Pros & cons of Admiral Markets

Admiral Markets Fact sheet

Level of regulation is the best measure of your broker’s trustworthiness. Admirals is regulated by various regulatory bodies, including:

• the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC)
• the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa (FSCA) 

Policies of Admiral Markets 

Admiral Markets keeps clients' funds in segregated accounts, is part of the investor compensation fund, and provides negative balance protection for retail clients only.

Negative balance protection keeps traders from losing more money than what’s on their trading balance meaning that traders’ funds can never go negative as the broker uses a 20% Stop Out Level for retail trading accounts. If the Stop Out Level fails and the balance goes negative, traders can contact the customer service representatives and they’ll turn the account back to 0. It should be noted that the Invest.MT5 account type doesn’t offer any Stop Out or leverage as traders on that account can not use borrowed money from their broker. 

Admirals provides several advanced features to make trading easier, they also have a personal offer for active traders. Traders who are actively trading and have more than $20,000 in their account can get upgraded to VIP. These VIP clients get even better terms than other account holders, making it well worth it. 

In addition, Admirals is a green company. They have a dedicated page on their website where they promote green trading. They focus on tree planting and other green activities to further this cause.

Forex trading on Admiral Markets 

Admiral Markets offers over 45 currency pairs for trading. Currencies offered include major, minor, and exotic pairs. Spreads are low and start from 0.6 pips for majors such as EUR/USD. Spreads are also dependent on the account type and may start from 0.0 pips as on the Zero.MT4, ZERO.MT5, and VIP accounts. Available leverage is up to 500:1 and the minimum initial deposit needed to open a trading account is 25 USD/EUR/JOD/AED.

Stock CFDs trading on Admirals 

Admirals offers US, UK, and EU stocks as CFDs. CFDs or contracts for difference are super speculative instruments. They offer the ability to trade the underlying assets without directly owning the asset itself. The difference between CFDs and other instruments is that CFDs can be shorted meaning that traders can profit from both bull and bear markets. In addition, stock CFD traders on Admirals can benefit from using leverage, with trading fees for stock CFDs varying from 0.1% to 0.15%. 

Depending on the trader’s style and strategy, every trader will need to find the perfect account type to trade successfully. Luckily, Admiral Markets offers various types of accounts to choose from. There are a few options available and they depend on the trading platform you would like to use. For MetaTrader 5 (MT5), the account type to use is Trade.MT5, Invest.MT5, and Zero.MT5. For MetaTrader 4 (MT4) there is Trade.MT4 and Zero.MT4 accounts. There is no investor account available for MetaTrader 4, so investors will have to use the MetaTrader 5 platforms instead.

Each of these account types has slight differences in spreads and commissions which we will discuss below.

Pros and cons of Admiral Markets account types and platforms

Admiral Markets Demo account

Beginner traders shouldn’t start trading without first practicing on a Demo account, while professional traders use a Demo account for testing new strategies and approaches. The Femo account is the same as a real account, with the only difference being that funds are virtual on a Demo account and there is no real money being used to execute trades. This gives traders the opportunity to use a Demo account for learning the ropes or testing out ideas. 

Admiral Markets offers Demo accounts for all their trading accounts and platforms. This is very flexible for testing various trading tools and account types to see what will fit your style best. It also allows you to use Expert Advisors (MetaTrader’s automated trading software) that can be used to automatically trade on behalf of traders. As a last bonus, Admiral Markets offer hedging which is not always available. 

Admiral Markets Trade.MT5 account

This account has a minimum deposit of $25 and spreads start from 0.5 pips. Commissions and fees for Single Share & ETF CFDs start from 0.02 USD per share. For other instruments – no commissions are charged. The minimum Forex order size is 0.01 lots, which means micro account-sized lots are possible. The maximum Forex order size is 100 lots, and 500 trades can be opened simultaneously. Stop Out happens at 20% for MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader web trader, and iOS and Android trading platforms. Trading instruments include 

• Currency pairs - 39
• Metal CFDs - 5
• Energy CFDs - 3
• Agriculture CFDs - 7
• Index Futures CFDs - 24 
• Commodity Futures - 11
• Cash Index CFDs - 19
• Stock CFDs - over 3350
• ETF CFDs - over 300
• Bonds CFDs - 2

Account balance currencies: USD, EUR, JOD, AED. With this one, an Islamic account option is also available. This account is best for day traders since it offers moderate spreads and commissions for maximum flexibility. Not recommended for scalpers who rely on many intraday trades with small profits. 

Admiral Markets Invest.MT5 account

This account is focused on investors and offers flexible features to buy and hold stocks and other assets. The minimum deposit starts from 1 USD, EUR, JOD, or GBP. Base account currencies are USD, EUR, JOD, and GBP. The assets offered are vast: Stocks - over 4500, ETFs - over 400. There is no leverage when it comes to the Invest.MT5 account and spreads start from 0 pips. The commissions are as follows: Stocks & ETFs - from 0.02 USD per share. This account type offers no Islamic account option. Trading platforms offered are MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader Web Trader, as well as an iOS and Android app. 

Admiral Markets Zero.MT5 account

The minimum deposit required for Zero.MT5 is 25 USD, EUR, JOD, and AED, with those same ones serving as the possible account base currencies. There are many trading instruments offered on this account type as well: 

• Currency pairs - 45
• Metal CFDs - 3
• Cash Index CFDs - 10
• Energy CFDs - 3 

Leverage is set to 1:500 and spreads start from 0 pips. This is a great account type for scalpers as spreads won’t take away most of the profits. Commissions are as follows: Forex & metals - from 1.8 to 3.0 USD per 1.0 lots, cash indices - from 0.05 to 3.0 USD per 1.0 lots, and energies - 1 USD per 1.0 lots. As we can see, not only are spreads starting at 0 pips, but commissions are also very low, making this a very good offer for traders who prefer to open many trades per day. The minimum lot size is 0.01 and offers micro account features for beginner traders. The Stop Out Level is at 20% and 500 trades can be opened simultaneously. Trading platforms that can be used include MT5 and the MT5 Web Trader. 

Admiral Markets Trade.MT4 account

Admiral Markets offers trading account types for the MetaTrader 4 trading platform as well. Trade.MT4 is similar to Trade.MT5 in its features, but it is best suited to those doing day trading as it comes with flexible commissions and spreads. The available trading instruments are:

• Currency pairs - 37
• Metal CFDs - 4
• Energy CFDs - 3
• Index Futures CFDs - 3
• Cash Index CFDs - 16
• Stock CFDs - 230
• Bonds CFDs - 2

The minimum deposit is 25 USD, 25 EUR, 25 JOD, or 100 AED. Account base currencies are the same as well. Spreads start from 0.5 pips and commissions are from 0.02 USD per share for Single Share & ETF CFDs. There are no commissions on Forex, as the spreads are playing the fee role here. This account is not good for scalpers as spreads could eat up most of the profits, but should be sufficient for average trading as it offers many instruments for trading. Stop Out happens at 20% and 500 trades can be opened simultaneously. 

Admiral Markets Zero.MT4 account

This is a scalper account analogous to Zero.MT5, with almost all terms being the same. The trading instruments are:

• Currency pairs - 45
• Metal CFDs - 3
• Cash Index CFDs - 10
• Energy CFDs - 3

Base currencies are the same as for other account types, and minimum deposit starts from 25 units for each base currency. 

Getting started on Admiral Markets – Main steps

Admiral Markets has an intuitive and user-friendly process for signing up. As with other brokers, email and other details are necessary for the registration, and the website offers support in 30 languages.

Step one: Opening an account

The first step to take is to register as a trader on the broker’s page. There’s a “Register” button in green. By pressing that button from the main page, you’ll be transferred to the fill-in page.

After registration, an email will be sent to your email address with all the necessary information and details. Opening a Demo account will take just a few minutes and is very fast with Admiral Markets.

Step two: account verification

After the registration is concluded, it’s time for verification. The broker will ask you to verify your residency and Identity. You can use utility bills or bank statements for proof of residency, and for proof of identity, you can provide a valid driving license, passport, or any government-issued ID. You can upload scanned documents or use a digital camera to take pictures of these documents. 

Step three: choose an account type and trading platform

Depending on your trading preferences, you can select the most comfortable platform for you. MetaTrader 4 and 5 are almost the same with slight differences, and admiral also offers a custom-built mobile app. The app is simple to use and also provides the function to verify your account on mobile. For scalpers, 0.0 pips account types are best and for day traders the other options would be sufficient. The dedicated investment account type should be ideal for long-term investors. With Invest.MT5, investors can comfortably invest in over 4 900 ETFs and stocks. There is an option for VIP clients too, and active traders who have $25,000 in their account can request to upgrade to a VIP account.

Step four: make your first deposit and start trading

After the previous steps and account verification, funding your account is the next thing on the menu. There are only Visa/Mastercard, Perfect Money, and wire transfers available for deposits. This is limiting compared to some brokers who are offering various online payment systems. Visa/Mastercard deposits are instant but wire transfers will take some time.

The fees depend on the account types traders pick, however, the fees offered are reasonable.

Comparing Admirals fees with other popular brokers

Admiral Markets fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

*Inactivity fee was eliminated by IB in 2021, it used to be $20/m

Admiral Markets fees compared to eToro fees

Admiral Markets fees compared to IG fees

Admiral Markets fees compared to XM fees

Admiral Markets fees compared to AvaTrade fees

Admiral Markets fees compared to Capital.com fees

The main trading platforms provided by Admiral Markets are MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader WebTrader, and a dedicated application for smartphones. MT4 and MT5 are probably the best professional trading platforms when it comes to functionality. They both offer built-in and custom indicators, Expert Advisors (EAs) support, and come with a dedicated programming language for those looking to create their own indicators. There are also thousands of free and paid indicators and EAs online, and most paid ones can be tested before buying. 

A dedicated smartphone app for mobile trading can be downloaded from app stores for all devices and offers most of the basic trading features on the go. It is limited in the number of indicators and other important features though. Along with those you can always opt to use the MT4 and MT5 mobile apps, or open your account using the WebTrader.

There is a dedicated section on the Admiral Markets website for education. Webinars, articles and tutorials, a zero-to-hero course, a Forex 101 course, E-books, risk management info, Trader’s glossary, and FAQs offer almost everything necessary to start learning how to trade. E-books are especially convenient as studying materials and are not always seen on broker websites. The Forex 101 and zero-to-hero courses are not to be missed as they are jam-packed with good info. 

As for the research tools, there are plenty of them available in the analytics section. 

Admiral Markets offers a Forex calendar, trading news, global market updates, weekly trading podcasts, premium analytics, a market heatmap, fundamental analysis, market sentiment meters, and a dedicated trading center. All these analytical tools are a great addition to any trader’s arsenal, and it is clear that with all this in tow, Admiral Markets is top-of-the-class when it comes to education and research. 

Customer satisfaction is definitely one of the focuses of Admiral Markets as they offer extensive help center features with a search bar and all possible information customers will need. For other questions, there is an online live chat service available with a chatbot to start you out and the ability to contact Admiral Markets representatives if need be. The website is multilingual, and the live chatbot is available in multiple languages as well.

Admiral Markets is a Forex and CFDs broker offering more than 8700 trading instruments in various asset classes. Admirals is regulated in Cyprus, Jordan, South Africa, and the UK, making them well-licensed. With the leverage of 1:500 and low spreads and commissions, Admiral Markets seems to be a worthy broker to consider when starting to trade. They have a dedicated account type for investors with a minimum deposit of $1. For trading, the minimum deposit is $25. Admiral Markets offer MT4, MT5, and the MetaTrader WebTrader, as well as MetaTrader smartphone apps and a dedicated one that they have developed in-house. The website is multilingual and offers good materials for education and market analysis. The only limitation is deposit and withdrawal methods as they only use Visa/Mastercard, Perfect Money, and wire transfers. Other than these, Admiral Markets is a legitimate broker with more than 20 years of experience on the broker scene.