Thadeus Geodfrey is an experienced and celebrated writer and self-taught trader specialising in cryptocurrencies and forex. Market analysis, identifying fraudulent brokers, and security are his cup of tea. At BrokerRaters Thadeus develops educational materials and user guides, offers market insights, and ensures our content conforms to the best standards. Join Thadeus to succeed in your trading endeavors.
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I often trade with discount brokers, especially when my strategy requires frequent trading. Why? Over the years, I’ve learned that, while trading frequently, costs can accumulate and reach ungodly margins. But discount brokers have lower commissions and spreads, so they help me maximize potential profits and avoid parting with large chunks of my returns.
Having said that, I urge UK traders who want to cut trading costs to switch to these cheap brokers. But please proceed with caution. Many malicious entities use astronomically low fees and charges to lure their victims. Avoid them by committing exclusively to the UK’s most credible and reliable discount providers, which I’ve outlined and explored below.
List of the Best Discount Brokers
Pepperstone – Best Discount Broker for Forex Traders
Note: 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
In This Guide
UK Cheapest Brokers: Comparison Table
Let’s start with an exhaustive comparison table of the best discount brokers UK. It will help you weigh the available options and compare them against your needs and expectations right out of the gate. The table shines light on several crucial factors, from regulation to investor protection.
Before you proceed, note that I tested each platform extensively before making my recommendations. Every detail I’m about to share is accurate and based on first-hand experience. I also vetted each provider’s reviews and ratings on Google Play, Trustpilot, and the App Store.
Since we are discussing discount brokers, it’s only right that we compare the recommended service providers‘ minimum deposit, spreads/commissions, and transaction fees. We should also highlight brokers that charge inactivity fees and their counterparts.
Finally, since signing up with a discount broker is pointless if you don’t have access to the right instruments, we must briefly explore where these providers stand when it comes to the most popular financial assets.
Note: 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our Expert Opinion about Discount Brokers
The service providers I’ve recommended here are the best in the UK because, first and foremost, they are licensed and regulated by the FCA. Moreover, these are reputable brokers with exceptional ratings, reviews, and testimonials.
But these brokers have different areas where they shine the brightest. For instance, Pepperstone has low forex spreads, which makes it ideal for currency traders, while eToro’s CopyTrader feature makes it the better option for copy traders. For this reason, I have categorized and reviewed the best UK discount brokers based primarily on their key strengths.
1. Pepperstone – Best Discount Broker for Forex Traders
Pepperstone’s exemplary forex trading platform stole my heart. If you trade currencies regularly, this should be your go-to service provider. Why? For starters, its platform has tight spreads for traders. You can trade numerous assets on it today and enjoy zero spreads, including GBP/USD, AUD/USD, EUR/USD. Other pairs also have reasonable spreads, like USD/CAD, whose spreads start at 0.1 pips.
There’s no shortage of assets on Pepperstone. The platform has over 90 FX pairs as well as CFDs on shares, ETFs, indices, and more. You will have no problem finding your favorite currency pairs and other assets that will help you diversify your portfolio. You’ll also have access to multiple risk management tools that will augment your diversification and loss mitigation efforts, like stop loss and limit orders.
Trading forex with Pepperstone is fun and fulfilling because this broker hosts numerous outstanding platforms. First on the list are cTrader and TradingView. The former is ideal for newbie FX traders, primarily because of its user-friendly interface. On the other hand, TradingView is better suited to traders who need advanced charting technology. MT4 and MT5 are also accessible to Pepperstone’s clients.
If you are a professional forex trader, join Pepperstone’s Pro program. You can refer a friend and earn up to £5,000 as a Pro member. You also have uncapped access to priority support and unique financial products inaccessible to regular traders, like spread bets.
Pepperstone
✔24/7 support service
✔User-friendly and navigable platform
We find Pepperstone broker to be one of the brokers with transparent fee structures. There are no hidden charges, so what you see displayed on its platform is what you will incur. This makes it easier for you to budget without worrying about overspending.
Let’s discover below some of the trading and non-trading charges at Pepperstone.
Trading and Non-Trading Charges
Details
Account Opening
$0
Management Fee
$0
Minimum Deposit Requirement
From $0, depending on your jurisdiction
Commission
From $0.02 on US-listed shares
Spreads
From 0.0 pips on its Razor Account
Deposits and Withdrawals
Free
Inactivity
None
Overnight Funding
Varies based on global market conditions
Copy Trading
Free
Note that Pepperstone charges both spreads and commissions. While spreads are charged on all accounts, commissions are only imposed on the Razor Account.
At Pepperstone, we discovered over 1,200 CFD and spread betting assets. The securities are in different classes, including shares, commodities, forex, indices, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, some assets like options are missing.
As we previously mentioned, there are two types of trading accounts, namely Razor and Standard, with which you can explore these securities. We also noticed that Pepperstone supports leverage trading on its featured securities. Retail traders will enjoy limits up to 30:1, while professionals are eligible for limits up to 400:1. This allows you to manage larger trades with a small capital, thus maximizing your chances of earning huge profits.
That being said, let’s break down the number of asset offerings at Pepperstone.
Asset Class
Number Offered
Forex
97+ currency pairs
Shares
1000+
Indices
23+
Commodities
40+
Cryptocurrencies
30+
ETFs
48+
Disclaimer: Spread betting and CFD trading have the application of leverage attached to them. Therefore, while the activity can magnify your returns, losses are inevitable. To avoid incurring massive losses with CFD trading, understand how it works plus all the risks involved. Plus, only risk funds you are comfortable losing, considering that over 76% of retail traders lose money in this activity.
2. eToro – Best Discount Broker for Copy Trading
Where copy trading is concerned, eToro’s CopyTrader wins the day. This incredible tool allows novices to copy best-performing traders and investors. With it, you only have to choose an investor to copy, specify how much you’re willing to risk, sit back and enjoy the show. The tool automatically opens and closes positions based on your chosen investor’s actions.
All copied trader executions are programmed to reflect in your account in real time. You can also stop or take a break from copying a specific investor and switch to a different guru whenever you please. The best part is that copying top performers with CopyTrader is free; there are no additional fees for using this tool.
If you are interested in copy trading but don’t know where to start, don’t worry. Visit eToro’s CopyTrader feature and learn the basics from the provided educational videos. You can bolster your knowledge of key trading and investing principles via the exceptional eToro Academy.
Let me conclude with a quick highlight of this broker’s assets. eToro has over 7,000 unique instruments for traders, from forex pairs to CFDs on shares. The provider also allows clients to buy and sell stocks, crypto, and ETFs.
eToro
✔ User-friendly trading platform
✔ Over 6000 trading instruments
eToro has a transparent fee structure that is easy to understand and helps you plan accordingly. From our analysis, we discovered the following trading and non-trading eToro fees.
Trading and Non-Trading Charges
Details
Account Opening
$0
Management Fee
$0
From $50, depending on your jurisdiction
0.6
Commission
From 0% on stocks and ETF trading
Spreads
From 1 pip on major currency pairs
Deposits and Withdrawals
$5 withdrawal
Inactivity
$10 monthly
Currency Conversion
1.5% or 3.0%, depending on the currency or payment method
Overnight Funding
Varies based on global market conditions
Copy Trading
Free
We discovered that eToro allows users to trade and invest in global markets. You can go long or short in a single portfolio. Overall, there are more than 6,000 instruments, which are spread across multiple classes. Investment options are stocks, which allow you to buy and take ownership of global stocks across various sectors. Fractional share purchases are also supported at eToro. This will enable you to fill your portfolio with leading stocks from global exchanges. ETFs are also other investment assets at eToro.
When it comes to CFD trading, this broker offers it with flexible leverage limits for both new and professional traders. From our experience, retail traders get up to 1:30 leverage limit and professionals up to 1:400. With CFD assets, you can go long or short and speculate on both rising and falling asset prices.
That being said, here is the number of tradable assets available at eToro.
Asset Class
Number Offered
Forex
55+ currency pairs
Shares
5558+
Indices
21+
Commodities
35+
Cryptocurrencies
100+
ETFs
680+
Note that eToro also supports options trading but is limited to US clients only. You can also explore diverse non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via its Delta platform.
Disclaimer: CFD trading is risky and complex, thus not suitable for all types of traders. This is primarily due to the application of leverage attached, which can give you good profits as well as leave you with massive losses. So far, over 76% lose their money in CFD trading. That is why it is important to conduct extensive research and understand CFD trading risks before you invest your money in it.
3. FP Markets – Best Discount Broker for Multi-Asset Trading
I urge all dedicated traders who seek the cheapest trading platform for multi-asset trading to try FP Markets. I’ve said that because, for starters, FP Markets has an incomparable range of tradable assets. While exploring the platform, I came across over 10,000 instruments for avid traders. They spread across multiple asset categories, from CFDs on shares and commodities to major and minor currency pairs.
The best thing about trading diverse assets with FP Markets is that you can lower costs with tight spreads and commissions. If you are hell-bent on slashing your expenses, this broker offers you the opportunity to do so with zero-spread currency pairs like GBP/USD. You can also diversify with zero-commission CFDs on various commodities, cryptocurrencies, indices, etc.
Trading your favorite assets with FP Markets is also guaranteed to be highly rewarding since this broker allows you to leverage numerous third-party platforms. They include MT4, MT5, and TradingView. Professional traders can use cTrader’s powerful charting features whenever they please.
FP Markets has one additional feature that caught my eye: TradeMedic. While trading with MT4 or MT5, TradeMedic will help you increase profitability by warning you about crucial issues that can undermine your returns and overall experience, such as overstimulation, poor risk management, and strategic errors.
We reviewed the applicable FP Markets fees, and like that the broker has a transparent structure. This allows users to efficiently plan for their activities without worrying about incurring additional costs. There are no hidden charges and no price manipulation with this broker.
Trading and Non-Trading Charges
Details
Account Opening
$0
Management Fee
$0
Minimum Deposit Requirement
From $50, depending on your jurisdiction
Commission
From 0%
Spreads
From 0.0 pips on major currency pairs
Deposits and Withdrawals
Free deposits. Withdrawal fees apply based on the payment method used
Inactivity
$0
Overnight Funding
Varies based on global market conditions
Copy Trading
Free
There are more than 10,000 CFD instruments at FP Markets across various asset classes. These include forex, shares, commodities, cryptos, and more. The best element about exploring these securities is that you have access to multiple platforms to choose from. Whether you prefer the MT4, MT5, cTrader, or TradingView, FP Markets has it all for you. You are guaranteed quality resources to maximize your potential.
When it comes to leverage applications, FP Markets has favorable limits for all types of traders. Retail traders can get up to 30:1, while professionals get 500:1. Moreover, we discovered multiple account types to suit every trader’s needs.
Here is a breakdown of the number of assets you will trade at FP Markets Standard, Raw, and Iress accounts.
Asset Class
Number Offered
Forex
70+ currency pairs
Shares
10000+
Indices
19+
Commodities
12+
Cryptocurrencies
12+
ETFs
46+
Bonds
2+
Futures
7+
Disclaimer: CFD trading is risky, especially with the application of leverage attached. While many traders earn good profits from it, it can leave you with massive losses should a trade work out against you. Therefore, start by understanding CFD trading and all the risks involved before venturing into such securities. Remember, over 76% of retail traders lose money in CFD trading.
4. Plus500 – Best Discount Broker for CFD Trading
To my readers who trade CFDs exclusively, I highly recommend Plus500. As a Brit, this broker offers you one platform that focuses on CFD trading only: Plus500 CFD. So, rest assured, you won’t be distracted and lured away from your main interest after signing up with this service provider.
Sign up with Plus500 CFD today and get access to CFDs on over 2,800 assets, from commodities, shares, and options to ETFs and indices. You’ll also get the opportunity to trade the most popular forex pairs.
Plus500’s interface is clean and intuitive, so you can trade with the platform even if you’re a beginner. In case you encounter any issues, the broker’s team will be there to assist you at any time of the day or night. That doesn’t mean Plus500 is exclusively for newbies and novices; far from it.
This broker is also ideal for experienced traders. If you have adequate experience, you can join the broker’s program for professional traders. You’ll get access to higher maximum leverage, especially when trading forex pairs and CFDs on indices.
Note: 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Many traders prioritize brokers they can afford. Since fees vary with a broker, we decided to go through Plus500’s fee structure. Here are some of the trading and non-trading charges to expect when you commit to this broker.
Trading and Non-Trading Charges
Details
Account Opening
$0
Minimum Deposit Requirement
$100
Commission
$0
Spreads
From 0.0 pips on major currency pairs
Deposits and Withdrawals
$0
Inactivity
$10 monthly
Currency Conversion
Up to 0.7%
Overnight Funding
Varies based on trade size
From our analysis, we discovered that the Plus500 trading platform lists over 2,800 assets. These assets are spread across various classes, including forex, shares, indices, commodities, cryptos, options, and ETFs. For most regions, Plus500 supports CFD trading across the featured assets. Real stock trading is available on the Plus500 Invest platform, while futures trading is only available for US citizens on the Plus500 Futures platform.
Let’s break down the number of Plus500 product selections.
Asset Class
Number Offered
Forex
60+ currency pairs
Shares
1900+
Indices
29+ global stock indices
Commodities
24+
Cryptocurrencies
19+
ETFs
96+
Note that options trading at Plus500 is offered on a few stock CFDs and stock index CFDs. Thematic indices like the Cannabis Index are also available for traders.
Disclaimer: CFD trading is complex and highly risky, considering the application of leverage attached. We have witnessed over 76% of retail traders lose their money in CFD trading. It may not be a suitable activity for you. Therefore, ensure you understand how CFD trading works and the risks involved.
5. Saxo – Best Discount Broker for Investors
If you are an investor who often dabbles in trading, Saxo is the best broker for you. As an investor, Saxo gives you ample opportunity to buy/sell a wide variety of products via SaxoInvestor. That includes over 5,200 bonds, over 6000 funds, and over 23,000 stocks. You can buy most of the available assets, including stocks, with as little as £1.
While buying and selling investment products, you can also trade various instruments with your Saxo account. You can trade CFDs on over 8,600 stocks, commodities, indices, and FX pairs. The broker has tight spreads and commissions, so your costs will be significantly lower, and you’ll get the opportunity to pocket most of your returns.
No minimum deposit requirement will hinder your ability to open a new account with Saxo. The broker allows new signees to register accounts and top them up with whatever their budget allows. Moreover, its trading platform doesn’t require traders with dormant accounts to pay inactivity fees.
Pros & Cons
Pros
No minimum deposit requirement
Zero transaction fees
Tens of thousands of investment products
Thousands of assets for traders
You can buy assets like company shares with £1
Cons
Needs more educational resources
Higher minimum spreads for regular traders
What are Discount Brokers?
A discount broker offers lower commissions and spreads than conventional providers. However, unlike traditional service providers, discount brokers focus primarily on executing buy and sell orders. Most don’t offer additional services like personalized investment advice.
How Do They Work?
Most discount brokers offer online trading platforms where traders and investors can place buy and sell orders. Since these providers don’t offer services that demand hefty fees, like tailored investment advice and account management, they are better positioned to offer lower commissions. Some even guarantee commission-free trading.
While trading or investing with a discount broker, you get the chance to open and close trades without interference or input from the service provider.
How to Choose the Cheapest Trading Platform in the UK
While choosing the cheapest trading platforms, you shouldn’t focus on cost alone. Plenty of cheap brokers have the shoddiest products and services. To ensure you sign up with a discount broker that offers quality services and other boons, you should also consider the following:
Regulation
Platform Usability
Hidden Costs
Assets
Customer Support
Checking regulatory status is the key to avoiding losing your money to scammers or falling for shoddy discount brokers. I urge every Brit to prioritize registering with platforms that are regulated by the FCA. Also, please research if every broker has had issues with this primary UK regulator in the past and whether they were resolved before hitting the signup button.
First, check the range of platforms offered by every discount broker. For a smooth trading experience, I recommend choosing brokers with easy-to-use platforms. Several aspects, including clean UI and intuitive navigation, will tell you if a specific broker’s platforms are user-friendly. Remember to ascertain if third-party solutions are available if you plan to use them.
Some cheap brokers may use lower commissions to entice you, only to surprise you with hidden fees and charges in the future. I’ve fallen into this quagmire before, and fortunately, I survived long enough to caution you. Watch out for hidden inactivity, currency conversion, and overnight funding fees. Also, note that some providers require their clients to pay to access premium features like guaranteed stop loss.
Sometimes, discounted brokers lack the ability to provide a large number of instruments. No matter how justifiable that may be, I urge you to avoid service providers with limited asset selection. That is because your ability to diversify your portfolio will be restricted by a significant margin. Plus, you’ll likely miss many opportunities in unavailable markets.
Shoddy discount brokers try to cut costs by investing in inferior support. If you come across a cheap platform with evidently low support service, don’t commit. Otherwise, you will face many issues that will undermine your trading experience and career, including delayed response and ineffective solutions during critical moments.
Risks to Trade with a Discount Broker for UK Traders
I’ve traded with many discount brokers over the years and noticed the following noteworthy risks:
Some discount brokers lack superior customer support, so their clients often lack timely assistance in critical situations.
Some cheap brokers have limited research and learning resources. This undermines their ability to support beginners to rise to greater heights.
Some of these service providers offer inferior proprietary tools and platforms compared to full-service brokers.
Some discount brokers have hidden costs, including high transaction and inactivity fees.
Pros & Cons of Trading with the Cheapest Brokers
I’ll summarize with a highlight of the pros and cons to expect while trading with the cheapest broker UK. Use them to reassess whether trading with a discount is wise.
Pros
Low spreads and commissions
Self-directed trading and investing
Zero additional fees for advisory services
Uncapped access to the most popular instruments
Simpler fee structures
Cons
No tailored financial advice
Basic tools compared to full-service brokers
Conclusion
Trading with a cheap broker can save you from high costs and diminished profits. But it won’t shield you from losses while trading. This responsibility rests on you. You have to leverage loss mitigation tools like stop-loss orders whenever you’re with your chosen provider.
And if you incur a series of losses from the get-go, take a break from live trading. Spend some time analyzing your decisions and pinpointing your shortcomings. Don’t try to recoup your losses by risking larger sums; otherwise, you’ll lose all your money.
Have you been privileged to get trading insider information? But who doesn’t want that unfair advantage? Meet your insider source, Thadeus Geodfrey. He provides insider information on anything trading. But the information he shares is not the kind that would get you in trouble with regulators. Thadeus writes on trade and investment.
With more than a decade of experience, Thadeus has an eagle eye for spotting opportunities and risks. If he tells you a specific broker isn’t to be trusted, you better believe him. He has been swimming in these trading waters long enough to spot scam brokers from afar. Thadeus’s priority is your safety as an investor or trader.
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