Best Share CFD Brokers of 2023

Established in 2013, TMGM provides an excellent range of share CFDs from the US, Australia, and Hong Kong to trade on from the MT4 and IRESS trading platforms. Authorized and regulated by ASIC, VFSC, and FMA New Zealand, TMGM is our choice for the best overall share CFD broker.

Key Features:

• TMGM entities regulated by ASIC, VFSC, and FMA New Zealand
• Share CFD trading platforms: MT4 and IRESS
• Leverage up to: 1:10 on IRESS (ASIC), 1:5 on MT4 (ASIC), 1:20 on MT4 (other entities)
• Number of share CFDs: 49+ from MT4, 10,000+ from IRESS

• MT4: Spreads from 0.13 cents per share. Zero commission.
• IRESS: Spreads from 0.05 cents per share. 2.25 cents per share commission.

With TMGM you can trade share CFDs from the MT4 and IRESS platforms. During my 10 years of trading share CFDs, I have enjoyed all the benefits the MT4 platform has to offer, which includes access to more than 80+ inbuilt technical analysis and drawing tools as well as a range of order types such as entering live at the market price or setting stop or limit orders.

I found that there are zero commissions to buy or sell shares, and zero commissions for real-time data from the MT4 platform. TMGM currently provides 49 share CFDs from the US, Australia, and Hong Kong to trade from MT4.

During our live fee test, the spread for trading Apple share CFDs from MT4 was 0.13 cents per share, which is around the industry average of 0.10 cents per share for a commission-free trading account.

From the TMGM IRESS platform, you receive direct market access (DMA) pricing from the broker’s liquidity providers and stock exchanges and can trade on more than 10,000+ shares from the US, Australia, and Hong Kong. While the spread will be much lower than using MT4, there are more fees to take into consideration, such as commission, platform, and data fees.

For example, I found that while there are no commissions to trade US stocks via MT4, there is a 2.25 USD cent commission per share using the IRESS platform, which is also subject to a minimum commission of $10. While there is no fee to use MT4, there is a 35 USD monthly platform for IRESS.

Established in 1974 and listed on the London Stock Exchange, IG is a heavyweight in the retail trading industry with robust regulation by authorities like the FCA and ASIC. It offers an extensive selection of over 17,000 assets. Particularly for advanced traders, IG's Direct Market Access (DMA) share CFD account provides an opportunity to trade directly on exchange prices, showcasing its commitment to advanced trading needs.

Key Features:

• IG entities regulated by the UK FCA, ASIC, BaFin, MAS, FSA Japan, FINMA, DFSA, FSCA, FMA, CFDTC, and NFA
• Share CFD trading platforms: IG Web Trader, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer
• Leverage up to 1:5, 20% margin
• Number of share CFDs available: 16,000 stocks worldwide
• Commission of 2 cents per share on US stocks
• Spreads from 0.08 cents per share on US stocks
• Minimum deposit 250 GBP

IG stands out with its extensive share CFD offerings, featuring 16,000 stocks from global exchanges such as LSE, NYSE, NASDAQ, and more. The IG Web Trader platform impresses with top-notch charting tools and a comprehensive order ticket that displays real-time margin details.

For the discerning advanced trader, the L2 Dealer platform offers Direct Market Access (DMA) to trade directly on prices from banks and exchanges, along with a transparent view of market depth and sophisticated order types like pegged and fill or kill.

A unique advantage I’ve noted is IG's provision of out-of-hours pricing on over 75 major US shares, affording insights into pre- and post-market movements, which can be particularly valuable during earnings season to capitalize on early trends.

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:

• Vantage entities regulated by ASIC, VFSC, CIMA, and FSCA
• Share CFD trading platforms: MT4 and MT5
• Leverage up to: 1:5 (20% margin for ASIC), 1:20 (5% margin for other entities)
• Number of share CFDs: 143 from the US, EU, UK, and AU
• Spreads: from 0.13 cents per share on US stocks.
• Zero commission, data, and platform fees.

During our research, I found that Vantage provides its traders with the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. These are considered the go-to platforms for CFD traders. There are more than 80+ inbuilt technical indicators and drawing tools, the ability to look at multiple charts and timeframes, and access to a good range of order functionality and algorithmic trading capabilities.

While I have primarily used the MT4 desktop for many years, the company that created the platform MetaQuotes has finally upgraded the web version, which is now far simpler to use than ever before. It also comes with extra drawing tools and responsive charting and is now a breeze to trade from.

However, the MT4 desktop platform does come with the ability to add on extra customizations, such as the Vantage Smart Trader Tools package. This is a suite of extra tools and plugins to add to the platform, which includes an alarm manager for price alerts, a mini terminal to trade directly from the chart, and many more.

In my own trading, I like the mini terminal as it allows you to easily buy and sell from a chart just by clicking on the chart and moving your price levels. It also comes with inbuilt risk management calculators that can be used all from the same chart speeding up the trading process.

Founded in 2012, Libertex is regulated by CySEC and is the Official Trading Partner of FC Bayern. There are more than 250+ CFD instruments available from the Libertex trading app, which is easy to use and provides real-time charts, news, and sentiment indicators.

Key Features:

• Libertex is regulated by CySEC
• Share CFD trading platforms: MT4, MT5 and Libertex app
• Leverage up to: 1:5, 20% margin
• Number of share CFDs available: 121 from the US, EU, and UK
• Spreads from 0.10 cents per share on US stocks.
• Commission from 0%
• Minimum deposit of 100 EUR

Libertex offers the well-known and popular MT4 and MT5 trading platforms and its own proprietary Libertex app. The app is available on iOS and Android and is a quick and easy trading method. The trading ticket features multiple order types, including stop, limit, and market orders. The charts offer a good range of timeframes, although they lack technical analysis indicators. I found the inbuilt trader sentiment indicators useful to understand how many Libertex traders are long and short in a market. This can help to identify overbought and oversold trading conditions.

There are 121 share CFDs from the US, UK, and Europe available in the app, along with forex pairs, commodities, indices, bonds, and cryptocurrencies. Beyond trading CFDs, the Libertex app also supports trading from the Libertex Invest account, allowing you to buy real stocks with zero commissions and collect dividend payments. Additionally, the app’s inbuilt market news section is a valuable tool for staying updated with the latest market movements and trends.

Established in 2009, FP Markets is authorized and regulated by ASIC and CySEC and has one entity based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines that is not regulated. It provides the ability to trade on more than 10,000+ share CFDs across the MT4/MT5 and IRESS trading platforms.

Key Features:

• FP Markets entities regulated by ASIC, CySEC, as well as the unregulated SVG entity
• Share CFD trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and IRESS
• Leverage up to: 1:5 (20% margin for ASIC/CySEC), 1:20, (5% margin with unregulated SVG entity)
• Number of share CFDs: 680+ on MT4/MT5, 10,000+ on IRESS

Commissions and spreads:

• MT4/MT5: US stock spreads from 0.06 cents per share, with 2 cents per share commission (minimum 2 USD).
• IRESS: US stock spreads from 0.03 cents per share with 2 cents per share commission (minimum 15 USD).

During the course of our live fee test, I found that the live spread for trading Apple share CFDs from the MT5 platform was 0.06 cents per share which is much better than the industry average of 0.10 cents per share. However, there is also an additional charge of 2 cents per share, subject to a minimum of 2 USD.

From the MT4 platform, you can trade on more than 680+ shares from the US, Europe, UK, and Australia. However, I found that from the IRESS platform, you can trade on more than 10,000+ shares from the same regions.

I also found that you can access even better spreads from the IRESS trading platform, which provides a direct market access price feed. This means you can trade at the price quoted by FP Markets’ liquidy providers or stock exchanges. But, there are a range of other fees to take into consideration with the IRESS platform, such as platform and data fees.

For example, the IRESS platform has a monthly 60 USD platform fee which is waived if 150 USD of commission is generated in the prior month. While you can access tighter spreads from IRESS, the commission of 2 cents per share is the same as trading with MT4, but there is a much higher minimum commission of $15.

Founded in 2006, AvaTrade provides an excellent offering for beginner traders with commission-free share trading accounts and a wide range of educational materials. Authorized and regulated by the CBI, ASIC, CySEC, FSC BVI, FSCA, FSA Japan, ISA, and FSRA you can trade more than 700+ share CFDs.

Key Features:

• AvaTrade entities regulated by CBI, ASIC, CySEC, FSC BVI, FSCA, FSA Japan, ISA, and FSRA
• Share CFD trading platforms: MT4 and MT5
• Leverage: up to 1:5, 20% margin
• Number of share CFDs: 700+ from the US, EU, UK, and Asia
• Zero commission
• Spreads: from 0.33 cents per share

AvaTrade provides a good option for beginner traders starting out, with access to a free demo account and a commission-free trading account. A demo account is an excellent way to practice your trading ideas and gain more experience with the broker’s trading platform risk-free.

From our live test, I found that AvaTrade provides an excellent range of educational materials. This includes the Ultimate Guide to CFD Trading ebook and a stock market trading course with lectures covering fundamental analysis, technical analysis, trading strategies, platform tutorials, and more.

If you are a beginner trader, I would suggest reading the How to Trade Stocks course first, as it explains the core concepts of stock trading using leverage very well. After this, you should go through the platform tutorial videos, which are excellent to help you navigate the different share trading platforms AvaTrade provides, such as MT4 and MT5, as well as its own propriety web-based platform.

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is a global multi-asset fintech group operating proprietary technology-based trading platforms. A giant of the CFD industry, Plus500 has recently expanded into the United States to offer futures trading via its state-of-the-art platform which is available on the web, desktop, and Android/iOS mobile devices. US clients can access futures contracts on forex, indices, commodities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.

Key Features:

• Regulated by CFTC, NFA
• Equity index futures trading platforms: WebTrader, Plus500 mobile and desktop apps
• Leverage up to 1:500 Intraday
• Number of stock index futures contracts available: 9 from the US, 1 from Japan
• Standard contract commission $0.89 (excluding Exchange and NFA fees)
• Spread of 25 cents in E-mini S&P 500
• Minimum deposit: $100

With high liquidity and high volatility, stock index futures are popular among traders. Plus500 US offers benchmark contracts like the E-mini S&P 500, E-mini Dow Jones, E-mini Nasdaq-100, and Nikkei. I noted that micro contracts like the Micro E-mini Dow Jones are also available, which allow beginners with relatively small accounts to trade. The intraday margin requirement for Micro E-mini Dow Jones is just $50 per contract.

Plus500’s WebTrader platform is clean and uncluttered with easy-to-understand order entry and robust charting tools. I also rated the Plus500 mobile app as much better than average thanks to its outstanding design and usability.

Plus500 US makes it simple for new traders to get started in futures trading with a low minimum deposit, a beginner-friendly platform, and helpful educational resources. My assessment showed that trading costs are minimal and the live chat support is among the best I have encountered.