Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Plus500 vs FXCM, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Founded in 2008, Plus500 has established itself as a highly trusted online broker, achieving a top-tier Trust Score of 99 out of 99 from ForexBrokers.com. This score is a reflection of its strong regulatory foundation, boasting 6 Tier-1 licenses which indicate high trust and 3 Tier-2 licenses that label it as a trusted entity. Despite not being a bank, Plus500 maintains a significant presence in the industry and is publicly traded, adding to its transparency and reliability for investors.
FXCM, founded earlier in 1999, is also a trusted name in the world of online trading. It holds a commendable Trust Score of 95 according to ForexBrokers.com, supported by 4 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses. Like Plus500, FXCM is publicly traded, offering investor confidence through transparency. Although FXCM isn't tied to banking operations, its long-standing presence and solid regulatory adherence have earned it a respected status among brokers.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2008 | 1999 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
When comparing Plus500 and FXCM in terms of commissions and fees, both brokers have pricing structures that slightly exceed the industry average. Plus500 offers spreads of 1.5 pips for EUR/USD, which is notably higher than many competitors, and the broker doesn't offer retail client discounts. However, Plus500 does provide cash rebates for traders who qualify as Professional clients, akin to an active trader program. Plus500 earns a solid 4.0-star rating for commissions and fees and is ranked #25 out of 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.
FXCM presents a more varied pricing structure with spreads averaging 0.78 pips for EUR/USD across its EU, U.K., and Australia offerings and 1.38 pips for its St. Vincent and the Grenadines entity. Meanwhile, its commission-based accounts offer average spreads at 0.28 pips, excluding commissions, for May 2024. The effective spread becomes about 0.74 pips when commissions are accounted for. With its tiered Active Trader Rebate Program, FXCM offers potential discounts, where traders can earn rebates ranging from $5 to $25 per million traded, depending on the tier and trading volume. This varies further based on the FXCM entity managing your account. FXCM receives a 4-star rating and ranks #24 out of 62 brokers for commissions and fees according to ForexBrokers.com.
Both brokers provide options that might suit different trading styles, though traders seeking deep discounts might find better alternatives. Plus500 is suitable for Professional clients who can capitalize on its rebate program, while FXCM offers more flexible pricing and potential discounts through its Active Trader Rebate Program, albeit with conditions based on volume and account location. For traders who prioritize cost efficiency, exploring the specific conditions of each broker may help in making an informed decision between the two.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | €100 | Starts from $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.5 | 0.78 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.5 | 0.78 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When comparing Plus500 and FXCM for their range of investments, Plus500 stands out with an extensive offering that includes 5,500 tradeable symbols and 65 forex pairs, compared to FXCM’s 440 tradeable symbols and 43 forex pairs. Both brokers provide the ability to engage in forex trading through CFDs. However, Plus500 allows clients to access exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, such as Apple and Vodafone shares, a feature not available with FXCM. Conversely, FXCM does offer copy trading, whereas Plus500 does not. Both platforms enable trading in cryptocurrency derivatives, although neither offers the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies.
In terms of recognition, Plus500 earns a higher rating for range of investments with 4.5 stars, placing it at #24 out of 62 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. FXCM, on the other hand, is rated with 3.5 stars, ranked at #47 in the same category. The difference in ratings and rankings highlights Plus500’s broader array of investment options, making it a more favorable choice for those looking for diverse trading opportunities.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 440 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 43 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing the trading platforms and tools offered by Plus500 and FXCM, both brokers provide a satisfying experience with some differences in features and accessibility. Plus500 boasts a user-friendly proprietary platform accessible via the web, allowing traders to use drawing tools with ease, thanks to its provision of 22 drawing tools. Despite not supporting MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5, Plus500 does offer a free virtual demo account for users to practice and refine their trading skills. However, it lacks certain functionalities such as a Windows desktop download platform, copy trading, and the ability to trade directly from the stock chart.
FXCM, on the other hand, offers a more comprehensive suite of tools, including both a proprietary platform and a Windows-based desktop download option, complemented by access to MetaTrader 4 for those familiar with the platform. For traders interested in social trading, FXCM enables copy trading and supports ZuluTrade. With 13 watch list columns and the capability to trade directly from stock charts, FXCM's platform is geared towards providing detailed market analysis and flexible trading experiences. Rated 5 stars for its trading platforms and tools, FXCM ranks higher in industry standards, securing the 6th spot out of 62 brokers, while Plus500 sits at 14th place with a 4.5-star rating.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | No | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 114 | 115 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 22 | 10 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 10 | 13 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing Plus500 and FXCM's mobile trading apps, both offer excellent functionalities for traders on-the-go, available on iPhone and Android devices. Each app provides stock and forex price alerts, and the convenience of watchlist symbol syncing, allowing changes to be reflected across a user's online account. Charting capabilities are also strong in both apps, offering trendline drawing and access to various time frames, such as daily, weekly, or intraday. However, a notable difference is that FXCM's app auto-saves chart drawings, a feature absent in Plus500's app.
In terms of technical analysis, Plus500 stands out with 110 technical studies compared to FXCM's 59, providing a broader range of analytical tools. Both apps facilitate the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes, catering to the dynamic needs of their users. User ratings for mobile trading apps are tied at 4.5 stars for both brokers, yet Plus500 holds a slight edge with its #14 ranking in the Mobile Trading Apps category on ForexBrokers.com, while FXCM is ranked #16. This subtle distinction might be worth considering for traders seeking the most comprehensive mobile trading experience.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 110 | 59 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing market research offerings between Plus500 and FXCM, both brokers provide daily market commentary to keep traders informed. However, FXCM stands out by delivering forex news from renowned sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, unlike Plus500. Both platforms offer technical analysis through Trading Central, enhancing their research tools, but Plus500 does not provide additional insights from TipRanks, which FXCM does include, giving FXCM an edge in comprehensive market analysis.
Plus500 and FXCM both offer a sentiment-based trading tool and maintain up-to-date economic calendars that display global news events. Despite these similarities, FXCM receives a higher star rating of 4.5 for research compared to Plus500's 4.0. Furthermore, in the ForexBrokers.com rankings for research, FXCM is positioned at #11, surpassing Plus500, which holds the #19 spot. This suggests that FXCM offers a more extensive suite of market research tools and resources overall.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | Yes |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginner traders, both Plus500 and FXCM have plenty to offer. Each platform provides more than ten educational pieces focused on forex and CFDs, which include articles, videos, and webinars. Furthermore, they both host monthly webinars to help clients gain fresh insights into trading. For those who prefer learning at their own pace, both brokers also have searchable archives of past webinars. Additionally, newcomers can find over ten videos on each site tailored specifically for beginner traders.
While both Plus500 and FXCM offer content suitable for experienced traders, including a range of advanced educational videos, FXCM takes a slight edge with its comprehensive investor dictionary, explaining over 50 trading terms. This added resource can be particularly beneficial for traders looking to deepen their understanding of market terminology. Plus500, rated at 4.0 stars for education and ranked 31st out of 62 brokers, provides strong educational support, but FXCM, rated 4.5 stars and ranked 14th, emerges as the slightly stronger choice for educational resources overall.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Plus500 is better than FXCM. Plus500 finished with an overall rank of #14, while FXCM finished with an overall rank of #15.
Plus500 is a trusted global brand that offers an easy-to-use trading platform for online traders, alongside access to a thorough selection of CFDs. Share trading is available, but only via its Plus500 Invest product offering.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 |
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Both Plus500 and FXCM do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but they do provide the option to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
In comparing online brokers, Plus500 and FXCM both support PayPal, Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wire transactions for deposits and withdrawals, but only FXCM offers the additional flexibility of ACH or SEPA transfers, which Plus500 does not provide.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Plus500 | FXCM | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Plus500 Review | FXCM Review |
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| Regulation | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Year Founded | 2008 | 1999 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 440 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 43 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.5 | 0.78 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.5 | 0.78 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | €100 | Starts from $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | No | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 10 | 13 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 114 | 115 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 22 | 10 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 110 | 59 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | Yes | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Plus500 | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | Plus500 Review | FXCM Review |
| Overall | Plus500 | FXCM | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Plus500 Review | FXCM Review |
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