For this CMC Markets review, we have opened a CFD account with the broker and deposited over €5,000.

We traded the popular instrument in each market to get the real spreads and placed a total of 12 trades.

We also reached out to customer support to solve the issues we faced.

Finally, we withdrew our funds to see if there are any issues with the withdrawal process.

What is CMC Markets?

CMC Markets is an UK forex brokeroffering financial trading services with contracts for differences (CFDs) and spread betting.

The brokerage was founded in 1989 and is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker CMCX.

CMC Markets operates globally (except some restrictive countries) and is regulated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.

It offers trading with a number of popular asset classes, including forex, indices, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

Some of the highlights of CMC Markets are:

🗺️ Authorised & Regulated inUK, Germany, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, UAE
🛡️ Is CMC Markets safeYes
💰 EUR/USD Spread0.7
💳 Minimum depositUS$0
💰 Withdrawal feeUS$0
🖥️ Trading PlatformMT4, Next Generation Platform
📈 Markets offeredForex, Indices, Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Treasuries, Cryptocurrencies
📉 Number of Products10063 (Depends on the jurisdiction)

Licenses and Regulations

CMC Markets holds 8 regulatory licenses from mostly the top financial market regulators. The broker is regulated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.

CMC Markets holds two licenses from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), one as a top CFD broker and the other for spread bets.

The full list of CMC Markets licenses is below:

Legal entityRegistered inRegulatorLicense NumberAccepting clients fromCompensation Scheme Amount
CMC Markets UK PlcUnited KingdomFinancial Conduct Authority (FCA)173730United Kingdom, Global£85,000
CMC Spreadbet plcUnited KingdomFinancial Conduct Authority (FCA)170627United Kingdom£85,000
CMC Markets Germany GmbH
Germany
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)154814European Union€20,000
CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty LtdAustraliaAustralian Financial Services Licence (AFSL)238054Australia, GlobalNo compensation scheme
CMC Markets Singapore Pte. LtdSingaporeMonetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)No./UEN 200605050ESingaporeSG$50,000
CMC MARKETS NZ LIMITEDNew ZealandFinancial Markets Authority New Zealand (FMA)FSP41187New ZealandNZ$200,000
CMC Markets Canada IncCanadaInvestment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)RegistrationCanadaCD$1,000,000
CMC Markets Middle East LtdUAEDubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)F002740UAENo Compensation Scheme
CMC Markets FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) Registration
CMC Markets FCA License page

Is CMC Markets Safe?

Yes, CMC Markets is a safe broker

CMC Markets is a publicly-traded company on the London Stock Exchange. It has to report its complete financials every quarter, making its operations very transparent. 

The broker is regulated by most of the reputed regulators for its global operations. Many regulators like the FCA, BaFin, MAS, FMA, and IIROC also offer compensation schemes, which protect the client funds in any unforeseen circumstances. 

For our tests, we opened a CFD account with CMC Markets UK Plc, which is regulated by FCA in the UK.

You can register with any of the CMC Markets entities, whichever is available in your jurisdiction, as all of them are overseen by reputed regulators.

CMC Markets Fees and Commissions

CMC Markets trading fees forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, and commodities are built into spreads. It charges fixed commissions on share CFDs.

Spreads for our trades were much below the average industry benchmark for forex and commodities.

Share CFDs commissions table:

CountryCommissionCharge currencyMinimum commission
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain 0.1%EUREUR 9
Australia0.1%AUDAUD 7
Canada2 cents per unitCADCAD 10
Switzerland0.1%CHFCHF 9
Denmark0.1%DKKDKK 90
United Kingdom0.1%GBPGBP 9
Hong Kong0.18%HKDHKD 50
Japan0.1%JPYJPY 1,000
Norway0.1%NOKNOK 79
New Zealand0.1%NZDNZD 7
Poland0.18%PLNPLN 50
Sweden0.1%SEKSEK 89
Singapore0.1%SGD, USDSGD 10, USD 10
United States2 cents per unitUSDUSD 10

Spread Charged in Our Trades

For our tests, we have chosen popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to get a picture of the average spread.

Our test is based on CMC Markets’ CFD account, and all spreads are too consistent for our trades. Spreads on forex and indices were constantly minimum charged by the broker.

Details of our trades are shown below the table.

MarketsInstruments1st trade2nd trade3rd tradeAvg. spread
ForexEUR/USD0.70.70.70.7
IndicesFTSE 1002222
StocksApple1111
CommoditiesGold3333

Our testing finds that forex spreads much lower than the industry average. Spreads on commodities are also lower than the average benchmark, while for indices, it was higher.

MarketsInstrumentsAvg. spread charged in our tradesIndustry avg. spread
ForexEUR/USD0.71.16
IndicesFTSE 10021.65
StocksApple11.75
CommoditiesGold33.53

Other Fees

CMC Markets has bare minimum non-trading fees. The broker offers free deposits and withdrawals (with some exceptions), and there are no account maintenance fees.

However, CMC Markets charges £10 (amount depends on your account currency) for dormant accounts after 12 months of inactivity.

CMC Markets Australia

Additionally, there are certain costs to access market data in Australia and Hong Kong. Monthly subscription fees to view the prices for Australian and Hong Kong share CFDs are AU$20 and HK$120, respectively. However, these fees can be waived by executing two or more trades in the relevant markets.

The broker also charges fees for Guaranteed stop losses (GSLO), which gets refunded if GSLO is not triggered.

Account Types

CMC Markets three straightforward accounts: Spread betting account, CFD account, and Professional account.

Details of all CMC Markets accounts are:

Spread betting accountCFD accountCorporate account
Trading PlatformsMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 4
Account CurrencyGBP, EURGBP, EUR, USD, AUS, CAD, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGDGBP, EUR, USD, AUS, CAD, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD
Minimum deposit$0$0$0
CommissionFrom $10(Shares only)From $10(Shares only)
Order executionMarket ExecutionMarket ExecutionMarket Execution
SpreadFrom 0.3From 0.3From 0.3
CMC Markets Account Types
CMC Markets Account Types

Account Opening

Our overall experience of opening a new account with CMC Markets was quick and simple.

We opened a CFD account for our tests under the FCA-regulated entity.

The process of registration of a new CMC Markets account:

  1. Select your country (CMC Markets will open the account under its relevant entity in the jurisdiction).
  2. Enter email and password (UK-based clients have to choose if they want to open Spread betting account or CFD trading account).
  3. Enter the verification code sent to the email.
  4. Provide personal details like first name, last name, country of residence, account type (individual or corporate), and account currency.
  5. Provide additional personal details like date of birth, mobile number, nationality, passport details, and tax identification number. Declare non-US citizenship.
  6. Enter the full residential address.
  7. Provide employment status and industry.
  8. Provide annual income and value of savings and investments. Also, state the reason for opening a CMC Markets account and give details of other investments.
  9. Customize your trading platform layout.

We submitted the following documents to verify our CMC Markets account:

  1. Copy of national identification (both front and back)
  2. Copy of our bank statement

We also had to confirm if we are a private or non-private investor.

The registration process took around 10 minutesOur account was verified on the same working day.

Our account was registered on October 18, 2020, and approved on the same day.

Our overall account opening experience was smooth and without any issues from registration to verification.

CMC Markets Account Opening
CMC Markets Account Opening

Deposit and Withdrawal

Both deposits and withdrawals on CMC Markets are easy and fast. All our funding and withdrawal requests were completed without any issues.

CMC Markets Minimum Deposit

CMC Markets does not have minimum deposit requirement.

Deposit

CMC Markets supports deposits with bank transferscredit and debit cards, and PayPal.

CMC Markets does not allow transactions with AMEX or Diners cards. The broker does not charge anything for deposits. 

We tested the deposit process on CMC Markets using card payment and PayPal.

Details of our fund deposits are shown in the below table.

Payment MethodSubmitted DateFunded Account DateFunding TimeFee
PayPal2023-03-162023-03-16Instantzero
PayPal2023-03-162023-03-16Instantzero
Credit card2023-03-162023-03-163 hourszero

We had to provide a photo of our credit card to process the funding transaction with the card.

CMC Markets Funding Page
CMC Markets Funding Page

Withdrawal

CMC Markets allows withdrawals via credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal. Withdrawals are usually free with this broker. 

However, CMC Markets charges a £15 fee for instant withdrawal with bank transfer or transfer to an international bank account.

Overall, our experience with CMC Markets’ withdrawal process was positive. The requests were smooth but took 2 working days.

Details of our withdrawal requests are in the table below.

Payment MethodSubmitted DateFund Released DateFund Arrived DateWithdrawal TimeFee
PayPal2023-03-162023-03-182023-03-182 working dayzero
Credit card2023-03-182023-03-222023-03-222 working dayzero

We had to provide the statement of the bank account connected to put PayPal account to process the withdrawal request.

Markets and Products

CMC Markets offers CFD trading services with forex, indices, stocks, commodities, treasuries, and cryptocurrencies instruments.

CMC Markets CFD

The broker is known for its forex and share CFDs offering and has a vast offering in both markets. It offers trading with company stocks in various global markets. Indices, commodities, and cryptocurrency offerings of CMC Trading are also impressive.

The complete list of CMC Markets offerings are:

MarketsInstruments
Forex339
Indices95
Stocks and ETFs9451
Commodities111
Treasuries53
Cryptocurrency14

Cryptocurrency trading is only available from 11 pm (GMT) Sunday – 9 pm (GMT) Friday.

The number of instruments offered and the markets might differ depending on your jurisdiction.

Trading Conditions

CMC Markets offers good trading conditions. It allows both hedging and scalping strategies. But only professional clients can change leverage levels.

Trading MethodAllowed
HedgingYes
ScalpingYes
Change LeverageNo

Leverage

Leverages offered by CMC Markets on various asset classes are standard, as per the regulatory requirements, and are detailed below:

MarketsCMC Markets UK PlcCMC Markets Germany GmbHCMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty LtdCMC Markets Singapore Pte. LtdCMC Markets NZ LimitedCMC Markets Canada IncCMC Markets Middle East Ltd
Major Currency Pairs30:130:130:150:1500:134.4:1400:1
Non-Major Currency Pairs30:130:120:150:1500:134.4:1400:1
Gold20:120:120:15:1200:138:1200:1
Other Commodities (except Gold)20:120:110:15:1200:138:150:1
Indices20:120:120:120:1500:118:1200:1
Stocks5:15:15:110:120:16:110:1
CryptocurrenciesNA2:12:1NA20:1NA20:1

CMC Markets Bonus

Only the Australia-registered entity of CMC Markets offers a bonus scheme to traders.

Traders can receive AU$250 as a bonus if the following conditions are satisfied :

  • Fund the account with a minimum initial amount of AU$1,000
  • Place trades on the account with a minimum aggregate turnover of US$500,000 in share CFDs (excluding US Shares) or US$2,000,000 across all CFD classes
CMC Markets Bonus Page
CMC Markets Bonus Page

CMC Markets Trading Platform

CMC Markets offers two trading platforms to the traders:

  • MetaTrader4 (Third-party platform developed by MetaQuotes Software)
  • Next Generation platform (Proprietary platform)

The Next Generation platform does not have backtesting capabilities.

Shares CFDs trading is only available on the Next Generation platform.

Our account was based on CMC Markets’ Next Generation trading platform.

We downloaded the mobile version of the trading platform and tried to place an order of EUR/USD. But the “Confirm” button did not work.

We provided a screenshot to the CMC Markets support team to investigate but did not receive any response. We finally operated our trades on the desktop client.

CMC Markets Trading Platform
CMC Markets Trading Platform

Research and Tools

CMC Markets offers excellent market research and analysis tools. The broker’s tools are useful to both beginner and advanced traders.

Some of the tools offered by CMC Markets are:

  • Excellent charting tools
  • Fundamental market data (through Morningstar reports)
  • Economic calendar (powered by Thomson Reuters)
  • Market analysis (in multiple languages)
  • Newsfeed
  • Trading ideas
CMC Markets Market Analysis
CMC Markets Market Analysis

Education

CMC Markets offers easy-to-understand and good quality educational resources. Its tutorials are categorized into several sections for ease of learning.

Some of the educational materials offered by the brokers are:

  • Text-based tutorials
  • Video tutorials on trading
  • Explainaire videos for tools
  • Webinars 
  • Demo account

CMC Markets Demo Account

CMC Markets Educational Material
CMC Markets Educational Resources

Customer Service

CMC Markets has good customer support.

Traders can contact the broker via:

  • Live chat 
  • email
  • Phone

The support staff is available only on weekdays.

Our experience with CMC Markets’ customer support was mixed. Most of the time, the support team was very quick in response, and answers were also direct and accurate. 

However, we did not receive any response to one of our queries.

QuestionResponse TimeQuality of reply
Live ChatAsked if we could use MT4 account to trade EURUSD, Gold, Apple, UK1002 minClear and accurate
EmailAsked if we could use our trading account to trade on MT4 or MT55 hourClear and accurate
EmailAsked why we cannot place orders on the Next Generation appNo reply

CMC Markets provides customer support in multiple languages.

CMC Markets Customer Support
CMC Markets Customer Support

The broker also has a detailed FAQ section for frequently faced issues.

Conclusion

Our overall experience with CMC Markets was smooth.

The broker offered excellent forex spreads, which were low and stable. The expectation speed was also fast.

However, deposit and withdrawal methods were limited. We also faced issues with trading on the mobile client of the broker’s own platform.

Our experience with customer support remained mixed as we did not receive any answer to one query. But the remaining replies were fast and accurate.

We recommend traders to run EA, scalping, hedging, and other trading strategies with CMC Markets

We recommend CMC Markets for traders who are

  • Beginners in trading
  • Trading Stocks
  • Trading currency pairs
  • Use Automated trading
  • EA trader
  • Scalping
  • Hedging
  • Spread Betting
  • Social Trading

CMC Markets might not be a fit if you are

  • Day trader
  • Trading of Real Stocks

Author of this review

By George Rossi

Author of this review

I am a well-rounded financial services professional experienced in fundamental and technical analysis, global macroeconomic research, foreign exchange and commodity markets and an independent trader.

Now I am passionate about reviewing and comparing forex brokers.

Everything you find on BrokerTested is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology

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