides only a one-step login. Two-step login would make the platform more secure.

Search functions

The search function is good. There are two ways you can search for an asset under ‘Market Search':

• Type the name of the product you're looking for
• Browse through asset type categories. For example, if you want to trade with a US stock CFD, you just click on the equities and select the US market.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types: Market, Limit, Stop, Stop trailing, OCO

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

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til cancelled (GTC),
• Good 'til time (GTT),
• Good ‘till date (GTD)

Alerts and notifications

You can set price alerts in the form of email and push notification on your mobile.

Portfolio and fee reports

ETX Capital has a clear portfolio report but lacks a clear fee report. You can't see how much commission, swap you paid to the broker.

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ETX Capital offers a great mobile trading platform. In functionalities, it is the same as the web trading platform.

ETX Capital offers two mobile trading platforms, TraderPro and MetaTrader 4. We tested TraderPro's mobile trading platform as it is ETX Capital's own trading platform. The mobile trading platform is available in English.

TraderPro is available both on any iOS or Android devices. We tested it on Android.

Look and feel

The mobile trading platform has a different design, but in functionalities, it is the same as the web trading platform. Though the web and the mobile trading platforms are really similar to each other, we overweight simplicity and easy-handling at mobile trading platforms. That is why the ETX Capital mobile trading platform has a bit higher score than the web trading platform.

Login and security

ETX Capital provides only a one-step login.

You can't log in using biometric authentication. Providing this feature would be more convenient.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market,
• Limit,
• Stop,
• Stop trailing,
• OCO (one-cancels-the-other)

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC),
• Good 'til time (GTT),
• Good ‘till date (GTD)

Alerts and notifications

You can easily set alerts and notifications on the ETX Capital mobile platform.

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The desktop trading platform of ETX Capital is provided by MetaTrader. It is highly customizable, available in a lot of languages, and has a clear fee report. On the negative side, it lacks two-step login and the design is outdated.

ETX Capital offers only MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform.

The desktop trading platform is available in exceptionally lot languages.

Look and feel

The desktop platform has great customizability. You can easily 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 time until we found how we can add an asset to the watchlist.

Login and security

Similarly to web and mobile trading platforms, ETX Capital provides only a one-step login.

Search functions

The search functions are OK. You can find the assets in categories. However, categorization is a bit confusing as there are more forex and stock categories.

We missed the classical magnifying search function when you can type the assets' names manually.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market,
• Limit,
• Stop,
• Stop-limit

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 e-mail/push notification on mobile / notification on 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 MT4 app's settings). You can add them if you go to the Tools and then the Options.

Portfolio and fee reports

ETX Capital has a clear portfolio and fee reports. You can easily see your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid.

These reports can be found at the Account History tab. We didn't find a way to download them. 

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78% of retail CFD accounts lose money

At ETX Capital, you can trade only with CFDs, forex, and cryptos. It lacks real stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, options, and futures.

ETX Capital is a CFD and forex broker with a high amount of currency pairs and CFD offered. Its product offer is better than Forex and CFD only competitors'.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78% 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.

You can change leverage levels, which is great.

Changing the leverage is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. For example, instead of trading with 5:1 leverage, only trade with 2:1 leverage in case of stock CFDs. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels are high.

ETX Capital has very limited research tools. It lacks trading ideas, fundamental data, and news. As a plus, the charting tools are easy to use and advanced.

We tested both TraderPro and MetaTrader 4 research tools, but primarily reviewed TraderPro because it's ETX Capitals' own product.

Trading ideas

ETX Capital does not provide trading ideas.

Fundamental data

ETX Capital does not offer fundamental data.

Charting

ETX Capital has great charting tools. You can easily edit and save the charts.

It offers more technical indicators than both its competitors XTB and XM.

You can use 56 technical indicators.

Newsfeed

ETX Capital doesn't offer a newsfeed.

Other research tools you will enjoy

ETX Capital offers some analysis that can be found on the website.

These analyses have great quality and cover assets from forex to stocks.

Compare research pros and cons

ETX Capital has great customer service. You will get fast and relevant answers. However, it is not available 24/7 and the live chat is missing.

You can contact ETX Capital via:

• phone
• email

ETX Capital has phone support. During our tests, agents were connected within a minute and gave relevant answers. We also liked the professional tone the customer service team had.

Just like the phone support, email support works well. We emailed them four times, and we got answers within a few hours for all our emails. The answers were also relevant and helpful.

The customer service's availability depends on whether you are an existing client or not:

• the existing clients can reach out to ETX Capital between GMT+1 Sunday 9:30 pm and Friday 10:00 pm
• non-ETX Capital clients can contact the customer service between GMT+1 Monday 7:30 am and Friday 9:00 pm

We did miss live chat and 24/7 availability though.

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78% of retail CFD accounts lose money

ETX Capital has a great education. From a demo account to webinars, you will find a lot of educational tools. On the negative side, general educational videos are missing.

At ETX Capital you can learn in the following ways:

• Demo account
• Platform tutorial videos
• Webinars
• Quality educational articles

We liked that there is a wide range of webinars. For example, you will find webinars about trading strategies, trading tools, technical analysis, etc.

You will find ebooks that have great quality but covers only a few topics.

There is even a glossary that helps you to understand the unfamiliar words, expressions, acronyms. 

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78% of retail CFD accounts lose money

ETX Capital is regulated by the top-tier FCA and offers a high level of investor protection even though they do not hold a banking license.

Is ETX Capital regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

ETX Capital is a brand of Monecor (London) Ltd and is a UK-based CFD and forex broker. 

Is ETX Capital safe?

To be certain, 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

This is important for you because the investor protection amount and the regulator differ from entity to entity. This is not an issue in this case as all customers are covered by Monecor (London) Ltd. This means that due to the FCA regulation you get an £85,000 investor protection.

ETX Capital provides negative balance protection for forex spot and CFD trading, but only for retail clients from the European Union. Professional and non-EU clients are not covered with any negative balance protection.

Background

ETX Capital was established in 1965. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises. Being in operation and regulated by a top-tier regulator are all great signs for ETX Capital's safety.

Find your safe broker

ETX Capital is regulated by the top-tier FCA.

On the plus side, you can use a lot of deposit and withdrawal options and they are free of charge. We liked the seamless and hassle-free account opening. There is a wide range of educational tools and they have great quality.

ETX Capital has some drawbacks though. The trading fees are quite high. Its product range is limited to FX, CFDs, and cryptos. The research tools are limited. 

As there is only a small minimum deposit, there are 5 free withdrawals, and inactivity fee only kicks in after three months, feel free to try ETX Capital.

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78% of retail CFD accounts lose money