Best Trading Platforms in UAE & Dubai Reviewed (2023)

Page Summary

Are you looking for the best trading platforms in UAE and Dubai? There are 213 brokers available on the UAE market, offering online trading platforms and apps to UAE citizens.

All of the platforms offer different online trading apps, asset classes, fee structures, trading softwares and it is key to understand your prefferences before signing up.

In this guide we analyse and compare the 5 best trading platforms and apps in UAE in 8 different categories to help you considering your options before making a final decision.

Top 5 Trading Platforms and Apps in UAE

If you don’t have the time to go over our in full details, here is a quick summary of the best trading platform in UAE:

  1. AVAtrade – Best Trading Platform for Forex and Options
  2. eToro – Best Trading Platform in UAE for Beginners
  3. Capital.com – Best CFD Trading Platform
  4. Interactive Brokers – Best Platform For Stocks and ETFs
  5. OKX – Best Crypto Trading Platform

Best Online Trading Platforms in UAE

Below is a detailed breakdown and comparison of all the brokers we included in our list of the best trading platforms in UAE.

1. AVATrade: Best Forex and Options Trading Platform

AVAtrade-platform-features-UAE

AVAtrade is an ADGM and DFSA regulated trading platform for forex and options. With 8 different platforms available on multiple devices (desktop, web and mobile) and compatibility with MT4 and MT5, AVAtrade is an all-in-one trading platform that support different trading styles from beginner to advanced (automated trading, short selling, scalping and hedging).

The platform supports 1,464 financial instruments including:

  • 55 forex currency pairs (major, minor, and most exotic pairs)
  • 632 stocks as CFDs
  • 59 funds & ETFs
  • 44 options
  • 16 cryptos
  • 27 commodities
  • 33 indices

With no commission charges on stock and crypto CFDs and low fixed spreads (0.9pip EUR/USD) on forex currency pairs, AVAtrade is among the top forex brokers in UAE for fixed spreads. There are also no minimum withdrawals and fees and the minimum deposit is only $100.

Below are the different platforms and apps available on the AVAtrade platform:

  • WebTrader: web based proprietary platform
  • AvaTradeGo: mobile trading app available on iOS and Android
  • AVAoptions: vanilla options platform
  • MetaTrader 4 & MetaTrader 5: full MetaTrader suite
  • Mac Trading: for MAC users
  • AVAsocial: social copy trading app
  • Zulutrade, Duplitrade and Capitalise.ai: automation and copy trading features

AvaTrade’s selection of platforms and tools compared with other top choices from our list

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Desktop
Web
Mobile
Easy to Use
Watchlist
Market Depth/Level 2
Advanced Charting
Trading Alerts
Demo Account
MT4/MT5
TradingView
Other non-Proprietary
Proprietary
Social/Copy Trading
Strategy Tester
Scalping

Key features:

  • Access to 1250 CFDs and 44 forex options
  • Excellent copy trading features
  • Advanced mobile trading app (AvaOptions)
  • Competitive fee structure (0.9pip EUR/USD)
  • Access to the full meta trader suite (MT4 & MT5)

Recommended for:

  • Markets: Forex, CFDs and Options
  • Experience: Casual, advanced and algorithmic traders
  • Strategy: Manual trading, short selling, scalping, automated trading (social/copy)
  • Costs: Fixed spreads on forex pairs

Read the full AVAtrade UAE review.


2. eToro: Best Beginner Trading Platform (Winner For Social Trading)

etoro-platform-features-UAE

Established in 2007, eToro is a FCA and CySec regulated online broker. With over 25,5 million users world wide, it has the biggest social trading community in the industry.

eToro’s singly offered trading platform (Web Trader) is available as a web and a mobile version and does not support third party integrations. Here are some of the trading features available on the eToro platform:

  • Multiple charting options – Charts and Pro Charts
  • Different order types – Market orders, limit orders and advanced orders
  • Search bar – Easy to use and available on all assets
  • Filter system – For mobile and web versions
  • Watch list – For mobile and web
  • Risk management tools – Stop losses, take profits and trailing stop losses

With simple order types, an intuitive trading dashboard and easy to use social copy trading features, it is self explained why this platform is a popular choice among beginner.

Depending on the account type, users can trade with leverage ranging from 1:5 to 1:400 on over 5,000 financial instruments:

  • 2800 Shares & 2800 Stocks as CFDs
  • 264 Funds and ETFs
  • 32 Cryptocurrencies
  • 49 Forex pairs
  • 54 Commodities & 250 Indices

While stocks, ETFs and cryptos are available completely commission-free, users are charged in the form of spreads when trading with forex. eToro also charges overnight, inactivity ($10/month) and currency conversion fees ($5/conversion) which make their overall costs industry average.

Key features:

  • Zero commission stock trading
  • Easy to use dashboard
  • Crypto exchange & brokerage services
  • Fast registration and KYC on-boarding process
  • Multiple payment options

Recommended for:

  • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies
  • Experience: Beginners and Average Trader
  • Strategy: Manual trading, automated trading (social/copy)
  • Costs: $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs

Read the full eToro UAE review.


3. Capital.com: Best CFD Platform (Winner For Mobile)

capital.com-platform-features-UAE

Their trading platform features 3 different mobile apps, third party integrations (Tradingview & MT4) and risk management tools for iOS + Android. This makes Capital.com an interesting choice for mobile traders looking for diversity of platforms.

Following are the different platforms available with Capital.com:

  • Capital.com web trader – the web version
  • Trading app – the mobile version
  • Investmate app – for education purposes
  • MT4 for desktop and mobile – third party add-ons
  • TradingView web version – third party integration

Capital.com support over 6,000 tradable symbols including: 138 forex pairs, 1000 stocks, 3600 stocks as CFDs, 33 commodities, 130 Indices and 29 cryptocurrencies. Most assets are available as CFDs and can be traded with 1:30 leverage on retail and up to 1:500 leverage on professional accounts. This makes Capital.com rank among the best CFD platforms in UAE.

Here is how Capital’s research and educations section performs compared to other choices on our list

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Trading Signals
Market Research
Educational Resources
Webinars
Daily News
In-depth Market Analysis
Personal Training and Trading Room

Key features:

  • Access to 6.000 tradable symbols as CFDs
  • High quality research and educational content
  • Patented AI trade bias system
  • Low minimum deposit ($20)
  • Competitive fees

Recommended For:

  • Markets: Forex and CFDs
  • Experience: Beginners, Average, Experienced Trader
  • Strategy: Manual trading, Algorithmic trading, Day trading, Scalping
  • Costs: Low Forex fees

Read full Capital.com UAE review.


4. Interactive Brokers: Best Stock and ETF Trading Platform (Winner for Day Traders)

interactive-brokers-platform-features-UAE

With a comprehensive selection of 87,000 stocks and stocks as CFDs, access to fractional shares and low margin rates starting at 2,83%, Interactive Brokers is among the best stock brokers in UAE for its day trading capabilities.

Users can choose between 4 proprietary platforms:

  • Trader Workstation TWS: is the advanced desktop version for experienced traders and institutional investors
  • Client Portal: is the web version, suitable for casual traders and beginners
  • IBKR app: is the forex trading app available on iOS and Android 
  • Impact app: is the stocks and crypto app available on iOS and Android

Their main trading platform (TWS) offers sheer unlimited customisation options and third party software integrations including: TradingViewTC 2000, and Expert Advisors. This is great for advanced users seeking professional trading set-up options and integrations. While TWS isn’t compatible with MT4 and MT5.

The Client Portal platform on the other hand offers simple and intuitive buys & sell options and an easy to use interface which makes it better suited for beginners.

Interactive Brokers Platforms

Interactive Brokers users are allowed to trade on over 135 markets in 33 different countries with up to 1:2 leverage on stocks and up to 1:50 on other assets. Interactive Brokers is also know for its tight spreads on forex (1.4 pips), CFDs (0.9), and crypto (0.18%) which makes it one of the overall cheapest brokers in the industry across all asset classes.

Here is how Interactive Brokers fees performs compared to other top choices from our list

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Stocks N/A $0,00 N/A N/A $0,00 $1,00 $0,00 N/A
ETFs N/A $0,00 N/A N/A $0,00 $1,00 $0,00 N/A
Options $0,90 N/A N/A N/A $0,65 $1,25 $0,60 N/A
Futures N/A N/A N/A N/A $0,85 $1,25 $1,50 0,05%
Mutual Funds N/A N/A N/A N/A $14,95 $0,00 $25,00 N/A
Broker Assisted Fee N/A N/A N/A N/A $30,00 $50,00 $0,00 N/A
Crypto N/A 1,00% N/A N/A 0,18% N/A 1,00% 0,08%
EUR/USD Spread 0.9 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.4 0.9 N/A N/A
Swap-free Account
Inactivity Fee
Funding Fees
Monthly Fee

Key features:

  • Margin loan rates on stocks of 1.3%
  • Access to 135+ global markets
  • Advanced order types, tools and features
  • Access to frictional shares
  • Lowest commissions in the industry

Recommended For:

  • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, Options, Futures, Bonds, Indices
  • Experience: Casual, Advanced traders, Institutional investors
  • Strategy: Day trading, Swing trading, Scalping, Algorithmic and Auto trading
  • Costs: $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs. 0.18% on crypto

Read the full Interactive Brokers UAE review.


5. OKX: Best Cryptocurrency Trading Platform

okx-platform-features-UAE

OKX is a crypto trading platform that allows crypto CFD trading, crypto options and futures trading for traders of all levels. It has a built-in NFT marketplace and provides users with ways to generate passive income through high yield savings accounts, liquidity mining, crypto lending and staking. If you are looking to trade with cryptocurrencies only, OKX is an interesting platform to check.

OKX users can choose between two different apps:

  1. OKX Simple – offers basic buy, sell and convert options and is meant for beginners
  2. OKX Active – is for experienced traders supporting advanced order types (stop loss, take profit, market and limit orders), advance trading strategies and margin trading

With their slick design and easy to use interface, OKX allows users to trade on multiple devices (desktop, web and mobile) and operating systems (Windows, Mac, iOS and Android ) with trading fees ranging from 0.08 – 0.10% maker/taker.

OKX-trading-fees

The platform offers over 340 different cryptocurrencies and crypto 2.0 products including:

  • Crypto spot markets
  • Crypto derivatives
  • Crypto options & futures
  • Crypto perpetuals & swaps
  • NFTs

Key features:

  • High liquidity standards
  • Great availability of different coins
  • Exchange has not been previously hacked
  • Industry lowest trading fees
  • Great for beginners and advanced crypto traders

Recommended For:

  • Markets: Cryptocurrencies (Spot, Perpetual, Futures, Margin and Options)
  • Experience: Beginners, Average, Experienced traders
  • Strategy: Manual Trading, Day trading, Algorithmic trading, Swing trading, Long-term investing, Scalping
  • Costs: Low fees on spot Cryptos (0.1% taker fee) and on derivatives (0.05% taker fee)

Read the full OKX review.


How Did We Select The Best Trading Platforms and Apps For UAE Traders?

To get our list of the top platforms in UAE we have compared 184 online brokers in 8 different categories. They are listed below to help you make the right choice:

how-we-test-methodology

Platforms and Tools

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Desktop Platform
Web Platform
Mobile Platform
Easy to Use
Watchlist
Market Depth/Level 2
Advanced Charting
Trading Alerts
Demo Account
MT4/MT5
TradingView
Other non-Proprietary
Proprietary
Social/Copy Trading
Strategy Tester
Scalping

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature AVAtrade eToro Capital.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank OKX
Android
Apple
Watchlist (mobile)
Economic Calendar (mobile)
Charting Tools (mobile)

Fees

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Stocks N/A $0,00 N/A N/A $0,00 $1,00 $0,00 N/A
ETFs N/A $0,00 N/A N/A $0,00 $1,00 $0,00 N/A
Options $0,90 N/A N/A N/A $0,65 $1,25 $0,60 N/A
Futures N/A N/A N/A N/A $0,85 $1,25 $1,50 0,05%
Mutual Funds N/A N/A N/A N/A $14,95 $0,00 $25,00 N/A
Broker Assisted Fee N/A N/A N/A N/A $30,00 $50,00 $0,00 N/A
Crypto N/A 1,00% N/A N/A 0,18% N/A 1,00% 0,08%
EUR/USD Spread 0.9 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.4 0.9 N/A N/A
Swap-free Account
Inactivity Fee
Funding Fees
Monthly Fee

Deposit and Withdrawel

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Bank Wire
Credit/Debit card
E-Wallets
Crypto
Account Minimum $100 $200 $20 $100 $0,00 $2,000 $0,00 $0,00

Assets

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Stocks N/A $0,00 N/A N/A $0,00 $1,00 $0,00 N/A
ETFs N/A $0,00 N/A N/A $0,00 $1,00 $0,00 N/A
Options $0,90 N/A N/A N/A $0,65 $1,25 $0,60 N/A
Futures N/A N/A N/A N/A $0,85 $1,25 $1,50 0,05%
Mutual Funds N/A N/A N/A N/A $14,95 $0,00 $25,00 N/A
Broker Assisted Fee N/A N/A N/A N/A $30,00 $50,00 $0,00 N/A
Crypto N/A 1,00% N/A N/A 0,18% N/A 1,00% 0,08%
EUR/USD Spread 0.9 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.4 0.9 N/A N/A
Swap-free Account
Inactivity Fee
Funding Fees
Monthly Fee

Regulation

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Broker/Exchange Broker Broker Broker Broker Broker Broker Broker Crypto Exchange
Regulation ASIC, FSA, FSCA, MiFID, BVI FSC, ADGM ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSCS FCA, NBRB, ASIC, CySEC, FSA IIROC, SFC, CySEC, FSA, NFA, FTC, MAS, CIMA, ASIC, FCA NYSE, FINRA, SIPC Asic, SFC, JFSA, MAS, FINRA, FCA FINRA, CTFC, NFA VFAA

Research and Education

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Trading Signals
Market Research
Educational Resources
Webinars
Daily News
In-depth Market Analysis
Personal Training and Trading Room

Customer Support

Broker AvaTrade eToro Capital.com Forex.com Interactive Brokers Saxo Bank TradeStation OKX
Email
Phone
Chat
24/5
24/7
Personal Account Manager
Easy Account Opening

How Is Online Trading Regulated In The UAE?

The UAE treats online brokers as financial companies, which are subject to the highest standards of regulation. In order for a platform to be regulated in the UAE, they need to have a licence from one of the 4 regulatory bodies:

The legislation area of the UAE is split up into two local regions which both have different regulatory authorities:

1. Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC): Is regulated by the DFSA

2. The rest of the UAE: Is regulated by the Central Bank of UAE which works with the SCA

Tips for Beginners 

If you are new to the word of investing, there are a few things to consider before signing up with any of the brokers from our list.

Start Trading on a Demo Account

If you are a beginner, always start with a platform offering demo or paper trading accounts. A demo account allows you to familiarise yourself with the trading dashboard, order types and it’s also a great way to test your trading strategy using virtual money.

Avoid Trading With Certain Assets

When you are starting out, avoid trading with CFDs, options and penny stocks because those are “high risk” assets that require extensive experience.

Don’t Fall For Leverage Trading

Most of the platform offer trading with leverage to a different extend, but as promising as it sound to trade with borrowed money, its nothing that beginners should make use of. Trades you open with a leveraged position can swing both ways and the same way the bigger positions enable you to earn higher profits, they can also make you loose more than your have initially deposited.

Summary

This analysis of 184 brokers available in UAE and their comparison across 8 categories, should be considered a guide for you to choose the best trading platforms in UAE. Before you sign up with any of the listed brokers, you need to conduct your own research and make sure to understand your personal needs and requirements. Remember that you can always start with a demo account to practice and see if the broker is a good fit before opening a live account.

Watch the Short Video Recap:

FAQ

Are There Commission-Free Brokers In UAE?

There are commission free broker in UAE offering 0% commission trading, especially for CFD. eToro is a top choice for commission-free trading in UAE.

Is Dirham A Base Currency for Trading?

Most brokers have account holders exchange dirham for US dollars when funding accounts. This currency exchange comes with extra costs ranging from 0.3%-0.5%.

Is online trading legal in UAE?

Yes! Online trading is regulated and is legal in UAE

Is Online Trading Available 24/7?

Yes! trading online is available 24-7

Do Traders Pay Tax on profits in UAE?

Yes! Profits made with trading are subject to taxation in UAE and Dubai

Which Platform in UAE is Available in Malayalam and Kananda?

Zerodha is the only broker in UAE that supports trading in Malayalam and Kananda language.

Disclaimer

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.

Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% 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.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.

Copy trading is a portfolio management service, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in some EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.

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