Broker review
Plus500 review: is Plus500 legit and safe?
Plus500 lists 14 companies in our data, 8 of them under Tier 1 regulators, plus two offshore ones in the Seychelles and the Bahamas. 12 of the 14 were matched on their regulators’ registers on 20 Oct 2026. It runs its own platform only and publishes no EUR/USD spread in pips; 76% of its UK retail accounts lose money.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
Verdict at a glance
Plus500
5.9/10
Entities 14
- Tier 1FCA509909
- Tier 1CySEC250/14
- Tier 1Finantsinspektsioon4.1-1/18
- Tier 1ASICAFSL 417727
- Tier 2FMAFSP 486026
- Tier 2FSCAFSP 47546
- Tier 1MASCMS100648-1
- Tier 1DFSAF005651
- Tier 2SCA20200000232
- Tier 1JFSA156
- Tier 1CIRONot published
- OffshoreFSA SeychellesSD039
- OffshoreSCBSIA-F250
- Tier 2Israel (regulator not named)Not published
- Minimum deposit
- A$100
- EUR/USD spread from
- Not measured
- Max retail leverage
- 1:30 (forex, retail; EUR/USD initial margin 3.33%) (FCA) · 1:30 (forex, retail — per Plus500 forex page en-fr) (CySEC)
- Platforms
- proprietary
- Founded
- 2008
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (Plus500UK Ltd).
Plus500’s preliminary rating is 5.9/10: regulation 8.0/10, accounts 6.0/10, platforms 4.0/10, and costs not measured, because its spreads are dynamic and no typical EUR/USD figure is published. Figures come from Plus500’s pages and documents, checked 19 Oct 2026; we have not opened a live account. Read first: how we rankhow we make moneyeditorial policy
Quick answer
Is Plus500 legit?
Plus500 is a licensed group: UK residents sign up with Plus500UK Ltd, licence 509909 checked on the FCA register on 20 Oct 2026, with a 1:30 cap on forex and negative balance protection. Plus500’s User Agreement states FSCS cover up to £85,000; another Plus500 page cites £120,000, which is the FSCS limit for bank deposits. For investment firms the FSCS pays up to £85,000 per person, per firm. Being licensed does not limit losses: 76% of UK and 80% of EU retail accounts lose money.
- Tier 1 regulators across the group: FCA, CySEC, Finantsinspektsioon, ASIC, MAS, DFSA, JFSA and CIRO.
- EU residents are served by Plus500CY Ltd, CySEC licence 250/14 checked on the CySEC register on 20 Oct 2026.
- Plus500SEY Ltd (FSA Seychelles) and Plus500BHS Ltd (SCB, Bahamas) are offshore; Plus500 does not say which countries they serve.
- Plus500Gulf Securities L.L.C. (SCA) and Plus500IL Ltd have no register match in our data.
- Regulatory record: the FSA (now the FCA) fined Plus500UK £205,128 in 2012 for transaction reporting failures; no other fine is in our data.
Plus500 pros and cons
Pros
- Plus500UK Ltd and Plus500CY Ltd matched on the FCA and CySEC registers on 20 Oct 2026
- Negative balance protection stated for the UK company
- No commission on CFDs: Plus500 is paid mainly through the bid/ask spread
- 4 funding methods, including PayPal and Skrill
Cons
- No published EUR/USD spread in pips, so costs cannot be compared with other brokers
- Own platform only: no MT4, MT5, cTrader or TradingView
- Currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% of realised profit and loss (UK User Agreement)
- Two different FSCS limits on Plus500’s own pages; UK minimum deposit not published
- Fined £205,128 by the FSA in 2012 for transaction reporting failures
Entities and regulation
Plus500 lists 14 companies in our data. The one that opens your account sets your leverage cap, negative balance protection and compensation scheme. Licence numbers are as the broker publishes them; check each on its regulator’s register.
| Entity | Regulator | Licence | Max. retail leverage | Negative balance protection | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus500UK Ltd | Tier 1 FCA | 509909Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | 1:30 (forex, retail; EUR/USD initial margin 3.33%) | Yes | FSCS up to £85,000 per person, per firm |
| Plus500CY Ltd | Tier 1 CySEC | 250/14Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | 1:30 (forex, retail — per Plus500 forex page en-fr) | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500EE AS | Tier 1 Finantsinspektsioon | 4.1-1/18Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500AU Pty Ltd | Tier 1 ASIC | AFSL 417727Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500AU Pty Ltd (New Zealand) | Tier 2 FMA | FSP 486026Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500AU Pty Ltd (South Africa) | Tier 2 FSCA | FSP 47546Company checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026; the register does not list the number | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500SG Pte Ltd | Tier 1 MAS | CMS100648-1Company checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026; the register does not list the number | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500AE Ltd | Tier 1 DFSA | F005651Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500Gulf Securities L.L.C. | Tier 2 SCA | 20200000232As published by the broker | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500JP Securities Ltd. | Tier 1 JFSA | 156Checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500CA Ltd | Tier 1 CIRO | Not publishedCompany checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026; the register does not list the number | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500SEY Ltd | Offshore FSA Seychelles | SD039Company checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026; the register does not list the number | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500BHS Ltd | Offshore SCB | SIA-F250Company checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026; the register does not list the number | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Plus500IL Ltd | Tier 2 Israel (regulator not named) | Not publishedAs published by the broker | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Which entity will I get?
Pick your region to see which company our data says would hold your account.
Plus500UK Ltd · FCA · 509909 · Max retail leverage 1:30 (forex, retail; EUR/USD initial margin 3.33%)
Plus500CY Ltd · CySEC · 250/14 · Max retail leverage 1:30 (forex, retail — per Plus500 forex page en-fr)
Plus500AU Pty Ltd · ASIC · AFSL 417727 · Max retail leverage Not published
Plus500SG Pte Ltd · MAS · CMS100648-1 · Max retail leverage Not published
Plus500AE Ltd · DFSA · F005651 · Max retail leverage Not published
Plus500JP Securities Ltd. · JFSA · 156 · Max retail leverage Not published
Warnings and clones
Search each Plus500 licence number on the regulator’s own register and compare the website address listed there with the one you are on. Clone firms copy real names and licence numbers.
Client money
Plus500UK Ltd: licence 509909 checked on the FCA register on 20 Oct 2026. Plus500CY Ltd: licence 250/14 checked on the CySEC register on 20 Oct 2026. Plus500AU Pty Ltd: licence AFSL 417727 checked on the ASIC register on 20 Oct 2026. Plus500’s pages cite two FSCS limits for the UK company, £85,000 in the User Agreement and £120,000 elsewhere; the FSCS’s own figure for investments is £85,000 per eligible person, per firm, for firms that failed after 1 April 2019. Tier 1 regulators require client money to be held apart from the firm’s own money. An offshore company may not offer the same protection, and its compensation, if any, is the broker’s own arrangement.
Costs and fees
Plus500 quotes dynamic spreads on its platform and publishes no typical or minimum EUR/USD spread in pips, so there is no spread row we can compare. It states it is “mainly compensated through the bid/ask spread”, with no separate commission.
Spreads by pair and account
| Pair | Account | Published spread | Checked | Source |
|---|
Commission
0 AUD per lot per side (CFD — 'mainly compensated through the Bid/Ask spread' (dynamic spread))
Swaps
Overnight funding rates for Plus500 are not in our data; the platform shows the rate per instrument before you hold a position overnight.
Non-trading fees
- Currency conversion
- Up to 0.7% of realised P&L (UK User Agreement)
- Withdrawal fee
- Not in our data
- Inactivity fee
- Not in our data
Account types
Account types listed for Plus500 in our data (checked 19 Oct 2026). The Australian company’s disclosure statement sets a minimum of AUD 100; the UK company publishes per-method minimums inside the platform only. Minimum deposit: A$100
- StandardCosts built into the spread, no separate commission.
- DemoVirtual money with live prices.
- ProfessionalFor clients who opt up: higher leverage, fewer retail protections.
Professional status
Opting up to professional status with Plus500 removes retail protections such as leverage caps and negative balance protection.
Demo account
Plus500 offers a demo account (checked 20 Oct 2026 on Plus500’s site). Virtual balance: unlimited virtual funds; adjustable in Funds Management. How long it lasts: unlimited while the account is open. Demo results do not include slippage or the cost of a real loss.
Trading platforms
Platforms Plus500 offers, from our data (checked 19 Oct 2026).
- proprietaryThe broker’s own web and mobile platform.
Markets
- Forex
- CFDs
- Other markets
- Not recorded in our data; check the product list of the company that holds your account
Deposits and withdrawals
Funding methods listed on Plus500’s pages. Availability depends on your country and the company that holds your account.
- Debit/credit card (Visa, Mastercard only)
- PayPal
- Skrill
- Bank transfer
List copied from the broker’s pages, checked 19 Oct 2026.
Before your first withdrawal
- Methods in our data
- 4
- Withdrawal fees and times
- Not in our data yet
- Where to check
- The deposits and withdrawals page of your company’s website
Score breakdown
Four criteria scored 0–10 from published data. Research and support show “not measured” until we open live accounts; the marker on each bar is the average of this page’s comparison set.
5.9/10
- CostsWeight 25%Not measuredNot measuredSet average 7.6
- PlatformsWeight 15%4.0Set average 6.7
- RegulationWeight 25%8.0Set average 8.4
- AccountsWeight 15%6.0Set average 7.2
- ResearchWeight 10%Not measuredNot measuredSet average 0.0
- SupportWeight 10%Not measuredNot measuredSet average 0.0
Published data log
Every dated entry behind the figures on this review, copied from Plus500’s own pages. Licence rows show the leverage the broker publishes for that company.
| Checked | Entry | Published value |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | Retail loss rate, Plus500UK Ltd | 76% |
| 19 Oct 2026 | Retail loss rate, Plus500CY Ltd | 80% |
| Not published | Licence 509909, FCA: max. retail leverage | 1:30 (forex, retail; EUR/USD initial margin 3.33%) |
| Not published | Licence 250/14, CySEC: max. retail leverage | 1:30 (forex, retail — per Plus500 forex page en-fr) |
| Not published | Licence 4.1-1/18, Finantsinspektsioon: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence AFSL 417727, ASIC: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence FSP 486026, FMA: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence FSP 47546, FSCA: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence CMS100648-1, MAS: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence F005651, DFSA: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence 20200000232, SCA: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence 156, JFSA: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence Not published, CIRO: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence SD039, FSA Seychelles: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence SIA-F250, SCB: max. retail leverage | Not published |
| Not published | Licence Not published, Israel (regulator not named): max. retail leverage | Not published |
Our verdict on Plus500
5.9/10
Plus500 is a legitimate group with 8 Tier 1 companies, and the UK and EU ones were matched on their registers. Its rating of 5.9/10 is held back by a platforms score of 4.0/10 (one in-house platform) and by costs we cannot measure without a published spread. Its regulation score loses a point under our method for the 2012 FSA fine.
Choose it if
- you want one CFD app from an FCA or CySEC company
- you fund by PayPal or Skrill
Look elsewhere if
- you trade with MetaTrader or expert advisors
- you compare brokers by EUR/USD spread in pips
- you need a swap-free account
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (Plus500UK Ltd).
What changed
- 19 Oct 2026 Companies, licence numbers, register matches (12 of 14), FSCS wording, fees and two loss rates collected from Plus500’s pages and documents.
Alternatives to Plus500
Pepperstone, ThinkMarkets, XTB and eToro: brokers that also hold FCA and CySEC retail companies, in the order of this page’s rule. eToro and Plus500 are compared side by side on a separate page.
- 1
Pepperstone
8.6/10- Minimum deposit
- £10
- EUR/USD spread from
- 0.0 pips
- Regulated by
- FCA, CySEC, BaFin, ASIC, DFSA, CMA (UAE), CMA Kenya, SCB
Read reviewVisit brokerUnpaid link73.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (Pepperstone Limited (UK)).
- 2
ThinkMarkets
7.6/10- Minimum deposit
- $10
- EUR/USD spread from
- Not measured
- Regulated by
- FCA, CySEC, ASIC, ASIC, DFSA, FSCA, FSA Seychelles, CIMA, FMA, Unregulated
Visit brokerUnpaid link75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (TF Global Markets (UK) Limited).
- 3
XTB
7.2/10- Minimum deposit
- $0
- EUR/USD spread from
- 0.8 pips
- Regulated by
- KNF, FCA, CySEC, FSC Belize, DFSA, SCA, FSA Seychelles, CMF Chile, Bappebti
Read reviewVisit brokerUnpaid link74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (XTB Limited (UK)).
- 4
eToro
6.0/10- Minimum deposit
- Not published
- EUR/USD spread from
- Not measured
- Regulated by
- FCA, CySEC, ASIC, FSA Seychelles, FSRA, MAS, SEC / FINRA, FinCEN
Read reviewVisit brokerUnpaid link55% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (entity not named).
Risk warning:
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
FAQ
Plus500 review: questions
Answers use Plus500’s published terms collected on 19 Oct 2026. Terms change: check the broker’s own page before you trade.
Ask a questionWe cannot give personal investment advice.
1Is Plus500 legit?
Plus500 was founded in 2008 and lists 14 companies. 12 of them were matched on their regulators’ registers on 20 Oct 2026, including Plus500UK Ltd (FCA 509909) and Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC 250/14). Before you deposit, search the number on the register yourself and compare the website address listed there.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
2Has Plus500 been fined by a regulator?
The FSA (now the FCA) fined Plus500UK Limited £205,128 on 24 Oct 2012 for transaction reporting failures (SUP 17 and Principle 3) between 29 June 2010 and 5 November 2011: of 1,332,000 reportable transactions, none were reported accurately and 189,000 were not reported at all. The firm settled early and received a 30% discount from £293,040. It is the only regulatory penalty in our data for Plus500’s companies; check the FCA Register entry for Plus500UK Ltd for anything newer.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
3Is Plus500 safe for UK traders?
Plus500UK Ltd states a 1:30 cap on forex and negative balance protection. Its User Agreement cites FSCS cover up to £85,000 and another Plus500 page £120,000; the FSCS limit for investments is £85,000 per eligible person, per firm, and it does not cover trading losses. 76% of the UK company’s retail accounts lose money.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
4Which Plus500 company will hold my account?
UK: Plus500UK Ltd. EU: Plus500CY Ltd. Australia: Plus500AU Pty Ltd. Singapore, the UAE, Japan and Canada have their own companies. Plus500SEY Ltd and Plus500BHS Ltd are offshore, and Plus500 does not publish which countries they serve; your account application names the company.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
5What are Plus500’s fees?
No commission on CFDs; the cost is a dynamic spread, with no EUR/USD figure in pips published. The UK User Agreement sets a currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% of realised profit and loss. Withdrawal, inactivity and overnight fees are not in our data.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
6What is the minimum deposit at Plus500?
Plus500AU Pty Ltd states AUD 100 in its disclosure statement. The UK company publishes no single minimum; each deposit method has its own, shown in the platform.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
7Does Plus500 offer MT4 or MT5?
No: Plus500 offers its own CFD platform only, in our data. Traders who need MetaTrader or TradingView will have to use another broker.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
8How many Plus500 clients lose money?
76% of Plus500UK Ltd’s retail CFD accounts and 80% of Plus500CY Ltd’s, as each company publishes it (checked 19 Oct 2026).
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
Sources
Pages of Plus500 behind the figures on this review. Their text prevails over ours.
- Plus500: commission and feesChecked on 19 Oct 2026
- Plus500: minimum depositChecked on 19 Oct 2026
- Plus500: retail loss rate, Plus500CY LtdChecked on 19 Oct 2026
- Plus500: regulation, Plus500UK LtdChecked on 19 Oct 2026
- Plus500: regulation, Plus500UK LtdChecked on 19 Oct 2026
- Plus500: regulation, Plus500UK LtdChecked on 19 Oct 2026
- FSCS: what we cover, investments (up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm)Checked on 21 Oct 2026
- FCA: FSA fines Plus500UK Limited and James Sharp and Company (24 Oct 2012)Checked on 21 Oct 2026
Check the company before you open a Plus500 account
If you are in the UK, search 509909 on the FCA Register; in the EU, 250/14 on the CySEC register. Then compare Plus500 with the alternatives above.
CFDs are complex and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly.