5 Best South Africa Stock Brokers List for 2023

By Stefano Treviso, Updated on: Jan 22 2024.

Here’s our selection of the 5 Best South Africa Stock brokers for the year 2023:

Broker	Reason
Markets.com	Best for beginner to intermediate traders
IG	Best for most stocks offered
FxPro	Best for fast execution
ThinkMarkets	Best for long term position traders
ETX Capital	Best for no commission offering

All the above brokers are required to possess a financial license from FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa). This grants South African stock traders a great layer of protection in the event of any dispute as complaints can be dealt with locally (BTW, find out Why Does the Forex Market Trade 24 Hours a Day).

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

1. Markets.com - Best for beginner to intermediate traders

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68% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Markets.com is an international broker that offers share dealing and CFD trading accounts through their own proprietary platform or MT4 and MT5.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	9016
Commissions	No comissions on CFDs. For share dealing, the first 3 months are commission free, then the structure is: EU Shares = 0.1% (min €10) UK Shares = 0.1% (min £8) US Shares = 2c (min $15) AU Shares = 0.1% (min A$10)
Minimum Deposit	$100
Financial Regulators	CySec, FCA, UK, ASIC, FSCA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	No
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes

Markets.com holds 4 financial licenses being one of them from FSCA (South Africa). Their offering is made of almost 3,000 CFDs and 7,000+ real shares depending on the user’s account.

The Good	The Bad
Clear separation between investors and Traders by offering share dealing accounts and CFD trading accounts Wide range of platforms (Proprietary, MT4, MT5) Wide range of stocks and stock CFDs	Minimum trade sizes larger than average Spreads above average

For beginner or intermediate traders looking for a reliable choice where they can access both shares or share CFDs via a TradingView integrated platform, Markets.com is definitely a great choice.

A very important feature worth mentioning is their Investment Strategy Builder. It’s Markets.com proprietary analysis tool to help new traders develop an investment strategy in an automated fashion.

2. IG - Best for most stocks offered

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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 is one of the oldest (operating since 1974) and most trusted CFD brokers in the world. They hold over 8 financial licenses (including their FSCA one).

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

IG is a great match for professional high volume traders as they have several fees that can definitely have an impact on those trading in low capital (such as in-and-out commissions, maintenance or management fees, etc).

Something very important worth mentioning is that in IG the pricing structure of assets is explained usually in “contracts” or different variables that beginner or intermediate traders are not used to, that’s why we make emphasis that IG should be a choice for professionals with a decent trading capital.

3. FxPro - Best for fast execution

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74.46% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

FxPro is a regulated global brokerage firm offering a vast array of tradable instruments including CFDs on FX, Stocks, Crypto, Commodities, Indices, Energies and Futures.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	2100
Commissions	No commissions on MT4 & 5 ($45 per $1million USD traded on cTrader.
Minimum Deposit	$100
Financial Regulators	CySec, ASIC, SCB, FSCA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	Yes
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes

FxPro’s holds 4 financial licenses (including their FSCA one) and has been operating since 2006. Their platform offering consists of: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and their own proprietary platform.

The Good	The Bad
Moderate asset offering (around 2,500+ instruments) Great plafform variety (FxPro Edge CFD, MetaTrader 4 & 5, cTrader)	No real stocks or ETFs Proprietary platform is not user friendly

FxPro biggest selling point is their fast execution (as they claim: under 14ms) which can be a great feature for scalpers. If you’re a professional trader and execution is your top priority FxPro can be a great choice for you.

4. Think Markets - Best for long term position traders

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Your Capital is at risk.

ThinkMarkets is a global broker headquartered in Australia that offers real stocks and ETFs along with CFDs on stocks, etfs, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies accompanied by their proprietary platform: ThinkTrader.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	4346
Commissions	For Standard account there are no commissions For Zero account there is a commission of $3.5 per lot round turn For real stocks and ETFs investing, there is a flat fee of $8 per trade (in-and-out) or if the trade value is above $200,000 then a 0.05% fee per trade.
Minimum Deposit	From 0 to $500
Financial Regulators	FCA, ASIC, FSAS, FSCA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	No
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes

ThinkMarkets regulatory framework consist of 4 financial licenses (including their FSCA one). Their specialty is share trading via their own proprietary platform ThinkTrader.

The Good	The Bad
Possibility to invest in real stocks and ETFs or trade CFDs Proprietary platform ThinkTrader is smooth and user friendly Spreads are very competitive when compared to similar competitors	Real stocks or ETFs are only from ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) Expensive stock trading commissions ($8 flat fee for ASX shares or ETFs) While their stock and ETFs offering is great, they lack variety in all other asset classes

Given the fact their platform is easy to use, their range of assets is moderate and their spreads are competitive, we consider ThinkMarkets a great choice for those looking to trade shares in a long-term swing trading style.

A very important point to note is that when it comes to equities, shares are only from ASX exchange whereas CFDs on shares are global,

5. ETX Capital - Best in no commission offering

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Founded in 1965, ETX Capital dedicated the last decades to both spread betting and CFD trading until their recent rebranding into OvalX.

Key data
Stocks (Real and CFDs)	5000
Commissions	Depending on asset class. (Eg: U.S shares have a 2 cents per share charge with a minimum of $15 per order, European shares have a 0.1% of transaction value charge with a minimum 10 € charge)
Minimum Deposit	From $100 to $10,000
Financial Regulators	FCA, FSCA, CySec.
MT4	Yes
MT5	No
cTrader	No
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes

ETX Capital holds 3 financial licenses (including their FSCA one). Their asset offering boasts over 5,000+ CFDs from which 250 are commission free.

The Good	The Bad
Commission-free trades for 250 equities Low minimum deposit to open standard account (100£) Wide selection of commodity futures and bonds Decent educational material for market research, including seminars on indices, commodities and currencies	Doesn’t provide live news feed on standard account No ability to purchase real stocks or ETFs (All assets are CFDs) Expensive commissions on shares (Eg minimum $15 on US shares, 10 € on EU shares)

From the FSCA regulated South African brokers, ETX Capital has one of the best commission free offers out there, especially having it paired with their own proprietary platform and their own remastered version of MT4.