When the company that opens your account is FCA-authorised, the regulator fixes the main terms. The broker can’t alter them. Most private traders are classed as a retail client, which gives you leverage of at most 30:1 on major currency pairs. Leverage lets you open a trade bigger than the money you put down. You also get negative balance protection on every retail account, so your account can’t fall below zero and leave you owing the firm. A global company in the same group doesn’t bring these FCA rules, even if you live in the UK. The companies differ in what else they publish, and the tables show that.
Key points
- Every UK company here offers 30:1 on major currency pairs to retail clients, which the FCA’s rule fixes (FCA PS19/18). The leverage column is the same for all of them, so it doesn’t separate one company from another.
- The FCA makes negative balance protection compulsory on every retail account it covers (FCA PS19/18), but those rules don’t apply if the group’s global company opens your account.
- Funding, platforms and crypto deposits on this page are each UK company’s own, not the wider group’s. You often have fewer ways to pay with a UK company than with the group’s global company, and none of the UK companies here names crypto deposits (payment rails).
- Leverage makes a loss bigger and a gain bigger on the same price move (leverage and margin).
Leverage at the FCA-authorised company
Leverage for a retail client at any FCA-authorised firm is capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs by the regulator’s rule, and it’s lower on other assets (FCA PS19/18). The bigger figures you see advertised belong to the same brands’ companies outside the UK, and the hub explains why none of them appears on this site. Where these companies differ is whether each tells you how its leverage works before you deposit (maximum leverage).
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | Highest retail leverage | Tier table | Tiers apply across | Notice before a change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital.com | 30:1 | NP | NP | NP |
 CMC Markets | 30:1 | Published, with figures | Each position | Three business days where possible |
 Eightcap | 30:1 | NP | NP | NP |
 IG | 30:1 | Published, with figures | Each instrument | None promised |
 Pepperstone | 30:1 | Published, with figures | Each instrument | None promised |
 XTB | 30:1 | Published, with figures | The whole account | Given after the change |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Platforms
Platforms vary between brokers more than almost anything else on this page, and they’re easy to check because each broker lists them plainly (trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 and 5).
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | MT4 | MT5 | TradingView |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital.com | Yes | NP | Yes |
| CMC Markets | Yes | NP | Yes |
| Eightcap | No | No | Yes |
| IG | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pepperstone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| XTB | No | No | NP |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Local payment rails
Local payment rails are the systems people in the UK normally use to pay online, such as Faster Payments. The payment rails page defines the list, and this table shows which brokers name each rail on their own pages. "Not named" means the broker’s pages don’t mention the rail, and that isn’t the same as refusing it.
| Rail | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faster Payments | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Open banking | Not named | Yes | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Pay by Bank | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
These figures were checked between 27 September 2026 and 16 October 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Funding terms that do not change with the country
Some funding terms stay the same wherever a broker operates. This table covers card deposits, the minimum deposit, fees for paying in and taking out, withdrawal times and base currencies, each as the broker states it. Bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill and Neteller come from each broker’s own funding page. "Not named" means that page doesn’t mention the method, and that isn’t the same as a refusal. Because each broker can change these terms, including the minimum deposit, at its own discretion, always double-check the terms on the broker’s own website before you deposit.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Attribute | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card deposits | NP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank transfer | NP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Skrill | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Neteller | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Minimum deposit | 20 GBP/EUR/USD | NP | £100 | £1 per card deposit, none by bank transfer | £10 by card, none by bank transfer | £0 |
| Deposit and withdrawal fees | No deposit or withdrawal fees | No deposit fee, no fee for card or standard bank withdrawals | Free by card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, variable by wire, free withdrawals | Free by bank transfer, debit card and credit card | No deposit fees. The company states that an international wire withdrawal is free on its withdrawals page and costs £15 in its fees FAQ | Free deposits and withdrawals |
| Withdrawal time | NP | Card within an hour to five working days, UK bank transfer one to two days | 5 business days, 1 to 5 by wire | Card up to 5 working days, bank transfer same day if asked before 12:00 UK time (under £100 by BACS, up to 3 working days) | Same day to one working day by card, same day to three by bank transfer | Same business day before 1pm, otherwise next business day |
| Base currencies | NP | NP | GBP, EUR, USD | NP | GBP, USD, EUR, CHF | GBP, EUR, USD |
These figures were checked between 27 September 2026 and 16 October 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Crypto payments
Crypto deposits in this table are each UK company’s own. A group can take them at its global company and turn them down at its UK one, so this table can differ from the one on the hub (offshore brokers). NP means the UK company’s pages don’t say.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Coin and network | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crypto deposits | NP | No | No | NP | No | No |
These figures were checked between 10 September 2026 and 30 September 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
What this comparison cannot tell you
A comparison like this can’t tell you how well a broker fills your orders, because the reports that once let you check execution quality no longer exist. Brokers publish loss rates from their own clients, and nobody audits them. Every figure here is a fact about what a broker discloses, how it’s set up or what it offers, but none of them predicts how you’ll do (choosing a provider).
A group’s global company decides whether to sign you up instead, based on its own terms. The offshore brokers page records what each one says. A global company that does take you on applies its own regulator’s rules, so the FCA’s leverage cap and negative balance protection rule don’t come with it.
UK broker questions people ask
UK broker questions mostly want a single winner. The answers below tell you what the tables on this page show, and they name no winner.
Which is the best CFD broker in the UK?
No CFD broker or forex broker in the UK is named as the best on this site, because the comparison doesn’t rank brokers. The six brokers all share the same 30:1 cap on major currency pairs under the regulator’s rule, so leverage doesn’t separate them (FCA PS19/18). The tables let you compare whether each company publishes its leverage tiers, which platforms it offers, how you can pay and how long a withdrawal takes.
CMC Markets, IG, Pepperstone and XTB publish a tier table with figures. That’s a fact from one table, and it isn’t a verdict on any of them. The choosing a provider page lists the checks that matter more than any single column.
Which UK broker has the lowest spreads?
Spreads aren’t printed on this page, so it can’t show which UK broker has the lowest. A spread is the gap between the buy and sell price, and brokers change theirs often. Each broker’s profile page tells you whether the broker publishes an average spread, how that average was measured and the spread on each main forex pair, where given.
The profiles cover Capital.com, CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG, Pepperstone and XTB. With some account types a commission sits on top of the spread, so add the two before you compare (costs and fees).
Which UK brokers are regulated by the FCA?
The UK comparison shows each of the six brokers, Capital.com, CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG, Pepperstone and XTB, at a company the FCA has authorised. The company holds the authorisation, not the brand. Look up the name in your contract on the FCA register (how to check a licence).
Which UK brokers offer MT4, MT5 or TradingView?
IG and Pepperstone let you use MT4, MT5 and TradingView through their UK companies. Capital.com and CMC Markets offer MT4 and TradingView, though their UK pages don’t say whether they offer MT5. Eightcap’s UK company gives you TradingView but neither version of MetaTrader. XTB does not provide either MetaTrader version and its pages make no mention of TradingView (MetaTrader 4 and 5).
Risk warning
Choosing carefully does not make the product safe
Worked arithmetic: the numbers follow from the formula given in this section.
Choosing a broker carefully lowers the risk of being cheated, but it doesn’t reduce the risk of the product itself. Margin is the deposit that holds the trade open. At 30:1, your margin is about 3.3 % of the trade’s size. A price move of a little over 3 % against you wipes it out. Most retail accounts at authorised firms lose money over time (is trading safe).
Read the risk disclosure before you open any account. The steps for how to check a licence show you how to look a firm up on the FCA register.
Sources
The original documents this page cites, in the order they first appear.