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City Index Review
City Index was founded in the United Kingdom in 1983 and has since grown to become one of the leaders of the world in spread betting, FX, and CFD trading. Their traders now have access to over 12,000 worldwide markets, including FX, indices, stocks, and commodities.
The City Index trading platform provides a variety of customisation choices, including 16 chart styles and 65+ indicators to help traders do technical analysis. The platform’s research page promotes trading ideas based on fundamental and technical analysis, and traders may monitor the markets using the native apps for smartphones and tablets.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has authorised and regulated City Index to store client funds in line with their client money regulations. Retail clients’ funds are also entirely separated from the broker’s funds, and consumers may be paid up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the case of collapse (FSCS).
Pros
- Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, ASIC and MAS
- Used by 140,000+ traders
- Established in 1983Min. deposit from $25
Cons
- Inactivity Fee
- Doesn’t allow scalping (See alternatives)
- Limited range of instruments
A minimum deposit of $25 is required to establish a live account. Additionally, City Index provides a demo account that you may use to practise and become acquainted with their platform.
Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, UK (FRN: 113942) and ASIC (AFSL #345646), City Index keeps all client money in a separate bank account and works with tier-1 institutions to do so. City Index has been in business since 1983 and has its headquarters in the United Kingdom.
While we show you the specifics of City Index’s spreads, fees, platforms, and trading tools, you may want to open their website in a new tab by clicking the button below to get the most up-to-date information.
Full disclosure: We may receive a commission if you sign up with a broker using one of our links.
What are the spreads and costs for City Index?
City Index, like most brokers, charges a fee based on the spread, which is the difference between both the purchase and sell price of an asset.
The commissions and spreads shown here are based on the City Index website’s minimum spreads.
| Forex | City Index | Pepperstone | XTB |
| EUR/USD(Average: 0.7 pips) | 0.7 pips | 0.09 pips | 0.1 pips |
| GBP/USD(Average: 1.1 pips) | 1.7 pips | 0.38 pips | 0.1 pips |
| USD/JPY(Average: 1.1 pips) | 0.6 pips | 0.19 pips | 0.1 pips |
| AUD/USD(Average: 0.8 pips) | 0.6 pips | 0.17 pips | 0.2 pips |
| USD/CHF(Average: 2.3 pips) | 2.3 pips | 0.35 pips | 0.2 pips |
| USD/CAD(Average: 2.9 pips) | 0.5 pips | 0.27 pips | 0.3 pips |
| NZD/USD(Average: 3.6 pips) | 2.8 pips | 1.1 pips | 0.3 pips |
| EUR/GBP(Average: 2.4 pips) | 0.5 pips | 1.0 pips | 0.1 pips |
Spreads are dynamic and are provided solely for informational reasons.
As you can see, the lowest spread for trading EUR/USD at City Index is 0.7 pips, which is pretty typical when compared to the average EUR/USD spread of 0.70 pips. The table below compares the costs of trading one lot of EUR/USD with City Index and other brokers.
How much does it cost to trade 1 lot of EUR/USD with City Index?
If you bought one standard lot of EUR/USD (100,000 units) with City Index at an exchange rate of 1.1719 and sold it the next day at the identical price, you would most likely pay $25.6. Here is a general breakdown of the fees and how they compare to IG and XTB.
| City Index | IG | XTB | |
| Spread from: | $ 5.00 | $ 6.00 | $ 2.00 |
| Commission: | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total cost of a 100k trade: | $ 5.00 | $ 6.00 | $ 2.00 |
| $1 more | $3 less | ||
| VISIT CITY INDEX | VISIT IG | VISIT XTB |
All fees/prices are for informational purposes and are subject to change.
What can you trade with City Index?
City Index provides over 12,500 distinct trading products, including 84 currency pairings. We’ve listed all of the numerous types of instruments provided by City Index below, along with IG and XTB instruments for comparison.
| FX / Currencies | City Index | IG | XTB |
| # of forex pairs offered | 84 | 90 | 48 |
| Major forex pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minor forex pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exotic forex pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrencies* | No | Yes | Yes |
| Commodity CFDs | City Index | IG | XTB |
| # of commodities offered | 26 | 34 | 21 |
| Metals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Energies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Agricultural | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Index & Stock CFDs | City Index | IG | XTB |
| # of stocks offered | 4500 | 8000 | 1606 |
| UK shares | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| US shares | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| German shares | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Japanese shares | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SEE CITY INDEX’S INSTRUMENTS | SEE IG’S INSTRUMENTS | SEE XTB’S INSTRUMENTS |
What is the trading experience like with the City Index?
1) Platforms and apps
City Index provides the well-known MT4 forex trading software. See our MT4 broker comparison for a list of the best MT4 brokers. They also offer their own AT Pro platform.
They now provide mobile apps for Android and iOS, making it simpler to monitor and execute transactions while on the go.
SEE THE PLATFORMS OF CITY INDEX
Still not sure?
Open a practice account & learn to trade
2) Executing Trades
You can perform a minimum trade of 1 Lot with City Index. This may differ based on the type of account you establish. The maximum trading requirements differ according on the trader and the instrument. Because they provide STP execution, you may anticipate narrower spreads and greater transparency in the price you pay to execute your trades.
City Index, as a market maker, may have lower entrance criteria than an ECN broker, which benefits from a higher number of transactions and usually has higher capital and minimum trading requirements. Market makers generally have a lower minimum deposit, lower minimum trade requirements, and no trading commission.
As with most brokers, margin requirements do vary depending on the trader, accounts and instruments. You can see the latest margin requirements on their website.
Finally, we’ve listed some of the popular funding methods that City Index offers its traders below.
Trading Features:
- Offers STP
- Low min deposit
- Allows hedging
- Guaranteed stop loss
Accounts offered:
- Micro account
- Mini account
- Standard account
- Demo account
- Managed account
Funding methods:
- Credit cards
- Bank Transfer
- Payoneer
3) Client support
English, Spanish, German, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese are among the languages supported by City Index.
4) What you’ll need to establish a City Index account
Because City Index is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, ASIC, and MAS, every new customer must go through a few minimal compliance checks to verify that you know the implications of trading and are permitted to trade. When you establish an account, you will most likely be asked for the following information, so keep it handy:
- A scanned colour copy of your passport, driving license or national ID
- A utility bill or bank statement from the past three months showing your address
You’ll also have to answer a few simple compliance inquiries to prove your trading expertise, so allow at least 10 minutes to finish the account opening procedure.
While you may be able to browse their site immediately, it is worth noting that you will not be able to execute any transactions until you pass compliance, which might take several days depending on your circumstances.
To begin the process of creating an account with City Index, go to their website.
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
