5 Best United Arab Emirates (UAE) Stock Brokers List

By Stefano Treviso, Updated on: Aug 21 2023.

Here’s our selection of the 5 Best United Arab Emirates (UAE) Stock brokers for the year 2023:

Broker	Reason
Pepperstone	Best in low commissions and platform variety
Saxo Bank	Best in most trusted financial regulation
IG	Best for professional share traders
Swissquote	Best in most assets offered
City Index	Best for spread betting

All the above brokers are required to possess a financial license from ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) or DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority). This grants United Arab Emirates forex traders a great layer of protection in the event of any dispute as complaints can be dealt with locally.

Each one of these brokers was analysed using our proprietary methodology.

1. Pepperstone - Best in low commissions and platform variety

Visit

74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Pepperstone is an Australian broker founded in 2010 with the aim of providing a professional trading experience with low fees and tight spreads. Currently Pepperstone counts with 7 financial licenses and operates in almost every country around the world.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	1300
Commissions	For Standard account : All fees included in the spread For Razor account: From $7 per Lot round turn
Minimum Deposit	$200
Financial Regulators	BaFin, FCA, ASIC, DFSA, CySec, SCB, CMA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	Yes
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	No

Pepperstone's regulatory framework consists of 7 financial licenses from which 4 belong to high tier financial regulators (being one of them DFSA).

The Good	The Bad
Well regulated on several jurisdictions Low latency, fast execution under 30ms Competitive spreads and low commissions from 0.0 pips on their Razor account	Avaliable asset offering is not that comprehensive No ability to purchase real stocks or cryptocurrencies, only CFDs

Pepperstone provides over 1,300+ different shares to trade via their multi-platform trading environment (MetaTrader 4 & 5, cTrader and TradingView). Their offer in commissions is extremely competitive and they are definitely a great choice as long as the shares you’re interested in are amongst those 1,300 shares they provide. On the other hand, if what you’re looking for is not there, you may be served better with a different option.

2. Saxo Bank - Best in most trusted financial regulation

Visit

69% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Saxo Bank is a Danish investment bank operating since 1992. It is one of the most regulated brokerages in the world with an exceptional selection of financial instruments.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	30000
Commissions	$0.02/share (min $10) for US Stocks, from 0.10% (min €10) for other equity markets, €4 per futures contract.
Minimum Deposit	From $500 up to $2,000
Financial Regulators	ASIC, HKMA, ADGM, FINMA, MAS, FFAJ, AFM.
MT4	No
MT5	No
cTrader	No
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes

Saxo Bank holds 7 financial licenses from the world’s most reputable financial regulators (being one of them ADGM).

The Good	The Bad
Exceptional selection of financial instruments at one place 2 highly-customizable proprietary trading platforms API integration for 3rd party services like Excel or TradingView	High minimum deposit for certain countries Withdrawals via bank transfer only High fees on options and futures

Saxo Bank can be an expensive option. Their minimum deposit is much higher than the competition and the account fees can be hefty for a low volume trader. If you’re a high net worth individual and you’re looking for a safe broker that gives you access to over 30,000+ shares, Saxo Bank can be a great choice for you. On the other hand, if you’re not on the ranks for the capital, then there are better choices for you.

3. IG - Best for professional share traders

Visit

79% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

IG is a global broker established in 1974 that holds 8 reputable financial licenses and provides CFD trading on stocks, commodities, ETFs, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, futures, options along with real stocks through their share dealing account.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	30000
Commissions	Yes, they charge depending on the client’s account base currency and exchange location of the shares being traded. For example, for some clients US shares can have a minimum charge of $10 in-and-out.
Minimum Deposit	From $10 to $450.
Financial Regulators	ASIC, FMA, NFA, ADGM, FINMA, MAS, FFAJ, FSCA, BMA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	No
cTrader	No
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes

IG holds 8 financial licenses from which 7 belong to some of the world’s best financial regulators (being one of them ADGM). Their proprietary platform is customisable and fast and they have all the features a professional trader may be looking for.

The Good	The Bad
Broad platform offering with high customisability and integrated news feeds Comprehensive asset offering with more than 10,000 + CFDs or real stocks and ETFs	There are too many small costs such as custody, in-and-out-commissions in some cases, management fees, etc Their standard contracts can be too large some times for low volume traders

If you’re a professional you most likely trade in larger volumes as well. This is a must for using a broker like IG as they charge in-and-out commissions on share trading and the only way to offset them is by trading on larger volumes. On the other hand, if you’re a small trader or investor, you may find them expensive.

4. Swissquote - Best in most assets offered

Visit

74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Swissquote is a global broker and investment bank headquartered in Switzerland that offers traditional securities and CFD trading along with advanced research tools.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	100000
Commissions	For CFDs there are no commissions as the spreads are the cost. For other assets from $9 up to $210 based on transaction volume and depending on the exchange.
Minimum Deposit	0
Financial Regulators	FCA, ADGM, FINMA, MFSA, HKMA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	No
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes

Swissquote holds 5 financial licenses from mostly high reputation financial regulators (being one of them ADGM). Their asset offering is amongst the most comprehensive with access to over 60 worldwide stock exchanges.

The Good	The Bad
Outstanding asset offering with more than 60 exchanges across the world Amazing research and analysis tools for all trader levels Thematic investments with preconfigured product baskets Offers banking services along with debit card	Their proprietary platform lacks many features and is not user friendly Their commissions are extremely high Overall everything feels complicated to use

Swissquote’s proprietary platform lacks many features and is not user friendly, their commissions are expensive when compared to other competitors and they are a bit difficult to use. Unless you have a particular reason to access a set of assets that only you can find through them, you’re most likely better served with a different option.

5. City Index - Best for spread betting

Visit

City Index is a global broker founded in 1983 that holds 4 financial licenses and offers advanced trading platforms, mobile apps, diverse market research tools and an extensive range of markets.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	4500
Commissions	Spread betting markets have no commission CFDs or FX trading has no commission as well (except equities: shares & ETFs) Equity commissions depend on the market’s location (eg: UK and Europe have a 0.08% of transaction value fee, US equities and Asian ones have different percentages as well) The minimum equity commission rates are $10, £10 or 10€.
Minimum Deposit	$100
Financial Regulators	FCA, ASIC, MAS, ADGM.
MT4	Yes
MT5	No
cTrader	No
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes

City Index holds 4 high value financial licenses (being one of them from ADGM). They have been around since 1983 and they are part of StoneX group, a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange.

The Good	The Bad
All assets are CFDs, there is no possibility to buy real stocks or ETFs Cryptocurrency offering is below most of its competitors (only 5) While easy to execute a trade, platform is difficult for a novice to navigate	All assets are CFDs, there is no possibility to buy real stocks or ETFs Cryptocurrency offering is below most of its competitors (only 5) While easy to execute a trade, platform is difficult for a novice to navigate

Their offering boasts over 5,000+ assets being most of them shares. An interesting point of City Index is that they also specialise in Spread Betting, which can definitely ease the tax situation for many traders.