Page Summary
This guide helps users to find the best online brokers in UAE with best free trading platforms. Free trading platforms are popular among retail traders and investors in UAE as they allow users to trade with zero fees and commissions. Due to the increasing number of brokers that offer free trading, it can be hard to choose the ideal option for individual financial goals.
Skipping the research and comparison of different services can cause picking a free platform with high deposit & withdrawal fees, low range of assets, lack of regulation and limited trading features.
This guide assesses 100 online brokers in UAE for users to review and find the ideal platform for their needs. To help them make an informed decision, a list of the best free trading platforms in UAE is shared below, followed by detailed reviews and comparisons.
Best Free Trading Platforms in UAE
- TradeStation – Best for active traders
- Charles Schwab – Ideal for Stocks
- Interactive Brokers – Optimal for ETFs
- eToro – Best Suited for Beginners
- Trading212 – Best for Mobile Trading
Top 5 Free Trading Platforms in UAE Reviewed
The top 5 free trading platforms in UAE are reviewed below, including pros, cons and key features.
1. TradeStation – Best for active traders
Min Deposit: $0 ($2000 – Margin account; $25000 – Day Trading account; $5000 – Futures account)
Fees: 4.8
Assets available: 5.0
Total Fees:
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
- Zero commission trading on all stocks and ETFs (for first 10k shares)
- Professional trading platform with fast trade execution on all commission free trading instruments
- Commission free trading
- Free paper trading on commission free trading assets
Cons
- Trading platform for commission free instruments is complex
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
2. Charles Schwab – Best for Stocks
Charles Schwab is a US-based FINRA and SEC-regulated broker that has been in business since 1971 at which users can trade stocks and ETFs without paying any commissions. Charles Schwab offers high-quality trading tools like stock research and detailed fundamental data to help you generate trading ideas.
Charles Schwab offers traders and investors the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios service, which is a robo-advisory service to help you optimize your portfolio and the StreetSmart Edge advanced desktop trading platform which includes a wide range of tools and features.
Pros
- Zero commission trading on non-OTC Stocks and on ETFs
- Wide choice of zero-commission trading instruments
- Free premium research tools
Cons
- European listed stocks not available
Key features
- Access to over 3,000 US stocks and thousands of other financial instruments
- Multiple advanced order types
- Provides own equity ratings and reports from Morningstar and Credit Suisse
- Integrated with Google Assistant – Ask Google any stock price or market update
- Commissionless stock trading
- Suitable for both beginners and advanced traders
- Robo-advisor and financial advisors available
3. Interactive Brokers – Best for ETFs
Min Deposit: $0
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
- Zero commission trading on US listed ETFs
- Professional trading platforms, useful tools for zero-commission trading
- Research tools for zero-commission trading assets
Cons
- Market data for zero-commission products delayed by 10-15 minutes
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
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.
4. eToro – Best for Beginners
Min Deposit: $50
Fees: 4.8
Assets available: 4.8
Total Fees:
Leveraged and speculative product. Not suitable for all investors. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Capital is at risk.
eToro is a reputable global brand and industry leading broker for copy trading. Their robust and cutting edge copy trading platform and social trading features allow users to copy trades and portfolios from professional traders and investors.
As a CFD multi asset broker, eToro allows users to trade on over 3075 different symbols including stocks, forex, cryptos, indices and commodities. Trading spreads are wide, deposits are free and account minimum is low. There are conversion and inactivity fees. eToro provides a comprehensive list of technical tools, charts, and newsfeeds. Their customer support is available through email and live chat in Arabic and English.
eToro is a well established market maker broker with a clean history record, regulated by top tier regulators.
78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pros
- Zero-commission trading on Stocks and ETFs
- Social/Copy trading service
- Research and educational tools for zero-commission trading assets
Cons
- Platform for zero-commission trading not suitable for experienced traders
Key features
- Sophisticated social-copy trading features
- Multiple different payment options
- Crypto exchange and brokerage services on the same dashboard
- Super fast registration and KYC on-boarding process
- Zero commission stock trading
- Great ease of use level
Leveraged and speculative product. Not suitable for all investors. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Capital is at risk.
5. Trading212 – Best for Mobile Trading
Trading212 is a CySEC and FCA-regulated forex, CFD, and stock broker where traders can trade over 7,000 financial instruments including shares, commodities, ETF’s, cryptocurrencies with up to 1:30 leverage whilst paying no commission. Trading212 allows investors to buy fractional shares and has two trading platforms available, one for stocks and ETF’s and one for CFD’s.
Trading212 is not compatible with MetaTrader 4, 5, cTrader or other external trading platforms, but its own trading platforms are beginner-friendly and feature all the tools and functionalities needed to trade the financial markets successfully. Traders can make use of dynamic charting, multiple advanced order types, and technical analysis tools like indicators.
Trading212 provides educational material in the form of Youtube videos and has a free demo account available for those who want to test-drive the trading platform before trading with real money. Opening a live trading account can be done from $10.
The Trading212 customer support is available by live chat and email in English, German, French, and 5 other languages.
Pros
- Stocks and ETFs available for zero-commission trading
- Trading platforms easy to use and suitable for beginners
- Wide choice of zero-commission trading assets
Cons
- Trading account not available for USD, EUR only
Key features
- Provides access to over 7,000 different stocks, commodities, forex pairs, ETF’s, and cryptocurrency CFDs
- Dynamic charting, advanced order types, and technical analysis tools
- Regulated by the FCA and CySEC
- Low minimum deposit required of $10
- Funds up to €1m insured by Lloyd’s of London
- Offers the opportunity to invest in fractional shares
Tips To Help Finding The Ideal Free Trading Platform in UAE?
Criteria for finding an online broker with the best suited free trading platform in UAE are listed below.
- Fees – Fees impact trading profits, so make sure you choose a broker with a low fee structure. Also, look for brokers that offer 0% trading fees, and save money.
- Banking options – It should be easy to fund your account and there should be no deposit fees. We compare the deposit and withdrawal options of these brokers as well as daily limits.
- Account types – Brokers offer different kinds of accounts based on your trading needs. Be sure to look at all the accounts the brokers have, and choose the best one for you.
- Available assets – The brokers we review guide offer stock, forex, commodity, ETF, bond, and cryptocurrency trading, so you can trade the assets you want.
- Trading platforms – We look at all the trading platforms that brokers offer, including MetaTrader 4, 5, cTrader, or proprietary trading platforms. Choose the best one for your needs.
- Mobile apps – Brokers offer mobile trading platforms that are compatible with iOS and Android, so you can trade from wherever you are.
- Customer support – Brokers should always offer the best possible service to clients on a 24/7 basis, and speak a language you are comfortable with.
Top Free Trading Platforms Compared
Fees of the highest rated online brokers with free trading platforms in UAE are compared in the table below.
| Feature/Broker | TradeStation | Charles Schwab | Interactive Brokers | eToro | Trading 212 |
| Minimum deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $200.00 | $10.00 |
| Stock trading fees | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options trading base fees | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | N/A | N/A |
| Option contract fees | $0.65 | $0.65 | $0.65 | N/A | N/A |
| Futures contract fees | $1.50 | $2.25 | $0.85 | N/A | N/A |
| Mutual fund fees | $25.00 | $74.95 | $14.95 | N/A | N/A |
| ETF fees | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Broker assisted fees | $0.00 | $25.00 | $30.00 | N/A | N/A |
What Is Commission Free Trading?
Commission-free trading means you don’t pay a fee for trading. With this structure, you pay for the trade via spread instead, or your broker earns money with PFOF (Payment For Order Flow). Every time you place a buy or sell order, with PFOF, your broker sends the order to market makers, exchanges, and ECNs, and receives a commission.
Commission-free brokers like Robinhood and Webull make money with PFOF while full-service brokers like Fidelity and Charles Schwab deposit the overnight positions of customers into a bank account to earn interest.
Understanding Broker Fees
Every broker has fees besides trading fees. Some brokers charge contract fees, and other charge managed account fees or transfer fees when you choose to switch brokers.
Conclusion
The various online brokers in UAE offering different platforms and apps make it hard to find the ideal choice for individual needs. Comparing and evaluating the services of different providers requires time, knowledge and expertise.
This guide does the hard part by evaluating top rated free platforms for different types of traders and investment goals. The results of our analysis and comparison of the best free trading platforms in UAE are wrapped up in the table below.
| RANK | BROKER | PLATFORM SCORE | BEST FOR | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | TradeStation | 4,9/5 | Active traders | Official website |
| #2 | Charles Schwab | 4,1/5 | Stocks | Official website |
| #3 | Interactive Brokers | 4,9/5 | ETFs | Official website |
| #4 | eToro | 4,9/5 | Beginners | Official website |
| #5 | Trading212 | 4,2/5 | Mobile Trading | Official website |
FAQ
What Is a Free Trading Platform?
A free trading platform is an online trading platform that doesn’t charge commissions for trading. These platforms earn profits through spreads, non-trading charges payment, or by depositing overnight positions in a bank account to earn interest.
Which is the best free mobile trading app for UAE?
Based on the results from our research, the best commission free trading apps are Tradestation, Charles Schwab, and eToro.
Can I trade for free on a free trading platform?
Yes, you could open a demo account or use a day trading simulator to trade with a virtual balance. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with the platform and test trading strategies for free.
Which free trading platform earns the least amount of money on my trades?
Brokers don’t disclose the payment for order flow or interest yields on overnight positions they generate, so it is impossible to know.
Are there any charges on free trading platforms?
Free trading platforms do not charge commissions for trade execution. However, these platforms may apply other fees in the form of spreads, non-trading fees and margin interest.
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. 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.
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 does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
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.
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 2 minutes to learn more.
Braden Chase is an investor, trading specialist, and former research specialist for Forex.com who helps aspiring investors develop the confidence and habits they need to make an income from the market. Braden has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages and has also spoken & moderated numerous forex and finance industry panels across the globe.