| Online Broker | Minimum Deposit | Online Trading Platforms | Markets To Trade |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Index | $150 Minimum Deposit | MT4, Web Trader Trading Platforms | 12,000+ Markets To Trade |
| Plus500 | $100 Minimum Deposit | Plus500 Platform Trading Platforms | 2000+ Markets To Trade |
| Pepperstone | $200 Minimum Deposit | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView Trading Platforms | 1000+ Markets To Trade |
| eToro | $200 Minimum Deposit | CopyTrader Trading Platforms | 1000+ Markets To Trade |
| FXTM | $50 Minimum Deposit | MT4, MT5 Trading Platforms | 250+ Markets To Trade |
| Spread Co | $300 Minimum Deposit | Web Trader & Apps Trading Platforms | 1500+ Markets To Trade |
| FOREX.com | $100 Minimum Deposit | MT4, Advanced Platform, Web Trader Trading Platforms | 300+ Markets To Trade |
Online Trading Platforms UK
These are brokers which are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, offering online trading platforms.
What is an online trading platform ?
This is a platform offered by a broker, enabling the trader to trade markets. These brokers are mostly offering CFD trading and in some cases spread betting. In neither case does the trader down the underlying financial market. Rather they are able to speculate on the price movement of a market.
The platforms contain charts, charting tools including technical indicators and chart price types (such as candlestick charts). These enable the trader to perform technical and other analysis.
What makes a trading platform a good fit with the trader depends to some extent on their experience and the way they trade. Some brokers offer trading platform with what they may term intuitive layouts. These will be clear and simplified, to enable the trader to focus on reading a chart and choosing markets, placing orders and monitoring the trade. These tend to be web traders and typically also have app versions available.
However some traders may want to automate their trading, for example to have programs trade for them based on indicators and rules based on these indicators. MT4 is a popular platform which supports MT4 automated trading, as well as trading where the trader makes their own decisions (known as discretionary trading).
Some traders may wish to have more direct market access. This can result in rapid order processing and prices sourced from liquidity providers. This kind of trading, known as ECN trading, can be performed on MT4. However there are platforms which are optimised for this, which include MT5 and cTrader. These platforms can also be used for discretionary trading, as they contain the elements used in discretionary platforms.
ECN trading may be used by traders who trade with automated strategies, as ECN trading tends to be what is termed no dealing desk, in part because of the way orders are processed. The broker may well have a dealing desk, but in no dealing desk trading, the dealing desk does not intervene in the order process. This means that styles such as scalping, which may otherwise not be allowed, are possible.
