Spread Trading Basics
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The spread betting companies all offer something different. We are not authorised to provide financial advice, arrangements or investments and for that reason we cannot say which is the best spread betting company.
Below we compare the spreads for markets such as the FTSE 100, GBP/USD, Gold and Oil.
We also compare services such as new account offers, 24 hour trading and automatic stop loss orders.
Each of the firms listed below is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
This list is not meant to be inclusive; spread betting services are also available with companies not listed here.
Spread Betting Companies - Indices Comparison
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| FTSE 100 Daily - Spread Size |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| FTSE 100 Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| FTSE 100 Future - Spread Size |
4 |
4-8 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| FTSE 100 Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Wall St Daily - Spread Size |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2-4 |
2 |
2 |
| Wall St Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| DAX 30 Daily - Spread Size |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| DAX 30 Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| S&P 500 Daily - Spread Size |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
| S&P 500 Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Nasdaq 100 Future - Spread Size |
3 |
4-10 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
| Nasdaq 100 Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£4 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
Comparison Notes
Spread Betting Companies - Forex Comparison
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| GBP / USD Daily - Spread Size |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
0.8 |
2 |
2 |
| GBP / USD Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£0.50 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| GBP / USD Future - Spread Size |
8 |
8 |
12 |
8 |
8 |
- |
8 |
8 |
| GBP / USD Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
$0.60 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
- |
£1 |
£1 |
| EUR / GBP Daily - Spread Size |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| EUR / GBP Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£0.50 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| EUR / GBP Future - Spread Size |
6 |
8 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
- |
6 |
6 |
| EUR / GBP Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
$0.60 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
- |
£1 |
£1 |
| EUR / USD Daily - Spread Size |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0.8 |
1 |
1 |
| EUR / USD Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£0.50 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| EUR / USD Future - Spread Size |
8 |
8 |
12 |
8 |
8 |
3 |
8 |
8 |
| EUR / USD Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
$0.60 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| USD / JPY Daily - Spread Size |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0.8 |
1 |
1 |
| USD / JPY Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£0.50 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| USD / JPY Future - Spread Size |
8 |
8 |
12 |
8 |
10 |
- |
8 |
8 |
| USD / JPY Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
¥100 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
- |
£1 |
£1 |
Comparison Notes
Spread Betting Companies - Commodities Comparison
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| Gold Daily - Spread Size |
4 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
| Gold Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
$0.60 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Gold Future - Spread Size |
6 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
| Gold Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
$0.60 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Brent Crude Daily - Spread Size |
5† |
6† |
5 |
5† |
4 |
5† |
5† |
5† |
| Brent Crude Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
$2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Brent Crude Future - Spread Size |
5 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
| Brent Crude Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
$2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| US Crude Oil Daily - Spread Size |
5† |
4 |
5 |
5† |
4 |
5† |
5† |
5† |
| US Crude Oil Daily - Min Stake |
£1 |
$0.70 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| US Crude Oil Future - Spread Size |
5 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
| US Crude Oil Future - Min Stake |
£1 |
$2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£0.5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
Comparison Notes
Spread Betting Companies - Account Services Comparison
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| Online Application |
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| Credit Account |
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| Deposit Account |
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| Stop Loss Available |
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| Automatic Stop Loss |
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| 24 Hour Trading |
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| FSA Authorised and Regulated |
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| Candlestick Charts |
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Comparison Notes
Spread Betting - New Account Offers Comparison
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Note: New Accounts and New Account Offers are subject to Status, Terms and Conditions. For details click on the >>
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Spread Betting Companies - Bonds Comparison
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| BOBL - Spread Size |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| BOBL - Min Stake |
£1 |
€0.70 |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Bund - Spread Size |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Bund - Min Stake |
£1 |
€0.70 |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Gilt - Spread Size |
3 |
- |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Gilt - Min Stake |
£1 |
- |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Schatz - Spread Size |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Schatz - Min Stake |
£1 |
€0.70 |
£2 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| US T Bond 10 Yr - Spread Size |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
| US T Bond 10 Yr - Min Stake |
£1 |
$1.10 |
£3 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| US T Bond 30 Yr - Spread Size |
6 |
3 |
- |
6 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
| US T Bond 30 Yr - Min Stake |
£1 |
$1.10 |
- |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
Comparison Notes
Spread Betting Companies - Interest Rates Comparison
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| Euribor - Spread Size |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Euribor - Min Stake |
£1 |
€0.50 |
£5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Eurodollar - Spread Size |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Eurodollar - Min Stake |
£1 |
$1.10 |
$5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
| Euroswiss - Spread Size |
2 |
- |
1 |
2 |
3 |
- |
2 |
2 |
| Euroswiss - Min Stake |
£1 |
- |
£5 |
£1 |
£1 |
- |
£1 |
£1 |
| Short Sterling - Spread Size |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Short Sterling - Min Stake |
£1 |
£0.50 |
£5 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
£1 |
Comparison Notes
Spread Betting Companies Comparison Notes
- The typical spread size is quoted. Note that spread sizes tend to vary under a number of circumstances including:
- when betting outside of normal market hours
- when you use guaranteed stop losses
- the first 30-60 minutes of the day
- as you get closer / further away from the settlement date
- The spreads are quoted in tic, pip or point size
- † No Daily Market available - the Futures Spread and Stake have been quoted instead
- ‡ Some markets are only available in the reverse spread eg JPY/USD rather than USD/JPY
- ^ Minimum £10 stake for phone trades
- Where minimum stakes are quoted in the format £1/£10 then this refers to the 'minimum online stakes' / 'minimum phone stakes'
- New Accounts are subject to Status, Suitability and Identity checks
- New Account Offers are subject to Terms and Conditions
- 24 hour trading refers to trading hours of "late on Sunday night to Friday evening". Exact hours are also subject to public holidays and will vary from firm to firm
- Credit Accounts are subject to proof of liquid funds and terms and conditions will vary from firm to firm
- If Credit Accounts are not available, that means only Deposit Accounts are offered
- 'FSA' refers to whether the firm is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority
- Click here for details of the last Spread / Price / Market Information update
- The comparison tables are not meant to be inclusive, spread betting services are also available with other companies
- The above data is subject to change without notice or warning and given without warranty. Please also see our terms and conditions.
Risk Warning: Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital. You may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
'Spread Trading Basics' by DB, updated 26-Nov-09
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