Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FXCM vs Plus500, 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.
Comparing online brokers FXCM and Plus500: FXCM was founded in 1999, while Plus500 started in 2008. Both companies are publicly traded and are not banks, which means client money is held with third‑party institutions rather than on a bank’s balance sheet.
On regulation, Plus500 holds 6 Tier‑1 licenses and 3 Tier‑2 licenses, while FXCM holds 4 Tier‑1 and 2 Tier‑2 licenses. According to ForexBrokers.com, both brokers are “highly trusted”: FXCM has a Trust Score of 95/99 and Plus500 scores 99/99. The scale rates 90–99 as highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, and below 59 not trusted.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2008 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 6 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 3 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
FXCM vs Plus500 on commissions and fees: both are slightly above the industry average overall, but their pricing models differ. FXCM earns 4.5/5 stars and ranks #17 of 63 for Commissions and Fees, while Plus500 is rated 4.0/5 stars and ranks #24 of 63. If tight EUR/USD spreads matter most, FXCM typically has the edge—especially on its commission-based setup—whereas Plus500 uses a simpler spread-only model that tends to run wider.
FXCM’s average EUR/USD spread in May 2024 was 0.78 pips for EU, U.K., and Australia accounts, and 1.38 pips under its St. Vincent and the Grenadines entity. On commission-based accounts, the core spread averaged 0.28 pips (May 2024), with an effective cost near 0.74 pips once commissions are included. FXCM also offers an Active Trader Rebate Program with $5–$25 per million traded in rebates (not available in the U.K. or EU). Requirements and discounts vary by entity; for example, in the U.K., a $25,000 balance and at least $50 million in monthly volume can drop commissions to $2.50 per side ($5 round-turn). As with most brokers, spreads can widen during rollover or volatile markets.
Plus500’s pricing is spread-only and straightforward for retail clients, with no discounts; the average EUR/USD spread was 1.5 pips in April 2024, which is above the industry average. Cash rebates may be available if you qualify as a Professional client, but active trader pricing trails top-tier competitors. In short, FXCM can be more cost-effective—especially for higher-volume traders who access lower spreads and potential rebates—while Plus500 favors simplicity with a single, all-in spread.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | Starts from $50 | €50 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
FXCM and Plus500 both support forex trading and offer crypto CFDs (neither provides direct ownership of cryptocurrency). The big difference is breadth: FXCM lists about 440 tradeable symbols and 46 forex pairs, while Plus500 offers roughly 5,500 symbols and 65 forex pairs. Plus500 also lets you buy exchange‑traded stocks on both U.S. and international exchanges, whereas FXCM does not.
Feature-wise, FXCM includes copy trading, while Plus500 does not. Both earn 4.5 out of 5 stars for Range of Investments, though Plus500 ranks #17 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, compared with FXCM at #21. In short, choose Plus500 if you want a much larger catalog and the ability to buy real shares; pick FXCM if copy trading matters to you and you’re comfortable with a smaller, still varied lineup.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 440 | 5500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 65 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
FXCM vs Plus500: both brokers offer a free demo (paper) account and an in‑house platform you can use in a web browser. FXCM also provides a Windows desktop download, while Plus500 does not. If you prefer third‑party software, FXCM supports MetaTrader 4 (MT4); neither broker supports MetaTrader 5 (MT5).
When it comes to tools, FXCM enables trading directly from charts and offers copy trading—features not available at Plus500. Both platforms include chart indicators and watchlist customization, though exact counts weren’t listed. According to ForexBrokers.com, FXCM earns 5 stars and ranks 4th out of 63 brokers for Trading Platforms & Tools, while Plus500 earns 4.5 stars and ranks 14th.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 115 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
FXCM and Plus500 both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports price alerts for stocks and forex, syncs watchlists with your online account, and lets you draw trendlines on charts. A key difference: FXCM automatically saves your chart drawings, while Plus500 does not. Both apps hold a 4.5 out of 5 star rating.
For charting tools, Plus500 includes 115 technical studies compared with 59 on FXCM. In ForexBrokers.com’s Mobile Trading Apps category, Plus500 ranks #14 out of 63 brokers, and FXCM ranks #16. If you want the widest range of built-in indicators, Plus500 has the edge. If keeping your chart annotations saved is more important, FXCM is the better fit.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 59 | 115 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
FXCM vs Plus500 for market research: both brokers deliver daily market commentary, an economic calendar, Trading Central tools, and a sentiment-based indicator showing long/short positioning. Neither offers Autochartist or Acuity Trading’s Signal Centre. The main differences are news and third‑party insight: FXCM includes forex news from top-tier sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, and adds TipRanks research—features that Plus500 does not provide.
Both earn 4.5 stars for research, yet their standings differ: across 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, FXCM ranks #11 while Plus500 is #17. If you want integrated premium news and TipRanks on top of chart signals and sentiment, FXCM has the edge; if you just need daily commentary, Trading Central tools, sentiment, and a calendar, Plus500 keeps pace.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
FXCM and Plus500 both deliver education for forex and CFD traders that meets the 10+ piece threshold. Each offers at least 10 beginner videos and at least 10 advanced videos, along with online client webinars held at least once per month—giving new traders a steady mix of live instruction and on-demand lessons.
Both brokers earn 4.5 out of 5 stars for Education from ForexBrokers.com. FXCM is ranked higher overall in the Education category (#13 of 63) compared with Plus500 (#26 of 63), so if ranking matters to you, FXCM has the edge. Still, beginners will find helpful, beginner-friendly learning paths at either broker.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Plus500
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that FXCM is better than Plus500. FXCM finished with an overall rank of #10, while Plus500 finished with an overall rank of #14.
For traders who appreciate advanced trading tools and quality market research, FXCM is a winner, especially for algorithmic trading. Its range of tradeable markets is fairly narrow, however, and the pricing at FXCM is just average.
| Feature |
FXCM
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Plus500
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| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 99 |
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FXCM and Plus500 do not offer buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but both online brokers provide access to cryptocurrency CFDs.
FXCM vs Plus500: For deposits and withdrawals, FXCM supports ACH/SEPA, PayPal, Skrill, and bank wires, while Plus500 does not support ACH/SEPA but does support PayPal, Skrill, and bank wires; card options (Visa/Mastercard) were not specified.
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 | FXCM | Plus500 | |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FXCM Review | Plus500 Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FXCM | Plus500 | |
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| Regulation | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 95 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2008 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 6 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 3 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 440 | 5500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 65 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. |
| Cost | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.9 | 1.3 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 | 1.3 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | Starts from $50 | €50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 115 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | No | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 59 | 115 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | FXCM | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | FXCM Review | Plus500 Review |
| Overall | FXCM | Plus500 | |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FXCM Review | Plus500 Review |
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