A broker that enables trading on CFDs (forex, crypto [*Availability subject to regulations], stocks, indices, commodities and others). Serving over a million clients, Plus500 is one of the fastest growing and largest brokers in Europe and Asia. The broker offers an leverage up to 1:30 and enables you to start trading with a low deposit of 100 euro. The only platform available is Plus500, but it offers attractive desing and functionality.
82% 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.
The broker holds various companies which are regulated by different supervisory institutions:
Plus500 UK LTD is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909).
Plus500 CY LTD is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (License No. 250/14).
Plus500AU Pty Ltd, ACN 153 301 681, AFSL # 417727, issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is authorized to issue these products to Australian residents. Derivatives issuer licence in New Zealand, FSP #. 486026 authorises company to issue these products to New Zealand residents. Plus500AU Pty Ltd, is also an authorized Financial Services Provider in South Africa, FSP 47546.
Table of contents:
CFDs and Real Shares in Plus500
The core of the Plus500 offer for years have been contracts for difference, offered in the field of the currency market, indices, commodities, shares, options, ETFs and cryptocurrencies.
Most of the services offered by Plus500 are free, however in some cases commissions may be charged. The detailed terms of the offer for individual instruments are discussed below.
Each CFD instrument has its own detailed information page (here), where you can find the chart, current price, information on the spread and related instruments, macroeconomic calendar, and the sentiment of Plus500 clients for a specific asset (this diagram applies to all asset classes).
An example page of instruments in the Plus500 offer. Source: Plus500
Forex
Broker Plus500 gives you access to over 60 Forex currency pairs with leverage up to 30:1 (in EU). The minimum amount with which you can start trading is EUR 100.
Plus500 does not charge a commission for trading currencies, and generates its profits thanks to the spread, i.e. the difference between the buy and sell price of a given currency pair. Other costs you may incur include currency conversion fees, account a $10 inactivity fee per month if you do not log into your account during a quarterly period.
Commodities
Plus500 offers more than 20 commodity instruments, taking into account the most popular assets such as gold, silver and platinum, as well as less popular ones.
Cryptocurrencies
Contracts for cryptocurrencies are available at Plus500 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except one hour on Sunday). However, it should be remembered that we are talking about CFD contracts, as a result of opening a position, you do not purchase the underlying instrument and the rights to it. However, you can use leverage and earn not only on increases, but also decreases in cryptocurrency instruments.
Plus500 offers the most popular digital assets. In addition to bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and the ETH/BTC pair, there are 20 of them in total. In addition to the cryptocurrency pairs, the investor can also trade an index of the 10 most popular cryptocurrencies, or an index of companies from the NFT or metaverse industry.
The full list of available instruments includes: BTC/USD, ETH/BTC, ETH/USD, Crypto10, LTC/USD, XLM/USD, BAB/USD, ADA/USD, NEO/USD, EOS/USD, IOT/USD, SOL/ USD, VET/USD, MATIC/USD, DOT/USD, AXS/USD, UNI/USD, FIL/USD and LINK/USD.
Stocks
An investor wishing to trade shares with Plus500 can choose either CFDs or real shares. Although the website suggests that you need to set up separate accounts for Plus500 CFD and Plus500 Invest , once you create a real account, you can freely switch between platforms.
It is worth noting that in the case of CFDs, more shares will be available (including those listed on the smaller stock exchanges) than in the case of real shares. The Invest offer covers the US, UK, Swedish, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Finnish, Irish, Portuguese, Danish, Austrian, Norwegian, Australian and Dutch markets.
The Invest platform means no fees for withdrawals, deposits, low trading commissions, no fees for storing funds and for using the platform. Trading commissions on real stocks will depend on the market. For example, for US exchanges, they are $0.006. per purchased share, while on other markets they are a percentage of the transaction. For London shares it is 0.045% (minimum £2).
Deposits and withdrawals in the case of Plus500 Invest are not burdened with additional commissions.
Commissions on the Invest market depending on the exchange. Source: Plus500
Indices, options and ETFs
The CFD broker’s offer also includes contracts on stock indices, options and ETF instruments. In addition to the basic national indices for the largest stock exchanges, the offer also includes proprietary sector indices, associating, for example, FANG companies, “real estate giants”, or the largest companies from the Metaverse and NFT industries.
CFDs on options are a mix of instruments based on put and call options on the most popular instruments: commodities and Wall Street stocks. The offer includes, among others, shares for oil, Apple, Tesla, gold, DAX or bitcoin.
The list of ETFs includes several dozen of the most popular instruments listed on global stock exchanges, such as iShares Silver, TQQQ or ARKK.
Plus500 Platform
The Plus500 broker, unlike many other CFD brokers, has never used MetaQuotes platforms (i.e. the popular MetaTrader 4 or 5) but has always offered its own trading platform. Currently, this is available in the form of a browser and a mobile application for iOS and Android devices.
In each of these versions, the platforms are very similar and have a simple and intuitive design. The charting tool allows you to perform basic technical analysis drawings, add the most popular indicators and oscillators, and switch between chart types and timeframes.
View of the trading platform offered by Plus500. Source: Plus500
In 2022, Plus500 also presented the +Insights service, which is to be an introduction to social investing. With this simple tool, you can follow trends in the Plus500 client community and find out which instruments are most traded, which positions bring the most profits/losses, which assets are most willingly bought/sold and where the highest rate of return is generated at any given moment. In +Insights you can use your own filters and buy or sell an instrument directly.
Plus500 Demo account
Plus500, like many other brokers, offers a demo mode in which you can familiarize yourself with the operation of the platform and trade based on CFDs using amount of 40,000 virtual EUR / USD / GBP.
Setting up a demo counter is extremely simple. Just go to the Plus500 main page (here) and click on the “Start Trading” button in the upper right corner.
Then just select “demo mode” and enter your e-mail address and password.
Demo account registration. Source: Plus500
In the platform view, you can easily switch between demo and real accounts using the button in the lower left corner.
Plus500 reviews
On TrustPilot, the Plus500 broker has a rating of 4.1 out of 5, which consists of over 11,000 votes. In the Google Play store, where the trading application was downloaded over 10 million times, it was rated 4.3 out of 5 (over 102,000 opinions). In Apple’s App Store, the application received average score of 4.2 out of 5.
FAQ
Is trading in Plus500 free?
Plus500 does not charge fees for opening and maintaining an account, as well as for deposits and withdrawals. Commissions may be charged when trading real stocks while the account is inactive. In addition, traditional spreads are charged on CFD positions.
Are there hidden fees at Plus500?
Plus500 has a transparent policy and no hidden fees. The profit of the platform is the spread between the sale and purchase price of a given asset.
How do I deposit funds to Plus500?
Can I trade with a demo account at Plus500?
Yes, Plus500 offers a demo account that can be set up in seconds. Just enter your email and create a password to trade virtual funds of 40 000 GBP/EUR/USD. You can also use the demo as a real account holder. You can switch between them from the platform level.
Does Plus500 offer stock trading?
In Plus500, shares are available in the form of CFDs (including for the Polish stock exchange) and in real form thanks to the Invest offer. A separate platform has been created for trading real shares: however, you can switch freely between CFD and Invest. Plus500 does not charge any additional fees for trading real stocks apart from standard commissions depending on the market.
What documents does Plus500 require for verification?
When creating a new account, the customer must verify his identity and address. For this purpose, you will need an identity document and a bank statement, card or utility bill to prove your address.
Is Plus500 a regulated broker?
Yes, Plus500 is regulated in many jurisdictions. He holds licenses from respected supervision institutions, including CySEC, ASIC and FCA. European clients cooperate with a Cypriot company licensed by the aforementioned CySEC.
Does Plus500 allow you to trade indices?
With the Plus500 broker, you can trade on the most popular stock indices from around the world, as well as on sectoral indices that unite popular companies from given industries into one instrument: technology, hemp or, for example, cryptocurrency.
