Plus500 review and ratings

Established 2008
Location Australia New Zealand UK Estonia Cyprus Singapore Seychelles
Regulation ASIC, FMA, FCA, EFSA, CySEC, MAS, SFSA
Offices Sydney, Auckland, London, Tallinn, Limassol, Singapore, Mahe
Broker type STP | ECN
Leverage up to 1:300
Deposit from 100 USD
Spreads low  low
Platforms Web Specific
Instruments Currencies Crypto Indices Metals Energies Softs Stocks Bonds ETFs
Funding methods Wire Transfer Credit Cards PayPal Skrill

Company information

Plus500 group includes several related companies.

Plus500 AU - located in Australia, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Plus500 NZ - located in New Zealand, regulated by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
Plus500 UK - located in the United Kingdom, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Plus500 EE - located in Estonia, regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA).
Plus500 CY - located in Cyprus, regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Plus500 SG - located in Singapore, authorized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Plus500 SEY - located in the Seychelles, regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA).

Be aware, UK and CY companies have some trading restrictions because of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) influence.
Unfortunately, AU company also has been imposed with trading leverage limitations by ASIC since the end of March 2021.
At the same time, SEY company accepts European and Australian traders, so one can open a trading account there.
Currently, the highest leverage (1:300) is provided by the Seychelles entity of Plus500.

Availability

Plus500 refused to provide the overall information regarding which clients (from which countries) they accept and not.

Distinctive features

Trading instruments

Forex broker offers the following underlying assets for FX trading.

60+ Currency Pairs Based on major and minor world currencies.
10 Crypto Pairs Based on Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Monero, NEO, IOTA, EOS.
28 Indice CFDs Based on baskets of different blue-chip stocks, US Dollar Index and Volatility Index.
5 Metal CFDs Based on Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Copper.
5 Energy CFDs Based on Crude Oil (WTI, Brent), Heating Oil, Gasoline and Natural Gas.
10 Soft CFDs Based on Cocoa, Coffee, Cotton, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Sugar, Lean Hogs, Feeder Cattle, Live Cattle.
1800+ Stock CFDs Based on shares of US, UK, EU, AU, JP companies.
80+ ETF CFDs Based on exchange-traded funds containing various tradable assets.

Forex broker offers the following underlying assets for Options trading.

8 Indice Options Based on baskets of different blue-chip stocks.
8 Stock CFDs Based on shares of US companies.

Comprehensive review

Plus500 is a large international CFD broker founded in Israel but with its main offices located in London. The broker is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Australia’s ASIC, and many other regulators from around the world.

Plus500 Ltd is today listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it is part of the FTSE 250 Index.

The broker offers its clients access to CFD trading based on a wide selection of underlying assets, including stocks, ETFs, stock indices, forex, metals, soft commodities, and cryptocurrencies. In total, more than 3,000 instruments can be traded with Plus500, with the majority of the instruments being stock CFDs.

In 2013, the company became known as the first broker in the world to offer a Bitcoin CFD. Since then, Plus 500 has expanded its offering of crypto CFDs to more than 10 cryptocurrencies, including coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple XRP. Following the introduction of the first Bitcoin CFD, these instruments have also been made available as CFDs by hundreds of other CFD & crypto brokers worldwide.

The maximum trading leverage offered by Plus500 depends on the country the trader is from. For traders from New Zealand, the maximum leverage is set to 1:300 for the most liquid and least volatile trading instruments. For traders based in the EU/EEA, UK, and Australia, however, maximum trading leverage is limited to 1:30, as per rules from the respective regulators; ESMA, FCA and ASIC.

Plus500 further has a great offering when it comes to trading platforms, having developed its own proprietary trading platform which is available for Apple iOS devices, Android devices, Windows Phone, Windows 10 (as a downloadable app), and as a web version that can run on any computer.

Plus 500’s web platform is well-designed and user-friendly, and all you need to do to trade is to look up an instrument using the search field or the menu on the left side, and then click on the “Buy” or “Sell” button. All CFD price data is updated in real-time, and spreads are generally tight compared to other brokers. In addition, all trading with Plus500 is commission-free.

Plus500’s website and trading platform are both available in 32 different languages, which is a clear indication of this broker’s strong commitment to retail traders in many parts of the world. The available languages include English, Chinese (simplified & traditional), Russian, Spanish, French, German, and many others.

A potential issue with Plus500 for some traders is that the broker does not work with established trading platforms like MetaTrader 4 and 5. This means that it is not possible to use the many trading strategies and indicators that have been developed by technical analysis enthusiasts for MT4 & 5 over the years. For traders who only use the standard technical indicators, however, this should not be a problem.

To help traders with potential problems, Plus500 offers an extensive FAQ section on its website that provides detailed instructions on everything from opening an account, to trading fees, regulation, and deposit & withdrawals.

Finally, we believe it is safe to say that as such a heavily regulated broker, Plus500 is among the most recognized brands in the industry today. The broker is regulated in many more jurisdictions than most other brokers, which builds additional credibility for traders in those countries. The main disadvantage, however, is that Plus500 does not offer any of the established trading platforms that other brokers usually work with, and instead focuses solely on its own proprietary trading platform with only standard features. This may obviously be an issue for some traders.

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