Is Plus500 better than XTB? Who offers lower spread, better trading conditions and is safer broker to trade?
We provide answers to all questions in this Plus500 vs XTB Comparison Review. For this Review we opened real accounts and deposit over US$ 6,000 in total to compare both offerings, account opening process at Plus500 and XTB also the fees, trading conditions, platform selection and withdrawal process.
What is Plus500 and XTB
Plus500 is a large and popular CFD broker with a good number of instruments for retail and professional traders.
XTB is a global Forex and CFD broker. The broker carries several licenses, and the spreads on currency pairs are quite low; the broker also allows scalping.
Some of the highlights of Plus500 vs XTB are:
| Plus500 | XTB | |
| 💻 Website | www.plus500.com | www.xtb.com |
| 🛡️Founded year | 2008 | 2002 |
| 🏦 Headquarter | Israel | London and Warsaw |
| 🗺️ Authorized & Regulated in | UK, Cyprus, Australia, South Africa, Seychelles, Singapore | UK, Cyprus, Poland, Spain, Belize |
| 🔒 Is Broker safe | Yes | Yes |
| 💰 EUR/USD Spread | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$100 | US$250 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | US$0 | US$0 |
| 🖥️ Trading Platform | Plus500’s proprietary trading platform | MT4, xStation 5, xStation Mobile |
| 📈 Markets offered | Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Options | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies |
| 📉 Number of Products | 2400 | 2111 |
| 🔎 Our Detailed Review | Plus500 Review | XTB Review |
Licenses and Regulation
Compared to Plus500 vs XTB, both brokers are safe to trade and are highly reliable, low-risk trading brokers due to regulations and are not a scam.
Plus500 holds 6 regulatory licenses from several top regulators, like the United Kingdom’s FCA, Singapore’s MAS, and Australia’s ASIC.
XTB is licensed by 5 regulators globally including the top-tier UK’s FCA, the CySEC, Poland’s KNF, Spain’s CNMV & Belize’s FSC.
For this review, we opened an account with Plus500AU Pty Ltd ASIC regulated broker in Australia, and with XTB Ltd, regulated by CySEC.
We recommend you to register your account with the United Kingdom or Australian or Singapore entity of Plus500 and XTB UK, Cyprus, Poland and Spain entities if they’re available to you, since they all offer deposit protection.
| Plus500 | XTB | |
| 🔒 Licenses | ASIC, CySEC, ISA, IE Singapore, FSCA, FCA, FSA | FCA, CySEC, KNF, CNMV, FSC |
| Top Tier License | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Publically Traded | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Compensation Scheme | ✔️ (depending on entity) | ✔️ (depending on entity) |
Plus500 vs XTB Fees
Plus500 and XTB fees are similar and mainly built into a spread basis. In the case of Plus500, there are no commission based accounts. XTB offers very low spreads on commodities and stocks. Yet, it charges a EUR 6.6 commission on Stocks.
Plus500 does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fee but charges a monthly fee after 3 months of inactivity.
XBT like Plus500 does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fee, yet there is a major drawback as XTB processes client withdrawals via bank transfers only.
| Plus500 Fees | XTB Fees | |
| Fees based on spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Floating Spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Fixed Spread | ❌ | ❌ |
| Commission based fees | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Inactivity Fee | $10 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 |
| Active trader/ VIP Programs | ❌ | ❌ |
Spreads Charged in Our Trades
For our test trades on Plus500 vs XTB accounts, we chose popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to get the average spread, we found both negative and positive sides for each Broker spreads.
Our testing finds Plus500 spreads for Forex, ETFs, and Cryptocurrencies much lower than the industry average. Spreads on Indices, Commodities, and Stocks are on the higher side.
Our testing finds the spread on Forex pairs to be quite low, but the spreads on commodities, stocks, indices and cryptocurrencies are in-line with industry averages or higher.
| Markets | Instruments | Plus500 commission | XTB commission | Industry avg. spread |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 2 | 1.80 | 1.65 |
| Forex | EUR/USD | 0.8 | 0.83 | 1.16 |
| Commodities | Gold | 4 | 0.44 | 3.53 |
| Stocks | AAPL | 1.93 | 1.00 | 1.75 |
| Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | 49.02 | 189.55 | 72.81 |
| ETFs | QQQ | 0.17 | N/A | 0.45 |
Account Types Compared
Plus500 offers a single account type to traders. XTB offers 2 account types, that is, the Standard, and PRO accounts. XTB also offers a forex swap-free account.
Opening a new account on Plus500 for our test was smooth, the registration process took merely 16 minutes.
XTB account opening was fast and smooth. The registration process took only 13 minutes and our account was approved on the same day, which was impressive!
| Plus500 Accounts | XTB Accounts | |
| Standard Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| ECN / Commission Based Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| Islamic Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| PAMM Account | ❌ | ✔️ |
Markets and Products
Compared to XTB, the instrument selection across a few markets at Plus500 are lower, besides Forex and Options, however, all are traded as CFDs. At XTB you can trade CFDs on forex pairs, stock indices, stocks, commodities, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
| Markets | Plus500 Instruments | XTB Instruments |
| Indices | 29 | 42 |
| Forex | 71 | 57 |
| Commodities | 22 | 23 |
| Stocks | 1737 | 1849 |
| Cryptocurrency | 14 | 25 |
| ETFs | 94 | 119 |
| Options | 433 | – |
Trading Conditions
Plus500 does not allow hedging or scalping. It does not even allow traders to change leverage levels. The broker is not the best for beginners due to a lack of proper education. On the other hand, the trading conditions at XTB are good. The broker allows high-risk strategies such as hedging and scalping. XTB also allows the use of Expert Advisors (EAs).
| Trading Method | Plus500 | XTB |
| Hedging | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Scalping | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Change Leverage | ❌ | ❌ |
| Copy trading/ Social trading | ❌ | ❌ |
| Beginners Trading | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Professional Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Deposit and Withdrawal
Both deposit and withdrawal processes on Plus500 and XTB are simple enough, supporting various funding methods. Both brokers have minimum deposit amounts of $100 and $250 respectively.
We tested deposit by Debit Card on Plus500 and there was no deposit fee and the findings were instant.
We tested deposit by Debit Card on XTB. All the deposit methods offered by XTB were instant and free.
| Plus500 | XTB | |
| 💰 Deposit Fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$100 | US$250 |
| Bank Transfer | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Debit/ Credit Cards | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PayPal | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Skrill | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Platform
Plus500 offers its own trading platform and does not offer any other alternative. While XTB offers the MetaTrader4 (MT4) platform, which is a popular platform and suggests many advantages.
Plus500’s platform is user-friendly and good for CFD trading, but cannot be customized.
The trading conditions at XTB are good, but at the moment it does not offer social trading.
| Plus500 Platform | XTB Platform | |
| Proprietary Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Web Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Desktop Platform | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Mobile App | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Alternative Platforms | ❌ | ✔️ |
| MetaTrader4 | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Simple to use platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Demo Account Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Execution Agency Model | ❌ | ❌ |
| Research | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Advanced Research tools | ❌ | ✔️ |
Education and Support
Plus500 offers only a few basic videos to educate novice traders and provides demo trading accounts. Whereas XTB offers a wide variety of educational materials. Plus500 vs XTB both offer decent customer support with Live Chat and Support Inquiries.
Plus500 does not offer high-quality education resources.
XTB educational materials are grouped according to a trader’s experience and based on various subjects, which we found to be very helpful.
| Plus500 Support | XTB Support | |
| Trading School for Beginners | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Tutorials | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Trading Videos | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Webinars | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Daily News and Analysis | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Economic Calendar | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Live Chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Email Support | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| 24/7 availability | ❌ | ❌ |
Conclusion on Plus500 vs XTB
Comparing Plus500 to XTB side by side we found both brokers reliable and with good standing. The proposals are different with Plus500 as a CFD Trading Broker, made for professional trading, and with XTB carrying several licenses and the spreads on currency pairs are quite low; the broker also allows scalping and hedging.
Our trading experience on Plus500 was mixed. On the positive side, the broker holds six regulatory licenses. It is also listed on London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It offers a huge list of CFD instruments across several markets with attractive spreads on forex pairs and other instruments.
Our experience with XTB was smooth from opening account, to deposit, trading and withdrawal. XTB is good for experienced traders and beginners, it also allows the use of Expert Advisors and offers popular trading platforms, such as MetaTrader4 (MT4).
| Plus500 | XTB | |
| Recommended for | ✔️ CFD Trading ✔️ Experienced traders | ✔️ EA trader ✔️ Scalping trader ✔️ Trading Currency pairs and Stocks ✔️ Beginning Traders ✔️ Experienced traders |
| Might not be fit for | ❌ Beginning Trader ❌ Scalping trader ❌ Hedging trader ❌ EA trader ❌ Trading through MT4/MT5 platform ❌ Commission based trading | ❌ Trading on Stocks with small contacts ❌ Commission based trading |