Background
Justin Grossbard founded Spread-Bet.co.uk in 2024 after originally having a spread bet section on CompareForexBrokers. He created the website due to the confusion traders were having when comparing a providers offering for CFDs vs Spread Betting. For example, ThinkMarkets has very different trading fees for their forex trading services compared to their spread betting account.
Creating a dedicated Spread Betting website made sense so each broker review is based solely on their spread bet offering. It also would make it clear which providers currently have spread bet facilities and their relevant regulation (mostly with the FCA).
Our Team
| Person | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Grossbard - Founder | Justin founded Spread-Bet.co.uk and built the processes to compare brokers from spreads to features. |  |
| David Levy - Content Strategist | David focuses on explaining the data used to compare providers in simple-to-understand content. |  |
| Noam Korbl - Director | Noam focuses on the commercial aspects of the website from broker partnerships to supplier agreements. |  |
How We Compare Brokers
The first step to comparing the providers was to find out which ones are offering spread betting to UK traders. We even noted that Markets.com that is known for it’s spread betting has stopped onboarding new traders this year. In total, there are 15 UK regulated spread betting providers and 1 Ireland broker. To rank the 16 brokers we used 7 criteria.
1) Trading Fees
When it comes to spread betting the primary fee is the ‘spread’ as commissions are not charged. The spread is the differences between the ask and sell price of any currency pair (eg EUR/GBP). At the start of each month, we collect the average spread data of each broker and publish it on the UK spread betting platforms section. This focuses on the most traded forex pairs and other instruments such as commodities, indices and ETFs.
We also take a look at other fees that may be applicable. Mostly hidden costs like inactivity fees, funding/withdrawal fees or premium feature fees. These are generally trivial compared to the fees associated with the spread when trading.
2) Spread Bet Platforms
We generally favoured brokers offering the most popular platforms worldwide. This includes MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView. Individuals that have CFD or forex traded are likely to be familiar with these platforms and will want to use the software they are familiar with. That said, we did test out the platforms that some other broker’s exclusively offer such as the SpreadEx platform and trading app.
3) Trading Instruments
While all brokers offer currency trading when spread betting, the number of currency pairs was a key differentiation point between providers. The same was true with other markets with only some allowing share spread betting with the range of commodities and indices offered depended on the platform. It should be noted that the FCA banned trading Crypto either as a CFD or with a spread bet.
4) Broker Trust
As stated earlier, all the brokers we compared were either FCA or CBI regulated. That said, we still found a large variance in the trust factors each broker had. This was measured by the number of traders and searches each provider had, the sentiment of their Trustpilot reviews and how long the provider had offered spread betting in the UK.
5) Educational Resources
We looked at the online resources available for those new to spread betting as well as more experienced traders. This category also factored in market information available for traders including within the trading platform (eg Reuters News Alerts).
6) Trading Environment
The final criteria looked at how seamless trading with the broker was. This was done with demo accounts for some and live accounts with others. We compared the execution speeds we achieved as this impacts slippage which is a key bugbear within the industry. We also factored in the customer service offered (often via live chat) and how easy it was to get issues resolved.
Our Unique Tools
We created the first Spread Betting Calculator to help calculate potential profit or losses when trading. This is in addition to our comparison tables on the broker comparison pages (updated monthly) where fee and feature information can be easily visualised.
When we create these tools or tables, we explain how we obtained the provider data and then used it to output the recommendations. We also share our personal experiences when trading with each provider and try to make sure it’s only relevant for spread bettors (not CFD trading).
We welcome any feedback, including if you find any outdated dated, via our contact us forms. We also provide more details on our processes and policies on the terms and conditions page.
How We Make Money
Spread-Bet.co.uk does not charge individuals for using the website to find the right broker. Rather, it has commercial partners with hand picked brokers based on a retainer only. This means the website does not make a referral fee based on which provider you choose. Rather, the agreements are fixed with no conditions of the final ratings (done independently) to achieve the best data driven recommendations as possible.
We work hard to explain how we came to rank the brokers including the exact average spread we used to compare trading fees. Our goal is to give you confidence that your choosing the best broker for your needs.
Past Mergers
Spread-Bet.co.uk over the past 2 years merged with financial websites Findepedence Day and Learn Money. These websites had spread bet sections and their own analysis which was migrated to this website. We would like to acknowledge their contribution to making this website the largest dedicated Spread Bet website in the UK.
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