XTB Review: Does It Really Have The Lowest Commissions?

Since XTB was founded in 2002, it has grown to become one of the market leaders in Europe, even using Conor McGregor’s and Iker Casillas’ image to promote its platform – not sure how much either of them knows about trading, though.

However, none of this guarantees that XTB will be a good broker for you. You’ll need to make sure you understand what assets they offer, how they operate (e.g. order types), and what their commissions are.

Note: Please, be aware that XTB is available in most European countries like the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Germany or Poland. But if you’re based in the US, you won’t be able to trade with them, check out other alternatives.

Let me give you my opinions of XTB in this review and tell you when it’s appropriate to use it, so you can find out if it’s a good solution to manage your investments.

Pros & Cons Of XTB

Before I unveil all the features of XTB, I want to tell you about its advantages and disadvantages and who should open an account with XTB.

Pros of XTB:

The Cons are:

Who Should Use XTB?

XTB is a world-class broker that offers a decent range of assets and markets, its spreads are tight, and its platform is very comprehensive and comes with many order types. It also has many extra features such as:

• Many instruments to trade
• Comprehensive news
• Economic calendar
• Customisable alerts

But as it’s somewhat complex to use, and you cannot trade without leverage when trading derivatives, it may not be a good option for all profiles. For UK and US users, there is also no option to invest in real shares or ETFs (you’ll always have to trade CFDs), unless you’re a resident of one of the EU countries where they operate.

XTB In Detail

Is XTB Safe?

I get the impression that XTB’s platform is secure; actually, you can set up its notifications so that you get alerts on your mobile phone or email every time a position is opened or closed, or when funds are withdrawn. This way, you’ll be informed of any suspicious action.

XTB notifications

On the other hand, withdrawals can only be made to a bank account that is in your name, I imagine this might provide some extra security.

I have to say that I would like to see a 2-step authentication system that would allow you to confirm access to the XTB platform with a code sent to your phone (e.g. by SMS or in the app).

Who Regulates XTB?

XTB is a trading platform of European origin (Poland), and it’s regulated by a lot of countries; as I have already told you, also by the UK through the Financial Conduct Authority.

It also has offices in 13 countries, including the UK, Spain, Poland, Germany, France and Chile.

XTB's Fees & Commissions

As you may already know, the commissions you face when investing can have a big (negative) impact on your profits.

Traders have to deal with a lot of commissions (more specifically spreads), as they follow the market trend and open and close positions very frequently. That is why the difference between a low-fee broker and an expensive one can mean a lot of money.

You will face 2 types of commissions: operational; related to opening and closing positions, and non-operational.

Non-Operational XTB Fees

There are several commissions you may have to pay when you have an XTB account. Here are the details:

• Inactivity: If you don’t trade with XTB for 12 months you’ll have to pay $/£/€10. Trading is defined as opening or closing positions.
• Withdrawal: Withdrawing funds from XTB is free if your withdrawal is more than $/£/€60. If the amount you withdraw is less than $/£/€60, there is a commissions fee.
• Deposits: There are generally no commissions for deposits you make. You may face a commissions fee if you use an electronic payment method such as PayPal and Skrill – charged by the payment processor and not XTB.

XTB’s Operating Fees

On the contrary, every time you trade a new position, you’ll face commissions (and/or spreads). Generally XTB has quite competitive commissions, the following are the commissions for the Standard account, if you have a Pro account these may be a bit lower.

• Commissions on asset purchases: In 2020 XTB started to offer the possibility to buy stocks and ETFs without commissions, but as we have said, these assets are only available in some European countries (not in the UK).
• Spreads: If you end up trading CFDs you’ll not have a commissions fee, but you’ll have to deal with the spread. This is the difference between the bid price and the ask price at XTB, which is how derivatives brokers are usually funded.
• Exchange rate commissions: Your account can be in euros, pounds or US dollars, if you make deposits in other currencies you’ll have to pay an exchange rate commission. Similarly, if you invest in an asset that is traded in a currency other than your account currency you’ll also face a commissions fee, which in most cases is 0.5%.

Example Of Commissions With XTB

As an example, I will compare XTB’s commissions with some of its alternatives to give you an idea of how much it will cost you to trade with them.

* Please note that commissions fluctuate, the table above refers to commissions as of 24 January 2021.

Products You Can Trade With XTB

The fact that XTB has low commissions and is a platform with one of the best chart analysis and news feeds is very positive, but if XTB doesn’t allow you to trade the assets you’re interested in, XTB is not a viable option for you, is it?

In the following paragraphs, I will break down which assets you can invest in using XTB, and which markets it will give you access to:

CFDs (Contracts For Difference)

One of the most popular products with XTB are CFDs, or Contracts For Difference. The price of these are derivative financial assets that are linked to the price of another asset (called the underlying).

Technically, we could have CFDs on any asset. For example, if you and I were to agree, we could create a CFD on the price of bread or even the price of a bus pass.

CFD investing with XTB

Let’s see which CFDs you can invest in with XTB:

• Stocks: With XTB you can invest in real stocks, or you can do so with the CFD version of these. You can trade CFDs on major companies in the US and Europe.
• ETF: On the other hand, it’s also possible to invest in CFDs of the ETFs mentioned above.
• Forex: Surely currency pairs trading is one of the most popular CFDs. XTB have a lot available, about 50 popular pairs (e.g. EUR, USD, MXN JPY or GBP), but they also have some less common currencies like BRL or TRY.
• Indices: Another way to trade CFDs is to trade entire indices, which is also possible with XTB. You can trade the main European indices (e.g. SPA35 or UK100), American indices (e.g. US30 or BRAComp) and other regions such as Japan, Hong Kong, Australia or South Korea. In total, they have more than 20.
• Commodities: With XTB you can trade CFDs whose underlying asset is linked to a commodity. There are many available in various sectors: agriculture (e.g. sugar or coffee), energy (e.g. natural gas or oil), precious metals (e.g. gold or palladium) and industrial metals (e.g. zinc or copper).
• Cryptocurrencies: With the boom in cryptocurrencies, many market makers (such as XTB) have started to offer CFDs linked to the price of these assets. With XTB you can buy CFDs on around 25 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dash or Ripple.

Shares

XTB allows you to invest in real stocks and ETFs in some European countries (not in the UK); this is suitable for investors who want to trade the securities of certain companies over the medium to long term.

You will be able to choose from over 2,000 stocks from many different markets. For example, you’ll find shares of the most important companies in the United States and major European countries such as Switzerland, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the Nordic countries.

XTB is one of the brokers I have used with the most varied selection of ETFs. They have more than 200 ETFs that you can trade from many reputable managers such as iShares, Vanguard, SPDR and Lyxor.

How Does XTB Work?

In order to use XTB you’ll need an internet connection and a computer or mobile device to use its platform. Simply log in and perform the operations or queries you wish to make.

How To Open An Account With XTB?

Opening an account with XTB is a fairly easy process, but I want to guide you through the process so that you’re clear on how to do it:

1. Go to www.XTB.com and click on “Demo” – I would always suggest you start by taking a look at the demo account to get familiar with it.
2. Add your email address, country of residence and read and accept the terms of use.
3. Enter your personal details (name and phone number), select the platform you want to use, the type of account and specify your password.

That’s all, now you can access the XTB demo account and start to get familiar with its interface and options.

If after a couple of days you feel ready to start investing with real money, open a live account by following these steps:

1. Log in to your XTB Demo Account and click on “Open Real Account.” If you don’t have a demo account go to www.XTB.com and click on “Become a client.”
2. Add your email address, read and accept XTB’s terms of use.
3. Add your personal details – this time you’ll need to provide your date of birth and other information.
4. Specify your postal address.
5. Answer the questions about your investor profile.
6. Confirm your email address, phone number and send any documents XTB may ask for (typically your passport) – uploading a photo online is sufficient.
7. Make your first deposit and start investing.

Tax Management With XTB

They may withhold taxes on the profits you make, depending a little on the country you trade from and the type of asset you invested in.

XTB stores your trading information, so you should be able to compile your profits and losses for tax purposes. But remember, you’re responsible for all of this.

Frequently Asked Questions

¿What is XTB?

XTB is a trading platform that allows its users to invest in CFD of: indices, stocks, Forex, cryptos and commodities. On top of that, XTB also allows its investors to buy real stocks and ETF – in the case that CFD trading is not your thing.

This broker, regulated by the British Financial Conduct Authority (among others), offers a decent offer of products to invest in. I must say that this broker comes with a full range of features (e.g. charting) that experts will appreciate, but beginners may find it overwhelming at first. Keep in mind that when operating with CFDs the leverage can’t be reduced.

Who owns XTB?

XTB was founded by Jakub Zablocki in Poland, who still remains within the company. Currently, XTB is a publicly traded broker, so anyone who is willing to purchase shares could own a bit of XTB.

Having said that, as you can see in the previous image, the founder of XTB still controls more than 65% of XTB’s parent company (XXZW Investment Group).

Is XTB Legit?

XTB is absolutely reliable – i.e. it’s regulated and duly established. It’s a trading platform that has been in business for many years and has millions customers. It is also regulated in several countries (Cyprus and the UK) and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which means that it is subject to rigorous audits and controls.

XTB Alternatives

Sure, XTB is a decent provider that can be a good fit for many users. However, there are some cases where this Polish trading platform won’t be the optimal choice. Therefore, let me mention a couple of alternative services:

Trading 212

Trading 212 (read review) is an online broker that offers a user-friendly trading platform which you can access with a smartphone or your web browser. This broker will allow you to trade ETFs, stocks and CFDs of several instruments (e.g. stocks, indices, forex or commodities). Currently, they don’t charge a fee for trading ETFs and shares. The only downside is that they could have more asset variety, as some instruments and markets are missing.

DEGIRO

Similarly to XTB, DEGIRO focuses on the European, as it only offers services to users from countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and 15 other. It offers an easy-to-use but also powerful platform to invest in Stocks, ETF, bonds, options and futures. Since it was first founded in 2013, it has gathered around 2 million users, a remarkable success. If you are looking to invest in derivatives assets using CFDs, DEGIRO won’t be a good alternative.

eToro

eToro is a giant online broker, with around 32 million users, it can’t be compared to many other investment platforms. As XTB does, eToro offers CFD trading, but also fractional (real) stocks and ETF. But eToro will also let you ride the crypto wave. And if you are looking to do some social trading (copying others’ trades), eToro allows for this too.

XTB Review: Final Thoughts

Alright, after this detailed guide and telling you my opinions of XTB you should have a pretty good idea of when it’s appropriate to use this trading platform.

But let me give you a brief summary of the most important points to consider:

But of course, it’s not all positive aspects:

Alright, that’s all I wanted to tell you about XTB, but if you still have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll try to answer them.

Review updates:

28 Jul 2023 – General update
12 Jul 2023 – Trustworthiness of XTB
16 Jun 2023 – More XTB alternatives added
08 May 2023 – Update fractional vs full assets
14 Mar 2023 – XTB review general update
25 Jan 2023 – Information about XTB ownership
16 Jan 2023 – Free stock for some investors
23 Dec 2022 – Information about what XTB is
28 Nov 2022 – Small mistake corrected
21 Oct 2022 – Alternatives to XTB added
26 Apr 2021 – Affiliate disclosure added
18 Mar 2021 – Initial Review
10 July 2021 – XTB Review moved to upskillwise.com