Which is the best CFD broker in the UAE?
Verdict
- Pepperstone is our best CFD broker for UAE residents: 1350+ markets, AED accounts funded through Mashreq Bank or Barclays, a $10 minimum, and published costs such as US500 at a 0.4-point average and Razor EUR/USD at 0.1 pips plus $3.50 per side.
- Its UAE retail leverage runs from 1:200 on forex, gold and major indices down to 1:20 on shares, Bitcoin and Ether, and 1:2 on other coins.
- Capital.com is our second choice and the stronger pick if you want an onshore UAE CMA-licensed company or a swap-free account; XS is third.
- Pepperstone's limits: no swap-free account for UAE residents, no published guaranteed stop-loss, and CFDs issued by its Bahamas-regulated company.
A CFD broker in the UAE has to do several jobs well: price many markets cheaply, hold your money in dirhams if you want, and be clear about which company and regulator stand behind your account. Pepperstone does the most of these in our data. Below we compare it with Capital.com and XS across asset classes, and answer the wider question of who is the best CFD broker overall.
Why Pepperstone is our UAE pick
Pepperstone covers forex, indices, commodities, share and ETF CFDs and crypto CFDs on one account, which its UAE pages describe as 1350+ markets. It publishes costs by instrument: EUR/USD averages 0.1 pips on Razor plus $3.50 per side (or $3.00 on cTrader) and 1.1 pips on Standard with no commission; index CFDs carry no commission; US share CFDs pay $0.02 per share per side. You can hold the account in AED and fund by Mashreq Bank or Barclays transfer within 2 business days. Retail clients are entitled to negative balance protection under its UAE risk disclosure.
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Retail leverage by asset class: Pepperstone vs Capital.com
Higher leverage is not a better deal: it lets a smaller move wipe out your margin. Pepperstone's tighter caps on energies and crypto are, in our view, a safer default for retail traders. XS's verified data gives no leverage table for its UAE clients.
| Asset class | Pepperstone (UAE site) | Capital.com (Dubai company) |
|---|---|---|
| Forex majors | 1:200 | 300:1 (500:1 on 15 listed majors) |
| Major indices | 1:200 | 300:1 |
| Gold | 1:200 | 500:1 |
| Energies | 1:20 | Up to 500:1 on crude |
| Shares and ETFs | 1:20 | 20:1 |
| Bitcoin and Ether | 1:20 | 100:1 |
| Other crypto | 1:2 | 100:1 |
Who regulates what
- Pepperstone: CFDs for UAE retail clients are issued by Pepperstone Markets Limited (SCB, Bahamas, SIA-F217). Its DIFC company is regulated by the DFSA (F004356), and its Dubai LLC holds a CMA licence (20200000358) for introduction and consultation, not retail dealing.
- Capital.com: Capital Com MENA Securities Trading L.L.C. in Dubai, licensed by the UAE CMA (20200000176). It offers UAE residents a swap-free account and says retail balances that go negative are reset to zero.
- XS: its Dubai entity is a financial-consultation company (CMA 20200000339) and XS does not say it holds retail accounts; swap-free applies automatically for UAE residents. Verified pricing: EUR/USD from 0.1 pips on Elite ($6 round turn, $500 minimum).
Who is the best CFD broker?
Outside any one country, our answer is still Pepperstone, for the breadth of its regulation and the clarity of its pricing. It holds licences from ASIC in Australia, the FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, BaFin in Germany, the DFSA in Dubai and the SCB in the Bahamas, and each local site publishes its own leverage, costs and protections. It runs MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and its own platform, and says orders fill from 50 milliseconds with a 99.32% fill rate (Q1 2026). Where Pepperstone falls short, others lead: it publishes no guaranteed stop-loss, which Capital.com offers, and its swap-free account excludes some countries, the UAE and Saudi Arabia among them.
Sources
Is Pepperstone licensed in the UAE?
Its DIFC company is regulated by the DFSA and its Dubai LLC holds a CMA introduction and consultation licence. UAE retail CFDs are issued by its Bahamas company under SCB licence SIA-F217.
Which CFD broker offers a swap-free account to UAE residents?
Capital.com and XS both do. Pepperstone's swap-free account is not available to UAE residents.
What is the minimum deposit at Pepperstone in the UAE?
$10, or the local equivalent. Capital.com's minimum is $20.
CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage, whichever broker you choose. Consider whether you can afford to lose the money you trade. This page is not investment advice; check each broker's current terms before opening an account.