AvaTrade vs Plus500: Detailed Broker Comparison

When entering the world of online trading, selecting the right broker is a critical first step. Among the myriad options available, AvaTrade and Plus500 consistently rank as popular choices, especially for traders interested in Contract for Difference (CFD) trading. Both brokers operate on a market maker model and are known for being tightly regulated across multiple jurisdictions, providing a layer of security and trust for their clients. However, despite these similarities, they offer distinct trading experiences, particularly concerning their proprietary trading platforms, overall ease of use, and the specific range of CFD instruments available. Understanding these differences is key for both novice and seasoned traders looking to find a platform that best aligns with their trading strategy and preferences. This comparison aims to dissect these core aspects, offering a detailed look at what each broker brings to the table.

Getting to Know AvaTrade and Plus500

Before diving into the specifics, a brief overview of each broker provides essential context. AvaTrade and Plus500 have both established themselves as major players in the online trading industry, primarily focusing on CFD trading. They operate as market makers, meaning they typically act as the counterparty to their clients’ trades. While this model differs from ECN/STP brokers, it is common among CFD providers and, when properly regulated, offers execution efficiency, especially for retail traders.

A crucial factor for any trader is regulation. Both AvaTrade and Plus500 excel in this area, holding licenses from numerous top-tier regulatory bodies globally. For instance, AvaTrade’s regulatory oversight includes entities like the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), ASIC in Australia, FSCA in South Africa, and many others across the Middle East, Japan, and the BVI. This extensive regulatory framework underscores their commitment to compliance and client fund protection. Similarly, Plus500 is regulated by bodies such as the FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, ASIC in Australia, MAS in Singapore, and others, including in Israel where it was founded. This robust multi-jurisdictional regulation is a significant draw for traders concerned about the security of their investments.

AvaTrade vs Plus500 Trading Platforms: Which Comes Out On Top?

The trading platform is the trader’s primary tool, and the experience it offers is paramount. While both brokers provide access to popular third-party platforms like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), our focus here is on their proprietary offerings, which are often the platforms they promote most heavily and which reflect their unique design philosophies and feature sets.

AvaTrade’s Proprietary Platforms

AvaTrade offers several platforms, but its main proprietary web and mobile platform is AvaTradeGO. Designed for intuitive use, AvaTradeGO provides a clean interface suitable for mobile trading. Key features include:

User Interface: Clean, modern design optimized for touch screens. Easy navigation between charts, instrument lists, and account information.
Charting: Basic to intermediate charting capabilities with standard indicators and drawing tools. While functional, it might not offer the depth of customization found in professional desktop platforms.
Trading Tools: Includes access to market news, economic calendar, and basic risk management tools like setting stop-loss and take-profit orders.
AvaProtect: A unique risk management tool available exclusively on AvaTradeGO that allows traders to purchase protection against losses for a specified period and instrument.
WebTrader: AvaTrade also offers a web-based platform, AvaTrade WebTrader, which provides a streamlined trading experience accessible directly through a browser. It shares many similarities with AvaTradeGO but is designed for a desktop environment.

Beyond AvaTradeGO and WebTrader, AvaTrade differentiates itself by also offering MT4, MT5, and social trading platforms like DupliTrade and ZuluTrade, providing flexibility, although these are not proprietary.

Plus500’s Proprietary Platforms

Plus500 primarily relies on its single, proprietary WebTrader platform, available via web browser, desktop application, and mobile app (iOS and Android). This platform is known for its simplicity and directness.

User Interface: Extremely clean and minimalist. Designed for ease of navigation and quick trade execution. Information is presented clearly, making it very approachable for beginners.
Charting: Offers robust charting with a wide range of indicators (over 100) and various chart types. While powerful, customization options might feel less extensive than in dedicated professional charting software.
Trading Tools: Integrated market news, economic calendar, sentiment indicators showing how other Plus500 traders are positioned, and alerts based on price movements or percentage changes.
Order Types: Supports various order types including Limit, Stop Loss, Trailing Stop, and Guaranteed Stop (for an extra cost/wider spread), catering to different risk management needs.

The strength of Plus500’s platform lies in its consistency and ease of learning across all devices. It’s built specifically for CFD trading, focusing on the core functions without overwhelming the user with excessive features.

Platform Comparison Summary

When comparing the proprietary platforms:

Simplicity vs. Options: Plus500’s platform is arguably more streamlined and easier to grasp for a complete beginner due to its singular focus. AvaTradeGO is also user-friendly but exists alongside a wider ecosystem of platforms (MT4/5, etc.), which might appeal to traders who eventually want to explore more complex tools.
Charting Tools: Plus500 offers a broader range of indicators within its proprietary platform compared to AvaTradeGO.
Unique Features: AvaTrade’s AvaProtect is a unique risk management offering not found on Plus500. Plus500’s sentiment indicators and robust alerts are strong points.
Consistency: Plus500 provides a highly consistent user experience across web, desktop, and mobile. AvaTradeGO offers a good mobile experience, but the overall trading experience involving multiple platform choices might feel less unified than Plus500’s single-platform approach.

In essence, Plus500’s proprietary platform is designed for maximum ease of use and efficiency for CFD trading, while AvaTradeGO is a modern mobile-first platform within a broader suite of available options that include industry standards like MT4/5.

Ease of Use: From Account Opening to Trade Execution

Beyond the platform itself, the overall ease of use encompasses the entire client journey, starting from opening an account, navigating the interface, and executing trades efficiently.

Account Opening: Both brokers offer fully digital account opening processes. Users typically need to provide personal details, answer questions about their trading experience, and verify their identity and address by uploading documents. Both processes are generally straightforward and can often be completed within a day if documents are quickly verified. Plus500’s process feels slightly more streamlined due to its minimalist interface extending to account setup.
Platform Navigation: As discussed regarding the platforms, Plus500’s interface is renowned for its simplicity. Finding instruments, checking prices, and accessing charts is very intuitive. AvaTradeGO is also easy to navigate, especially for mobile users, but users switching between AvaTradeGO, WebTrader, or MT4 might experience slight differences in layout and function.
Funding and Withdrawal: Both brokers support various deposit and withdrawal methods, including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and e-wallets. The processes are generally secure and user-friendly, managed through the client dashboard. Withdrawal times vary depending on the method but are comparable between the two brokers.
Trade Execution: As market makers, both aim for fast execution. Slippage can occur, especially during volatile periods, as with any broker. Placing orders on both platforms is simple – selecting the instrument, choosing the direction (buy/sell), entering the size, and setting stop-loss/take-profit levels. Plus500’s platform is particularly focused on making this process quick and unambiguous.

Overall, both brokers score highly on ease of use, making them suitable for beginners. Plus500’s singular focus on its proprietary platform gives it an edge in consistency across devices and arguably a steeper initial learning curve for those completely new to trading interfaces. AvaTrade’s wider platform offering provides more choice but means the user experience isn’t uniform across all options.

Available CFD Instruments: AvaTrade vs Plus500

Comparing the available CFD instruments reveals differences in the breadth and depth of markets offered, catering to varying trader interests.

Forex: Both offer a wide range of Forex pairs, including majors, minors, and exotics. The selection is competitive across both platforms.
Indices: Both provide CFDs on major global stock indices (e.g., S&P 500, FTSE 100, DAX 40). The number and specific indices available are extensive on both.
Commodities: Gold, silver, oil, and various other energies, metals, and agricultural commodities are available on both platforms. The selection is typically sufficient for most commodity traders.
Stocks: This is where a notable difference appears. Both offer CFDs on shares of major companies from various global markets. However, Plus500 is generally known for offering a particularly vast selection of stock CFDs, covering a very large number of individual companies compared to many other brokers. AvaTrade also offers stock CFDs but the sheer volume on Plus500 is often highlighted as a key feature.
Cryptocurrencies: Both brokers offer CFDs on popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and others. However, due to regulatory restrictions (e.g., in the UK for retail traders), availability may vary depending on the trader’s location. The specific list of available crypto CFDs can differ.
ETFs: Both offer CFDs on popular Exchange Traded Funds.
Options: AvaTrade uniquely offers Vanilla Options trading via its proprietary AvaOptions platform, in addition to CFD options on certain instruments. Plus500 offers CFDs on specific options, but not the full range of vanilla options trading like AvaTrade. This is a significant differentiator for traders interested in options strategies.

While both offer a comprehensive suite of instruments, Plus500 stands out for its extensive list of individual stock CFDs, making it potentially more attractive to equity traders. AvaTrade distinguishes itself by offering Vanilla Options trading on a separate platform, catering to a different trading style.

Regulation and Security

As mentioned earlier, both brokers are heavily regulated, which is a major positive for traders. Let’s delve a little deeper into what this means for client fund security. The multi-jurisdictional oversight provided by reputable bodies ensures compliance with strict financial standards.

Segregation of Client Funds: A standard practice required by regulators is segregating client funds from the company’s operational funds. Both AvaTrade and Plus500 hold client money in separate bank accounts, ensuring that company financial difficulties do not impact client capital.
Investor Compensation Schemes: In certain jurisdictions, regulated brokers are members of investor compensation schemes. For example, brokers regulated in the EU by CySEC or in the UK by the FCA participate in schemes that can compensate eligible clients up to a certain amount in the unlikely event the broker becomes insolvent. This adds another layer of protection.
Negative Balance Protection: Both brokers typically offer negative balance protection, especially under ESMA regulations in Europe. This means retail clients cannot lose more than the total balance of their trading account.
Transparency and Reporting: Regulatory compliance requires brokers to adhere to strict transparency rules and submit regular financial reports. This oversight helps ensure fair practices and financial stability.

The robust regulatory status of both AvaTrade and Plus500 is a significant strength. Their adherence to strict rules regarding fund segregation and participation in compensation schemes (where applicable) means traders can have a higher degree of confidence in the safety of their deposits compared to unregulated brokers.

Trading Costs

While not the primary focus of this comparison, understanding the cost structure is vital. Trading costs include spreads (the difference between the buy and sell price), swap fees (costs for holding positions overnight), and potential non-trading fees.

Spreads: Both brokers primarily generate revenue through spreads. Plus500 is known for offering relatively tight spreads, particularly on popular instruments, and primarily uses variable spreads. AvaTrade offers both fixed and variable spreads depending on the account type and instrument. Comparing specific spreads requires checking live quotes, as they fluctuate, but both are generally competitive within the market maker model.
Swap Fees: Holding CFD positions overnight incurs swap fees (or earns rebates). These are based on interest rate differentials and vary by instrument and position size. Both brokers apply these standard industry fees.
Inactivity Fees: Both brokers charge inactivity fees if an account remains dormant for a specified period (e.g., three months). The exact amount and period vary and are detailed in their fee structures.
Other Fees: Be aware of other potential fees, such as guaranteed stop order fees (Plus500), or fees related to certain deposit/withdrawal methods, although these are less common with standard methods.

In summary, both brokers’ cost structures are competitive, built around spreads and swap fees. Traders should compare the typical spreads for the instruments they intend to trade and be mindful of inactivity fees if they do not plan to trade regularly.

Customer Support and Educational Resources

Access to reliable support and helpful educational materials can significantly impact a trader’s experience.

Customer Support: Both AvaTrade and Plus500 offer customer support via multiple channels, including email and live chat. Phone support is also available in many regions. AvaTrade generally receives slightly higher praise for its support responsiveness and quality across various review sites. Plus500’s support is functional but sometimes reported as less readily available or comprehensive compared to brokers with a heavier focus on client handholding.
Educational Resources: Plus500 provides a basic set of educational materials, including a trading academy with videos and FAQs explaining the platform and CFD trading concepts. AvaTrade offers a more extensive range of educational content, including articles, videos, webinars, and e-books, catering to various skill levels. They also offer Sharp Trader, a dedicated trading education website. This makes AvaTrade potentially more appealing to new traders actively seeking to learn.

AvaTrade generally surpasses Plus500 in the breadth and depth of its educational offerings, making it a stronger choice for traders looking to enhance their knowledge. Support quality is comparable, although AvaTrade often has a slight edge in reputation.

Conclusion: Which is the Right Choice?

Deciding between AvaTrade and Plus500 ultimately depends on individual trading priorities. Both are highly regulated, reputable market maker brokers offering access to a wide range of CFD instruments.

If your priority is simplicity and ease of use with a consistent platform experience across all devices, and you are primarily interested in trading a vast selection of stock CFDs, Plus500 is likely an excellent fit. Its proprietary platform is purpose-built for straightforward CFD trading, making it very accessible for beginners or traders who value a clean, uncluttered interface. When comparing ease of use, Plus500’s focus on its single platform gives it an edge for pure interface simplicity.
If you value platform flexibility, potentially wanting access to industry-standard platforms like MT4/MT5 in addition to a modern mobile-first proprietary app (AvaTradeGO), or if you are interested in trading Vanilla Options in addition to CFDs, AvaTrade might be the better choice. AvaTrade also offers more extensive educational resources. The comparison highlights AvaTrade’s strengths in educational support and platform variety beyond its own proprietary offering.

Both offer competitive trading conditions and strong regulatory oversight. When deciding which broker is better, the answer isn’t definitive; it’s about aligning the broker’s strengths with your specific needs.

Conducting a thorough comparison involves looking at all these factors – platforms, instruments, costs, regulation, and support. To make a truly informed decision, comparing brokers transparently side-by-side based on key criteria like costs, available instruments, platform features, regulation, and security is essential. Resources exist that provide in-depth research and comparison tools designed to help traders navigate the complexities of broker offerings and find the best fit for their trading journey. Exploring such resources can provide the comprehensive insights needed to evaluate brokers and make confident decisions about which platform to use for your trading activities. Learn more about comparing top brokers.