| Updated: November 19, 2024Launched in 2008, Plus500 is a streamlined brokerage that provides access to a vast range of trading instruments and markets with tight spreads and zero commissions. This is a truly global brand that enjoys a reputation for excellence, reliability, and rigorous regulatory compliance.
The brokerage house is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Its trading operations are licensed and supervised by several top-tier regulators from the UK, Australia, and Cyprus.
This is a rapidly growing company that handles massive trading volumes each year. In 2018 alone, the brokerage had more than 304,000 active customers, who opened over 39 million positions for a total traded value that exceeded $1.8 trillion.
The broker offers an incredibly rich selection of more than 2,000 trading instruments, including foreign exchange, indices, shares, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. More advanced instruments like ETFs and options are also available via the intuitive Plus500 trading platform. Customers can rely on a professional round-the-clock support service, easy-to-use trading interface, and free real-time quotes.
The brokerage’s website supports over 30 different language options, including English, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Czech, Italian, Portuguese, French, Danish, and German. Customers have a choice from two account types, one for retail traders and another one for professionals. Opening a demo account for practice is also possible and takes less than ten seconds.
Regulations
Plus500 is a multi-regulated, properly licensed, and secure brokerage to trade currencies and contracts for difference with. The company trades publicly on the London Stock Exchange but does not operate a banking institution. It has subsidiaries in several countries – the United Kingdom, Cyprus, and Australia.
Of course, each subsidiary is regulated under the laws of its respective jurisdiction. The UK-based unit, Plus500UK Limited, is headquartered in the city of London and falls under the rigorous oversight of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Under the rules laid down by the UK regulator, Plus500 stores the funds of its customers in segregated accounts to ensure everyone gets paid back if the brokerage declares insolvency.
Customers’ money is not used by the broker for hedging. The company also partakes in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If Plus500 files for bankruptcy or shuts down its trading operations for whatever reason, each UK customer could receive compensation of up to £85,000.
Plus500 has the authorization to provide trading services to European customers thanks to a license issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEK). Under this license, the broker can accept the trades of people based in other member states of the European Union (EU).
The brokerage’s services cross over to the other side of the world, all the way to Australia, where it is authorized and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Traders from New Zealand can also invest here thanks to Plus500’s license issued by the local Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
The broker operates on South African soil with the authorization of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Its business in Singapore falls under the jurisdiction of the local Monetary Authority.
Trading Instruments
Plus500 boasts a long list of trading instruments, more than 2,000 to be precise. Here you will find over 70 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs for Forex trading alongside numerous options for contracts for difference, including commodities, indices, shares, and cryptocurrencies.Options and ETFs are available to the benefit of well-versed traders. The website features a full list of the instruments on offer where customers can read all the details for every single market. Just click the button that reads “Trading Instruments” in the main navigation bar. The spreads are ultra-tight and there are generally no commissions on the trades.Forex Trading
Foreign exchange traders can explore a vast range of Forex trading opportunities at Plus500, having a choice from around 72 currency pairs. Here you can trade with major, minor, and exotic pairs but the most popular options remain the currencies of stable economies like EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, and GBP/USD.
Forex traders are presented with advanced tools that enable them to protect their earnings and control their losses. The Forex products are leveraged which allows customers to trade with larger volumes than they have initially deposited.
Currency pairs are leveraged at 30:1 for retail accounts, meaning that you can trade with a capital of $3,000 with a deposit as small as $100 or the currency equivalent. So in essence, leverage magnifies the size of your trade but without boosting the required margin. Forex traders can also benefit from real-time quotes and various indicators that help them analyze charts with ease.
Soft and Hard Trading
Plus500 offers a nice range of commodities to customers who want to trade with leveraged derivatives like the contracts for difference (CFDs). Soft and hard commodities are available for CFD trading with leverage that reaches a maximum of 20:1 for retail accounts and up to 150:1 for professional accounts.
Those looking to trade with hard commodities, mined from the bowels of the earth, have a choice from metals like palladium, gold, silver, platinum, and copper. Crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, and natural gas are also on offer and so are soft commodities, which are grown instead of mined.
You can buy contracts for difference for goods like cotton, feeder cattle, sugar, wheat, cocoa, lean hogs, coffee, and cotton. Before you dive into trading with commodity derivatives, you should carefully consider whether you can afford to take the risk.
CFDs are complex and highly volatile instruments because of leverage. The latter can magnify your losses the same way it can magnify your potential profits. This instrument is suitable for those who either can afford to take a massive financial hit or have the necessary knowledge and experience to trade CFDs successfully. Plus500 itself has posted a disclaimer on its website, warning prospective customers that 76.4% of its retail clients lose money when trading with this type of derivative.
Options and ETFs
Well-versed clients have a choice from more complex financial instruments. They can trade on volatility with a range of CFDs for options, which are commonly used by skilled investors for speculation or to hedge risk.
Options are types of derivative contracts that enable, but do not necessarily require, traders to purchase or sell different underlying assets, such as securities, exchange-traded funds (EFTs) and indices at a prearranged price over a given period.
This instrument should not be confused with stocks because it does not represent ownership in specific companies. Plus500 allows for both call and put options on a variety of markets including the German DAX 30 Index, crude oil, and shares for companies like Facebook. Options are leveraged at a maximum of 5:1.
More experienced customers also have a choice from a nice range of ETFs (exchange-traded funds). This is a suitable option for traders in search of low-risk alternatives to mutual funds. It is a low-cost instrument that helps traders build more diversified portfolios. EFT markets also come with a maximum leverage of 5:1.
Trading Platforms
 Platforms |
 PC / MAC |
 Smartphones |
 Tablets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plus500 WebTrader |   |   | |
| Proprietary |
Plus500’s platform is a great choice for retail investors, enabling them to trade with ease on desktop and mobile devices. There is the option to execute trades via dedicated downloadable software, which customers can get at no cost straight from the website of the brokerage.
This, however, is an option for those who use desktop computers based, on Windows 8.1 or later. This brokerage implements proprietary software which was also optimized for use directly in your Internet browser. Apps for iOS and Android are offered as well.
The Plus500 WebTrader
The Plus500 WebTrader is compatible with a range of widely used browsers including Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox. The software is intuitive which makes it the perfect option for those who have never traded before. This is a good way to gain some experience until you move to a more advanced platform.
Traders can keep track of their open/closed positions and pending orders. There are ready-made watchlists for the popular trading options on the platform, your favorite markets, and the risers/fallers. Expanding to full-screen is also possible.
This proprietary platform comes with 9 timeframes, customizable charts, over a hundred indicators, and 13 or so chart types, including candlesticks, bars, lines, Heikin-Ashi, Kagi, Renko, and range bars.
Mobile Apps for iOS and Android
Plus500 provides a superior experience to mobile users via two native applications for iOS and Android that are equipped with all useful functionalities of its desktop platform. Traders again have access to the full suite of over 2,000 instruments. Charting is available along with a hundred or so technical indicators.
Smartphone users can expand the charts to fill their entire touchscreens so that everything is clearly visible during technical analysis. Other useful features of the mobile applications include competitive leverage, multi-lingual customer support, real-time quotes, and a nice selection of payment methods.
Payment Methods
Payments at Plus500 are conducted via a range of reliable and convenient banking solutions. These include debit/credit cards by Visa and Mastercard, bank transfers, Skrill, PayPal, BPay, Giropay, Trustly, Przelewy, Sofort, iDeal, Multibanco, and MyBank.
The use of some of the accepted payment methods is restricted to specific countries only, so they may be unavailable to certain customers of the brokerage. Each method has its own minimum deposit requirements, which you can see in the deposit menu of the trading platform.
There are no additional fees or commission on deposits, at least not on behalf of the brokerage house. Plus500 processes withdrawal requests within a timeframe of 1 to 3 business days. The exact waiting times vary between the different available options.
Withdrawals via PayPal and Skrill take between 3 and 7 working days to reach you while those requested via bank transfers require 5 to 7 working days. The broker covers most processing fees for payments.
However, if your live account remains inactive for more than three months, Plus500 will deduct a monthly maintenance fee of $10 from your available balance. A conversion fee of 0.3% is charged when you trade on instruments denominated in currencies that differ from the base currency of your live account.
| Brand | Minimum | Fees | Processing Time |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
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 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
 | $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| Brand | Minimum | Fees | Processing Time |
| < $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| < $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| < $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| < $50 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| < $50 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| < $100 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
| $10 | No Fees | 1-3 Business days |
Account Types
This broker does not provide much diversity in terms of account types as Plus500 is tailored mostly to the needs of retail customers. If you lack much experience in trading, you can open a free demo account to test the brokerage’s proprietary platform and practice with some free credits.
This will give a good feel of what to expect when you start trading with real money because demo accounts work the same way as live ones. To trade in demo mode, you only need to provide a valid email address and choose a password. The whole process takes but a few seconds. The demo account is funded with $40,000 in practice credits and can be used for an unlimited period.
One great thing about the Plus500 platform is that it enables users to conveniently switch back and forth between real-money and demo mode. This is particularly great when one is looking to test some new trading strategies in a risk-free way.
Other than that, there are two types of live accounts, one for retail customers and another one for professional traders. The leverage for retail accounts is 30:1 while the maximum for professional accounts is much higher at 300:1.
Here it should be mentioned that not everyone is eligible for a professional account. Certain criteria must be met first. You need to have had a sufficient trading activity over the last year, with a minimum of ten sizable transactions per quarter. The relevant markets that qualify are those involving leveraged derivatives like spread betting and contracts for difference.
Another condition is for your financial instrument portfolio to exceed $500,000 or the currency equivalent. You also need enough experience working in the financial sector (one year or more) to ensure you have a sufficient understanding of how trading works.
Customer Support
Plus500 customers are provided with several avenues of communication when it comes to contacting the support staff. The platform offers round-the-clock support in most of the jurisdictions it operates in.
Customers can quickly get in touch with a professional support representative via the live chat where they can rely on adequate and fast assistance. The support agents even offer newly registered beginner traders to walk them through the peculiarities of trading with leveraged instruments like the CFD.
Additionally, there is a contact form on the website. You must enter your full name, a valid email address, and your query so they can write you back with the response. The messaging platform WhatsApp is also an option for customers who have it installed on their devices.
Most queries are answered in the FAQ section which features exhaustive information about account verification, payments, regulations, charges, and trading. There are even videos showing new customers how to trade via the Plus500 platform.
Conclusion
Plus500 is a great choice for those looking to join a multi-regulated and transparent online brokerage platform. The company offers a user-friendly and well-designed interface that allows you to trade directly in your desktop browser or via the dedicated mobile applications.
The broker provides a huge variety of over 2,000 instruments including Forex, indices, shares, commodities, ETFs, and options. Most of the products are leveraged and therefore, riskier for novice traders. If you are new to working with leverage, we suggest you first open a demo account to test the platform and build the foundation required to work with such instruments.
The licenses granted by top-tier regulators like the FCA, CySEK, and ASIC give customers the peace of mind the broker operates transparently and safely. Plus500 also trades publicly on the London Stock Exchange, which further consolidates the legitimacy of this brokerage firm.