• FCA-verified · Independent ratings · Updated weekly
Guide library
We maintain 500 ranked broker guides, grouped into 8 clusters so you can go straight to the question you are actually asking — cost, platform, regulation, deposit size or the way you trade.
Each guide is a full document rather than a list: a ranked shortlist drawn from funded live accounts, an all-in cost breakdown, a note on which regulated entity holds your money, and a verdict that names a winner.
Nothing in the library is ordered commercially. The same weighted framework scores every firm on every page, so a rating in one guide means exactly what it means in another.
FCA regulated, FSCS £85K, since 1974
Rated 4.9 out of 5 after live-account testing by the desk.
Min spread
0.6 pips
Min deposit
£0
Regulator
FCA
Best for
Deepest UK market coverage
CFDs are complex instruments. Your capital is at risk.
Library at a glance
Every guide re-ranks the same tested broker set against the question in its title, so the order changes from page to page — that is the point of the library.
On this page
The library splits into 8 clusters. Each panel below opens with the desk's view of what that cluster is really about, pairs it with a broker the guides in it tend to favour, and then lists the individual pages.
If you know the exact phrase you are searching for, scan the lists. If you are still deciding what to optimise for — cost, platform, protection or product range — read the cluster notes first; they will point you at the right shelf faster than any A-to-Z would.
Cluster 1 · 106 guides
FCA-regulated firms, UK account rules and where British traders actually open accounts.
The UK shelf is the most crowded and the most tightly regulated. Every firm named across these guides is authorised here, segregates client money and carries FSCS eligibility, so the separation comes from cost, execution and how quickly a withdrawal actually lands.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if you are a UK resident opening a first or second account.
Recurring name in this cluster
CMC Markets
★ 4.9 · FCA
Guides in uk forex brokers
Cluster 2 · 45 guides
Platform-first pages covering desktop terminals, mobile apps and web traders.
Platform pages are written from the order ticket outward. What matters is whether the cost is restated before you confirm, whether alerts follow you between phone and desktop, and whether the charting survives a fast market rather than which feature list is longest.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if the terminal, not the price, is what has been frustrating you.
Recurring name in this cluster
XTB
★ 4.8 · FCA
Guides in trading platforms and apps
Cluster 3 · 57 guides
Every page covering MT4, MT5 and the brokers that support them.
MetaTrader coverage is split by what actually differs between brokers: bridge quality, the server-side handling of stops, whether expert advisors run without hand-holding, and how the firm's raw account maps onto MT4 and MT5 pricing.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if you run automated strategies or imported indicators.
Recurring name in this cluster
ActivTrades
★ 4.6 · FCA
Guides in metatrader 4 and mt5
Cluster 4 · 67 guides
Cost-led pages: raw spreads, commissions, minimum deposits and financing.
Cost pages exist because the headline spread is the smallest part of most bills. Each one totals spread, commission and overnight financing on a realistic trade size, which is why the ranking order on a cost page rarely matches a generic top-ten.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if you trade often enough for the cost column to matter.
Recurring name in this cluster
eToro UK
★ 4.5 · FCA
Guides in spreads, fees and deposits
Cluster 5 · 40 guides
Licensing, client-money protection and how to check a firm is genuine.
Regulation pages deal in what is verifiable: the entity named on your client agreement, where client money is held, what FSCS actually covers and what negative balance protection is worth when it is contractual rather than discretionary.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if you are checking a firm before funding it.
Recurring name in this cluster
ThinkMarkets UK
★ 4.4 · FCA
Guides in regulation and trust
Cluster 6 · 11 guides
Starting points: demo accounts, first deposits and simple platforms.
Beginner guides assume nothing and skip nothing. They cover demo accounts that behave like the live server, first deposits sized so a bad month is survivable, and the small number of platform habits that separate a controlled start from an expensive one.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if this would be your first funded account.
Recurring name in this cluster
Fortrade
★ 4.3 · FCA
Guides in beginners and demo accounts
Cluster 7 · 26 guides
Day trading, algo, copy trading, gold, leverage and specialist accounts.
Strategy and account-type pages match a broker to a way of trading rather than the other way round. A scalper pays commission a swing trader never notices; a swing trader pays financing a scalper never sees.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if you already know how you trade and want the right fit.
Recurring name in this cluster
Tradu
★ 4.2 · FCA
Guides in strategy and account types
Cluster 8 · 148 guides
Worldwide rankings, comparisons and market-wide broker lists.
Global pages widen the lens beyond the UK register, covering worldwide rankings and market-wide lists while still flagging which entity a non-UK reader would actually be onboarded to and what protection travels with it.
Every page in this group re-ranks the same tested broker set against its own question, so a firm that leads one guide can sit mid-table in the next. That is deliberate: a single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Start here if you are reading from outside the United Kingdom.
Recurring name in this cluster
Freetrade
★ 4.4 · FCA
Guides in global and comparison
Named most often across the library
Recurring is not the same as best for you. These three appear across the widest spread of clusters because they score consistently rather than spectacularly — a useful default, not an instruction.
IG
#1 overall · ★ 4.9
Deepest UK market coverage. Spreads from 0.6 pips, £0 to open, FCA-regulated with client money held in segregated accounts.
Read reviewCMC Markets
#2 overall · ★ 4.9
Best-in-class charting. Spreads from 0.7 pips, £0 to open, FCA-regulated with client money held in segregated accounts.
Read review
Capital.com UK
#3 overall · ★ 4.9
Smart trader analytics. Spreads from 0.5 pips, £20 to open, FCA-regulated with client money held in segregated accounts.
Read reviewLibrary questions
How the guides are built, how often they change and how to pick the right one to read first.
Ask the deskStill deciding which broker?
Our #1-ranked FCA broker for 2026 is IG, tested live from our desk with £0 minimum deposit and spreads from 0.6 pips.
IG, Best UK Broker 2026
FCA · FSCS £85K · Since 1974
Because each guide answers a different question. A page about the lowest all-in cost weights pricing far more heavily than a page about beginner platforms, so the order changes. A single universal ranking would be useless to anyone whose priorities differ from the average reader's.
Read the cluster note at the top of each panel and pick the shelf that matches what has actually been frustrating you — cost, platform, protection or product range. Then read one guide from that cluster properly rather than skimming five.
No. The same weighted framework scores every firm on every page, verdicts are written from funded live accounts, and no ranking is adjusted after publication to suit a commercial relationship.
Pricing and licence data is re-checked as the testing rotation comes round and each guide carries a review date. Brokers change spreads, commission and margin terms without notice, so confirm current numbers with the firm before funding.
The global cluster does. Those pages flag which entity a non-UK reader would be onboarded to and what protection travels with it, because the FSCS limit that applies to a UK client generally does not apply elsewhere.
Popular UK searches
Before opening an account, most readers check these broker questions. Each link below goes to the page on this site that answers it.