A Comparison Of CFD Trading Platforms

There are numerous Contract for difference providers in Australia to choose from, meaning CFD traders have a variety of options, but choice can be confusing. Here we will provide you the CFD trader with an comparison of the key differences of each CFD provider being their software. Regularly amateur traders become overwhelmed by the assortment of trading platforms to choose from and can often become confused by the huge array of financial products some companies offer on their CFD software package and fail to consider whether the software fits their trading strategy. This review will help you decide on the right CFD software that suits your trading style without having to install multiple demonstration trading platforms.

Deal book 360
Deal book 360 is the CFD and Forex trading platform offered by GFT, the platform is a downloadable application. Once you open the software the original thing that you will notice are the graphs, this trading platform has great charting functionality. I tested the graphs for both Forex and CFDs and found the forex charts to be correct and consistent with those on other CFD trading platforms in the group. When comparing the CFD charts to others in the group I observed that the prices did not always mirror what the others showed, this is most likely because GFT is a market marker and their rates are not an accurate reflection of the underlying instrument on which the CFD is based. If you seeking for a good Forex charting package that is free GFT can offer you this in their deal book 360 platform, however I recommend that you stay away from the CFDs on the software.

Pure Deal
Pure deal is the on-line CFD trading platform used by IG Markets, the software is web based, simple and easy to use. I gave this platform a good test run, what I liked about this trading platform was that there were so many instruments to trade, the draw back of this however was that a lot of of them did not suit my trading plan and after a while the complicated instrument search tree grew to become annoying particularly when I wanted to get a CFD position on fast and the CFD was not in my watch list. The graphs on this software are incredibly basic and if you want more complex charts you have to pay for them. Aside from the trouble with the CFD instrument tree the trading platform is a good all round trading platform for the novice trader that needs web based software. For someone that desires that little extra in their platform Pure Deal would not be a clever option.

Web IRESS
The web IRESS software is offered by Comsec and Etrade in Australia, this platform was one of most suitable in the group when it comes to trading DMA CFDs. The software is web based and easy to use, it has several sophisticated order variations like trailing stop loss orders which are great for CFD trading. The draw back of this platform are its charts, they are basic with very not many indicators. If charts are not essential to you and you are searching for a CFD trading platform that will offer you DMA CFDs on ASX listed CFDs online this would be an exceptional selection, though it comes at a price. Both Comsec and Etrade will charge you around $55 per month to use this platform, this combined with $38.50 in exchange royalties makes this platform an expensive proposition given there are other trading platfroms out there can offer you the similar and even better functionality free of charge.

Market Maker
The Market Maker platform is offered by CMC Markets, the trading platform is downloadable and has some great functionality like being able to back test on 10 years worth of past price data. This was the most difficult trading platform of those reviewed to install, the download file was huge. Once I was up and running, I found the interface very user friendly and the charts easy to use, however after being logged into the software for 30 minutes the charts froze. Once I was back up I checked the prices of some ASX CFDs against the other trading platforms and observed that price updates on the software lagged by about 2 seconds. My experience with the market marker software was less than enjoyable and I can’t imagine that the troubles were isolated to my notebook. This is a platform that I suggest you stay away from, from my own experience it is plagued with technical troubles, the worst nightmare for any on-line CFD trader.

Pro Deal
The Pro Deal platform is offered by International Capital Markets (IC Markets), the trading platform is downloadable but also has web and mobile versions. This was the easiest CFD trading platform of the lot to set up. Once the software was installed the quick start video tutorials guided me through the workspace setup. The workspace was uncomplicated and easy to navigate and not cluttered with CFDs that I would never trade. The platform has both DMA CFD along with over-the-counter (OTC) CFDs, with both variations I was able to invest in the ASX cash and day trade using DMA CFDs watching my orders flow onto the underlying market. The charts on the trading platform have numerous indicators, and are not overly complicated to use. The best thing about this software is that it is free.

So which CFD trading platform is meant for you?
Following my appraisal all five platforms it is simple to see that each platform has their niche. If you invest in Foreign exchange Deal Book 360 would be the one for you, if you like uncomplicated web based software go for Pure Deal, if you only invest in ASX CFDs then web IRESS (although costly) could be for you, but if you want an easy to use and dependable all round online trading platform you cannot go past IC Markets Pro Deal software.

Prior to trading CFDs you must always understand how to use the CFD platform you choose, bear in mind that the best CFD software for you will depend entirely on your trading strategy. You should Install a Pro Deal CFD demo, the trading platform that I have selected to use, and see if it is the right CFD platform for you.