Trading in financial markets requires the right choice of a broker, as security of traders’ funds, their profit and opportunities depend on it. Before you start working with a company, it is important to comprehensively assess it. Traders Union analysts have already done it for you. The experts prepared a review of the Best Online Brokers in the UK for 2024. Five companies that enjoy huge popularity in the UK were selected and compared between each other.
1
eToro - Best in the UK for 2024
You can use eToro to invest in more than 3,000 stock assets, including at zero fee. The minimum deposit and leverage vary depending on the country of registration of a trader. Trading is available in mobile apps and on the web platform on any device. You can deposit and withdraw money via bank transfer and electronic payment systems. The broker offers margin trading, various bonuses and partner rewards.
2
eOption - Best in the UK for 2024
As an eOption client, you can trade options, stocks, listed bonds, fixed income assets, and ETFs. At the same time, the broker is focused on traders who use option strategies. The commission for derivative financial instruments trading is 10 cents per contract and that is lower than its competitors, plus $1.99 per trade. There is no minimum value for US residents to open a cash account. A deposit for international accounts is required from $25,000, and $2,000 for margin accounts. The new account shall be replenished within 60 days from the date of opening, otherwise, the broker may close it.
3
DEGIRO - Best in the UK for 2024
DEGIRO is a convenient broker for Europeans. There is no minimum deposit amount, that is why demo accounts have been canceled because even small amounts can be invested. Also, the company doesn’t charge commissions for the lack of activity on the account and its maintenance. An investment account can be opened within 1 day. DEGIRO offers convenient replenishment and withdrawal. The base currency is always the currency of the client's country of residence. How to buy/sell on DEGIRO read here.
Degiro short selling explained
4
CapTrader - Best in the UK for 2024
CapTrader offers its clients access to trading over 70,000 assets and trading instruments, including currency pairs, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, commodities, futures, options and CFDs. Marginal trading is available and the leverage ranges from 1:5 to 1:20. The broker’s clients can test the platform and the trading conditions of CapTrader using a free demo account.
5
Revolut - Best in the UK for 2024
Revolut offers commission-free trading with no minimum deposit requirements. Stocks, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals are available for trading. Client funds are kept on segregated accounts, which is a guarantee of their safety. Since fractional share trading is available at Revolut and there is no brokerage commission per transaction per month, you can start with a minimal investment. Deposits can be made in 28 currencies, but the broker translates them into USD since trading is only on the US stock market.
TU Expert Review for the best Online Brokers in the UK
Financial expert and analyst at Traders Union
Anton joined Traders Union as a financial expert and analyst in 2013. He performs comprehensive internal testing of brokers as a trader. Essentially, Anton “test drives” brokers: he checks the operation of the website and user account, the speed and effectiveness of customer support team, stability of the software, deposit and withdrawal processing times, legal documents of companies and also all additional services (VPS, affiliate programs, contests, bonuses, educational programs, etc.). Based on the results of his “inspections”, he prepares expert conclusions about the operation of brokerage companies in the Forex, stock and binary option markets and also of the cryptocurrency exchanges.
His opinion as for the best Online Brokers in the UK is posted below.
eToro - TU Expert Review
eToro is an international brokerage company offering services all across the world. Every registered office adjusts the conditions to suit local traders to enable them to trade on beneficial conditions. The minimum deposit depends on the country of residence of a trader. In particular, the minimum deposit for residents of the US is $10 and UK is $50, Europe – $50, Israel – $10,000. The minimum deposit for overseas territories of the UK and France is $1000, for all other countries – $200. The broker provides retail clients with a negative balance protection and restrictions on opening positions with insufficient margin. The clients can also contact the Financial Ombudsman Service. Investments of traders from a number of European countries are protected by compensation funds. The leverage on eToro varies depending on the type of asset and the registered office chosen for trading. In particular, traders, who chose the office regulated by CySEC or FCA can trade indices with a leverage of 1:10-1:20, ETFs – 1:5. The company with a license of the Seychelles regulator offers a leverage of 1:100 for the most traded indices and 1:10 for non-major indices and ETFs. eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk
eOption - TU Expert Review
The eOption broker is a US-regulated stockbroker; therefore its terms are more suitable for American traders. A $1 minimum is all that’s required to get started. Customers from other countries are deprived of such an advantage because many have a minimum deposit amount of $25,000. The terms of most margin accounts are standard. Like other US stockbrokers, eoption.com requires a deposit of $2,000+ to trade on margin. However, there are still differences in the terms of companies that are very similar. We are talking about reduced commissions for trading options, and eOption offers the lowest or next to the lowest commissions among its competitors. In our opinion, the main disadvantage of eOption is the lack of investment programs from which to choose. The broker offers only one investment option, the Auto Trading service. You can also participate in an affiliate program to make passive income. However, professional traders may feel the lack of sufficient investment opportunities.
DEGIRO - TU Expert Review
DEGIRO broker is perfect for investors who value low fees, European regulation, stability, and reliability. The company provides clients with access to all types of regulated financial instruments on the stock market around the world — to over 50 exchanges and a variety of assets such as bonds, stocks, funds, options. DEGIRO's main priority is to provide retail investors with professional services with minimal commissions. The broker has developed an advanced trading platform that is perfect for all types of investors. Access to services is open to traders from the largest European countries, and not only from the Netherlands. Each representative office of the company has its website, which allows clients to evaluate trading conditions in terms of their regional and trading needs. DEGIRO app: main features and functionality
CapTrader - TU Expert Review
CapTrader is an example of how you can build a successful brokerage company based on the Introducing Broker partnership program. The company appeared in 1997 as a partner of the globally known brand Interactive Brokers and took all the best from it – a user-friendly account interface, trading platforms, Investor’s Marketplace platform, where professionals offer their services. CapTrader offers its clients one type of trading account, which makes trading conditions equal for all. The commission limits set by the broker are worth taking notice of. The minimum commission is USD 3.75. The broker also provides low leverage for retail traders. The broker has a professional analytical instrument Trading Workstation, and 3 types of trading platforms. There is automated trading and there are no limitations on trading strategies. CapTrader is regulated under the licenses of Interactive Brokers, namely by the regulators of Ireland and the UK. The broker also holds a license in Germany. It is an important factor in terms of reliability. Therefore, CapTrader is a reliable platform with a wide set of features, targeted primarily at the professional traders.
Revolut - TU Expert Review
Revolut offers investments in shares of more than 800 American and international companies, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals. The broker is focused on independent traders and doesn't offer financial advice or client asset management, but social trading is available for beginners. The mobile app has a list of successful traders who offer connections to their trading platform to copy trades. If the client has experience in trading the stock market, he can switch his profile to public, and the results of his trading will be available to those who prefer not to trade on their own. The company guarantees the security of transactions in the app, which can be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store. In addition to the fingerprint scanning feature, one-time virtual cards are available for online payments when logging into the app. These can be used to make a single transaction, after which the card details are automatically changed. The Sherlock anti-fraud system is used to warn of suspicious transactions on a customer's account. Part of the funds that are on deposit can be reserved in the "cash vault". Up to 0.65% per annum is accrued on these funds daily, and the money can be returned to the main deposit at any time. The main disadvantages of this broker are the limitation of transactions without commission on the free plan and a limited selection of financial instruments for investment.
Summary
Many brokers operate in the UK, but not all of them are reliable or offer attractive trading conditions. TU experts selected 5 companies and rated them based on collected data. By reviewing them, you will learn about the Best Online Brokers in the UK 2024 and will be able to evaluate the pros and cons of its closest competitors.
Overall score of the best Online Brokers in the UK
| eToro | eOption | DEGIRO | CapTrader | Revolut | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overall score |
9.4 |
9.3 |
9.6 |
9.2 |
9.5 |
|
Execution of orders |
9.1 |
9 |
9.3 |
8.9 |
9.2 |
|
Investment instruments |
9.7 |
9.6 |
9.9 |
9.5 |
9.8 |
|
Withdrawal speed |
9.5 |
9.4 |
9.7 |
9.3 |
9.6 |
|
Customer Support work |
9.3 |
9.2 |
9.5 |
9.1 |
9.4 |
|
Variety of instruments |
9 |
8.9 |
9.2 |
8.8 |
9.1 |
|
Trading platform |
9.8 |
9.7 |
10 |
9.6 |
9.9 |
|
|
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FAQ
Is it possible to work with offshore brokers?
It is best not to work with offshore brokers. However, if you have chosen such a company, you need to check and analyze it very thoroughly. There are offshore brokers with good reputations. Before you start working with such a company, deposit the minimum amount and start trading. Once you’ve worked with the broker for a little while and checked how it operates and how quickly it processes withdrawals, you can start depositing higher amounts.
Does the choice of a beginner differ from the choice of an experienced trader?
Yes. A novice trader should primarily consider the availability of educational tools and a demo account, as well as basic assets. A more experienced trader is interested in wider opportunities on advanced account types, a wider choice of instruments for technical analysis, and a greater number of trading instruments.
Can you earn passive income in the financial markets?
Yes, the best brokers of the UK offer passive income options. These could include copy trading, PAMM accounts, managed portfolios, etc.
What commissions and fees should I take into consideration when I am choosing a broker?
The commissions and fees in the financial markets are divided into trading and non-tradings ones. Trading fees are the fees that are charged directly during trading (spread, commission per lot, etc.), while non-trading fees are the ones charged outside the trading process (for example, account fee, inactivity fee, deposit and withdrawal fee).
Best Online Brokers by Countries
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Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.