CMC Markets Forex Review 2026
Top Rated · 2026
Our Ratings
4.6
out of 5
Safety & Regulation4.7
Fees & Costs4.1
Markets & Products4.9
Platforms & Execution5.0
Deposit & Withdrawal4.1
Trading Tools & Research4.6
Account Opening4.7
Customer Service4.0
Education4.5
Key Facts
Regulation
FCA, BaFin, CIRO, ASIC, FMA, MAS, DFSA, BMA
Broker Type
Market Maker, DMA
Min. Deposit
$0
Platforms
Web, Mobile, TradingView, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
Negative Balance Protection
Yes
Max Leverage
1:30 (FCA, BaFin, ASIC, MAS retail), 1:200 (BMA Bermuda retail), up to 1:500 (professional)
Demo Account
Yes
Spreads From
0.0 pips
73% of retail FX and CFD accounts lose money.
CMC Markets - At a Glance
Company & Overview
- Established
- 1989
- Headquarters
- 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX, United Kingdom.
- International Offices
- United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates
- Publicly Traded
- Yes
- Broker Type
- Market Maker, DMA
- Regulation
- FCA (United Kingdom), BaFin (Germany), CIRO (Canada), ASIC (Australia), FMA (New Zealand), MAS (Singapore), DFSA (United Arab Emirates), BMA (Bermuda)
- Segregated Client Funds
- Yes
- Negative Balance Protection
- Yes
Written into the contract: retail clients cannot lose more than they put in. Professional clients are excluded and can end up owing more than they deposited.
- Banking License
- No
- Languages
- English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Arabic
- Customer Support
- Email, Phone, Live Chat, Whatsapp, Messenger
- Customer Support Hours
- 24/5, Sunday night to Friday night
Account Types
- Demo Account
- Yes
- Swap Free Account
- No
- Joint Account
- Yes
- Corporate Account
- Yes
- Managed Account
- No
- PAMM / MAM Trading
- No
- Social / Copy Trading
- No
Account Conditions
- Minimum Deposit
- $0
- Payment Methods
- Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, Paypal
- Account Currencies
- GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, CHF, AUD, HKD, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD
- Maximum Leverage
- 1:30 (FCA, BaFin, ASIC, MAS retail), 1:200 (BMA Bermuda retail), up to 1:500 (professional)
- Bonuses
- No
- Contests
- No
Trading Conditions
- Markets & Products
- Forex, CFDs, Spread Betting, Stocks, ETFs, Funds
- Currency Pairs
- 330+ FX pairs
- Minimum Lot Size
- 0.01
- Maximum Lot Size
- 300
- Decimal Pricing
- 5 decimals
- Order Types
- Market, limit, stop entry, stop loss, trailing stop, take profit and guaranteed stop loss orders. GSLO premiums are refunded in full if not triggered. Boundary orders reject fills outside a specified price range. Price ladder trading fills large orders across multiple price levels. Partial closes, chart-based order editing and one-click trading are supported.
- Execution Type
- Market maker (principal), sole execution venue, fully automated
- Margin Call Level
- Account-specific, shown on platform
- Stop Out Level
- Account revaluation below close-out level
- Hedging
- Yes
- Scalping
- Yes
Fees & Costs
- Spread Type
- Variable
- Spread From
- 0.0 pips (FX Active, six major pairs); 0.2 points minimum (CFD and spread betting); 0.7 pips average on EUR/USD
- Commission
- $0 on FX (Standard CFD and spread betting accounts, cost is in the spread) FX Active: 0.0025% per transaction, charged on notional value rather than per lot (about $2.93 per side on 1 lot of EUR/USD at 1.17) Shares and ETFs: no commission on UK and European CFDs; US from $10
- Overnight / Swap Fees
- Yes
- Deposit Fee
- No
- Withdrawal Fee
- No
- Currency Conversion Fee
- Yes
- Account Maintenance Fee
- No
- Inactivity Fee
- Yes
- Custody Fee
- No
Platforms & Tools
- Trading Platforms
- Web, Mobile, TradingView, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
- Mobile App
- Yes
- API Access
- Varies
FIX API is available through CMC Connect and Prime Derivatives to institutional and professional clients only, meaning banks, brokers, funds and trading desks. Retail clients have no API access; automated trading is via Expert Advisors on MetaTrader 4 and 5.
- VPS Hosting
- Varies
Free VPS hosting through Beeks Financial Cloud, but conditional. Requires a minimum 15 standard lots per calendar month, and CMC may switch off the subscription if the volume is not met. In Canada it is limited to clients who qualify for the ALPHA program. Re-application allowed after 60 days.
- Automated Trading
- Yes
How CMC Markets's costs compare
Spread from (major pairs)0.0 pips
Catalogue median: 0.8 pips across 49 brokers · lower is cheaper
Minimum deposit$0 - none
Catalogue median: $10 across 49 brokers · lower is more accessible
The marker is the median of every active broker we rate, computed from the same structured data as the reviews. Headline from-spreads are the broker's advertised best case; your account type and instrument change them.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong global regulatory oversight
- Listed on the stock exchange
- Fast and easy account opening
- No minimum deposit
- No deposit or withdrawal fee
Show 6 more
- 12,000+ tradable assets, including 330+ FX pairs
- Low forex trading fees
- Negative balance protection
- Demo account for practice trading
- Advanced and user-friendly web and mobile platform
- Supports TradingView, MT4, and MT5
Cons
- Limited product offering
- Inactivity fee after a year
CMC Markets alternatives
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