Best Automated Trading Platform in the UK

When you use an automated trading platform, there is no need to manage your trades manually. An automated trading platform can help simplify the trading process, maximise profit and save time.

This article will give you an overview of the best automated trading platforms in the UK.

To help you decide on the right platform, we have included a list of the pros and cons of some of the most popular automated trading platform UK options.

You can also learn about the differences between automated and other trading platforms.

A List of the Top Automated Trading Platforms in the UK

1. eToro
2. AvaTrade
3. Pepperstone MT5
4. IG
5. Tickmill
6. XTB
7. Coinrule
8. CMC Markets

Automated trading platforms are programs that carry out trades on the financial markets according to predetermined entry and exit conditions.

Traders use extensive technical analysis to set position parameters, including open orders, trailing stops and stop orders.

Comparison Chart of the Best Automated Trading Platforms UK for April 2024

The Best Automated Trading Platforms UK

Here is an overview of the best automated trading platforms available to UK traders.

eToro is not listed on any stock exchange or market, so you can only buy and sell stocks within the eToro platform.

It is a secure platform regulated by CySEC (Cyprus), ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and the FCA (UK).

The FSCS does not protect funds. However, customer funds are stored in a separate account from eToro funds.

The eToro trading platform is available on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices. You can use it to trade more than 1,600 stocks and over 20 crypto coins.

The minimum initial deposit for UK traders is £200 unless you add funds to your account via wire transfer (£500 minimum). If your account is funded using GBP, you will be charged a fee to convert this into USD.

The cost of using eToro is generally low. Opening an account is free, and there are no management fees, even if you copy other traders and invest in portfolios.

eToro offers 0% commission on stocks, although FX conversion, withdrawal, inactivity and bid/ask market spread fees may be charged.

There is no fee for making a deposit. The withdrawal fee is fixed at £5, with a minimum withdrawal amount of £30. If you choose Platinum, Platinum+ or Diamond Club membership, you will not have to pay any withdrawal fees.

eToro charges an inactivity fee of £10 monthly after 12 months without login activity. For some trades and withdrawals, spreads and fees are charged.

eToro Club membership is a loyalty programme for clients with a minimum tier balance of \£5,000.

There are five levels, from Silver to Diamond. Various perks are offered, depending on your level of membership.

You can find various educational resources on the eToro Trading and Investing Academy, including blog posts, videos, articles and webinars.

Customer support is offered via a web-based ticket system, which can be slow. Live chat support is only available to Club members.

76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with eToro. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take two mins to learn more.

AvaTrade is not listed on any stock exchange. It is based in Ireland and regulated by several global authorities, including ASIC in Australia, the Central Bank of Ireland and the Financial Futures Association of Japan (FFAJ).

It is a CFD and forex broker – it does not offer stocks.

AvaTrade is available on three mobile trading platforms:

• AvaTradeGO
• AvaOptions
• MetaTrader 4

AvaTradeGO is a modern mobile trading platform. It is user-friendly and offers a good search function, but you can only use it for basic order types such as stop, limit and market.

It also allows you to set up price alerts and receive push notifications.

For desktop trading, you can use AvaTrade’s MetaTrader 4 desktop platform.

Fees are generally low, although inactive accounts will incur high fees of $50/£50/€50 per quarter after three consecutive months of inactivity. After 12 months of inactivity, an additional annual fee of $100/£100/€100 will be charged.

The minimum deposit is £100 (or 100 units of any other base currency).

AvaTrade offers high-quality educational features and a demo account. Customer support is good, but only available 24/5. You can contact customer services via live chat, email or phone.

Pepperstone MT5 is not listed on any stock exchange. The UK FCA and ASIC in Australia regulate it. It is a CFD and forex broker offering negative balance protection (terms apply). The account setup process is entirely digital.

The Pepperstone MT5 trading platform is available on both desktop and mobile devices. There is no minimum deposit.

Non-trading fees and forex trading fees are low. There are no account fees or inactivity fees. However, the financing rates can be high if you want to trade CFDs. When using the desktop trading platform, you can set up price alerts.

There are two types of account – Standard and Razor.

If you choose the Razor account, you will be charged commission fees, but the spreads are low. Forex commission and spread fees differ according to your trading platform (MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or cTrader, or Tradingview).

There is no withdrawal fee if you withdraw funds to a credit/debit account or electronic account. Withdrawing funds to a bank account is free for EU and Australian traders, but there is a £20 fee for other clients.

Customer service can be accessed via live chat, phone or email. This support is available 24 hours per day, and you can expect fast and helpful responses. The educational materials offered are excellent. Pepperstone traders can access a demo account, educational videos and valuable webinars.

Pepperstone was regulated by several financial authorities and held licenses in various jurisdictions.

75.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.

IG is a great share trading platform for beginners thanks to its user-friendly interface and extensive educational resources.

Pros of IG include a wide range of trading instruments and markets, as well as the ability to access multiple account types and trading platforms. The platform also offers a demo account for beginners to practise trading strategies before investing real money.

However, IG isn’t the cheapest share trading platform, with relatively high trading fees and a minimum deposit requirement of £250 when paying by credit/debit card or PayPal.

In terms of additional fees, IG charges a commission fee for share trading, starting from £8 per trade. There’s also a custody fee of 0.25% per year for holdings of £250 or more.

Overall, IG is a solid choice for beginners looking for a user-friendly platform with extensive educational resources, but investors should be aware of its fees and minimum deposit requirements.

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of IG retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with IG. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Tickmill, regarded as one of the best automated trading platforms in the UK, provides a range of features and services that are conducive to automated trading strategies.

Tickmill offers the MetaTrader 4 platform, widely popular among automated traders. MT4 is renowned for its advanced algorithmic trading capabilities, allowing traders to use and develop Expert Advisors (EAs), which are automated trading programs.

Traders using Tickmill can easily integrate EAs into their trading strategy. MT4's infrastructure supports the back-testing of these EAs, allowing traders to test their strategies on historical data before applying them in real market conditions.

The MT4 platform allows a high degree of customization. Traders can tailor their automated strategies to their specific trading preferences and risk tolerance.

Tickmill UK Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), providing a level of trust and security for traders. This regulatory compliance is essential, especially when engaging in automated trading.

Tickmill offers demo accounts where traders can test and refine their automated trading strategies in a risk-free environment using virtual funds.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs or our other products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

XTB is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Several global financial authorities, including the UK FCA, regulate it.

Funds are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and the customer’s money is stored in a separate account from XTB’s funds.

The xStation 5 software is available on the web, desktop, mobile and tablet. You can use XTB to trade stocks, shares, ETFs, indices, commodities and forex.

The cost of using XTB is generally low. Most transactions have no withdrawal fee, although inactivity fees are charged.

XTB offers commission-free trading on stocks (up to a maximum of €100,000 per month).

However, there is a very high conversion fee of 0.5%. Traders must pay this if their account is in one currency and they want to buy a stock in another currency.

CFD trading fees are built into the spread or charged as a separate commission. You must pay a swap cost (a financing rate or overnight fee) for positions held overnight.

There is no charge for account maintenance. Deposits and withdrawals are free, provided you use a debit card to make deposits and withdraw more than £200.

After a year of inactivity, you will be charged a monthly inactivity fee of £10.

There is only one type of account available: the Standard XTB account.

It’s easy to open and only takes about 15 minutes, including document uploads. There is no minimum deposit.

The trading screen includes a news tab, which means you can stay up to date on all of the latest information on potential trades, market news and the economy.

It also offers an analysis of companies available for trade, including the market cap, net profit margin, earnings per share and price-earnings ratio.

It includes a built-in trading calculator, which traders can use to plan orders and estimate costs and profits before placing a trade. In the UK, you can trade with up to 30x leverage (depending on the asset you want to trade).

XTB offers negative balance protection, which means you cannot lose more money than you have in your account. Margin-level protection is low – if your margin level goes under 50%, your positions will start being sold to get this back up to 50%.

For automated trading, you can use XTB to create your own systems and automate your trading activity.

Customer support is excellent. Upon account sign-up, a designated account manager will be assigned, and you can contact them by email or phone.

During the week, a general support line is available 24 hours per day. This is available via phone, live chat and email. Users can also access a help centre on the website, which provides answers to many frequently asked questions.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% 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.

Fee: Free with a starter account or from $29.99 per month

With its simple, intuitive design, Coinrule is a good choice for those who are new to trading as well as more advanced traders.

Users don’t need to know any code to set their trading rules.

Coinrule is web-based and works across several cryptocurrencies as well as supporting some of the most widely-used exchanges, such as BitMex and Coinbase Pro.

CMC Markets is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It is regulated in five tier-1 jurisdictions, including the FCA. Eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS (up to £85,000).

The CMC Markets MetaTrader 4 trading platform is available on desktop, tablet and mobile applications. You can use it for spread betting, CFD trading and forex.

The fees associated with using CMC Markets are generally low. There is no brokerage fee, and other fees tend to be low. CMC Markets charges a currency conversion fee of 0.5%.

There are no fees associated with account opening, withdrawals or deposits. After 12 months of inactivity, users will be charged a monthly fee of £10.

There are several account options available, including:

• Demo account
• CFD account
• Spread betting account
• FX Active account
• Professional account
• Corporate account

Customer service support is available on a 24/5 basis (Monday to Friday). This is offered via phone support, live chat and email.

What Is an Automated Trading Platform UK?

An automated trading platform is a program with predetermined rules for entering and exiting trades.

After conducting market analysis, traders can adjust their chosen automated trading platform according to their preferences, adjusting parameters for opening and exiting trades.

Using an automated trading platform helps to eliminate the emotional elements of trading.

Instead of the trader having to consider whether to enter or exit a trade, the order is executed automatically by the trading platform once the pre-specified parameters or algorithms are met.

There are a few different automated trading methods to consider. These include copy trading, robots and Expert Advisors (EAs).

How to Start Trading on an Automated Platform

Find Your Chosen Automated Trading Platform

The first step is to choose a platform. Weigh up the pros and cons of each one before making a decision. Consider your funds and how much you will likely spend on fees.

Complete the Registration Process

Each platform offers a slightly different registration process. Some platforms provide entirely digital applications, whereas others may require ID verification, which can take longer.

Make a Deposit and Set Your Trading Parameters

Decide how much you want to deposit. If there is a minimum deposit for your chosen platform, you must ensure your deposit meets this requirement.

For some platforms, you will be required to pay a deposit fee. Once your deposit has been made, you can set your trading parameters.

For example, you might set up your profile to sell shares of a stock when its 50-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average.

Let the Platform Trade for You

All that is left to do is sit back and let the platform trade for you. Over time, you should make adjustments to your trading parameters. On most platforms, this is easy to do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Using an automated trading platform allows you to trade on a 24/7 basis without the need to be using your computer, tablet or mobile device all of the time.

Choosing a platform and automated trading strategy takes time, so it is important to consider all the different options before making any decisions on what is likely to be the best platform for automated trading for your circumstances.

Automated trading for beginners is possible, but you must understand manual trading before you start.

Once you have this knowledge, choosing the most appropriate algorithm for your trading strategy will be easier.

WikiJob does not provide tax, investment or financial services and advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal.