XTB Online Investing Review 2024

Services

XTB offers trading services across six major asset classes.

CFD Actions Trading

XTB has a wide collection of 2022 CFD actions as of writing. The collection spans stocks in 17 countries, including popular regions like the US, UK, Japan, and Hong Kong, as well as less popular ones like Belgium and Denmark.

Note that you cannot buy the stocks directly, instead you trade derivatives that track their prices. This allows you to open leveraged positions and trade both long and short directions.

Available leverage for stocks is capped at 5x, although it gets lower for some stocks. The minimum order size is also quite different from that of currency pairs. The minimum position size you can open depends on the country in which the stock trades.

For example, the minimum trade size for US stocks is 50 USD. For British stocks, it is 100 GBP. You can check the instruments page for more details.

ETF CFD Trading

XTB lists CFDs for 172 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) across various markets and countries. Most of the ETFs available are from popular providers like Blackrock’s iShares, Vanguard, SPDR, and ARK, although some are from lesser-known providers like DIREXION, Invesco, and Kraneshares.

Available leverage for ETFs is usually capped at 1:5, although it may be lower for some. The minimum size per order is one share of the chosen ETF.

Indices Trading

With XTB, you can trade 33 indices from major markets like the US, UK, Japan, Germany, France, and India and less popular markets like Brazil, the Czech Republic, Mexico, South Korea, and the Netherlands.

Most of the indices offered are composites of various stock or bond markets in their countries of origin. XTB charges competitive spreads on indices, as low as 0.3 pips for major indices like the S&P 500, and up to 80 pips for more exotic indices like the Mexican Composite.

Regular accounts can use leverage between 10x and 20x, while professional accounts can use leverage up to 200x.

Commodities Trading

XTB’s commodities offerings include CFDs for over 27 internationally traded goods, from metals like Aluminum and Copper to cash crops like Cocoa, Coffee, and Corn to livestock like Cattle and the regulars (Gold, Silver, and Oil).

We noticed that XTB offers more commodities than most brokers, who mostly stick to Gold, Silver, and Oil. For example, you can trade the SCHATZ2Y, an instrument whose price is based on quotes of the contracts for medium-term debt issued by the German government.

We found that we could also trade CO2 emission rights in the UK using EMISS contracts based on their quotations, which would give traders more trading opportunities.

Spreads start at 12 points for metals like Aluminum and can go up to 105 points for Nickel. Leverage is capped at 20x for regular accounts but goes up to 66x for professional accounts.

Crypto Trading

With XTB, you get access to 40 commission-free crypto CFDs with a maximum leverage of 2x for regular accounts and 5x for professional accounts.

Because of the crypto market’s volatility, spreads are floating and dynamic but are usually displayed at the point of trading.

Forex Trading

XTB account holders can access 71 currency pairs, including major ones like GBP/USD and some exotics like CHF/PLN at interbank prices from top-tier banks. Spreads start as low as 1 pip for EUR/USD and get higher for more exotic pairs like EUR/NOK.

Trading accounts can access leverage of up to 30x for regular accounts and up to 200x for professional accounts. With XTB, there are three lot sizes to choose from: standard lots (100,000 units), mini lots (10,000 units), and micro-lots (1,000 units).

There are no minimum deposit limits when trading currencies; however, you may not be able to open trades if your account balance is lower than the required amount based on your chosen pair, lot size, and stop loss parameters.

XTB supports Forex trading 24 hours a day on weekdays.

Features of XTB

Flexible Account Types

XTB Online Investing focuses on the greatest possible transparency of its services, which is why we offer two types of accounts: standard and limited-risk accounts.

There are several different conditions and charges for various actions and situations, such as dividend payments for stock CFDs. However, all fees and commissions related to trading are clearly visible on the platform when trading.

The table below highlights the major differences between both account types.

Proprietary Trading Platform

All trading on XTB is done through its proprietary platform, called xStation. The latest version is the xStation 5 and is available on Web, Desktop, and Mobile.

The web version is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. The desktop version is compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems, while the mobile version is compatible with iOS and Android.

xStation can trade all 6,300+ instruments in XTB’s collection from a single account. It features interactive charts that can set and modify positions from the charting area. It also features an in-built trading calculator for cost and profit estimations.

Market Analysis

XTB provides various tools to help traders make informed decisions. They include:

Market News

Every account holder gets access to a continuous stream of up-to-date news on the asset classes available to trade. These news updates cover macroeconomic updates and major price moves.

Live Price Tables

The live price table is a dashboard that displays live prices for all securities under every asset class. It shows the daily change and the current spread for all the instruments XTB offers.

Market Calendar

The market calendar tracks important economic events and releases and ranks them according to their impact on the market. Events with high impact are rated red, those with medium impact are rated orange, and those with low impact are rated green.

Streamlined Funding Methods

XTB’s funding methods are streamlined. The broker doesn’t have as many options as other brokers, but it has made strides to ensure that the options it provides are smooth and cheap. These methods include:

Bank transfers: You can deposit and withdraw USD and EUR through bank transfers. Funding is free on XTB’s end, although your bank may charge you a fee depending on your location and their policies.

Credit cards: Credit card funding is free and instant on XTB’s end. You can deposit USD and EUR free of charge. Withdrawals cannot be made using credit or debit cards at this time.

eWallets: Electronic wallet providers like PayPal and PayU are also accepted. Deposits cost 1.89% for PayPal.

Bank withdrawals are free but can take 1 business day to be processed.

Pros and Cons of XTB

Why You Should Use It

XTB Online Investing stands out from other brokers by offering streamlined but powerful tools and services that traders and investors can leverage. The platform is straightforward with streamlined funding methods and innovative trading software.

The broker is well regulated with licences from the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, the Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego (KNF) in Poland, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores in Spain, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in France, the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (APCR) through its Paris branch, and the Financial Services Commission in Belize through various entities under the XTB Group.

Trading accounts are commission-free for stock, ETF, and crypto CFDs, and can use up to 30x leverage for currency pairs, 20x for indices, 20x for most commodities, 5x for stock and ETF CFDs, and 2x for crypto CFDs for regular accounts.

Customer service is also adequate as support staff can be reached via live chat and email all day during the week.

Finally, pricing is transparent as the commission table outlines charges for various services and activities on the platform.

Verdict

XTB is a securities broker with experience, a powerful platform, and a large collection of tradable securities.

We see several merits to using the platform like the in-built trading calculator which estimates profit, loss, and risk before you open trades, its xStation trading software which has won awards, and its to-the-point funding process.

However, there are things to be desired, like its funding methods being limited to USD and a lack of support for the popular MT4/5 trading software.

Nonetheless, investors and traders at different points on their journey will find a good companion with XTB as its tight spreads, extensive list of securities, and strong regulatory position make for a solid broker overall.