Spread Bet UK: UK Spread Betting Site
Spread Bet UK is a UK site, founded 2024, about financial spread betting, a leveraged bet on a financial market's price staked in pounds per point. The calculator below prices a spread bet with no sign-up. Co-founders Justin Grossbard and Noam Korbl run the site, and David Levy is Head of Content. We read each provider's published spreads from its own UK site every month, with the latest read on 18 September 2026, and we captured every FCA register entry on 3 September 2026.
Price a spread bet
Spread betting calculator
Cost, profit or loss, and margin on one bet
On GBP/USD one point is a 0.0001 move, so £5 per point is £5 per pip. 1.3210 is 13,210 points.
is quoted in index points: one point is a 1.0 move of the level, and the bet is priced per index point.
Opening level from the Thu 8 Oct 2026 5pm New York close Opening level: your own figure, from your platform's deal ticket Spread: Pepperstone published, 18 Sep 2026 Spread: your own figure
A buy at £5 per point that closes 80 points higher makes £400.00 before the spread. Pepperstone's published 0.9-point spread costs £4.50 on this bet, leaving £395.50. The margin held to open it is £2,201.67.
Enter the level from your platform's deal ticket and your provider's spread in points; the ledger then prices the bet.
HMRC's Capital Gains Manual (CG56105) states that no chargeable gains or allowable losses arise from spread betting. For most UK retail traders, profits are therefore free of Capital Gains Tax. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change. See how spread betting profits are taxed. Overnight funding is not included; use the overnight funding calculator. Spreads are the brokers' own published figures, read on 18 Sep 2026, or your own figure where you type one; neither is a quote at the moment you deal. Margin uses the FCA COBS 22.5 retail leverage cap for the market class.
Capital at risk when spread betting.
- 14FCA-regulated providers ranked by score
- 18 Sep 2026latest monthly read of each provider’s published spreads
- 3 Sep 2026FCA register entries captured for all 14 providers
- 61% to 76.6%published share of retail accounts losing money
Where The Full Provider Ranking Lives
The spread betting provider ranking scores all 14 FCA-regulated providers, and six marks assessed on the scoring sheet of 26 Aug 2026 build each overall score out of 100. The page shows each provider’s FCA register entry and published share of retail accounts losing money. The demo account comparison page puts the providers’ demo accounts side by side, and the trading app comparison page does the same for the providers’ apps.
Between 61% and 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money across the 14 brokers we compare.
Capital at risk when spread betting.
Guides And Tools Around The Site
- What Is Spread Betting? How It Works in the UK (2026)
Our guide defines financial spread betting, shows how profit and loss are worked out from the stake per point and the points moved, with worked examples, and covers margin, leverage, daily funded bets and the risks.
- Spread Betting Calculator: Profit, Loss, Margin and Stake
The calculator returns profit or loss, the spread cost at each provider publishing a spread for the market, the retail margin and the 50% close-out level.
- Is Spread Betting Tax Free In The UK?
HMRC's treatment of spread betting profits for the 2026/27 tax year appears here, covering when profits can be taxed and why losses cannot offset Capital Gains Tax.
- UK Spread Betting Statistics
Monthly read figures for the spreads 14 providers publish on nine currency pairs sit here, recording each figure's kind and averaging only comparable ones.
- The Difference Between Spread Betting and CFD Trading
Spread betting sizes positions in pounds per point rather than contracts as a CFD does, and it treats the tax on profits and losses differently.
- Spread Betting vs Forex Trading: UK Differences
A forex spread bet works on currency pairs in pounds per point, while a forex CFD trades in lots, and the tax treatment of profits and losses also differs between them.
The 14 Providers In Alphabetical Order
The 14 FCA-regulated providers we rank for UK spread betting are listed alphabetically, each name opening its full review, and the order says nothing about merit. The UK Spread Betting Broker Reviews directory also covers six brands that do not offer UK spread betting.
ActivTrades
Capital.com
CMC Markets
FXCM
FxPro
IG
OANDA
Pepperstone
Spread Co
Spreadex
StoneX Trading
ThinkMarkets
Trade Nation
VantageWhat Rules Apply To UK Spread Betting?
The rules below apply only to FCA-authorised brokers and only to UK spread betting accounts.
FCA authorisation
Only FCA-authorised brokers can offer UK spread betting. They must hold segregated client funds and offer negative balance protection.
Leverage capped by the FCA
The FCA caps retail leverage at 30:1 on major currency pairs and 20:1 on non-major pairs and major indices. The margin held is 3.33% of the position on major pairs and 5% on the others.
Tax position
Spread betting profits are free of Capital Gains Tax for most UK retail traders. No Stamp Duty applies. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and can change.
Who we are
Why Trust Spread Bet UK
Justin Grossbard and Noam Korbl founded Spread Bet UK in 2024.
- Founded
- 2024
- Brands reviewed
- 20
- FCA-authorised providers ranked
- 14
- Spread data re-read
- Every month
- Current spread data
- 18 Sep 2026
- Ranking scale
- Score out of 100
We apply the same criteria to every broker and score each out of 100.
Method
How we score brokers
Spreads are the published figures of the providers we rank, re-read monthly from each provider's own UK site.
Every provider is marked out of 10 on six criteria: trading cost, trading experience, trading platform, trust, range of markets and customer service. All six marks are editorial judgements recorded on the scoring sheet of 26 Aug 2026, and each provider's overall score out of 100 is the sum of the six marks divided by 60 and multiplied by 100. The full criteria are in our methodology.
Questions
FAQs
What does this site cover, and is it financial or sports?
Spread Bet UK covers financial spread betting only, a leveraged bet on a financial market’s price staked in pounds per point, for UK retail clients. We do not cover sports spread betting, and our guide explains how financial spread betting works with a worked example.
Are spread betting profits taxable?
For most UK retail traders, spread betting profits carry no Capital Gains Tax, and no Stamp Duty applies because no asset is owned. Under HMRC’s BIM22020, taxable status depends on contract terms and what is actually done; HMRC’s CG56105 states "no chargeable gains or allowable losses arise from spread betting".
Earning a living from spread betting does not on its own make it a trade under HMRC’s BIM22017. Under HMRC’s BIM22019, betting can be taxed only where the wins come from carrying on the trade itself, not from an opportunity the trade presents. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and can change, so seek professional tax advice if you are unsure. The tax page explains how HMRC’s manuals apply to spread bets.
Is spread betting FCA regulated?
Spread betting is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Only brokers licensed and authorised by the FCA can provide spread betting markets.
Understand the risk
Spread bets are leveraged, and a leveraged position moves faster than the stake suggests. Across the 14 brokers we compare, the published share of retail investor accounts losing money runs from 61% to 76.6%.
Disclaimer: leveraged instruments are risky. Conduct your own research before trading on margin or with leverage. This page is not financial or tax advice. Broker partners pay us on a retainer basis rather than per referral, and the ranking is not for sale.