ActivTrades was founded in 2001 within Switzerland and moved to London in 2005, gaining FCA regulation with the ability to offer spread betting. We compared their spread bet facilities to the other 15 spread betting companies looking at the fees, platforms and markets offered.
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ActivTrades Summary
We evaluated in 2025 all 16 UK spread betting companies and found ActivTrades was the 6th worse spread bet provider . The broker underperformed in several categories, especially trading fees. These fees are really high when compared with platforms like Pepperstone and SpreadEx.
The core strength was the broker’s range of markets. Here, they scored 8/10 thanks to 1,000+ instruments, including a good collection of 50 forex markets. The broker offers multiple platforms, providing access to advanced charting and features like progressive stop loss and pullback entry orders. These are great if you trade breakouts.
74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
ActivTrades doesn’t offer multiple trading account types. Instead, it provides spread-only pricing through its spread betting account, with no additional commissions. The spreads are variable, meaning they can widen or tighten throughout the trading day based on market conditions.
I used my live ActivTrades account to test the spreads during typical London trading hours. My testing found ActivTrades quite competitive, with spreads averaging 1.20 pips on the popular EUR/USD currency pair.
There was a bit of a range here. The minimum spread I found on this pair was 0.60 pips, while the highest was 1.40. However, the 1.20 pip average is still pretty good for EUR/USD – one of the most commonly traded pairs.
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Spread Bet Spreads
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1.20 | 1.80 | 1.70 | 1.10 | 2.70 |
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0.60 | 1.10 | 1.00 | 0.70 | 1.30 |
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0.80 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.90 |
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0.90 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.10 | 1.80 |
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0.85 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 0.82 | 1.77 |
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1.40 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 2.40 |
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1.10 | 1.30 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.60 |
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0.60 | 1.50 | 1.30 | 0.60 | 2.00 |
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0.90 | 1.70 | 1.00 | 0.80 | 1.90 |
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0.80 | 2.20 | 1.40 | 0.80 | 1.90 |
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0.90 | 1.20 | 1.30 | 1.10 | 1.80 |
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0.80 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 2.50 |
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1.40 | 1.10 | 1.60 | 1.40 | 1.00 |
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1.30 | 1.40 | 1.30 | 0.90 | 2.00 |
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0.80 | 1.20 | 1.10 | 1.10 | 1.90 |
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1.40 | 1.60 | 1.80 | 2.10 | 1.80 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 07/01/2025
As you can see from the above table, ActivTrades is one of the best brokers for costs on the EUR/USD pair, but is more expensive for others. This means the broker ended up fairly low on our overall table.
You can see how the broker performed across all nine pairs tested, in the table below.
| Activtrades Average Spread | Average Industry Spread | |
|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| AUD/USD | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| EUR/GBP | 1.8 | 1.4 |
| GBP/USD | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| USD/JPY | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| AUD/JPY | 2.3 | 2.1 |
| EUR/JPY | 3.2 | 2.2 |
| USD/CAD | 2.7 | 1.9 |
| USD/SGD | 3.6 | 3.6 |
Our senior analyst, Ross Collins, offered a bit more insight into ActivTrades’ spread variations:
“Finding a broker with low spreads is important to reducing your overall trading costs,” Ross said.
“I think ActivTrades does manage to offer competitive spreads on some major currency pairs, while being slightly higher on others. This might be a problem for traders who like to spread bet on a diverse range of pairs, but won’t be so much of an issue if you’re just focused on highly liquid instruments.”
To calculate how spreads impact trading fees, use the fee calculator I created. This will help you compare ActivTrades with their main competitors.
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ActivTrades offers more than just forex spread betting, so I compared the next most popular instrument to trade: shares. ActivTrades spreads are better than average on some shares, and a little higher on others. However, the spreads stay pretty close to the industry standard.
| Share Category | Activtrades Spread | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| UK Shares | 5pt | 5.19pt |
| US Shares | 0.15% | 0.16% |
| Geman Shares | 0.20% | 0.15% |
| Hong Kong Shares | 0.25% | 0.20% |
| Australian Shares | 0.20% | 0.17% |
Checking out ActivTrades’ other markets, I was impressed to see FTSE 100 index spreads averaging a low 0.68 points, with the minimum at 0.60 points. The tight spread didn’t deviate much in my tests, making it one of the lowest index spreads I found.
The gold spreads also stood out to me, with an average of 0.45 points. This matches the industry average in my experience.
Verdict on ActivTrades’ Spreads
While being competitive in some cases, ActivTrades fees are higher across the board than brokers like Pepperstone and SpreadEx. This means I could only give ActivTrades 4/10 here, and you might want to look elsewhere if low costs are a big priority for you.
ActivTrades offers multiple platforms for spread betting, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and its proprietary ActivTrader platform. This variety caters to different trading styles and preferences, which I think is a strong point for the broker.
I found that ActivTrades offers a default version of the MT4 platform, giving you access to all its original tools. The user-friendly interface puts the charts front and centre, which is a feature I’ve always liked about MetaTrader 4.
You can access 30 built-in indicators, providing a solid technical analysis foundation. These indicators, paired with the platform’s 24 drawing tools, make conducting technical analysis fairly straightforward.
Some tools you can use include Fibonacci retracement, moving averages, and Bollinger Bands, which come pre-installed with MetaTrader 4.
ActivTrades also allows you to automate your spread bets on MT4 by taking advantage of the platform’s Expert Advisors. You’ll need to know how to program to build your own EA, or download prebuilt EAs from the MetaQuotes Marketplace – the broker doesn’t provide any tools to develop EAs.
The MT5 platform has a similar design and many of the same indicators as MT4, but with some advanced features. For instance, the Depth of Markets tool provides a clearer view of liquidity and order flow, which can help find hidden support and resistance levels.
I also liked the new native economic calendar, which helps keep track of important market events without leaving the platform. This integration can be a real time saver when planning trades around economic releases, especially if you scalp the markets.
Thanks to under-the-hood performance upgrades, MT5 lets you spread bet on individual shares – this is something you can’t do on MT4. So, if your strategy involves share betting and trade automation, MT5 is likely the better choice.
It also expands your analysis options with more granular timeframes (21 total), and a larger collection of pre-installed technical indicators than MT4.
ActivTrades’ proprietary web-based platform, ActivTrader, impressed me with its features and ease of use. Being web-based is an advantage, as it allows you quick access from any computer without downloading or installing software.
The platform leverages TradingView’s charting capabilities. In my opinion, these are the best charting capabilities from any of the three platform options. With over 100 indicators and sentiment indicators, it provides extensive technical and sentiment analysis tools.
My fellow SpreadBet co-founder Noam Korbl offered his own view on his favourite ActivTrader features:
“One risk management feature that caught my attention was the progressive trailing stop,” Noam said.
“A normal trailing stop-loss will raise your stop-loss as the instrument price moves positively. With the progressive feature, you can specify up to two price tiers. Once hit, these tiers will trigger a change in the distance of the trailing stop-loss. I think this is particularly useful for maximising profits or limiting losses in strongly trending markets.”
Another feature I personally thought was interesting, particularly for breakout traders, was the pullback entry option. This entry allows you to enter a trade after a price retracement in a trending market, potentially providing better entry points.
The main drawback I found with ActivTrader is the lack of custom indicators and automated trading capabilities. You’re limited to the 100+ indicators provided. While this is fairly comprehensive, it may not suit traders who want to customise their own indicators.
ActivTrades offers mobile apps for all three platforms – MT4, MT5, and ActivTrader – available on iOS and Android devices.
The ActivTrader mobile app was the best option for me as it shares many of the top features of the web version. It allows easy account management and trade execution on the go. The mobile-friendly TradingView charts were a standout feature, making chart analysis surprisingly manageable – even on a small screen.
While the MT4 and MT5 apps also offer decent charting and account management capabilities, I felt the mobile app version functionality was basic compared to their desktop version.
I also noticed that these apps don’t allow you to edit or manage your Expert Advisors or custom indicators. This could be an issue if you rely heavily on automated trading strategies.
All the mobile apps support push notifications, which I found extremely useful. Getting alerts for filled orders or price alerts allows for quicker reactions when away from your computer.
Verdict On ActivTrades Trading Platforms
The ActivTrader web platform is excellent for spread betting, especially with its user-friendly interface and advanced features like progressive trailing stops and pullback entries. MetaTrader 4 and 5 are solid choices if you want a more traditional trading experience.
Yes, ActivTrades is a safe and long-standing company established in 2001. As of 2025, this puts it just short of a quarter century in business, with over 100,000 active traders, and 500,000,000+ trades executed since launching. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Financial Regulation
Like almost all the brokers in our list, ActivTrades is FCA-regulated. Being FCA-regulated provides several advantages – it means client funds are segregated from corporate funds, and that the broker provides negative balance protection. It also means you benefit from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
In fact, ActivTrades goes above and beyond. It insures each client’s account funds for up to £1,000,000 – way in excess of the standard FSCS protection of £85,000. This extra protection can give you peace of mind, especially when dealing with larger sums.
Although not necessary, the broker is regulated by multiple authorities in different jurisdictions. For example:
This demonstrates that the broker has been approved by several reputable regulators, further enhancing my confidence in their operations.
Reputation
In my research, I’ve found that ActivTrades has built a solid reputation over its two decades in operation.
As of 2025, their most recent accolade was “Number #1 TradingView Forex Broker” from FXEmpire, awarded last year. The fact they also won “Best Spread Betting Broker” in the International Investor Magazine award in 2023 speaks volumes about their current standing in the industry.
There’s also the sheer number of clients the broker currently has. With 100,000 traders choosing ActivTrades, I believe this positively reflects their reliability and service quality.
ActivTrades Reviews
I find it helpful to take a look at other traders’ experiences, and TrustPilot provides valuable client insights you can access for free.
As of 2025, ActivTrades scores an impressive 4.5 out of 5 based on 1.481 UK reviews, earning an “Excellent” rating. This is a strong signal for me that ActivTrades is a well-liked broker, and provides excellent services that keep its clients happy.
Verdict on ActivTrades’ Trustworthiness
It’s clear that ActivTrades is a trustworthy brokerage with multiple regulatory approvals, a wealth of industry experience behind it, and a large client base.
This isn’t a broker that popped up overnight. Instead, it’s earned the accolades it has received from the industry and, more importantly, from its customers.
I’ve found ActivTrades to be a versatile multi-asset spread betting broker. They offer around 1,000 financial spread betting markets, ranging from forex to commodities.
ActivTrades offers a decent selection of over 50 forex pairs, covering majors, minors, and exotic pairs. While it may not be the largest collection available, it does include the most popular markets for trading forex. If you’re looking for highly liquid pairs like the EUR/USD and GBP/USD, this could be a good broker for you.
The broker offers 14 markets. I think the selection strikes a good balance of metals, energy, and soft commodities. You get access to the main players, such as gold, silver, and oil, which are essential for any commodities trader. Then, you also get soft commodities like cocoa and wheat.
ActivTrades provides spread betting on 19 major global stock indices, including the S&P 500, Dow Jones, DAX 40, and FTSE 100. I appreciate having access to these key benchmarks, allowing you to take positions on the overall performance of these markets.
With over 600 markets across 11 stock exchanges, including the US, UK, and European markets, I was impressed by the breadth of available shares. Just keep in mind you can’t spread bet on shares with MT4.
ActivTrades’ ETF selection is comprehensive, with over 120 ETFs available for spread betting. I found the variety here really impressive, ranging from commodity-tracking ETFs like gold to more niche options like Bitcoin ETFs.
These products are excellent if you want to gain exposure to specific sectors or themes without the cost and balance of trading individual stocks. They also help you speculate on crypto-based derivatives – you can’t bet on crypto directly.
ActivTrades’ bond offering is fairly modest with only seven markets, but I thought it was still a valuable inclusion. These bonds cover key European and US markets, including EURO BUND and US T-BONDs. Although the choice is limited, I appreciate that they offer bond markets, as some brokers don’t provide this at all.
Verdict On ActivTrades Trading Products
ActivTrades’ 1,000+ markets across forex, commodities, indices, shares, ETFs, and bonds is a great selection that will appeal to most spread bettors.
I like that the broker offers more niche financial instruments like bonds and ETFs, as these markets serve to hedge the markets that some brokers leave out.
I found that ActivTrades offers standard deposit methods like debit cards and bank transfers, and I was happy to find they also support PayPal. This is a great addition, as PayPal provides an extra layer of security and convenience if you choose this popular e-wallet.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that ActivTrades does not require a minimum initial deposit. This low minimum is a benefit, especially if you are just starting, or want to test the platform with a smaller investment. It allows for greater flexibility and reduces the barrier to entry for spread betting.
ActivTrades offers multiple account-based currencies to fund your account, including GBP, USD, EUR, CHF, and SEK. You’ll only be using GBP for spread betting, however.
ActivTrades offers multiple account-based currencies to fund your account, including GBP, USD, EUR, CHF, and SEK.
I was impressed by the range of deposit methods ActivTrades offers, including debit and credit cards, bank transfers, Neteller, Skrill, AstroPay, and Sofort. To make my deposit while testing the broker, I used a bank transfer, which was processed within several hours.
The broker does offer a fast turnaround time after funding your account, as all other payment methods are typically available for trading within 30 minutes of processing.
However, I was disappointed to find that ActivTrades charges a 1.5% fee on all credit and debit card deposits. While I understand this is to cover the charges from card providers, I wasn’t a fan of this approach.
Many brokers absorb these costs, and these alternative brokers are probably worth considering if you frequently use cards for deposits.
Funds can be withdrawn within one business day, which I think is a reasonable timeframe. Most withdrawal options are free of charge, which is a plus.
However, it’s worth noting that ActivTrades charges a £9 fee for bank transfers. This is quite a lot, and is certainly something to keep in mind when choosing your withdrawal method.
ActivTrades makes it easy to open a live account, and the application process is 100% online. These processes are similar across all spread betting brokers. You’ll need to answer questions regarding your market knowledge, risk tolerance, and financial/employment details – all of this is compulsory due to FCA requirements.
Depending on the time of day you apply, I believe ActivTrades will try to get your application reviewed that same day. In my case, my account was approved and ready to bet within an hour of applying (including submitting my KYC and AML documents).
Verdict On ActivTrades Funding
ActivTrades offers a range of payment methods to deposit and withdraw from the broker, and it is backed by fast processing times. Although the broker offers no fees for most methods, I was disappointed with the 1.5% fees on debit/credit cards and the £9 withdrawal fee for bank transfers.
In my tests, I found that ActivTrades’ execution speeds lived up to their advertised rate of 0.004 seconds. This speed is crucial for ensuring your stop-loss and take-profit orders are filled at the expected price. The broker achieves these speeds by using IBM Cloud infrastructure to reduce latency.
As a market maker with no dealing desk, ActivTrades can execute trades very quickly. I encountered no speed issues or rejected orders during my time using its platforms.
ActivTrades’ primary support channel is Live Chat, which operates 24/5, making it easy to reach out whenever you need assistance. I liked that it didn’t take long to connect to a human agent, nor did it force me to chat with an A.I bot, which I’m never a fan of.
The Live Chat support was swift and helpful in answering my questions, showing that the support staff knew how to handle trading and technical support.
If you want faster support, or prefer actually talking to someone, ActivTrades also provides phone support. You can either contact them directly or request a callback. This saves you time waiting in the queue, which I like.
It’s good to see this as a support option, as most brokers rely too much on Live Chat support. Live Chat can be great but it doesn’t suit everyone – especially if a trader suddenly has a complicated issue.
The broker also offers a self-service Help Centre, which is convenient if you prefer to find answers on your own for simple issues. I’m talking about things like installing a platform, or making a withdrawal.
Verdict On ActivTrades Customer Service
ActivTrades opens multiple channels, giving you around-the-clock customer support. The phone and live chat support were their best options, in my opinion.
I found the customer service friendly and knowledgeable across a range of topics, covering most aspects of account management and trading support.
ActivTrades offers decent market analysis from their in-house analysts, while providing weekly educational webinars.
I found the market analysis provided by ActivTrades’ in-house analysts was strong, as they cover the latest market news and data releases.
What impressed me most was the depth of their commentary, supported by detailed charts and data tables. I particularly liked how they break down complex market events into digestible insights, making it easier to understand the potential impact, regardless of your betting experience.
ActivTrades hosts weekly educational webinars, which I had the opportunity to attend during my review. These webinars cover topics such as reviewing current markets, live trading sessions, and sharing trading strategies.
I found the webinars helpful if you already have a basic understanding of trading concepts. However, if you are completely new to trading, ActivTrades doesn’t offer many educational materials covering the fundamentals for beginners.
ActivTrades demo account comes with £10,000 in virtual funds, which I think is a generous amount for testing strategies and getting a feel for the platform. The demo account is available for an unlimited time, allowing you to thoroughly familiarise yourself with the ActivTrader platform and test its trading conditions without any pressure.
In my opinion, it’s an excellent way to practise spread betting and determine if ActivTrades’ offering aligns with your trading style before committing to real funds.
Verdict On ActivTrades Research and Education
The research made available by ActivTrades in-house analysts is decent, but not earth-shattering. I think it suits newer bettors or those who bet infrequently, but not complete beginners. The education is lacklustre, I felt. The material I found was just webinars which focused on topics like trading strategies and risk management.
ActivTrades provides a good value option in a few limited cases. For example, if you only trade the most liquid forex pairs, you’ll find good spreads here. Other spreads are a bit more on the pricey side.
I think offering MetaTrader 4 and 5 is a smart move from ActivTrades, as these platforms will appeal to most traders due to their versatility and customisation options.
Plus, they are the only spread betting platforms that let you automate your bets. You can use Expert Advisor to algo-trade in the broker’s 1,000+ markets. However, I think you should consider that the broker charges deposit and withdrawal fees on the most popular payment methods – this is off-putting to be honest.
ActivTrades maximum spread betting leverage is 30:1 for forex major pairs, and 5:1 for spread betting shares. The broker does offer higher leverage, but you must be a professional trader with a professional account. In this case, you may gain access to leverage up to 400:1.
Spread betting involves speculating on the price movement of a financial market without owning the underlying asset. Traders bet on whether the price will rise or fall, and profits or losses are based on the accuracy of the wager rather than a simple win-or-lose outcome.
Spread betting involves speculating on the price movement of a financial market without ever actually taking ownership of the underlying asset. Traders bet on whether the price will rise or fall, and profits or losses are based on the accuracy of the wager – rather than on a simple win-or-lose outcome.
Like spread betting, CFD trading also involves speculating on price movements of financial assets without owning the underlying asset. However, unlike spread betting, CFD traders open a contract on the pair, and choose to buy or sell based on whether they believe the asset’s price will rise or fall.
Spread betting can be profitable if done correctly with a proven trading strategy, proper risk management, and solid experience. Your best chance is to focus on one or two markets, like EUR/USD and GBP/USD, instead of trying to trade several markets simultaneously – at least when you’re starting out.
No, cryptocurrency is one of a few asset classes not available on retail derivative accounts in the United Kingdom as it is restricted by the FCA.
This review focuses exclusively on UK spread betting brokers. We compared trading accounts from FCA-regulated brokers offering spread betting services. For consistency, we primarily evaluated accounts using the MetaTrader 4 platform.
Our Methodology:
Our goal is to provide UK traders with well-informed recommendations for the best spread betting brokers in the market.
You can learn more about how we perform our spread bet broker reviews on our methodology page.
