69% of retail investor accounts lose money
- Experts rate StoneX Trading highly for its user-friendly platform that balances functionality with ease of use, particularly praising its extensive market access and robust research tools. However, they note that it operates as an OTC CFD broker, which may not suit traders seeking direct market access.
- Across 125 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 3.8/5, customers frequently commend the platform's reliability, ease of navigation, and responsive customer service. Many highlight the effectiveness of the trading tools and analytics, while some express concerns about service reliability during critical trading moments and high overnight charges.
StoneX Trading CFD Account Expert rating
Our expert rating is the average of the areas listed here, each scored out of 5 by our team.Our experts have rated StoneX Trading CFD Account across five key areas of our review framework.
- Pricing4.0
- Market Access4.0
- Online Platform4.5
- Customer Service4.5
- Research & Analysis4.5
Pros
- CFD trading signals
- Post CFD trading analytics
- Wide range of CFD markets
Cons
- No DMA CFDs
See full expert review
Our verdict
StoneX Trading offers CFD trading on more than 5,000 markets, covering shares, indices, forex, commodities and other financial markets. You can trade through StoneX Trading’s own Web Trader and mobile app, as well as TradingView and MetaTrader 4. There is also extended-hours trading on leading US stocks and indices, so you can trade some markets outside the normal underlying market opening hours.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Is StoneX Trading good for CFD trading?
StoneX Trading is essentially the new home of City Index, which has always been one of my favourite CFD brokers, particularly for more active and experienced traders.
What I like about StoneX Trading is that it sits somewhere between the newer app-only CFD brokers and the more complicated professional trading platforms. The main Web Trader platform is very easy to use, but there is still plenty going on underneath, with decent charting, trading signals, Performance Analytics and market research.
You also get a good choice of ways to trade. There is the main StoneX Trading web platform and app, TradingView integration and MT4 for traders who want something more technical.
One of the things I have always liked about City Index, and which remains important under StoneX Trading, is that it feels like a proper trading broker rather than just an app. That's particularly relevant if you are trading larger positions and want access to decent research and trading tools rather than simply a big buy and sell button.
The main downside is that StoneX Trading is an OTC CFD broker rather than a DMA broker, so if you want to work orders directly into an exchange order book there are better options. But for the majority of retail CFD traders, StoneX Trading offers a very good combination of competitive pricing, decent market coverage, good platforms and useful analysis tools.
Overall, StoneX Trading is a good choice for active CFD traders who want more trading tools and market analysis than you tend to get from the cheaper app-based brokers.
Pricing
StoneX Trading’s CFD pricing is competitive, although what you pay depends on what you trade.
Forex spreads start from 0.2 pips with no commission, while index spreads start from 0.3 points and commodities from 0.05 points. Share CFDs are priced differently, with US shares charged from 1.8 cents per share and UK shares from 0.08%. StoneX Trading only charges a separate commission on share CFDs; other CFD markets are traded through the spread.
As with other CFD brokers, you also need to consider overnight financing if you keep leveraged positions open overnight. This can become a significant part of your trading costs if you hold CFD positions for longer periods rather than using them for short-term trading.
One feature I particularly like is extended-hours trading. You can trade some leading US shares and indices before and after the main market session. The spreads can naturally be wider when the underlying market is closed, but it is useful if, for example, Tesla or Nvidia reports after the closing bell and you want to trade the initial reaction rather than waiting until the following day.
Market Access
StoneX Trading gives you access to more than 5,000 CFD markets from a single account. These include global stock indices, individual shares, forex pairs, commodities and a range of other markets.
That is more than enough market coverage for most CFD traders and means you can use one account for trading everything from the FTSE and Wall Street to individual US shares, currencies and commodities.
StoneX Trading also offers extended-hours trading on leading US shares and indices, which is becoming increasingly important as more market-moving company announcements take place outside normal US market hours.
It is worth pointing out that StoneX Trading operates as an OTC CFD broker rather than offering DMA CFDs. So you are trading against StoneX Trading's CFD prices rather than placing your order directly onto an exchange order book. For most retail traders that isn't really an issue, but more sophisticated equity traders who specifically want DMA may prefer a broker that provides it.
Platform & Apps
StoneX Trading gives you a good choice of platforms depending on how you trade.
The main Web Trader platform runs in your browser and has customisable workspaces and Performance Analytics. There is also the StoneX Trading mobile app, which is useful if you want to monitor positions and trade when you are away from your desk.
You can also connect to TradingView and trade directly from TradingView charts, which is a particularly good option if you already use TradingView for technical analysis. More technical traders can use MetaTrader 4, although MT4 access is focused on forex, commodities and indices.
Personally, I think the main StoneX Trading platform will be the best option for most CFD traders. It strikes a good balance between having plenty of functionality without making the platform unnecessarily complicated.
One of the more useful features is Performance Analytics. It looks at how you actually trade rather than just what the market is doing. You can analyse your trading behaviour and identify where you perform well, where you make mistakes and whether you are actually sticking to your trading plan.
Customer Service
Customer service has traditionally been one of the areas that differentiated City Index from many of the newer CFD trading apps.
There is a big difference between having a problem with a trading account and being able to speak to somebody who understands trading, versus going backwards and forwards with an automated chatbot.
StoneX Trading provides online support and chat alongside its trading platforms, and the business retains the feel of an established trading broker rather than a fintech app.
That is particularly important for larger and more active traders. If you are trading meaningful amounts of money, customer service becomes much more important than saving a fraction of a point on the spread.
Research & Analysis
Research and analysis is one of StoneX Trading's stronger areas.
You get access to market coverage from StoneX's global analysts, as well as StoneX TV and Market Intelligence. That is particularly interesting following the move from City Index to StoneX Trading because the StoneX Group has a much broader institutional presence in the financial markets.
There is also Performance Analytics, which I think is one of the more useful tools because it focuses on your own trading rather than just throwing more market commentary at you. It analyses your trading patterns so you can see when, where and how you tend to trade well or badly.
That may sound a little gimmicky, but one of the biggest problems CFD traders have is not finding trading ideas; it is sticking to a strategy and avoiding the same mistakes. Having something that analyses your actual behaviour can therefore be considerably more useful than another technical indicator.
Combined with the charting and analysis available through TradingView and MT4, StoneX Trading offers a good research package for traders who actually want to spend some time analysing markets rather than simply following prices on an app.
Customer reviews for StoneX Trading (Formerly City Index)
Customer ratings come from reviews left on this site. Every review is read and approved before it is published.Based on 125 reviews
- Excellent41%
- Very good25%
- Basic18%
- Poor10%
- Bad7%
Read customer reviews
4/5
Pros:
Tools and features
Cons:
Education
Alex Arora @ 06/16/2021 08:39
Great stable platform, been a trader for 20+ years and I have a few accounts with various providers, essentially they have similar features but where City Index stands out, is that they are constantly innovating - recently I have really liked and utilised the smart signals add on which now sets them apart.
mark mckaig @ 11/06/2020 09:52
I've been with City Index for years, but since they got bought by Gain Capital, things have gone down-hill. If you try to withdraw money to your bank account - good luck ! I'm currently having to take court action to get them to pay me my own money into my bank account, and purely by luck, I happened to check trust pilot and found numerous reviews from customers having the same issues. The best way to describe them is that rarely will you get filled at quoted pricing, and in terms of customer service - arrogance and contempt for customers about covers it. If you try to withdraw money, they will be as unhelpful and obstructive as they possibly can, and looking at trust pilot there are a good few people who have lost their money this way.
Ian French Huddersfield @ 05/08/2020 11:04
As a novice, I signed up to this with the intention of buying shares in a particular company, and specifically mentioned this, as well as my zero level of experience when calling their customer support helpline and being put through to a broker agent. Even after joking with the broker about my clueless nature of the share buying market, and needing all the help I could get, I was quickly led to CFD trading, and I as a novice bought into this thinking I was buying shares. No explanation was given as to the difference between CFD and shares, and only a month later after further research from other sources, did it become apparant that I had in fact signed up to a betting site, placing bets on the margin movement on share prices with a line of credit.
I'm rather annoyed by this. I feel like my inexperience was taken advantage of just so a broker could get some quick commission from me, as people who trade CFD will be buying trades and stopping trades more frequently due to the market's short term nature, and as a result they get hit with more charges.
The only way out of this is to ensure my CFD get's back into the black. Close out my open trades and reinvest that money on a different share buying platform, specifically for the purchase of shares, and not CFD trading. I'm just fortunate I entered City Index with the bare minimum amount of money possible under the philosophy of 'spend only what you can afford to lose', so any losses I accrue on a negative close out, won't sting too much.
I do actually see how you can make money using CFD, but City Index really should push this on more experienced traders, and as a matter of ethics should not push this on novices.
My advice; If you want to invest and you are a rookie, and you decide to use this company, steer clear of CFD and make that statement clear to the broker that you don't want CFD when you call the ''helpline''.
To quote that common question ''Have you been missold PPI?''.
Well thanks to City Index, I was missold CFD.
I give this rating 2 stars, only because the graphical data in front is easy to understand and it helps when monitoring share price movements, and the movement of money is quick. But really, that is the only good things about them.
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Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
