Best FCA Brokers 2025

To stay safe, UK traders should choose a broker regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We have tested the best FCA brokers in 2025 and listed them here.

Top 5 FCA Brokers

To help British traders stay safe, our experts have ranked the 5 best FCA-regulated brokers:

  1. eToro: Best Overall Broker | FCA License Number: 583263
  2. XTB: Best Broker For Beginners | FCA License Number: 522157
  3. CMC Markets: Best Broker For Active Traders | FCA License Number: 173730
  4. Pepperstone: Best MetaTrader Broker | FCA License Number: 684312
  5. Eightcap: Best Broker For Forex Trading | FCA License Number: 921296

All Brokers Regulated By The FCA

  1. Pepperstone Pepperstone

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    Founded in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a highly regarded broker specialising in forex and CFDs. Serving more than 400,000 clients globally, it provides access to over 1,300 financial instruments through popular platforms like MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView. Its fee structure is both low and transparent. With regulation by reputable bodies such as the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, Pepperstone guarantees a safe trading environment for traders at every level.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto (only Pro clients), Spread Betting FCA, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, CMA, BaFin, SCB MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, AutoChartist, DupliTrade, Quantower
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $0 0.01 Lots 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)

  2. XTB XTB

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    Established in Poland in 2002, XTB caters to over a million clients worldwide. This forex and CFD broker offers a robust regulatory framework, a diverse range of assets, and prioritises trader satisfaction. It provides an intuitive proprietary platform equipped with excellent tools to support aspiring traders.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs on shares, Indices, ETFs, Raw Materials, Forex currencies, cryptocurrencies, Real shares, Real ETFs FCA, CySEC, KNF, DFSA, FSC, SCA, Bappebti xStation
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $0 0.01 Lots 1:30

  3. CMC Markets CMC Markets

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    Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a reputable broker publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. It holds authorisation from top-tier regulators such as the FCA, ASIC, and CIRO. The brokerage, which has received multiple awards, boasts a global membership exceeding one million traders.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Treasuries, Custom Indices, Spread Betting FCA, ASIC, MAS, CIRO, BaFin, FMA, DFSA Web, MT4, TradingView
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $0 0.01 Lots 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)

  4. FXPro FXPro

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    Founded in 2006, FxPro has built a reputation as a reliable non-dealing desk (NDD) broker, providing trading access across more than 2,100 markets to over 2 million clients globally. It has received over 100 industry awards, reflecting its favourable conditions for active traders.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Futures, Spread Betting FCA, CySEC, FSCA, SCB, FSA FxPro Edge, MT4, MT5, cTrader, AutoChartist, TradingCentral, DupliTrade, Quantower
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $100 0.01 Lots 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)

  5. IG Index IG Index

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    Founded in 1974, IG is a part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly listed brokerage (LSE: IGG). The company provides spread betting, CFD, and forex trading, offering access to over 17,000 markets. Its platforms and investing apps are notably user-friendly. Over the past 50 years, IG has consistently been an industry leader, excelling in all essential areas for traders.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting FCA, ASIC, NFA, CFTC, DFSA, BaFin, MAS, FSCA, FINMA, CONSOB, AFM Web, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, MT4, TradingView, AutoChartist, TradingCentral, ProRealTime
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $0 0.01 Lots 1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro)

  6. Eightcap Eightcap

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    Eightcap, an acclaimed broker regulated by the FCA, offers exceptionally low trading costs. Recognised as the top-rated brand by TradingView's vast user base of 100 million, traders can directly access the platform. UK traders can open a live account with a minimum deposit of just £100.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities ASIC, FCA, CySEC, SCB MT4, MT5, TradingView
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    £100 0.01 Lots 1:30

  7. Forex.com Forex.com

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    Established in 1999, FOREX.com is now integrated into StoneX, a prominent financial services entity catering to more than one million clients globally. The broker is regulated in numerous jurisdictions, including the US, UK, EU, and Australia. It offers a vast array of markets beyond forex, delivering competitive pricing on state-of-the-art trading platforms.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Futures, Options, Crypto NFA, CFTC, CIRO, FCA, CYSEC, ASIC, SFC, FSA, MAS, CIMA MT4, MT5, TradingView, eSignal, AutoChartist, TradingCentral
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $100 0.01 Lots 1:30

  8. eToro eToro

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    eToro is a leading platform providing trading in numerous CFDs, stocks, and cryptoassets. Established in 2007, it serves millions of traders worldwide, regulated by top-tier authorities like the FCA and CySEC. It's well-known for its extensive social trading features. Investing in cryptoassets is highly volatile and unregulated in the UK and parts of the EU, with no consumer protection. Profits may be taxable. 51% of retail CFD accounts incur losses.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Smart Portfolios, Commodities, Futures, Crypto, NFTs FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSA, FSRA, MFSA, CNMV, AMF eToro Web, CopyTrader, TradingCentral
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $50 $10 1:30

  9. Trade Nation Trade Nation

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    Trade Nation is a leading FX and CFD broker regulated in the UK and Australia, among other places. The company provides competitively priced fixed and variable spreads on over 1,000 assets. Traders benefit from advanced platforms and comprehensive training materials. Additionally, the Signal Centre offers valuable trade ideas.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    Forex, CFDs, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Futures, Bonds, Spread Betting, Cryptos (Bahamas Entity Only) FCA, ASIC, FSCA, SCB, FSA MT4
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $0 0.1 Lots 1:500 (entity dependent)

  10. Vantage FX Vantage FX

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    Established in 2009, Vantage provides trading on more than 1,000 short-term CFD products to over 900,000 clients. Forex CFDs are available from 0.0 pips on the RAW account via TradingView, MT4, or MT5. Regulated by ASIC, Vantage ensures that client funds are kept in separate accounts. Traders looking to copy strategies will benefit from a wide array of social trading tools.

    Instruments Regulator Platforms
    CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds, Spread betting FCA, ASIC, FSCA, VFSC ProTrader, MT4, MT5, TradingView, DupliTrade
    Min. Deposit Min. Trade Leverage
    $50 0.01 Lots 1:30

Safety Comparison

Compare how safe the Best FCA Brokers 2025 are and what features they offer to protect traders.

Safety Comparison
Broker Trust Rating FCA Regulated Negative Balance Protection Guaranteed Stop Loss Segregated Accounts
Pepperstone 4.6 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
XTB 4.6 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
CMC Markets 4.8 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
FXPro 4.4 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
IG Index 4.9 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Eightcap 4.3 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
Forex.com 4.9 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘
eToro 4.5 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
Trade Nation 4.3 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
Vantage FX 4.6 ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔

Payments Comparison

Compare which popular payment methods the Best FCA Brokers 2025 support and whether they have trading accounts denominated in British Pounds (GBP).

Payments Comparison
Broker GBP Account Debit Card Credit Card Neteller Skrill Apple Pay
Pepperstone ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
XTB ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
CMC Markets ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘
FXPro ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
IG Index ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘
Eightcap ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
Forex.com ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
eToro ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔ ✘
Trade Nation ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘
Vantage FX ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘

Mobile Trading Comparison

How good are the Best FCA Brokers 2025 at mobile trading using apps or other mobile interfaces.

Mobile Trading Comparison
Broker Mobile Apps iOS Rating Android Rating Smart Watch App
Pepperstone iOS & Android 4.4 4.1 ✘
XTB iOS & Android 4.7 4.1 ✔
CMC Markets iOS & Android 4.1 3.7 ✘
FXPro iOS & Android 4.7 4.3 ✘
IG Index iOS & Android 4.6 4 ✔
Eightcap iOS & Android 4.8 4.4 ✘
Forex.com iOS & Android 3.6 3.8 ✘
eToro iOS & Android 4.8 4 ✘
Trade Nation iOS & Android 4.1 3.5 ✘
Vantage FX iOS & Android 3.6 3.9 ✘

Beginners Comparison

Are the Best FCA Brokers 2025 good for beginner traders, that might want an affordable setup to get started, along with good support and educational resources?

Beginners Comparison
Broker Demo Account Minimum Deposit Minimum Trade Support Rating Education Rating
Pepperstone ✔ $0 0.01 Lots 4.6 4
XTB ✔ $0 0.01 Lots 4.3 3.8
CMC Markets ✔ $0 0.01 Lots 4.5 4.3
FXPro ✔ $100 0.01 Lots 4 4
IG Index ✔ $0 0.01 Lots 4.5 5
Eightcap ✔ £100 0.01 Lots 4 3.5
Forex.com ✔ $100 0.01 Lots 4.3 4.5
eToro ✔ $50 $10 2 3
Trade Nation ✔ $0 0.1 Lots 4.5 3.8
Vantage FX ✔ $50 0.01 Lots 4.4 4

Advanced Trading Comparison

Do the Best FCA Brokers 2025 offer features that allow for more advanced trading strategies?

Advanced Trading Comparison
Broker Automated Trading Pro Account Leverage VPS AI Low Latency Extended Hours
Pepperstone Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader ✔ 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
XTB Open API ✔ 1:30 ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘
CMC Markets Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader ✔ 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro) ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔
FXPro Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, cBots on cTrader ✔ 1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro) ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘
IG Index Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, build your own on ProRealTime ✔ 1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro) ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔
Eightcap TradingView Bots ✘ 1:30 ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘
Forex.com Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader ✘ 1:30 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
eToro Automate your trades via CopyTrader - follow profitable traders. Open and close trades automatically when they do. ✘ 1:30 ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔
Trade Nation Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader ✘ 1:500 (entity dependent) ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Vantage FX Myfxbook AutoTrade, Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader ✘ 1:30 ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘

Detailed Rating Comparison

Use this heatmap to compare our detailed ratings for all of the Best FCA Brokers 2025.

Detailed Rating Comparison
Broker Trust Platforms Mobile Assets Fees Accounts Support Research Education
Pepperstone 4.6 4.4 4.3 3.8 4.4 4 4.6 4.3 4
XTB 4.6 4 4.4 4 4.3 4 4.3 4.1 3.8
CMC Markets 4.8 4.3 3.9 4.6 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.3
FXPro 4.4 4.3 4.5 4 4 3.8 4 4 4
IG Index 4.9 4.9 4.3 4.5 3.5 4 4.5 4.9 5
Eightcap 4.3 4.3 4.6 3.6 3.8 4 4 3.5 3.5
Forex.com 4.9 4.6 3.7 4.3 4.6 4 4.3 4.8 4.5
eToro 4.5 2.8 4.4 3.8 2.8 4 2 2.8 3
Trade Nation 4.3 4.3 3.8 3.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 3.8 3.8
Vantage FX 4.6 4.3 3.8 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4 4 4

How The FCA Protects Traders

FCA-regulated brokers must provide several safeguards to UK traders:

  • Negative balance protection so that you cannot lose more than your account balance should the markets move against you, in effect preventing you from becoming indebted to a broker.
  • Segregated client accounts to keep your funds separate from company capital, protecting your money from misuse or broker insolvency.
  • Limiting leverage to 1:30 for retail investors, helping to minimise losses when trading on margin. The maximum leverage is 1:30 for major forex pairs, 1:20 for other forex pairs, gold and major indices, 1:10 for other commodities and minor indices, and 1:5 for stocks.
  • Participation in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), providing up to £85,000 in deposit insurance in case the broker goes out of business.
  • External audits to verify the broker has effective controls and systems, plus sufficient liquidity, adding credibility and trust.

The FCA can also ban investing products for up to a year while it contemplates permanent bans. In addition, they enforce proper data protection, as well as working to protect vulnerable customers from trading scams.

The FCA has the power under trading regulations to proceed with legal action against unregulated brokers, and it can offer compensation to consumers up to £30,000 should they get caught in illegitimate deals.

The financial agency has a history of action, particularly in forex, binary options and cryptocurrency markets. The body has handed out significant fines to brokers for manipulating prices and acting against the interests of traders. In fact, the FCA has seen years where it’s given out close to £230 million in fines. This is significantly more than the fines many forex regulatory bodies have handed out in recent years.

How To Check A Broker Is Regulated By The FCA

You can check whether a forex and CFD broker is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority by following these steps:

  1. Find the broker’s license number (usually visible in the website footer)
  2. Run the license number or company name in the Financial Services Register
  3. Check the broker is authorised to provide online trading services to UK investors

How to check a broker is regulated by the FCA

This is the process our team follows to check whether a brokerage is regulated in the UK. We have verified the regulatory credentials of these FCA-approved brokers:

Dangers Of Unregulated Brokers

Although most financial services providers in the UK are regulated by the FCA, some businesses remain unregulated. We recommend caution if you are considering an unregulated broker – there are several risks:

  • Exposure to online scams that may steal your personal information and money
  • Fewer applicable trading regulations to foster a safe trading environment
  • Limited legal channels if a broker doesn’t pay out your profits
  • Limited payment and user security

Bottom Line

The FCA is the gold standard for investing and trading regulations. Other agencies from around the world, including the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC), often follow the rules and benchmarks laid down by the FCA.

We always check a brokerage is regulated by the FCA before recommending them to our UK readers. We also consider the firm’s reputation and the quality of its trading products, accounts, fees and services.

FAQ

What Is The FCA?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a regulatory body, established in 2013, that monitors financial services in the United Kingdom. It was brought in to replace the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in line with the new regulatory structure of the Financial Services Act. The change followed the 2008 financial crisis which led to legislators wanting a tighter grip on the sector.

The FCA aims to create a safe environment for traders, brokers, and other market participants and has a range of powers and trading regulations at its disposal. It regulates both retail and wholesale financial services companies.

The FCA operates as a separate entity to the UK government and is financed by its 50,000+ industry members.

What Markets Do The FCA Regulate?

Markets and products that fall under the FCA’s trading regulations include: forex, stocks, spread betting, binary options, contracts for difference (CFDs), and cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum.

Are All Online Brokers Regulated By The FCA?

No, far from all online brokers are regulated by the FCA, and many will not necessarily make it apparent how they are regulated. Careful traders should make sure they trade with a broker that is regulated by the FCA here in the UK. Use our list of FCA-regulated brokers to find one.

Which Is The Best FCA-Regulated Broker?

There is no single best FCA-approved broker as traders have different needs. With that said, our ranking of FCA-regulated brokers rates the top platforms for a range of trading styles, budgets and markets. Use our list to compare FCA brokers and find the right platform for your needs.

Article Sources

UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

UK Financial Services Register