Broker Review

Plus500 Review: Find Answers to All Your Questions About This CFD Provider

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Author

Linda de Beer

Plus500 is a regulated online CFD provider with a platform for trading contracts-for-difference (CFDs) on commodities, ETFs, forex, indices, options, and shares.

We explore the good and bad about Plus500 and its online trading platform below, plus all the information you need to start trading from .

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is an established CFD platform. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in the UK where it is in the FTSE 250 Index. Their free lifelong demo account is one of the features that make them popular among CFD traders.

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The Good and Bad About Plus500

Our proprietary trust score is calculated based on regulation, structure, client fund handling, risk management, and length of operation.

Key Facts About Plus500

Here’s a quick overview of important Plus500 facts. More details and in-depth analysis are provided in the remainder of the review.

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What Can You Trade With Plus500?

Plus500 offers clients access to trading over 2,800 CFDs in seven market categories. Whether you want to gain exposure to prices of commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, forex, indices, options, or shares – it’s possible through Plus500’s CFD offerings.

The availability of cryptocurrencies on Plus500 is subject to regulations.

Below are detailed lists of instruments available to trade as CFDs in the different asset classes. Note that some instruments may not be available in every country.

Commodity CFDs

More than 20 commodities CFDs are available to trade at Plus500. These include precious metals like gold and platinum, energy commodities like oil and gasoline, and agricultural commodities like wheat and coffee.

Cryptocurrency CFDs

Several popular cryptocurrencies (and crypto-derivatives) are available to trade as CFDs on the Plus500 platform. (Availability subject to regulations.) Unlike other instruments that can only be traded from Monday to Friday, crypto CFD trading is possible 24/7.

CFDs On ETFs

Plus500 clients can speculate on the prices of over 90 exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including the popular VXX Volatility and SPDRUSA500, through CFDs.

Forex CFDs

Plus500 is not a traditional forex provider but it does allow you to speculate with forex CFDs. It covers more than 60 currency pairs, including these three major currency pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/GBP.

CFDs On Indices

Index CFDs available to trade on Plus500 cover stock market indices around the world. They include the USA 500, ASX 200, NASDAQ 100, UK 100, and France 40.

Options CFDs

Plus500 offers call and put option CFDs on 20 popular stocks, indices, and currency pairs.

Shares CFDs

Plus500 lets you trade CFDs on more than 1,000 shares from the UK, USA, Germany, and more. The list below covers some of the most popular ones.

Options and Futures (Coming Soon)

Following the acquisition of Cunningham Commodities LLC, Plus500 has announced options and futures trading for retail traders as a product in development.

Cunningham Commodities LLC has worked with leading futures exchanges like the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and will provide Plus500 with specialized software to bring options and futures to US traders. The acquisition is worth $30m.

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Where Does Plus500 Operate?

Trading with Plus500 is possible in over 60 countries and in 32 languages. To find out if Plus500 is available in , toggle the list below.

Customer Support With Plus500

Plus500 has a dedicated FAQ section on their website with answers to their clients’ most commonly asked questions.

If you have a unique problem or question that isn’t answered, there are three ways to contact the CFD provider for support:

• Email
• Live Chat
• WhatsApp

Account Types & Requirements

Plus500 keeps their trading account options simple with these three possibilities:

• Demo account
• Real money account
• Professional account

Plus500 Demo Account

A Plus500 demo account allows traders to test ideas and trading strategies and familiarize themselves with real market conditions in a risk-free environment. The only difference between the demo and real money account is that you’re trading with $40,000 worth of demo money.

Many CFD platforms offer demo accounts, but the one from Plus500 stands out for a couple of reasons:

• You can open one without having to open a real money account.
• You can keep it open indefinitely. (Most platforms limit you to a few weeks to get you started; Plus500 is set up to allow traders to use their Demo account as part of their overall trading strategy.)

How to Open a Demo Account

To open a demo account, you need to visit the Plus500 homepage where you are presented with the following screen:

Click on the ‘Try Free Demo‘ button to be taken to the sign-up form. Then enter your email address and a password and click ‘Create Demo Account‘.

You’re ready to start with a quick tour of the platform before opening your first practice position.

Once you have opened both demo and real money accounts, you can switch between the two on the main platform menu — either with a button on the sidebar or through the menu. The money in the demo account is topped up when the balance sinks to below 200 EUR (or equivalent).

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Real Money Account

The Plus500 real money account is almost identical to the demo account, but with real money at stake. Therefore, opening a real money account requires additional steps and a verification process.

How to Open a Real Money Account

The first step to opening a real money account with Plus500 is to click on the ‘Start Trading Now‘ button on their homepage.

You’ll be prompted to provide an email address and a password before clicking on ‘Create Account‘ and starting the account registration and verification process.

The following information is required to register a real money account:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Country of residence
• Residential address
• CFD trading experience
• Employment status
• Financial details (e.g. annual income and savings)
• Trading profile (e.g. how often you plan to trade and for what purpose)
• Investment knowledge (a few multiple-choice questions)

How To Verify Your Plus500 Account

Next, you must upload documents to verify your identity, address, and source of funds. The following is required:

Plus500 Professional Account

Plus500 offers a professional account to traders who meet certain criteria. This premium account has the following features:

• Higher maximum leverage
• Advanced risk management tools
• Traders can revert back to a basic real money account at any time
• However, Plus500AU Pty Ltd holds client money in a segregated trust account, in accordance with the Australian legal requirements.

Maximum Leverage Amounts

Maximum leverage for Professional accounts are, as with Real Money accounts, dependent on the underlying asset class:

• 1:150 Commodities
• 1:5 Crypto
• 1:100 ETFs
• 1:300 Forex
• 1:150 Indices
• 1:5 Options
• 1:20 Shares

Who Qualifies for a Professional Account?

Traders who want to be considered for a professional account must meet at least two of the following criteria:

1. Sufficient Trading Activity – This criterion requires an average of 10 transactions per quarter (of significant size) over the previous four quarters with Plus500 or another CFD provider.
2. Portfolio Size – A financial instrument portfolio of at least €500,000 is required. Cash savings are also taken into account but not property portfolios, direct commodity ownership, or notional values of leveraged instruments.
3. Relevant Work Experience – Applicants must have worked in the financial sector for at least a year in a position that requires knowledge of the relevant products and services.

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Leverage and Margin Requirements

Leverage is one of the key features of CFD trading.

It allows traders to gain exposure to the financial markets by self-funding only a fraction of the total value of a trade. This “deposit” is known as margin.

Leverage Ratios At Plus500

As a CFD provider, all the instruments available to trade on Plus500 are leveraged. The leverage ratio is your total exposure in relation to your margin.

Different leverage ratios apply to different asset classes, instruments, and account types. Below are some of the maximum leverage ratios you can expect.

• 1:30 — Forex
• 1:20 — Commodities, Indices
• 1:5 — ETFs, Options, Shares
• 1:2 — Cryptocurrencies (Availability subject to regulations.)

Margin Requirements At Plus500

Each CFD trade has specific Plus500 margin requirements:

• Initial margin – The margin required to open a trade.
• Maintenance margin – The minimum amount to keep the position open.

How to Calculate Margin Requirements

To calculate the margin needed to open and complete a CFD trade you need to know the leverage ratio.

So, if you want to trade Bitcoin CFDs worth $10,000 at a leverage ratio of 1:2, you need $5,000 as a margin. That means you risk losing 50% of the value of the trade instead of 100%.

The leverage and margin requirements for each individual trade are shown in the ‘Info‘ link next to each instrument’s name on the Plus500 trading platform’s main screen.

What Happens When The Account Balance Is Insufficient?

Plus500 accounts can never go negative so you can never lose more money than you have in your account. Traders whose account balance falls below these requirements will have their positions closed with no option to keep them open. This is done by way of a margin call.

Plus500 Spreads and Fees

Here is a breakdown of spreads and fees that traders may be charged when trading with Plus500.

Spreads

Plus500 is a “No Deposit Fees/Commissions and Tight Spreads” CFD provider that receives its compensation primarily through the market bid/ask spread. This is sometimes referred to as the market-maker spread.

For example, Plus500 is buying Brent Oil CFDs for $85.40 and selling them for $85.44. Thus the market bid/ask spread is 4¢.

You can view the current Plus500 spreads for each instrument by clicking on the information icon next to the instrument’s name.

Other Plus500 Fees

In addition to the spread, Plus500 clients may incur the following fees:

Fee Type	Description	Cost
Overnight Funding	Charged when a position remains open after a certain time	Differs for each instrument
Inactivity	Charged when an account shows no activity for 3 months	$10 per month
Guaranteed Stop Order	Charged via a wider spread to guarantee a position closes at a certain price	Variable
Currency Conversion	Applies to trades on instruments denominated in a currency that is different to the currency of the trader’s account	up to 0.7% of a trade’s net profit or loss

All fees applicable to individual trades are shown in the information box next to each open position.

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Deposits and Withdrawals

Plus500 has deposit and withdrawal processes in place that traders may want to find out about before registering. Here’s a summary of funding methods, minimum amounts, and processing times.

Plus500 Deposit Guide

Plus500 clients can choose between the following methods of depositing money:

• Visa or MasterCard debit/credit cards
• Electronic wallets (PayPal, Skrill)
• Bank transfer

You may also be able to deposit funds with iDeal, BPAY, Klarna, Giropay, and Trustly.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit varies according to the payment method and country of residence.

As a general rule, the minimum amount you can deposit via online bank transfer, electronic wallet, and credit/debit card is $100 or currency equivalent (€/£). For wire transfers, $500.

How to Deposit Money

Click on the ‘Funds Management‘ tab on the main platform screen and select ‘Deposit‘.

The different payment options and minimum deposit amounts for your country are displayed. Select the deposit method of your choice, fill in the required information, and click ‘Submit‘.

Plus500 Withdrawal Guide

Plus500 fund withdrawal requests are subject to a minimum withdrawal amount:

• Electronic wallet — $50 or currency equivalent ($/€)
• Bank transfers and credit cards — $100 or currency equivalent ($/€)

Withdrawal Methods and Processing Times

 

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Review of Plus500’s Trading Platform

Plus500’s WebTrader is an independent, proprietary trading platform developed for the exclusive use of their clients. It can’t be integrated with the popular MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 platforms.

Traders have the following three possibilities to access the Plus500 trading platform:

• Apple iOS and Android mobile trading apps
• WebTrader on Desktop version to be opened in any browser
• Windows 10 Trader

Plus500 WebTrader Pros and Cons

Mobile Trading With Plus500

The Plus500 mobile app is highly rated by traders in both the App Store and Google Play.

The mobile applications have the same functionality as the web trader, including price alerts and real-time quotes on currency pairs and stocks as well as an economic calendar, which also includes corporate events. Traders can also track their finances and link directly to their bank accounts.

They are both easy to use and powerful — great for advanced traders.

After downloading the mobile app, you can log in using your email address and password. The app home screen looks like this:

To access more instruments and your account status, you must click on the ‘Menu‘ icon in the top left.

This will open the user-friendly menu from where you can jump to the instrument categories, your open and closed positions, future orders, and alerts with the tap of a finger.

From the menu screen, you can also easily switch between your demo and real money accounts. At the bottom, there’s an overview of your account balance with a link to a more detailed account snapshot.

Web Trading With Plus500

The Plus500 web trader gives traders access to trade execution, pricing information, charting, open/closed positions, and fund/balance information on a single screen.

Traders can learn how the platform works by using the demo account to practice trades, applying risk management strategies, and using analysis tools.

To help you get started, here are some examples of common actions on the Plus500 WebTrader platform.

How to Open and Close a Trade In Plus500

This step-by-step guide will show you how to open and close trades on Plus500’s mobile and web trader.

Mobile

Go to Instruments Categories in the menu of your mobile screen, pick a category and an instrument, and choose to ‘Buy‘ or ‘Sell‘.

Tick the appropriate boxes (profit/loss limits, trailing stop, and rate) and click buy/sell at the bottom of the screen to confirm the trade.

Web Trading

Click on the ‘Trade‘ icon (top left). Then, pick a category from the list on the left-hand side, along with an instrument to trade.

Each instrument row displays the buy and sell information. To the far right, an info icon takes you to a pop-up box with the position screen. More details including leverage, margin requirements, and stop order choices.

The bottom half of the screen shows an analytics chart for the selected instrument.

Once you’re satisfied with the details of a trade, click on ‘Buy‘ or ‘Sell‘ and confirm the transaction. There is also an option to cancel if you want to opt out before confirming.

How to Close a Position

Both the mobile and web versions of the Plus500 trading platform require the same steps to close a position.

Go to the ‘Open Positions‘ tab in the menu and click on ‘Close‘ next to the relevant position.

Plus500 Risk Management Tools

Plus500 offers three types of trading tools to help you minimize and manage your risk:

Close at Profit or Close at Loss

After clicking on buy or sell, the position screen shows a Close at profit and a Close at loss box below the trade amount.

These orders allow you to set a rate at which your position will close with the purpose of protecting your profit or minimizing your loss.

The service is free, but Plus500 warns that it doesn’t guarantee your position will close at the exact specified price.

The reason for this is something called slippage, where there are sudden big price movements beyond your stop level. The position then closes at the next available level.

Guaranteed Stop Order

Slippage can be avoided by adding a guaranteed stop order to your position. This option is found directly under the ‘Close at loss‘ or ‘Close at profit‘ boxes.

A guaranteed stop-loss order comes at the price of a wider spread (see the definition of spread). However, it’s not available on all trades. The checkbox will only appear if an instrument supports this order.

Trailing Stop Order

Open positions or pending orders with trailing stop orders stay open as long as the price moves in the trader’s favor. They close when the price changes direction by a certain amount of pips.

How to Read and Customize Charts With Plus500

A technical analysis chart fills the bottom of both the mobile and desktop screens of the Plus500 WebTrader. The chart displayed is of the instrument highlighted in the instrument panel.

The charts toolbar features indicators and drawing tools to help with trend analysis and anticipating potential market movements. They can be customized to show the following views:

• Chart type
• Price type
• Time intervals

Further customization is possible by clicking on the options in the dropdown menus.

Improvements To Plus500’s Analysis Tools

Limited analysis tools and charting features have been some of the main points of criticism against the Plus500 trading platform. However, the CFD provider introduced some improvements as part of WebTrader’s September 2020 update.

Traders now have the option to open and compare multiple charts simultaneously. It is done by going to the button with four quadrants on the chart’s toolbar and choosing up to 12 charts to open on the screen.

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How Is Plus500 Regulated?

Plus500 Ltd is authorized and regulated by top financial regulators around the world. Here is an overview of the different Plus500 subsidiaries and regulators whose jurisdiction they fall under:

FAQs

Is Plus500 any good?

Plus500 was the number one CFD provider in the UK, Spain, and Germany in 2019. This is according to figures on the total number of client relationships published by Investment Trends, a key research provider to CFD platforms. In the same year, Plus500’s app was named the best mobile CFD platform in Australia.

In 2018, the provider’s WebTrader platform was the number one CFD trading platform in Europe, also according to Investment Trends.

Is Plus500 reliable?

Plus500 is a regulated CFD provider firm with subsidiaries in the UK, Australia, Cyprus, Singapore, Israel, Seychelles, Estonia, and UAE. The company is regulated and authorized by top financial authorities, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FAC) and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Plus500 keeps client funds in a segregated bank account and provides negative balance protection for both retail and professional accounts.

What is the minimum deposit for Plus500?

The minimum deposit to start trading CFDs with Plus500 is $100 (or the currency equivalent of € or £) if you’re making a deposit via credit/debit card or electronic wallet. For wire transfers, it’s $500. Money deposited via credit/debit card or electronic wallet typically shows up in a trader’s Plus500 account within a day. However, bank transfers can take up to five days.

How do I withdraw money from Plus500?

Plus500 withdrawal requests are subject to minimum amounts. The minimum withdrawal for bank transfers is $100 (or the currency equivalent) or the available account balance — whichever is less. For e-wallets it is $50 (or equivalent) or the available account balance — whichever is less. Plus500 may take up to three working days to process the transaction, while banks and financial institutions take three to seven days.

Plus500 can only return funds to the e-wallet or account it was deposited from.

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Credits: Original review written by Lawrence Pines. Major updates by Linda de Beer with contributions from the Commodity.com editorial team