Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Plus500 vs IronFX, 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 online brokers Plus500 and IronFX, several key differences in their regulatory standings and trust ratings come to light. Plus500, founded in 2008, is a public company, while IronFX, established in 2010, remains privately held. This distinction emphasizes Plus500's transparency and accountability to shareholders. Plus500 boasts a perfect Trust Score of 99, as rated by ForexBrokers.com, signifying a highly trusted status. This broker holds six Tier-1 licenses and three Tier-2 licenses, enhancing its credibility in the trading community. In comparison, IronFX has a Trust Score of 83, categorized as trusted, with three Tier-1 licenses and no Tier-2 licenses, suggesting a more conservative regulatory footprint.
While neither Plus500 nor IronFX operates as a bank, Plus500's range of licenses and public trading status offer clients a strong sense of security and trust. In contrast, IronFX's lesser number of licenses and private standing might appeal to traders with different preferences. Understanding these regulatory distinctions can guide potential users in choosing the broker that best fits their needs and expectations when navigating the online trading landscape.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2008 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
When comparing online brokers Plus500 and IronFX regarding commissions and fees, Plus500's pricing is slightly above the industry average, lagging behind top-tier forex brokers such as IG or Saxo for active trader pricing. While Plus500 does not offer discounts to retail clients, it provides cash rebates to those who qualify as Professional clients. For EUR/USD pairs, Plus500's spreads averaged 1.5 pips in April 2024, which exceeds the industry average. The broker is rated 4 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #23 out of 63 brokers in this category according to ForexBrokers.com.
IronFX, on the other hand, has room for improvement in its pricing structure as its spreads are generally higher than the industry norm. The broker lists a typical spread of 1.8 pips for its Standard variable spread account, although this is subject to change across different account types without a specified date range. For the zero fixed-spread account, IronFX begins at zero but charges an $18 per lot commission, with overnight spreads widened to 3 pips. IronFX also receives a 4-star rating for its commissions and fees, yet it holds a lower rank of #46 out of 63 brokers in the same category as per ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | €50 | $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.3 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When it comes to the variety of investments, Plus500 and IronFX provide traders with distinct choices. Plus500 stands out with an impressive 5,500 tradeable symbols, significantly more than the 340 offered by IronFX. While IronFX provides more forex pairs—83 compared to Plus500’s 65—Plus500 allows clients to trade actual exchange-traded securities in both U.S. and international markets, a feature IronFX lacks. This capability offers Plus500 users the opportunity to invest directly in companies like Apple and Vodafone. Both brokers offer forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, but only IronFX supports copy trading.
Regarding cryptocurrency, Plus500 and IronFX don't provide the option to buy actual cryptocurrencies, offering only derivative trading instead. In terms of investment range, Plus500 is rated 4.5 stars, placing it as the 21st among 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com, while IronFX holds a 3.5-star rating, ranking 51st. These rankings highlight Plus500’s broader investment offerings, making it a considerable choice for traders who prioritize diversity in their portfolios.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 340 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 83 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| 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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. | 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 offered by Plus500 and IronFX, there are several key differences to note. Both platforms provide a free virtual demo account for simulated trading, making it easy for beginners to get started. Plus500 impresses with a proprietary platform developed in-house, while IronFX relies on external platforms like MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Traders looking for a Windows-based desktop application would favor IronFX, as Plus500 only offers web-based access. Both brokers allow for browser-based trading, but IronFX edges ahead with its copy trading feature which Plus500 lacks.
In terms of charting functionalities, Plus500 offers more drawing tools with 36 options compared to IronFX's 15, though both platforms have undisclosed numbers of technical indicators. IronFX provides the added advantage of trading directly from stock charts, a feature absent in Plus500. For those monitoring different investments, Plus500 offers more customization with 10 columns for watch lists, while IronFX has 7. According to ForexBrokers.com, Plus500 scores higher in trading platforms and tools with a rating of 4.5 stars and is ranked 14th out of 63 brokers. In contrast, IronFX receives a rating of 3.5 stars and is ranked 61st.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | No | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 36 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 10 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When choosing an online trading platform for mobile use, it's important to understand the offerings of apps like Plus500 and IronFX. Both brokers provide iPhone and Android apps, ensuring traders can stay connected on the go. Each platform allows users to receive stock or forex price alerts and offers watchlists with real-time quotes. However, a significant distinction lies in watchlist symbol syncing; Plus500 provides this feature, allowing seamless integration between the mobile app and online account, while IronFX does not. Plus500 also stands out with its selection of 115 technical studies available for charting, compared to IronFX's 30. Both apps support drawing trendlines and viewing charts in multiple time frames, although Plus500 does not auto-save chart drawings, whereas IronFX does.
For those prioritizing app performance and rankings, Plus500 seems to have an edge. It boasts a 4.5-star rating for its mobile app, significantly higher than IronFX’s 3.5 stars. Additionally, Plus500 is ranked #14 out of 63 brokers in the Mobile Trading Apps category by ForexBrokers.com, while IronFX comes in at a much lower #62. This ranking reflects a more enhanced user experience and feature set on Plus500’s platform, making it a strong contender for traders looking for a comprehensive mobile trading solution.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 115 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing the market research features of online brokers Plus500 and IronFX, several differences emerge. Both platforms provide daily market commentary and offer an economic calendar to keep traders informed about upcoming global news events. However, IronFX has an edge in forex news coverage, sourcing from top-tier providers like Bloomberg and Reuters, while Plus500 lacks this feature. Both brokers are equipped with Trading Central tools, enhancing technical analysis capabilities, but only Plus500 provides a sentiment-based trading tool to help traders gauge market positions.
On the research side, neither broker uses Autochartist tools, but while IronFX's market research offerings from TipRanks and Acuity Trading are undocumented, Plus500's absence of these resources is clear. Despite these differences, Plus500 holds a slightly higher research rating of 4.0 stars compared to IronFX's 4 stars, making it 19th out of 63 brokers in the research category according to ForexBrokers.com, whereas IronFX ranks 28th. These distinctions might influence traders in choosing the platform that best fits their research needs.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, both Plus500 and IronFX provide a solid foundation. Plus500 stands out by offering a comprehensive selection of educational materials, including online webinars held at least once a month, which IronFX doesn't provide. Each platform boasts over 10 educational pieces focused on forex or CFDs, ensuring traders have access to articles, videos, and archived webinars. Furthermore, both brokers feature a searchable archive of past webinars and at least 10 beginner-friendly videos that cover essential trading topics.
For traders looking for advanced educational content, Plus500 is a step ahead, offering more than 10 specialized videos for experienced traders, while IronFX does not cater to this group. However, IronFX distinguished itself with an extensive investor dictionary containing definitions of more than 50 investing terms, a tool missing in Plus500's resources. Ranked by ForexBrokers.com as #31 for their educational offerings, Plus500 is slightly ahead of IronFX, which stands at #44. Both brokers share an educational rating of 4 out of 5 stars, reflecting their commitment to equipping traders with the necessary tools to succeed in the trading world.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Plus500 is better than IronFX. Plus500 finished with an overall rank of #14, while IronFX finished with an overall rank of #48.
Plus500 is a trusted global brand that offers an easy-to-use trading platform for online traders, alongside access to a thorough selection of CFDs. Share trading is available, but only via its Plus500 Invest product offering.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 83 |
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Both Plus500 and IronFX do not provide the option to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrencies, but they do offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
In comparing online brokers Plus500 and IronFX, both do not support ACH or SEPA transfers; however, Plus500 enables PayPal transactions while IronFX does not, both platforms allow Skrill and major credit card (Visa/Mastercard) transactions, as well as bank wire options for depositing or withdrawing funds.
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 | Plus500 | IronFX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Plus500 Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Regulation | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 83 | |
| Year Founded | 2008 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 340 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 83 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| 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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. | 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 | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.3 | 1.2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | €50 | $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | No | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 10 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 36 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 115 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Plus500 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Plus500 Review |
| Overall | Plus500 | IronFX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Plus500 Review |
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