Regulated, Tested, & Trusted
5,813 users chose this broker via ChooseBestBroker
Summary
Plus500 is a well-established and trusted global broker that was founded in 2008. It is publicly listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange and overseen by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Cyprus’s CySEC financial regulators.
This broker is known for delivering a smooth trading experience. Plus500 became popular mainly because of great mobile trading user experience and intuitive layout. Opening an account with Plus500 is quick and easy, and its customer support is quick to respond to any queries.
They also offer a paper trading (demo) account available right away, giving starting traders a realistic feel for the platform before depositing their money.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Very intuitive platform | High overnight interest rates |
| Easy account opening | High currency conversion fees |
| Fast customer support |
Trading fees
Plus500 doesn’t have any withdrawal fees, which is a nice plus. Its CFD trading costs depend on the asset you’re trading. Forex CFDs and major stock index CFDs come with low fees, while commodity CFDs like gold tend to be more expensive. Financing rates are high for all products.
There are no account maintenance, withdrawal or deposit fees. However, Plus500 charges a currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% for instruments priced in different than your account’s base currency. So conversion fees are much higher than what many competitors charge.
There is an $10 per month inactivity fee (which is charged after three months of inactivity). Luckily, this fee is easy to avoid. You only need to log in to the platform to reset the inactivity timer, you don’t necessarily need to trade to reset it.
| Pros | Cons |
| Low forex fees | High interest rates for financing |
| Low stock index CFD fees | High commodity CFD fees |
| No withdrawal fee | Inactivity fee (but it’s easy to avoid) |
Deposit & Withdrawal
Deposits and withdrawals are very easy and hassle-free at Plus500. You get plenty of deposit payment methods to choose from, and in most cases it’s free. Another big plus is the wide range of supported currencies.
Your account’s base currency is automatically set based on where you live. And here you have to be very careful before making your first deposit. If you want to change your base currency then you have to contact their customer support before making your first deposit. As it is not possible to change your base currency after your first deposit.
Compared to other brokers, Plus500 offers an excellent selection of base currencies. Wide selection of base currencies makes sure that you are not overspending on unnecessary currency conversion fees.
Plus500 broker doesn’t charge any deposit fees, unless you are depositing in a currency different from your account’s base currency. You can deposit money via bank transfers, credit or debit cards, and digital wallets PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Skrill (availability depends on your specific country).
Credit or debit card deposits are instant, while bank transfers can take a few business days. As with all other brokers, deposits must come from an account in your own name.
Plus500 offers withdrawals free of charge. Minimum withdrawal amounts are: $50 for digital wallets like PayPal and Skrill, and $100 for bank transfers and credit or debit cards.
| Pros | Cons |
| Variety of payment methods | $50 or $100 Minimum withdrawal amounts |
| Free deposits and withdrawals | – |
| Variety of base currencies | – |
Safety
Plus500 was founded in 2008 and is based in Israel. As it was founded long time ago, it went through many stock market downturns and cycles, which improves the safety of your money on this platform. It is a publicly listed company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It’s a major green plus as they need to meet strict regulatory standards. This requires the company to publish annual financial audits and reports.
The company is backed by strong institutional ownership. Major shareholders are large investment banks – JP Morgan and Vanguard to name a few. That kind of backing adds another layer of trust in this broker.
Overall, Plus500 checks many boxes when it comes to broker’s safety. Only one downside worth noting is that this broker doesn’t hold a banking license, but that’s fairly common among most online brokers.
Plus500 is regulated by a wide range of financial authorities around the world, including CySEC in Cyprus, the UK’s FCA, ASIC in Australia, New Zealand’s FMA, etc. This broad regulatory coverage adds a strong layer of credibility and trust.
Plus500 broker operates through different legal entities depending on your region, and your level of investor protection depends on that entity. To name a few, clients from the United Kingdom trade through Plus500UK Ltd, which is regulated by the FCA and provides investor protection of up to £120,000. Clients in European countries are covered up to €20,000 through the Cyprus-regulated entity, Plus500CY Ltd.
On top of that, Plus500 offers negative balance protection for CFD trading, which is very nice. This means you can’t go negative and lose more money than you’ve deposited in the first place.
| Pros | Cons |
| Publicly listed company on LSE | No banking license (common for online brokers) |
| Shareholders are large investment banks | – |
| Founded in 2008 | – |
Account opening
Plus500 offers quick and fast account opening. Usually, new accounts are approved for trading in one day once you submit all the documents, so you can start trading the same day. This platform is available globally in many countries, US traders are also eligible to access futures trading on this platform.
Plus500 mainly offers a single account option – the Retail account. A Professional account is also available, however, you need to meet these two requirements to be able to get it: you’ve traded frequently over the past 12 months and your portfolio value is more than €500,000, or you can prove that you have experience working in the financial services industry.
After you fill up all the details and finish registration, you’ll need to verify your identity and address by uploading your passport and a bank statement or utility bill to prove your address.
| Pros | Cons |
| Fast & easy account opening | – |
| Fully digital process | – |
| Only $50 minimum deposit | – |
Mobile App
The Plus500 mobile app is very easy to use for anyone, not just experienced traders. This makes it an excellent choice for beginners and experienced traders.
The Plus500 app is available on all major platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows. Their application is also available in multiple languages, which adds to its accessibility.
In terms of application’s design and navigation, everything feels intuitive. Stock watchlists, opening and closing positions, notifications, and your portfolio overview is very intuitive and everything is just easy to find.
Plus500 app offers two-step login authorization and biometric authentication, making log-ins safe and convenient.
Search functionality is very efficient, helping you find stocks and other financial instruments conveniently. Talking about alerts, you can set up email, text message, or push notifications, which is crucial in very volatile stocks. You can set price alerts or specific price percentage change alert.
Beyond that, you get full transparency on trade fees. Before placing a trade, you can clearly see estimated costs, applied leverage and required margin for that specific trade. Once you choose how many and which stock to trade, the app automatically calculates everything for you, so there are no surprises on trading fees.
| Pros | Cons |
| Two-step & biometric authentication | – |
| Full transparency on trading fees | – |
| Great search functionality | – |
Desktop platform
The Plus500 web trading platform is very easy to navigate as it provides excellent user experience. It delivers a smooth experience overall, although it falls short when it comes to customization options.
The desktop platform features a clean and modern layout that looks very similar to the design of the mobile app. Everything on this platform feels organized and intuitive. Also they offer a dark mode, which is a nice touch if you prefer a softer interface during long trading sessions during the night.
That said, customization is limited. You cannot rearrange or adjust the layout to suit your personal workflow.
Security is solid supporting two-step & biometrics authentication, adding an extra layer of protection to your account. You can also log in using Google, Facebook, or Apple ID, which makes access quick and easy.
All financial instruments are clearly grouped on the left-hand side, and there’s a search bar if you prefer searching for financial instruments that way. Whether you’re looking for stocks, indices or cryptocurrencies, the process is fast and efficient.
Plus500 also offers a stop-loss feature called “Guaranteed stop”. This feature really stands out from other platforms offering simple stop-loss, as it ensures your position is closed at the exact price you set, even during sharp market volatility. Of course, this extra protection comes at an extra cost as you usually pay wider spread, but it can still be a very valuable tool for risk management.
You can set up price alerts directly on the platform. Alerts can be delivered via email, text messages, or push alerts. By the way, you can set alerts based on percentage change. You’re not limited to simple price alerts. It’s a practical feature that helps you stay alerts on price changes without constantly monitoring the prices.
Fee transparency is something that Plus500 is standing out for. Simply open one of your positions, and you’ll see exactly how much you were charged for overnight financing or currency conversion.
Plus500’s WebTrader allows you to display up to 20 charts at once. Just activate Multi Charts feature, and you will be able to monitor several instruments simultaneously. This feature makes comparison and analysis very efficient.
Overall, the web platform delivers a very simple and reliable trading experience. But don’t expect any deep customization options.
| Pros | Cons |
| Design is user-friendly | Customization is very limited |
| Full transparency on fees | – |
| Two-step & biometric authentication | – |
Product selection
Plus500 CFD mainly offers trading contracts for difference across forex, stock indices, individual stocks, ETFs, commodities, options, and cryptocurrencies. Since these are derivatives, you’re not actually buying the underlying asset itself but just speculating on the difference of the price. If you’re looking to purchase real shares, that’s done through the Plus500 Invest platform. Other asset types, such as real ETFs or exchange-traded options aren’t supported.
As you already understood, Plus500 operates primarily as a CFD broker. If you want to trade real shared, then you’d need to look into the Plus500 Invest platform instead.