Trading212 or Swissquote – which is better for UK traders 2025? Compare Trading212 and Swissquote in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
Trading 212 is a European and UK-regulated CFD broker that also offers stock investing and ISAs. It’s best known for its commission-free trading model and beginner-friendly app, which has helped it attract 2.5 million users and £3.5 billion in client assets.
Established in 1996, Swissquote is a Switzerland-based bank and broker that offers online trading on an industry beating three million products, from forex and CFDs to futures, options and bonds. Highly trusted, it has built a strong reputation through innovative trading solutions, from becoming the first bank to offer crypto trading in 2017 to more recently launching fractional shares and its Invest Easy service.
Pros
One of the standout features of Trading 212 is its commission-free trading, meaning you can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments without incurring traditional brokerage fees
Trading 212 has an intuitive and user-friendly platform that is especially accessible for beginners, with a straightforward layout and a reasonable range of tools for analysis
The platform offers a good suite of instruments, including stocks, indices, ETFs, currencies, commodities, and CFDs. This variety can help you to create a diversified investment portfolio
A sleek mobile app lets you trade on the go. It’s well-designed and offers features similar to the web platform, making it convenient if you prefer mobile trading
Up to 5.2% interest on uninvested cash is available, appealing to hands-off investors
Swissquote is highly trusted owing to its position as a bank, its listing on the Swiss stock exchange, and authorization from trusted bodies like FINMA in Switzerland, FCA in the UK, and CSSF in Luxembourg.
Swissquote is built for fast-paced trading strategies like trading, scalping and high-frequency trading with 9ms average execution speeds, a 98% fill ratio, and FIX API.
Swissquote supports powerful platforms for trading, such as MetaTrader 4/5 and its own CFXD (previously known as Advanced Trader) which impressed during testing with customizable layouts and access to advanced charting tools and technical indicators.
Swissquote provides advanced research services like Autochartist for technical analysis and integration of real-time news from Dow Jones. Its proprietary Market Talk videos and Morning News reports deliver expert analysis daily, appealing to active traders.
Cons
Experienced traders who rely on sophisticated technical analysis tools will find Trading 212’s charting features to be somewhat basic, especially compared to alternatives like IG
While Trading 212 offers leveraged trading through CFDs, there are restrictions on leverage for certain instruments. If you want high leverage for your strategies, you will find these limitations constraining
There’s no copy trading, a significant drawback given Trading 212's client base is largely beginners and brokers like eToro offer this feature
There is no support for algorithmic or automated trading, nor third-party apps like MetaTrader 4, which will deter advanced traders. IC Markets ticks these boxes
Swissquote primarily caters to pro and high-net-worth clients, with high minimum deposit requirements (eg $1,000 for Standard accounts), making it less suited for smaller traders who can find higher leverage at the growing number of brokers with no minimum deposit.
Analysis shows Swissquote’s fees are on the high side, with forex spreads starting at 1.7 pips on Standard accounts, compared to 0.0 pips at brokers like Pepperstone or IC Markets. Transaction fees for non-Swiss stocks and ETFs can also add up for frequent traders.
Unlike brokers such as eToro with social trading features, Swissquote lacks tools for community engagement or copying successful traders, limiting its appeal for those who value peer-to-peer learning.
Awards
Top Innovative Companies 2025 – Statista
ETF Online Broker of the Year 2024 – Swiss ETF Awards
World’s Most Trustworthy Companies 2024 – Statista
Trading212 have positioned themselves at the front of the mobile trading movement. Their platform is based on a ‘mobile-first’ model, so they prioritize this type of trader. The app offers 1800+ instruments, zero commissions and a free practise account. Download the app risk free and try it out.
The Swissquote app, refined over the years, combines banking and trading, giving you instant access to an industry-leading selection of more than three million instruments, including stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It goes beyond most trading apps we’ve tested – providing a comprehensive financial app, complete with dynamic charts and unique features.
iOS App Rating
4.5
Android App Rating
3.4
Margin Trading
Yes
Yes
MetaTrader 4
No
Yes
MetaTrader 5
No
Yes
cTrader
No
No
AlgoTrader
No
No
OmniTrader
No
No
TradingView
No
No
Autochartist
No
Yes
eSignal
No
No
Trading Central
No
Yes
STP Account
Yes
Yes
ECN Account
No
No
DMA Account
No
Yes
MAM Account
No
Yes
PAMM Account
No
No
LAMM Account
No
No
Demat Account
No
No
AI / Machine Learning
No
Yes
Robo Advisor
No
Yes
Negative Balance Protection
Yes
Yes
Market Maker
Yes
Yes
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
No
Yes
Auto Trading
AutoInvest Portfolio
Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader and FIX API solutions
Copy Trading
No
No
Social Trading
Yes
No
Trade Signals
Integrated in CFXD
VPS Hosting
No
No
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
Yes
Yes
Custodial Account
No
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
No
Inactivity Fee
$0
Islamic Account
No
Yes
Account Currencies
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
SEK
NOK
DKK
CHF
PLN
CZK
HUF
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
NZD
JPY
ZAR
TRY
SEK
NOK
DKK
CHF
HKD
SGD
PLN
AED
SAR
HUF
THB
QAR
MXN
Commodities
Gold
Silver
Gasoline
Oil
Copper
Palladium
Coffee
Cotton
Platinum
Corn
Sugar
Cocoa
Livestock
Wheat
Soybeans
Natural Gas
Lead
Lean Hogs
Oil
Gasoline
Silver
Gold
Palladium
Platinum
Natural Gas
Copper
Cocoa
Sugar
Soybeans
Coffee
Precious Metals
CFD
Engage in leveraged CFD trading across a wide array of instruments, encompassing forex, stocks, commodities, and indices. Yet while the selection of asset classes is satisfactory, the charting software and floating spreads for short-term traders fall behind that of competitors.
Swissquote has emerged as a dependable CFD broker, providing short-term trading opportunities on an extensive selection of global markets with fast execution, its intuitive CFXD platform alongside MetaTrader, plus insights from trusted third parties like Autochartist and Trading Central.
Leverage
1:30
1:30
FTSE Spread
2.5
0.9
GBPUSD Spread<
0.00028
1.7
Oil Spread
0.4
0.03
Stocks Spread
0.2% Var
N/A
Forex
Trade over 180 major, minor, and exotic forex pairs on the Trading 212 platform, featuring floating spreads and leverage up to 1:30. It’s important to note, though, that the forex broker has a history of adjusting margin requirements without providing adequate notice. As a result, CMC Markets is a better pick for forex traders with more currency pairs and a cleaner record.
Swissquote offers compelling conditions for active forex traders, with an extensive range of 80+ currency pairs, plus ultra-fast execution speeds averaging 9ms and access to the industry’s favorite MT4 software.