Capital.com Review 2025 for Emiratis and Expats
Capital.com is a global trading platform launched in 2016 that has rapidly become one of the biggest in the Middle East. In fact, over half of Capital.com’s worldwide trading volume now comes from the MENA region, led by UAE traders.
This review focuses solely on Capital.com within its UAE context; the platform has been operating locally under SCA (Securities and Commodities Authority) regulation since 2024, providing UAE residents with a highly regulated CFD trading experience.
In this Capital.com review, we cover the broker’s features, fees, pros and cons, and safety for Emirati and Expat investors so you can decide if it’s the right platform for you.
Capital.com overview
Capital.com is a CFD-focused broker that caters to active traders interested in global markets. The platform was founded in 2016 by fintech entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya and has since expanded to serve 760,000+ traders worldwide.
The broker operates multiple regulated entities around the world (UK, EU, Australia, and more), and in the UAE, it launched a local subsidiary in 2024: Capital Com MENA Securities Trading LLC, which is fully licensed by the UAE’s SCA.
How does Capital.com work in the UAE? The UAE client experience is similar to Capital.com elsewhere, but with the comfort of local regulation.
When signing up, you will need an Emirates ID and proof of UAE address for KYC. After entering all required information, your account is opened with the SCA-regulated subsidiary.
AED deposits and withdrawals are supported via local bank transfer (including instant transfers via the LEAN system) and card payments. Leverage is capped at 30:1 for retail clients in line with SCA rules.
Highlights
For a quick snapshot, the table below summarizes Capital.com’s key features and terms for UAE clients:
Pros
- No commissions, tight spreads: Capital.com charges zero commission on trades; you only pay the spread, which is very competitive (e.g., ~0.6 pips on EUR/USD FX). There are no deposit or withdrawal fees (AED transfers are free) and no hidden charges, which keeps trading costs low.
- Outstanding trading platforms: You benefit from an award-winning platform that’s modern, fast, and packed with features. The mobile app and web platform are intuitive for beginners, yet they offer over 100 indicators, advanced charting, price alerts, and risk management tools.
- AI-powered learning tools: Capital.com integrates AI analytics to help traders improve. The app’s AI-driven trading insights analyze your behavior, identify trading biases, and alert you to potential mistakes. This feature acts like a coach, pointing out patterns that help new traders learn discipline rather than trade impulsively.
- Access to UAE and global markets: The broker provides access to UAE stocks and regional markets, as well as global assets. You can trade CFDs on major ADX and DFM stocks, which only a handful of international brokers offer. You also gain access to thousands of international markets, including US tech stocks, European indices, gold, oil, cryptocurrencies, forex majors, and more.
- AED accounts and local convenience: Capital.com supports AED as a base currency, so you can deposit/withdraw in Dirhams without conversion fees. Funding is convenient via instant bank transfers (Lean), local bank wires, cards, and Apple Pay. Withdrawals to a UAE bank are processed quickly (often within 24 hours).
Cons
- CFD-only broker (no asset ownership): Capital.com’s focus on CFDs exclusively means you cannot invest in actual stocks, ETFs, or other instruments to hold long-term. You’re trading derivatives, so long-term investors or those who want to build a portfolio of real shares won’t be able to do it. Asset classes like real stocks, mutual funds, or options are not available. This also comes with CFD risks; leveraged CFDs carry high risk and implicit costs (overnight fees), making them less suitable for passive investors.
- Mixed reputation in offshore jurisdictions: While Capital.com performs well under top-tier regulators (UAE, UK, EU), it has had issues in the past with offshore entities. Users under its former Bahamas or Seychelles entities reported problems like blocked or delayed withdrawals, unusually high overnight fees on non-leveraged positions, and inconsistent customer support. These complaints don’t typically apply to UAE accounts (thanks to SCA oversight), but it’s a reminder that not all Capital.com entities uphold the same standards. UAE clients should ensure they sign up under the UAE/SCA entity, not an offshore affiliate.
- Limited for buy-and-hold investing: Due to its CFD-only model, Capital.com is geared towards traders rather than savers and long-term investors. There is no interest on idle cash or cash management features. If your goal is to invest gradually for retirement or hold assets for an extended period, a platform like Sarwa or a global broker offering actual securities might be more suitable.
- Overnight fees and leverage risks: By nature of CFD trading, overnight financing charges apply if you hold positions beyond each day’s close. Capital.com’s overnight fee is approximately the SOFR (interbank rate) plus 4% on long positions. For cryptocurrency CFDs, the annual rate is even higher (~22%). Apart from this, high leverage of up to 30:1 retail amplifies risk.
Who is Capital.com for?
Capital.com is best suited for UAE traders who:
- Are active and market-savvy. If you trade regularly or follow global markets and want fast, low-cost execution across many asset classes, Capital.com is for you.
- Value local regulation and AED support. If you’re an investor seeking the peace of mind that comes with an SCA-regulated broker, you should open a Capital.com account over unregulated offshore platforms.
- Are Muslim investors needing swap-free accounts? Capital.com offers Islamic accounts for clients who require Sharia-compliant trading.
Capital.com fees and commissions
Capital.com’s fee structure is pretty straightforward and low compared to its competitors. The platform makes money mostly through the spreads on CFD trades and overnight financing charges, rather than fixed commissions.
Trading spreads
Since Capital.com doesn’t charge commissions, your main trading expense comes from the bid-ask spread. The spreads this broker charges are quite competitive in the industry.
For major forex pairs like EUR/USD, spreads can be ~0.6 to 0.8 pips under normal market conditions.
Swap fees
If you hold a CFD position past the market close, an overnight financing charge (also known as a swap) applies.
Swap fees are calculated using different formulas. This formula depends on the financial asset you hold overnight. For example, here’s how swap is calculated for Indices:
Why swap fees add up for long-term investors
Swap (overnight) fees are charged every single day you hold a CFD position open.
Over weeks or months, these small daily costs accumulate into a significant percentage of your capital.
That means:
- Even if the underlying index or stock rises, your financing cost eats away your profit.
- If markets move sideways, the swap fees alone can turn your trade into a loss.
For indices, Capital.com charges an annual daily fee of around 4%, plus or minus the relevant interest-rate benchmark (such as SOFR or SONIA). In practice, that means the total annual cost can reach around 9% of your total position value - not just your invested capital.
And if you’re using leverage, the swap is applied to your full market exposure, not the smaller amount you actually deposited. For example, if you invest $1,000 with 1:10 leverage, your exposure is $10,000 - and the daily financing cost is calculated on that $10,000.
So while the fees may seem small on a daily basis, they can add up quickly and make holding CFDs long-term an expensive strategy.
No hidden fees
Capital.com doesn’t charge account maintenance fees, monthly fees, or any platform subscription fees, and it provides real-time price data for all offered markets for free. There are no fees for live price feeds on stocks or forex. Also, no custody fees since you’re not holding actual securities, and no fees for using the trading tools.
Capital.com mobile app
Capital.com’s mobile app delivers a complete trading experience for UAE investors on iOS and Android. The interface is clean, intuitive, and fast, offering full access to markets, watchlists, positions, and charts with multiple indicators and drawing tools.
You can set price alerts, access real-time news, and switch between live and demo modes instantly.
Its built-in AI trading coach provides insights on trading behavior, helping improve discipline. The app supports English and Arabic, ensuring accessibility for local traders.
Is Capital.com safe and legit?
Capital.com is considered one of the safer global trading platforms available to UAE investors. The company is licensed by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) under Capital Com MENA Securities Trading LLC, ensuring compliance with UAE investor protection rules.
This local license requires segregated client funds, meaning your money is held in separate Tier-1 bank accounts, away from company operations.
Globally, Capital.com is regulated by FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus), and ASIC (Australia), providing multi-layered oversight. It also joined the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative and set up its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi, signaling a long-term commitment to local markets.
Negative balance protection ensures clients can’t lose more than they deposit. Although SCA currently lacks an investor compensation scheme similar to Europe’s ICS or FSCS, Capital.com’s robust capital base and segregated fund structure mitigate this risk.
Under UAE regulation, withdrawals are processed promptly, and pricing is kept transparent, which prevents many of the issues once seen under offshore entities.
⚠️ Warning signs:
In well-regulated regions (like the EU, the UAE, or the UK), Capital.com tends to act professionally. However, in offshore jurisdictions, such as their former Bahamas or Seychelles entities, the story could be different.
One user has recorded a video laying out many of the issues he and other users faced.
Some of the issues reported in offshore jurisdictions include:
- Blocked or delayed withdrawals, often with ‘verification’ or ‘funding source’ excuses.
- High overnight fees, even on non-leveraged positions.
- Aggressive internal trading practices, where the broker could take the opposite side of clients’ trades.
- Inconsistent customer service, where local agents give conflicting explanations depending on which entity you’re under.
When opening an account on Capital.com, ensure you sign up under the UAE/SCA entity, not any offshore one.
CFD trading with Captial.com
Capital.com is primarily a CFD trading platform that lets you trade global and local markets with leverage and flexible strategies. You can trade 3,700+ instruments, including global equities, indices, forex pairs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and UAE stock CFDs like Emaar or Etisalat.
CFD trading means you speculate on price movements without owning the underlying asset. You can go long (buy) or short (sell), use leverage up to 30:1 on major forex, and trade in either direction of the market. CFDs have no expiry, allowing positions to be held as long as margin and overnight fees are maintained.
Short selling is simple: you can profit from falling markets without borrowing stocks. Hedging mode allows opposite positions on the same asset, and risk controls like stop-loss and guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLOs) help limit downside.
Capital.com trading platforms
Capital.com gives UAE traders flexibility with four connected platforms:
- Web platform
- Mobile app
- MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
- TradingView integration.
Each suits a different trading style but offers the same secure, SCA-regulated execution environment. We have already discussed Capital.com’s mobile app. Let’s now see what the other three trading platforms offer.
1. Web platform
The web platform is Capital.com’s main desktop interface and runs directly in your browser; no installation needed.
Its award-winning design combines simplicity with advanced functionality, making it ideal for both new and experienced traders.
Here’s what the platform offers:
- Customize layouts, build unlimited watchlists, and access TradingView-powered charts with over 100 technical indicators, multiple chart types, and drawing tools.
- Real-time news feeds, economic calendars, and asset-specific analysis are built in, so you can research and trade in one place.
- Supports stop-loss, take-profit, and guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLOs) to manage risk, plus hedging mode and negative balance protection.
- Execution is quick (under 50ms on average), and all updates are automatic since it’s browser-based.
2. MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
Capital.com also supports MT4, a staple for traditional forex traders who prefer automation or custom tools.
MT4 users can trade most Capital.com instruments, run Expert Advisors (EAs), backtest strategies, and access community-built indicators.
It’s lightweight and suited for algorithmic or high-frequency traders. While MT4 doesn’t include Capital.com’s AI tools or news feed, it’s perfect if you already rely on MT4’s ecosystem.
3. TradingView integration
Through TradingView, traders can connect their Capital.com accounts and place trades directly from TradingView charts.
This integration merges TradingView’s world-class charting and social network with Capital.com’s execution. You can analyze, apply custom Pine Script indicators, and execute trades instantly without switching platforms.
TradingView users also voted Capital.com the “Best Brokerage Service in the Middle East” (2024), reflecting strong satisfaction in the region.
Note: TradingView integration is available for major asset classes (forex, popular stocks, crypto, etc.). Some very niche instruments might not be tradeable from TradingView if they’re not mapped. But for the vast majority, you’ll find them.
Capital.com vs alternatives
While Capital.com is a strong option for CFD trading in the UAE, you should consider these two leading alternatives that offer similar products and features:
- Pepperstone: Another top-tier CFD broker, licensed by the DFSA, known for ultra-fast execution and institutional-grade spreads. It caters more to advanced traders and has integrations with MT4, MT5, and cTrader. Pepperstone’s Razor Account offers raw spreads from 0.0 pips and a small commission per trade, making it cost-efficient for high-volume forex and index traders. However, unlike Capital.com, it doesn’t offer CFDs on UAE stocks or a cash rebate program. Read about Pepperstone in our Pepperstone UAE review.
- Plus500: One of the closest global competitors to Capital.com, offering a wide range of CFDs on forex, stocks, indices, commodities, and crypto. It’s regulated by the DFSA in Dubai, giving UAE traders a locally compliant option. Plus500 charges no commissions, with costs built into tight spreads similar to Capital.com. The platform is intuitive and beginner-friendly, but lacks external platform integrations like MT4 or TradingView. There are also inactivity fees after three months, and no rebate program.
Want to find other alternatives? Check our dedicated guides:
- Best trading apps
- Best crypto exchanges
- Best CFD trading platforms
- Best stock brokers
- Best forex brokers
- Best trading platforms
Is Capital.com worth it?
Capital.com is one of the few global brokers with a local SCA license, giving UAE traders confidence that they’re dealing with a regulated, regionally supervised platform. It combines CFD trading on global and UAE markets, AED account funding, and strong educational resources under one roof.
For UAE residents, Capital.com stands out for its local presence in Abu Dhabi, participation in the NextGen FDI program, and alignment with national fintech growth goals, showing it’s here for the long run, not operating through offshore entities.
The broker is ISO 27001 certified, offers negative balance protection, and maintains segregated client funds with top UAE banks, further strengthening trust.
All in all, Capital.com is primarily built for short-term, leveraged CFD traders rather than long-term investors. Since you don’t own underlying assets, overnight fees can erode profits if you hold positions for too long.
Already a Capital.com user? How has your experience been with the broker? Reach out to us and let us know, so we can update this review and help other investors!
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