CMC Markets

Review method: published documents. This provider review may cover products beyond CFDs; account availability and protections depend on the contracting entity.

Ratings

Overall3.5/ 5

• Charting4.0 / 5
• Execution3.0 / 5
• Ease of use4.0 / 5
• Mobile4.0 / 5
• Automation3.0 / 5
• Data quality3.5 / 5
• Value3.5 / 5
• Support3.0 / 5

This assessment uses our trading-platform criteria. It is not a separate rating of the broker’s regulation or client protection.

Trustpilot

4.2 / 5

3,260 customer reviews

Observed 2026-07-07

Read the Trustpilot profile

A separate customer-review signal, not part of our score or a measure of trading performance.

Worth considering

• Deep proprietary charting: 115+ indicators, drawing tools, pattern-recognition scanner and client-sentiment indicator, plus optional TradingView integration
• No platform or account fee; standard CFD account is spread-only, so casual traders pay nothing to hold the software
• Long operating history and a public listing provide corporate information; protections depend on the contracting entity and account
• Huge multi-asset range: 12,000+ instruments spanning forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and crypto CFDs on one account
• Real cross-device parity with genuinely capable mobile apps and web, MT4 and MT5 desktop options

Consider the limitations

• Not a futures platform and not prop-firm compatible: there is no native futures order routing, no DOM/SuperDOM, and no funded-account integration with the prop firms we cover
• Leveraged OTC products carry loss risk; use the current disclosure for the contracting entity and account type
• Hidden FX-conversion costs on non-domestic shares are a recurring surprise for stock-focused users
• Customer service is the most-complained-about theme despite high praise for the software
• OTC pricing is the broker's own book, not a centralised exchange feed, so it is not comparable to a Rithmic/CQG futures data feed

What is CMC Markets

CMC Markets is one of the oldest names in retail leveraged trading: a London-headquartered broker founded in 1989 by Peter Cruddas, listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250. It is a contracts-for-difference (CFD), spread-betting and forex broker, meaning you trade the price of an asset on margin rather than owning the asset, across roughly 12,000 instruments through its own Next Generation web platform, downloadable MetaTrader 4 and 5, and a TradingView integration. Its operating history and public reporting offer information to assess, but do not by themselves establish solvency or protection for a particular account.

At a glance

CMC Markets is a very good CFD and spread-betting broker with genuinely strong charting, and it is the wrong tool for an active futures prop trader. It shines for a multi-asset retail trader who wants forex, indices, commodities, shares and crypto CFDs behind one well-regulated login with excellent analysis tooling. It has no native futures, no depth-of-market ladder for scalping order flow, and no route into the funded prop-firm accounts our readers use. Judge it as a broker, and it is a strong one; judge it as a futures execution desk, and it is not in that lane.

Markets, instruments, and who can use it

This is the early gate, so read it before anything else. CMC Markets trades CFDs and spread bets on forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, share baskets, rates and bonds, and cryptocurrencies: over 12,000 instruments in total. Everything is leveraged and over-the-counter (OTC), which means you are trading against the broker's price, on margin, with leverage and product eligibility dependent on the account entity, jurisdiction and client classification.

The software runs everywhere that matters: the proprietary Next Generation platform is web-based, MT4 and MT5 have native Windows and Mac desktop downloads plus mobile apps, and you can also trade through TradingView. If you trade listed US futures like the E-mini S&P or crude, this is not for you: CMC offers no native futures contracts and no futures order routing. If you want to own actual shares in a custody account rather than trade a share CFD, this is also not your tool. It is built for the leveraged CFD, spread-bet and forex trader, full stop.

Charting and analysis

Charting is where CMC earns its reputation. The Next Generation platform ships with 115+ technical indicators and drawing tools, multiple timeframes, and multi-chart layouts, plus a pattern-recognition scanner that flags chart formations automatically and a client-sentiment indicator that shows how CMC's own book is positioned. In-platform you also get Morningstar research and Reuters news, so fundamental context sits next to the chart. For traders who prefer a familiar canvas, the TradingView integration lets you analyse on TradingView's renowned charts and route the order to CMC's spreads. A serious technical analyst gets almost everything they need here. The thinness only shows up against dedicated futures tooling: there is no true footprint or volume-profile order-flow suite of the kind a Sierra Chart or Bookmap user expects.

Order execution and order flow

Execution is solid for the audience it serves and limited for the one our collection centres on. CMC advertises fast, one-click trading and quotes MT4 execution around 0.066 seconds off a London-based server with tier-one liquidity, and it shows bid, ask and premiums up front so you see your cost before you commit. For a CFD or forex trader clicking into a position, that workflow is clean and quick.

What is absent is the active-futures execution surface: there is no DOM or SuperDOM, the price ladder that futures scalpers use to work orders at each price level, and no footprint or order-flow tooling that reads buying and selling pressure tick by tick. Bracket and stop management exist through standard order types, and the MetaTrader platforms impose no minimum stop-loss or take-profit distance, which high-volume traders like. Judged as a broker's order pad, it is good; judged as a futures execution ladder, it is not built for that job.

Automation and backtesting

Automation runs through MetaTrader, not the proprietary platform. On MT4 and MT5 you get Expert Advisors (EAs), the MQL-scripted robots that automate entries and exits, and CMC bundles a set of free premium indicators and EAs. MT5 adds a faster strategy tester than MT4 for backtesting those EAs. This is capable, mature and widely documented, and it is also generic MetaTrader automation rather than anything CMC-specific. Be honest about the backtester: MetaTrader's strategy tester is only as realistic as the tick data and spread model you feed it, and default backtests on a broker feed tend to flatter a strategy because they under-model slippage and variable spreads. Treat EA backtest equity curves as a starting hypothesis, not proof. The Next Generation platform itself is not user-scriptable, so if you want to code a strategy you are living in MetaTrader.

Data, feeds, and connectivity

Data is real-time and comes with in-platform Morningstar research and Reuters news, served off CMC's London infrastructure. This is the point where a futures-trained reader needs to reset expectations: CMC's prices are its own OTC quotes, not a centralised exchange feed. There is no Rithmic, CQG or IQFeed connection because there are no futures to route; the broker is the venue, the counterparty and the data source at once. For MT4 and MT5 you connect to CMC's own MetaTrader servers. That single-source model is normal for a CFD broker and it keeps the cost math simple, because the data and the connection come free with the account. It also means you cannot bring a third-party institutional feed, and you should read the pricing as the broker's book rather than a consolidated market tape.

Pricing decoded

Platform access and trading costs are separate. Check the chosen entity and account for spreads, commissions, overnight financing, currency conversion, market-data charges and any account fees. A platform advertised as free does not make a leveraged position free to hold.

Illustrative cost comparison, in a USD account: a standard EUR/USD lot of 100,000 euros has a $10 pip value, because 100,000 × $0.0001 = $10. For 50 completed one-lot trades, an assumed 0.7-pip spread costs $350. An assumed $2.50 commission per lot per side costs $250 for those 50 round trips, plus the spread. If that second account averages 0.2 pips, its additional spread cost is $100 and the totals tie before other charges. These are assumptions, not a current CMC quote. CMC's Australian account comparison explicitly labels FX Active commission per lot, per side; use the schedule for your own entity and currency. Financing, conversion and execution differences also belong in the comparison.

Prop-firm compatibility

CMC Markets is a direct broker; opening an account with it is a different decision from entering a prop-firm evaluation. For a listed-futures evaluation, check the individual firm's supported platform and data-feed connections. A CMC account should not be assumed to connect to that program. Our prop-firm reviews cover several market categories, so start with the relevant firm rather than treating the entire directory as futures-only.

Mobile and cross-device

Mobile is a real strength here, which is unusual. CMC ships dedicated spread-betting and CFD apps with mobile-optimised charting, 40+ technical indicators and live signals, plus the standard MT4 and MT5 mobile apps, and you can open, close and modify trades on the move with push, SMS and email alerts. Parity with the desktop and web experience is high for the core trading and charting workflow. Who actually needs it: the multi-asset retail trader managing positions through the day away from a desk, which is much of CMC's audience. A desk-bound futures scalper would not care, but that trader is not the fit for this platform anyway.

Should you run it on a VPS

The classic VPS case is a desktop platform running automated strategies on a funded account around the clock, and CMC only partly fits it: if you run MetaTrader EAs on CMC and want them executing 24/5 without your machine being on, a low-latency VPS near CMC's London servers is the standard setup. The proprietary web platform and the mobile apps do not need one. If you are automating on MT4/MT5 here, see the VPS reviews for how to pick one.

Who it suits

It is for the multi-asset retail trader who wants forex, indices, commodities, shares and crypto CFDs behind one strongly-regulated login, with charting good enough to be the reason you stay. It suits the analyst who lives on indicators and pattern scans, and the mobile-first trader who manages positions on the move. It is also a reasonable home for a forex trader who does enough volume to benefit from FX Active's raw-spread-plus-commission model. It is not for the active futures prop trader, who needs a DOM, order-flow tooling, exchange data and a prop-firm connection none of which CMC provides. It is not for the investor who wants to own real shares rather than trade CFDs. And it is not for anyone who cannot stomach leveraged OTC products with substantial risk of loss.

Our verdict

CMC Markets is a strong, mature CFD and forex broker whose charting and analysis genuinely stand out, with an operating history and public reporting that readers can examine alongside the terms of their contracting entity. Where it lands for our reader is entirely a question of lane. Everything that makes it good, the deep charts, the free spread-only entry, the huge instrument range, the polished mobile apps, serves a multi-asset CFD trader beautifully.

The gating facts are what cost it against our active-futures center of gravity: no native futures, no DOM or footprint execution, OTC data instead of an exchange feed, and no prop-firm compatibility. Inconsistent customer service and surprise FX-conversion charges are the other dents. Score it honestly against a futures prop trader's needs and it falls short on the things that matter most; score it as what it is, a charting-strong retail CFD broker, and it earns its long reputation.

FAQ

Is CMC Markets good for trading futures? No. CMC does not offer native listed futures or futures order routing. It trades CFDs, spread bets and forex on an OTC basis, so a futures day trader who needs a DOM and exchange data should look elsewhere.

Can I use CMC Markets with a prop firm? No. The futures prop firms we cover fund traders on platforms that connect to feeds like Rithmic or CQG. CMC is a direct-to-broker CFD venue with no prop-firm connection, so it does not fit an evaluation or funded-account programme.

How much does CMC Markets cost? Platform access may be included, while trading and account charges depend on the entity and product. Check spreads, commissions, financing, conversion and any additional fees in the applicable schedule.

What platforms does CMC Markets offer? Its proprietary Next Generation web platform, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 (Windows, Mac, mobile), and a TradingView integration. Automation via Expert Advisors runs on the MetaTrader platforms.

Is CMC Markets safe? A listing and regulatory permissions are not a guarantee against counterparty or trading losses. Identify the entity opening your account, its permissions, client-money arrangements and any applicable protection scheme. Use that entity's current risk disclosure; a historical loss percentage from another product or reporting period does not describe your personal probability of loss.

Is CMC Markets good for beginners? The platform is repeatedly described as intuitive and user-friendly with strong educational and analysis tools, but the products are leveraged and high-risk, so beginners should treat it cautiously and start small.

Provider documentation

CMC Markets official website contains the provider's product pages and legal terms. Match the account, plan and country before applying a rule or advertised price.

Provider pricing

CMC Markets pricing and available products should be checked for the exact account or hosting configuration. Compare the full charge, billing period and optional services before purchase.

Text updates, score evidence and customer-review observations have separate dates. This document review does not report a demo, execution or withdrawal test.