Plus500 Review 2024

3 Steps to Sign Up on Plus500

1. Register: You can open a trading account on Plus500 quite straightforwardly.
All you need to do is provide your basic personal information, including your full name, phone number and email address. Ensure that you choose a strong password. You will also need to provide some type of document for KYC identification.

2. Make a Deposit: After you have verified and activated your account, you will need to deposit some funds into your account, which is relatively straightforward. The minimum deposit amount is only $100. There is no deposit fee, so you can use your credit or debit card to deposit the funds.

3. Start Trading: Once you have deposited working capital into your account, you are ready to start trading. However, you should first read the FAQs and other related educational material available on the website instead of jumping right into it. This will help your risk management strategy.

History of Plus500

Plus500 was established in 2008 and started offering CFDs on shares with zero commission in 2009.

By 2011, the online trading platform hit the 2 million monthly transactions mark. This unprecedented success allowed it to launch a dedicated mobile app for iPhone and iPad to allow users to trade on the go. The mobile app became the highest-rated CFD trading app on the app store, allowing it to expand its offerings by more than 1,000 stocks from various global financial markets.

In February 2014, the trading platform hit a market valuation of $1 billion on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM section and introduced its ‘Guaranteed Stop’ feature to its users.

2019 saw the trading platform include many advanced charting features, drawing tools, and indicators to make technical analysis easier for investors.

Regulation and Security

Although Plus500 does not offer any insurance for your deposits, globally reputed authorities regulate it, including the FCA, FRN, CySEC, ASIC, FMA, FSCA, and MAS for enhanced transparency and accountability. The company is mandated by law to keep client funds separate from the company’s own, so in the event of insolvency, assets and funds of its clients remain safe.

Is Plus500 reliable?

The company releases its financial performance and reports every year to maintain transparency and high visibility.

Keep in mind that Plus500 has multiple subsidiaries that offer different types of financial safety and cover in the event of anything going wrong. It mostly depends on your country of residence.

For some countries in the EU like Norway, users are protected up to €20,000, whereas users in Singapore, Israel, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are not covered.

Reputation

With more than 35 million positions opened and trading volumes in excess of $1.3 trillion, there is no question about its reputation. The company has struck big-name sponsor deals with multiple institutions, including legendary NBA team, the Chicago Bulls.

For the last 12 years, the platform has continued to add more features and options to ensure traders get exactly what they are looking for on one platform. With great user-friendly tools, such as customer protection measures, free email and push notifications for price movements and market events — Plus500 has established itself as a reputable broker in the industry.

Is Plus500 for Me?

I’m a Beginner

Amateur traders who just want to test the waters will find invaluable features on the platform. There is a demo account that can be used to familiarise users with the interface of the platform, which can be used to test different strategies to get a feel for how trading works. This prepares beginner investors for real-world trading. It is recommended that beginners start out with the minimum deposit of $100 so they don’t lose too much money. It’s important to note though that, while the demo account could be useful for beginners, Plus500 is more suitable for experienced traders due to the risk CFD trading entails.

I’m an Expert

For advanced traders, it offers a wide range of tools and charts so they can make the most of their experience. Their economic calendar, alerts, and risk management tools allow investors to be more disciplined and productive with their time and money.

What Are the Benefits of Trading Crypto on Plus500?

On Plus500, you can trade CFDs of popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Neo, Tron, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, EOS, and Litecoin. If you are looking to diversify your crypto portfolio, you have the option to trade indices, such as the Crypto 10 Index, which minimizes risk and increases the chances of returning profit but can also lead to losses. It is important to remember that when trading CFDs, you should assess whether you can afford to risk losing your money.

Trading crypto CFDs has multiple benefits that have no requirement for any exchange account or wallet, so there is no need for directional trading since buying and selling are just as convenient and offer their trading services 24/7.

Moreover, traders can manage their risk by controlling losses through price alerts and different types of stops, such as trailing stops and stop losses. These features are essential for helping to trade highly volatile financial instruments, such as cryptocurrencies. Using it for crypto trading means you get competitive spreads and zero commissions.

Fees and Costs of Plus500

The online trading platform does not have any deposit charges and even covers a majority of payment processing fees. Unlike other CFD platforms, it does not charge any commissions on your trades. Where the company actually makes its money is through market bid spreads, i.e. on the basis of price differences of the assets you are buying or selling.

Apart from that, if you need to do a currency conversion, Plus500 will charge you up to 0.7% for trades that are in a different currency compared to your account. There may also be an overnight fee that is charged by the company for the leveraging cost to open different CFD positions. The fee can either be deducted or added to your account.

When it comes to withdrawal charges, usually there are none. However, if you are withdrawing through bank transfers, Plus500 will have to cover bank processing charges that will be around the $6 mark. You also need to keep in mind that only five withdrawals are free in a month, so exceeding that limit will cost you $10 per additional withdrawal.

Lastly, there is an inactivity fee that is $10 a month if you don’t log in to your account for 3 months or more.

Payment Methods and Limits

Accepted Deposit Methods

• Visa
• Mastercard
• PayPal
• Bank Transfer
• Skrill
• iDeal
• BPay
• Klarna
• Giropay
• Trustly
• Przelewy24
• MyBank

Trading Limitations

• Minimum deposit of $100
• Minimum withdrawal limit of $50
• No maximum withdrawal limit applies

Performance Features and Functionality

As one of the highest-rated CFD trading apps on both iOS and Google Play stores, Plus500 offers a diverse range of features for those who are just starting out and those who want complete control over their trading.

When you open an account, your funds are held separately to ensure your money remains safe and secure. Consumer protectionism has been at the core of the trading platform, as they value the hard-earned money of their users. There is no wonder they have multiple licenses, regulatory authorizations, and a public listing on one of the world’s largest stock exchanges.

It operates in multiple jurisdictions and plans to expand its operations into more regions to diversify its reach. The company has also consistently invested in research and development projects to propel technological growth and consumer-centric innovation.

Moreover, it continues to invest in further development of the Marketing Machine, which will allow the company to improve its capacity to bring new customers on board based on the platform’s functionality, trustworthiness, and cost efficiency.

Trading Platforms

The trading platforms offered are intuitive and easy to learn. These include the proprietary platform and a web platform.

Unfortunately, there is not yet support for social trading, MetaTrader4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), or cTrader. However, given the success of the platform in the past few years, it is likely the company will add support for more advanced features in the future. Mobile apps for both iOS and Android are also available.

Educational Resources

Plus500 has expanded its educational resources in recent years similar to many competitors, and now offers an in-depth training academy, demo accounts,  free trading webinars, extensive market analyses and insights, and a “news and markets” section.

The platform also offers traders a comprehensive and up-to-date economic calendar that enables them to bring discipline to their trading.

Trading Options

The platform offers hundreds of assets and financial instruments for both amateur and professional traders. Primary categories include CFDs on:

• Cryptocurrencies
• Indices
• Forex
• Commodities
• Shares
• Options
• ETFs

Since the popularity of cryptocurrency has grown in the last few years, Plus500 is now highly focused on improving its crypto trading experience for a wide range of users. Popular digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and more are already available, and you can also invest in cryptocurrency indexes.

Account Types

Demo Account

A demo account allows new users to get familiar with the UI and basics of instrument trading. Users can review multiple aspects of investing and try them out on their own without having to worry about losing any money. There is no time limit in terms of how long you can use the demo account.

Retail Account

This is for everyday crypto and other traders who want to take a more cautious and calculated approach but have command over trading basics. This account provides them with multiple protection options like negative balance protection. There are certain restrictions, but they are there to keep traders’ funds safe.

Professional Account

To become a professional trader on the platform, you will need to meet certain criteria. You have to demonstrate substantial trading activity in the last 12 months, a trading portfolio in excess of €500,000 or professional experience in the field.

Final Thoughts on Plus500

If you are a crypto trader who wants to deal in hundreds of altcoins, then this trading platform may not be for you. However, when it comes to trading popular coins, primary categories include CFDs on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and more; there are very few platforms that can compete with the performance, reliability, and affordability of Plus500. The platform has been around for more than 12 years and has continued to adapt according to the market, providing stellar experiences to millions of traders.

With the future belonging to crypto, there is little to no doubt that it will emerge as the leading trading platform brand in the coming years. It has never shied away from maintaining regulatory compliance and has demonstrated transparency by releasing financials publicly. If you are searching for a trustworthy cryptocurrency trading partner, it won’t hurt to check out Plus500.

82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.