Plus500 review 2022

The Plus 500 platform is also available in a desktop version for Windows 10 PCs, and you can also use the business app for Android or iOS smartphones. However, you won’t find the popular MetaTrader platform at the broker.

Financial Leverage

CFDs are traded with financial leverage, so the trader finances only a fraction of the order. Leverage of 1:10, for example, means that you pay only a tenth of the order. The rest is money borrowed from the broker.

You can think of financial leverage as a multiplier, which multiplies profits as well as any losses. Leverage of 1:5 multiplies all gains and losses fivefold, leverage of 1:10 multiplies tenfold, etc.

Financial leverage allows you to profit from a small change in the exchange rate or without high capital. But keep in mind that higher leverage also means higher risk. For this reason, the leverage at Plus500 is limited by ESMA regulation:

• Forex (currency pairs) – major currency pairs 1:30, others 1:20
• Indices – major indices 1:20; others up to 1:10
• Commodities – 1:10; gold 1:20
• Stocks and ETFs – up to 1:5
• Cryptocurrencies – 1:2

The ESMA limit applies to retail (retail) client accounts. Professional traders can request an increase in leverage up to 1:300.

Minimum Investment

The minimum investment varies for each instrument. Generally, however, you will need between 20 and €120 to make a single transaction. The size of the investment is displayed when placing an order as the Required Margin.

The specific values depend on the minimum order size and leverage.

How does it work? The minimum forex order volume for the EURUSD instrument is 0.01 lots, which is 1,000 units of the base currency. The minimum order is therefore €1,000. However, with leverage of 1:30, you only need a thirtieth (just under €34).

Account creation and verification

You can open a trading account in 14 different currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, PLN or CHF. However, the default currency depends on the country of residence, so for UK traders, accounts are basically GBP accounts.

The first step to opening a trading account is registration. All you need to fill in the registration form on the Plus500 website is your email and any password. All other details (name, address, phone number and date of birth) are entered after logging into the account. Once logged in, you must also complete an investment questionnaire regarding your trading experience.

Deposits and withdrawals

Plus500 supports 3 payment methods for deposits and withdrawals:

bank transfer
VISA and Mastercard payment cards
electronic wallets (PayPal, Skrill)

The minimum deposit for credit cards and e-wallets is $100. For bank transfer the minimum is $400. Payments by bank transfer are also the slowest, so it can take up to 5 working days to credit the money.

The minimum withdrawal is $50 for e-wallets or $100 for bank transfer and credit cards. The broker also points out that traders should use the same payment method for deposits and withdrawals (if possible).

Fees at Plus500

Fees at Plus500 are clear and relatively low compared to competitors. However, this is not the case for all instruments. Also watch out for administration fees – especially for withdrawals. While these can be avoided (5 withdrawals per month are free), you need to watch out for any exceptions.

Trading Fees

• Spread: Spreads at Plus500 are relatively tight, but can change throughout the day.
• For EURUSD, the minimum spread is 0.8 pip.
• Overnight trading fee (swap). The size of the swaps is usually in the order of thousandths or hundredths of a percent.
• Commission: You will pay a one-off commission fee of between 0.07% and 0.18% (usually 0.09%, depending on the market you choose) for each trade in a stock.
• Currency conversion fee. A typical example is the purchase of US stocks in a CZK account.
• Guaranteed stop-loss fee.
• Trading fees are included in the ongoing profit/loss on the transaction. Therefore, expect that each transaction will be in a small loss immediately after it is initiated.

Trading fees are included in the ongoing profit/loss of the transaction. Therefore, expect that each transaction will be in a small loss immediately after it is triggered.

Comparison of fees

To get a better idea of the size of the spreads, we have compared Plus500 broker’s offer with the spreads of competing brokers: