Is XTB better than Trading 212? Who offers lower spread, better trading conditions and is a safe broker to trade?
We provide answers to all questions in this XTB vs Trading 212 Comparison Review. For this Review, we opened real accounts and deposited over US$ 10,500 in total to compare both offerings, account opening process at XTB and Trading 212, also the fees, trading conditions, platform selection, and withdrawal process.
What is XTB and Trading 212?
XTB is a market-leading Forex and CFD broker. The broker carries several licenses, and the spreads on currency pairs are quite low; the broker also allows scalping.
Trading 212 is a large and popular CFD broker with a great variety of instruments and lower spreads in stock trading, suitable for retail and professional traders.
Some of the highlights of XTB vs Trading 212 are:
| XTB | Trading 212 | |
| 💻 Website | www.xtb.com | www.trading212.com |
| 🛡️Founded year | 2002 | 2004 |
| 🏦 Headquarter | London, Warsaw | London |
| 🗺️ Authorized & Regulated in | UK, Cyprus, Poland, Spain, Belize | UK, Bulgaria |
| 🔒 Is Broker safe | Yes | Yes |
| 💰 EUR/USD Spread | 0.9 | 1.37 |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$250 | US$1 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | US$0 | US$0 |
| 🖥️ Trading Platform | MT4, xStation 5, xStation Mobile | Trading 212’s Proprietary Trading Platform |
| 📈 Markets offered | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies | Indices, Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Cryptocurrencies |
| 📉 Number of Products | 2,111 | 2,029 |
| 🔎 Our Detailed Review | XTB Review | Trading 212 Review |
Licenses and Regulation
From the comparison review of XTB vs Trading 212 we may assume that both brokers are safe to trade and are highly reliable, low-risk trading brokers due to regulations and are not considered a scam.
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.
Trading 212 has 2 licenses globally including a top-tier license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). More about International brokers.
To review these brokers, we opened an account under XTB Ltd regulated by CySEC, also a CFD account with Trading 212 UK Ltd, and deposited money so as to run our tests.
We highly recommend you to register your accounts with XTB UK, Cyprus, Poland and Spain entities and Trading 212 UK entity if they’re available to you since they all offer deposit protection.
| XTB | Trading 212 | |
| 🔒 Licenses | FCA, CySEC, KNF, CNMV, FSC | FCA, Bulgaria FSC |
| Top Tier License | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Publically Traded | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Compensation Scheme | ✔️ (depending on entity) | ✔️ (depending on entity) |
XTB vs Trading 212 Fees
Both XTB and Trading 212 fees are mostly based on spreads. XTB offers very low spreads on commodities and stocks. We found that XTB charges a EUR 6.6 commission on Stocks unlike Trading 212 which doesn’t have any commission-based accounts.
Trading 212 maintained a better offering as it does not charge any additional non-trading fees, XTB has a serious drawback as it processes its clients’ withdrawal only via bank transfers, however, it does not charge any deposit, withdrawal, or inactivity fee.
| XTB Fees | Trading 212 Fees | |
| Fees based on the 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 XTB vs Trading 212 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. Both brokers’ spreads are stable.
We tested XTB Standard Account. It charged a fixed commission fee of €6.60 on most of the assets except for stocks and ETFs; Trading 212, in its turn, does not charge any additional fee.
Our testing finds that XTB spreads on Forex are quite low, but the spreads on commodities, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies are in-line with industry averages or higher.
Trading 212 spreads for the FTSE 100 and gold are quite high, however, spreads on FX are aligned to those of the industry average, and spreads charged on stocks are much lower than the industry average.
| Markets | Instruments | XTB Avg. spread | Trading 212 Avg. spread | Industry avg. spread |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 1.80 | 2.47 | 1.65 |
| Forex | EUR/USD | 0.83 | 1.37 | 1.16 |
| Commodities | Gold | 0.44 | 7.47 | 3.53 |
| Stocks | AAPL | 1.00 | 1.70 | 1.75 |
| Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | 189.55 | N/A | 72.81 |
Account Types Compared
XTB offers 2 account types, that is, the Standard, and PRO accounts. XTB also offers a forex swap-free Account. Trading 212 offers CFD and Invest accounts. Unlike Trading 212, XTB does offer a PAMM Account. Find out more about a Forex swap-free Accounts
XTB account opening is fast and smooth. The registration process took only 13 minutes and our account was approved on the same day, which was impressive!
Trading 212 account opening was overall satisfying. The registration process took merely 16 minutes. The account was verified in 2 working days.
| XTB Accounts | Trading 212 Accounts | |
| Standard Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| ECN / Commission Based Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| Islamic Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| PAMM Account | ✔️ | ❌ |
Markets and Products
At XTB, you can trade CFDs on Forex pairs, stock indices, stocks, commodities, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. As for Trading 212, its CFD account offers to trade on indices, commodities, Forex pairs, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. Trading 212 is best for Forex and commodities traders as it offers a wider range of instruments, while XTB is better for Cryptocurrency and ETFs traders.
| Markets | XTB Instruments | Trading 212 Instruments |
| Indices | 42 | 57 |
| Forex | 57 | 184 |
| Commodities | 23 | 118 |
| Stocks | 1849 | 1661 |
| Cryptocurrency | 25 | 9 |
| ETFs | 119 | – |
| Options | – | – |
Trading Conditions
Both brokers provide excellent conditions for beginners and experts. XTB would be a great fit for EA, scalping, and hedging traders, since it offers almost all trading strategies, including high-risk strategies; unlike Trading 212 which forbids scalping and using EAs.
| Trading Method | XTB | Trading 212 |
| Hedging | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Scalping | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Change Leverage | ❌ | ❌ |
| Copy trading/ Social trading | ❌ | ❌ |
| Beginners Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Professional Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Deposit and Withdrawal
Both deposit and withdrawal processes on Trading 212 are simple enough, supporting various funding methods like debit cards, Skrill, PayPal. XTB, on the other hand, does not allow you to withdraw your funds using other payment methods except for bank wire transfers. The minimum deposit on Trading 212 is quite attractive, traders can start with a $1 deposit.
We tested the deposit process on Trading 212 via 3 payment methods available.
We tested the deposit by Debit Card on XTB. All the deposit methods offered by XTB are instant and free.
| XTB | Trading 212 | |
| 💰 Deposit Fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$250 | US$1 |
| Bank Transfer | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Debit/ Credit Cards | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PayPal | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Skrill | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Platform
Trading 212 offers a proprietary web and mobile app platform as the only platform available for trading. XTB has a better offering in this case since it has not only its proprietary platform but also offers alternative platforms such as MetaTrader4, one of the most popular platforms among traders. MT4 offers web, desktop, and mobile versions.
Trading 212 platform is quite user-friendly and the navigation is intuitive. The research is quite good as well.
The trading conditions at XTB are good, we were satisfied with its proprietary platform, and we find it a good alternative to MT4.
| XTB Platform | Trading 212 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
Both XTB and Trading 212 offer excellent educational resources for beginners and professional traders like detailed articles and exceptional video tutorials. Unlike XTB, Trading 212 offers 24/1 customer support.
From the perspective of information comprehensibility Trading 212 educational program is considered one of the best in the industry.
XTB educational materials are grouped according to a trader’s experience and based on various subjects, which we found to be very helpful.
| XTB | Trading 212 | |
| Trading School for Beginners | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Tutorials | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Trading Videos | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Webinars | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Daily News and Analysis | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Economic Calendar | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Live Chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Email Support | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| 24/7 availability | ❌ | ✔️ |
Conclusion on XTB vs Trading 212
In conclusion to our XTB vs Trading 212 review, we can assure you that both brokers are highly reliable and safe to trade since they both are regulated by top-tier licenses. Their fees are similar and built into a spread basis.
Trading 212 is not suitable for FTSE 100 and Gold traders, as the spreads in those markets are quite high; unlike those of XTB that are all aligned with the industry average, and the spreads on Forex are even lower. Trading 212 may also be not a good fit for MT4 traders, as it does not offer any alternatives.
XTB is a good choice for traders who prefer high-risk strategies, as it allows scalping and hedging. XTB, however, has a huge drawback with the withdrawal process, since it allows to withdraw only via bank transfers.
Overall, our experience with XTB was smooth from opening an 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 MetaTrader 4 (MT4).
Overall experience with Trading 212 was smooth, we liked the broker’s educational materials, which are some of the best we have seen, also a huge selection of actual stocks and low spreads.
| XTB | Trading 212 | |
| Recommended for | ✔️ EA traders ✔️ Scalping traders ✔️ Trading Currency pairs and Stocks ✔️ Beginning Traders ✔️ Experienced traders | ✔️ Beginning Traders ✔️ Experienced traders ✔️ Trading Currency pairs and CFD Stocks ✔️ Investment |
| Might not be fit for | ❌ Trading on Stocks with small contacts ❌ Commission-based trading | ❌ Scalping Traders ❌ EA traders ❌ Trading through MT4/MT5 platforms ❌ Commission-based trading ❌ Trading Gold or Indices |