Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. The majority of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. This page is general information, not financial advice. Advertiser disclosure.
Pepperstone and FxPro are the best cTrader brokers for UK traders, and the only two FCA-regulated firms in our review set that offer cTrader to UK clients. Both run raw spreads, level-two depth of market and the cTrader Automate algo environment. cTrader is the raw-execution platform built for active traders, and support for it among FCA-regulated brokers is genuinely narrow.
Who is the best cTrader broker in the UK?
Pepperstone is the best cTrader broker in the UK, charging US$3.00 per lot per side on cTrader FX against FxPro’s US$3.50, on a Razor account that tested at a 0.17 pip three-pair average against FxPro’s 0.62. FxPro is the longest-standing UK cTrader name. Only two brokers in our FCA review set offer cTrader at all, and neither publishes a GBP cTrader rate.
The two FCA-regulated cTrader brokers, ranked:
- Pepperstone: US$3.00 per side on cTrader FX, the lower of the two.
- FxPro: longest-standing UK cTrader name, US$3.50 per side.
If you can trade without cTrader, two labelled alternatives:
- FXCM: Trading Station and native TradingView in place of cTrader
- IG Markets: the broadest market range here on a proprietary platform with ProRealTime
Comparison table: UK cTrader brokers
The spreads shown are advertised from-rates and the commissions are each broker’s advertised cTrader rate, re-verified against the broker’s own UK pricing page on 29 July 2026, a desk-based assessment of advertised UK pricing rather than spreads we recorded on a live account; our recorded-spread protocol is on the methodology page. Both commissions are quoted in US dollars for every account currency, so the sterling cost is a conversion, not a published rate.
| Broker | cTrader account | EUR/USD spread | Commission per side | cTrader Automate | FCA entity (FRN) | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | Razor (raw) | From 0.0 pips (Razor) | US$3.00 per lot per side, FX; US$3.50 on spot gold. All account currencies, converted | Yes | Pepperstone Limited (684312) | Pepperstone review |
| FxPro | cTrader (raw) | From 0.0 pips (advertised) | US$3.50 per lot per side. All account currencies, converted | Yes | FxPro UK Limited (509956) | FxPro review |
Advertised rates from each broker’s published pricing, commissions last verified 29 July 2026. Spreads and commissions move with the market and with the broker’s own schedule, so re-verify the live figure before relying on any number here.
Both brokers in the table are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Firm Reference Numbers shown. UK retail accounts carry negative balance protection and FSCS cover up to £85,000 for eligible clients, with access to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FCA caps retail leverage at 30:1 on major currency pairs and on relevant sovereign debt (government bonds issued by the UK, a eurozone member state, the US, Japan, Canada or Switzerland), 20:1 on non-major pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 on other commodities and non-major indices, and 5:1 on shares and on anything the rules do not otherwise list.
What these cTrader accounts tested at
cTrader is built for raw pricing, so the gap between an advertised from-rate and a recorded spread matters more here than on a spread-only platform.
| Broker | Account tested | EUR/USD (tested) | GBP/USD (tested) | EUR/GBP (tested) | 3-pair average (tested) | Commission, round turn | Advertised from-rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | Razor (CFD) | 0.10 pips | 0.20 pips | 0.20 pips | 0.17 pips | £4.50 | tested basis leads |
| FxPro | Raw+ (MT4/MT5) | 0.64 pips | 0.54 pips | 0.69 pips | 0.62 pips | £5.22, converted | from 0.0 (advertised) |
| FXCM | CFD Trading Account (Standard, spread-only) | 1.30 pips | 1.80 pips | 1.30 pips | 1.47 pips | spread-only | from 0.2 (advertised) |
| IG Markets | IG Trading Account (CFD) | 1.13 pips | 1.66 pips | 1.71 pips | 1.50 pips | spread-only | from 0.6 (advertised) |
Spreads are modal values, the most frequent quote across three trading days on a live UK account, recorded by David Levy in July 2026 and averaged across the three pairs shown. Commission is the round-turn figure on one standard lot. Figures marked converted come from a broker schedule published in US dollars or euros, converted at the rate recorded with the capture. A tested modal is what the spread actually was, which is not the same thing as the from-rate a broker advertises; where both appear on this page each carries its own basis. Spreads move, so confirm the live rate before you trade.
1. Pepperstone: the lower cTrader commission of the two
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- Average spread
- 0.1 pips avg, Razor (raw), tested July 2026 plus US$3.00 per side
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £10
- Regulation
- Pepperstone Limited (FRN 684312)
◎ Standout: it undercuts the only other FCA cTrader broker on both the commission and the tested spread, by a US$1.00 round turn and 0.45 pips.
Why we recommend Pepperstone
Pepperstone Limited (FCA FRN 684312) charges US$3.00 per lot per side on cTrader FX against FxPro's US$3.50, and its Razor account tested at a 0.17 pip three-pair average against FxPro's 0.62. It is cheaper on both halves of the cost, which in a two-broker field is the whole comparison.
One correction worth carrying, because this page used to get it wrong. Pepperstone's cTrader commission is not the £2.25 it charges on MT4 and MT5. It is a US-dollar rate quoted for every account currency and converted at the prevailing rate, so no sterling figure is fixed. The US$1.00 round-turn advantage is also FX only: spot gold is US$3.50 per side at both brokers, so the gap closes the moment you leave currencies. Worth knowing separately that cTrader runs on Pepperstone's Standard account as well as Razor; it is TradingView that is Razor-only here.
Pros & cons
- Lower cTrader commission than the only other FCA option, US$3.00 against US$3.50
- Tested 0.17 pip three-pair average against 0.62
- cTrader runs on both the Razor and Standard accounts
- Runs cTrader alongside MT4, MT5 and TradingView on one FCA account
- No GBP cTrader rate is published, so the sterling cost is a conversion
- The commission advantage is FX only; spot gold is US$3.50 at both
- Raw pricing means counting commission into every cost comparison
- The proprietary app duplicates some cTrader functions
2. FxPro: the longest-standing FCA cTrader offer
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- Average spread
- 0.64 pips avg, Raw+ (raw), tested July 2026 plus US$3.50 per side
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £0
- Regulation
- FxPro UK Limited (FRN 509956)
◎ Standout: it has run cTrader longer than any other FCA broker, and its cTrader accounts are the only route to its native TradingView integration.
Why higher here? cTrader Fit weights cTrader pricing and platform depth, which lifts FxPro above its #15 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend FxPro
FxPro UK Limited (FCA FRN 509956) has offered cTrader longer than any other FCA-authorised broker in our review set, and keeps the platform paired with its raw pricing so the depth-of-market view sits on the account type it was designed for.
There is one structural reason to prefer it that has nothing to do with cost. FxPro's native TradingView integration is gated to its cTrader account types: open MetaTrader here and the TradingView link does not exist for you. If you want cTrader and TradingView from the same broker, the cTrader account is the way in. On price it is behind: US$3.50 per side against Pepperstone's US$3.00, on a wider tested spread, and like Pepperstone it publishes no GBP cTrader rate.
Pros & cons
- Longest-standing FCA cTrader offer in our set
- Its cTrader accounts are the only route to its native TradingView link
- Level-two depth of market and cTrader Automate
- A choice of raw or all-in pricing at the same broker
- Higher commission than Pepperstone at US$3.50 per side
- No GBP cTrader rate published, so the sterling cost is a conversion
- Tested three-pair average of 0.62 pips against Pepperstone's 0.17
- Lower UK review score than Pepperstone
If you don't need cTrader: two strong alternatives
Neither broker below offers cTrader. Both are listed as the labelled alternatives for traders who can trade without it, and their own cards set out what each runs instead.
FXCM: charting-led trading without cTrader
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- Average spread
- 0.2 pips avg, Active Trader (raw), tested July 2026
- Trading platforms
- MT4, TradingView, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £50
- Regulation
- Stratos Markets Limited (FRN 217689)
◎ Standout: charting-led trading without cTrader, on a platform stack built around depth-of-book pricing instead
Pros & cons
- Trading Station covers depth-of-book pricing and advanced charting
- Native TradingView support adds a second charting route
- FCA-authorised with FSCS cover for eligible clients
- No cTrader and no cTrader Automate
- No level-two depth of market in the cTrader sense
- Volume-tiered commission with no published per-lot rate
IG Markets: breadth over platform depth
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- Average spread
- 1.13 pips avg, IG Trading (spread-only), tested July 2026
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- None published
- Regulation
- IG Markets Limited (FRN 195355)
◎ Standout: breadth over platform depth, with direct market access standing in for the order book
Pros & cons
- One of the broadest market ranges of any broker on this page
- L2 Dealer gives genuine direct market access
- ProRealTime with ProOrder covers code-free automation
- Longest FCA record here, trading since 1974
- No cTrader and no cTrader Automate
- Headline FX spreads sit wider than a raw account
- No commission account to switch to
What cTrader looks like at an FCA broker
cTrader’s draw over MetaTrader is the order book. The capture below is FxPro’s, with the depth-of-market ladder open beside the chart, which is the view scalpers and algo traders come to cTrader for.
FxPro cTrader screenshot
What cTrader does better than MT4 and MT5
Spotware launched cTrader in 2011, and it was designed around direct-market-style execution from the start. It offers genuine level-two depth of market on every symbol, faster one-click order entry, and a cleaner charting interface than MetaTrader. The platform is built for raw-account trading rather than market-making, which is why brokers tend to pair it with their lowest-cost account. At FxPro, cTrader accounts also connect natively to TradingView with in-panel order placement, a bridge that runs through the cTrader account types rather than the MT4 or MT5 lineups. If you are weighing it against the MetaTrader pair, the MT4 brokers and MT5 brokers guides rank the FCA field on each platform. For an active UK trader, the depth-of-market view and the execution model are the draw.
How cTrader compares
The advantages above, in one table.
| Feature |  cTrader |  MT4 |  MT5 |  TradingView |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth of market | Yes | No | Yes | Broker-dependent |
| Timeframes | 26 | 9 | 21 | Custom intervals |
| Automation language | C# | MQL4 | MQL5 | Pine Script |
| Strategy tester | Built in (cTrader Automate) | Single-thread | Multi-thread | Pine strategy tester |
| Economic calendar | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| New broker licences | Open | Mostly closed since 2018 | Open | Open |
| UK brokers offering it | 2 of 27 | 18 of 27 | 12 of 27 | 14 of 27 |
Across MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, cTrader’s edge is full depth of market across 26 timeframes; 2 of 27 FCA brokers we rank offer it.
cTrader Automate: the algo environment
cTrader carries its own automation layer, cTrader Automate. It runs cBots, cTrader’s equivalent of an expert advisor, written in C#. It is a different ecosystem from MetaTrader’s MQL, with full backtesting and optimisation built in. A trader who wants to run automated strategies on a raw-execution platform finds cTrader Automate a natural home, and both Pepperstone and FxPro support it. Because cTrader pairs with raw, commission-based accounts, it sits close to the ECN forex broker model; the best automated trading platform UK guide covers the wider automation options.
Why so few FCA brokers offer cTrader
cTrader is built for raw-spread, commission-based execution, and most UK-facing brokers earn their margin inside the spread instead. Supporting the platform means running a raw account type, paying the licensing cost and maintaining a separate order stack, so market-maker brokers rarely take it on. That is why cTrader is a two-name field inside our 27-broker FCA panel rather than a crowded one. Some brokers offer cTrader on other group entities but not in the UK: Vantage, for example, runs MT4, MT5 and TradingView on its UK entity and does not carry cTrader there (broker site, accessed 10 July 2026). One name is worth ruling out by name rather than by silence. ICM Capital Limited (FRN 520965) announced cTrader in 2017, but the FCA register records that firm as no longer authorised with effect from 2 April 2026, so it is not an FCA-regulated cTrader broker and does not belong in this field at all (register.fca.org.uk, accessed 29 July 2026). Keep the reference number in view rather than the brand: a separate Mauritius-registered company trades under the same ICM Capital name, so cTrader marketing found under that brand is not evidence of UK authorisation. Availability can change, so confirm cTrader is live on a broker’s UK entity before funding an account.
cTrader costs in GBP: a worked example
On a raw cTrader account the spread can start at 0.0 pips, so the commission is the cost that matters, and on this platform it is a US-dollar number at both brokers. Take one standard lot of EUR/USD. Pepperstone charges US$3.00 per lot per side, US$6.00 for the round turn. FxPro charges US$3.50 per side, US$7.00 round turn. That is a US$1.00 per-lot gap on the round turn in Pepperstone’s favour, and it is an FX gap only: spot gold is US$3.50 per side at both, so the advantage disappears the moment you leave currencies.
Neither broker publishes a GBP cTrader rate. Both quote in US dollars for every account currency and convert at the prevailing rate, so the pound cost of an identical trade moves with US$/£ on the day, and a sterling account cannot lock either figure. This is the one place the platform choice changes the cost basis rather than just the interface: the same Pepperstone client pays a fixed, published £2.25 per side on MT4 and MT5, and a converted US$3.00 on cTrader (broker’s UK costs page, accessed 29 July 2026). One pip on a standard EUR/USD lot is worth about US$10, so once a spread widens past a fraction of a pip the commission is only part of the all-in cost. The platform itself is free. Before deciding raw pricing wins for your volume, compare it against a no-commission standard account using the lowest spread forex broker UK guide.
Compare brokers by the factor that decides it
cTrader is a raw-pricing platform, so the factor that usually decides it is cost. Start from the one that decides it for you.
Start with the overall ranking
Our main UK list scores every FCA-regulated broker on cost and execution.
Cost decides it
The same trade costs different amounts on different account types. These lists rank on the all-in figure.
Your strategy decides it
Pick your trading software first, then compare the brokers that carry it.
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About the author
Justin Grossbard is the co-founder and CEO at CompareForexBrokers. He has traded forex since 1998, leads UK broker research and has personally reviewed every FCA-regulated broker on this site. His work has appeared in Forbes, Kiplinger and Finance Magnates, and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and a Master of Marketing.