Investing in the stock market has never been easier, thanks to the numerous online brokers available today. As such, you will need to make a choice, and finding the best online broker in the United Arab Emirates can be challenging.
There are an overwhelming amount of options to choose from, and if you do not do some research, you can end up in a platform that could be difficult to use, expensive, unsafe, or simply limited, considering your investment profile and experience.
Fortunately, we successfully analyzed many trading apps before and conducted multiple online brokers reviews so that we can clarify some of your doubts and help you make an informed decision! In this article, we listed the best online brokers in the UAE, comparing their specificities and highlighting their strengths.
Best Online Brokers in Dubai & the UAE
eToro | Best for social trading
Established in 2007, eToro is a fintech company that allows its 30+ million investors to safely invest in multiple assets such as ETFs, Stocks, Cryptocurrencies, and CFDs on Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Forex, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies. The social-trading platform is user-friendly, comprehensive, and functional.
Disclaimer: eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Interactive Brokers | Best for intermediate and advanced investors
Online broker with a sophisticated trading platform that offers a wide range of products. The company, founded in the US, also provides the app IBKR GlobalTrader, which is ideal for beginners.
XTB | Best for forex and CFDs
It offers commission-free stock and ETF trading and low spreads on hundreds of markets through CFDs on Forex, Indices, and Commodities. Awarded multiples time as the best Forex and CFD broker.
Plus500 | Ideal for demo accounts and CFDs
Plus500 is a multi-asset online broker with commission-free CFDs on Indices, Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Shares, Options, and ETFs.
Saxo Bank | Best for powerful trading tools
Full-service broker who offers stocks, ETFs, bonds, derivatives, crypto, and other products. You can access 36 different markets overseas from the UAE using their powerful investment platform (SaxoTraderPRO).
Best Online Brokers in Dubai & the UAE compared
| Broker | Fees on stocks | Minimum deposit | Investment platforms | Stocks available for trading |
| eToro | $0 (spread and conversion fees may apply). | $200 | eToro and the mobile app | ✔ |
| Interactive Brokers | Between $0.0005 and $0.0035 per US share. Between 0.01% and 0.08% for other markets. | $0 | TWS, Client Portal, IBKR GlobalTrader and IBKR Mobile | ✔ |
| XTB | $0 (Up to €100,000 of monthly turnover) | $0 | xStation 5 and xStation Mobile | ✔ |
| Plus500 | Stocks are not available – $0 on the CFDs on stocks | $100 | Plus500 WebTrader and the mobile app |
X (Only CFDs on stocks) |
| Saxo Bank | Between $0.01 and $0.02 per US share (minimum between $1 and $5 per order) Between 0.05% and 0.35% for other markets. |
$5,000 | SaxoTraderPRO and SaxoTraderGO | ✔ |
#1 eToro
eToro at a glance
eToro is a broker founded in 2007 which is famous for its social trading features. Today, the fintech is one of the most well-established in the world, with over 30 million users, offering more than 3,000 different assets, including stocks from 17 different stock exchanges.
eToro’s investment platform, which can be web-based or mobile-based, is a social trading platform that allows investors to discuss investments and market news with other traders, copy strategies, and open a demo account. Both have comprehensive and user-friendly interfaces where you can intuitively trade commission-free stocks from many countries, such as the US, UK, Germany, and many others. Besides,eToro also offers Islamic accounts, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs.
The broker provides reliability and safety to its customers: it is regulated by top-tier authorities such as the FCA, ASIC, and the CySEC, and your funds will be segregated and also secured by up to 1 million Euros, or equivalent in USD, due to private insurance. If you are still not convinced or want to know more about this subject, please check out the article we prepared about the safety of eToro.
Considering all these factors, eToro is a solid option for beginners, intermediate and experienced investors, and certainly one of the best online brokers in the UAE. Please check our eToro review if you would like to know more about their services.
eToro Dashboard
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% 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.
#2 Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers at a glance
Interactive Brokers has proven to be one of the most reliable brokers in the market. The company was founded over 40 years ago and survived many financial crises, making it a well-established and trustworthy broker regulated by many top-tier regulators, including the SEC and FCA.
They offer several investment platforms: Trader Workstation (TWS), Client Portal, IBKR mobile, and IBKR Globaltrader. All these platforms allow you to trade stocks, ETFs, options, and other financial instruments with sophisticated and powerful tools and low transaction costs. Each trading platform is based on the users’ knowledge and experience. For example, the mobile app IBKR GlobalTrader is a user-friendly app suitable for beginners because it simplifies investments without losing the powerful tools for which the broker is famous, including solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting), and a set of technical and fundamental tools to help you in your investment decisions.
On the downside, Interactive Brokers’ fee structure is quite complex, the registration process is lengthy (but fully online), and the broker doesn’t offer commission-free trading. However, when considering FX fees, narrower spreads, and the stock loan program, Interactive Brokers’ clients still get significant savings compared to most brokers.
Please check our Interactive Brokers review to find out more about the broker.
Interactive Brokers Discover Section
#3 XTB
XTB at a glance
Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the brokerage industry with extensive worldwide experience, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – plus other relevant regulatory bodies – and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In the UAE, it acts through the subsidiary XTB MENA Limited, authorized and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (License No. F006316).
You can invest through xStation 5 and xStation Mobile in different investment products, such as stocks, ETFs, and CFDs on Forex, Indices, and Commodities. It offers 0% commission on stocks and ETFs.
The award-winning trading platforms enable you to trade a wide range of instruments, give you access to several technical analysis tools and provide you with comprehensive educational resources. Opening an account and transferring money is a quick and hassle-free process. For beginners, it presents a demo account where you can trade as if it were real money to help you feel the investment platform firsthand, and you get access to educational tools. For intermediate and advanced investors, you will find plenty of technical and fundamental tools to help you better assess your investment decisions.
With 0% commissions on stocks and ETFs, no minimum deposit, Islamic accounts, and a free demo account that can be used for a month, XTB is a good and reliable option for beginners and advanced investors, which puts it in third place on our list of best online brokers in the UAE.
If you want to find out more about the broker, please check our XTB review!
XTB Dashboard
#4 Plus500
Plus500 at a glance
Plus500 is a broker founded in 2008 whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange and who operates in the UAE via the subsidiary Plus500AE Ltd, authorized and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (License No. F005651). Regulated by top-tier authorities such as FCA and CySEC, the broker provides a mobile app named Plus500 and a web-based platform called WebTrader. Both are comprehensive and easy to use, and you can test their features by opening a demo account.
When trading from the UAE, you will only be able to access Plus500 CFD, where you can trade CFDs on several financial instruments but not real stocks. CFDs are leveraged and riskier products, which may exacerbate your losses.
Overall, the broker offers solid CFD stock trading platforms for Emirate customers. The platforms have low costs, reliability and safety, interesting features and products for beginners and experienced traders, and good usability. Besides, the broker allows customers to open Islamic accounts. As a downside, though, you will not have access to real stocks and ETFs.
If you want to learn more about Plus500, please check our full Plus500 review.
Plus500 CFD Dashboard
#5 Saxo Bank
Saxo at a glance
Saxo Bank is a Danish bank founded in 1992 and is a reliable option for advanced traders and beginners and provides safety, fair prices, and useful tools. Saxo operates in the UAE via its representative office in the UAE, whose license was issued by the Central Bank of the UAE. They offer in the UAE comprehensive and customizable mobile and web investment platforms that are among the best in the market: SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO.
SaxoTraderGO is a user-friendly, customizable, and award-winning trading platform that experienced investors and beginners can use. The app has a mobile and a desktop version. The broker also offers SaxoTraderPRO, a desktop-based platform (that works on Windows and MAC) developed for advanced traders due to its level of detail and complexity. The app is extremely customizable, offers sophisticated tools to analyze and track your performance, and can be used on up to 6 different screens.
Considering that Saxo has excellent educational resources, low prices, and an impressive range of tradable assets, Saxo deserves a place on our list of the best online brokers in the UAE. The only downside we could think of is that after registering and completing the verification, you will need to fund your account with at least $5,000 to start trading, which can be burdensome for some beginners.
Saxo Bank Web and Mobile App
Methodology
When making this list, we wanted to help Emirate investors to make an educated choice when choosing an online broker. Each one presented has its main features, and we tried to provide a diverse list that will suit the needs of different profiles of investors. In any case, this is what we took into consideration:
- Fees: the fees cannot be the only aspect to be considered when choosing the trading app to invest in, but it is definitely important, you do not want to pay more for a service when you can get the same quality for lower prices;
- Educational resources: high-quality educational resources may be a great advantage, especially for beginners, who can use them to educate themselves before investing money;
- Range of products and markets available: Does the app offer real stocks and ETFs, or only CFDs? Does it have crypto?
- Customer service: irrespective of your choice, problems almost always appear, and it is important to find trading apps developed to help you when it does happen;
- The trading platform (PC and mobile): we took into consideration the functionalities and usability of the platform, as well as its specific features.
- Security: all platforms in the list are regulated by top-tier authorities.
The bottom line
To summarize, here’s the list of “Best online brokers in Dubai & the UAE”:
Best online brokers in Dubai & the UAE
| #1 | eToro | Ideal for social trading |
| #2 | Interactive Brokers | Ideal for intermediate and advanced investors |
| #3 | XTB | Ideal for forex and CFDs |
| #4 | Plus500 | Ideal for demo accounts and CFDs |
| #5 | Saxo Bank | Ideal for advanced traders |
It is hard to choose the right online broker in the UAE. Luckily, we helped many people in the same situation before, and we can help you now. To facilitate your choice, we listed a few of the best online brokers in Dubai & UAE, in our opinion, comparing what they can offer and highlighting their strengths.
We know that investing is a good way to achieve financial freedom, but, like everything in life, there are risks involved. We hope that our analysis was enough to help you make an educated decision that acknowledges those risks, whether you are experienced or a novice in the world of trading.
In any case, keep on studying, do due diligence, know your investment profile, and invest wisely! Please let us know if the article was helpful and if you have any other doubts or feedback!
Other FAQs
What is the difference between a stock and a stock CFD?
While the stock gives you a property right over a share of the company, the CFD does not. The stock CFD is a derivative contract where the underlying asset is the stock and where the broker promises to pay you back the difference in value between the time you opened the position and the time you close it. CFDs have a leverage effect: if you buy a stock CFD and its price goes down, you will need to borrow money from the broker to keep the position open. This makes the instrument a risky option that is not suitable for beginners.
What is an Islamic account?
An Islamic account follows the principles of Islamic law, which forbids the use of interest or interest-based lending in any form. Many online brokers can accommodate Muslim traders and offer interest- or swap-free accounts.
Franklin is a CFA Level III Candidate with 3 years of experience in Wealth Management as a Fund Research Analyst and the Host of the "Edge Over Hedge" YouTube Channel.
