Is Trading 212 better than Plus500? Who has lower spread, better trading conditions and is safer broker to trade?
We provide answers to all questions in this Trading 212 vs Plus500 Comparison Review. For this Review we opened real accounts and deposit over US$ 12,000 in total to compare both offerings, account opening process at Trading 212 and Plus500 also we check fees, trading conditions, platform selection and withdrawal process.
What is Trading 212 and Plus500
Trading 212 is a popular CFD broker with wide number of instruments and advanced trading platform and propsal.
Plus500 is a large and quite popular CFD broker with a good number of instruments for retail and professional traders.
Some of the highlights of Trading 212 vs Plus500 are:
| Trading 212 | Plus500 | |
| 💻 Website | www.trading212.com | www.plus500.com |
| 🛡️Founded year | 2006 | 2008 |
| 🏦 Headquarter | UK | Israel |
| 🗺️ Authorized & Regulated in | UK, Bulgaria | UK, Cyprus, Australia, South Africa, Seychelles, Singapore |
| 🔒 Is Broker safe | Yes | Yes |
| 💰 EUR/USD Spread | 1.37 | 0.8 |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$1 | US$100 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | US$0 | US$0 |
| 🖥️ Trading Platform | Trading 212’s proprietary trading platform | Plus500’s proprietary trading platform |
| 📈 Markets offered | Indices, Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Cryptocurrencies | Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Options |
| 📉 Number of Products | 2,029 | 2,400 |
| 🔎 Our Detailed Review | Trading 212 Review | Plus500 Review |
Licenses and Regulation
Both Brokers are safe to trade and are considered reliable, they both provide low risk trading environment and are not a scam.
Trading 212 has 2 global licenses including a top-tier license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Plus500 holds 6 regulatory licenses from several top regulators, like the United Kingdom’s FCA, Singapore’s MAS, and Australia’s ASIC.
For this review we opened CFD account with Trading 212 UK Ltd and deposited money so as to run our tests, and with Plus500AU Pty Ltd ASIC regulated broker in Australia.
We recommend registering your account with Trading 212 UK entity if it’s available to you since we consider regulation by the FCA as being the best given. For Plus500 the United Kingdom, Australian or Singapore entity are considered the best.
| Trading 212 | Plus500 | |
| 🔒 Licenses | FCA, Bulgaria FSC | FCA, Bulgaria FSC |
| Top Tier License | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Publically Traded | ❌ | ❌ |
| Compensation Scheme | ✔️ (depending on entity) | ✔️ (depending on entity) |
Trading 212 vs Plus500 Fees
Trading 212 and Plus500 fees are similar and mainly built into a spread basis, there is no commission-based accounts or commission charge for trades.
For additional fees, Trading 212 maintained a better offering and does not charge any non-trading fees, while Plus500 does not charge funding fees but charges a monthly fee after 3 months of inactivity.
| Trading 212 Fees | Plus500 Fees | |
| Fees based on spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Floating Spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Fixed Spread | ❌ | ❌ |
| Commission based fees | ❌ | ❌ |
| Inactivity Fee | 0$ | 0$ |
| Deposit fee | 0$ | 0$ |
| Withdrawal fee | 0$ | 0$ |
| Active trader/ VIP Programs | ❌ | ❌ |
Spreads Charged in Our Trades
For our test trades on Trading 212 vs Plus500 accounts, we chose popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument and listed the average actual spread charged on the live trades done through funded account, we found Plus500 spreads lower compared to trading 212, however trading 212 spreads for Stocks are better.
Trading 212 spreads charged in our trades to the industry benchmark, we found FTSE 100 and Gold spreads to be quite high, FX and Stock trades in-line with industry trends and Stock trades are much lower than the industry average.
Our testing Plus500 spreads for Forex and ETFs were much lower than the industry average. While Spreads on Indices, Commodities, Stocks, and Cryptocurrencies, are on the higher side.
| Markets | Instruments | Trading 212 Avg. spread | Plus500 Avg. spread | Industry avg. spread |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 2.47 | 2 | 1.65 |
| Forex | EUR/USD | 1.37 | 0.8 | 1.16 |
| Commodities | Gold | 7.47 | 4 | 3.53 |
| Stocks | AAPL | 1.70 | 1.93 | 1.75 |
Account Types Compared
Trading 212 offers 2 account types – Invest and CFD accounts, making offering more flexible, while Plus500 offers a single account.
In our Trading 212 test it took 2 working days to open and verify our account. The registration took only 16 mins to complete.
Account Opening with Plus500 for our test was smooth, the registration process took merely 16 minutes.
| Trading 212 Accounts | Plus500 Accounts | |
| Standard Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| ECN / Commission Based Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| Islamic Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| PAMM Account | ❌ | ❌ |
Markets and Products
Plus500 vs Trading 212 offers a similar and very wide range of instrument, however Plus500 offers all instruments on CFD basis and Trading 212 winning in its instrument especially for Currency pairs and Commodities, nevertheless missing ETF and options completely.
| Markets | Trading 212 Instruments | Plus500 Instruments |
| Indices | 57 | 29 |
| Forex | 184 | 71 |
| Commodities | 118 | 22 |
| Stocks | 1661 | 1737 |
| Cryptocurrency | 9 | 14 |
| ETFs | – | 94 |
| Options | – | 433 |
Trading Conditions
Trading 212 conditions and offering is better since hedging is allowed and proposal is suitable for beginning traders since there is great education section, other trading conditions offered by both brokers are very similarboth brokers do not allow scalping, using EAs are not available since there is no MetaTrader platform.
| Trading Method | Trading 212 | Plus500 |
| Hedging | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Scalping | ❌ | ❌ |
| Change Leverage | ❌ | ❌ |
| Copy trading/ Social trading | ❌ | ❌ |
| Beginners Trading | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Professional Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Deposit and Withdrawal
Both deposit and withdrawal processes on Trading 212 and Plus500 are simple enough, there are various funding methods and no funding fees. However, Trading 212 minimum deposit is very attractive, traders can start only with 1$ first deposit.
Trading 212 test deposit was done by Debit card, Skrill and Paypal that reflect instantly in our trading account with zero fees.
We tested deposit by Debit Card on Plus500 there was no deposit fee and funding was instant.
| Trading 212 | Plus500 | |
| 💰 Deposit Fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$1 | US$100 |
| Bank Transfer | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Debit/ Credit Cards | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PayPal | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Skrill | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Platform
Both Brokers Trading 212 vs Plus500 offers only own trading platform and does not have= any other alternative or popular MT4 platform & MT5 platform platforms.
Both proprietary platforms looks modern and are easy to use or navigate, however Plus500 platform is way more simple, while Trading 212 is more packed with tools, has better research, fundamental data with analysis and portfolio making it suitable for professionals and beginners too.
Trading 212 platform is user-friendly we placed test trades via the broker’s mobile platform, which was quite intuitive, we also like the research.
Plus500 platform is very user-friendly and good for CFD trading, but cannot be customized.
| Trading 212 Platform | Plus500 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
Trading 212 education and research section is great with well-organized videos, analysis and research, in reverse Plus500 just provides a basic guide and does not offer high-quality education resources so losing in that point for beginners too.
Trading 212 and Plus500 both offers decent customer support with Live Chat and support inquiries.
Trading 212 we found to be some of the best in the industry given education with the easy-to-understand presented format.
Plus500 offers only a few basic videos to educate novice traders.
| Trading 212 Support | Plus500 Support | |
| Trading School for Beginners | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Tutorials | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Trading Videos | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Webinars | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Daily News and Analysis | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Economic Calendar | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Live Chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Email Support | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| 24/7 availability | ❌ | ❌ |
Conclusion on Trading 212 vs Plus500
Comparing Trading 212 to Plus500 side by side we found both brokers as trusted brokers. The proposals are quite similar, while Trading 212 can be better suitable for all size and experience level traders, might be good option for beginners, since Plus500 missing education and good research.
Trading costs are better at Plu500 with lower spreads compared to Trading 212, both brokers based on spread with no commission but for trading of Stocks Trading 212 is definitely a better option.
Overall experience with Trading 212 was smooth, we liked the broker’s educational materials, which are some of the best we have seen, also huge selection of actual stocks and low spreads. Trading 212 has some drawbacks, though, the spreads on the FTSE index and Gold to be quite high.
Our experience with Plus500 was mixed. It offers a huge list of CFD instruments across several markets with attractive spreads on forex pairs and other instruments.
| Trading 212 | Plus500 | |
| Recommended for | ✔️Trading currency pairs or CFD stocks ✔️ Beginning Traders ✔️ Experienced traders ✔️ Investment | ✔️CFD Trading ✔️ Experienced traders |
| Might not be fit for | ❌ Scalping trader ❌ Hedging trader ❌ EA trader ❌ Trading through MT4/MT5 platform ❌ Commission based trading ❌ Trading Gold or Indice | ❌ Beginning Trader ❌ Scalping trader ❌ Hedging trader ❌ EA trader ❌ Trading through MT4/MT5 platform ❌ Commission based trading |