Page Summary
Are you an algorithmic trader from UAE and looking for a reliable trading platform? This guide has all the information you need to choose the right algorithmic trading platform. We leverage our database of 101 online brokers using it for comparison across 9 categories. We look at the quantity of different trading instruments for algo trading, trading features, assets available, platforms, costs, regulation, withdrawal & deposit, mobile apps, research & education, and customer support.
Our evaluation uses 214 variables to measure the brokers and with 3500 data points, our results will reveal the Best Algorithmic trading platforms in UAE.
Top 5 Algorithmic Trading Platforms in UAE – List
- Interactive Brokers – Best For Stocks and ETFs
- Capital.com – Best Mobile trading platform
- IG Trading – Best for day traders and beginners
- TradeStation – Best for active traders and for futures
- AVAtrade – Best For Forex and CFDs
| RANK | BROKER | GENERAL | PLATFORM SCORE | BEST FOR | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Interactive Brokers | Robo-advisory services | 4,9/5 | Best For Stocks and ETFs | Official website |
| #2 | Capital.com | Discount broker | 4,8/5 | Best Mobile trading platform | Official website |
| #3 | IG Trading | ProRealTime charting | 4,2/5 | Best for day traders and beginners | Official website |
| #4 | TradeStation | Great mobile trading platform | 4,9/5 | Best for active traders and for futures | Official website |
| #5 | AVAtrade | Great Customer support | 4,9/5 | Best For Forex and CFDs | Official website |
Are you looking for a detailed break down of each broker from our list of top choices including pros, cons and key takeaways? Here are the detailed information, starting with the highest rated – Interactive Brokers.
1. Interactive Brokers – Best For Stocks and ETFs
Min Deposit: 0 ($2000 for margin account)
Fees: 4.9
Assets available: 4.9
Total Fees:
All trading involves risk. More than 80% of investors lose in spread bet and CFD trading. As these complex instruments allow for the use of leverage, there is a high risk of losing more money than you have deposited. Before attempting to participate in spread bets and CFDs, consider how well you understand them and if you can afford to lose your money.
Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted global broker with a well-rounded offer of tradable markets, great educational content and sophisticated order type configuration. It is a high trusted and well capitalize company with an industry leading trading platform, a competitive fee structure and great global market access. Their low entry level and the Global Trader platform, which is intuitive and easy to use trading station, make this broker s great choice for beginners and advanced forex traders.
Professional and seasoned traders will appreciate the great selection of advanced trading tools and order type configurations available on their proprietary Trader Workstation desktop platform (TWS).
Pros
- Fast and reliable order execution, industry leading performance
- Algorithmic trading is available via APIs
- Supports trading applications written in C++, C#, Java, Python, ActiveX, RTD or DDE
Cons
- Only offers proprietary APIs (no generic platform), trading apps written for IBKR incompatible with other brokers
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
2. Capital.com – Best Mobile trading platform
Min Deposit: $20
Fees: 4.8
Assets available: 4.7
Total Fees:
Capital.com is a top choice for traders looking for a discount broker with great educational content and resources, advanced research tools and a premium trading interface. They offer a wide range of tradable assets including CFDs on cryptos, stocks, indices, commodities and forex pairs.
Founded in 2016, Capital.com is an international fintech company which has group of entities authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”), and the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (“FSA”). It does not operate a bank and is not publicly traded.
Choose Capital.com if you are looking for a great mobile trading experience, professional web trading interface, day trading features. Beginner traders will like the low minimum deposit ($20), industry leading commission structure, and award winning education section
Pros
- Algorithmic trading available with MetaTrader 4 (The most popular one), TradingView and with APIs
- Good order execution
- Backtesting (on historical data) features
Cons
- Doesn’t offer VPS service
Key features
- Access to 6.000 tradable symbols and 477 cryptocurrency CFDs
- High quality research and educational content
- Patented AI trade bias system
- $20 minimum deposit
- No inactivity fees
3. IG Trading – Best for day traders and beginners
Min Deposit: $5500
Fees: 3.7
Assets available: 4.5
Total Fees:
IG is one of the largest and most popular regulated forex and CFD brokers globally. Traders can trade thousands of markets using IGs trading platforms like L2 Dealer and ProRealTime or connect their IG brokerage account with MetaTrader 4.
IG offers educational material, daily market update videos, and both technical and fundamental analysis case studies. If you are new to online trading, you can practice with IG’s free demo paper trading account first. For experienced traders IG offers spread rebates and access to more advanced financial instruments like digital options.
Pros
- Algorithmic trading available with MetaTrader 4 (The most popular one) and ProRealTime (PRT) trading platforms; and APIs
- Supports coding trading algorithms using APIs in any programming language supported by HTTP protocol (Java, .NET)
- Connect APIs with PRT trading platform
Cons
- Doesn’t offer VPS service
Key features
- Trade over 17,000 markets with a broker that has been in business since 1974
- Access to Turbo24s, and CFDs and options on forex, indices, crypto, stocks, and commodities
- Unlimited free demo paper trading account
- Advanced research and analysis tools like L2 Dealer and ProRealTime
- Access to APIs to set up Expert Advisors and other automated trading software
- Receive trading signals and alerts to find excellent entry and exit points
4. TradeStation – Best for active traders and for futures
Tradestation is a reputable online broker known for its technology-leading trading platforms, great selection of tools and zero commission stock and ETF trading. Their industry leading trading platform suite combines a desktop, web and mobile version which are all performing above industry average. Tradestation offers a great selection of most popular asset classes including stocks, cryptos, options, futures, ETFs and IRAs.
Their trading fees vary based on account selection. Pricing is below industry average on the most used accounts (select and GO). Minimum deposit is $2000 and there are no monthly charges.
Pros
- Fast order execution, industry leading performance
- Automated trading available with APIs
- Code trading algorithms in C#, C++, Python, PHP, and Ruby
Cons
- No generic trading platform for automated trading (MT4, MT%, cTrader…)
Key features
- Access to over 20,000 stocks, ETFs, options, futures, mutual funds, bonds, and other financial instruments.
- Early-access to newly listed securities via TradeStation’s IPO trading platform
- Broad range of research and analysis tools for advanced traders like FuturesPlus, TSCrypto, Discover, and Insights
- Fully paid stock lending and margin trading available
- Low floating spreads, commissions, and other trading fees
- Perfect for both beginner and advanced traders
5. AVAtrade – Best For Forex and CFDs
Min Deposit: $100
Fees: 4.9
Assets available: 4.9
Total Fees: 0.9 pip
AVAtrade is a well trusted global online broker for forex and CFD trading. Their multi-asset trading platform and mobile trading app enable traders to access 1365+ tradable symbols overall, including 1200+ CFD’s, major currency pairs with low forex spreads and premium options.
Beside their proprietary platform AVAtradeGo and MetaTrader, AVAtrade has great selection of copy trading solutions including ZuluTrade, DupliTrade and AVAsocial.
Account opening is fast, deposits and withdrawals are free of charge. The minimum deposit is $100.
Choose AVAtrade if you are a beginner or semi advanced forex trader, looking to trade major forex currency pairs, options or CFDs as stocks, cryptos, indices or commodities with premium services. Read the full review of AVAtrade here.
Pros
- Algotithmic trading available with MetaTrader 4 (MT4) (The most popular platform overall) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platforms
- Good trade execution
- VPS service
Cons
- Only Forex and CFDs available for algorithmic trading
Key features
- Access to 1250 CFDs and 44 forex options
- Excellent copy trading features
- Advanced mobile trading app (AvaOptions)
- Industry average pricing
- Perfect for casual and advanced traders
- Access to the full meta trader suite
How we choose Best Algorithmic Trading Platforms in UAE?
We use a database of 133 online brokers that support algorithmic trading and compared them in 8 different categories to get the selection of the Best Algorithmic trading platforms for UAE traders. The categories include: quantity of different trading instruments for algo trading, trading features, assets available, platforms, costs, regulation, withdrawal & deposit, mobile apps, research & education, and customer support.
- Assets: Algorithmic traders need access to a wide range of trading assets. The brokers in the UAE offer traders: ETFs, indices, mutual funds, forex, bonds, commodities, options, cryptos swaps, and futures.
- Mobile Trading: Brokers have online trading platforms so you can trade from anywhere with an internet connection. Mobile platforms that don’t work with APIs, make algorithmic trading impossible.
- Fees: Fees impact high-frequency algorithmic trading, so make sure the broker you choose has a fee structure that works with the kind of trading you do. A broker with 0% trading fees will help.
- Trading platforms: The trading platform your broker uses must work with the algorithmic trading platform you choose. Make sure there is an API that works with your trading tools.
- Deposit & Withdrawal: Brokers should offer low cost deposits and withdrawals regardless of how you fund your account. Make sure the broker you choose offers transfers in a payment method that works for you.
- Regulation: Regulations by the FCA, CySEC, and the ASIC are effective. Only work with a broker that complies with regulations in a top-tier market.
- Research & education: Providing research and educational assets is the job of a broker. Algorithmic trading tools require access to a lot of data, so choose a broker that gives you the data you need. You also need access to information about how the API works, so make sure the broker has the info you need before funding an account.
- Customer support: Deal with problems in algorithmic trading tools immediately. Your broker should have 24/7 support for automated trading systems, and communicate in a language you understand.
*Islamic Accounts: Brokers in the UAE offer trading accounts in compliance with Sharia law. We offer reviews of compliant brokers for algorithmic trading in the UAE.
Here is a detailed break down of how each of the brokers from our list of the best performed in each category:
Broker Comparison
| Broker Name | Trading instruments | TradingPlatform | CustomerSupport | Mobile Platform | Fees | Research & Education | Deposit & Withdrawal | Overall |
| Interactive Brokers | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| Capital.com | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.9 |
| IG Trading | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.8 |
| Trade Station | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.8 |
| Ava Trade | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
What Is Algorithmic Trading?
Algorithmic trading uses formulas to make trades, or takes trading data from other traders to place the same trades. In both cases the process is automatic, and a trader can profit without operating a terminal.
The trading systems that an algorithmic trading model uses come in a variety of forms. Algorithmic trading models must have access to market data, and can be back-tested using historical data.
For example, an algorithmic trading model sells a stock when the 100 day moving average crosses the 200 day moving average. This strategy can be back tested across a range of shares and ETFs, and the algorithm trades the best shares in the market when conditions are correct.
High-frequency trading (HFT) uses algorithmic trading because the trades move faster than a human. Market makers use HFT algorithms to smooth market movements, and also to make profits.
Copy trading is another form of automated trading that traders use to save time and make profits. With copy trading, an experienced trader publishes their trades to a copy trading platform, and other traders make the same trades.
A trader who copy trades selects the amount of money dedicated to trades, and who they follow when copy trading.
Pros and Cons of Algorithmic Trading?
The biggest banks in the world use algorithmic trading in markets, but it isn’t right for everyone, as banks and hedge funds have market access that retail traders can’t match. Because the trading happens automatically, losses are also automated. The results from algorithmic trading will only be as good as the algorithm and the hardware.
Pros
- Saves time for traders.
- Profitable for institutional traders.
- Removes emotion from trading.
- Inexpensive for retail traders who want help.
Cons
- Automates losses.
- Top-tier HFT systems are difficult for retail traders to access.
- Copy trading has no loss protections.
- Requires accounts in different markets for some strategies.
Which Are The Best Algorithmic Trading Strategies For UAE Traders?
- Trend-Following Strategies – Price level movements are the most common triggers for algorithmic trading strategies. These strategies include following trends in price and channel breakouts. Price level-based algos use technical indicators for trading.
- Index Fund Rebalancing – There are time periods when index funds change the contents of their portfolios, and algos frontrun these trades.
- Mathematical Model Strategies – Using proven math-based models to trade with algos in stocks and options is common. One of these strategies, called the delta neutral strategy, profits from numerous positions that have offsetting deltas.
- Mean Reversion – The idea that all assets revert to a mean price drives algos using mean reversion. These strategies buy an asset when it is high or low according to a model.
- Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP) – A VWAP strategy takes a large order and breaks it up into smaller ones, trying to match the historic VWAP of a specific stock. Using this strategy allows a trader to enter or exit a position without a big impact on the market price.
What markets are best for algo trading?
Markets for algorithmic trading must have high liquidity and rapid access to trading operations. Algorithmic trading also uses derivatives, like options, so algos must have multiple accounts in different markets. A good example is the NYSE, and the CBOE option exchange, as stock and option algo strategies use both markets.
Conclusion
After analysing and comparing 133 online brokers that offer algorithmic trading in 9 different categories, we consider Interactive Brokers as the best algorithmic trading platform in UAE. They offer great instruments for algo trading along with a professional grade trading platform and low fee structure.
FAQ
Do algos make trading safer?
Algorithmic trading models use historical data establishing risk parameters. If the market moves away from the dataset, the risk calculations fail.
Is algorithmic trading allowed?
Every broker in the UAE has different rules about how clients can trade. There are brokers that allow algorithmic trading in the UAE.
Is copy trading a good way to make money?
Copy trading makes it easy to trade many markets without a lot of experience. But, copy trading relies on another person to trade, so it can be risky.
What markets can use algos for trading?
Any market or exchange is tradable with algos if permitted by the broker or exchange. The rules for algorithmic trading are transparent for retail traders.
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.