XTB Expert Review
About XTB
We wanted to understand what XTB can offer clients like you so we opened an account, deposited some funds and began our testing. We also spoke to Josh Raymond, one of the directors, who very kindly highlighted some unique XTB tools and features.
Over the course of our Skype conversation, Josh took use through some of the key features on the platform. You can find out more about XTB from the CEO Omar Arnout or why Josh joined XTB in an interview we did with him.
Throughout this review we will be answering what makes XTB stand out and whether they are truly a viable alternative to big hitters IG and CMC.
Here is our review of some of the key features that XTB has to offer and how the platform works.
What makes XTB different?
XTB offers some pretty unique tools on its trading platform that sets them apart from other brokers. For example you can build your won baskets of stocks, and cryptocurrencies. XTB is also publicly listed in Poland so it would be a good fit for European customers who would rather deal with a European based broker rather than a London based brokerage.
XTB offer forex trading and CFD dealing through their X Trade platform. XTB was originally founded in Poland and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. XTB as well as offering trading on major indices and forex pairs also have a very comprehensive Crypto CFD trading offering.
Why Choose XTB?
The main difference between choosing XTB over rivals like CMC Markets and IG would be the trading platform and educational resources. The trading platform has some unique features which we will examine in detail later. XTB also has some excellent educational material and trading training programs online.
Pros and cons of XTB
Pros of XTB | Cons of XTB |
|---|---|
| Publicly listed company | Not HQ'd in London |
| Big Cryptocurrency offering | No long term investment products |
| Excellent trading platform | Only 1,500 assets to trade |
As XTB is a publicly listed company you can keep an eye on the company's share price on the Warsaw stock exchange.
You can see from the XTB share price snippet from Google that at the time of writing the XTB share price is around 8.66 PLN, valuing XTB at 1.02bn Polish Zloty which is around £195,000,000
Are there any other benefits of using XTB?
XTB's main benefits are the access to the broad range of webinars from trading experts and educational resources that they offer to their clients for free. XTB have clearly spent some time compiling additional resources and invested in expertise to provide added value above and beyond an execution platform alone.
Costs & charges
How does XTB charge fees and what are they?
Trading Fees
Spreads are pretty tight on XTB and they do offer tighter spreads for regular traders. You are able to reduce your spreads by at least 5% if you trade more than 20 lots per month. The discount then scales upwards to a max of a 30% reduction based on the previous 30 days trading.
Examples of the spreads on the most popular traded assets on XTB:
| XTB Market | XTB SPREAD |
| EUR/USD | 0 |
| EUR/GBP | 0.0003 |
| GBP/USD | 0.0002 |
| USD/JPY | 0.016 |
| DE30 | 1.3 |
| UK100 | 2.8 |
| US30 | 4 |
| US500 | 0.5 |
| GOLD | 0.72 |
| OIL | 0.05 |
| BITCOIN | 69.53 |
| RIPPLE | 0.0092 |
Non - Trading Fees
There are no inactivity fees for dormant accounts with XTB, however, there are other fees apart from the standard trading fees, for example, there are currency conversion fees for depositing and also some fees for withdrawing funds.
How does XTB make money?
XTB makes its money in the same way most other CFD brokers do. The main being:
- Spread revenue
- Overnight financing charges
- B-Book
Opening an account at XTB
How to open an XTB account
Top open an account with XTB you’ll need to enter the following details on their website or through their mobile app to get started;
- Name
- personal details (full names and D.O.B)
- Enter your financial status and income details
- Tell XTB Index about your experience trading through a short test.
- Verify your identity - you will need to include proof of your identity by uploading the relevant documents (Appropriate documents could be; passport details, NI, Driving Licence, utility bill, bank statement etc.) via XTB's secure document upload section.
You will also need to demonstrate that you understand the risks involved in trading. Remember trading is a high-risk form of speculation and you can lose a lot of money quickly. So, XTB will ask a series of suitability and competency questions before you are allowed to open an account.
How long does it take to open an XTB account?
Generally, it's almost instantaneous as most ID checks can be done online. However, there are still anti-money laundering checks that brokers have to perform so make sure you have all your ID to hand and provide all the information requested when you are asked. You will also have to supply bank account verification before you are able to withdraw funds.
Is there a minimum deposit for XTB?
XTB say that the initial deposit into your XTB account must be a minimum of £250, €250 or $250. After that, there is no minimum deposit limit.
How to get started trading or investing with XTB
- Open your account (either a live funded account or a demo account)
- Find the market or product you want to trade
- Select markets or recently traded to open your first trade
- Choose what you think will happen, either going long or short.
- Enter the value of your trade
- Monitor your activity through the “positions” section of your account
Funding Methods
How to add money to your XTB account
You can top-up the balance in your XTB account with any of the following payment methods;
Credit cards
XTB accept the following currencies: EUR, USD, GBP via credit card free of charge
Debit and Bank cards
As with credit cards, XTB accepts major debit cards but unlike credit cards do not charge a fee.
PayPal
You can add funds to your XTB account using PayPal, however, there is a 2% charge levied on deposits made via PayPal
Bank Transfer
Bank transfers can take up to three working days to clear, meaning there may be a delay between making the deposit and being able to begin trading.
Skrill
Paysafe (formerly known as Skrill) charges a 2% fee on the amount you want to deposit
How to withdraw your money from XTB
It's important to note that when you withdraw funds from XTB, you will have to provide additional documentation to satisfy AML (anti-money laundering) requirements. You see a lot of negative reviews from clients who have been unable to withdraw their funds. But this is a requirement that all brokers must adhere to. It's sensible to supply all documentation as soon as you can to avoid any delays in withdrawing funds from your XTB account.
There are fees for withdrawing small amounts from XTB, however larger amounts are free.
| XTB WITHDRAWAL FEE ON SMALLER AMOUNTS | THRESHOLD | AMOUNTS OVER THRESHOLD |
|---|---|---|
| 20 USD | 100 USD | Free |
| 16 EUR | 80 EUR | Free |
| 12 GBP | 60 GBP | Free |
| 3000 HUF | 12 000 HUF | Free |
XTB Trading Platforms & Mobile Apps
What's it like trading with XTB? Well we've given the XTB platform a test run with a live account.
Each section below details our experience of using each of the XTB trading platforms.
What trading platforms does XTB offer?
XTB offers three main trading platforms as well as the XTB mobile trading app including:
xStation 5
xStation Mobile
MT4
Compare XTB MT4 to other MT4 brokers here
Build your own basket of assets on XTB Xstation5
XTB have an excellent tool where you can build your own basket of stocks, FX pairs, commodities and cryptocurrencies. What this means is that if you trade in pairs, or arbitrage markets, or want to build your own sub sector within a sector you can add them to a basket and trade them in one go.
It's a great time-saving tool for trading multiple assets. You can also see in the basket creator a nice weighting for each asset and amend the contract size and allocation accordingly.
Some of the most exciting features of Xstation5 are:
- Dark Mode: save on battery and rest your eyes with the new dark mode.
- Push Notifications: get alerts on major levels and breaking news that can affect your trades.
- New Chart Features & Indicators: restore recently closed charts, and check out several new indicators on mobile charts, such as heikin ashi.
- Top Movers: see which markets are the top risers/fallers instantly.
- Enhanced Security: Lock the app with a passcode or fingerprint.
- New Layouts: search with ease with a redesigned news section, economic calendar and market tags.
- New Chart Drawing Mode: bringing more tools than ever before to the mobile app
- More Trade Transparency: as XTB now offers cash stocks, there is more information available on the cost of trading, such as dividends, corporate actions, swaps, and more. Moreover, users can now see their PnL running as net instead of gross, as well as monitor price change, daily price range and profit from open positions on the main screen on the app.
These exciting range of new tools, indicators and additional features are offered free to XTB’s customers and the improved usability features are helpful in improving customer experience in every aspect.
xStation 5 is available to anyone who opens a demo account with XTB, which means you can test out all the new features today.
The only other trader offering similar is SaxoTraderGo.
See a post-trade analysis of where you win and lose
In your account settings, you can see a recap of your previous trades. This gives a very visual representation of which trades you make and lose money on.
This is a really interesting feature because as we all know it's hard to make money trading. But oddly enough it's not that hard to pick winners.
We highlighted this to Josh, pointing out an article he wrote (The truth about whether trading is actually winnable) when he was at City Index (way back in 2014) showing that the profitable trades were around 60%. For the most part, losses are generally larger than the profits. Which suggests, that it is post-trading strategy that is the issue. Not picking trades. So, by using this section to evaluate which trades you most frequently win on you should be able to improve your overall trading strategy.
Change the base currency of your trades on the deal ticket
This may not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it's actually a really nice feature. One thing traders never really take into account when trading international markets is currency exposure.
Even when trading Forex, traders tend to just look at what is happening on the chart and not the overall economic climate. Trading profits are hugely affected by currency exposure and in some cases can wipe out profits. Also, as tight as deliverable foreign exchange rates are becoming they are still always never below 0.5%.
So if you are in the UK with GBP on account and trading US products your P&L will be in USD. This will then have to be converted into GBP before you can withdraw (unless you want to be at the mercy of your bank's tourist rates (which you don't)).
But, with XTB you can trade cash indices in GBP. So you don't have to factor in what the USD is doing as well.
XTB has one of the widest ranges of cryptocurrency crosses available to trade
Our article XTB launches bid to become Binance of the Crypto CFD Trading space by XTB analysts David Cheetham details XTB's broad range of cryptocurrency products.
But what makes this interesting is that whilst cryptocurrencies on their own are mega volatile, you can arbitrage between two. Or, even, if you use the basket setting we mentioned earlier you can trade a whole bunch of cryptos in one go.
It's a handy feature if you want to mitigate some of the risk and trade a diverse portfolio of cryptos. A bit like an ETF.
Get an instant macro market overview with grid charts.
When I first started off as a stockbroker many decades ago we used this pricing system called QTS. It's long gone now, but it had this great feature where you could get a grid view of a market with a single click. It was a great default view so you can instantly see what was going up or down without having to have multiple screens up.
I know you can set this up manually on most other brokers, but other than CMC, I don't think it's that easy anywhere else. XTB, have a really nice feature where you can see all your open charts as a grid. A very handy visual overview of what is going on.
Plus, if you've got a pending order you can see the levels on the chart. When I took the below screenshot I had a working stop entry in US500 (top right).
Trade from the charts with stops entries, limits and stop losses
A lot of other brokers let you trade from the charts. In fact, last week when we did a video demo of Spreadex's platform where we highlighted that you can move your stops from the chart.
Which is an almost essential feature. Because let's face it you either place stops at support and resistance levels or base them on how much you want to win or lose. So it's quite nice to set your P&L limits then move your orders based on what the chart looks like.
However, what is unique to XTB (as far as I know) is the ability to place stop entries, stop losses and limits straight onto the chart.
The first click is where you want to buy, second your stop loss and third your limit. You basically draw your trade on the chart and it is created in the dealing ticket.
Close all, profitable or losing trades in one go with xstation5
This is a very useful feature to round off our expert review of XTB. When you are done for the day, or heading out you can select what trades you want to close.
It can be annoying having to click on twenty different trades to close them out when you want to be flat. So the time saving benefits of XTB's "Open Positions" tab allows to either close all of your trades or just the duds that are losing. Or, you can bank your profits by closing all the winners and leave your losers to either get stopped or reverse. But which you choose is up to you and your trading strategy.
There are a few other bits too like adding addition sub-accountants or MT4 accounts through the My Account section, trading from an Apple Watch, education videos and content. Plus you can set up hotkeys and create shortcuts with the F keys.
Access XTB anywhere with their mobile app
With the XTB mobile app you can access the xStation mobile trading platform and trade over 1,500 CFD markets including FX, cryptocurrencies, indices, commodities, stock CFDs and ETF CFDs. The app allows you to quickly access your account with Touch ID on iPhones.
Test XTB with a free demo account
XTB offers demos accounts for CFDs. The XTB demo account is live for 4 weeks and comes with $100,000 virtual funds to trade with.
Whilst demo accounts can also be a good place to test trading and investing strategies before risking your own, real money they should in now way be considered a gauge of how well you will do trading in the real world. Demo accounts lack one important feature, emotion!
Find out more about XTB demo accounts.
Trading with XTB
Market Coverage
How many markets can you trade with XTB?
XTB offers its clients access to
- Indices,
- Forex,
- Shares,
- Commodities,
- Cryptocurrencies,
- Bonds,
- Interest Rates and ETFs.
Of the 1,500 assets you can trade with XTB, forex and crypto are one of XTB's most popular markets.
What is the maximum leverage XTB offers?
XTB leverage restrictions are no different to other brokers and depend on the asset you are trading. Levels of leverage today are determined by account type and legal jurisdiction, as well as the instrument traded. In Europe and the UK, the maximum leverage that retail clients can utilise is 30:1 on major currency pairs. With leverage set at 20:1 on major indices.
Professional clients can access leverage of up to 300:1 but they must first meet strict financial and experience criteria to qualify as such. In order to qualify for a XTB professional account you need to contact XTB direct.
How can you trade with XTB
CFDs (Contracts for Difference) are the only trading product offered by XTB. You can compare XTB's CFD offering to other brokers like Plus 500, Spreadex, IG and CMC Markets in our CFD broker comparison table.
Can you scalp with XTB?
Yes you can scalp with XTB, they have even produced a guide to scalping guide on their website.
For more information, read our guide to scalping.
Is XTB ECN?
No, XTB provides CFDs and does not offer ECN. For a full list of brokers that offer direct market access see our DMA comparison.
Can you make money trading with XTB?
XTB is an execution-only broker and as such all trading decisions are yours. As XTB offers CFD trading, which is a high-risk investment product, you are taking on a high-risk reward ration. Meaning, yes you can make money, but equally lose it just as quickly.
Investing with XTB
There is no investing with XTB, only trading products.
Added Value
Research
What research does XTB provide traders
Get platform integrated news, analysis and trading tips from banks
Most brokers have news, technical analysis, economic announcements and fundamental data. Most even have RanSquark (where your computer shouts at you every time there is a market figure), but XTB also has integrated bank recommendations. Which are presented with a chart, I only mention this because so many tips are not presented in this way and as such largely ignored because it's too much effort to look for a chart and then go back to the tip.
The below comes from Thomson Reuters IFR Markets on the XTB news tab. You'll have to make up your own mind if bank tips are actually any good. For the most case, you won't be in line with the analyst's investment objectives or timescales, but they do provide good stimulus for trading ides none the less.
Education
Learn strategies with XTB's trading academy
There is a fair amount of educational material on XTB's website, although it can be considered as fairly basic. The trading academy will take you through the fundamental of invest and trading. However, you should really look to external resources, if you want to improve your trading.
Our guide explains whether you should go on a trading course to learn to trade, and ultimately, this decision is really up to you, but be careful who you choose.
However, once you have an open XTB account there are some decent video tutorials from professional traders like Lex Van Dam, from Million Dollar Traders fame.
Customer Service
How do I contact XTB?
XTB phone numbers
XTB has a few phone numbers depending on who you want to speak to:
Useful XTB email addresses
There is also an email address specifically for new clients who may have questions or queries [email protected]
XTB's twitter is available 24 hours a day but different accounts exist depending upon what you need to make contact with them for:
There is also a specific help and support page on the website with XTB's full contact options details and options for the press, marketing inquiries and more.
Regulatory Status & Safety of Funds
Are XTB regulated?
XTB is regulated and authorised in the UK by the FCA or Financial Conduct Authority.
Retail client funds held in trading accounts, with IG’s UK businesses, are covered by the FSCS or Financial Services Compensation Scheme that guarantees up to £85,000 in the event of failure of the business.
What happens to my money if XTB become insolvent?
If you have an account with XTB UK it is regulated in the UK by the FCA and there are contingencies in place should a UK broker, such as XTB, go bust.
Firstly, all retail client monies must be segregated from the firm's cash, and they must be held in a designated client money account at a major clearing bank. This ring-fencing of client money is the first layer of protection.
In the event of a business failure, an administrator will be appointed, usually a leading firm of accounts.
Their role is to secure the firm's assets and if no buyer can be found for the business, to make sure that the maximum value can be extracted from the sale of those assets, to return as much of the client money to the firm's clients as possible.
This process may take some time however and it can be months rather than weeks. In the event of a shortfall of funds, clients can seek compensation of up to £85,000 from the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Account security & login methods
Security features are an important consideration when choosing your broker and XTB understands your desire to protect the money in your account.
Still not convinced? Check out all of our trading & investing broker reviews