Home page -> Comparison -> City Index vs Plus 500 | Broker Comparison

Title City Index vs Plus 500 | Broker Comparison

Best trading broker comparisons. We compared City Index VS Plus 500 to see what key differences we could find.

Our goal was to create a side by side comparison of the approved brokers on wecomparebrokers to give you an at-a-glance overview of their features, broker details and fees. Our broker reviews and comparisons done by us testing accounts with real money and from the traders view point. You can also use our broker finder to look for a broker specific to your requirements.

Below is a comparison between City Index VS Plus 500

In our testing, we used our trading accounts and ranked various points that we liked, did not like or were indifferent to. We tried to be objective and be fair minded when evaluating certain characteristics, based on what features the broker had to offer in compared with how competitive their fees are. Additionally, we have created our own unique rating system which use for judging all brokers in our side-by-side broker comparisons.

Rating
City Index Review
Rating
Plus500 Review

Basic Information

Year Founded

First broker:

1983

Second broker:

2008

Headquarters Location

First broker:

UK (US Parent) + Global Offices

Second broker:

Israel + 5 global subs

Publicly Traded (Entity or Parent)

First broker:

YES

Second broker:

YES

Regulated?

First broker:

YES

Second broker:

YES

Primary Regulator

First broker:

FCA

Second broker:

FCA

Minimum Deposit

First broker:

£100

Second broker:

$100

Fixed Spreads?

First broker:

NO

Second broker:

YES

Trading Type

First broker:

Market Maker

Second broker:

No Dealing Desk

Commissions on Trades

First broker:

NO

Second broker:

No Dealing Desk

CFD Loss Rate

First broker:

72% loss rate on CFDs

Second broker:

81% loss rate on CFDs

Maximum Leverage

First broker:

1:30

Second broker:

1:30

Currency Pairs Offered

First broker:

84

Second broker:

50+

General Average Rating - 3 scale

First broker:

2,28

Second broker:

1,95

Background

Value

Score

Value

Score

Year Founded

First broker:

1983

3,0

Second broker:

2008

3,0

Headquarters location + Offices

First broker:

UK (US Parent) + Global Offices

3,0

Second broker:

Israel + 5 global subs

3,0

Publicly traded?

First broker:

Owned by GAIN Capital (Yes)

3,0

Second broker:

Yes, UK FTSE 250 Index

3,0

Size Measure

First broker:

800+ employees worlwide

2,5

Second broker:

Annual Revs > $100 million

3,0

Summary Score

First broker:

2,88

Second broker:

3,00

Regulatory Compliance

Value

Score

Value

Score

Regulated or unregulated?

First broker:

YES

3,0

Second broker:

YES

3,0

Primary regulator

First broker:

FCA

3,0

Second broker:

FCA

3,0

Multiple compliance

First broker:

ASIC, Singapore, Dubai,

3,0

Second broker:

CySEC, ASIC, MAS, ISA

3,0

Safety of Deposits

First broker:

UK protect, no additional ins

2,5

Second broker:

Seg accs, nat'l ins, no added

2,5

Summary Score

First broker:

2,88

Second broker:

2,88

Fees & Charges

Value

Score

Value

Score

Commissions, Fees & Charges

First broker:

Average

2,0

Second broker:

None

2,5

General

First broker:

High transparency, options fees?

2,0

Second broker:

Low WD fees

2,5

Spreads

First broker:

Fixed and variable confusing

2,0

Second broker:

Very Low

2,5

Summary Score

First broker:

2,00

Second broker:

2,67

Investment Products

Value

Score

Value

Score

Stocks - Breadth

First broker:

4 000

2,5

Second broker:

2,000 items

2,0

Forex - Breadth

First broker:

Average

2,5

Second broker:

Average

2,5

Other: Comm, Crypto, Spread, CFD?

First broker:

Comm, Cryp, CFD, Spread Betting

3,0

Second broker:

Limited to CFD and forex

1,5

Summary Score

First broker:

2,67

Second broker:

2,0

Platform experience

Value

Score

Value

Score

MT4 or equivalant

First broker:

MT4

3,0

Second broker:

None offered

1,0

Proprietary options

First broker:

Web and AT Pro platforms

2,5

Second broker:

WebTrader - Proprietary

2,5

Special Advanced?

First broker:

Reuters feed, advanced tools

2,0

Second broker:

WebTrader closed system

1,5

Summary Score

First broker:

2,50

Second broker:

1,67

Special Features

Value

Score

Value

Score

Feature A

First broker:

Still operates dealing desk

1,0

Second broker:

Guar Stop Loss on some

2,0

Feature B

First broker:

No volume discounts

1,5

Second broker:

Financing rates high

1,5

Feature C

First broker:

No social trading

1,0

Second broker:

No Daytraders allowed

1,5

Summary Score

First broker:

1,17

Second broker:

1,67

Research Tools/Guidance

Value

Score

Value

Score

Financial Commentary

First broker:

Above average research portal

2,5

Second broker:

Very limited

1,0

Technical Anlaysis

First broker:

In-house analyst updates

2,5

Second broker:

Very limited

1,0

Other Guidance

First broker:

Trading ideas, stratagies

2,0

Second broker:

Some sentiment, no news

1,0

Summary Score

First broker:

2,33

Second broker:

1,00

Education Support

Value

Score

Value

Score

Basic Library

First broker:

Basic to Broad coverage

2,0

Second broker:

Very limited

0,5

Webinars/Support

First broker:

Webinars, videos, articles

2,0

Second broker:

Very limited

1,0

General

First broker:

72% loss rate on CFDs

1,5

Second broker:

81% loss rate on CFDs

1,0

Summary Score

First broker:

1,83

Second broker:

0,83

Customer Support

Value

Score

Value

Score

Live Chat, Web, Tele, Offices

First broker:

YES

3,0

Second broker:

Live Chat and Email, no tele

2,0

Responsiveness

First broker:

Better than Average

2,5

Second broker:

Better than Average

2,5

FAQs? Quality?

First broker:

More than adequate

2,5

Second broker:

Adequate + 32 languages

2,0

Summary Score

First broker:

2,67

Second broker:

2,17

General Pros & Cons

Value

Score

Value

Score

Pro #1

First broker:

Competitive pricing

2,0

Second broker:

Low fees and spreads

2,5

Pro #2

First broker:

Large product offering

2,5

Second broker:

Over 2,000 items offered

2,0

Pro #3

First broker:

Excellent training/support

2,5

Second broker:

Options offered

2,0

Con #1

First broker:

Focus on begin and mid-level

2,0

Second broker:

Inflexible trading platform

1,5

Con #2

First broker:

Advanced API integration weak

1,0

Second broker:

Limited research

1,0

Con #3

First broker:

No social trading

1,0

Second broker:

Limited education materials

1,0

Summary Score

First broker:

1,83

Second broker:

1,67

General Average Rating - 3 scale

General Average Rating - 3 scale

First broker:

2,28

Second broker:

1,95