XTB review: Mobile Trading with Competitive Fees

	Name	Score	Visit	Disclaimer
	XTB	9.0	Visitxtb.com					CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Investment Products

As far as investment products go, XTB offers a fairly decent selection for UK citizens, with access to thousands of CFDs, stocks, and ETFs. With that said, it lacks some instruments offered by competitors, such as futures, options, mutual funds, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.

With that said, the company’s roadmap says that they plan to introduce bonds at some point in 2024. With that being the case, it is also possible that additional instruments may be added in the future, although this was not confirmed by the platform.

Assets Available

We have talked about what XTB is lacking, but now, let’s see what it does have to offer. As mentioned, even though its selection of available assets is not perfect — it is by no means small, either. For example, you can trade:

• Stocks: Stocks are an area where XTB truly shines, featuring over 3,000 shares from 16 major exchanges around the world. While this makes it equal to eToro in terms of how many stocks and shares are available, it still falls behind competitors like Freetrade (over 6,000 with higher tier plans) and Trading 212 (more than 12,000). You can even buy fractions of shares.

• ETFs: Another area where XTB does fairly well is exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. It has around 300 of them available, which is about the same number as what eToro has to offer. XTB’s ETFs are also fractional.

Derivative Products

When it comes to derivatives products, XTB only offers Contracts For Difference (CFDs). There are over 2,332 available CFDs according to the platform, including CFDs on forex, indices, and commodities.

• Forex: XTB offers access to 71 currency pairs split into three categories - Major, Minor, and Emerging. Of course, this is a decent range compared to firms like eToro, which offers 40+ pairs. The platform offers low spreads from 0.1 pips, and there is no minimum deposit.

• Indices: In terms of indices, XTB’s offering is not massive, but it offers 32 indices split into three categories — Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Once again, the offering is not massive, but it beats the likes of eToro, which only offers 20 indices. XTB allows you to track the performance of more sectors from a single position, and with competitive spreads. Leverage goes up to 500:1.

• Commodities: As for commodities, they are split into six categories, including Agriculture, Energy, Industrial Metals, Precious Metals, Livestock, and Others. In total, there are 27 commodities CFDs available. This is, once again, a lower count than what many of the competitors are offering. However, spreads are competitive, and leverage goes up to 20:1. The platform also offers transparent rollovers visible on the chart.

• Stock CFDs: In addition to 3,000 stocks, the platform also offers nearly 2,000 stock CFDs.

• ETF CFDs: In addition to ETFs, there are also ETF CFDs, although only 171 of them are available at this time.

Market Reach

As far as range is concerned, XTB says that users can reach stocks from 16 major exchanges around the world. That includes the Americas, Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, and Europe. The platform offers access to multiple forex pairs in emerging markets, such as CADMXN, CHFHUF, USDBRL, EURHUF, and more.

A similar situation surrounds indices, with available options including BRAComp, MEXComp, CHN.cash, HK.cash, VIET30, and more.

The market reach extends to exchanges in:

1. Belgium

2. Czechia

3. Denmark

4. Finland

5. France

6. Germany

7. Italy

8. Netherlands

9. Norway

10. Poland

11. Portugal

12. Spain

13. Sweden

14. Switzerland

15. UK

16. US

Comparatively, eToro offers access to 17 exchanges, while Feetrade offers only 11 and Trading 212 offers 14.

Account Types

XTB only offers one type of account in the UK for trading and investing. Plus, you can open a demo account. You won’t find any tax-advantaged accounts on XTB, like ISAs or SIPPs. In this respect, it offers fewer account options than alternatives such as Hargreaves Lansdown or IG.

Basic XTB account

XTB’s Standard account is the default account for traders and investors, and trades placed while using this account come free from commission. The cost of trading is built into the spread. The commission for this account is only charged on equity trades. As for other asset classes, like forex, commodities, and indices, the cost is built into the spread, as mentioned.

With this account, you can access over 5,600 instruments, including FX, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, ETFs, and CFDs. You also get minimum spreads from 0.5 with EURUSD benchmarking at 1.0. Max leverage, as mentioned earlier, is 30:1.

Demo Account

This account gives you access to all the same instruments, spreads, and leverage as a real account. You can use a demo version of the xStation platform with all the same features. The difference is that your demo account contains virtual funds so there’s no risk.

This is a great way to test out the platform and get familiar with it before making a deposit. You could also use a demo account to test out new trading strategies in a risk-free environment.

Features

XTB offers a fairly decent set of features for trading and investing, but also plenty of educational materials, and some market research tools. There are also two trading platforms, but unfortunately, UK users can only access one of them.

Trading Tools

The trading tools on XTB aren’t as advanced as what you’ll find on platforms like Saxo or Schwab. That said, they’ll likely be enough for anyone just starting out on their trading journey.

xStation 5

Internationally, XTB offers access to two trading platforms — MT4 and xStation 5. It should be noted, however, that UK traders cannot access XTB through the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform developed by MetaQuotes Software Corp.

Instead, UK traders can use XTB’s flagship web-based trading platform called xStation 5. Even so, the platform offers access to all of its investment products, and it lets you trade using its web or mobile version, and even smartwatches.

xStation 5 will give you access to professional analytics tools, market sentiment, risk management tools, and breaking news.

Social Trading

As of March 2024, XTB does not offer social trading yet. However, one of the platform’s goals for 2024 is to add social trading at some point during the year, alongside its bond offering. This could make XTB a stronger competitor to eToro, which already offers social trading features.

Charting tools

One of the XTB trading tools that traders use on a day-to-day basis is the xStation platform’s charting tools. There is a range of technical indicators, market analysis capabilities, and other advanced charting tools that can help traders make educated decisions based on the market’s performance.

However, it is worth noting that they are relatively limited, and professional traders might find some high-level tools lacking, such as ML and AI tools, market depth and Level II data, backtesting and strategy optimization, and others.

There is also a lack of features like multiple order types, copy trading, managed portfolios, and more.

Investment Plans

This feature is to enable passive investing to achieve long-term goals like retirement. You choose which ETFs you want to buy and what percentage of your portfolio you want to allocate to each.

After that, you can set up Auto Invest to make regular, automatic payments to your investment plan. XTB will show you risk scores and alert you if your portfolio departs from your ideal balance.

Interest

An attractive feature of XTB is that it offers interest on uninvested funds. This means you don’t need to worry about your cash sitting idle while you’re deciding how and when to invest. Depending on the size of your portfolio, you could earn up to 4.9% interest on GBP.

Market Research

XTB offers a fair selection of market research content. While it does not offer access to reputable third-party publications, it does have its own in-house expert-curated market research articles and asset-specific news. In addition, it also provides a market calendar that shows the time, economic indicators, public value, and forecast.

Apart from that, there is also an easy-to-understand market sentiment table that shows specific assets and visually presents whether traders are mostly buying or mostly selling them, with a percentage of buyers vs. sellers for each asset.

Finally, it displays market gainers and losers which, once again, gives traders a better understanding of what is going on and which assets they might want to consider trading or investing in.

Educational Materials

Another point of user-friendliness is the platform’s vast knowledge base. XTB has an education tab in which users can click on Educational Articles. Doing so leads them to the platform’s knowledge base, where they can switch between several categories.

These include Trending topics, Forex, Commodities, Indices, Technical analysis, Stocks, Fundamental analysis, CFDs, ETFs, Platform, Glossary, Guides, ABC of Investing, XTB Services, and Become a Trader.

Each of the categories, when clicked, displays articles related to the desired topic. While some aspects could perhaps use more articles and guides, especially those tied to XTB Services, the knowledge base is reasonably large and covers most of the topics quite well. It is also worth saying that the platform offers access to trading courses.

However, this can also be considered to be somewhat limited. For example, the platform does not feature multimedia content such as videos, podcasts, or webinars. The content also doesn’t feature the likes of quizzes or assessments, or other ways for traders to test their knowledge once gained.

The materials offered on the platform were tailored for beginner investors and traders, and while that makes the platform more user-friendly, it suggests that this area has very little to offer to advanced traders.

	Name	Score	Visit	Disclaimer
	XTB	9.0	Visitxtb.com					CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Fees

Next, let’s talk about fees. XTB is fairly transparent when it comes to its fees, and there are both positives and negatives here, as we are about to see. For clarity, we will split the fees into three categories — trading fees, spreads, and non-trading fees

XTB trading fees

As the name suggests, trading fees are fees you pay when you trade. These include commissions, currency conversion fees, financing rates, and the like

One of the best things about XTB and its account is that there are no separate trading fees, as such. Almost all supported markets can be traded with no commission. Instead, trades are executed on a spread-only basis, meaning that the fees are already included in spreads.

The platform does charge a currency conversion fee, which sits at 0.5% of the amount.

XTB spreads

The primary way through which XTB makes money is from the market spreads. Spreads are the difference between bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices and they are used for leveraged products, such as CFDs. The spreads tend to fluctuate depending on the market conditions at the time of the trade, meaning that the platform will calculate them differently each time, depending on what is going on.

Fortunately, the spreads seem to be fairly low and competitive, with the platform charging spreads from 0.1 pips for forex. It is also worth noting that the platform’s maximum leverage sits at 30:1.

XTB Non-trading fees

In terms of non-trading fees, there are several fees to consider

Deposit fees

XTB doesn’t charge any fees for deposits. You can choose a bank transfer, credit card, or debit card to fund your account. You’ll only face fees for deposits if your payment provider charges them.

Withdrawal fees

XTB differs from competitors when it comes to withdrawal fees, as well. While most other major platforms charge no withdrawal fees, XTB will charge you if the amount you are trying to withdraw is under ₤50. The fee that comes with small amounts is a flat fee of ₤5. If you withdraw an amount higher than ₤50, you will not be charged a fee.

Inactivity fees

Finally, most brokers also charge an inactivity fee. This is a fee that is charged to your account if you fail to make any trading or investing moves over a certain period of time. On XTB, this period is twelve months. In other words, if you abandon your account for one year, you will be charged ₤10 per month as long as your account remains inactive.

eToro, one of XTB’s largest competitors in the UK, charges the same fee per month after the same 12-month period of inactivity. On the other hand, another competitor, IG, charges a slightly higher ₤12 per month, but only after two years (24 months) of inactivity.

Usability

XTB offers a very user-friendly platform that is fairly simple to navigate. It should be noted, however, that its trading platform, xStation 5, operates separately from the main website. Even so, most ranking lists put XTB near the top when it comes to ease of use and user experience.

XTB Web Trading Platform Review

If you like trading from your computer, here’s what you need to know about XTB.

Is XTB beginner-friendly?

XTB has a very clean and user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for traders — especially newcomers and first-time traders — to navigate the platform without getting distracted or intimidated. This shows that the platform is user-centric and inviting to traders and investors of all levels of expertise, from first-time users to experts.

XTB design and navigation

XTB’s platform is easy to use, with three tabs at the top of the screen. Those include Invest, Education, and About Us. The first tab will take you to any of the offered investment instruments, while the second one allows you to check out educational articles, eBooks, and market analysis tools.

The third one lets you learn more about XTB itself, as well as its trading platform, ambassadors, and contact support if you need help or information that you cannot find otherwise.

Apart from that, the platform has a search feature, the ability to change your region and language, and a button that lets you try out the Demo. Similar shortcuts can be found at the very bottom of XTB’s home page, with links to different pages and sections of the website displayed in a clearer and more direct way.

Login and security features

As mentioned earlier, XTB is strongly focused on providing a top-notch user experience, and that includes ensuring that its users are safe when using its platform. The platform features many security features, such as:

• Access authorization — XTB’s app can be protected in several ways, as it allows authorization via password, code, or fingerprint. That ensures that only you can access your account

• Encryption — The platform encrypts all connections between your device and XTB servers, ensuring that no one can intercept the traffic

• Multi-factor authentication — XTB can use different methods to confirm important changes and enter your account from new devices, such as phone, email, or SMS.

• Protection of money — To protect your funds, XTB designed its platform to only allow transfers of money to your account. No one can transfer the funds to accounts other than that of a client.

Search functionality

If you wish to find anything on the platform, you can do it quickly and easily by using its search feature. The feature is available on all pages, and once you click it, it expands into a search box that has several categories, including All, Instruments, Education, and Account&Help.

That way, if you know what you are looking for, you can just type it in, or you can browse the recommendations from these separate categories to get a better understanding of how the website is set up, and what it has to offer.

Alerts and notifications

XTB’s xStation 5 offers price alerts that automatically inform you when the price of assets important to you changes in a way that might affect your trading plans. That way, you don’t have to spend the entire day in front of the screen, monitoring everything yourself. Istead, you can wait for the alerts to notify you if something important is happening.

Setting up alerts is also very easy - simply right-click anywhere on the chart and select price alert. A new notification window will appear, and you will be able to add the details.

News feed

While XTB offers access to news as part of its own website, you can also easily access it through its xStation 5 trading platform. You can find the news in a clearly labeled “News” tab, where you immediately get access to all the latest publications regarding the available assets.

XTB App Review

While many trading platforms struggle to develop a mobile app that‘s on par with their web version, that is not the case with XTB. In fact, you could argue that the mobile platform might be even more user-friendly than the web version itself.

The app also lets you open either a real or a Demo account, and the onboarding process is the same as it is on the platform’s website. Once inside, it is split into five sections — Trade, Save, Discover, Portfolio, and More.

The Trade section lets you buy and sell assets, while the Save section allows you to start making investments. In the Discover section, you can get a better view of different categories of assets, such as Wall Street Favorites, Bargains, Meme Stocks, Dividend Kings, and many more. This helps you pick assets to buy based on useful criteria, rather than searching for specific ones by name.

In Portfolio, you can view your open positions, pending orders, closed positions, or cash operations. Finally, the More option lets you access additional features, such as News, Calendar, Education, a welcome video, or simply access your account’s settings, overview your profile, or deposit and withdraw funds. This is also where you can reach out to the help centre, or log out of your account.

Back in the Trade section, if you select any asset, you will see its chart, which you can zoom in to fullscreen mode. This is when additional options appear, such as the time scale, the ability to add various technical indicators and drawings to the chart to create your predictions, mark patterns, and more.

All in all, the app is not only very user-friendly but also rich with features and all the functionalities that xStation 5 can offer on its web version.

	Name	Score	Visit	Disclaimer
	XTB	9.0	Visitxtb.com					CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Customer Satisfaction & Reputation

XTB is a reputable platform that has been operating for over two decades now. Its longevity alone is proof of its reputation and quality.

Safety & Regulations

XTB is a safe, regulated, and protected platform that is in full compliance with UK regulations. Furthermore, it has security features that protect both the clients’ funds and their private information.

Is XTB regulated?

XTB is fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, with the license number FRN 522157.

However, other entities of the XTB Group are regulated by different regulatory bodies in different countries, granting the broker the global reach that it enjoys today. With that said, the full list of regulators that have licensed XTB in their respective jurisdictions includes:

• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)

• Financial Services Commission (FSC)

• Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF)

Is XTB safe?

XTB is fully licensed and regulated by the FCA, which is known for its strict rules and requirements involving the safety of brokers’ users and their funds. For example, the platform stores user funds in a segregated bank account, separate from the company’s own money, and this money cannot be used in the firm’s operations activities.

We already mentioned earlier that the firm protects users with features like encryption, multi-factor authentication, and more. And, of course, it is fully compliant with the UK’s KYC and AML regulations.

XTB background

XTB is a UK branch of the XTB Group — a company first established in Poland back in 2002. The firm was founded by Jakub Maly and Jakub Zablocki, who noticed that there was a demand for a trading firm that could provide users with new and innovative trading solutions while focusing more on retail clients.

This was still in the days when trading was mostly done by institutional investors and traders, but the financial markets started to open up to regular people, thanks to the rise of the internet. Over the years, the company continued to expand into other countries, and now, more than two decades later, it is one of the largest and most reputable brokers in Europe.

It is also worth noting that XTB Group, the parent firm of XTB, is a publicly traded firm listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). As such, the firm is owned by its shareholders. Meanwhile, the company runs under the leadership of Omar Arnaout, who has been associated with it since 2007, and currently holds the position of CEO after being appointed in January 2017.

Customer reviews

In addition to our review and research of the brand, we also decided to look up customer reviews to see their experiences and impressions of the firm. For this purpose, we reviewed comments containing both positive and negative experiences on Trustpilot, but also Google Play and Apple App Store.

XTB reviews from Trustpilot

Starting with Trustpilot, XTB was reviewed by 964 users and it was given 3.9 out of 5 stars. The overwhelming majority of 59% has given it a 5-star rating, followed by 19% who gave it a 4-star rating. It received 3 stars from 4% of users, and 2 stars from 3% of users. However, another 15% gave it only one star.

Looking at the reviews, we saw users say that they have been with the firm for a long time and that they were mainly satisfied. Many have reported that customer support is alright, although they see room for improvement, and they seem to be particularly impressed with the mobile app, which is constantly evolving.

However, there were also reports of the platform closing users’ positions in the middle of the night, without their instruction and without even notifying them, because the market moved a certain way. The most concerning reports say that the firm has frozen their funds and accounts with no explanation, which sometimes lasted for months, and sometimes never got resolved.

XTB Google Play reviews

On Google Play Store, we saw that XTB has over 5 million downloads, and nearly 47,000 reviews. The average score is 4.1 stars out of 5, suggesting even greater satisfaction by those who use XTB’s mobile trading app.

In their reviews, users have complained about some features missing post-update, such as the trailing stop function. Another individual said that the app kept freezing or displaying an error message, and another user reported that the price alert notification did not work well for them, as it simply took them to the main screen.

However, many do admit that the app is not perfect, but have great appreciation for how it works and what it has to offer.

XTB App Store reviews

Finally, in the App Store, we found XTB’s best user score yet — 4.7 out of 5 stars, with over 6.5k users reviewing it. Some users said that they also use other brokers, but that XTB’s app is simply better, with flawless usability. This was combined with certain complaints, such as high commission on withdrawals, while some have said that the app works great, but it could be better by adding certain features.

Interestingly, unlike many other brokers, XTB seems to be trying to address each review, no matter how positive or negative. It thanks users for their feedback, and attempts to resolve an issue where possible or provide advice and recommendations.

Customer service

When it comes to customer service offered by XTB, the opinions are split. Some users claim that they had very positive experiences, while others say that the customer support team took a long time to respond. In some cases, users claim that they did not receive a response at all, that the number was not available, and that they sent ‘over 20 emails’ with no response.

Such strong variations in experiences suggest great inconsistency, which is ultimately not a good look.

User experiences aside, XTB offers multiple ways of reaching out to its support team, including several phone numbers, one of which is for account opening/office, another for customer service that is available 24/5, and a third one for marketing purposes. The platform also offers an email address for customers to use, and it makes its address known on the Contact Us page, presumably allowing users to visit its office directly, as well.

Other than that, it also lists several social media accounts, including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

Lastly, it has a chat option where you can ask questions of the company’s bot, or, if the bot is insufficient, you can also use it to contact the support team directly.

XTB Alternatives to Consider

While XTB offers a fair service that the majority of its customers seem to be quite satisfied with, it is important to remember that this is only one of the options for UK users. The platform does have some drawbacks worth considering, including questionable customer support, a low selection of available assets, a withdrawal fee for small withdrawals (under ₤50), and more.

While XTB will undoubtedly be a great option for some users, others might find it lacking in certain areas, or might simply prefer to know what their other options include. With that being the case, we suggest considering the following brokers:

• eToro: We have used eToro in comparison to XTB throughout this guide and for a good reason. The platforms offer very similar services, but we are inclined to believe that eToro’s offering might be slightly better. Apart from being a well-known brokerage, eToro offers similar assets, including FX, stocks, commodities, and more. Most assets are traded with no commission, and the platform is very reputable and highly praised for its ease of use, variety of assets, and other benefits.

• IG Group: IG Group is another broker that UK users can choose to conduct trades and investments on. The firm offers a variety of products, such as stocks, FX, indices, and commodities, as well as crypto. The platform is user-friendly, not overly expensive in terms of fees, and it has a good range of various assets that you can trade. It is also among the largest established brokers in the country.

• Plus500: This UK trading platform also offers a wide range of available assets, similar to the previous two, and XTB itself. That includes CFDs on stocks, forex, commodities, and indices. The platform is known to be easy to navigate and use by customers of all levels of expertise, which is good for both beginners and professional traders and investors.

Should you invest with XTB?

XTB is a well-known Polish broker that has a strong presence in the UK. The platform is regulated, and it has invested a lot into being user-friendly, secure, and reputable. From everything we have seen while researching XTB, we can confirm that this is indeed a safe and legitimate broker for UK traders.

However, there are areas where it can improve further, from its offering to the quality of its customer support, as this is typically the area that users have been frustrated with the most.

Overall, it is fairly simple to use, so beginners could find it to their liking, although it might not be for everyone. Some have said that they prefer it for long-term investments but not for trading, while others use it to track prices.

	Name	Score	Visit	Disclaimer
	XTB	9.0	Visitxtb.com					CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FAQs