What is a CFD trading platform?

To trade contracts for difference (CFD), you need a CFD trading platform. There are plenty of options out there, but each one performs the same fundamental service: access to the financial markets. Without an online trading platform, you won’t be able to invest in CFDs on shares, commodities or any other financial instrument.

To get an overview of what CFD trading is and how to do it, you can check out our beginners guide. This should be your starting point if you’ve never invested in these products before. Once you’re comfortable with how this type of trading works, you can use this CFD trading platform comparison to find the ideal gateway for you.

In general terms, online trading platforms like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) are available via the internet, downloadable desktop apps and mobile apps. The medium you use is a matter of personal preference because, by and large, CFD platforms provide the same functionality in all settings. Therefore, the real choices are made based on the usability of a trading app, the instruments it offers and the technical tools it has.

How to choose a trading platform

To conduct your own CFD trading platform comparison, you need to know what you’re looking for. Indeed, it’s no good trying to choose a program if you don’t have a method for assessing what each one does. With this in mind, here are the things you need to consider before you download an online trading platform:

Easy-to-use Interface

Any trading platform for beginners should be easy to use and, more importantly, easy to understand. There are a lot of complex and potentially confusing aspects to financial trading. From leverage to Bollinger bands, there are things that CFD trading newbies might not be familiar with. The best online trading platforms will present these concepts and features in an accessible way. Moreover, they’ll provide information and explanations.

The best platforms also provide a simple overview of an asset’s price history. From there, you should be able to add and remove performance indicators at will. In other words, you should be able to fill the screen with as many or as few features as you like.

Access and trading conditions

Top CFD trading platforms provide easy access to hundreds of trading options. As a standard, you should look for CFDs on stocks, commodities and indices. The Skilling trading platforms offer CFDs on forex and cryptocurrencies.

The basic rule here is that quantity matters. The more financial instruments you can trade, the better chance you’ve got of finding something that suits. Of course, you also have to think about quality. If some of the major products within a particular sector are missing, it should raise alarm bells. For example, if you can’t trade gold or there aren’t any CFD share options for Amazon, that’s not ideal.

Executing trades

Trading is as much about timing as it is research. If you can make the right investment at the right time, you’re likely to take advantage of the financial markets movements. For this reason, you need a trading platform that provides simple, one-touch executions.

For example, when you use the Skilling cTrader platform, you’ll be able to set your price and adjust the number of shares with + or – buttons. From there, you can review the order and execute a trade all within a single pop-up.

Not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future performance.