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Richard Berry
- Updated
NASDAQ trading platforms let you speculate on the Nasdaq 100 Index (ticker: NDX) an equity index comprised of the 100 largest companies listed on the Nasdaq market. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best NASDAQ brokers that are authorised and regulated by the FCA. We have personally tested each platform, interviewed the company CEOs, and compared costs, fees, market access, plus the different types of accounts for trading the NASDAQ.
Compare NASDAQ Brokers
| NASDAQ Broker | NASDAQ Trading Costs | Minimum Deposit | GMG Rating | More Info | Risk Warning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | £100 | See Platform | 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 1 | £1 | See Platform | 75.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 2 | £1 | See Platform | 64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 1.9 | £100 | See Platform | 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | |
 | 1 | £250 | See Platform | 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets with this provider. | |
 | 1 | £1 | See Platform | 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 1 | £1 | See Platform | 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 1 | £1 | See Platform | 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 0.005% | $2,000 | See Platform | 60% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 2.4 | $50 | See Platform | 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money | |
 | 1 | £100 | See Platform | 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | |
 | 0.8 | £10 | See Platform | 66.95% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
Our picks of the best brokers for trading the NASDAQ
❓Methodology: We have chosen what we think are the best NASDAQ trading platforms based on:
- over 17,000 votes in our annual awards
- our own experiences testing the TECH100 trading platforms with real money
- an in-depth comparison of the features that make them stand out compared to alternatives.
- interviews with the NASDAQ brokers’ CEOs and senior management
City Index: NASDAQ trading signals and post-trade analysis
- Costs & spreads: 1
- Minimum deposit: £100
- Overnight financing: 2.5% +/- SOFR
- Account types: CFDs & spread betting
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
City Index Review
Name: City Index
Description: City Index is one of the oldest spread betting and CFD brokers based in the UK. They were founded in 1983 and offer trading in over 13,500 financial markets, to around 126,000 active clients. City Index is currently owned by StoneX, a US brokerage listed on the NASDAQ valued at $1.75bn.
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Why we like them:
City Index offers some of the best trading tools and analysis to help traders perform better. Their unique post-trade analytics and voice brokerage service make it an excellent choice for large and frequent traders.
Pros
- Excellent trading tools
- Post-trade analytics
- Publically listed (part of StoneX)
Cons
- Trading only, no investment account
- Limited options markets
- No direct market access
-
Pricing
(4)
-
Market Access
(4.5)
-
Online Platform
(4)
-
Customer Service
(4.5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4.5)
Overall
4.3Pepperstone: Automated NASDAQ trading on MT4
- Costs & spreads: 1
- Minimum deposit: £1
- Overnight financing: 2.9% +/- SOFR
- Account types: CFDs & spread betting
75.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Pepperstone Review
Name: Pepperstone
Description: Pepperstone were founded in 2010 in Australia and have since then grown to be a global brokerage with international offices and around 400,000 active clients. They offer spread betting and CFDs on 1,200 major market instruments, which means they focus on the most heavily traded assets, mainly forex and indices trading. Of those 900 are shares on the major stocks on international exchanges.
75.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Why we like them
Pepperstone is a good choice for traders that want to automate their trading strategies through MT4. As far as MT4 brokers they are one of the biggest and best and offers so good EA packages.
Pros
- Tight pricing
- Wide range of MT4 markets
- Pre-built MT4 indicator packages
Cons
- Limited market access
- Only third-party platforms
-
Pricing
(5)
-
Market Access
(3.5)
-
Online Platform
(4)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4.1Spreadex: NASDAQ trading with personal service
- Costs & spreads: 2
- Minimum deposit: £1
- Overnight financing: 3% +/- SOFR
- Account types: CFDs & spread betting
72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Spreadex Review
Name: Spreadex
Description: Spreadex is a financial spread betting broker that has been in operation since 1999. It was founded by ex-city trader Jonathan Hufford and unlike many of its peers, it is not based in London, but instead is headquartered in St Albans Hertfordshire. Spreadex offers both financial spread betting and CFD trading from the same account. The company has some 60,000 account holders and offers access to more than 10,000 financial instruments, including UK small-cap shares, where it is something of a specialist.
64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Is Spreadex a good broker?
Spreadex is one of the most established spread betting brokers. They focus on providing excellent customer service through experienced dealers and a trading platform built from scratch in-house. A good choice for those that like to spread bet.
Pros
- Spread betting & CFDs
- Smaller cap stock trading
- Great customer service
Cons
- Not publically listed
-
Pricing
(4.5)
-
Market Access
(4.5)
-
Online Platform
(4)
-
Customer Service
(5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4.4Plus500: Global CFD Platform for NASDAQ Trading
👍Featured👍
- Markets available: 2,000
- Minimum deposit: £100
- Account types: CFDs
80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500 Review
Name: Plus500
Description: Plus500 is an online trading company that operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. Founded in 2008, it has more than 26 million customers today.
Plus500 is headquartered in Israel, however, it’s listed in the UK on the London Stock Exchange (it’s a member of the FTSE 250 index). Here in Britain, its platform is operated by Plus500UK Ltd, which has offices in London.
In the UK, you can only trade CFDs with Plus500. CFDs are financial instruments that allow you to profit from the price movements of a security without owning the underlying security itself.
80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Is Plus500 a good broker?
Overall, Plus500 is a good online trading platform for traders who do not want to do anything more complicated than buy and sell CFDs. The broker does provide sentiment indicators and are quite transparent with costs and fees. In summary:
- Plus500 is a trading platform that offers CFDs.
- You can trade a range of assets on Plus500 including stocks, indices, and currencies.
- There are no commissions when placing a CFD trade on the Plus500 platform but there are some other fees to be aware of.
- The platform offers a range of features including a demo account, alerts, market news, and an economic calendar.
- There are platforms that offer more markets than Plus500.
Pros
- With Plus500, you can trade CFDs on a range of assets including shares, currencies, indices, and ETFs.
- There are no commissions when placing a CFD trade on Plus500’s platform.
- Plus500 offers a range of features to help traders navigate the markets and capitalise on opportunities including charting tools, alerts, an economic calendar, and market news.
Cons
- Other platforms offer more markets than Plus500.
- You can only trade CFDs on the platform (you can’t invest in stocks directly).
- You can’t contact the company by telephone if you require support.
-
Pricing
(4.5)
-
Market Access
(4.5)
-
Online Platform
(4)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4.2IG: Best broker for NASDAQ spread betting
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets with this provider.
IG Review
Name: IG
Description: Founded in 1974 as Investors Gold Index, then IG Index, now just “IG” is one of the world’s largest margin trading brokers. IG offer CFDs, FX and Spread Betting (in the UK) alongside share trading and prime brokerage to over 313,000 active clients and offers 17,000 tradable markets. IG also recently introduced physical share dealing and smart portfolios for longer-term investors.
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets with this provider.
Is IG a good trading platform?
Yes, IG provides an excellent all-round trading and investing brokerage service. IG pioneered online trading and financial spread betting for private clients and remains not only one of the largest online trading platforms, but also one of the best. IG stands out through deep liquidity, high market range and excellent added value such as trading tools and analysis.
Pros
- Vast range of markets
- Excellent liquidity & DMA equities
- Listed on the London Stock Exchange
Cons
- Customer service can be slow
- No DMA futures trading
- Still charges inactivity fee
-
Pricing
(4.5)
-
Market Access
(5)
-
Online Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.7Interactive Brokers: Discount NASDAQ trading & investing
- Costs & spreads: 0.005%
- Minimum deposit: $2,000
- Overnight financing: 1.5% +/- SOFR
- Account types: CFDs, DMA, futures & options
60% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Interactive Brokers Review
Name: Interactive Brokers
Description: Interactive Brokers is a major US online automated electronic broker company. The financial broker is listed on the Nasdaq Exchange with ticker IBKR. The firm operates in 150 electronic exchanges in 34 countries, and offers trading in 28 currencies. Interactive Brokers has more than 3.19 million institutional and retail customers.
Why we like them
Interactive Brokers is an exceptional trading platform that offers institutional-grade trading capabilities to private clients around the world. IBKR has some of the lowest trading and investing fees and the widest market range in the industry.
Pros
- Very low dealing fees
- Wide market range
- Direct market access
- Complex order types
Cons
- Customer services can be slow
- No financial spread betting
-
Pricing
(5)
-
Market Access
(5)
-
Apps & Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.8CMC Markets: Best broker for NASDAQ CFD trading
- Costs & spreads: 1
- Minimum deposit: £1
- Overnight financing: 2.9% +/- SOFR
- Account types: CFDs & spread betting
74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
CMC Markets Review
Name: CMC Markets
Description: CMC Markets is one of the original spread betting and CFD brokers based in the UK. They have been providing forex trading services since 1989 and are 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.
68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Is CMC Markets legit?
Yes, CMC Markets has always offered, and still does 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.
Pros
- Excellent trading platform
- Good liquidity
- Unique sentiment tools
Cons
- Trading only, no investing account
- Limited smaller cap stocks
-
Pricing
(5)
-
Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.6XTB: Good NASDAQ trading educational material
- Costs & spreads: 1
- Minimum deposit: £1
- Equity overnight financing: -0.02341% / -0.00159% DAILY
- Account types: CFDs
81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
XTB Review
Name: XTB
Description: XTB is a CFD and forex broker headquartered in Poland and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE:XTB) valued at over $1bn. XTB was founded in 2003 and offers forex, indices, commodities, ETF and stock CFD trading. XTB has historically used celebrity endorsements to promote it’s brand including Jose Mourinho, Conor McGregor, Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Jiří Procházka.
75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Summary
XTB, are a decent all-round trading platform and a good choice for most small-to-medium sized CFD traders. They are publically listed in Poland and offer, competitive spreads on a fairly wide range of markets.
The key things to focus on when considering trading with XTB are:
- They have their own proprietary trading platform. When I interviewed Omar Arnaout, the XTB CEO Omar Arnout, he said “I’m really proud of our platform and honestly believe it’s one of the best in the market.” Rightly so.
- They really push client education, XTB won “Best Trading Platform Education” in our 2023 awards (although they didn’t show up to collect the trophy, they never do). You can read their Q&A on forex education here.
- Customer service is paramount. Omar said that “first and foremost is the customer service”. I really agree with this as I think it’s important to have a few different trading accounts (diversify, diversify, diversify) and you’ll trade more with the broker that treats you best.
Pros
- Publically listed
- Mulitple platform choices
- Innovative order types
Cons
- Not UK based
- No DMA
-
Pricing
(4)
-
Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(4)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4Saxo Markets: Best broker for NASDAQ futures & ETF trading
- Costs & spreads: 1
- Minimum deposit: £500
- Overnight financing: 2.5% +/- SAXO RATE
- Account types: CFDs, futures & options
70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Saxo Review
Name: Saxo
Description: Saxo is one of the largest CFD brokers worldwide and provides direct market access to equities, bonds, forex, futures and options as well as being a major liquidity and infrastructure provider to wealth managers, banks and smaller brokers.
65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Is Saxo Markets a good broker?
Yes, Saxo is a good choice for more sophisticated traders. The platform, analysis, and direct market access may be too complicated for beginners. But, for experienced traders its coverage, commissions and research are unrivalled.
Pros
- Direct market access
- Low commissions
- Robust trading platform
Cons
- Seen as a trading platform for professionals
-
Pricing
(4.5)
-
Market Access
(4.5)
-
Online Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(4.5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4.5)
Overall
4.6eToro: Copy other people’s NASDAQ trading
- Costs & spreads: 2.4
- Minimum deposit: $50
- Overnight financing: 6.4% +/- SOFR
- Account types: CFDs
51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
eToro Review
Name: eToro
Description: eToro is a social trading platform that lets their users share new and existing CFD positions and their investment portfolios. eToro was founded in 2007 in Tel Aviv, Isreal and has grown to offer investing and trading on 3,000 global assets (including real cryptocurrencies) to 30 millions users worldwide.
51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Is eToro a good broker?
Yes, eToro does have its flaws for experienced investors, but if you are just getting started eToro is a great introduction to financial markets. eToro is actually a very innovative trading platform offering copy trading, social networking and unleveraged CFDs.
Pros
- Really simple to use
- Social and copy-trading
- Set your own leverage
- Pre-built sector portfolios
Cons
- Can only trade and invest in USD
- No SIPPs or ISA
- No direct market access
-
Pricing
(4)
-
Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(4.5)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(4.5)
Overall
4.2How can you trade the Nasdaq 100 Index?
There are multiple financial products derived from the underlying Nasdaq 100 Index that you can trade with, including:
Read the GMG Guide on Index Trading.
The biggest ETF based on the Nasdaq 100 Index is the QQQ ETF (ticker: QQQ). For many years, this ETF is one of the most traded instruments in the US market. Investors like to gain exposure to the Nasdaq through this ETF.
Why is the NASDAQ so popular for trading?
Nasdaq Indices (100 and Composite) are the most-followed equity indices in the world. NDX is attractive to investors and traders alike because:
- Nasdaq 100 is a growth index – you can participate in the best success stories
- Nasdaq 100 offers good liquidity – some of the NDX components were the most valuable in the world at one time or another (Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon)
- Nasdaq 100 offers better relative performance than many other large-cap indices
Moreover, the Index is volatile enough to attract traders. Therefore, daily liquidity of the index is good.
NASDAQ versus the NYSE
To promote itself and beat its competitor, the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq charged lower listing fees. Smaller players who would like to list at an earlier stage became Nasdaq’s niche. Gradually, Nasdaq attracted plenty of growth companies via Initial Public Offerings (IPO). Apple Inc (AAPL) listed there in 1980; Microsoft (MSFT) in 1986. In total, Nasdaq currently has about 3,400 listing in its US markets.
What moves the Nasdaq 100 index price?
Stock markets are driven by a wide variety of factors, including some of the following:
- Macro factors (e.g. GDP, unemployment, business indicators etc)
- Monetary factors (e.g., Quantitative Easing, rates movements, yield curve etc)
- Technical factors (e.g., new highs)
For the Nasdaq 100, another factor to watch out for is speculative bubble.
During the nineties, for example, Nasdaq stocks soared amidst a wave of speculative trading interest. Companies worth only millions only a short while ago attained multi-billion valuation – only to see these valuation figures collapsed to zero when the bubble burst. Easy come, easy go.
Next, if you are trading NDX short term, you will need to pay attention to news flow and data announcements because they can have massive impact on the index over the short term.
Another area to watch out for are Federal Reserve meetings and the release of FOMC minutes. Any change in interest rates beyond market expectations can cause violent swings in the SPX. For example, if investors were expecting a 0.25% hike but the central bank raised it by 0.5% – this may cause prices swing massively after the announcement.
Studying the reaction of the market to these factors are important.
NASDAQ technical trading indicators
To trade the Nasdaq profitably requires a good trading strategy, of which technical indicators may come in handy. Technical indicators include:
- Trend indicators like moving average
- Price action
- Oscillators
- Support & resistance levels (see GMG Guide on Support/Resistance)
- Patterns like breakout and reversals
For example, you may use the moving averages to judge whether the index is still trending or due for a reaction.
Another favourite indicator is a break of resistance or support levels. Look at the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) below. It was clear that the breakout above the 195 key resistance last month resulted in a persistent rally into 204 (see below). This resistance, now broken, may even convert into resistance.
Bear in mind, however, the different traders will gravitate towards different trading styles. Therefore you must find the technical indicators that best support your trading objectives.
NASDAQ ETFs
Exchange-Traded Fund offers another way to trade tech stocks (read more about ETF here). Personally, I think this is a better way because it offers diversification instantly. In fact, many investors prefer trading ETFs to stocks because of their simplicity and liquidity. You may find is surprisingly that the most actively traded counter on Nasdaq is not a stock but PowerShares QQQ (QQQ) which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index.
Alternatives to trading the NASDAQ
You can read about the major indices in our guide to the best indices for index trading.
⚠️ FCA Regulation
All online NASDAQ trading platforms that operate in the UK must be regulated by the FCA. The FCA is the Financial Conduct Authority and is responsible for ensuring that UK NASDAQ trading platforms are properly capitalised, treat customers fairly and have sufficient compliance systems in place. We only feature NASDAQ brokers that are regulated by the FCA, where your funds are protected by the FSCS.
NASDAQ trading FAQ:
Nasdaq stands for National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotations.
Nasdaq 100 is capitalisation weighted; this means that companies with higher market capitalization carry a higher weightage in the index.
Apart from US firms, some foreign tech stocks also choose Nasdaq as their destination. Chinese tech firms like JD.com (JD), Baidu (BIDU), Netease (NTES) and PingDuoduo (PDD) are all listed there. You can gain exposure to the fast-growing China tech market via some of these stocks.
Apart from tech stocks, biotech firms are also worth looking at on the Nasdaq platform. Amgen (AMGN), Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Celgene (CELG) are just some of the biotech heavyweights listed on Nasdaq.
1971, Nasdaq has a longstanding history of hosting growth companies. It gained its popularity because Nasdaq was the first exchange to trade stocks electronically. At that time, it was a quantum leap in share trading.
Richard Berry
This article contains affiliate links which may earn us some form of income if you go on to open an account. However, if you would rather visit the NASDAQ brokers platforms via a non-affiliate link, you can view their US TECH 100 trading pages directly here: