Plus500 Review 2024 - Investing.com (2024)

Plus500 emerges as a promising choice for traders looking for a dynamic and user-friendly platform. It caters to both beginners and experienced traders, offering an array of account types and instruments. One notable advantage for beginners is the access to an unlimited demo account, allowing them to initiate their trading experience with Plus500 without any financial risk.

Let’s delve into the pros and cons, safety measures, tradable instruments, account types, and more.

Pros

• 2800+ Traded Assets
• Wide Range of Tradable CFD Instruments
• Unlimited Demo Account
• Competitive Spreads
• Regulated by Reputable Authorities

Cons

• Limited Educational Resources
• High Leverage Poses Risks

Providing a Secure Trading Environment

While choosing a multi-asset broker, it is paramount to consider trust and safety measures. Plus500 takes several measures to ensure a secure trading environment for its clients. Its key features include:

Regulation: Plus500 is a regulated broker, significantly indicating its commitment to transparency and accountability. It is authorized and regulated by reputable financial authorities, including the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) – (#250/14) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – (FRN 509909) in the UK. In addition, Plus500AU Pty Ltd (ACN 153301681) is licenced by the the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC – (AFSL #417727), the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in New Zealand – (FSP #486026), and the Financial Services Provider (FSP) in South Africa – (#47546). It’s important to note that you do not possess any ownership or rights to the underlying assets. Furthermore, it’s important to determine whether you fit within Plus500’s Target Market Distribution. Kindly consult the Disclosure documents provided on the website for further information.

Client Fund Security: Plus500 highly prioritizes the security of client funds. Those deposited with Plus500’s Cyprus subsidiary are held in segregated client bank accounts, ensuring that client funds are kept separate from the broker’s operational funds, reducing the risk of misappropriation.

Financial Transparency: Plus500 is a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), bolstering the broker’s transparency and accountability. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, and is subject to public scrutiny, adding a further layer of financial stability and transparency.

Prevention of Fraud: Plus500 employs stringent measures to prevent fraudulent activities on its platform, employing advanced security protocols, anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, and Know Your Customer (KYC) verification processes to ensure traders’ legitimacy.

Risk Management: Plus500 provides risk management tools for traders to manage their exposure effectively. Traders can set stop-loss and take-profit levels in order to control potential losses and secure profits.

A Wide Range of Assets

Among the key factors considered by traders while choosing a multi-asset broker is the variety of tradable instruments offered. Plus500 excels in this area as it provides a wide range of instruments catering to traders with different preferences and strategies.

On the CFD platform, traders can choose from a rich selection of currency pairs, encompassing major, minor, and exotic options, enabling them to exploit currency market fluctuations and economic events. Additionally, Plus500 provides access to popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, facilitating portfolio diversification in the world of digital assets. Please note that in the UK, availability of cryptocurrencies is subject to regulation. For those interested in commodities, the platform offers precious metals, energy resources, and agricultural products, allowing traders to align their positions with global supply and demand dynamics.

Some of the ETFs offered by the platform include:

• ARK 21Shares Active Ethereum Futures Strategy ETF
• VanEck Ethereum Trust
• Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF
• Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF
• Grayscale Ethereum ETF
• Fidelity Ethereum Fund
• BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust
• Franklin Templeton Franklin Ethereum ETF

Global stock markets are also accessible on Plus500, enabling traders to engage in equity trading across various exchanges. This platform provides opportunities to profit from stock price fluctuations. However, it’s crucial to note that while there are potential gains, there is also the possibility of capital losses. Trading involves risks, including the potential loss of invested capital, and traders should be mindful of these risks when making investment decisions. Diverse indices representing different markets and sectors, including the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, are available for speculation. Although Plus500 does not offer traditional options trading, traders can use Contracts for Difference (CFDs) to speculate on underlying asset price movements, including options. It’s important to note that, like any trading activity, there is also the possibility of capital losses when engaging in these markets.

Moreover, CFDs on Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and CFDs on futures contracts expand the range of investment opportunities. This extensive selection of tradable instruments equips traders with the flexibility to diversify their portfolios and pursue various trading strategies while benefiting from Plus500’s user-friendly platform and competitive features.

*All instruments mentioned above can be traded through the CFD platform

In addition to the CFD platform, Plus500 offers a range of specialized trading platforms:

Plus500 introduces the Invest Platform, allowing users to engage in share trading with access to over 2,700 financial instruments. The platform offers free market data and dedicated round-the-clock customer support. Please note that Plus500 Invest is currently available in specific countries.

Futures Trading (Plus500Futures)

Plus500Futures is a cutting-edge futures trading platform. With professional support and reliable clearing services, users in the United States can trade on E-mini and micro Futures contracts.

Forex Trading (Plus500 Securities)

Plus500 expands its market horizon with the Plus500 Securities platform, catering to the Japanese market. This platform offers a wide variety of currency pairs, ranging from major currencies to exotic currencies, providing diverse opportunities for forex trading. However, this review will proceed with explaining the CFD service offered by Plus500.

Accessible and Flexible

Plus500 adopts a user-centric approach to account types, ensuring accessibility and flexibility for traders at all levels. Their account offerings encompass a diverse range of options:

Plus500 provides traders with a free and unlimited demo account, allowing them to practice strategies and familiarize themselves with the platform without risking real capital. This risk-free environment replicates actual trading conditions, complete with virtual funds and live market data.This feature makes Plus500 particularly suitable for beginners, offering a safe space to gain essential trading experience before venturing into live trading.

For live trading, Plus500 offers a single type of account. The platform prioritizes a level playing field for all users, ensuring fairness and transparency in trading conditions.

To continually enhance the user experience, Plus500 actively incorporates user feedback and industry trends. Recent improvements include refining the demo trading experience, enabling users to customize their demo account balance to match their intended investment volume. This personalization feature empowers traders to fine-tune their practice sessions, better aligning them with their trading objectives.

Overall, Plus500’s approach to account types demonstrates its commitment to efficiency, fairness, and user-centered features, while catering to a wide range of trading preferences and requirements.

Transparent and Competitive

Plus500 offers a fee structure that aims at providing traders with transparency and competitive pricing. Here’s an overview of the commission and fees associated with trading on the Plus500 platform:

Account Minimum

Plus500 has a relatively low account minimum requirement of $100, making it accessible to traders with varying levels of capital. This lower barrier to entry allows traders to start with a modest investment and gradually increase their exposure as they gain experience.

Trading Fees

Plus500 stands out for offering tight spreads, eliminating the need for traders to pay a fee per trade. Instead, the broker generates its revenue through the spreads, which are the differences between the bid and ask prices, an approach that can be advantageous for traders who want to avoid additional transaction costs.

CFD Fees

Plus500’s pricing model is primarily centered around Contracts for Difference (CFDs), and the associated fees are embedded in the spreads. The spreads vary depending on the underlying asset, market conditions, and the specific currency pair being traded. While there are no explicit CFD fees, traders should be mindful of the spreads when executing trades.

Inactivity Fee

Plus500 charges an inactivity fee if an account remains inactive for a period of three months or more. This fee is intended to encourage active trading and is deducted from the trader’s account balance.

Overnight Funding Fee

When holding CFD positions overnight, traders may incur an overnight funding fee. This fee is applied to positions that are not closed by a specified time, typically incurring a cost for maintaining the position overnight.

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

Plus500 typically does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees. However, it’s important to check with your payment provider as they may have their own transaction fees.

Currency Conversion Fee

Plus500 charges a currency conversion fee when trading instruments denominated in a currency different from the trader’s account currency.

Guaranteed Stop Order Fee

Plus500 offers guaranteed stop orders, allowing traders to limit potential losses by ensuring that positions close at specific requested rates. However, it’s important to note that this guarantee is subject to a wider spread

Overall, Plus500’s fee structure emphasizes on minimizing additional costs for traders by offering tight spreads and incorporating fees into the spreads, thereby providing a straightforward and cost-effective trading experience for its users.

A User-Friendly Trading Experience

Plus500 provides a range of trading platforms designed to cater to different trading preferences and needs. Here’s an overview of the trading platforms offered by Plus500:

Mobile Trading Apps

Plus500 offers mobile trading apps for both Android and iOS devices, allowing traders to access their accounts and trade on the go. The mobile apps provide a seamless trading experience with features like real-time price quotes, advanced charting tools, and instant trade execution. The apps are designed for optimal performance on mobile devices and tablets, ensuring that traders can stay connected to the markets at all times.

Web Trading Platform

This platform is accessible through any modern web browser, eliminating the need for software downloads or installations. It offers a user-friendly interface where traders can access real-time market data, place trades, manage positions, and monitor their account activity all within the browser-based platform.

Proprietary Platform

Plus500 also offers its proprietary trading platform, which is designed for straightforward and efficient use. The proprietary platform is known for its user-friendly interface and straightforward navigation, while providing essential trading features, including order execution, risk management tools, and access to real-time market data.

Algo-Trading and Copy Trading

While Plus500’s platforms do not explicitly offer algo-trading or copy trading features, it focuses on providing traders with direct access to the markets, allowing them to execute trades based on their analysis and strategies.

Overall, Plus500’s trading platforms are meticulously crafted to provide traders with a seamless, user-friendly, and efficient trading experience, accessible through web-based platforms or mobile apps. This design empowers traders to effortlessly manage their positions and execute trades effectively.

Providing Valuable Insights

Plus500 distinguishes itself in the competitive CFD trading landscape by offering a range of unique features and tools that aim to enhance traders’ decision-making processes and provide valuable insights into market trends. Some notable unique features include:

Push Notifications and Alerts: Plus500 provides push notifications and alerts to traders based on market events, price movements, and changes in its in-house trader sentiment indicator.

+Insights Tool: Plus500’s +Insights tool is a trend exploration-driven feature that allows users to explore predefined measurements, such as most bought, most sold (shorted), most profit-making positions, and more. Traders can access a list of the “Top 10” instruments in each measurement for gaining insights into the current market sentiment and popular trading positions.

Instrument-Specific Insights: Plus500 offers an instrument-focused experience that allows users to dive deeper into individual instrument data. Traders can access information about the instrument’s popularity, views over the past 24 hours, and sentiment analysis for a comprehensive understanding of how the market perceives specific trading instruments.

“+Me” Comparison Tool: The “+Me” tool allows traders to compare their trading insights and behaviors with those of other Plus500 traders. Traders can gain insights into their trading preferences, risk management strategies, and trading frequency compared to other traders, encouraging self-assessment and helping them make more informed decisions based on their trading habits.

Comparative Analysis: Plus500’s platforms offer comparative analysis tools that allow traders to compare the performance of different trading instruments, strategies, and behaviors. This feature provides a comprehensive view of how various trading choices are performing in the current market environment.

Real-time Data and Insights: Plus500’s unique features provide traders with real-time data and insights, enabling them to make timely decisions based on current market conditions, offering a combination of technical, sentiment, and behavioral analysis to help them stay ahead of market trends.

User-Focused Platform: Plus500’s platforms are designed with the trader’s experience in mind, offering user-friendly interfaces, intuitive navigation, and access to essential trading tools. The broker’s commitment to providing a seamless trading experience contributes to its unique appeal among traders.

Overall, Plus500’s unique features provide traders with valuable tools and insights that can aid in making informed trading decisions. The combination of push notifications, sentiment analysis, comparative analysis, and instrument-specific insights empowers traders to stay updated with market trends and tailor their strategies for better trading outcomes.

Helping Traders Make Informed Decisions

Plus500 offers a range of research and educational resources aimed at helping traders make informed trading decisions. While the broker’s offerings in this category may not be as extensive as some industry leaders, it has made notable progress in improving its educational content and resources. Here’s an overview of Plus500’s research and education offerings:

Learning Center Overview: Plus500’s Learning Center provides traders with a collection of articles, videos, and guides to enhance their understanding of trading concepts and strategies. While the Learning Center covers a range of topics, the breadth and depth of content may not be as comprehensive as some other brokers.

Educational Content Comparison: Plus500’s educational content, while valuable, is limited compared to some industry-leading brokers. Traders looking for in-depth educational resources and webinars may find that Plus500’s offerings are more focused on providing essential information rather than comprehensive learning experiences.

Progress in Education: In order to improve its educational content, Plus500 introduced its Trading Academy, which includes video content, webinars, and written articles. The addition of the Corellian Academy’s content to Plus500’s YouTube channel and the Trader’s Guide series demonstrates the broker’s commitment to enhancing its educational resources.

Content Sources: Plus500’s educational content is drawn from its in-house Trading Academy as well as the Corellian Academy, which adds to the variety and depth of available resources. While these resources provide valuable insights, traders seeking more comprehensive educational experiences might explore additional sources.

Areas for Improvement: Plus500 could further enhance its educational offerings by expanding its range of videos, articles, and courses. Offering more interactive content, such as progress tracking, quizzes, and trading simulations, could provide traders with more engaging and practical learning experiences.

Video Focus: Plus500’s focus on video content is a positive aspect of its educational resources. Video tutorials, webinars, and guides can be especially effective in helping traders grasp complex trading concepts and strategies in a visually engaging manner.

While Plus500 has made strides in improving its educational content, traders seeking in-depth educational resources and comprehensive courses might supplement their learning with additional external sources.

Multi-Channel Support

Plus500 offers comprehensive customer support, providing traders with accessibility to live assistance during standard hours through live chat and email, ensuring prompt responses to inquiries. The broker goes a step further by extending support hours to cater to traders across different time zones. Offering a choice of communication channels and a helpful FAQ section on its website, Plus500 empowers traders to find answers efficiently without direct contact. With essential information readily available on its website, Plus500’s commitment to addressing traders’ needs is evident, making it a reliable choice for support.

A Seamless Process

Opening an account with Plus500 is a straightforward and user-friendly process that allows traders to start trading quickly. The broker aims to ensure a seamless account opening experience, providing traders with the necessary information and steps to get started. Here’s an overview of the Plus500 account opening process:

Application Information Requirements: Traders need to provide basic personal information, including their full name, email address, and phone number. They will need to create a password for their trading account.

Verification Process: In line regulatory requirements, Plus500 will require traders to verify their identity by providing valid documents, such as a government-issued ID and proof of address. This is to ensure the security of traders’ accounts and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

Account Setup and Selection: Traders can choose the type of account they wish to open. Plus500 offers a demo account, which is a risk-free environment for practicing trading strategies without real money and a live trading account for real-time trading. The live trading account allows traders to trade with real money, offering access to various financial instruments available on the platform.

Depositing Funds: To start trading with a live account, traders need to fund their account. Plus500 offers various deposit options, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and electronic wallets.

Platform Access: Once the account is funded, traders can access the trading platform using their login credentials. The trading platform is available as both a web-based platform and a mobile app, ensuring accessibility from various devices.

Navigating the Platform: Traders can explore the trading platform’s features, tools, and available financial instruments. The user-friendly interface and intuitive design facilitate seamless navigation, enabling traders to efficiently access and execute trades.

The Plus500 account opening process typically takes a few hours to a day, depending on document verification and fund processing speed. It’s user-friendly and efficient, allowing quick platform access. Identity verification enhances security. The process suits traders of varying experience levels, emphasizing security through identity verification.

Convenient and Secure

Deposits and withdrawals with Plus500 are designed to offer traders a convenient and secure process for managing their trading accounts. The broker provides various payment options and strives for timely transaction processing. Here’s a breakdown of the deposit and withdrawal procedures with Plus500:

Deposits: Plus500 offers a range of deposit options, including credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and electronic payment methods, allowing traders to choose the method that suits their preferences and location.Traders can log in to their Plus500 account and access the deposit section, where they can select their preferred payment method, enter the required payment details, specify the deposit amount, and follow the prompts to complete the deposit process. Deposits made through credit/debit cards and electronic wallets are typically processed instantly, enabling traders to start trading promptly. Bank transfers may take a few business days to reflect in the trading account.

Withdrawals: Plus500 facilitates withdrawals using the same payment methods used for deposits, ensuring a smooth and consistent withdrawal process. To request a withdrawal, traders can log in to their Plus500 account, navigate to the withdrawal section, select the withdrawal method, specify the withdrawal amount, and follow the prompts to submit the withdrawal request. Withdrawal processing times vary based on the chosen withdrawal method. Electronic wallets and credit/debit card withdrawals are typically processed within a short timeframe, often within 24 hours. Bank transfers may take a few business days to reach the trader’s account.

The deposit and withdrawal procedures with Plus500 are user-friendly and efficient, offering instant deposits and relatively quick withdrawal processing times. Plus500’s commitment to fee-free transactions and secure payment processing enhances the overall trading experience.

In conclusion, Plus500 stands out as a reputable and user-friendly broker in the competitive world of online trading. With its unique advantages and comprehensive offerings, it caters to a wide range of traders, from beginners who can use the demo account to experienced professionals. While there are improvement areas, Plus500’s strengths make it a viable choice for traders seeking a reliable platform to trade various financial instruments.

Before opening an account with Plus500 or any other broker, it’s crucial to conduct thorough research, review the broker’s terms and conditions, and consider your risk tolerance. The financial markets come with inherent risks, and while Plus500 offers a user-friendly platform, it’s essential to approach trading with caution and informed decision-making.