Spread betting markets in the UK fall into five classes: indices, currency pairs, individual shares, commodities, and bonds and interest rates. Crypto derivatives are banned for UK retail clients (FCA PS20/10, 6 January 2021). A spread bet is priced in £ per point on each of them. Spread betting spreads are quoted in points, and the spread is the gap between the buy price and the sell price. Profit or loss equals the points the market moves multiplied by the stake per point. Every market listed here can be bet long or short: you buy when you expect the price to rise and sell when you expect it to fall. Leverage limits differ by class: 30:1 (3.33% margin) on major currency pairs, 20:1 (5% margin) on major indices and gold, 10:1 (10% margin) on other commodities and non-major indices, and 5:1 (20% margin) on individual shares. Each class links to its own page below.
View our page on how spread betting works to learn more.
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What Can You Spread Bet On In The UK?
Indices
Indices spread betting covers markets such as the FTSE 100, DAX and S&P 500, with an FCA leverage limit of 20:1 (5% margin) on major indices.
Currencies
Currency pair spread betting covers major pairs such as EUR/USD and GBP/USD, with an FCA leverage limit of 30:1 (3.33% margin).
The nine-pair average spread across our August 2026 harvest was 1.7 points.
Commodities
Commodities spread betting covers energy, metals and agricultural markets, with gold at 20:1 (5% margin) and other commodities at 10:1 (10% margin).
Three of the 14 brokers we rank publish a gold spread, from 0.08 to 0.3 points, read on 25 Aug 2026.
Bonds And Interest Rates
Bond and interest rate spread betting covers government bonds and interest rate futures, with each bet priced in £ per point.
Spreads change monthly; to compare spread betting brokers on the current figures, use the ranked table.
One further market is worth naming and it is not a category above. Options spread betting is offered by a small number of providers and behaves differently enough to need its own explanation.
Nine of the 14 brokers we rank publish a total count of markets in a form we can quote, read on 25 Aug 2026, spanning over 100 to 21,000 markets. These are the providers’ own published totals, not our counts; they are not all scoped alike, so we do not rank them.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency spread bets are not available to UK retail clients. The FCA banned the sale, marketing and distribution of crypto derivatives to retail consumers from 6 January 2021 (PS20/10). The ban covers spread bets referencing unregulated transferable cryptoassets such as Bitcoin and Ether. In October 2025 the FCA lifted its ban on certain crypto exchange traded notes only, and the derivatives ban remains in force.
What A Market Costs Before It Moves
The spread is the whole cost on most of these markets, and it is charged the moment you open: the price you buy at is above the price you could sell at, and the gap multiplied by your stake is what the position is down at the start. On the nine currency pairs we compile that gap averaged 1.7 points on 1 Aug 2026, and it is wider on thinner markets than on majors.
The spread is not everything a position costs. A stop-loss order closes your position at a level you set; a position held overnight carries a funding charge, and a guaranteed stop carries a premium if it triggers. Our spread betting calculator works the total out on your own stake, and the spread betting cost comparison sets out what each provider charges.
The calculator below prices an index bet in the same shape: enter the level from your platform’s deal ticket, your stake per point and your provider’s spread.
A demo account lets you price these markets without staking money. Ten of the 14 brokers we rank publish one, checked on 25 and 26 Aug 2026.
Spread betting calculator
Cost, profit or loss, and margin on one bet
On UK 100 one point is a 1 move, so £2 per point is £2 per pip. is points.
UK 100 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 Fri 4 Sept 2026 5pm New York close Opening level: your own figure, from your platform's deal ticket Spread: Pepperstone published, 1 Aug 2026 Spread: your own figure
A buy at £2 per point that closes 80 points higher makes £ before the spread. Pepperstone's published -point spread costs £ on this bet, leaving £. The margin held to open it is £.
Enter the level from your platform's deal ticket and your provider's spread in points; the ledger then prices the bet.
Spread betting profits are free of Capital Gains Tax and stamp duty for most UK residents; see the tax treatment of spread bets. Overnight funding is not included; see overnight funding in spread betting. Spreads are the brokers' own published averages, read on 1 Aug 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.
Where These Figures Come From
The currency figures are the monthly harvest: the average spread each of the 13 accounts we track publishes on its own pricing page, read on 1 Aug 2026 and republished in full on our statistics page. The gold figure is read from the providers’ own published pricing tables and states the date it was checked. Nothing here is an execution measurement and nowhere do we call it one.
A category with no figure is a category where no provider we track publishes one in a form we can quote. It stays empty until that changes. Profit on these markets is free of Capital Gains Tax and stamp duty for most UK residents, depending on their own circumstances. This page is information rather than financial or tax advice.
Ask an Expert
What markets are available for spread betting?
Spread betting offers access to forex, commodities, indices and shares, plus bonds and interest rates. Cryptocurrency is the exception: the FCA has banned crypto derivatives for UK retail clients since 6 January 2021.
Can I spread bet on forex markets?
Yes, you can. Forex is one of the most popular markets for spread betting, allowing traders to speculate on currency pairs.