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Richard Berry
- Updated
S&P trading platforms let you speculate on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock market index (ticker: SPX), one of the oldest equity benchmarks. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best brokers for trading the S&P 500 (SPX) that are authorised and regulated by the FCA. We have personally tested each platform, interviewed the company CEOs, and compared costs, fees, market access, and the different types of accounts for trading the S&P.
Compare S&P 500 (SPX) Brokers
| S&P 500 Broker | S&P 500 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 | |
 | 0.4 | £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 | |
 | 0.7 | £100 | See Platform | 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | |
 | 1 | £250 | See Platform | 70% 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 | |
 | 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 | |
 | 0.005% | $2,000 | See Platform | 62.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 1 | £1 | See Platform | 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 1 | £100 | See Platform | 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | |
 | 1 | £1 | See Platform | 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider | |
 | 0.4 | £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 S&P 500
❓Methodology: We have chosen what we think are the best S&P trading platforms based on:
- over 17,000 votes in our annual awards
- our own experiences testing the SPX trading platforms with real money
- an in-depth comparison of the features that make them stand out compared to alternatives.
- interviews with the SP500 trading platform CEOs and senior management
City Index: S&P 500 trading signals and post-trade analysis
- Costs & spreads: 0.4
- 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 US500 trading on MT4
- Costs & spreads: 0.4
- 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: SPX trading with personal service
- Costs & spreads: 0.6
- 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.
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
4.4Interactive Brokers: Discount S&P 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 33 countries, and offers trading in 23 currencies. Interactive Brokers has more than 1.75 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
-
Pricing
(5)
-
Market Access
(5)
-
Apps & Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(3)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.6CMC Markets: Best broker for SPX CFD trading
- Costs & spreads: 0.5
- 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.
69% 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
4.6IG: Best broker for US 500 (SPX) spread betting
70% 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.
70% 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
4.7XTB: Good SPX trading educational material
- Costs & spreads: 0.5
- 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.
76% 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.
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 S&P 500 futures & ETF trading
- Costs & spreads: 0.5
- 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 S&P trading
- Costs & spreads: 0.75
- 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)
Overall
4.1How do you trade the S&P 500 index?
You cannot buy the actual index, you have to trade a derivatives product based on it’s price There are multiple financial products derived from the underlying S&P 500 Index that you can trade with, including:
- Futures
- Options
- Exchange-Traded Funds (link)
- Investment Funds
- Spread trading
- CFDs
Why is the S&P so popular for trading?
It is one of the most followed equity index in the world. SPX is attractive to investors and traders alike because:
- S&P 500 is a highly liquid index – you can buy/sell underlying components easily
- SPX components are a good spread of various sectors. It is not dominated by any one sector (see below).
- SPX is a bellwether of the US economy
Therefore, many trader likes to trade this index, especially during trading hours where liquidity is better.
Source: Standard & Poor’s
What moves the S&P 500 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)
If you are trading SPX 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.
S&P 500 technical trading indicators
Trading the S&P profitably requires a good strategy, of which technical indicators could come in handy. Technical indicators include:
- Price action
- Oscillators
- Support & resistance levels
- Trend indicators like moving average
- 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 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) below. It was clear that the breakout above the 300 key resistance last month resulted in a persistent rally into 310 (see below).
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.
Alternative S&P indices for traders
You can read about the major indices in our guide to the best indices for index trading.
S&P 500 Trading FAQ:
The Index takes the largest 505 stocks in the US exchanges and calculates the index prices based on stock price movements minute by minute.
The biggest ETF based on the S&P 500 Index is the S&P500 ETF (ticker: SPY).
Formed in 1957, the index is now the most popular stock market barometers in the world.
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 S&P 500 brokers via a non-affiliate link, you can view their SPX/US500 trading platform pages directly here:
