6 Best Share CFD Brokers for 2026
Trading share CFDs can be a fantastic way to capitalize on the significant moves that stock equities can produce. However, the offering among retail brokers varies wildly in the number of share CFDs available to trade on, their spreads, and commissions.
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Fortunately, we have been reviewing brokers since 2011, so we know the best from the rest. Drawing on my own personal experience as a trader and broker reviewer, I’ve identified the top 7 share CFD brokers to consider below.
List of Top Stock CFD Brokers
Compare the Data — All 6 Brokers
| Broker | Score | Fees Score | Min Deposit | Max Leverage | Platforms | Visit Broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.3 | 3.0 | $0 | 1:30 (FCA) 1:10000 (FSA) · 1:200 (SCB) · 1:30 (CySEC) | MT5, cTrader, MT4, FxPro Trading Platform, FxPro Mobile App, TradingView | 73% 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 money. (EU, UK) | |
4.6 | 4.1 | $100 | 1:500 (FSA) 1:500 (FSCM) · 1:500 (Unregulated) · 1:400 (FSCA) · 1:30 (ASIC) · 1:500 (CMA) | MT5, cTrader, IRESS, MT4, Mottai, TradingView | - | |
4.5 | 4.2 | $100 | 1:400 (FSCA) 1:30 (CBI) · 1:200 (BVI FSC) · 1:30 (ASIC) · 1:400 (ADGM) · 1:25 (JFSA) · 1:30 (ISA) · 1:30 (CySEC) | AvaOptions, AvaSocial, MT5, Proprietary, MT4, DupliTrade, Ava Web Trader, AvaTrade App | - | |
4.3 | 4.2 | $100 | 1:30 (CySEC) | MT5, MT4, Libertex Platform | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 86% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | |
4.6 | 4.4 | $50 | 1:1000 (FSCA) 1:1000 (CIMA) · 1:30 (ASIC) · 1:30 (FCA) · 1:2000 (VFSC) · 1:1000 (FSCM) | MT4, MT5, TradingView, Vantage App, Vantage Web Trading | - | |
4.7 | 3.8 | $50 | 1:30 (FCA) 1:30 (JFSA) · 1:200 (BMA) · 1:30 (BaFin) · 1:50 (NFA) · 1:30 (ASIC) · 1:30 (FINMA) · 1:20 (MAS) · 1:30 (DFSA) · 1:30 (FSCA) | MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, TradingView, IG Online Platform | 69% 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 |
*AvaTrade doesn’t allow CFD trading in Spain; only Futures are available.
How Did FXEmpire Select the Best Share CFD Brokers?
- I checked each broker to see whether they offer share CFDs to trade on and from which regions (US, Europe, Asia, etc.).
- By opening a live trading account, I checked the live spreads of popular share CFDs to compare them against the industry average among brokers.
- I examined the fees of trading share CFDs with each broker, such as the commission per trade, overnight swap rate, market data fees, deposit and withdrawals.
- As CFDs offer leveraged trading, I checked the margin rates for trading share CFDs with each broker.
- I tested the broker’s trading platforms to ensure that high-quality stock chart data is available, as well as multiple order types and timeframes.
- I also checked for any additional trading tools, market research, and educational resources to help with trading share CFDs.
Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology.
This analysis and my own trading experience have led to the findings and research below for the best forex brokers for share CFD trading.
Best Overall
- $0Min Deposit
- 2090Tradable Instruments
- HighFees
Why We Picked It
Founded in 1999 and based in London, FxPro is our best overall share CFD broker for international traders. Over 1,862 share CFDs are available to trade on from the MT5 platform, including 50 stocks in extended hours. With zero deposit and withdrawal fees, market research and trading signals from Trading Central, FxPro takes the number one spot.
Key Features:
- Stock Trading Platforms: MT5 desktop, web and mobile
- Leverage on Share CFDs: Up to 1:25 (depending on region)
- Number of Share CFDs: 1,860+
I found that of the 1,862 share CFDs available to trade on, they mostly cover the USA, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Switzerland. There are also 46 ETF CFDs from the USA available to trade on. This is a strong lineup of instruments that beats the industry average of 200-300 share CFDs.
After opening the FxPro Raw+ Account, which offers the tightest spreads with no commission on share CFDs, I found a spread of 17 cents for Apple CFDs, which is better than the 24 cents industry average. It was even better for Tesla, which had a spread of just 21 cents, much better than the industry average of 41 cents, making FxPro a cost-effective broker for stock CFD traders.
While FxPro does offer many other trading platforms, you can only trade share CFDs through MetaTrader 5. This is not a bad thing, as MT5 has been the go-to platform for multi-asset class traders for decades. I like to use the MT5 desktop platform as it has the highest level of customization and you can buy automated trading strategies to use from MetaTrader Market.
Pros and Cons
- Better-than-average selection of share CFDs
- Low spreads on stocks on Raw+ account
- Trading Central research
- Zero deposit/withdrawal fees
- Inactivity fee
Best Spreads on CFD Shares
- $100Min Deposit
- 10180Tradable Instruments
- MediumFees
Why We Picked It
Founded in 2005, FP Markets is a top broker to consider for cost-conscious stock traders seeking the best spreads. I found over 10,000 share CFDs are available to trade on from 5 trading platforms covering the USA, Australia, the UK, and European stock exchanges. There’s also an option for direct market access (DMA) trading on the Iress platform, providing low spreads and transparent pricing.
Key Features:
- Stock Trading Platforms: MT4/MT5, cTrader, TradingView, Iressdesktop, web and mobile
- Leverage on Share CFDs: Up to 1:20 (depending on region)
- Number of Share CFDs: 800+ (MT4/MT5, cTrader, TradingView), 10,000+ (Iress)
During our live fee test, I found the spread on Apple CFDs during the New York open was 9 cents, beating the industry average of 33 cents. There is a 2-cent per share commission on US shares, which is also better than the industry average. I was impressed with the low minimum charge of just 2 USD per side, which is significantly better than other brokers like IG’s $15 minimum charge.
Where I believe FP Markets really stands out is the ability to trade over 800 share CFDs directly from the TradingView platform. This is because TradingView has the largest social trading community in the world, sharing different trading ideas, which is helpful for beginners. The platform has a very powerful stock scanner with technical and fundamental analysis filters, which helps me to scan thousands of stocks from all over the world very quickly.
I also found the Iress platform and account offers Direct Market Access trading on over 10,000 share CFDs. This means you can view the order book from the stock exchange and place orders directly with them, which can provide more precise trade execution and lower spreads.
Pros and Cons
- Large selection of share CFDs
- Multiple stock trading platforms
- Low minimum charges and spreads on chare CFDs
- Useful stock market research
- Offshore entity is unregulated
Best for Beginners
- $100Min Deposit
- 1472Tradable Instruments
- MediumFees
Why We Picked It
Founded in 2006, AvaTrade is rated as the top share CFD broker for beginners. The AvaAcademy is full of courses, webinars and videos useful for aspiring stock traders. Trading Central offers helpful stock market research and stock trading ideas and beginners can access share CFD copy trading from DupliTrade.
Key Features:
- Stock Trading Platforms: MT4/MT5 (desktop, web, mobile), Ava Web Trader, AvaTrade App, DupliTrade
- Leverage on Share CFDs: Up to 1:20
- Number of Share CFDs: 1,250+
In our live fee test, I found the spread on Apple CFDs was 23 cents at the New York open, beating the 33 cents industry average. With zero commission, deposit and withdrawals, and low overnight swap fees, AvaTrade can be a good fit for beginners who want to keep the costs down when starting out. However, this an inactivity fee of 10 base currency units if the account is dormant for 2 months, which may be tight for some traders.
Where AvaTrade really stands out for beginners is the wealth of resources in the AvaAcademy. I was impressed with the wide range of trading courses and webinars available that cover key trading concepts for beginners, like trading psychology, risk management, technical and fundamental analysis. There are also dedicated courses just for share CFD trading which offer valuable and helpful information.
Another standout feature is that beginners can access two copy trading apps in AvaSocial and Duplitrade. I found that there are many share CFD traders you can follow and copy when connecting your account to Duplitrade. This can be a useful way to gain exposure to the market, while learning at the same time and, in the future, become a strategy provider to increase your earnings.
Pros and Cons
- Large selection of CFDS on shares and ETFs
- No commissions on share CFDs
- Stock market trading course
- Copy trading
- Inactivity fee after 2 months of no account use
Best Trading App
- $100Min Deposit
- 1383Tradable Instruments
- MediumFees
Why We Picked It
Founded in 1997, we found that Libertex offers a proprietary, feature-rich trading app that offers a quick and efficient way to trade the market on the move, with helpful market research and insights to trade on over 1,130 share CFDs and also invest in real stocks.
Key Features:
- Stock Trading Platforms: MT4/MT5 (desktop, web, mobile), Libertex (web, mobile)
- Leverage on Share CFDs: Up to 1:20
- Number of Share CFDs: 1,130+
Libertex offers the well-known and popular MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps and its own proprietary Libertex app. The MT5 app is an upgraded version of MT4 and offers far more timeframes, chart types, and indicators. You can also access basic drawing tools like horizontal lines and trend lines, and plot them onto your chart from the app. These are great features for technical analysis traders on the move, and the MT5 app is my preference.
I found the Libertex app is also very useful to trade on the move, offering quick order execution with several timeframes and chart types available. It is tailored to more fundamental traders as it offers built-in market research, news, overviews, an economic calendar, and weekly digests covering economics and market-moving news – things the MT4/MT5 apps don’t offer. However, the Libertex app doesn’t include any technical indicators or drawing tools, so it is not ideal for technical traders.
Our live fee test showed the spread on Apple CFDs was 16 cents during the New York open, beating the 33 cents industry average. With no commission per trade or deposit fees, Libertex is useful for traders who seek a variety of mobile apps to trade from.
Pros and Cons
- Share CFDs and real stocks
- Intuitive and beginner-friendly Libertex mobile app
- Built-in market research
- Low spreads on share CFDs
- Limited educational content
Best Share CFD Trading Platform
- $50Min Deposit
- 1056Tradable Instruments
- LowFees
Why We Picked It
Established in 2009, Vantage provides a good range of extra trading tools for the MT4 platform to support share CFD trading. Authorized and regulated by ASIC, VFSC, CIMA, and FSCA you can trade US, European and Australian shares using the Vantage Smart Trader Tools MT4 package.
Key Features:
- Stock Trading Platforms: MT4/MT5 (desktop, web, mobile), TradingView (web, mobile), Vantage Web Trading, Vantage App
- Leverage on Share CFDs: Up to 1:33
- Number of Share CFDs: 800+
I was impressed by the range of different trading platforms Vantage offers. MT4/MT5 have been the gold standard of trading CFDs for many years, and the desktop platform offers a high level of customization and automated trading capabilities and mainly geared to intermediate/advanced traders. TradingView has now superseded the popularity of MetaTrader, as it’s become the largest social trading platform in the world, where you can share and view trading ideas and access more indicators and tools, and is a great option for beginners and casual traders.
The Vantage Web Trading platform is also impressive. I found it the easiest and most user-friendly of all the trading platforms, with the ability to manage all your accounts from one place, one-click trading execution and charts powered by TradingView. My favorite feature is the ability to switch between light and dark modes at the click of a button.
During our live fee test at the New York open, I found the spread on Apple CFDs was 16 cents, beating the industry average of 33 cents. With zero commission for share CFDs, no deposit, withdrawal or inactivity fees, Vantage is a top broker to consider.
Pros and Cons
- Range of advanced platform for stock trading
- One account syncs across all devices
- Free VPS hosting
- Copy trading
- Customer support can be slower during busier hours
Best for Professional Traders
- $50Min Deposit
- 19234Tradable Instruments
- MediumFees
Why We Picked It
Founded in 1974, IG is listed on the London Stock Exchange and offers one of the largest ranges of products and services for professional traders. This includes over 17,000 global share CFDs, options and forward contracts, 13,000+ real stocks with access to multiple trading and investing accounts, as well as Direct Market Access (DMA) share CFDs and stock options and IPOs.
Key Features:
- Stock Trading Platforms: IG Online Platform, IG App, TradingView, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer
- Leverage on Share CFDs: 1:5 (retail), 1:20 (professional)
- Number of Share CFDs: 17,000+ CFDs, 13,000+ real stocks
IG offers one of the largest selections of share CFDs and real stocks in the industry, covering the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia. It also offers access to trade upcoming IPOs and options, as well as forward contracts to hold stock trades for longer without any overnight fees. These can all be accessed from IG’s Online Platform, which I found is feature-rich and easy to use. The web platform is highly customizable and offers a news feed, one-click trading, the ability to trade from the chart, market sentiment data, a stock screener and trading signals from Autochartist.
The ProRealTime platform is geared to automated share CFD traders and is unique as it offers a beginner-friendly way to code strategies using its ProRealCode. I actively use this function and have no coding experience, but I managed to create scanners to filter stocks based on technical analysis indicators very easily. My favorite feature, which is fairly new, is that you can also trade share CFDs with IG from TradingView. I trade many of the hundreds of 24-hour US stocks IG provides, and I found it easy to set up and trade with good quality trade execution.
My fee test and the New York open showed Apple CFD spread of 3 cents, which is much better than the 33 cents industry average. However, as IG doesn’t widen the market spread, it does charge a commission of 2 cents per share on US stocks, which is around the industry average. Professionally categorized traders can also access IG’s trading desk platform called L2 Dealer and access Direct Market Access share CFDs, where you can view the order book and place orders directly with the exchange.
Pros and Cons
- Largest selection of share CFDs in the industry
- Wide selection of trading platforms
- Direct Market Access share CFD trading
- Trade 24-hour US stocks from TradingView
- Trade on IPOs
- Minimum online commission charge is $15, which may be high for small accounts
All the Brokers We Tested
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About the Authors
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
As a Senior Content Editor at FXEmpire, Ola has revised and fact-checked over 200 broker reviews and guides. Her profound understanding of financial markets has been crucial in developing the proprietary rating system.
Aviva is a Senior Content Editor at FXEmpire. Her substantial contributions include refining over 150 broker reviews and 'Best Brokers Guides,' enhancing our proprietary methodology, and ensuring every fact is meticulously verified.