Best Platform for Trading Indices UK 2026 — Tested With Real Money

CMC Markets, City Index, XTB and Saxo — Other Platforms Worth Considering

The four platforms above are our top picks for different types of index trader. The following four are strong alternatives for specific use cases.

CMC Markets — Best for Advanced Index Charting (FRN 173730)

CMC Markets matches IG with over 80 indices and pairs them with one of the most powerful charting platforms available to UK retail traders. The Next Generation platform offers 115+ technical indicators and an automated pattern recognition scanner. I tested it on the DAX 40, and it flagged a head-and-shoulders formation that I'd missed on my TradingView chart — a genuine value-add for technical analysts.

FTSE 100 spreads were competitive at approximately 1.0 point during London hours. The platform's depth is its strength and its weakness: it's overwhelming for beginners, but for experienced chart-based index traders, it's excellent. 67% of retail accounts lose money with CMC Markets.

City Index — Best for Index Trading Beginners (FRN 446717)

City Index offers around 40 indices via spread bets and CFDs, backed by StoneX Group (Nasdaq-listed). The standout for newer traders is the built-in trading signals from two external providers — I tested them on the FTSE 100 and S&P 500, and while they're a useful starting point, they shouldn't replace your own analysis.

The Performance Analytics tool is genuinely helpful for beginners tracking what's working and what isn't. If you prefer to own index-tracking shares rather than trade derivatives, see our best UK stock trading platforms instead. 69% of retail accounts lose money with City Index.

XTB — Competitive Pricing on xStation 5 (FRN 522157)

XTB offers approximately 35 indices on xStation 5, a fast and visually modern platform with decent charting but fewer indicators than CMC or TradingView. Zero commission on standard accounts and tight spreads make it a cost-effective option.

The significant limitation for UK traders: XTB doesn't currently offer spread betting on indices. That means index profits are subject to Capital Gains Tax — a meaningful disadvantage compared to the spread betting platforms above. 74% of retail accounts lose money with XTB.

Saxo Markets — Best for Professional Index Traders (FRN 551422)

Saxo is the only platform on this list offering DMA access to exchange-traded index futures and options. If you want to trade S&P 500 E-mini futures or options on the FTSE 100 with direct exchange access, Saxo is essentially the only FCA-regulated option here. We recorded the tightest S&P 500 spread in our entire testing at approximately 0.3 points.

SaxoTraderPRO is built for institutional-style order flow, and the minimum account expectations reflect that. Saxo also features in our UK options trading platforms guide for the same reasons. Not ideal for retail traders with smaller accounts. 65% of retail accounts lose money with Saxo Markets.

What Does It Actually Cost to Trade Indices in the UK?

The main costs of trading indices in the UK are the spread, overnight financing charges and — on non-GBP indices — currency conversion fees. Most competing pages list the spread and move on. The reality is that overnight financing is the hidden cost that makes index trading expensive for anyone holding beyond intraday.

Across all eight platforms, overnight financing on a £10/point FTSE 100 position averaged £3–£4 per night. That doesn't sound significant until you scale it: hold that position for 20 trading days and financing alone adds approximately £60–£70, regardless of which broker you're using. That's six to seven times the opening spread cost — and it's the figure most brokers don't emphasise in their marketing.

*Based on a £10/point FTSE 100 trade. Overnight financing rates vary and are subject to change. Spread betting costs assume no commission. Pepperstone Razor includes £2.25/side commission.

The tax difference is equally important. On £5,000 of annual index trading profit, a spread bettor pays £0 in Capital Gains Tax. A CFD trader on the same profit pays approximately £500–£1,000 depending on their tax band and whether they've used their annual CGT allowance. Over multiple years, that difference compounds significantly.

Costs work differently if you're trading commodities — see our gold trading platforms we tested for a breakdown.

Spread Betting vs CFDs for Index Trading — Which Is Better?

For most UK index traders, spread betting is the better option. Profits are currently free from Capital Gains Tax, and the trading experience is virtually identical to CFDs. You're still trading on margin, using the same leverage limits, on the same platforms.

The practical difference shows up in the numbers. On £5,000 of index trading profit over a year, spread betting saves £500–£1,000 in CGT depending on your tax band. For profitable UK retail traders, this is the single biggest reason to default to spread betting over CFDs.

There are situations where CFDs make more sense. If you want DMA access to exchange-traded index futures, only CFD brokers like Saxo offer that. If you're hedging a physical equity portfolio with index short positions, CFDs allow you to offset trading losses against capital gains elsewhere — spread betting losses can't be used this way. And if you expect a losing year, CFD losses can reduce your overall CGT liability.

We cover the broader product differences in our top derivative trading brokers guide.

How to Choose the Right Indices Trading Platform

The best platform depends entirely on how you trade. Rather than listing generic criteria, here's what I'd recommend based on the 50+ trades I placed during testing:

If you're new to index trading, start with Capital.com or City Index. Both have clean interfaces, low minimum deposits and enough hand-holding to prevent expensive mistakes.

If you're an active day trader who values execution speed and tight raw spreads, Pepperstone's Razor account is the best option on this list.

If you want access to the widest range of global indices from a single UK account, IG is the clear winner with 80+ markets.

If you trade around scheduled news events and want predictable costs, Spreadex's fixed spreads remove the variable-spread anxiety.

If advanced technical analysis drives your index trading, CMC Markets' Next Generation platform is the most powerful charting tool here.

If you're a professional trader wanting DMA exchange access to index futures and options, Saxo Markets is built for that.

One thing is non-negotiable regardless of which platform you choose: FCA regulation. Every platform on this list has it, but always verify for yourself on the FCA Register before depositing a single pound. We'd always recommend starting on a demo account for practice before trading indices with real money.

What Are the Most Popular Indices to Trade in the UK?

The most popular indices among UK traders are the FTSE 100, S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, DAX 40 and Dow Jones 30. These five offer the tightest spreads, highest liquidity and the widest availability across every FCA-regulated platform on this list.

The FTSE 100 and S&P 500 dominate because they combine deep liquidity with tight spreads and GBP-denominated spread bets on most platforms, eliminating currency conversion costs. The best trading window for US indices from the UK is the London–New York session overlap between 2:30pm and 4:30pm GMT, when both markets are open simultaneously and spreads tend to be tightest.

FCA regulations cap retail leverage at 20:1 on major indices — that includes the FTSE 100, S&P 500 and DAX 40 — and 10:1 on non-major equity indices. It's worth understanding the difference between cash and forward index contracts: cash indices track the spot price with tighter spreads but overnight financing applies, while forward contracts carry wider spreads but no overnight financing, making them better suited to trades held over several days. IG, CMC Markets and Saxo all offer both.

Asian and exotic indices are available on IG and CMC but come with noticeably wider spreads and lower liquidity. If you're starting out, stick with the major five. We cover S&P 500 exposure through ETFs in a separate guide for investors wanting a passive rather than leveraged approach.

Final Thoughts

After 50+ trades across all eight platforms, the clearest takeaway is that no single broker is best for every type of index trader. Capital.com earned the top spot because it gets the fundamentals right for the widest range of users — tight spreads, zero commission, a clean interface and spread betting as standard. But IG, Pepperstone and Spreadex each outperformed it in their specific areas.

The more useful finding from our testing was how much total costs diverge once you factor in overnight financing. The spread is the headline number every broker wants you to compare, and it matters for day traders. But if you're holding index positions for days or weeks, financing charges doubled or tripled the actual cost of the trade on every platform we tested. That's something worth modelling before you commit to a strategy.

Every platform on this list is FCA-regulated, and we verified each FRN on the register. Beyond that, the right choice comes down to how you trade, how often you trade and whether you value breadth, speed, cost predictability or platform depth. Test two or three on demo before depositing real money — the differences are easier to feel than to read about.

FAQs

References

• FCA Register — Capital Com (UK) Limited, FRN 793714
• FCA Register — IG Markets Limited, FRN 195355
• FCA Register — Pepperstone Limited, FRN 684312
• FCA Register — Spreadex Limited, FRN 190941
• FCA Register — CMC Markets UK Plc, FRN 173730
• FCA Register — StoneX Financial Ltd (City Index), FRN 446717
• FCA Policy Statement PS19/18 — Restricting contract for difference products sold to retail clients
• HMRC — Capital Gains Tax guidance: spread betting tax treatment
• Capital.com — Indices trading
• IG — Indices trading UK