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Plus500 Review 2026
By Guilherme J. · Markets & broker analyst · Updated 2026-07-30 · How we rank
Plus500 is a stock CFDs broker offering spread only commission with a $100 minimum, regulated by FCA, CySEC, ASIC, MAS. Fractional shares: CFD only. Below is how it stacks up on cost, market access and safety.
Open Plus500 Account →Best for
Experienced CFD traders who value a simple interface and a listed, well-capitalised operator.
Not for
Anyone building a long-term portfolio, or beginners who have not yet understood how leverage and overnight fees interact.
Pros
- FTSE 250 listed company
- Clean, simple platform
- Wide CFD range
Cons
- CFDs only, no real shares
- No MetaTrader
What it actually costs
- No commission; cost is the spread, which is wider than a direct-market broker on the same instrument.
- Overnight funding on positions held past the daily cut-off.
- Inactivity fee after three months without logging in, which surprises occasional users.
- Currency conversion where the instrument is priced in another currency.
Is your money safe
Regulated by the FCA, CySEC, ASIC and MAS depending on entity, with segregated client funds and negative balance protection for retail clients in the UK and EU. Being listed in London means audited, published accounts.
Questions people ask
Is Plus500 a real stock broker?
No. Plus500 offers CFDs on shares rather than the shares themselves, so you never own the underlying asset and receive no dividends or voting rights.
Does Plus500 charge inactivity fees?
Yes, after roughly three months without logging in. It is one of the shorter inactivity windows in the industry, so occasional traders should be aware of it.
How Plus500 compares
Most people deciding on Plus500 are weighing it against one or two others. These are the head-to-head breakdowns, each covering cost, market access and which one suits which kind of investor.
Verdict
Plus500 is a CFD-only platform, so the same warning as Capital.com applies with more force: nothing you open here is a shareholding. It suits someone taking directional positions over short periods and nobody who wants to own companies.
Its strength is being boring in the right way. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, files public accounts and has been through several market shocks without incident. In a sector with plenty of opaque operators, that record is worth something.
The interface is deliberately stripped back, which is a genuine advantage when you are placing an order quickly and a limitation when you want deeper analysis. There is no third-party platform support, so you take the tool as offered.