Cameron Zain
Best broker forSummary
Overview
XTB is a global CFD and forex broker with headquarters in London and Warsaw, founded in 2002. The company is regulated by several financial authorities worldwide, including the top-tier UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In addition, XTB is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and as such is required to disclose its financials.
- XTB is considered safe because it has a long track record, is listed on a stock exchange, and publishes its financial statements transparently.
Disclaimer
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Best CFD broker
We selected XTB as Best CFD broker for 2021, based on an in-depth analysis of 70+ online brokers that included testing their live accounts.
| 🗺️ Country of regulation | UK, Poland, Cyprus, Spain, Belize |
| 💰 Trading fees class | Low |
| 💰 Inactivity fee charged | Yes |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee amount | $0 |
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 🕖 Time to open an account | 1 day |
| 💳 Deposit with bank card | Available |
| 👛 Depositing with electronic wallet | Available |
| 💱 Number of base currencies supported | 5 |
| 🎮 Demo account provided | Yes |
| 🛍️ Products offered | Stock, ETF, Forex, CFD, Crypto, Real stocks and ETFs (only for some European clients) |
Fees
XTB has low forex fees and there is no withdrawal fee for most transfers. On the other hand, stock CFD fees are high, and XTB also charges an inactivity fee.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Low forex fees | • High stock CFD fees |
| • Free withdrawal for transfers above $100 |
| Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 CFD | Low | Pro account pricing: €3.5 /£3 /$4 per lot commission plus spread cost. 0.4 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Europe 50 CFD | Low | Pro account pricing: €3.5 /£3 /$4 per lot commission plus spread cost. 1.6 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| EURUSD | Low | Pro account: €3.5 /£3 /$4 per lot commission plus spread cost. 0.2 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Inactivity fee | Low | €10 per month after 1 year of trading inactivity and if no deposit was made in the last 90 days |
How we ranked fees
We ranked XTB’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.
To get things rolling, let’s go over some lingo related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees, and non-trading fees.
- Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
- Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.
In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of XTB for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading the most important fees are spreads, commissions and financing rates.
We also compared XTB’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, IG and eToro. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of XTB alternatives.
To have a clear overview of XTB, let’s start with the trading fees.
XTB trading fees
XTB’s trading fees are low
How you pay fees depends on your account type. In the Standard account, you pay only spreads, while in the Pro account you pay commissions in addition to market spreads, i.e. interbank spreads. We reviewed the Pro account.
We know it is hard to compare trading fees for CFD brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compare brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.
We have chosen popular instruments within each asset class:
- Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50
- Stock CFDs: Apple and Vodafone
- Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP
A typical trade means buying a leveraged position, holding it for one week and then selling. For the volume, we chose a $2,000 position for these stock index and stock CFDs and $20,000 for forex transactions. The leverage we used was:
- 20:1 for stock index CFDs
- 5:1 for stock CFDs
- 30:1 for forex
These catch-all benchmark fees include spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let’s see the verdict for XTB fees.
CFD fees
XTB has average stock index CFD fees, and high stock CFD fees.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 index CFD fee | $1.4 | $1.2 | $1.5 |
| Europe 50 index CFD fee | $1.8 | $1.6 | $2.7 |
| Apple CFD fee | $17.3 | $31.3 | $6.7 |
| Vodafone CFD fee | $20.8 | $27.6 | – |
XTB charges €3.5/£3/$4 per lot/contract per trade, plus the spread cost for stock index CFDs.
Stock and ETF CFD fees are charged as a volume-based fee, but a minimum fee applies.
| Market | Volume-based fee | Minimum fee |
|---|---|---|
| US | 0.08% | $8 |
| UK domestic, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden | 0.08% | €8 |
| UK international | 0.08% | $10 |
| Czech Republic | 0.25% | CZK 300 |
| Italy | 0.08% | €8 + 0.07% of trade value |
In addition, XTB deducts a fee from dividend payments. For example, 30% is deducted from US stock dividends.
Forex fees
XTB’s forex fees are low.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD benchmark fee | $8.3 | $17.3 | $8.8 |
| GBPUSD benchmark fee | $6.0 | $11.9 | $8.5 |
| AUDUSD benchmark fee | $6.5 | $14.7 | $8.2 |
| EURCHF benchmark fee | $8.9 | $8.8 | $12.6 |
| EURGBP benchmark fee | $8.4 | $16.6 | $12.3 |
XTB charges €3.5/£3/$4 per lot per trade, plus the spread cost in the case of forex trading.
Real stock and ETF fees
XTB provides real stocks and ETFs only for EU customers onboarded under XTB’s Polish entity.
Stock and ETF fees are average in comparison with similar brokers; not as competitive as eToro’s zero fees, but a bit better than IG’s fees.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock | $10.0 | $15.0 | $0.0 |
| UK stock | $12.0 | $10.4 | $0.0 |
| German stock | $12.0 | $12.0 | $0.0 |
Stock and ETF fees are charged as a volume-based fee, but a minimum fee applies.
| Market | Volume-based fee | Minimum fee |
|---|---|---|
| US | 0.12% | $10 |
| UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain | 0.12% | €10 |
| Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland | 0.12% | €15 |
| Poland | 0.20% | PLN 5 |
XTB charges a 0.5% conversion fee whenever you trade an asset in a currency other than your account base currency.
Non-trading fees
XTB has average non-trading fees. There is no account fee, no deposit fee for bank transfers or credit/debit card deposits, and no withdrawal fee for withdrawals above $100.
If you use electronic wallets, a 2% fee is charged. XTB charges a $20 fee for withdrawals below $100. In addition, there is a €10 monthly fee after one year of inactivity.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account fee | No | No | No |
| Inactivity fee | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $5 |
Account Opening
XTB’s account opening process is hassle-free, straightforward and fully digital. Your account will be ready for trading on the same day.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Fast | None |
| • Fully digital | |
| • No minimum deposit |
XTB accepts customers from all over Europe and from most countries around the world.
What is the minimum deposit at XTB?
XTB has no minimum deposit for individual accounts. On the other hand, corporate accounts require a relatively high £15,000 minimum deposit.
Account Types
There are two account types at XTB, each with different fee structures:
- Standard account: wider spreads, but no commission
- Pro account: tighter spreads, but there is a commission
We tested the Pro account. Some pages on XTB’s website contain information about Basic accounts, but this is a legacy account type you can’t open anymore.
If you open an account outside Europe, you can also open an Islamic account in addition to the above-mentioned account types. This account type is compliant with Islamic law and doesn’t charge swap fees.
A corporate account is also available.
How to open your account
XTB’s account opening process is fully digital, fast and straightforward. Filling out the forms and submitting all the documents takes around 30 minutes. Once you’re done, your account will be verified within a day.
The 5 steps of XTB account opening:
- Enter your email address and country of residency.
- Add some personal information, like your date of birth and address.
- Select the trading platform, account type and account base currency.
- Answer questions about your employment status, financial status and trading experience.
- Activate your account by verifying your identity and residency.
Some European clients can verify their identity via video, which is a great feature.
If video verification is not possible, you must upload a photo or scanned copy of your photo ID, passport or driver’s license. Utility bills and bank statements are accepted as proof of residency.
Can you open an account?
Select your country of residence to see if you can open an account at XTB!
Deposit and Withdrawal
XTB deposits and withdrawals are fast, mostly free, and can be done via several channels.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Credit/Debit card available | • Few minor account currencies accepted |
| • Free withdrawal | |
| • No deposit fee |
Account base currencies
XTB’s account base currency selection includes USD, EUR and GBP. Besides these major currencies, HUF and PLN accounts are also available.
This selection of account base currencies is average compared to similar brokers.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of base currencies | 5 | 6 | 1 |
Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your account base currency, you don’t have to pay a conversion fee.
A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. Digital banks offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.
Deposit fees and options
XTB charges no deposit fees. Electronic wallets such as Paypal or Skrill charge 2% of the deposited amount, which is quite high.
Besides bank transfer and credit/debit cards, many electronic wallets are also accepted for deposits.
- Paypal
- Paysafe (formerly Skrill)
- Neteller
- Paydoo
- PayU
- SafetyPay
- ECOMMPAY
- BlueCash
- Blik
- Sofort
Your country of residency determines which electronic wallets are available for you. For example, deposit via Sofort is available only for German customers.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/Debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with credit/debit cards and electronic wallets is instant. You can only deposit money from sources that are in your name.
XTB withdrawal fees and options
XTB charges no withdrawal fees if the amount is above $100. The only way to withdraw money is by bank transfer.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/Debit card | No | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | No | Yes | Yes |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $5 |
If you withdraw an amount below the threshold, XTB charges a high fee.
| Thresholds for small withdrawals | Withdrawal fee |
|---|---|
| < $100 | $20 |
| < €80 | €16 |
| < £60 | £12 |
| < HUF 12.000 | HUF 3.000 |
How long does it take to withdraw money from XTB? Bank transfer withdrawal took 1 business day. If you initiate the withdrawal before 1 p.m., it will arrive on the same day, otherwise it arrives on the next working day.
You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.
How do you withdraw money from XTB?
- Log in to the trading platform.
- On the bottom right, click ‘Deposit and withdraw funds.’
- Enter your bank account details and the amount you wish to withdraw.
- Initiate the withdrawal.
Trading Platform
XTB’s xStation 5 platform is user-friendly, can be customized and has a good search function. On the other hand, two-step login is not available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • User-friendly | • No two-step (safer) login |
| • Clear fee report | |
| • Good search function |
| Trading platform | Score | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Web | 4.4 | Yes |
| Mobile | 4.4 | Yes |
| Desktop | 4.4 | Yes |
- xStation 5, XTB’s own trading platform
- MetaTrader 4, a third-party tool
In this XTB review, we tested the xStation 5. This trading platform is available in many languages:
| Arabic | Bulgarian | Chinese | Czech | English |
| French | German | Hungarian | Italian | Japanese |
| Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Russian | Slovenian |
| Spanish | Thai | Turkish | Vietnamese |
Look and feel
At first glance, xStation 5 might appear like a platform designed for professional users, but as you start to use it, you will find it well-designed and user-friendly, even if you are a beginner.
You can easily customize the web trading platform.
XTB review – Web trading platform
Login and security
Only one-step login is available. Two-step login would be more secure.
Search functions
XTB’s search function is great. There are different ways you can search for an asset by clicking ‘Market Watch’:
- Type the name of the product in the search bar.
- Browse by various categories and product types. For example, if you want to trade a US stock CFD, just click on the stock type and select the US.
XTB review – Web trading platform – Search
Placing orders
You can use the following order types:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Trailing stop
There is also one order time limit you can use: Good ’til Time (GTT).
A useful feature of the platform is the trader calculator, which helps you calculate the margin, the commission and other important parameters for each trade.
XTB review – Web trading platform – Order panel
Alerts and notifications
We liked the ease of setting alerts and notifications. You can set up email, SMS and push notifications for important events such as margin calls, deposits and withdrawals, your closed/open positions, and other features.
Portfolio and fee reports
The platform has clear portfolio and fee reports, including the profit/loss of your positions. You can find them under the ‘History’ tab. Daily email reports are also available.
Desktop trading platform
XTB’s xStation 5 platform has a desktop version as well. In both functionality and design, it’s exactly the same as the web trading platform.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • User-friendly | • No two-step (safer) login |
| • Clear fee report | |
| • Good customizability (for charts, workspace) |
xStation 5’s desktop version is the same as its web equivalent version.
Markets and Products
XTB’s default product selection includes only CFDs, forex and crypto. Some European clients can also trade real stocks and ETFs. Popular asset classes like bonds, mutual funds, options and futures are not available.
XTB is primarily a CFD and forex broker. To learn more about CFDs, read our CFD trading tips.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
XTB’s CFD selection is on the whole similar to eToro’s but not nearly as competitive as IG’s.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currency pairs (#) | 49 | 205 | 47 |
| Stock index CFDs (#) | 42 | 78 | 13 |
| Stock CFDs (#) | 1,800 | 10,500 | 2,000 |
| ETF CFDs (#) | 114 | 1,900 | 145 |
| Commodity CFDs (#) | 22 | 47 | 14 |
| Bond CFDs (#) | – | 13 | – |
| Cryptos (#) | 25 | 8 | 16 |
FCA bans the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers from 6 January 2021.
You can’t change the default leverage level of the products. This is a drawback, as we believe this is an important factor you should be able to control.
Changing the leverage manually is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels may be too high.
Real stocks and ETFs
Trading real stocks and ETFs is available for European clients, except in the UK, Cyprus, Hungary and Italy. The stock product selection is great, though the number of ETFs is low.
| XTB | IG | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock markets (#) | 17 | 8 | 17 |
| ETFs (#) | 220 | 2,000 | 145 |
Research
XTB’s research tools are user-friendly and helpful, including a news flow with some trading ideas. However, detailed fundamental data is not available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Good interactive chart | • Limited fundamental data |
| • Quality news flow | |
| • User-friendly |
XTB’s research tools come from two sources:
- The xStation 5 trading platform.
- The ‘Market Analysis’ section of the XTB website.
Research tools are available in many languages, such as English, Arabic or Chinese. However, when we set the platform’s language to English, we still got the news commentary in our own language.
Trading ideas
XTB provides a few trading ideas, which can be found in the news flow. These trading ideas are usually short-term and based on technical tools.
However, these trading ideas are not well structured. For example, when you search for trading ideas about a specific asset, you get a lot of search results and it’s not easy to find the right one.
XTB review – Research – Recommendations
Fundamental data
You can only find limited fundamental data, such as the P/E ratio or the debt-to-equity ratio. However, you can’t access financial statements or operational metrics.
XTB review – Research – Fundamental data
Charting
XTB has good charting tools. It is easy to edit and save charts. You can use 35 technical indicators, which is about average when compared to other brokers.
XTB review – Research – Charting
News feed
News is provided by XTB’s own research team, which was voted ‘Best EMEA FX Forecaster’ by Bloomberg in Q2 and Q3 2018. The news flow is a mix of recommendations; data releases from the economic calendar; live “Traders Talks”; and brief messages about current market developments.
In the economic calendar, you can see upcoming events. When you select an event, you can read a short summary and check historical data.
XTB review – Research – Economic calendar
Other research tools you will enjoy
The ‘Market sentiment’ feature shows the percentage of long and short positions among clients for each asset. Another tool, the ‘Heatmap’, visualizes winners and losers.
XTB review – Research – Market sentiment
The ‘Stocks scanner’ uses 15 factors to filter stocks you may want to trade, including market capitalization, P/E, beta and debt-to-equity ratio.
XTB review – Research – Stock screener
Another useful tool is the ‘ETF scanner’. This is very similar to the stock scanner, offering 10 filters such as cumulative return or the total value of assets. When we tested this tool, only three ETFs were visible and the filters we tried to change were not always working.
Customer Service
XTB’s phone and live chat support are reliable, fast, and available in many languages. On the down side, customer service is available only 24/5 for European clients.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Phone support | • No 24/7 support |
| • Live chat | |
| • Fast response time |
You can contact XTB via:
- Live chat
- Phone
You can reach customer service in many languages, including some minor ones like Hungarian or Romanian.
XTB’s live chat works well. We tested it in multiple languages in several countries. Responses were fast and we got useful answers.
We had a great experience when we tested XTB’s phone support. They answered the phone instantly and we got relevant answers.
When we contacted XTB via email, asking for some help, we got a call back in a couple of hours. Customer Service answered our question sent via email, and could also answer all additional questions asked during the call.
Clients outside Europe can reach XTB’s customer support 24/7. For European clients, however, customer service is only available 24/5.
XTB review – Customer Service
Education
XTB has a well-organized and clear education section, offering written and video materials, along with trading platform tutorials.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Demo account | None |
| • Trading platform tutorial | |
| • Educational videos |
XTB’s education materials are varied and of high quality, including:
- Demo account
- Platform tutorial videos
- General educational videos
- Webinars
- Quality ebooks and educational articles
We liked the structure of educational texts, as they are grouped based on the user’s trading experience as well as by subject. The texts are high quality, understandable and logically structured. At the end of each lesson, you can fill out a quiz. This is a great feature that is not usually offered by other brokers.
In April 2019, XTB held a unique educational event called Global Online Trading Masterclass. The event was live-streamed and participants could listen to classes by many trading experts.
XTB review – Education
You can also watch educational and trading platform videos embedded into the texts on the website. XTB occasionally offers live webinars as well.
Safety
XTB is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the top-tier FCA. It is listed on a stock exchange and discloses its financial statements regularly, but it has no banking license.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Listed on stock exchange | • Does not hold a banking license |
| • Negative balance protection | |
| • Some clients regulated by top-tier FCA |
XTB is based in London and in Warsaw. It is a global broker established in 2002, serving clients around the world, and has offices in more than 10 countries.
Is XTB regulated?
It is regulated by several financial authorities:
- the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
- the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF)
- the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of Spain
- the International Financial Services Commission of Belize (IFSC).
Is XTB safe?
To be certain, we highly advise that you check two facts:
- how you are protected if something goes wrong
- what the background of the broker is
How you are protected
XTB operates via five different legal entities globally. This is important for you because the investor protection amount and the identity of the regulator differs from entity to entity.
Here’s a handy summary table for easy comparison:
| Client country | Investor protection amount | Regulator | Legal entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £85,000 | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | XTB Limited (UK) |
| Italy, Cyprus, Hungary | €20,000 | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (‘CySEC’) | XTB Limited (CY) |
| Spain | €20,000 | National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) | XTB Sucursal |
| Other European clients | €20,100* | Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) | X-Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski SA |
| Clients outside Europe (except China) | No protection | International Financial Services Commission of Belize (IFSC) | XTB International Limited |
*The investor protection amount is 100% up to €3,000, 90% up to €22,000, for total max. compensation of €20,100
XTB provides negative balance protection for forex spot and CFD trading, but only for retail clients from the European Union. Professional and non-EU clients are not covered by any negative balance protection.
Background
XTB was established in 2002. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
XTB is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which is a big plus for safety as XTB releases its financial statements regularly and transparently.
Being listed on a stock exchange, being regulated by financial authorities and providing financial statements are all great signs for XTB’s safety.
Bottom Line
XTB is a great CFD and forex broker. It is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the UK’s FCA. The company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
On the plus side, its forex fees are low, and the deposit and withdrawal process is fast and mostly free. We also liked the seamless and hassle-free account opening process.
XTB has some drawbacks, though. Stock CFD fees are high. The product range is mainly limited to FX and CFDs, although real stock and ETF trading are available in some European countries. Fundamental data offered by XTB covers only a few basics such as P/E.
We recommend XTB for clients who prefer forex or CFD trading, and also want to enjoy great deposit and withdrawal options along with fast account opening. Feel free to test it using a demo account.
