Start forex trading

Learn how to start forex trading with us through spread bets or CFDs by following our step-by-step tutorial, which covers how to open an online trading account and start accessing the forex market. Once you have an account, you can access 300+ forex pairs and a customised range of forex indices.

KEY BENEFITS

It's free to create a live or demo account

Join over 1 million traders and investors globally*

Competitive spreads, with margins starting at 3.3% across forex instruments

No minimum deposit to get started

We offer a wide range of forex technical indicators, trading tools and charting features

Financial Conduct Authority regulated

Segregated funds

FTSE 250 group

How to start forex trading

Trade CFDs and spread bet on a huge range of forex pairs, including EUR/USD and GBP/USD.

1

Open a forex trading account

Open a live forex trading account to start spread betting or trading CFDs. Our application process is simple and secure and you can apply for an account at any time by filling in our online application form now. Alternatively, our demo forex trading account allows you to trade on the markets risk-free with virtual funds.

2

Research the forex market

Discover the right forex pair to trade on. With a forex trading account, you will gain access to over 300 forex pairs, 12 customised forex indices and several research tools. These include both major crosses, such as the GBP/USD and EUR/GBP, as well as minor and exotic currency pairs. Learn more about how forex trading works.

3

Manage your risk

Determine your entry and exit points based on your trading strategy. You can go long and ‘buy’ if you think the forex pair price will rise, or you can go short and ‘sell’ if you think the price will fall. Browse our range of execution and order types, which include stop-losses and take-profit orders, in order to build an appropriate risk-management strategy.

Forex trading accounts

Choose between a spread betting or CFD trading account to start trading forex. To learn more about the differences between products, visit our article on spread betting vs CFDs.

Spread betting

If you are a resident of the UK or Ireland, you can open a spread betting account to start spread betting on forex markets. Spread betting is a tax-efficient** trading method that is free from capital gains tax and stamp duty.

CFD trading

You can also choose to open a CFD trading account to start trading on forex. CFD trading accounts are available globally and are free from stamp duty. Additionally, any losses made with a CFD trading account are deductible for tax purposes.

Trade forex CFDs on our award-winning platform^

Explore our platform features

| Android® | iOS®

Fully customisable to suit your trading style

Industry-leading charting package

Over 115 indicators and 70 chart patterns

Layouts for market overview or deep-dive analysis

Price projection tools and much more

Explore our platform features

| Android® | iOS®

Why start forex trading with us?

We offer several benefits if you choose to start trading on the global forex market with us. Also, we never aim to profit from our clients' losses. Our income comes predominantly from our spreads, which you pay when you place a trade with us.

Tax-efficient trading

There’s no capital gains tax or stamp duty on forex spread bets, and no stamp duty to pay when trading CFDs.

Go long or short

Choose to either go long and ‘buy’ or short and ‘sell’ your chosen forex instrument.

Trade from 30:1 leverage

Deposit from just 3.3% of the full value of your position to open a trade.

Trade 24 hours a day

As it’s a decentralised market, you can trade on forex 24 hours a day from Sunday night to Friday night.

Hundreds of FX pairs

Trade CFDs and spread bet on our customised forex indices or our vast range of 330+ forex pairs, with access to major, minor and emerging currency pairs.

A regulated provider

CMC Markets UK is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), registration numbers 173730 and 170627.

See our competitive forex costs

Whether you trade the majors, minors, movers or our forex indices, costs are important. That’s why we’re committed to being transparent with our pricing across the industry’s widest range of instruments – see the pricing for our most popular forex pairs below.

Majors

Minors

Exotics

FX indices

Instrument	Spread	Holding cost (Buy)	Holding cost (Sell)	Margin rate
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	3.3%
-	-	-	-	3.3%
-	-	-	-	3.3%
-	-	-	-	3.3%
-	-	-	-	3.3%
-	-	-	-	3.3%

Instrument	Spread	Holding cost (Buy)	Holding cost (Sell)	Margin rate
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	3.3%
-	-	-	-	3.3%

Instrument	Spread	Holding cost (Buy)	Holding cost (Sell)	Margin rate
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%

Instrument	Spread	Holding cost (Buy)	Holding cost (Sell)	Margin rate
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%
-	-	-	-	5%

View all of our costs

FAQS

How much do you need to open a live forex trading account?

It’s free to open a live trading account and no deposit is required. Read more details on spreads, margins and trading costs in our guide to 'how much do you need to start trading forex?'

What are the most popular forex pairs to trade?

Our most popular forex pairs include EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, AUD/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY. We offer a mix of major, minor and exotic crosses, so learn how to trade currency.

What is an example of a live forex trade?

To help you understand how forex trading works, view our forex trading examples, which take you through both buying and selling scenarios in the live forex markets.

Can you make a living from forex trading?

It’s possible to make a living from trading on the forex market, such as trading from home as a full-time trader. However, it’s likely to take time, patience and dedication to gain experience and build a trading strategy. Practise your strategy with a spread betting demo account.

Start forex trading with a live account

*1.621 million unique user logins for the CMC Markets invest, CFD and spread betting platforms globally, as at August 2024.
**Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change or may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.
^Awarded Best Mobile Trading Platform, ADVFN International Financial Awards 2024; No.1 Most Currency Pairs, ForexBrokers.com Awards 2024; No.1 Web Platform, ForexBrokers.com Awards 2023; Best Forex Broker, Good Money Guide Awards 2023; Best In-House Analysts, Professional Trader Awards 2023; CFD Provider of the Year, Investors' Chronicle/Financial Times Celebration of Investment Awards 2022; No.1 Platform Technology, ForexBrokers.com Awards 2022.