3.7
148 Good Money Guide users have given this provider a review rating of 3.7 out of 5 based on their genuine experience.
Excellent30%
Very good28%
Average29%
Poor10%
Terrible3%

CMC Markets Customer Reviews & Expert Test

Home > Reviews > CMC Markets 2025 Reviews

CMC Markets Customer Reviews

Tell us what you think of this provider.

cmc brokerage firm

21st October 2024

good services and low spreads

mikhael

CMC trading

17th October 2024

Very well presented platform and easy to use, plus lots of updates and useful information

David O’Connor

No comment

30th June 2024

No comment

Peter Brian Facer

good

29th June 2024

good

Kevin William Henderson

Fantastic desktop application

27th June 2024

Fantastic desktop application

Bruce Murchie

3/5

13th June 2024
Matthew Snazell

Great service

12th June 2024

Great service

Joe Astley-Cooper

Good service

12th June 2024

Good service

Raymond Forbes

Slightly pricey compared to Trade…

12th June 2024

Slightly pricey compared to Trade Nation but good platform and tools

Emma Kelly

Poor

12th June 2024

Poor

Eric kenelm ford

CMC Markets Expert Review

CMC Markets Offers Great Tech for Active Traders
CMC Markets

Provider: CMC Markets

Verdict: CMC Markets is one of the best and fastest trading platforms available for active traders to speculate on the most popular markets. The company is one of the original spread betting and CFD brokers based in the UK. It’s been providing forex trading services since 1989 and is now listed on the London Stock Exchange. The broker has over 300,000 active clients trading online and is operated from 13 global offices, with headquarters in the City of London.
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Is CMC Markets a Good Broker?

Yes, CMC Markets has always offered, and still offers, one of the best trading platforms for high-frequency and active traders. It’s a good choice for those who want to trade on tight spreads, with a platform built on exceptional tech.

I’ve used CMC Markets for 20 years now and it’s typically been my go-to broker for trading forex and equity sectors.

I recently gave it another full test with real money and live trades. I’ve also interviewed its founder and its head of product. In this review, I share my views on what CMC Markets is good at, where it needs to improve and which types of trader it suits.

Almost 20 years ago, when I first had my account, I remember sitting in CMC’s reception, eager to pick up a CD-ROM of the Market Maker trading platform so I could trade personal account when I was a stockbroker at Phillip Securities.

I used to flit between using IG and CMC Markets back then. IG had a few more markets, but the platform was a bit basic. CMC Markets had tighter pricing and because the platform had a dark background, and more flashing lights you felt like a real pro. Despite the fact that CMC’s heritage is in the FX markets, I could never really get the hang of those so I’d trade indices, and FTSE 100 shares (also, CMC only really did the main market stuff back then).

I could have waited for CMC to post me a disc, but I had a real itch to try it out. It was an excellent trading platform then, and it still is today.

What Does the Platform Look Like?

CMC Markets CFD Trading

History Of CMC

The current CEO, Peter Cruddas, set up CMC as Currency Management Corporation in 1989 after leaving Western Union, where he learned how the foreign exchange markets worked, in particular the market-making side of the business. Originally offering forex trading, then financial spread betting and moving into CFD broking in 2000, CMC began to expand internationally in 2002. CMC Markets was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2016.

CMC Markets, which is now a member of the FTSE 250 index, has over 310,000 active clients globally, and in the 2023-24 financial year generated a net operating income of £332.8 million.

When I visited the CMC offices a few years ago, the brokerage world was switching from voice to online. CMC was one of the first forex brokers to invest heavily in technology and has always led the way in online trading platform innovation.

CMC Markets: Spread Betting & CFDs

CMC Markets only offers CFD trading, rolling spot forex and spread betting in the UK. These are generally short-term speculative products. You can invest in the long term and buy physical shares through CMC Invest in the UK (although in Australia CMC Markets does offer stockbroking).

If you don’t know what these are you shouldn’t be trading them. But if you do and you want to trade them, CMC Markets is in my view one of the best places to do so. In 2024, the platform came up with a nice tagline…

Calling all calculated risk takers…

This is the essence of trading, really. Yes, trading is risky, but it’s a calculated risk. And one way to reduce risk is to go with a well-established and well-capitalised provider. CMC Markets is a public company so you can see how well it’s doing as a business. Trading is hard enough without having to worry if your broker is going to go bust. In the UK, retail client money is held in segregated client bank accounts, in a regulated bank.

CMCX Share Price

The current CMC Markets (LON:CMCX) share price is 224.5p which is a change of 3 or 1.35% from the last closing price of 221.5 with 113,529 shares traded giving CMC Markets a market capitalisation of £628,185,573. The most recent daily high has been 229.5 and daily low 220. The CMC Markets share price 52 week high has been 349 and the 52 week low 183.4. Based on the most recent CMC Markets share price opening of 224.5, the current CMC Markets EPS (earnings per share) are 0.23 and the PE (price earnings ratio) is 9.94. Pricing data automatically updates every 15 minutes, last updated: 17:24 26-Sep-2025.

Although you’re out of luck if you want to trade CMC shares on CMC, I tried when I was demonstrating how to do a pairs trade against its main rival IG. I had to trade CMC on IG and IG on CMC.

Market Range

CMC Markets definitely has one of the best market ranges of all brokers. Although it doesn’t offer all shares – around 12,000 assets vs IG’s 17,000 or Interactive Brokers’ epic coverage – it has some really great markets that are exclusive to CMC. I’ve always used it for trading the most popular shares, and I would say it’s aimed at active traders more than its rivals. You only really miss out on smaller cap stocks that aren’t appropriate for margin trading anyway, as they are growth investments.

CMC Markets Sector Bets & Diversification

One of the things that I’ve always liked about CMC is its approach to diversification. Everyone knows that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to investing, and the same is true of trading. You’ve got a better chance of beating the market consistently if you spread your risk across different asset classes and don’t go crazy Rio trading.

I find forex trading incredibly difficult. I’ve never been able to make any money at it because I can’t judge forex price action – I find it too fast-paced. What I like to speculate on is the overvaluation or undervaluation of one currency against another.

CMC has a market called weighted currency indices, which basket together one currency against many others. So you can trade how you think USD is going to perform against the EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNH, JPY and SGD in one go. So instead of an outright punt, you are taking on a dollar position rather than a USD-GBP trade.

What Does the Forex Section Look Like?

CMC Forex Indices

Share Baskets

CMC Markets has always enabled sector bets, but it has fine-tuned these over the years because of the proliferation of ETFs into share baskets, like US Gold, Oil & Gas, Luxury Lifestyle and Collaborative Technology. This is great, because I really like trading stocks. I find this quite easy compared to forex as stocks are based on fundamentals I understand.

One trading strategy that is relatively simple is trend following, especially now with the Reddit generation getting so worked up. If you see a sector getting some good press you can jump on the bandwagon without having to sniff out the individual stocks. Likewise, if sentiment is turning negative, it may be time to go short.

CMC Share Baskets

Deal4Free

Did you know that CMC Markets was once called Deal4Free? You obviously can’t say that anything is free now, because the regulators frown on that sort of thing. Instead, you have to say something like “zero commission”, because you’re being charged something somewhere – you just don’t see it on your statement.

Trading with CMC Markets is obviously not free, but it is cheap. It has always been one of the best value trading platforms, primarily because it unashamedly acts as a market maker.

If you are spread betting, charges are built into the spread and are competitive. It’s always been part of the appeal that if you are trading the most popular and liquid assets, CMC is one of the cheapest places to do it. Commission charges on single stock CFDs are set at 2 cents per share in the US (minimum $10) and 0.10% for UK and European equities (minimum of £9/€9). So you get the choice. If you are a normal trader you can have your costs built into the spread, or if you are one of the bigger boys you can trade CFDs with better pricing and commission charged afterwards.

Alpha & Price Plus

There are two ways to get recognition at CMC. Firstly, you can buy your way in with a minimum deposit of £25,000 and join its premium membership, Alpha. It’s a nice name because, as I’m sure you know, an alpha in trading is trying to outperform the market. You get interest on cash balances and discounted spreads. There’s also a free subscription – it was to the FT but is now to Bloomberg.

If you can’t afford to buy your way in, you can still get reduced spreads by putting the volume through. The more you trade the lower your spreads will be…

CMC: Profitable Client Sentiment

CMC offers users access to client sentiment and positioning tools that show the aggregate positioning of its customers in various instruments. The data includes long-short percentages by clients and value as well as a breakdown of the current day’s order flow. Once again, this is broken down by both client percentage and value. What’s more, you can filter the positioning sentiment by client type, segmenting the data into top clients and other clients.

The top clients view shows the positioning, in a particular instrument, of those clients who have made money on their trading account in the last 3 months, and who have an open position in the instrument under observation.

The ability to filter the sentiment and positioning by client type gives CMC clients a potential advantage over peers who don’t get this additional insight.

Positioning and sentiment data can be used to trade, though how you use it will be determined by your outlook on the markets. Experienced traders take the view that as the majority of CFD and spread betting clients lose money it follows that positioning data is a reverse indicator, especially when the clients seem to be opposing an established trend.

In these days of social trading and large crowds, however, that may not always be the case. On balance it’s probably best to think of sentiment and positioning gauges as decision or trade support tools, rather than decision-makers in their own right.

CMC Markets: Education & Analysis

CMC has plenty of education and analysis available for its clients. It’s divided into separate sections: current news and analysis, a section on learning to trade that covers FX, CFDs and spread betting, and equities trading.

As well as technical analysis, CMC offers trading from home and trading strategies.

CMC Markets also offers what it calls market intelligence through its specialist website OPTO, which includes a magazine full of insightful articles, plus podcasts, and interviews with high-profile guests from the markets.

The trading guides are aimed at beginners and less experienced traders whereas OPTO is for more experienced traders who are looking for fresh ideas and inspiration. News and analysis from CMC’s in-house analysis team sits comfortably between them, and as we noted earlier, there is also an online moderated charting community within the trading platform.

All of this is available at no additional charge and much of it is available to the public as well as CMC clients. Many of the major providers have a general education program and support their traders with news and in-house analysis. But OPTO stands out from the crowd and, to my mind, this elevates the CMC offering above the competition.

CMC Markets offers an investment option with CMC Invest.

Institutional Prime Services (CMC Connect)

Recently rebranded to CMC Connect, the institutional side of the business is where CMC expects to grow over the next 5 to 10 years. The company has high profile joint ventures such as the stockbroking services it provides to the clients of ANZ Bank. Alongside these partnerships, it offers institutional liquidity, outsourced trading technology and connectivity, as well as pre and post-trade processing and trade reporting.

These services are aimed at institutional customers such as hedge funds, family offices and prop traders. HNWI and the most active professional clients might be able to use some of CMC Connect’s services but the division is really aimed at corporate customers and funds.

CMC competes with all of the large-scale margin trading brokerages in the CFD, FX and spread betting arenas. It’s also making inroads into the institutional and B2B spaces through liquidity provision, white labels, and JVs. That push on the institutional side and the firm’s focus on in-house trading technology, and the use of currency and share baskets, are the key differentiators from its competitors.

CMC Markets Review Ratings Explained

  • Pricing. It used to be called Deal4Free, and pricing is still good…
  • Market Access. CMC focuses on the main markets, but still offers many exotic pairs to trade
  • Platform & Apps. CMC Markets has some of the best trading tech around for active traders
  • Customer Service. London-based support staff (still thankfully, despite all the Brexit pomp)
  • Research & Analysis. Top class client sentiment tools

Pros

  • Excellent trading platform
  • Good liquidity
  • Unique sentiment tools

Cons

  • Trading only (investing is on CMC Invest)
  • Limited smaller cap stocks
  • Pricing
    (5)
  • Market Access
    (4)
  • Online Platform
    (5)
  • Customer Service
    (4)
  • Research & Analysis
    (5)
Overall
4.6

CMC Markets Awards

CMC recently won ‘Best Forex Broker’ in the Good Money Guide’s 2023 awards.

@good_money_guide Who is the top Forex broker? Check out the Good Money Guide Awards for the best trading platforms and brokers in the market. From shares to stocks, find the perfect broker to suit your trading needs. #GoodMoneyGuide #trading #stocks #broker ♬ original sound – Good Money Guide

Video Review Of CMC Markets

Watch as we trade live on the CMC Markets trading platform and highlight some of the features unique to them.

CMC Markets Facts & Figures

CMC Markets Total Markets
12,000
➡️Forex Pairs338
➡️Commodities124
➡️Indices82
➡️UK Stocks745
➡️US Stocks4968
➡️ETFs1084
CMC Markets Key Info
👉Number Active ClientsOver 308,600
💰Minimum Deposit0
❔Inactivity Fee£10 per month
📅Founded1989
ℹ️ Public Company✔️
🏢 Head OfficeLondon, UK
CMC Markets Account Types
➡️CFD Trading✔️
➡️Forex Trading✔️
➡️Spread Betting✔️
➡️DMA (Direct Market Access)
➡️Futures Trading
➡️Options Trading
➡️Investing Account
CMC Markets Average Costs
➡️FTSE 1001
➡️DAX 301.2
➡️DJIA2
➡️NASDAQ1
➡️S&P 5000.5
➡️EURUSD0.7
➡️GBPUSD0.9
➡️USDJPY0.7
➡️Gold0.3
➡️Crude Oil2.5
➡️UK Stocks0.1%
➡️US Stocks$0.02 per share

CMC Markets FAQs

Yes. CMC Markets is allows scalping as it’s low costs and liquidity make high frequency trading possible on their platform.

CMC Markets makes money by widening the bid/ask spreads offered to clients, commission and overnight funding and running a B-book.

In 2023, CMC Markets made £233 million from spread betting and CFDs and just under £40 million from stock broking. CMC also benefited from high-interest rates and earned nearly £14 million from interest on client balances.

Yes, CMC Markets is a market maker as well as a broker so they make money from hedging. This is one of the reasons they are able to offer such tight pricing for clients. CMC Markets also provides market making liquidty for smaller brokers.

Yes. CMC Markets offers discount pricing, unique indices, innovative platform, well-established, pioneering, safe (in relative terms), staff always seem to know what they are talking about too.

Yes. CMC offers guaranteed stop-loss orders for which it charges users a premium, however, if that GSLO is not triggered, then the premium you paid is refunded.

Overall yes. Funds are protected by the FSCS as CMC Markets is regulated by the FCA in the UK which ensures that firms treat their customers fairly and have enough money to operate. You can also track the financial health of CMC Markets by looking at their share price on the London Stock Exchange.

I would say that CMC Markets is good for beginner traders if you already have a firm understanding of how the financial markets work. But, if you are brand new to trading you may find the trading platform a bit complex and be more suitable to a broker that offers a mix of trading and investing like eToro.

You cannot set your own leverage on CMC Markets and it is always set to maximum as a retail trader. You can increase your margin and leverage limits if you upgrade your account to “professional trader status”.  If you want to set your own leverage as an active trader, Interactive Brokers offer this facility.

You cannot buy shares on CMC Markets, you can only go long (the equivalent of buying) or short (selling) through CFDs or financial spread bets.

If you want to buy physical shares your only option with CMC Markets is to open an account with CMC Invest, which is their sister investment app for longer-term investing.

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

70% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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