Risk Warning: Your Capital is at Risk.
Trading 212 is an online broker that offers real stocks, ETFs, and CFDs across a variety of asset classes. The company is based in London and is regulated by two international organizations.
With a modern cross-platform experience, Trading 212 operates trading accounts on a zero-commission model and continues to be a leading trading app in the UK since 2016.
In this review, we cover the range of trading products, the quality of the mobile and desktop platforms, and step-by-step guides to sign up and start trading with Trading 212.
Contents
Read on to find out if Trading 212 is available in and how you can get started.
Trading 212 at a Glance
 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | A leading UK online broker since 2016 |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Markets | CFDs, Stocks, and ISAs |
| Products | Forex, Shares, Indices, Commodities (see all product details) |
| Countries Served | Many including: UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the UAE - (read more) |
| Minimum Deposit & Fees | $/£/€1 to $/£/€10 - (read more about funding and fees) |
| Regulator(s) | UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) - (see all regulatory information here) |
| Customer Support | Chat, E-mail, support tickets |
| Demo Account | Yes, with 50,000 demo credits |
Pros and Cons of Trading With This Broker
| What's Good About Trading 212? | What Could Trading 212 Do Better? |
|---|---|
 Trustworthy broker (we scored Trading 212 90/100 in our broker trust rating). |  No phone support. |
 Over 2,500 global stocks, ETFs, and CFDs to trade. |  No cryptocurrency trading available. |
 Quick registration and beginner-friendly mobile app. |  Withdrawals are limited to funding payment method. |
 Zero commission on trades and no funding fees. |
Start Trading Now at Trading 212
Where Does Trading 212 Operate?
Trading 212 runs under two registered companies, one in England and Wales, and one in Bulgaria. The company is authorized to operate as an online broker by two regulatory bodies:
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – Registration no. 609146
- Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) – Registration no. RG-03-0237
Trading 212 accepts traders from over 100 countries worldwide, including Australia, Japan, Singapore, the UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the UAE.
The broker does NOT accept customers from some countries like Canada, the US, or China. (see which brokers & trading apps are available in your country)
IMPORTANT: CFDs are not available in the USA due to local regulation, and regulated brokers do not accept US citizens or US residents as clients.
Website and Platform Languages
The Trading 212 website and platform are available in 11 languages. These are:
- English
- German
- Dutch
- French
- Italian
- Espanol
- Polish
- Russian
- Romanian
- Chinese
- Arabic
Customer service, however, is only available in English and is based in the UK.
Client Fund Protection
Traders funds are kept in separate bank accounts and are protected under the:
- Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) – Compensation up to £85,000
- Investors Compensation Fund (ICF) – 90% compensation up to €20,000
Start Trading Now at Trading 212
How To Open A Trading 212 Account
Trading 212 offers three retail account types: CFD, Invest, and ISA.
Traders can open an account with Trading 212 in a few simple steps. After clicking the ‘Open Account’ button on the website or application:
- Select your country of residence (and the country where you pay taxes).
- Fill in name, phone number, and date of birth.
- Provide your National Tax Identifier (NTI).
- Fill in your residential address.
- Select your account type(s).
- Select your preferred currency to trade with.
- Provide financial details of your:
- Annual salary and estimated savings
- Source of your income for the deposit
- Occupation.
- Provide details of your trading experience:
- Trade volume in the past 12 months
- Professional experience in financial sectors.
- Verify your account by providing:
- A valid ID (photo or scan)
- An up-to-date selfie
- Proof of address (bank statement or utility bill from the past 3 months).
Professional Account Requirements
Trading 212 offers a professional trading account, though the benefits and features of the upgrade are not stated on the website.
Requirements to open a ‘Pro’ account with Trading 212 are:
- An average of at least 10 trades in each of the last four quarters of the past year (min. 40 trades for the year)
- An investment portfolio (cash and financial instruments) of at least €500,000
- At least 1 year of professional experience in a financial sector
Given the oblivious disclosure of what comes with the Trading 212 professional account, traders looking for professional trading accounts in may prefer brokers like AvaTrade, City Index, or Plus500.
What About a Demo Account?
To open a demo account, traders provide their e-mail address with a password and are given immediate access to a fully functional demo platform.
The account comes with £50,000 practice credits. It must be noted that not all products are listed on the demo account. Clients can switch to a real trading account from the demo dashboard.
Start Trading Now at Trading 212
Guide To Trading CFDs With Trading 212
Trading 212 clients can choose from three retail variations of the platform:
- Trading 212 CFD: Contracts-for-difference on forex, commodities, stocks, and indices
- Trading 212 Invest: Real stocks and exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) from as little as £1
- Trading 212 ISA: Tax-free, zero commission stocks from £1
With the CFD account, traders have access to the following asset classes: forex, commodities, indices, and stocks. These markets open at 21:01 on Sundays and close at 20:59 on Fridays (GMT).
Forex
There are over 200 forex pairs to trade.
See all forex pairs.
| AUD/BGN | CHF/HUF | GBP/RON | SEK/HKD |
| AUD/CAD | CHF/JPY | GBP/RUB | SEK/JPY |
| AUD/CHF | CHF/MXN | GBP/SEK | SEK/PLN |
| AUD/CNH | CHF/NOK | GBP/SGD | SEK/RON |
| AUD/CZK | CHF/NZD | GBP/TRY | SGD/BGN |
| AUD/DKK | CHF/PLN | GBP/USD | SGD/GBP |
| AUD/GBP | CHF/RON | GBP/ZAR | SGD/HKD |
| AUD/HKD | CHF/RUB | Gold/RUB | SGD/JPY |
| AUD/ILS | CHF/SEK | HKD/GBP | SGD/MXN |
| AUD/JPY | CHF/SGD | HKD/HUF | SGD/PLN |
| AUD/MXN | CHF/TRY | HKD/JPY | SGD/RON |
| AUD/NOK | CHF/ZAR | HKD/ZAR | SGD/SEK |
| AUD/NZD | CNH/JPY | HUF/GBP | SGD/TRY |
| AUD/PLN | CNH/MXN | ILS/MXN | SGD/ZAR |
| AUD/RON | CZK/JPY | JPY/GBP | Silver/RUB |
| AUD/SEK | DKK/GBP | JPY/HUF | TRY/CNH |
| AUD/SGD | DKK/HKD | MXN/JPY | TRY/CZK |
| AUD/TRY | DKK/JPY | NOK/DKK | TRY/DKK |
| AUD/USD PRO | DKK/ZAR | NOK/GBP | TRY/GBP |
| AUD/USD | EUR/AUD | NOK/JPY | TRY/HKD |
| AUD/ZAR | EUR/CAD | NOK/PLN | TRY/HUF |
| BGN/AUD | EUR/CHF | NOK/RON | TRY/JPY |
| BGN/DKK | EUR/CNH | NOK/SEK | TRY/MXN |
| BGN/HUF | EUR/CZK | NOK/ZAR | TRY/NOK |
| BGN/JPY | EUR/DKK | NZD/CAD | TRY/PLN |
| BGN/NOK | EUR/GBP | NZD/CHF | TRY/RON |
| BGN/PLN | EUR/HKD | NZD/CNH | TRY/SEK |
| BGN/RON | EUR/HUF | NZD/GBP | TRY/ZAR |
| BGN/RUB | EUR/ILS | NZD/HKD | USD/AUD |
| BGN/SEK | EUR/JPY | NZD/JPY | USD/BGN |
| BGN/SGD | EUR/MXN | NZD/MXN | USD/CAD PRO |
| BGN/TRY | EUR/NOK | NZD/NOK | USD/CAD |
| CAD/AUD | EUR/NZD | NZD/PLN | USD/CHF |
| CAD/BGN | EUR/PLN | NZD/RON | USD/CNH |
| CAD/CHF | EUR/RON | NZD/SEK | USD/CZK |
| CAD/CNH | EUR/RUB | NZD/SGD | USD/DKK |
| CAD/CZK | EUR/SEK | NZD/TRY | USD/GBP |
| CAD/DKK | EUR/SGD | NZD/USD | USD/HKD |
| CAD/GBP | EUR/TRY | NZD/ZAR | USD/HUF |
| CAD/HKD | EUR/USD | PLN/CNH | USD/ILS |
| CAD/JPY | EUR/ZAR | PLN/CZK | USD/JPY |
| CAD/MXN | EURBGN | PLN/GBP | USD/MXN |
| CAD/NOK | GBP/AUD | PLN/HUF | USD/NOK |
| CAD/NZD | GBP/BGN | PLN/JPY | USD/PLN |
| CAD/PLN | GBP/CAD | PLN/MXN | USD/RON |
| CAD/RON | GBP/CHF | PLN/ZAR | USD/RUB |
| CAD/RUB | GBP/CNH | RON/CZK | USD/SEK |
| CAD/SEK | GBP/CZK | RON/GBP | USD/SGD |
| CAD/SGD | GBP/DKK | RON/HUF | USD/TRY |
| CAD/TRY | GBP/HKD | RON/JPY | USD/ZAR |
| CAD/ZAR | GBP/HUF | RON/MXN | ZAR/CZK |
| CHF/AUD | GBP/JPY | RON/NOK | ZAR/GBP |
| CHF/BGN | GBP/MXN | RON/PLN | ZAR/JPY |
| CHF/CAD | GBP/NOK | RON/SEK | ZAR/RUB |
| CHF/CZK | GBP/NZD | RON/ZAR | |
| CHF/GBP | GBP/PLN | SEK/DKK |
Commodities
Here are the commodity CFDs offered by Trading 212:
Traders can also speculate on commodity/forex pairs, primarily with major currencies and precious metals.
Indices
There are over 40 index CFDs offered by Trading 212:
See all indices.
- Amundi ETF MSCI Spain
- Amundi MSCI Nordic
- Canada ETF
- Dollar Index-15Mar21
- EURO STOXX 50
- France 40
- Germany 30
- iShares MSCI Brazil
- iShares MSCI Denmark
- iShares MSCI Finland
- iShares MSCI Israel
- iShares MSCI Mexico
- iShares MSCI New Zealand
- iShares MSCI Norway
- iShares MSCI Poland
- iShares MSCI Singapore
- iShares MSCI Sweden
- Italy 40
- Japan 225
- Lyxor Australia S&P/ASX 200
- Lyxor BEL 20
- Lyxor Hang Seng China Enterprise ETF
- Lyxor HSI Hong Kong ETF
- Lyxor MSCI India
- Lyxor MSCI Korea ETF
- Lyxor MSCI Malaysia
- Lyxor MSCI Russia
- Lyxor MSCI South Africa
- Lyxor MSCI Taiwan
- Lyxor MSCI Turkey
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts ETF
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Banks ETF
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Financial Services (Acc)
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Healthcare ETF
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Insurance ETF
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Media ETF
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Technology
- Lyxor Stoxx Europe 600 Telecoms ETF
- NASDAQ 100
- Netherlands 25
- SPX 500
- Switzerland 20
- UK 100
- US 30
- Xtrackers MSCI Indonesia
Stocks (CFDs & Real Shares)
Traders have over 3,000 global stocks and ETFs to choose from. Popular real stock equities on the Trading 212 market include:
- Barclays PLC
- Vodafone Group PLC
- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Tesla, Inc.
- Lloyds Banking Group PLC
- China Railway Group Ltd.
- Xiaomi Corp
- Apple Inc
Real stocks and ETFs can be traded on the Trading 212 Invest and ISA platforms, while stock CFDs are available on the CFD platform.
How to Start Trading CFDs Step-by-Step
IMPORTANT: CFDs are not available in the USA due to local regulation, and regulated brokers do not accept US citizens or US residents as clients.
In a few steps, traders can begin to trade CFDs and manage their positions.
Here is how you do it:
- First, ensure that Trading 212 is available in
- Log in to your verified trading account and select ‘Trading 212 CFD’
- Deposit funds by clicking the blue ‘Deposit’ button
- Select an instrument of interest (after ample research)
- Click the ‘Buy’ or ‘Sell’ indicator for your chosen instrument
- Set the quantity and any profit/loss limits
- Click ‘Confirm’ to open the trade
Once you’ve executed your first trade, you can manage your open positions at the bottom center of your screen.
Start Trading Now at Trading 212
Deposit and Withdrawal Methods
The available deposit and withdrawal methods are:
- Apple Pay
- Bank Transfers
- Carte Bleue
- Credit/Debit Card
- Direct eBanking
- Dotpay
- Giropay
- Google Pay
- iDEAL
- PayPal
- Skrill
There are no deposit fees until you deposit GBP 2,000 in total, then an 0.7% fee applies. There are no withdrawal fees.
Trading 212 Fees and Spreads
Trading 212 fees depend on your account type. Here’s a summary of fees based on which Trading 212 account you hold.
Trading 212 Invest Account Fees
Fees for real stocks and ETFs:
| Min. Deposit | 1 EUR/GBP/USD (10 with wire transfers) |
| Min. Withdrawal Amount | 1 EUR/GBP/USD |
| Deposit/Withdrawal Fee | None |
| Overnight Trading Fee | None |
| Currency Conversion Charge | 0% |
| Commission | None |
| Min. Order Size | 1 EUR/GBP/USD |
Trading 212 CFD Account Fees
Fees for CFDs and forex:
| Min. Deposit | 10 EUR/GBP/USD |
| Min. Withdrawal Amount | 10 EUR/GBP/USD |
| Deposit/Withdrawal Fee | None |
| Overnight Trading Fee | SWAP interest (varies per instrument) |
| Currency Conversion Charge | 0.5% |
| Commission | None |
| Forex | Majors: 3.33% Non-Majors: 5% |
| Commodities | Gold: 5% Other: 10% |
| Stocks | 20% |
| Indices | Base Indices: 5% Other: 10% |
Trading 212 ISA Account Fees
Fees for tax-free stock trades:
| Min. Deposit | 1 GBP (10 with wire transfer) |
| Min. WIthdrawal Amount | 1 GBP |
| Deposit/Withdrawal Fee | None |
| Overnight Trading Fee | None |
| Currency Conversion Charge | 0% |
| Commission | None |
| Min. Order | 1 GBP |
Start Trading Now at Trading 212
Desktop and Mobile Platform Review
We tried Trading 212’s desktop and mobile applications, then reviewed them side-by-side.
Asset Browsing and Dashboard
- On Desktop: All assets are accessible through the sidebar alongside customizable watchlists. The side-bar toggle can be set to close automatically when the cursor is elsewhere. The rest of the dashboard consists of the position manager and chart in the center of the screen, and the trading stats bar.
- On Mobile: Traders use a slider to navigate between asset classes and scroll to browse products. The top bar presents the available balance and the option to switch between account types.
Executing Trades
- On Desktop: Traders can choose between a trade at the market level, a stop/loss trade, and a multi-order trade. The trade execution window also shows the active margin and SWAP trading fee.
- On Mobile: The mobile trading screen is more feature-rich than its desktop counterpart with a built-in charting tool. More, trading stats can be viewed in the live trade window by scrolling down.
Position Management
- On Desktop: An open tab at the bottom of the dashboard. It shows stats like the instrument quantity, current and traded price, direction of trade, margin, and a live profit/loss meter. Multiple positions can be closed at a time. The same tab gives access to pending orders and price alerts.
- On Mobile: The position management tabs resemble the trading tabs with the corresponding chart, trading data, and ability to close the trade, or even buy more of the same product.
Trading Tools and Resources
- On Desktop: The charting tool takes center stage on the desktop with chart templates and a multitude of indicators, both pre-set and custom. Video tutorials are available on-demand, even on charting.
- On Mobile: While the economic calendars, video tutorials, and reports are all accessible on mobile too, the charting tool is the most impressive. Traders can go as far as finger-drawing Elliot Waves and adding customized Bollinger Bands.
Start Trading Now at Trading 212
FAQs
Does Trading 212 offer trading on cryptocurrency?
No. As a result of the FCA’s new policy on cryptocurrencies, Trading 212 stopped offering crypto CFDs as of November 27, 2020. The company stated that removal of cryptocurrency products “was an internal business decision as it is becoming increasingly difficult, and almost impossible to hedge cryptocurrency exposure.”
Is Trading 212 good for beginners?
Trading is not good for beginners, period. Trading 212 has a modern, and clutter-free demo platform that allows traders to start trading with practice credits in minutes. The product range is impressive, and there is plenty of support material to help traders learn about the world of trading. Those new to trading may want to practice with demo credits before spending real money.
How do I withdraw money from Trading 212?
To withdraw your funds from your Trading 212 account, you need to use the same payment method as you did to fund the account. According to Trading 212, this is for security reasons. You can read more about Trading 212 deposits and withdrawals in our deposits overview.
Do Trading 212 pay dividends?
Yes, Trading 212 pays dividends to their eligible clients. The qualification criteria are different for Invest/ISA account holders versus CFD account holders. CFD dividends are paid if a position is held open through an ex-dividend date. The funds are sent or deducted from the trader’s account.
How does Trading 212 make money?
Since Trading 212 does not charge commissions, they make their money through spreads (both variable and fixed), as well as SWAP rates. SWAP rates are calculated on a per-product basis and are applied to the account balance at 21:00 GMT. To see Trading 212’s up to date spreads, visit their website.
Can you buy shares on Trading 212?
Yes, Trading 212 offers customers real shares of companies via its subsidiary platforms: Trading 212 Invest, and Trading 212 ISA. Alongside shares, traders can choose from thousands of stock CFDs. The full list of stocks can be seen on Trading212.com. You can also find a list of products here.
Credits: Written by Marko Csokasi with contributions from the Commodity.com editorial team. Updates in Feb 2021 by Natalie Mootz.
