Best Platform for Scalping UK 2026 (Tested)

Because it removes the friction that kills most scalping setups. No commission to calculate per trade. The fastest published execution on this list. A proprietary platform that loads fast, charts responsively on M1 timeframes, and handles one-click entries without hesitation. For the majority of scalpers — particularly those who don't want to manage raw spread accounts or calculate per-lot commissions — Capital.com delivers the cleanest experience I tested. Fill quality during my London session testing was consistently tight.

The spread is wider than Pepperstone's Razor raw spread, but there's nothing on top — no hidden costs. For scalpers trading smaller position sizes or fewer than 20 trades per session, the all-in cost is comparable to or cheaper than a raw spread plus commission model. The TradingView integration adds serious charting depth without leaving the Capital.com ecosystem.

Pros

• 14ms reported execution — fastest on this list
• Zero commission on all trades
• Proprietary platform built for rapid one-click entries
• TradingView integration for advanced charting

Cons

• No depth-of-market display for order flow analysis
• Lacks advanced order types found on cTrader
• Spreads wider than Pepperstone's Razor raw account

For high-frequency scalpers, the Razor account numbers are hard to argue with. I recorded EUR/USD spreads averaging 0.1 pips on the Razor account during London hours, with a flat $3 per side commission per standard lot on cTrader ($6 round-trip). On a 1-lot EUR/USD scalp targeting 3 pips, the all-in cost is roughly 0.55 pips (spread plus commission converted). On Capital.com's spread-only model, the cost is 0.6 pips. The gap is small per trade, but across 40+ trades a session, it compounds. Slippage was negligible on liquid pairs during normal session hours.

Note: if you use Pepperstone's Razor account on MT4 or MT5 instead of cTrader, the commission is slightly higher at $3.50 per side ($7 round-trip). For scalping, cTrader is the better platform anyway — so the lower commission is a bonus.

Pepperstone's real scalping advantage is cTrader. The depth-of-market panel is integrated directly into the order entry — I can see the liquidity stack and place orders from the same view without switching windows. One-click trading on cTrader is genuinely one click, not a confirmation dialogue pretending to be fast. It supports cBots for automated scalping, and the M1 and tick chart rendering is responsive without the lag I occasionally noticed on MT4. If you're committed to MetaTrader, my best MT4 broker UK guide covers that angle — but for scalping, cTrader is the stronger platform.

Pros

• EUR/USD raw spreads from 0.0 pips on Razor account
• cTrader depth-of-market integrated into order entry
• Genuine one-click execution on cTrader
• Supports cBots for automated scalping strategies

Cons

• No guaranteed stops — exposed to gap risk during news events
• Commission adds up on smaller position sizes
• MT4/MT5 commission higher than cTrader ($3.50 vs $3 per side)

More than most scalpers realise. Spread betting profits are currently exempt from Capital Gains Tax. If you're a profitable scalper generating, say, £500/week in net gains, that's £26,000/year. After the £3,000 CGT allowance for 2025/26, a higher-rate taxpayer would owe roughly £5,520 in CGT on CFD profits. With Spreadex's spread betting account, that bill is £0. The tax saving alone is worth more than any spread differential between brokers.

Spreadex has been FCA-authorised since 1999 and recently added TradingView integration for charting alongside their proprietary platform. Execution during London hours was clean — I experienced minimal requotes on EUR/USD and GBP/USD, with fills landing where expected. Guaranteed stops are available when opening a trade, adding a risk management layer that Pepperstone lacks. Note that Spreadex's guaranteed stops must be placed at the point of trade entry — they can't be added to an existing position later.

Pros

• Spread betting profits are CGT-exempt — potentially thousands saved per year
• FCA-authorised since 1999 — longest track record on this list
• TradingView integration for advanced charting
• Guaranteed stops available at trade entry

Cons

• No MT4, no cTrader, no depth-of-market display
• Guaranteed stops must be placed at entry — cannot add later
• Execution speed not published

When the market gaps through your stop level — something that happens more often than scalpers like to admit. A standard stop-loss on a 3-pip scalp might fill at -8 pips during a surprise rate comment or flash crash. IG's guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLOs) eliminate that entirely: you exit at exactly the price you set, even through gaps. There's a premium for GSLOs, but it's a known, budgetable cost — not an unknown tail risk.

IG's platform ecosystem is the broadest here: their proprietary web platform, MT4, and ProRealTime (which has its own scalping mode pairing order book depth with chart-based execution). With access to over 15,000 spread betting markets, IG gives scalpers the widest instrument range — useful if you scalp indices, commodities, or individual shares alongside forex. Execution quality during my testing was reliable, though IG doesn't publish speed figures for comparison.

Pros

• Guaranteed stop-loss orders eliminate gap risk entirely
• Broadest market range — 15,000+ spread betting markets
• ProRealTime scalping mode with order book depth
• Reliable execution quality during London session testing

Cons

• No raw spread account — spread-only pricing at parity with competitors
• Execution speed not published for comparison
• Higher all-in cost than Pepperstone for pure forex scalping