Summary
Recommended for experienced traders looking for an easy-to-use platform and a great user experience
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 is considered secure because it is listed on a stock exchange, discloses its financials and is regulated by several top-tier financial authorities.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.4% 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.
Disclaimer for daytraders: At Plus500, scalping is defined as "A trading strategy based on the notion that client transactions are opened and closed within 2 minutes limit in order to accumulate quick profits from small price changes." If Plus500 believes you were following this strategy, your account might be blocked and closed. Therefore, if you plan to execute trades within 2 minutes, Plus500 is not your broker.
Plus500 pros and cons
Plus500 has a simple, easy-to-use trading platform, with an especially well-designed mobile platform. In addition, the account opening process and customer support are great. During our account opening testing, our account was opened within a day.
On the negative side, Plus500 has a limited product portfolio, consisting only of CFD products. Some standard research tools, like recommendations and fundamental data are not available. The CFD fees are average.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Easy-to-use platform | • Limited product range, only CFDs |
• Great account opening | • Mediocre research tools |
• Quick and helpful customer support | • Average CFD fees |
🗺️ Country of regulation | UK, Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Israel, Seychelles |
💰 Trading fees class | Average |
💰 Inactivity fee charged | Yes |
💰 Withdrawal fee amount | $0 |
💰 Minimum deposit | $100 |
🕖 Time to open an account | 1 day |
💳 Deposit with bank card | Available |
👛 Depositing with electronic wallet | Available |
💱 Number of base currencies supported | 16 |
🎮 Demo account provided | Yes |
🛍️ Products offered | CFD |
Plus500 review
Fees
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Plus500 charges no withdrawal fee. There is an inactivity fee, but it's charged only if you don't log into the platform. On the negative side, the trading fees are average.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Free withdrawal | • Average CFD fees |
• Inactivity fee charged only if you don't log into the platform |
Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
---|---|---|
S&P 500 CFD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 0.5 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
Europe 50 CFD | Average | The fees are built into the spread, 2 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
EURUSD | Average | The fees are built into the spread, 0.7 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
Inactivity fee | Low | $10 per month after 3 months of inactivity. Inactivity means that you don't log in to your account. |
How we ranked fees
We ranked Plus500'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 Plus500 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 Plus500's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, eToro and XTB. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Plus500 alternatives.
To have a clear overview of Plus500, let's start with the trading fees.
Plus500 trading fees
Plus500 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 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 Plus500 fees.
CFD fees
Plus500 has generally average CFD trading fees.
There is no commission: everything is included in the spread, i.e. the difference between the ask and bid prices.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
S&P 500 index CFD fee | $2.3 | $1.7 | $1.5 |
Europe 50 index CFD fee | $2.8 | $2.8 | $1.8 |
Apple CFD fee | $15.3 | $6.7 | $17.3 |
Vodafone CFD fee | $11.0 | - | $20.8 |
Forex fees
Plus500 forex fees are average. Again, no there is commission, and everything is included in the spreads.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
EURUSD benchmark fee | $11.9 | $8.7 | $8.5 |
GBPUSD benchmark fee | $9.7 | $8.2 | $6.1 |
AUDUSD benchmark fee | $11.6 | $7.9 | $6.7 |
EURCHF benchmark fee | $14.3 | $12.9 | $9.0 |
EURGBP benchmark fee | $13.4 | $12.8 | $8.3 |
Spreads for the above-mentioned assets were collected on 27 May 2020 between 2 pm and 4 pm CET.
Non-trading fees
Plus500 has average non-trading fees. Plus500 charges no withdrawal, account, or deposit fees.
On the other hand, there is an inactivity fee of $10 per quarter after 3 months of inactivity. You can save having to pay the inactivity fee if you simply log in to the platform. In the case of some other brokers, you have to trade in order to not be charged an inactivity fee, logging in is not enough.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
Account fee | No | No | No |
Inactivity fee | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Withdrawal fee | $0 | $5 | $0 |
Plus500 review
Account opening
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Plus500 account opening is seamless, fast and fully digital. You can open your trading account within a day.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Fast | None |
• Fully digital | |
• Low minimum deposit |
Can you open an account?
Plus500 accepts customers from many countries all around the world. However, there are some notable exceptions: for example, residents of the US and Canada can't open an account, and other countries such as Cuba, Iran and Syria are also excluded.
What is the minimum deposit at Plus500?
The Plus500 minimum deposit is $100 for debit/credit cards and electronic wallets and $300 for bank transfers.
Account types
Plus500 only offers one account type, which is often referred to as a Retail account. You can apply for a Professional account if you meet two of the following three criteria:
- Sufficient trading activity in the last 12 months
- Financial instrument portfolio over €500,000
- Relevant experience in the financial services sector
A Professional account lets you trade with higher leverage compared to a Retail account, where the leverage has been reduced to the range of 1:2 to 1:30 as of August 2018. The maximum leverage for Professional accounts ranges from 1:5 (for options) to 1:300 (for forex) for the various instruments, with options at the bottom and forex products and indices at the top of the range.
In this review, we tested the Retail account.
How to open your account
If you want an efficient and digital account opening process, Plus500 is your broker.
After the online registration, you have to verify your identity and provide proof of residency. You can upload a copy of your ID or passport to verify your identity, and a bank statement or utility bill to verify your residency. Alternatively, you can use a driving license or a residence permit for ID verification, or a toll taxes letter, salary slip or address card to verify your residency.

Plus500 review
Deposit and withdrawal
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Plus500's deposit and withdrawal services are both great. You have many options, the process is simple and free of charge.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Credit/Debit card available | None |
• Free withdrawal | |
• No deposit fee |
Account base currencies
At Plus500, there are several currencies available, even minor ones, but it is not transparent how many and which ones. The following account currencies are available for sure: USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, AUD, JPY, PLN, HUF, CZK, CAD, TRY, SEK, NOK, and SGD. The default account currency is set based on your country of residency.
You need to contact support if you wish to change your base currency.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
Number of base currencies | 14 | 1 | 5 |
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. If your bank account's currency differs from the base currency, Plus500 will charge you a currency conversion fee of a maximum of 0.5% for all trades and instruments.
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.
Deposit fees and options
Plus500 charges no deposit fees.
As with other CFD brokers, there are a lot of depositing options at Plus500:
- Bank transfer
- Credit/Debit card
- PayPal
- Skrill
Which e-wallet options are available depends on your region – e.g. at the time of our review update in June 2020, Skrill wasn't available for us as a depositing option, only PayPal.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Credit/Debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with a credit/debit card and electronic wallets is instant.
You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Plus500 withdrawal fees and options
Plus500 withdrawal is free of charge. There is also a minimum withdrawal amount, which is $50 for PayPal and $100 for bank transfers and credit/debit cards.
For withdrawals, you can use the same methods as for deposits.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
Bank Transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Credit/Debit card | Yes | Yes | No |
Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | No |
Withdrawal fee | $0 | $5 | $0 |
How long does it take to withdraw money from Plus500? We tested the debit card transfer withdrawal and it took more than 3 business days.
You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from Plus500?
- Log in to your account.
- Click the 'Menu' icon in the top left corner.
- Click 'Withdraw'.
- Enter the amount you'd like to withdraw.
- Initiate the transaction by clicking 'Open a Withdrawal'.
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Plus500 review
Web trading platform
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The Plus500 trading platform is quite easy to use and also looks great. On the negative side, it cannot be customized.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• User-friendly | • Limited customizability for workspace |
• Clear fee report | |
• Two-step (safer) login |
Trading platform | Score | Available |
---|---|---|
Web | 4.5 stars | Yes |
Mobile | 5.0 stars | Yes |
Desktop | - | No |
Plus500 has its own-developed web trading platform. The web trading platform is available in quite a lot of languages.
Arabic | Bulgarian | Chinese | Croatian | Czech | Danish |
Dutch | English | Estonian | Finnish | French | German |
Hebrew | Hungarian | Icelandic | Italian | Lithuanian | Malay |
Maltese | Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Russian | Slovakian |
Slovenian | Spanish | Swedish | Traditional Chinese | Turkish |
Look and feel
The Plus500 web trading platform has a clean, well-designed look and is easy to use. You can choose a dark mode as well.
On the downside, you cannot customize the platform.

Disclaimer: Illustrative prices.
Login and security
Plus500 provides a safer, two-step login. Google and Facebook authentication are also available, which is quite convenient.
Search functions
The search function is great, you will have no trouble finding anything. You can find the products categorized on the left or you can search by typing in the product name.

Placing orders
You can use the following order types:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Trailing stop
- Guaranteed stop*
*This guarantees that your position will be closed even if there is a large market movement. If you use it, the spread will be wider. This is the extra cost of using this order type.
To get a better understanding of these terms, read this overview of order types.
These orders can be canceled at any time before they are executed, i.e. they are Good 'till Canceled (GTC). However, there are no other order time limits provided.

Disclaimer: Illustrative prices.
Alerts and notifications
We liked the platform's alert and notification functions. You can set up email, SMS and push notifications.
The alert lets you know if the price of an asset reaches a certain level or changes by a set percentage. Additionally, you can sign up to be alerted if the Plus500 Traders' Sentiment (the percentage of Buyers and Sellers among Plus500 customers) reaches a certain level.
Portfolio and fee reports
Plus500 provides transparent portfolio and fee reports. It is clearly indicated how much you paid in overnight fees. The composition of your current portfolio is also made clear, which you can check in the bar at the top of the platform.
Multiple Charts
As part of Plus500's September update, clients have the opportunity to use 9 charts simultaneously on WebTrader, similarly to eToro's solution. To enable Multiple Charts on Webtrader, look for a button with four quadrants on the chart's toolbar.
Plus500 review
Mobile trading platform
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The Plus500 mobile trading platform is well-designed and user-friendly.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• User-friendly | None |
• Two-step (safer) login | |
• Good search function |
The Plus500 mobile trading platform is very similar to the web platform. It has the same functionalities and is also user-friendly.
You can download the mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows. You can also use your smartwatch, but we stuck to a conventional smartphone and tested the mobile iOS app. It was great.
Plus500 provides a safe two-step login and you can also use biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Disclaimer: Illustrative prices.


Disclaimer: Illustrative prices.
Plus500 review
Desktop trading platform
Plus500 does not offer a desktop trading platform.
Plus500 review
Markets and products
or
At Plus500 you can trade only with CFDs (forex, stock index, stock, ETF, commodity and crypto). Many popular asset classes, like real stocks or ETFs, are not available.
Plus500 is a CFD 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. 76.4% 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.
Plus500 offers a good selection of CFDs, its product lineup being wider than eToro's or XTB's. There are some cryptos as well, but less than at eToro and XTB.
Plus500 | eToro | XTB | |
---|---|---|---|
Currency pairs (#) | 70 | 47 | 49 |
Stock index CFDs (#) | 26 | 13 | 42 |
Stock CFDs (#) | 1,900 | 2,042 | 1,800 |
ETF CFDs (#) | 95 | 145 | 114 |
Commodity CFDs (#) | 25 | 14 | 22 |
Cryptos (#) | 14 | 16 | 25 |
Disclaimer for cryptos: Availability subject to regulations. Also, FCA bans the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers from 6 January 2021.
You can also trade with options on a few stock CFDs and stock index CFDs. There are also thematic indexes you can trade, e.g. Cannabis index.
You cannot change leverage levels, which is a drawback. On the other hand, with a Professional account, you can use wider leverage ranges.
Changing the leverage is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. Be careful with CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels are high.
Plus500 review
Research
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Plus500 provides limited research options. It has great charting tools and a well-designed economic calendar, and market analyses prepared by Plus500's research team. However, there are no recommendations, fundamental data or news feed.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Good interactive chart | • No trading ideas |
• User-friendly | • No fundamental data available |
• Market analysis | • No/poor quality news flow |
Plus500 does not provide trading ideas or fundamental data.
Charting
The charting tool is of good quality. There are 119 technical indicators and great editor tools. You can also save the charts.
We also liked that you can use multiple charts at the same time. To use this feature, click on 'Multiple charts view'.

Disclaimer: Illustrative prices.
News feed
You will find a well-designed economic calendar and market analysis prepared by Plus500's research team, but no news feed or newsletter.
You can find short analyses about market events and companies. You can access these analyses if you go to Plus500's website, click on 'Trading', and select 'News & Market Insights'.
We liked the economic calendar. You can filter for macro events or company-related events.

Other research tools you will enjoy
You can use Plus500's Traders' Sentiment tool, which shows the proportion of buyers and sellers at Plus500 for the given asset.
In addition, there is a 'Live Statistics' feature, which shows a few statistics about the price of the asset, such as the lowest/highest price within 5 minutes, 60 minutes, or 1 day.

Disclaimer: Illustrative prices.
Plus500 review
Customer service
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Plus500 has great customer support, available 24/7. Both the live chat and the email support are quick and reliable.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Live chat | • No phone support |
• Relevant answers | |
• 24/7 availability |
You can contact customer service via live chat, WhatsApp, and email. There is no phone support and Plus500 no longer serves clients via WhatsApp. Instead, there's an integrated 'Contact Us' page for inquiries.
We tested the Plus500 live chat several times. It was always quick and reliable. For example, when we asked about fees they provided all relevant fees, including financing rates. After the conversation, you can rate your customer agent instantly, which is a good way to provide feedback.
The email customer support was also fine. They replied within one hour, which is extremely fast compared to other brokers. The answers we got were all relevant.
In addition to the good quality of customer service, it is also available 24/7, which is not the case at most other brokers.

Plus500 review
Education
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Plus500 only provides a demo account, few basic videos about trading, and trading platform,s and educational articles. However, webinars are not available and the education section is not well-structured.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Demo account | • No webinars |
• Educational videos | • Materials are not well-structured |
• Educational articles |
At Plus500 you can learn in the following ways:
- Demo account
- Basic educational and trading platform videos
- Educational articles about the different asset classes, risk management tools, and FAQ
- eBook about using the trading platform (eBook can be downloaded from the trading platform)
You can find the educational tools on the Plus500 website, under 'Trading' if you click on 'Risk management' or 'Trader's Guide'. In addition, if you browse their FAQ, you will find a few more videos detailing, for example, the process of payment verification.
On the other hand, the educational materials are not well-structured. It was hard to find the different educational tools. We also missed the webinars.

Plus500 review
Safety
or
Plus500 is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is regulated by more than one top-tier financial authority.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Listed on stock exchange | • Does not hold a banking license |
• Negative balance protection | |
• Financial information is publicly available |
Is Plus500 regulated?
Yes, it is regulated by several financial authorities: the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) and the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Plus500 is based in Israel and was founded in 2008.
Is Plus500 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
Plus500 operates several subsidiaries and which one will serve you depends on your residency. The investor protection amount you get depends on the country of the subsidiary you are signing up with.
For example, if you are from the UK, you account will be with Plus500UK Ltd and you will get £85,000 in investor protection. Plus500UK Ltd is regulated by the FCA, the UK's financial authority.
Client country | Investor protection amount | Regulator | Legal entity |
---|---|---|---|
EEA countries (EU, Switzerland, Norway) | €20,000 | Authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (#250/14) | Plus500CY Ltd |
UK | £85,000 | Authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (#509909) | Plus500UK Ltd |
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa | No protection | Licensed by the ASIC (AFSL #417727), Financial Markets Authority (FSP #486026), and FSCA (FSP #47546) | Plus500AU Pty Ltd |
Singapore | No protection | Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (#CMS100648-1) and the IE Singapore (#PLUS/CBL/2018) | Plus500SG Pte Ltd |
Israel | No protection | Licensed by Israel Securities Authority (#515233914) | Plus500IL Ltd |
All other clients | No protection | Authorized & regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (#SD039) | Plus500SEY Ltd |
Plus500 provides negative balance protection for CFD trading, but only for retail clients from the European Union. This means that if the balance on your account should go into negative territory, you will be protected.
Professional and non-EU clients are not covered with any negative balance protection.
Background
Plus500 was established in 2008. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
Plus500 is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, which is a big plus for safety as Plus500 releases financial statements regularly and transparently. Other aspects, such as ownership and regulatory compliance are also all transparent.
A financially strong parent company is a plus since it can provide the online broker with additional capital if needed. As of September 2020, the biggest owners of the company were mostly large investment banks and asset management companies, including JPMorgan. The biggest owner, Odey Asset Management, had an 8.48% stake. Alon Gonen, one of the founders, was also among the top shareholders, both directly and through Sparta24 Ltd.
Being listed on a stock exchange, providing financial statements and being regulated by a top-tier authority like the FCA are all great signs for Plus500's safety.
Plus500 review
Bottom line
or
Plus500 is a good CFD broker. It is recommended for traders who are aware of the risks of CFD trading. The broker is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the UK's FCA, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. If you are not from the UK, you will most likely be served by alternative regulators, like Plus500 Cyprus. In this case, for example, the Cypriot investor protection would apply to you.
Attention Daytraders! At Plus500, scalping is defined as "a trading strategy based on the notion that client transactions are opened and closed within 2 minutes limit in order to accumulate quick profits from small price changes." If Plus500 believes you are scalping, your account may be blocked and closed. Therefore, if you plan to execute many trades within 2 minutes, Plus500 is not your broker.
The Plus500 platform is easy to use, providing a great user experience even for first-timer. The account opening and customer support work well.
On the other hand, CFDs are the only product offered, the research tools are limited, and the CFD fees are average.
As there is no minimum balance required, no withdrawal fee for withdrawals of over $100, and the inactivity fee only kicks in after three months, feel free to give Plus500 a try.