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Plus500 overview – features, fees, assets
Plus500 is a financial firm that specializes in providing trading activity with “contracts for difference” (CFDs), mainly through their trading platform on the web or app.
The company was founded in Israel in 2008 and has many legal subsidiaries all around the world from Europe to Asia. It is also regulated by many authorities. And we should point out that it’s mainly the CySEC (Cyprus Security and Exchange Commission), like many of their competitors, because of how loose their laws regarding online brokerages are.
It serves clients from over 50 countries. But, unfortunately, not the US. Plus500 offers forex, stocks, commodities, indexes, ETFs, Plus500 options, and even CFD crypto. So everything you expect from a brokerage. It was the first online brokerage to introduce Bitcoin CFD trading back in 2013 when most people hadn’t even heard of it. A move that undoubtedly helped build Bitcoin into the phenomenon it is today.
But, the big question is, is it any good? Well, as with all things and most other competitors it has its pros and cons:
Plus500 Pros
- The brokerage allows clients to use its services from over 50 countries and includes all the financial products you would expect from a top-tier online brokerage.
- Their trading platform called WebTrader is very easy to use and allows traders to quickly and conveniently create watchlists, analyze charts, and place trades.
- Among other agencies (like the CySEC) Plus500 is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) a UK agency known globally for being one of the best regulators of both investors and businesses. This is great news because being regulated by such a capable institution goes a long way in ensuring the company is trustworthy. And trust is vital when it comes to money.
- Plus500 also protects you from negative balances, which is obligatory under ESMA rules. In simple terms, it means that clients can’t lose more than what they invested.
- You will be able to use a stop loss for most financial services offered, although it does depend on market condition and they are subject to a bigger spread.
Plus500 Cons
- The customer service offered, is poor, to say the least. You’ll only be able to talk to someone through email or the live chat window on their website. And not by calling them which would sometimes be a lot more helpful.
- Plus500 does a terrible job at providing investors the tool to educate themselves about financial markets.
- US clients are not able to use the platform because of regulatory constraints.
- There’s no third-party integration on WebTrader, which is a big problem for more serious and advanced traders that rely on analytical and automation tools.
- The back-testing functionality is not available on WebMaster.
In conclusion, Plus500 has strong points and many, arguably more weak points. It’s not the worst brokerage platform but it’s far from the best. So today we’ll be exploring some of the alternatives.
Top Plus500 Alternatives
eToro
eToro is an Israeli multi-asset brokerage company. It was founded in 2017 and has amassed over 17 million users from approximately 100 countries. It’s among the industry leaders in fact in 2018 the company was valued at around $800 million.
Pros:
- It excels and offering customers the best social trading experience on the market even offering a great copy-trading experience.
- Both the website and app are easy to use and offer a great layout.
- eToro offers the possibility to trade over 15 CDF cryptocurrencies.
- Commission-free stock trading.
Cons:
- High spreads for crypto trading ranging from 0.75% to a whopping 4.5%.
- A minimum of $25 investments in cryptocurrencies.
- The copy-trading option is great but it requires at least a $200 investment.
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.
Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection.
Capital.com
Capital.com or Capital Com SV Investments Limited is a trading platform best known for using artificial intelligence to aid clients trading. The company is based in Limassol, Cyprus and it’s regulated by CySEC.
Pros:
- It offers a particularly secure trading environment.
- Traders are offered outstanding educational material, even generating daily investing tips.
- Forex traders have 135 currency pairs available.
- Extremely competitive service pricing, free of commission, and very low spreads on over 200 available assets.
Cons:
- The claim “powered by artificial intelligence” is misleading at best.
- It lacks an automated trading option.
- The company does not support or integrate the popular MT4 trading platform.
Avatrade
Avatrade is an established and well-known forex and CFD trading platform, established in 2006. It is a member of AvaGroup which has its headquarters in Australia, but it also has subsidiaries all around the world.
Pros:
- Competitive fees for depositors, particularly if trading stocks.
- The company offers a diverse set of assets: 55 forex trading pairs, 17 commodities CFDs, 20 indices, 14 cryptocurrencies, and the CFD of over 500 stocks, 2 bonds, and 6 ETFs.
- High-end reputation thanks to its perfect, legal, and regulatory track record.
- It offers leverage as high as 400 to 1 in countries that permit it.
Cons:
- There’s no ECN-style account option.
- US clients are not allowed to trade on its platform due to regulatory issues.
- Avatrade does not offer guaranteed execution of trades.
InstaForex
InstaForex is as the name suggests a forex broker that provides a trading service by using an electronic communication network used to verify trades. The platform allows access to currency trading and share and commodities futures CFDs. Their headquarters is in Russia in the town of Kaliningrad.
Pros:
- InstaForex is a recognized broker worldwide.
- Low depositary requirements and numerous ways to deposit your money.
- Educational material provided to customers.
- MT4 and MT5 tools integrated with the trading platform.
- Low trading fees.
Cons:
- Conditions and trading fees depend a lot on what entity is regulating it.
- It is regulated offshore.
- Fees on cent accounts and some instruments are high.
- Withdraws are sometimes slow and could come with a fee depending on your regional law.
Plus500 Crypto Alternatives
Binance
Binance is the biggest crypto exchange in the world in terms of the trading volume. It allows users to trade a wide array of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in China but has since moved out due to strict crypto regulation by the Chinese government.
Pros:
- Widely considered among the most trustworthy centralized crypto exchanges.
- Low fees in particular if using native Binance tokens (BNB).
- Digital assets are insured in case of a security breach in their system.
- Includes all the features an advance trader needs.
Cons:
- Arguably not ideal for newbie crypto-traders.
- It’s a centralized exchange and does not offer the same benefits as a decentralized exchange such as Uniswap.
- Does not support a lot of traditional payment methods.
- Due to the lack of some regulatory requirements, the platform does not operate in 12 US states.
- The platform lacks daily market analysis.
Kraken
Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange and bank founded in 2011 in the United States. The platform is available in 48 US states and 176 countries. It allows the trading of 40 cryptocurrencies and it also provides price information to the Bloomberg terminal.
Pros:
- High-security measures, even requiring a two-factor authentication process.
- Fees around the industry average.
- A great and simple overview.
- Integrates stalking services, OTC, margin indices, futures, dark pools, and Cryptowatch.
Cons:
- Not ideal for beginner traders.
- The website can be slow sometimes.
- Customers can’t deposit with debit or credit cards.
Cex.io
Cex.io is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2013 and was initially connected with the now-closed cloud mining site Ghash.io. In the following years, it started to develop independently offering card deposits, FIAT markets, and even released a mobile app.
Pros:
- It’s an established platform known for its security.
- Designed with a simple and easy-to-understand interface.
- The platform is regulated by the US government agency FinCEN, which is known to be strict and reliable. Reassuring customers with an additional layer of trust.
- A wide array of cryptocurrencies available to traders.
Cons:
- High trading fees.
- Verification and registration take very long.
Read also:
- How To Buy Bitcoin on eToro USA eToro Bitcoin Fees
- How to buy bitcoin on Plus500?
- Plus500 vs eToro Comparison: Fees, Spreads, Pros & Cons
- Libertex review
- StormGain review
- Trading 212 Review – Scam or Legit Trading Broker?
Conclusion
Whether you’re a crypto, stocks, or forex trader you don’t want to be giving your money to just anyone. It is vital you chose the right broker. Put your trust in the wrong platform you’re up for a lot of trouble.
Bad customer service, slow withdrawals, high fees, and impractical trading functions, does that seem fun? No, no it doesn’t and it’s not. There are just so many horror stories of people trusting the wrong platform with their hard-earned money, and none end well.
So to avoid being one of them always, look up and inform yourself on what you are subscribing to. Always. It is good to read articles like this, so to compare all the brokers on the market to best identify which ones fit your needs and could provide the best service.
