Biggest CFD Brokers in the World: Who Leads the Global Market?

IG Group, Plus500, CMC Markets, XTB, and IC Markets are among the biggest and most established names in the global CFD brokerage industry. But which one is actually the largest?

The answer depends on what you measure.

IG Group stands out for its long history and substantial publicly reported revenue. Plus500 is a major publicly listed trading technology group. CMC Markets has an established international derivatives business, while XTB has built a large European presence. IC Markets is prominent in forex and CFD trading, although its financial disclosures are less directly comparable with those of listed competitors.

However, there is an important distinction: the biggest CFD broker is not automatically the best broker for every investor. A company’s size tells us about its business, but it does not necessarily tell us whether its services are suitable for an individual.

This guide examines five major CFD brokerage groups, compares their scale and business models, and explains why broker size should be considered alongside costs, regulation, and trading conditions.

Biggest CFD Brokers in the World: Quick Comparison

The table below provides an overview of five prominent international CFD providers.

CFD Broker	Founded	Headquarters or Origins	What Makes It Significant
IG Group	1974	United Kingdom	Long-established global derivatives provider with substantial reported revenue
Plus500	2008	Israel	Large publicly listed trading group with proprietary technology
CMC Markets	1989	United Kingdom	Established international CFD and investment services provider
XTB	2002	Poland	Major European brokerage group with CFD and investment services
IC Markets	2007	Australia	International forex and CFD specialist known for active-trading services

Important: This is an overview of major industry participants, not a verified ranking from largest to smallest. The companies disclose different measures of revenue, trading activity, and customer numbers.

1. IG Group: One of the Largest Established CFD Providers

IG Group is one of the most recognizable names in the global leveraged trading industry.

Founded in 1974, IG has spent decades developing its financial trading operations. Its business now extends across several markets and includes derivatives, trading technology, and investment-related services.

How Big Is IG Group?

For the financial year ending May 2025, IG Group reported approximately £1.08 billion in total revenue.

That figure provides a meaningful indication of the group’s commercial scale. However, it should not be interpreted as revenue generated exclusively from CFDs.

IG’s broader financial services operations contribute to its consolidated results.

Why Is IG Considered a Major CFD Broker?

IG has several characteristics associated with a large international brokerage:

• More than five decades of operating history.
• A substantial, publicly reported financial services business.
• International operations and multiple regulated entities.
• Proprietary trading platforms and supporting infrastructure.
• Access to numerous financial markets, depending on jurisdiction.

IG’s size is particularly relevant when discussing established retail derivatives providers because its history and financial reporting offer a clearer picture of its development than is available for many privately held competitors.

What Should Readers Know?

IG’s international presence does not mean every customer receives the same services or protections.

Available products, trading conditions, and regulatory arrangements depend on the entity providing the service.

Key takeaway: IG Group is a strong example of a large, established derivatives business, but its consolidated revenue is not a pure measure of CFD trading activity. Its size also does not automatically make it the most suitable provider for every investor.

2. Plus500: A Major Global Trading Technology Group

Plus500 entered the online trading market in 2008 and developed a business centered on proprietary trading technology.

The company became particularly well known for its CFD platform before expanding into additional trading and financial products.

Unlike brokers that rely primarily on third-party software, Plus500 has invested heavily in its own platform infrastructure.

How Big Is Plus500?

Plus500 reported approximately $792.4 million in revenue for 2025, with EBITDA of approximately $348.1 million.

These figures demonstrate the scale of the group’s operations.

However, Plus500’s consolidated results include activities beyond traditional over-the-counter CFD trading, so its revenue cannot be compared directly with CFD-only revenue at another provider.

What Makes Plus500 Different?

One distinguishing characteristic is its technology-focused business model.

Plus500 has developed proprietary software and operates across several regulated markets.

Its broader business has also expanded beyond CFDs, reflecting the increasing diversification of international brokerage companies.

What Should Readers Know?

Plus500’s brand is international, but its services are provided through different legal entities.

Product availability, fees, and regulatory protections can therefore vary between countries.

Key takeaway: Plus500 is a major publicly listed trading group whose financial scale and proprietary technology make it an important participant in the global CFD market. Whether its platform and conditions suit an individual investor is a separate question.

3. CMC Markets: An Established Name in Online Derivatives

CMC Markets has operated in the financial trading industry since 1989.

The UK-based group developed from a specialist trading provider into an international financial services company offering leveraged products and investment services.

CMC Markets is particularly notable for its proprietary trading technology and established presence in online derivatives.

How Big Is CMC Markets?

For its financial year ending March 2025, CMC Markets reported approximately £248.9 million in trading revenue.

It also reported 52,290 active trading clients during that financial year.

These figures offer a useful view of its trading business, although the group also operates investment services that should be considered separately.

What Makes CMC Markets Significant?

CMC Markets has invested in:

• Proprietary trading platforms.
• Market pricing and execution infrastructure.
• Analytical tools and financial market information.
• International trading operations.
• Services beyond its traditional retail CFD business.

Its business demonstrates that a major CFD provider can operate alongside a broader investment platform.

What Should Readers Know?

A company’s trading revenue and active trading customer figures do not necessarily measure the same activities as another broker’s consolidated financial results.

That makes it important to compare like-for-like statistics.

Key takeaway: CMC Markets is a substantial, established trading group with publicly disclosed operating information, but its size alone cannot establish whether its services are better suited to a particular investor.

4. XTB: A Major European Brokerage Group

XTB has developed into a significant participant in Europe’s online brokerage industry.

Founded in 2002, the company operates internationally and provides access to CFDs alongside other financial products.

Over time, XTB has expanded its investment offering and developed its proprietary trading platform.

How Big Is XTB?

XTB is publicly listed and publishes financial results and customer activity information.

Its international expansion and growing investment business have helped establish its position in the European brokerage market.

However, XTB’s customer base includes people using investment products other than CFDs.

This distinction matters when comparing XTB with firms that focus primarily on leveraged trading.

What Makes XTB Different?

XTB illustrates how the online brokerage industry is changing.

Rather than operating exclusively as a CFD provider, the company has expanded its product range to address broader investment needs.

This diversification can increase a brokerage group’s overall customer base without necessarily producing a corresponding increase in CFD trading activity.

What Should Readers Know?

When evaluating XTB’s size, it is important to distinguish between the overall company and its CFD operations.

Key takeaway: XTB is a significant international brokerage group, particularly in Europe. Its suitability for an individual depends on the products, costs, platform features, and regulatory arrangements available to that person.

5. IC Markets: A Prominent Forex and CFD Specialist

IC Markets is an international brokerage provider established in 2007.

The company is particularly associated with forex and CFD trading and has developed a recognizable presence among active market participants.

Its services include access to multiple instrument categories, subject to jurisdictional availability.

How Big Is IC Markets?

IC Markets is frequently discussed in industry reporting on forex and CFD trading activity.

However, it does not publish the same range of easily comparable consolidated financial information as publicly listed groups such as IG, Plus500, CMC Markets, and XTB.

This makes it difficult to determine its exact position in a worldwide ranking based on revenue or active customers.

Why Is IC Markets Included Among Major CFD Brokers?

IC Markets has developed an international presence in leveraged trading and supports widely used trading technologies.

Its business is more closely associated with forex and CFD services than some diversified investment groups.

Nevertheless, prominence within a particular market segment is not the same as being the largest company by revenue.

What Should Readers Know?

Claims about monthly trading volume should be evaluated carefully.

Trading volume is generally expressed as notional transaction value, not company revenue or customer deposits.

Key takeaway: IC Markets is a prominent international CFD specialist, but its size and industry recognition should not be confused with a guarantee of superior trading conditions.

Which CFD Broker Is Actually the Biggest?

After examining these companies, the most important question remains: which one is the largest?

There are several possible answers, depending on the metric.

Biggest by Reported Revenue

IG Group reported approximately £1.08 billion in total revenue for its financial year ending May 2025.

Plus500 reported approximately $792.4 million in revenue for calendar year 2025.

CMC Markets reported approximately £248.9 million in trading revenue for its financial year ending March 2025.

These figures demonstrate substantial business scale, but they are not directly comparable measures of CFD-only revenue.

They also cover different reporting periods, currencies, and business activities.

Therefore, these figures should not be used to create a definitive global ranking without further adjustments.

Biggest by Trading Volume

A broker processing substantial monthly notional trading volume may be a major participant in forex and CFD markets.

However, volume statistics can differ in methodology and may not be independently verified.

A high-volume broker is not necessarily the company generating the highest revenue.

Biggest by Customer Base

Customer numbers can also be misleading.

For example, a company reporting millions of registered accounts may have considerably fewer active trading customers.

Furthermore, customers using share-investing services should not automatically be counted as CFD traders.

Biggest by International Presence

A broker operating in numerous countries may have significant geographical reach.

However, international coverage does not establish the size of its CFD operations or guarantee identical services across jurisdictions.

The conclusion: IG Group is among the largest established publicly reported derivatives providers, while Plus500, CMC Markets, XTB, and IC Markets are also significant international participants. No single metric establishes a definitive worldwide leader across all CFD brokers.

Does a Bigger CFD Broker Mean Better Trading Conditions?

Not necessarily. Being the biggest CFD broker in the world does not mean being the best broker for an individual investor.

A broker’s size reflects its business scale, but an investor’s needs are personal. Two investors may have different priorities when evaluating the same company.

One may place greater importance on platform functionality, while another may focus on total trading costs, available markets, or the regulatory protections applicable in their country.

A large brokerage group may have significant technology resources and established international operations. However, another regulated provider may offer services that better match a particular investor’s requirements.

The reverse is equally true: a smaller broker is not automatically better simply because it is smaller.

The relevant question is not just how big is this broker? but how appropriate are its services for the individual considering them?

1. Spreads and Commissions

The total cost of a CFD transaction can include several components.

A broker advertising a low spread may charge a separate commission.

Other costs, such as currency conversion or overnight financing charges, may also apply.

Therefore, evaluating the complete fee structure is more useful than comparing advertised spreads alone.

2. Execution Policies

Trade execution depends on the broker’s order-handling arrangements and market conditions.

Liquidity, volatility, order type, and execution policies can affect the final transaction price.

Company size alone does not guarantee a particular execution outcome.

3. Regulatory Protection

Large brokerage groups often operate through different regulated entities.

The protections available to a customer depend on the relevant jurisdiction and legal entity.

A well-known international brand does not automatically provide identical safeguards worldwide.

4. Platform Features

Trading platforms differ in their analytical tools, order-management functions, available instruments, and overall usability.

Some providers develop proprietary platforms, while others support established third-party software.

The suitability of these features depends on individual requirements.

5. Independent Comparison

Rather than choosing a provider based solely on its reputation or financial size, readers can compare best brokers using consistent criteria.

For those researching the biggest CFD brokers in the world, TradeRankCompare offers a comparison of major CFD providers, including information about platform features and trading conditions.

Such research should be supplemented by official regulatory records, current fee schedules, and product documentation.