Markets.com Review 2024

Sign up to Markets.com and you can take advantage of a free demo account, so you can try out trading before risking any of your own cash. It’s the perfect way of getting started and finding your way around trading and investing without any of the associated financial risks.

Unfortunately, due to constraints from industry regulators in most English-speaking countries which offer access to Markets.com, you won’t be able to benefit from any new member sign-up bonuses. That’s because the Financial Conduct Authority, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission expressly prohibit promotions and bonuses.

The only jurisdiction in which you can benefit from any signup promotion is the British Virgin Islands. New signups receive a graduated deposit bonus against first-time deposits up to a maximum value of $3,500. There are terms and conditions attached to the offer, so you won’t be able to withdraw any bonus funds until you’ve reached a specific number of trades.

We looked into every aspect of the site as we prepared our Markets.com review, assessing its overall usability and ease of navigation. The site is aimed at both experienced traders and those wanting to dip their toes into trading waters for the very first time. And it makes no difference whether you’re a fan of desktop trading or you prefer to conduct your trades over your handheld devices either. There’s a well-designed app available for both Android and iOS users, which allows you to do everything the desktop site does, so you can conduct your trades whenever, and wherever you like.

There are opportunities to trade more than 2,200 instruments across the Markets.com trading platform. There’s a strong focus on CFDs, so you can trade in cryptocurrency CFDs, but you can’t buy and sell any actual cryptocurrencies themselves.  If this is something you’d like to do, we recommend checking out our WeBull review or our Wirex review, as both of these sites offer more options for trading in cryptocurrencies.

During the course of preparing our Markets.com review, we noticed that the site has received a few industry endorsements in the form of awards, which is something we’re always keen to see. Markets.com was awarded the titles of Best Forex Provider and Best FX Platform at the 2017 UK Forex Awards. Daytrading.com named the site runner up in its Best FX Broker category in 2019, whilst FXScouts awarded Markets.com the trophy for Best Trading Platform in 2020.

One of the key findings of our Markets.com review is that the platform offers up two different types of accounts. The majority of traders will want to sign up to the standard retail account, which gives access to more than 2,200 tradable assets using the Marketsx platform, and more than 7,000 stocks across the share dealing Marketsi platform.

Traders wishing to invest USD 500,000 or more will want to open a professional account, which provides additional leverage. And there’s also a separate account for Islamic investors who want to abide by the Islamic Sharia Principle of interest-free trading.

There’s also a free demo account available to all sign-ups at Markets.com. It’s the perfect way of trying out trading strategies and getting to grips with the technology before risking any of your own cash. The signing-up process is quick and easy, no matter where you’re applying from, but bear in mind that an inactivity fee of USD 10 per month is applied following any period of 90 days with no trading.

Whether you’re an experienced trader or a complete newbie, you’ll find plenty of options at Markets.com. And one of the key points we’re keen to highlight in our Markets.com review is the fact that all signups can take advantage of the free-to-use demo trading platform. Use it to build up your knowledge and skills, then switch to one of the real-money trading platforms once you’ve mastered the basics. Or use the demo platform alongside your real-money trades to finesse your trading skills as you go.

Marketsx

Marketsx is the proprietary trading platform of Markets.com, offering a clear and simple user interface, although there’s access to some powerful charting and analysis tools. You’ll be able to access market insights from industry bloggers, plus there’s a Hedge Funds Confidence tool and an innovative Insiders Trades feature. There’s been a lot of positive feedback on the platform from users, who particularly appreciate its real-time news feed, enabling a quick response to changes in the markets.

Marketsi

EU traders can use the Marketsi platform for share dealing on literally thousands of stocks, and there’s a high-tech research platform which helps with analysis of global stocks and shares. There’s even an Investment Strategy Builder to help you make the most of your opportunities. Filter your options by sector, index, market cap or volume, and create a bespoke strategy to suit your investment and risk profile.  There’s no commission to pay on your first three months of trading, with a competitive pricing structure after that time period.

MetaTrader 4 and 5

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) are both well-known and well-respected trading platforms that are offered by numerous brokers, with downloads available for PCs and Mac computers. Both platforms are easy and intuitive to use, offering in-depth analysis and access to advanced charts.

Our Markets.com review highlights the different trading platform options available to you, but if you’re looking for even more choices you might want to check out our Ally Invest review.

Some trading platforms require you to make a huge initial deposit before you can get started, but that’s not an issue we came across when preparing our Markets.com review. The minimum deposit is USD 100, EUR 100 or GBP 100, so even low-risk traders can get started without having to risk too much in the way of their own cash.

You’ll be expected to withdraw funds by the same means as you used to make a deposit into your account, but you have plenty of options available to you, including:

• Bank wire transfer
• Skrill and Neteller
• Debit and credit cards
• PayPal
• Ideal
• Sofort

Your options may be limited according to your country of residence. For example, eWallet deposits aren’t available within the UK, while PayPal, Ideal and Sofort are only available to traders from within Europe.

No fees are charged for making a deposit into your account, and you won’t be charge anything for making a withdrawal either. However, there are minimum withdrawal limits depending on your preferred banking method, so check before making a withdrawal request.

The length of time it takes for your funds to reach you depends on the withdrawal method you select.

Fees – choose your platform with care

No Markets.com review would be complete without a breakdown of its fees, so we’ve taken a close look at them to see how they compare with other operators. The Marketsx platform has been designed for Forex and CFD trading, whereas the Marketsi platform is intended for more long-term speculation.

Sign up for an account with Markets.com and you’ll discover a very competitive fee structure if you’re a forex trader. Commodities and index CFDs attract higher fees, although these are very much dependent upon your choice of trading platform.

Forex fees

According to the findings of our Markets.com review, overnight charges for open forex positions tend to be a little higher than average. However, you can expect to pay a spread of 0.7 pips on EUR/USD currency pairs, which is a little less than you might encounter elsewhere.

Commodity CFDs

Making the right choices about trading platforms is essential to avoid expensive fees for CFDs. Trade Gold CFD on one of the MetaTrader platforms and you can expect to pay a typical spread of USD 1.40. This drops to just USD 0.50 on the Marketsx platform, highlighting the importance of picking your platform with care.

Index CFDs

Once again, your choice of platform will have a profound effect on the fees you’ll be charged. Using the S&P 500 Index CFD as our example, you’d be offered a spread of 4 points on either of the MetaTrader platforms, falling to just 1 point using the Marketsx platform.

In this section of our Markets.com review we take a long, hard look at the type of customer support service you can expect. The site operates according to fairly standard trading hours, with all FX currency pairs available to trade from 22.05 GMT on Sunday through to 21.55 GMT on Friday.

The customer support team is on hand five days a week, with all details readily available on the site’s Contact page. Live chat achieves the fastest response, with waiting times of less than a minute in most cases. There’s also an option to use a contact form, as well as an email address and a telephone contact number.

Before getting in touch with the customer services team, it’s worth taking a look at the site’s comprehensive FAQ section, which covers a wealth of topics. But you’ll also find loads of additional help and support in the form of training videos and advice guides, so it’s relatively easy to find all the help you could need across the website.

No Markets.com review would be complete without some information about regulation and deposit insurance. This is something that Markets.com takes incredibly seriously, as shown by the raft of regulatory bodies that have issued licenses and certification to the site. The principal regulator is the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, which is recognised as being one of the strictest around. But the site also holds licenses issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa and the BVI Financial Services Commission.

Client funds are held in a separate account, and are protected up to the maximum sum permitted by each industry regulator – so up to GBP 85,000 under the FCA and up to EUR 20,000 according to CySEC rules.

When preparing our Markets.com review, we couldn’t fail to draw your attention to the outstanding training and research options available across the website. Real-time news feeds keep you abreast of all the latest stories affecting trading, with input from leading industry figures to help you formulate effective trading strategies.

Aside from trading on your demo account to further your knowledge and experience, you can also take part in free webinars, where you’ll pick up tips and tricks from expert traders. This makes Markets.com a fantastic option for anyone wanting to learn as they trade, so it’s a great starting point if you don’t have much previous experience.