CMC Markets Review

Overview

CMC Markets is one of the stronger choices for UK traders who want a large range of markets, advanced charting and a well-developed proprietary trading platform. It is particularly competitive for active forex, CFD and spread betting traders, but it is less attractive if you want MetaTrader 5, cTrader, built-in copy trading or an account you can leave dormant indefinitely without fees.

CMC Markets UK plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 173730. Retail client money is held separately from CMC Markets' own funds, and eligible clients may have FSCS protection of up to £85,000 where applicable.

Our verdict: CMC Markets is a good broker for active UK traders and an especially strong fit for discretionary traders who value charting, research and market breadth. It would not be our first choice for traders whose strategies depend on MT5, cTrader or social and copy-trading ecosystems.

CMC currently states that 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with the provider. Leveraged trading can produce losses quickly and is not suitable for everyone.

_Last checked: 10 September 2026._

CMC Markets at a glance

The exact instruments available depend on the account and platform. The maximum product count does not mean every instrument is available through every account.

Who is CMC Markets best for?

CMC Markets is best suited to active traders who want to analyse and trade several markets from one account.

Its main strengths are forex, indices, commodities, share CFDs and UK spread betting. The Next Generation platform brings charting, market research, sentiment data, alerts and execution tools into one interface.

CMC Markets may suit you if you want:

• A large selection of forex and CFD markets
• Advanced browser-based charting
• UK spread betting
• Competitive pricing for higher-volume forex trading
• MetaTrader 4 support for Expert Advisors and automated strategies
• Integrated Reuters news and research tools
• A broker with a long operating history and FCA regulation

CMC Markets is a weaker fit if your trading system depends on MetaTrader 5, cTrader or a dedicated social and copy-trading platform.

Is CMC Markets safe and legitimate?

Yes. CMC Markets is a legitimate FCA-regulated broker in the UK.

CMC Markets UK plc appears on the Financial Conduct Authority register under FRN 173730. Its registered office is at 133 Houndsditch, London. The company has operated since 1989, and the CMC Markets group is publicly listed in the UK.

CMC Markets states that retail client money is held in segregated bank accounts rather than mixed with the company's operating funds. It says these accounts currently include banks such as NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds. The firm also carries out daily client-money reconciliation under FCA CASS requirements.

Eligible clients may qualify for Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. For CMC Markets trading accounts, eligible shortfalls may be covered up to £85,000 in qualifying circumstances.

FSCS protection does not cover normal trading losses or market movements. It addresses certain counterparty and custody risks. It does not remove the risk of leveraged trading.

What can you trade with CMC Markets?

CMC Markets offers one of its strongest propositions in market breadth.

The broker currently advertises access to as many as 21,000 CFD instruments through its main platform, covering forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, rates and bonds. Its proprietary platform offers more than 300 forex pairs, while MT4 has a smaller subset of markets.

The actual range depends heavily on how you trade.

CMC's Next Generation platform provides the broadest selection, including more than 10,000 shares and ETFs according to its current platform comparison. MetaTrader 4 is considerably narrower and focuses mainly on forex, indices and commodities.

This makes CMC Markets considerably more interesting to multi-asset traders than somebody who only trades EUR/USD and has no interest in the rest of the product catalogue.

CMC Markets trading platforms

Is the CMC Next Generation platform good?

Yes. Next Generation is arguably the main reason to choose CMC Markets over a more basic CFD broker.

CMC's proprietary browser platform provides more than 115 technical indicators and 70 chart patterns, alongside pattern recognition, client sentiment tools, alerts, Reuters news and market research.

The platform is browser-based, so there is no desktop installation requirement. CMC also offers mobile access.

For discretionary technical traders, this is a strong package. You can conduct the majority of your research, chart analysis, risk management and execution without jumping between multiple pieces of software.

The trade-off is customisation. Next Generation does not provide the same ecosystem of custom indicators and automated trading software available through MetaTrader.

Does CMC Markets support MetaTrader 4?

Yes. CMC Markets supports MetaTrader 4 for forex, indices and commodities.

CMC currently offers more than 175 forex pairs through MT4, alongside a smaller selection of indices and commodities. MT4 also supports Expert Advisors, custom indicators and automated trading strategies.

CMC's proprietary platform gives you substantially greater market coverage, while MT4 is the better choice if your existing trading system depends on MetaTrader automation.

Does CMC Markets have MetaTrader 5?

CMC Markets references MT5 availability in selected regions, but its main UK platform documentation currently focuses on Next Generation, TradingView and MetaTrader 4. Traders who specifically need MT5 should therefore check current UK availability before opening an account rather than assuming it is included.

CMC Markets fees and spreads

CMC Markets' trading costs are competitive for some traders, especially active forex traders. The cheapest option depends on the account, market, position size and trading hours. There is no single CMC Markets spread that applies to every trade. The main costs are: FX Active is CMC Markets' main pricing option for cost-conscious forex traders. CMC advertises minimum spreads from 0.0 pips on EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD and USD/JPY. The account charges a fixed commission of $2.50 per $100,000 notional per transaction. CMC also advertises a 25% spread discount across more than 300 other forex pairs compared with its standard CFD pricing.

There is no single meaningful "CMC Markets spread". Different markets, account types, trade sizes and trading hours produce different costs.

If you reactivate a dormant account by trading again, CMC states that it may refund up to three previously deducted monthly inactivity charges, capped at £30. The fee will not matter to most active traders. It is a disadvantage for people who open several broker accounts and leave them unused. No. CMC Markets does not require a minimum deposit for its standard UK trading accounts. You still need enough equity to meet the margin requirement for the position you want to open. A £1 deposit does not mean you can place every trade with £1. UK retail traders can use leverage of up to 30:1, depending on the asset class. Leverage increases both potential gains and potential losses.

FX Active commission against the raw-spread accounts it competes with

Commission on one standard EUR/USD lot, both sides, before spread. CMC charges $2.50 per $100,000 per transaction, which is $5 on a round turn.

CMC Markets FX Active

$5.00

FP Markets Raw

$6.00

Tickmill Pro

$6.00

IC Markets Raw

$7.00

Pepperstone Razor

$7.00

7.552.50

How competitive is CMC Markets FX Active?

FX Active is the most interesting CMC Markets account for cost-conscious forex traders.

CMC currently advertises minimum spreads from 0.0 pips on EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD and USD/JPY, with a fixed commission of $2.50 per $100,000 notional per transaction. CMC also advertises a 25% spread discount across more than 300 other forex pairs compared with its standard CFD pricing.

Here is a useful way to translate the commission.

At $100,000 notional, CMC charges $2.50 to open and another $2.50 to close, giving a $5 round-trip commission. On a major currency pair where a pip is roughly $10 at that trade size, the commission component is approximately 0.5 pips round-trip, before accounting for the actual spread, slippage or financing.

That is more useful than staring at a "0.0 pips" headline because zero is the minimum spread, not necessarily the total cost of completing a trade.

CMC also explicitly states that spreads may widen when underlying markets widen, outside normal trading hours or for larger trade sizes.

Does CMC Markets charge an inactivity fee?

Yes. CMC Markets charges a £10 monthly inactivity fee on qualifying dormant trading accounts after one continuous year without trading activity.

The fee continues until trading restarts, the account is closed or the available balance reaches zero. CMC does not continue deducting inactivity fees once the account balance has fallen to zero.

There is one useful detail many CMC Markets reviews miss: if you reactivate a dormant account by trading again, CMC states that up to three previously deducted monthly inactivity charges can be refunded, capped at £30.

For somebody actively trading, the inactivity charge is irrelevant. For somebody who frequently opens broker accounts and leaves cash sitting in them, it is a genuine negative.

Is there a minimum deposit at CMC Markets?

No. CMC Markets does not impose a minimum deposit requirement for its standard UK trading accounts.

You still need enough account equity to satisfy the margin requirement for the position you want to open. A £1 funded account therefore does not mean every trade can be placed with £1.

UK retail traders can use leverage of up to 30:1, depending on the asset class. Higher leverage increases both potential returns and potential losses.

CMC Markets pros and cons

What CMC Markets does well

Market range is CMC Markets' biggest competitive advantage. Traders can move between forex, indices, commodities, equities and other markets without needing a separate broker for every asset class.

Next Generation is another genuine strength. The combination of advanced charts, technical indicators, Reuters news, pattern tools and client sentiment makes it far more than a basic order-entry interface.

FX Active also makes CMC more credible for higher-volume currency traders because it separates much of the trading cost into a transparent fixed commission rather than simply advertising an opaque spread.

Finally, its FCA authorisation, segregated retail client money and long operating history materially reduce the "is this broker legitimate?" concern attached to lesser-known offshore platforms.

Where CMC Markets could be better

The platform choice is good rather than universal. Traders deeply invested in MT5 or cTrader may find another broker a better fit.

The inactivity charge is also unnecessary friction for occasional traders. £10 per month after a year is unlikely to matter to an active trader, but there are brokers without the same dormant-account cost.

Finally, CMC's enormous product range can make the service more complicated than necessary for a beginner who simply wants to buy a handful of shares or ETFs every month.

For that user, CMC Markets' leveraged trading proposition and CMC's investment products should be evaluated separately.

CMC Markets vs CMC Invest: what is the difference?

CMC Markets' trading accounts and CMC Invest are not the same product.

CMC Markets' spread betting, CFD and FX Active accounts are designed primarily for trading price movements. CFDs and spread bets are leveraged derivatives, so you do not own the underlying asset.

CMC Invest is designed for investors buying and holding actual investments and offers products including General Investment Accounts, ISAs and, depending on the selected pricing plan, SIPPs. CMC Invest has its own product range and fee structure.

This distinction prevents an easy mistake when comparing brokers.

Someone searching for short-term forex trading should evaluate CMC Markets' trading costs and platforms. Someone building a retirement portfolio should evaluate CMC Invest against other investment platforms instead.

They are different buying decisions.

What do CMC Markets customers say?

As of the September 2026 check, CMC Markets had a 4.2/5 TrustScore from more than 3,400 reviews on its UK Trustpilot profile.

Trustpilot's current summary highlights positive comments about the platform interface, charting tools and range of markets. It also identifies complaints involving account access, verification and some administrative support experiences.

Customer reviews are useful for spotting recurring service issues, but they are not proof of execution quality. Reviews can be self-selected, invited or shaped by individual account disputes.

Regulation, contractual fees, platform functions and actual trading costs are more useful primary criteria when comparing brokers.

Is CMC Markets good for beginners?

CMC Markets can work for beginners, but its strongest features are aimed at people who intend to become fairly active traders.

The demo account is valuable because users can practise with virtual funds before risking real money. CMC currently provides £10,000 of virtual funds through its demo accounts.

The problem is not access. It is complexity.

A first-time investor who simply wants long-term exposure to diversified ETFs probably does not need thousands of leveraged instruments, advanced pattern-recognition tools and 30:1 leverage.

A beginner specifically learning forex, CFDs or spread betting has considerably more reason to shortlist CMC Markets.

Is CMC Markets good for forex trading?

Yes. Forex is one of CMC Markets' strongest areas.

The proprietary platform offers more than 300 currency pairs. FX Active provides minimum spreads from 0.0 pips on six major pairs, and MT4 is available for traders who use Expert Advisors or automated systems.

The important comparison is the total cost for your specific pairs and trade sizes.

An active EUR/USD trader should compare the spread plus commission for their expected volume. A trader focused on less common crosses or exotic pairs should compare CMC Markets' wider forex range with brokers that offer fewer instruments but different pricing.

Is CMC Markets good for spread betting?

CMC Markets is a strong option for UK spread betting because it combines a broad product range with the full Next Generation platform.

Spread betting lets UK clients speculate on rising or falling prices without buying the underlying asset. CMC Markets states that UK spread bets do not incur capital gains tax or stamp duty under normal circumstances, although tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and tax rules can change.

Tax treatment should not be the only reason to choose a leveraged product. Total cost, execution, platform quality and risk controls matter more to the trading decision.

CMC Markets review: final verdict

CMC Markets is a broker we would shortlist for active UK traders, particularly those trading forex, indices, commodities and multiple CFD markets.

Its combination of FCA regulation, broad market access, the Next Generation platform, advanced charting and competitive FX Active pricing gives it a genuinely strong trading proposition rather than simply a recognisable brand.

Choose CMC Markets if you want:

• A sophisticated proprietary trading platform
• A very broad forex and CFD range
• UK spread betting
• MT4 alongside a proprietary platform
• Competitive pricing for active FX trading
• Strong integrated charting and research

Look elsewhere if MT5, cTrader or native copy trading is essential to your strategy, or if you want a dormant account with no inactivity charge.

For long-term share and ETF investing, compare CMC Invest separately rather than using CMC Markets' leveraged trading features as the basis for the decision.

Bottom line: CMC Markets is a strong all-round UK trading broker, but its clearest advantage is for active multi-market traders who will actually use the depth of the Next Generation platform.

CMC currently reports that 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with the provider. Make sure you understand leveraged products and can afford the risk before trading.