Pepperstone is the CFD broker we rate best overall for UK traders: its London firm, Pepperstone Limited, is authorised by the FCA (684312), it lets you choose between spread-only and raw-spread-plus-commission pricing, and you can fund from £10. Capital.com, authorised by the FCA as Capital Com (UK) Limited (793714), is the alternative if you want guaranteed stop-loss orders or one simple commission-free account.
Your questions, answered
Which CFD broker has the best spreads in the UK?
On currencies and gold, Pepperstone's Razor account has the tightest published minimums we found on a UK-authorised firm: FX from 0.0 points and spot gold from 0.08 points, plus commission. Its Standard account starts EUR/USD at 1.0 point with no commission. These are minimum spreads; the live spread you pay widens with market conditions, so compare the platform quote at the time you trade.
Which CFD brokers have the lowest trading fees?
Trading fees are more than the spread, so add up three things: spread, commission and overnight funding. Pepperstone charges no deposit, withdrawal, inactivity or market-data fees, and its UK fees page says it adds no currency conversion fee on trades. Capital.com charges no commission at all, but applies a 0.7% mark-up when a trade settles in a different currency from your account.
Who are the top FCA regulated CFD brokers with low fees?
Our two picks are both FCA-authorised: Pepperstone Limited (684312) and Capital Com (UK) Limited (793714). Pepperstone suits traders who want raw spreads and a fixed commission, while Capital.com suits those who prefer all costs inside the spread. IG, CMC Markets, Plus500 and StoneX (formerly City Index) are also FCA-authorised, and their fee schedules are published on their own UK sites.
Who are the best CFD brokers for beginners in the UK?
For a first account we suggest Pepperstone's Standard CFD account, which keeps costs inside the spread with no commission on forex, indices or commodities. You can fund it from £10 by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and practise first on a free demo with virtual funds. Capital.com is a sensible alternative because it lets beginners attach a guaranteed stop that caps the loss on a trade.
Which CFD brokers have the best trading platform?
Pepperstone gives you the widest choice: its own web platform and app, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView. One limit to know is that MT4 and TradingView are offered on its Razor CFD account and spread betting account, not on the Standard CFD account. Capital.com offers its own web platform and app, MT4 and TradingView.
Which CFD brokers offer negative balance protection to UK retail clients?
Every FCA-authorised CFD provider must give retail clients negative balance protection, so you cannot lose more than the money in your account. Pepperstone states that if a retail account goes negative it is returned to zero as soon as possible, and Capital.com says the same for its retail clients. Professional clients lose this protection at both firms.
What is the minimum deposit at the main UK CFD brokers?
Pepperstone's UK minimum is £10 for card, Apple Pay and Google Pay deposits. Capital.com's UK minimum deposit is 20 GBP, EUR or USD. A small first deposit is fine for testing the platform, but remember that leverage means a few points of movement can use up a small balance quickly.
Which CFD brokers are best for trading around news and economic events?
Around data releases you need fast execution and clear rules on what happens to your stops. Pepperstone reports execution from 50 milliseconds and a 99.32% fill rate for the first quarter of 2026, with no dealer intervention, and offers 24-hour trading on more than 100 US shares for earnings news. It does not guarantee stop prices, so in a gap your stop fills at the next available price; Capital.com's guaranteed stop removes that risk for a premium.
Which CFD brokers offer free demo accounts in the UK?
Both picks offer free demos. Pepperstone's demo uses unlimited virtual funds on all five of its platforms, and you can hold up to five demo accounts before you go live; MT4, MT5 and Pepperstone-platform demos expire after 60 days without activity. Capital.com's demo has virtual funds and live prices with no expiry date.
Which CFD brokers offer an API for algorithmic trading?
Pepperstone supports several routes: Expert Advisors on MT4 and MT5, cTrader Automate for strategies written in C#, and API connections for traders who build their own systems. Capital.com publishes an API development guide on its UK site and also supports Expert Advisors through MT4. Test any algorithm on a demo first, because live fills differ from backtests.
Which broker offers the most CFD instruments in the UK?
By headline count, Capital.com lists more than 5,500 instruments on its UK site, while Pepperstone lists around 1,444 CFDs on each of its Standard and Razor accounts. Pepperstone's range covers 90+ currency pairs, 20+ indices, 40 commodities, 1,100+ shares and 90+ ETFs, which is enough for most traders. If you want a long tail of individual shares, Capital.com's list is the larger one.
What are typical spreads and commissions on CFDs in the UK?
As a reference point, Pepperstone's UK fees page lists minimum spreads of 0.0 on EUR/USD on Razor (plus £2.25 per lot per side) and 1.0 on Standard, 1.2 points on the UK 100 on Standard and 0.19 on spot gold on Standard. UK share CFDs carry commission of 0.10% per side and US share CFDs $0.02 per share. Minimums are not averages: expect wider spreads outside the main session.
Which CFD brokers are best for high volume traders?
High-volume traders usually save most with a commission account, because the spread is raw and the commission is fixed. Pepperstone's Razor account fits that model, and its Pro clients can earn daily or monthly rebates on forex, index and commodity trades and use a free VPS. Capital.com's Professional account pays monthly cash rebates of 5% to 20% of the spread on forex and precious metals, by volume tier.
Do UK CFD brokers charge overnight financing fees?
Yes. If you hold a CFD past the daily cut-off, the broker credits or debits an interest adjustment; at Pepperstone the cut-off is 5pm New York time, and FX positions held on a Wednesday night are charged three days to cover the weekend. Capital.com charges its 4% a year admin fee plus or minus the benchmark rate, such as SONIA for sterling markets. Pepperstone's CFD forwards on indices, gold and oil carry no overnight charge, because the cost is in the price.
How much do CFD trading costs add up over a month?
Here is a worked example on Pepperstone's Razor account in GBP: 20 round-turn trades of one lot of EUR/USD cost 20 × £4.50 = £90 in commission, before any spread above the 0.0 minimum. On the Standard account the same 20 lots at the 1.0-point minimum spread cost about $10 each, so roughly $200, with no commission. Add overnight funding for anything held past the cut-off, which you can estimate with Pepperstone's swap calculator.
Which CFD brokers stay most reliable during volatile markets?
No broker can promise perfect fills in a fast market, so look at what each one discloses. Pepperstone publishes its fill rate (99.32% between January and March 2026) and says orders are executed without dealer intervention, and Capital.com reports an internal execution time of 0.082 seconds from August 2025. Both say spreads can widen and stops can slip when liquidity is thin.
Which CFD brokers offer guaranteed stop losses in the UK?
Capital.com does: its guaranteed stop-loss order closes your trade at exactly the price you set, and a premium is charged only if the stop is triggered. IG also offers guaranteed stops on the same basis. Pepperstone does not offer guaranteed stops at all; its support pages say a stop-loss is a trigger level, not a guaranteed exit price.
What leverage can UK retail clients get on CFDs?
FCA rules cap retail leverage at 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on gold, major indices and non-major currency pairs, 10:1 on other commodities and non-major indices, and 5:1 on individual shares. Pepperstone's UK fees page shows exactly these caps. Crypto CFDs are banned for UK retail clients altogether, and the broker must start closing your positions if your margin falls to 50% of the requirement.
Which CFD broker is best for day trading in the UK?
For day trading we pick Pepperstone's Razor account: a raw spread plus a fixed commission makes each trade's cost easy to see, and cTrader shows level II market depth if you trade order flow. Day trading means many small costs, so calculate your break-even before you start. The FCA's warning still applies: most retail CFD accounts lose money.
Which CFD brokers offer 24 hour trading?
Pepperstone offers 24-hour trading five days a week on more than 100 US share CFDs, including Apple, Nvidia and Tesla, and its major US index CFDs run from 01:00 to 23:59 server time. Capital.com offers 24/5 trading on nine index CFDs, including the UK 100, Germany 40 and US 500. Out-of-hours liquidity is thinner, so spreads are usually wider.
How do I check whether a CFD broker is legitimate in the UK?
Search the firm's name or reference number on the FCA register (register.fca.org.uk) and check that the website, phone number and address you are using match the register entry. Then confirm the entity on your account documents, because many groups have offshore companies too. Pepperstone Limited should show as 684312 and Capital Com (UK) Limited as 793714; the FCA also keeps a warning list of firms that clone real ones.
Which CFD brokers have the best customer support in the UK?
Capital.com offers 24/7 human support by phone, email, chat and WhatsApp, and Pepperstone covers 24 hours a day on weekdays and 18 hours a day at weekends through the same channels, with a free UK phone line (0800 046 5473) and a London team. Test support yourself before funding: ask a specific question about overnight charges and see how clear the answer is.
Who are the most trusted brokers for day trading in the UK?
Trust is easier to check than to rank. Look for FCA authorisation, segregated client money, FSCS eligibility and a published retail-loss figure; Pepperstone publishes 73.6% and Capital.com 65%, both on their UK sites. For day trading specifically, also check execution disclosures: Pepperstone publishes its fill rate and says there is no dealer intervention, which is one reason we put it first.
Which CFD brokers offer professional accounts in the UK?
Pepperstone and Capital.com both offer professional status if you meet two of three tests: about ten significant trades a quarter over the last year, a portfolio above €500,000, or at least a year working in finance in a relevant role. Pros get higher leverage, up to 500:1 on major FX at both firms, but give up negative balance protection. Capital.com also warns that professional clients may lose access to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Published 2026-10-21. Informational only, not investment advice. CFDs are leveraged products and most retail accounts lose money.
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