CMC Markets review: does Next Generation beat IG for chart-first forex traders?
CMC Markets has no minimum deposit, 300 forex pairs and a charting platform built around pattern scanning. We weighed its spreads and FX Active pricing against IG to see who it actually suits.
7.9/10
CMC Markets is a strong pick for a forex trader who lives on charts: Next Generation is fast, deep and backed by a listed, FCA-authorised group. Its plain accounts are not cheap, though, at about 1.3 pips on EUR/USD, and the platform has no copy trading, no retail API and no OCO orders. Choose FX Active if you trade often, and skip CMC if raw-spread pricing or automation is the priority.
Best for
Chart-driven forex traders who want research and pattern tools built in
No minimum deposit, and about 300 forex pairs on one platform
FX Active offers 0.0 pip pricing on six majors for 0.0025% commission
Next Generation adds pattern scanning, sentiment and Reuters research to the ticket
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, with FCA authorisation for UK clients
No withdrawal charge and no commission on standard forex accounts
What does not
Standard EUR/USD costs about 1.3 pips in independent tests, wider than IG
No copy trading, no retail API access and no OCO or OTO orders
68% of retail accounts lose money on spread bets and CFDs at CMC
A £10 monthly fee applies to dormant spread betting accounts
Specs
Minimum deposit
None stated
Forex pairs
About 300
Standard EUR/USD spread
0.5 pips advertised, about 1.3 pips tested
FX Active cost
0.0 pips on six majors plus 0.0025% commission
Retail leverage
Up to 30:1
Platforms
Next Generation web and app, MetaTrader 4, TradingView
Regulation
FCA (UK) and other Tier 1 regulators
Account types
Spread betting, CFD, FX Active, equities
Most brokers pitch a platform as a way to place trades. CMC Markets pitches Next Generation as a way to decide on them, and that is the claim we tested. The comparison a chart-first trader really makes is with IG, so that is where we start.
Leveraged products such as forex CFDs and spread bets carry a real risk of loss, and nothing here is personal advice.
The short answer against IG
On price, IG wins. Independent testers put CMC's standard EUR/USD cost near 1.3 pips, while IG's standard account came in around 0.9 pips in the same kind of test. On tooling, CMC wins more often than not. Its edge is what happens before the ticket: pattern scanning, client sentiment and Reuters research sit inside the trade window rather than in a separate tab.
What Next Generation gives a chart trader
ForexBrokers.com counts 65 indicators, 33 drawing tools and one-second timeframes on the web platform, with the mobile app carrying 30 indicators across 19 timeframes. That is a full toolbox, not a showpiece. The pattern recognition scanner is the feature that matters most for this audience: it flags formations across the pairs you follow, so you are not scrolling 50 charts by eye.
CMC's own pitch is speed, quoting execution of 0.009 seconds on web and mobile. We treat vendor timings as a ceiling, not a measurement. CMC also states there are no partial fills on forex.
cmcmarkets.com
The web platform's product page. The award claims carry footnotes, so read them before you rely on them.
If you prefer another front end, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView both connect to a CMC account. MT5 is offered only in some regions.
Pricing: two accounts, two answers
The forex page advertises spreads from 0.5 pips on major pairs, across roughly 300 pairs, which is among the widest menus we have seen. Margin starts at 3.34%, which matches the 30:1 retail cap.
cmcmarkets.com
The forex page: 300 pairs, and a headline spread that is a floor, not an average.
The advertised floor is not what you pay on average. Testers measured about 1.3 pips on the standard account. FX Active is the fix: 0.0 pips on six majors (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/JPY) plus a 0.0025% commission per transaction. On EUR/USD, that worked out to about 1.15 pips all-in in the same tests, so the saving is real but modest.
Other costs are plain. Spread bets carry no commission or conversion fee. CFDs and equities convert currency at the mid-price plus or minus 0.7%. Overnight holding charges post at 10pm UK time. Dormant spread betting accounts pay £10 a month, and there is no minimum deposit stated anywhere we looked.
cmcmarkets.com
The fee page covers spread betting, CFDs, equities and options in one place.
Volume helps a little. Spread betting, CFD and FX Active clients enter the Price+ tiered discount scheme automatically, though CMC's page does not print the thresholds.
Web, app and the phone question
CMC's platforms page pushes one product across desktop browser and mobile, which suits anyone who checks positions on a commute and analyses at a desk. The app is lighter on tools, with 30 indicators against the web's 65, so treat it as a monitor and an exit button rather than a research workstation.
cmcmarkets.com
The platforms page shows web and mobile as one product family.
What is missing
This is where the review turns. There is no copy trading, no retail API and no OCO or OTO orders. A trader who automates, or who wants a bracket order in one click, will feel that fast. Education is video-led rather than structured into courses.
cmcmarkets.com
Account comparison: four routes in, one of them the commission-based FX Active.
The regulatory picture is a plus. CMC is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and independent reviewers count six Tier 1 licences including the FCA. The firm also prints that 68% of retail accounts lose money trading its spread bets and CFDs. Believe that figure, and size trades accordingly.
What the spread gap costs in pounds
On a standard lot of EUR/USD, one pip is worth about $10. At 1.3 pips CMC's standard account costs roughly $13 to open and close, against about $9 at IG's 0.9 pips. That $4 difference is small on one trade and large across 200 trades a year. FX Active narrows the gap to about $11.50 all-in. The rational reading is that CMC's platform has to earn the difference back in better entries, and only you can judge whether it does.
Who should pick it
Take CMC if you trade forex from charts, trade several sessions a week, and want research inside the platform. Use FX Active, not the standard account.
Take IG if the tightest standard-account pricing and a bigger ecosystem matter more than pattern tools.
Skip both if you want raw spreads under a dollar a side, cTrader or algorithmic control. A dedicated ECN broker is cheaper.
We score CMC as a good, not great, broker: excellent tools, average pricing, and a few missing order types that irritate the traders most likely to want its platform.
7.9
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