Plus500, an internationally recognized brand, offers online traders access to share trading through the Plus500 Invest platform and an extensive range of CFDs via the dedicated Plus500 CFD platform.

The broker caters to beginners seeking a straightforward trading experience with its simplified platform. However, it falls short in educational resources and market research offerings, leaving experienced traders wanting more.

Operating as a publicly traded company without a banking arm, Plus500 has garnered approval from four tier-1 regulators, four tier-2 regulators, and no tier-3 regulators. Major authorities like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – New Zealand, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have granted Plus500 the necessary authorization.

Trading Instruments at Plus500

Unlike other brokers allowing non-deliverable spot forex as rolling contracts, Plus500 solely permits forex trading using CFDs. The broker’s expansion into shares trading via Plus500 Invest in 2021 included the acquisition of a futures company in the US.

Trading cryptocurrencies at Plus500 is limited to CFDs, barring the direct trading of underlying assets like Bitcoin. Notably, U.K. residents and retail traders through U.K. entities are restricted from trading cryptocurrency CFDs. Plus500’s range of CFD investment products is detailed in the provided table, with non-CFD shares exclusively offered through the Plus500 Invest platform.

Fees and Commissions

Plus500’s pricing aligns with industry standards, yet it lags behind top forex brokers in active trader pricing. Retail customers do not receive discounts, but Professional customers meeting specific criteria may qualify for cash rebates similar to an active trader program.

The platform shows a dynamic spread of 0.8 pips for the EUR/USD pair, maintaining an industry-standard average spread of 0.8 pips throughout August 2021.

Apps for Mobile Trading

The Plus500 trading app mirrors the WebTrader browser platform in appearance, feel, and functionality, ensuring a seamless transition between platforms. However, the app lacks cutting-edge features, similar to its WebTrader counterpart, unable to compete with leading market players.

Trading Tools: Boasting 109 indicators and over 20 drawing tools, Plus500 has improved its charting significantly. Nevertheless, there’s room for further enhancement, especially in incorporating news, research, and advanced trading tools, currently absent from Plus500’s mobile app.

Trading Platforms

The user-friendly WebTrader from Plus500 is well-suited for novice investors. Over time, Plus500 has incrementally enhanced its platform, edging closer to competing with industry leaders.

The web trading platform continues to evolve, incorporating pre-defined watchlists, client sentiment-based alerts, an economic calendar displaying relevant news from Dow Jones, and instrument information from Yahoo Finance.

Charting: With 13 chart types, over 20 drawing tools, and 110 indicators, the Plus500 web platform delivers a responsive charting experience. However, chart settings do not sync between the web and mobile apps, warranting improvement in this aspect.

Usefulness: Plus500’s WebTrader appeals to beginners with its simple interface and clean design. Advanced features like trailing stops and guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLO) serve as valuable risk management tools for inexperienced traders. Despite offering its proprietary platform, Plus500 lacks support for social copy trading, algorithmic trading, or the MetaTrader platform family.

Market Research

Plus500’s research segment comprises client sentiment data and an economic calendar powered by Dow Jones, integrated with Yahoo Finance. However, technical and fundamental analyses or news headlines are notably absent.

Market News and Analysis: Daily articles from Plus500 focus on fundamental analysis, albeit lacking in technical charts and analysis found in top broker platforms. The recent addition of the Global Trends feature provides news volume, sources, and user sentiment, utilizing Trading Central’s data. The +Insights panel on Plus500’s web platform houses the Global Trends section.

Alerts: Innovative features in Plus500 allow for accurate tracking, including setting alerts for percentage changes in client sentiment data. However, the platform could further expand by offering alerts for indicators.

Education at Plus500

Plus500’s educational section, the Trader’s Guide, offers a handful of articles and instructional videos. However, it falls short compared to leading brokers in terms of financial market learning resources.

There’s room for improvement in expanding the educational library with more videos and articles, possibly introducing interactive courses for enhanced learning. While the Trader’s Guide series provides informative videos, they often resemble platform tutorials.

Conclusion on Plus500

Plus500 caters well to less-experienced traders seeking simplicity, despite its educational shortcomings. With improvements in its web platform, including an integrated economic calendar and enhanced charts, Plus500 remains a favored choice for new traders, praised for its user-friendly nature.

While Plus500 offers nearly 2,000 CFDs and maintains a low minimum deposit requirement for live accounts, active traders might feel the absence of robust market research, making it less appealing in that aspect.