Platforms and tools

Trading platforms compared

Eight platform hubs covering the terminals UK traders actually use: MetaTrader 4 and 5, cTrader, TradingView, the in-house platforms built by the larger brokers, mobile apps, API access and copy trading.

Each hub explains what the platform is genuinely good at, where it falls down, and which FCA-authorised brokers support it — because the best platform in the world is no use at a firm with poor pricing behind it.

Platform choice is more permanent than broker choice. Templates, indicators, alerts and automation take months to build and rarely transfer, so it is worth spending an hour on this decision before you spend a year on the wrong terminal.

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On this page

What's on this page

Start with how you trade. Automated FX strategies point to MetaTrader; discretionary chart work points to TradingView; cost-sensitive scalping points to cTrader; spread betting and share dealing point to a broker's own platform.

Each hub below lists the FCA brokers supporting that platform along with the account types, spreads and minimum deposits attached to them.

01MetaTrader 4 02MetaTrader 5 03cTrader 04TradingView 05Proprietary broker platforms 06Mobile trading apps

DMWritten and maintained by Duncan Mercer, Data & Industry Reports·Last reviewed 12 May 2026·Fact checked against the FCA register

How to choose a platform

Three questions settle most platform decisions. Do you need automation? Do you need to see the depth of market behind a quote? Do you need spread betting, ISAs or share dealing in the same account? Answer those and the field narrows to one or two candidates.

The fourth question is portability. MetaTrader templates and expert advisors move between brokers almost unchanged, while everything built inside a proprietary platform stays there. If you expect to move firms as your account grows, that lock-in is a real cost even though nobody prices it.

Finally, judge the platform on the account behind it. A broker offering MT5 on a wide-spread standard account and a raw account with commission will feel like two different platforms in use. The terminal is the interface; the account is the product.

Automation and portability: MetaTrader 4 or 5
Depth of market and clean fills: cTrader
Charting, alerting and analysis: TradingView
Spread betting, ISAs and shares in one place: proprietary platforms

MetaQuotes

MetaTrader 4

Still the most widely supported retail FX terminal in the UK, and the home of the expert advisor.

MetaQuotes

MetaTrader 5

The successor terminal: more timeframes, real depth of market and genuine multi-asset support.

Spotware

cTrader

The platform of choice for cost-sensitive traders who care about depth and fill quality.

TradingView

The best charting package in retail trading, now wired directly into several FCA brokers.

Individual brokers

Proprietary broker platforms

In-house web and desktop platforms from the larger UK brokers, often the best-executing option they offer.

Individual brokers

Mobile trading apps

Where most UK accounts are now managed, and where poor design costs real money.

Individual brokers

API and algorithmic access

REST and FIX access for traders running their own execution code rather than a terminal.

Individual brokers

Copy trading platforms

Mirroring another trader's positions, with the transparency of the provider statistics deciding everything.

Risk warning

CFDs and spread bets are leveraged products and the majority of retail accounts lose money. Figures on this page are researched from firm documentation and live accounts, but pricing, funding routes and account terms change without notice. Check the broker's own terms and the Financial Services Register before you deposit, and never risk money you cannot afford to lose.