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Use our comparison tables to compare the best United Arab Emirates CFD brokers. Choose or switch to a CFD broker that offers the most markets, best pricing and client security.

Best CFD Brokers in the UAE & Dubai

In recent years many well-known CFD brokers have established a presence in the UAE. You can use our trading platform comparison tables to compare pricing on the most popular traded instruments in Dubai and Abu Dhabi like Gold and Oil. You can also rank, brokers by what account types they offer and how many markets they offer access to. These include:

  1. Forex.com – trader tools & signals
  2. IG – liquidity & market range
  3. CMC Markets – pricing & sentiment
  4. Pepperstone – MT4 & automated trading
  5. Saxo Markets – DMA & pro features

UAE CFD Broker Reviews

We have reviewed the some of the best CFD brokers that are regulated to offer CFD trading services in Dubai and the UAE. Our reviews take into account pricing, market access, added value and account types as well as our personal opinion after testing the accounts with real money.

Forex.com UAE CFDs

Forex.com is a global provider of CFDs and other trading instruments. CFD traders in Dubai can access a wide range of CFDs on various asset classes, including stocks, indices, commodities and forex. Forex.com provides competitive pricing, tight spreads, and a user-friendly trading platform for executing CFD trades. But what makes Forex.com stand out are the SMARTSignals and performance analytics that can help CFD trading become more profitable. Overall, an excellent CFD trading platform with lots of markets 25 commodities, with spreads as low as 0.8 for gold trading and 0.3 for crude oil.

Forex.com UAE Address: (StoneX): Office 48D Almas Tower Jumeirah Lakes Towers PO Box 125942 Dubai, UAE

Forex.com Review
Forex.com

Name: Forex.com

Description: Forex.com is one of the largest forex brokers operating globally and owned by NASDAQ listed institutional broker StoneX. Forex.com offers traders access to 5,500+ assets including 80+ currency pairs, thousands of stocks, popular commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies (pro accounts only in the UK). Pricing is competitive especially for those on their RAW spread account or active trader program.
72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Why we like Forex.com:

If you are a forex trader, then Forex.com’s trading signals, platform and trading performance data make it one of the best platforms for currency trading.

Pros

  • Trading Signals
  • Post Trade Analytics
  • Forex Specialists

Cons

  • Limited Market Range
  • No DMA
  • Pricing
    (4)
  • Market Access
    (3.5)
  • Online Platform
    (4.5)
  • Customer Service
    (4)
  • Research & Analysis
    (5)
Overall
4.2
Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)

IG UAE CFDs

IG, a global provider of CFD trading services, opened an office in Dubai in 2008. This expansion allowed IG to establish a physical presence in the region and cater to the needs of traders and investors in Dubai and the wider Middle East. With the Dubai office, IG can provide local support to CFD traders, personalized service, and tailored contracts-for-difference trading solutions to clients in the region. This strategic move demonstrated IG’s commitment to serving the growing demand for online trading services in Dubai and further solidified its position as a leading broker in the industry.

IG UAE address: IG Limited – Level 27, Currency House – Tower 2, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, 506968, United Arab Emirates

IG Review
IG

Name: IG

Description: Founded in 1974 IG are one of the world’s largest margin trading brokers and they offer CFDs, FX and Spread Betting (in the UK) alongside share trading and prime brokerage to over 350,000 active clients and offers 19,000 tradable markets. IG also recently introduce physical share dealing and smart portfolios for longer-term investors.

Why we like it

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

  • Wide market range
  • Excellent liquidity & DMA equities
  • Listed on the London Stock Exchange

Cons

  • Customer service can be slow
  • No DMA futures trading
  • Pricing
    (4.5)
  • Market Access
    (5)
  • Online Platform
    (5)
  • Customer Service
    (4)
  • Research & Analysis
    (5)
Overall
4.7
Comments Rating 3.9 (523 reviews)

CMC Markets UAE CFDs

CMC Markets started offering CFDs (Contracts for Difference) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2019. This allowed traders in the UAE to access a wide range of CFD products, including indices, commodities, forex, and more, through CMC Markets’ online trading platform. CMC Markets Connects, established its physical presence in the UAE in 2019 and rebranded in January 2021. With the expanded office, CMC Markets aims to continue building its reputation in the Middle East and support its existing clients in the region. Richard Elston, the Group Head of Institutional at CMC Markets Connect, expressed confidence in the new office, highlighting the UAE’s growth as a global financial hub.

CMC Markets UAE Address: CMC Markets Middle East Limited. Unit 2903, Level 29, ICD Brookfield Place, DIFC, PO Box 507183, Dubai, UAE

CMC Markets Review
CMC Markets

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.

Summary

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 that want to trade on tight spreads, with a platform built on exceptional tech.

77% 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.’

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
4.6
Comments Rating 3.64 (107 reviews)

Pepperstone UAE CFDs

Pepperstone announced in June 2020 that it had obtained a Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) license to expand its CFD brokers services in the Middle East and Dubai.Led by Tarik Chebib, who has prior experience setting up similar CFD trading services operations in the region. Pepperstone focus on MT4 and automated trading strategies and cater to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in the Gulf states and the wider Middle East, who want to trade CFD on popular local markets like Oil and Gold as well as the most popular international indic

Pepperstone UAE Address: Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited – Office 1502, Al Fattan Currency House, Tower 2 – Dubai – United Arab Emirates

Pepperstone Review
Pepperstone

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 110,000 active clients. They offer Spread betting and CFDs on the major market instruments, which means they focus on the most heavily traded assets, mainly forex and indices trading, although they are building out their share trading offering and have the major stocks on international exchanges.

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
4.1
Comments Rating 4.55 (61 reviews)

Saxo Markets UAE CFDs

Saxo Bank offers CFD trading in Dubai where traders can access over 8,800 instruments, including single stocks, indices, forex, commodities, options, and bonds. Saxo’s CFD trading platform provides ultra-competitive pricing with tight spreads and low commissions. SaxoTraderGO, offers charting with 50+ technical indicators, integrated Trade Signals, and innovative risk-management features. Key to Saxo’s UAE offering is that Saxo Bank has a strong reputation with over 30 years of experience, serving 1,000,000 satisfied customers.

Saxo UAE address: Saxo Bank (Dubai) Ltd. Boulevard Plaza – Tower 1 30th floor, office 3002 Dubai Downtown, Burj Khalifa area Dubai, UAE

Saxo Markets Review
Saxo Markets

Name: Saxo Markets

Description: Saxo Markets 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.

Why we like them

Saxo Markets 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 unrivaled.

Pros

  • Direct market access
  • Low commissions
  • Robust trading platform

Cons

  • High initial deposit
  • Pricing
    (4.5)
  • Market Access
    (4.5)
  • Online Platform
    (5)
  • Customer Service
    (4.5)
  • Research & Analysis
    (4.5)
Overall
4.6
Comments Rating 3.6 (52 reviews)

Table of Contents

Compare UAE CFD Brokers

You can use our comparison tables to see which CFD brokers in the UAE and Dubai offer the most education, analysis for beginners or advanced features for sophisticated traders. You can also compare account types, market access, account types and which offer the lowest CFD trading costs.

Education & Analysis

Beginner Features:Forex.com ReviewInteractive BrokersCMC MarketsPepperstoneSpreadex Trading ReviewSaxo Markets ReviewIGXTBetoro
Trading Signals✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Webinars✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Seminars✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Leverage Control✔️
Low-Risk Products✔️✔️✔️✔️
Investment Account✔️✔️✔️✔️

Advanced Features

Advanced Features:Forex.com ReviewInteractive BrokersCMC MarketsPepperstoneSpreadex Trading ReviewSaxo Markets ReviewIGXTB
Voice Brokerage✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Corporate Accounts✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Level-2✔️✔️✔️
Algo Trading✔️✔️✔️✔️
Prime Brokerage✔️✔️✔️✔️

Account Types

Account Types:Forex.com ReviewInteractive BrokersCMC MarketsPepperstoneSpreadex Trading ReviewSaxo Markets ReviewIGXTB
CFD Trading✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Spread Betting✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
DMA✔️✔️✔️
Pro Accounts✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Investments✔️✔️✔️
Futures & Options✔️✔️

Market Access

Market Access:Forex.com Reviewig reviewpepperstone reviewsaxo capital makets review
Interactive BrokersSpreadex TradingCapital.com
Total Markets120001700011000120090005233100008,00037002,100
Forex Pairs845133862182100542013857
Commodities253812432192020102822
Indices21348228291317102325
UK Stocks3500392574519250005001575na450230
US Stocks100063524968880200035002110na15751080
ETFsn/a200010841076751100160na0138

Spreads & Commissions

Trading CostsForex.com Reviewig reviewpepperstone reviewsaxo capital makets review
Interactive BrokersSpreadex TradingCapital.com
FTSE 100111110.01%1111.7
DAX 301.21.210.910.01%1.21.21.81
DJIA3.52.422.430.01%42.453
NASDAQ111110.01%211.91
S&P 5000.40.40.50.40.50.01%0.60.40.70.5
EURUSD0.50.60.70.090.60.00%0.60.60.80.9
GBPUSD0.90.90.90.280.70.00%0.90.91.31.4
USDJPY0.60.70.70.140.60.00%0.70.70.81.4
Gold0.80.30.30.050.60.00%0.40.30.280.35
Crude Oil0.30.28320.50.00%30.280.43
UK Stocks0.0080.0010.0010.0010.00050.02%0.0020.0010.30%0.0008

Added Value

Added Value:Forex.com ReviewInteractive BrokersCMC MarketsPepperstoneSpreadex Trading ReviewSaxo Markets ReviewIGXTBetoro
Trading Ideas✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Client Sentiment✔️✔️
Post Trade Analytics✔️✔️✔️
News & Analysis✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Web Based Platform✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️

UAE CFD Broker FAQs:

Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions by people searching for the best CFD brokers in Dubai and UAE.

Yes, Dubai & The UAE has been trying to establish itself as a financial trading centre for much of the last decade, it is now generating some traction, as the collective of small middle eastern states evolves into more than just a holiday destination or long haul stopover.

The UAE or the United Arab Emirates is composed of seven emirates, the two largest and most well-known being Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

There are approximately 1.40 million emiratees and some 7.80 million ex-pats, spread across the seven micro-states, which occupy an area of 32,300 square miles.

The principal regulator is the DFSA, the Dubai Financial Services Authority which regulates financial businesses, based in Dubai’s special economic zone.

Which is centred around the Dubai International Finacial Centre or DIFC. This special economic zone consists of 272 acres of commercial real estate, which houses hundreds of financial institutions, that operate under a tax and business-friendly regime.

More than 25,000 finance professionals work within the DIFC for over 2500 companies, details about those companies can be checked on the DIFC public register which can be found on their website.

The DFSA oversees the special economic zone and the businesses within it, including asset managers, insurers, banks and credit service providers, brokers, fund managers and custodians.

The DFSA enforces anti-money laundering regulations and has the power to investigate the activities of companies on the DIFC register.

No. DFSA regulated brokers can no longer offer volume-based rebates to their retail customers.

Yes. The regulator has also introduced negative balance protection for the retail clients, of the CFD brokers it regulates, limiting a client’s maximum loss to the balance of funds on their account
And at the same time, the DFSA has imposed an automatic close out rule whereby open positions are closed if a client’s equity falls below 50% of their margin requirement.

In December 2021 the DFSA introduced new rules for retail clients who trade CFDs through brokers under its oversight. In common with other regulators, the DFSA has mandated the maximum, margin levels that can be applied to retail CFD trading accounts. As a result, margin rates have more than doubled for retail clients trading vai Dubai based brokers. However, these new margin restrictions are still more generous than those allowed by either the UK’s FCA or the European Union’s ESMA. Under the DFSA rules, clients can access margins of 50:1 on Indices and FX majors, and some commodities such as gold and oil, whilst other commodities are margined at 20 to 1. CFDs on individual shares are leveraged at 10 to 1, whilst cryptocurrencies can be traded on margins of 20% or a ratio of 5 to 1. Nor can retail customers offset margins for long and short positions in the same asset, instead, they must now margin each position separately. Client money is held in a segregated client bank account under the DFSA’s client money rules.

CFD trading is very popular in Dubai.  The UAE has been trying to establish itself as a financial trading centre for much of the last decade, it is now generating some traction, as the collective of small middle eastern states evolves into more than just a holiday destination or long haul stopover.

The UAE or the United Arab Emirates is composed of seven emirates, the two largest and most well-known being Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

There are approximately 1.40 million emiratees and some 7.80 million ex-pats, spread across the seven micro-states, which occupy an area of 32,300 square miles.

City Index and XTB have the lowest spreads for trading Oil whilst IG and CMC Markets have the lowest spreads for trading Gold.

IG offers the most markets to UAE traders, with over 17,000 tradable instruments. Followed closely by City Index’s 12,000, although City Index also has some excellent added value trader tools like SMART signals and performance analytics.

Saxo Markets offers the most account types for trading in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, including direct market access futures and options.

Yes. We have extensively tested each of the brokers in this list, interviewed the CEOs and analysed the key data points that make trading platforms stand out. You ca see what others think of them and read our full reviews of the individual trading platforms here

If you would like to see what we think of each trading platform for specific products you can read our CFD broker reviews, or our forex trading platform reviews.

It is possible to be classified as a professional client of a Dubai based broker.

Though to qualify for that designation you will need to meet some quite stringent criteria, including having a portfolio with an unencumbered value of US $1.0 million or greater.

You should be able to demonstrate that you have made 40 or more significant leveraged trades over the last year.
Each of these trades should have had a minimum notional value of US $50,000.

Alternatively, you will need to have worked in a relevant professional position in a DFSA regulated firm, within the DIFC. Or, at an overseas firm regulated by an equivalent body, such as the FCA or ESMA etc, and have done so within the last two years.

Professional clients in Dubai are not subject to the DFSA margin restrictions however and they can receive volume-related rebates on their trading activities.

The principal stock exchange in the UAE is the ADX which is based in Abu Dhabi, the Emirates capital.

ADX was founded in November 2000 and is now the second-largest stock market in the Arab region, and offers trading in stocks, bonds, ETFs, and other instruments approved by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority.

The exchange operates a main market for blue-chip stocks, alongside a growth section and a newly established derivatives market, that currently trades equity futures.
Index futures and other derivatives are due to be introduced as this section of the ADX exchange expands.

Non UAE residents can open a trading account with a regulated broker in the UAE, however, those brokers are not allowed to openly solicit business from UK nationals.