Is spread betting good for beginners?

If you're new to trading, we offer useful resources to help get you started before you risk any real capital, including: our StoneX Trading Academy and demo trading account.

What does the spread mean in trading?

For instance, if the UK 100 has a buy price of 10,001 and a sell price of 10,000, then it has a 1 point spread. When spread betting, the spread contains the cost to open and close positions, in place of a commission that you might pay when CFD trading. Find out more about the spread.

How does spread betting work?

Spread betting works by allowing you to bet on the future direction of the price of a market. As the market price moves in your chosen direction, your bet will earn a profit. If the market moves against you, your bet will incur a loss. For example, a bet of £5 per point that the UK 100 will rise in value. For every point that the UK 100 goes up, your trade will make £5. For every point it falls, you’ll lose £5. You only realise any profit or loss when you close the position. If the UK 100 has moved up 100 points when you close, your profit would be (£5 * 100 points) £500. If it has moved down 100 points, you’ll incur a loss of £500 instead. Learn more about the ins and outs of spread betting.

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Spread betting

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Spread bet across thousands of markets with tight spreads, zero commissions and no UK Stamp Duty or Capital Gains Tax.*

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* Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. 

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Why spread bet with StoneX Trading?

Commission free

Open share spread bets without commission.

Extended hours trading

Access pre and post market trading.

Trade on leverage

Get full exposure with a small initial deposit.

Tax-free* profits

Pay no UK Stamp Duty or UK Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

^{*Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances.}

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Learn about spread betting

What is spread betting?

Spread betting lets you speculate on financial markets by placing a bet on the future direction of an asset.

How spread betting works

How to spread bet

Choose a market, set stake size and manage your position.

How to trade tax-free*

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Risk management

Use risk tools to manage spread betting exposure.

Manage spread betting risk

Margin and leverage

See how margin and leverage affect capital and risk.

What are the tax advantages?

Access thousands of spread betting markets

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Explore all our markets

Our key figures

1m+

account holders*

1000s

of markets

0.002s

average execution speed

99.99%

of trades successfully executed

* StoneX retail trading live and demo accounts globally in the last 2 years.

Our spread betting costs

Market type	Minimum spreads from	Margin	Leverage
Forex	0.5 pts	3.33%	1:30
Indices	0.4 pts	5%	1:20
Shares	0.1%	20%	1:5
Commodities	1 pt	5%	1:20

There’s no commission to pay when you spread bet. Instead, all the costs to open and close your position are covered in the difference between the buy and sell prices (known as the spread). If you keep a daily funded bet open overnight, you’ll pay overnight funding. Learn more about spread betting costs.