Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FP Markets vs Trading 212, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
When comparing FP Markets and Trading 212, both online brokers bring a sense of security with their notable regulatory credentials. FP Markets, founded in 2005, proudly holds two Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, contributing to its trust score of 89 out of 99, as rated by ForexBrokers.com. This score designates FP Markets as a trusted broker. Trading 212, established a year earlier in 2004, also holds two Tier-1 licenses, but lacks any Tier-2 licenses, giving it a slightly lower trust score of 79, indicating an average risk level.
Neither FP Markets nor Trading 212 is a publicly traded company, and neither operates as a bank, which might be relevant for those considering their corporate structure in financial dealings. While FP Markets scores highly in trust and regulatory recognition with its impressive collection of licenses, Trading 212 provides a decent level of trust despite holding fewer regulatory licenses.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2005 | 2004 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
FP Markets and Trading 212 offer distinct pricing structures, making them suitable for different types of traders. FP Markets is recognized for its competitive commission-based ECN account, earning accolades such as Best in Class for Commissions and Fees in the 2024 Annual Awards. The broker offers attractive ECN spreads averaging 0.1 pips (0.8 pips all-in with commission) via its Raw ECN account. However, its Standard account comes with higher spreads of approximately 1.1 pips for the EUR/USD as of October 2023. FP Markets provides platforms like MetaTrader, cTrader, and Iress, with various account tiers requiring different minimum deposits, yet the Iress ViewPoint account may be better suited for high-balance and active traders due to its pricing.
While Trading 212 promotes zero-commission trading, its spreads for CFDs and forex are less competitive, with the EUR/USD pair averaging 1.9 pips as of January 2024. This places it at a disadvantage compared to some top-tier brokers offering tighter spreads. Trading 212 accommodates smaller traders, requiring just a 10 euro minimum deposit for its CFD account, making it accessible for those entering the trading world.
When comparing star ratings and rankings, FP Markets shines slightly brighter with 5 stars for commissions and fees, ranking #6 out of 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. In contrast, Trading 212 holds a respectable 4-star rating, positioned at #43 in the same category. While FP Markets may appeal more to those seeking lower spreads in a commission-based model, Trading 212 offers a straightforward entry point with its low minimum deposit, despite the less favorable spread performance.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 AUD | €10 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
FP Markets and Trading 212 are notable choices for online trading, each providing distinct advantages in their investment offerings. FP Markets stands out with an impressive 10,000 tradeable symbols, featuring 71 forex pairs available as CFDs or spot contracts. It also supports the trading of cryptocurrency derivatives and offers copy trading functionalities, but falls short when it comes to direct investment in exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges. In terms of user ratings, FP Markets earns a commendable 4.5 stars for its range of investments.
Meanwhile, Trading 212 blossoms with a selection of 8,025 tradeable symbols, surpassing FP Markets by offering 146 forex pairs and access to direct investment in exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges. Similar to FP Markets, it enables trading of cryptocurrency derivatives but does not provide the option to buy actual cryptocurrencies. Despite not supporting copy trading, Trading 212 manages to secure an impeccable 5-star rating for its investment range, ranking slightly higher than FP Markets according to ForexBrokers.com with a position of 15 out of 62 brokers.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 | 8025 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 | 146 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing the trading platforms and tools of FP Markets and Trading 212, both offer a comprehensive range of features to cater to traders. FP Markets provides a robust simulated trading experience with a free virtual demo account, which Trading 212 also offers. Both brokers have proprietary platforms for unique user experiences. However, FP Markets excels with its support for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, while Trading 212 does not offer these popular platforms. For those preferring a Windows-based desktop platform, FP Markets caters to this need, unlike Trading 212 which lacks this option. Both brokers, however, do provide user-friendly web-based platforms.
When it comes to additional features, FP Markets supports copy trading, giving it an edge over Trading 212, which does not. Charting tools also show slight differences, with Trading 212 offering 20 drawing tools compared to FP Markets' 17. Both brokers allow trading directly from stock charts, but FP Markets provides more watch list customization with seven columns versus Trading 212's five. Despite these distinctions, both brokers receive a commendable four-star rating for their trading platforms and tools. In rankings, Trading 212 slightly outpaces FP Markets, securing the 20th position among 62 brokers, compared to FP Markets’ 23rd place as reviewed by ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 54 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 17 | 20 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 5 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When deciding between FP Markets and Trading 212 for mobile trading, both platforms offer the convenience of iPhone and Android apps. They also provide helpful features like stock and forex price alerts, the ability to draw trendlines, and view various time frames on charts. Additionally, both apps auto-save any drawings you make on your charts and offer watchlists with real-time quotes. However, a key difference is that Trading 212 offers syncing of watchlist symbols between the mobile app and the online account, while FP Markets does not.
In terms of charting tools, FP Markets relies on the default MetaTrader studies, whereas Trading 212 provides 104 technical studies, offering more flexibility for technical analysis. Both platforms score the same in user satisfaction with four out of five stars, but Trading 212 edges out slightly in rankings by ForexBrokers.com, placing 17th out of 62 brokers, just one slot ahead of FP Markets at 18th. Overall, both apps are well-regarded for mobile trading, but Trading 212 has a slight advantage in watchlist syncing and technical options.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | MetaTrader (Default) | 104 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When it comes to market research, FP Markets provides a comprehensive experience for traders by offering daily market commentary and forex news from top sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. They also support traders with a range of analytical tools, including Autochartist and Trading Central for technical insights, alongside sentiment-based trading tools that showcase long and short position ratios across instruments. Furthermore, FP Markets includes an economic calendar that highlights key global news events, resulting in a solid 4-star research rating and a ranking of 25th out of 62 brokers from ForexBrokers.com.
In comparison, Trading 212 delivers forex news from leading sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters and provides sentiment-based trading tools similar to FP Markets. However, they do not offer daily market commentary nor access to renowned analytical tools like Autochartist or Trading Central. Trading 212 maintains an economic calendar for tracking worldwide events but falls short in comprehensive market research offerings, leading to a slightly lower research rating of 3.5 stars and a ranking of 46th out of 62 brokers in the ForexBrokers.com survey.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, both FP Markets and Trading 212 provide a comprehensive suite of learning tools for those interested in forex and CFDs. Each platform offers more than 10 educational pieces like articles, videos, and archived webinars dedicated to these subjects. Furthermore, both companies host monthly online webinars and have a searchable archive of past webinars, making it convenient for learners to access content on demand. For beginners, both brokers furnish over 10 dedicated educational videos to help newcomers understand trading concepts. They also offer advanced educational videos for seasoned traders who wish to deepen their knowledge.
FP Markets and Trading 212 go the extra mile by providing investors with dictionaries encompassing definitions for over 50 investment terms, aiding users in grasping trading jargon with ease. FP Markets is rated 4 stars out of 5 for its educational offerings, while Trading 212 is slightly behind with a 3.5-star rating. Interestingly, Trading 212 ranks higher in the education category at #20 according to ForexBrokers.com, compared to FP Markets at #23. This comparison suggests that FP Markets may offer slightly more polished educational resources, despite Trading 212 being ranked higher overall for education.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that FP Markets is better than Trading 212. FP Markets finished with an overall rank of #19, while Trading 212 finished with an overall rank of #31.
FP Markets shines as a low-cost broker for trading forex and CFDs – as long as you use the MetaTrader platform. The Iress platform suite offers well over 9,000 tradeable symbols, but it’s mostly a share trading platform – and is generally a much pricier option.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 79 |
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Both FP Markets and Trading 212 do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but they do provide the option to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
FP Markets and Trading 212 both support deposits and withdrawals via PayPal, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires, but only Trading 212 offers ACH or SEPA transfers, while FP Markets uniquely accommodates Skrill transactions.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 79 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FP Markets Review | Trading 212 Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
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| Regulation | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 89 | 79 | |
| Year Founded | 2005 | 2004 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 | 8025 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 | 146 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 1.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | 1.9 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 AUD | €10 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 5 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 54 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 17 | 20 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | MetaTrader (Default) | 104 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | FP Markets Review | Trading 212 Review |
| Overall | FP Markets | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 79 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FP Markets Review | Trading 212 Review |
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