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AuthorBy Chris Cammack
Updated: February 27, 2023

Copy-trading enables individual traders to invest their trading funds with other successful traders and copy their trading strategies, usually for a small fee or a cut of the investing trader’s profit. It is mostly beginners who are interested in copy-trading, as it requires little financial knowledge and is a good opportunity to learn from more experienced traders. But all types of traders can benefit, especially as copy-trading requires little time to implement and monitor. 

To test these best brokers for copy-trading, we checked their regulation, opened a copy-trading account, and followed other traders. We also tested the different copy trading tools available to make manual trade adjustments, as traders should have full control of their trades in line with a long-term risk management strategy. 

These are the best copy trading brokers in the UK for 2023.

  • Pepperstone - Best ECN for Copy Trading
  • Tickmill - Most Trusted Broker
  • FP Markets - Best Metatrader Execution
  • Axi - Best ECN Broker on the MT4 Platform
  • AvaTrade - Best Mobile Experience for Copy Traders
  • IC Markets - Best Beginner-friendly Broker
  • FxPro - Copytrading on Three Platforms

Best copy trading accounts for 2023

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Copy Trading
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Website Language: English
Support Language: English
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Pepperstone
4.61 /5
Read Review
Visit Broker >
75.8% of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 030:1 12451000172870FCA Regulated Forex BrokersASIC Regulated BrokersCySEC Regulated BrokersMT4, MT5, cTrader
Tickmill
4.48 /5
Read Review
Visit Broker >
75% of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 10030:1 2099802762CySEC Regulated BrokersFCA Regulated Forex BrokersLabuan Financial Services AuthorityFinancial Services Conduct AuthorityThe Seychelles Financial Services AuthorityMT4, MT5
FP Markets
4.30 /5
Read Review
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of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 5030:1 1016210000111770ASIC Regulated BrokersCySEC Regulated BrokersFinancial Services Conduct AuthorityMT4, MT5, cTrader, IRESS
Axitrader
4.34 /5
Read Review
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75.6% of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 030:1 18850143270FCA Regulated Forex BrokersASIC Regulated BrokersFinancial Markets Authority of New ZealandDFSA Regulated Forex BrokersFinancial Services Authority – St. Vincent & the GrenadinesMT4
AvaTrade
4.49 /5
Read Review
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76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 10030:1 872625253355ASIC Regulated BrokersFinancial Services Conduct AuthorityBritish Virgin Islands Financial Services CommissionFinancial Services AgencyCentral Bank of IrelandFinancial Regulatory Services AuthorityMT4, MT5, Avatrade Social, AvaOptions
IC Markets
4.36 /5
Read Review
Visit Broker >
77% of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 20030:1 17441600222564CySEC Regulated BrokersASIC Regulated BrokersThe Seychelles Financial Services AuthoritySecurities Commission of the BahamasMT4, MT5, cTrader
FxPro
4.29 /5
Read Review
Visit Broker >
71.58% of retail CFD accounts lose money
GBP 10030:1 2241209001970FCA Regulated Forex BrokersCySEC Regulated BrokersFinancial Services Conduct AuthorityDFSA Regulated Forex BrokersSecurities Commission of the BahamasMT4, MT5, cTrader, FxProEdge

How to compare copy trading brokers

Most brokers offer some form of copy trading, and while some have their own copy trading systems, third-party communities like Duplitrade, Zulutrade, and myFXbook are also available. When comparing brokers by their copy trading functionality, consider:

Regulation: Always verify that your broker is regulated. Regulation is the safety of funds and an absolute requirement for any trader.

Trading platform: Are you using the broker’s copy-trading service, or is it via Zulutrade, Duplitrade or Myfxbook, which may have additional monthly costs if not provided for free.

Transparency and risk: A better copy trading system will provide traders with a detailed breakdown of the traders to copy. These metrics should include risk metrics, profit (short-term, medium-term, long-term) and max drawdown. Finding winning traders is important, but equally important is finding winning traders who share your risk appetite. 

The number of quality of traders to copy: Your broker must have a larger set of traders for you to follow. A limited set of traders will mean that you may not find the appropriate trader with the right metrics to follow. 

Flexibility: Copy trading is not mirror trading, where your trading account mirrors the trading activity of the person you are following. Flexibility will let you filter which trades to copy, using preset parameters for cost/risk/return to guide you.

Binding period: A trader should be able to stop copying trades instantly and not be locked in for a set time. A trader should refuse any attempt by a broker or a third-party service to legally bind you to a copy trading provider.

Paying the provider: Are you paying a flat fee, or are you only paying a fee for profitable trades? Are you paying a subscription fee to the broker? The cost directly owed to the signal provider should be transparent. 

Copy trading accounts: Copy trading may be limited to specific broker accounts. Find out which accounts offer copy trading, understand what the minimum deposit on that account may be, and if the cost of trading (spreads and commission) is different on that account before signing up and making a deposit.


Pepperstone – Best ECN for Copy Trading

A leading ASIC-regulated ECN/STP broker, Pepperstone offers trading on multiple assets, including Forex, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.   Known for its tight spreads, ultra-fast execution, and broad platform support, Pepperstone also offers a number of powerful third-party copy trading systems for traders to choose from, including MetaTrader Signals, Duplitrade, and Myfxbook.

MetaTrader Signals takes the guesswork and emotion out of trading by allowing traders to access thousands of trading strategies and signals from traders in real-time. It also allows traders to diversify their trading and reduce their portfolio risk by using different signal providers with different approaches. Similarly, Duplitrade allows traders to engage in automated trading, using signals from proprietary traders, which helps them to build their trading knowledge and gain an understanding of pro techniques.  Myfxbook is an account mirroring service that allows traders to copy the trades of the top Forex traders.  There are no performance or management fees, and Myfxbook provides accurate statistics, allowing traders to quickly analyse and improve their performance.   

Pros
  • Well regulated
  • Tight spreads
  • Great platform choice
  • Wide range of assets
Cons
  • Limited market analysis
AlertAccepts UK Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.60 pips with 0.0 USD commission round turn on the trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 30:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5 & cTrader platforms supported. Pepperstone is regulated by the FCA, ASIC, and the DFSA. 75.8% of traders lose money with this provider.

FP Markets – Best Metatrader Execution

A leading ASIC-regulated no dealing-desk broker, FP Markets offers trading on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms.  In addition to low latency fast trade execution, it offers versions of the platforms for alternate operating systems, including iOS and Android. Available from within the MT4 platform is built-in copy trading functionality in addition to an auto trading service through a third-party provider, Myfxbook Autotrade.  FP Markets’ most recent expansion includes a proprietary copy trading service, FP Markets Copy Trading.   

FP Markets Copy Trading allows traders to find, follow and copy successful traders automatically without the need to build their own trading strategy or conduct research on the forex markets.  This tool is particularly useful for people who are interested in the financial markets but lack the experience and knowledge. Social traders can also diversify their portfolios by copying the trades of multiple providers that trade on different financial instruments.

Pros
  • Well regulated
  • Tight spreads
  • Good range of accounts
  • Great customer support
Cons
  • Expensive withdrawals
AlertAccepts UK Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.10 pips with 6 USD commission round turn on the trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 30:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5, and cTrader trading platforms available. FP Markets is regulated by CySEC and ASIC.

Axi – Best ECN Broker on the MT4 Platform

An Australian ASIC and FCA-regulated ECN broker, Axi offers trading on 140 Forex pairs, precious metals, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.  By providing exclusive support for the MT4 platform, Axi offers an innovative and customisable MT4 experience, including a range of tools as part of its NexGen package.  These include a sentiment indicator, a correlation trader, an intuitive terminal window, and an automated trade journal.

Axi also offers a number of powerful copy trading tools, including Trading Signals, which allows traders to auto trade and copy thousands of strategies from across the globe straight into the MT4 platform; Myfxbook, a third-party automated analytics tool that allows traders to organise and monitor all trading accounts and systems in one centralised place; and Zulutrade and Duplitrade, popular social trading networks that allow clients to copy top-performing traders from other brokers.

Pros
  • Low minimum deposit
  • Tight spreads
  • Innovative trading tools
Cons
  • MT4 only
  • Limited range of assets
AlertAccepts UK Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.00 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 30:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Axi Group is regulated by the FCA, ASIC and the DFSA. 75.6% of traders lose money with this provider.

Avatrade – Best Mobile Experience for Copy Traders

Avatrade is a leading global CFD market maker broker with excellent regulation offering trading on multiple assets, including Forex, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, options, bonds, and vanilla options on one live commission-free account with competitive trading conditions. With full support for leading platforms, including MT4, MT5, and its award-winning social trading and copy-trading app, AvaSocial.


The Avasocial App allows beginners to discover successful traders and qualified mentors, displaying their risk profile, length of experience, and trading style. Copy traders will receive continuous real-time updates about the state of their trades and can talk one-on-one to providers. There is no need to pay a fee or any commission to copy trade on Avasocial. Avatrade has also partnered with Mirror Trader and Zulutrade to offer a wider range of copy trading functionality. Mirror Trader allows investors to switch between manual copy trading, semi-automatic trading, or automatic trading when following a provider, while Zulutrade allows clients to copy the top-performing traders from other brokers.

Pros
  • Good for beginners
  • Well regulated
  • Low minimum deposit
Cons
  • Dealing desk
  • Limited market analysis
AlertAccepts UK Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.90 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 30:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. AvaTrade Group regulated by ASIC, FSCA, B.V.I FSC & FSA. 76% of traders lose money with this provider.

IC Markets – Best Beginner-friendly Broker

IC Markets is a beginner-friendly CFD broker offering trading on multiple instruments, including Forex, commodities, indices, bonds, digital currencies, stocks, and futures.  IC Markets is one of the few brokers to offer support for all three major trading platforms, including MT4, MT5, and cTrader, alongside an array of trading tools, including Autochartist, Trading Central, a free VPS service, and two copy trader tools – Zulutrade and Myfxbook Autotrade.  It also offers excellent educational materials and 24/7 support to get beginner traders started. 

Zulutrade, a third-party copy trading tool that allows traders to choose between 100,000 signal providers from 192 countries.  Zulutrade’s sophisticated algorithm ranks Signal Providers by analysing their overall performance, stability, exposure, and minimum equity required.  It also offers Zuluguard, a highly advanced account protection feature that monitors the performance of traders 24/7 and protects copy traders’ invested capital.  The other copy trading tool, Myfxbook Autotrade, allows traders to copy the trades of any system directly into the MT4 account.  No volume-based fees are charged, and traders do not have to install any complex software – they simply connect their account to Myfxbook and select the system they would like to copy. 

Pros
  • Well regulated
  • Tight spreads
  • Wide range of assets
  • Great platform choice
Cons
  • High minimum deposit
  • Limited market analysis
AlertAccepts UK Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.10 pips with 7 USD commission round turn on the trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 30:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5 & cTrader platforms supported. IC Markets is regulated by CySEC and ASIC.

FxPro – Copytrading on Three Platforms

One of the most popular brokers, FxPro has over 800,000 clients worldwide and offers copy-trading on all three major trading platforms. While FxPro used to have its own social-trading service called SuperTrader, this was shut down in 2017, possibly because the high minimum deposit of 2,000 USD dissuaded new clients from signing up. While it no longer offers a dedicated copy-trading service, FxPro does offer copy-trading via signal trading on MT4, MT5 and cTrader.

While MT4 and MT5 signal providers usually charge a monthly subscription for copiers – often in the region of 30 or 40 USD a month – signal providers using the cTrader Mirror Trader instead charge a commission per million units traded. The current maximum allowable commission on Mirror Trader is 100 USD per million (10 USD per lot). Opening an MT4, MT5 or cTrader account at FxPro is a simple business and only requires a minimum deposit of 100 USD. Be aware that the cTrader account provides raw spreads but charges a 9 USD commission per lot traded.

Pros
  • Well regulated
  • Great platform choice
  • Tight spreads
Cons
  • Limited education
AlertAccepts UK Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.40 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 30:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro proprietary trading platform supported. FxPro Group is regulated by FCA, CySEC, FSCA, and the SCB. 71.58% of traders lose money with this provider.

What is Copy Trading?

Copy trading allows traders to invest their trading funds with other successful traders and copy their trading strategies, usually for a small fee or a cut of the investing trader’s profit.

The biggest advantage of copy trading is that it allows beginner traders to profit from the sophisticated trading strategies used by professional traders. The downside is that beginner traders may end up following risky trading strategies without fully understanding the consequences.

Most Forex brokers now offer some form of copy trading function, but there are major differences between the products they offer and how they integrate into trading platforms.

The best copy trading and social trading brokers will clearly explain how the copy trading platform works with detailed metrics on each trader offering their services. These metrics should include the return as a percentage over time (days, weeks, months, years), the largest drawdown (peak to trough decline), average daily profit, the total time the trader has been active and a detailed risk assessment.

How does Copy Trading Work?

Successful traders, or strategy providers, provide their trading strategies for others to follow. Other traders, or investors, can select the strategy provider they wish to follow, usually for a fee or a cut of the investor’s profits. Brokers provide the trading platform that the strategy provider will use to trade. The broker provides the social platform for the provider and the investor to meet and co-operate, brokers also provide the trading platform that the provider will use to trade.

Most copy trading platforms will also display the manager’s investment return, risk profile, length of experience and trading style. It is essential to also examine the manager’s largest drawdown, this the largest single peak to trough decline in the manager’s trading account. If you are thinking of investing a smaller amount than the manager’s largest drawdown you are putting yourself at serious risk of losing all your capital.  Controls for investors are also key, allowing you to choose how much money to invest with a provider and which strategies to follow.

Which Platforms Allow Copy Trading?

MT4, MT5, and cTrader all have built-in copy trading functionality. This means that traders with a preference for these specific trading platforms will find a copy trading community.

Is copy trading legal?

Yes, copy trading is legal in almost all jurisdictions. Copy trading and social trading are considered self-directed by most regulators, as traders who use this function always select the trading system to copy. Prior to the explosion in social trading, copy trading was only available via a managed account. Managed accounts required a power of attorney and a large account balance, and so are unpopular amongst typical retail traders. Copy trading, or social trading, on the other hand is considered self-directed by most regulators, as traders who use this function always select the trading system to copy.

A brief history of Copy Trading

Prior to the merging of Forex trading and social media, the only form of copy trading available was managed account trading. While managed accounts are still an integral part of institutional trading, on a retail level they have been almost completely eclipsed by the rapid rise of copy trading.

Also called mirror trading, auto trading and social trading, copy trading began in the late 2000s with the advent of the eToro and ZuluTrade platforms. eToro has since become one of the most successful Forex brokers in the world, purely based on the strength of their social trading platform, while ZuluTrade is one of the most popular copy trading platforms in the Forex community.

The success of these early pioneers means that most major brokers now offer some form of copy trading or social trading, either through their own platforms or via a third-party, such as ZuluTrade, Mirror Trader or Myfxbook.

Which brokers are the best for Copy Trading?

eToro, FXTM, and AvaTrade are the best brokers for copy trading.

eToro’s unique social trading platform allows for users to copy each other’s trades and share trading tips. Easy-to-use and web-based, the eToro platform has won many awards over the years for innovation and simplicity. With over 6 million clients, eToro has successfully made social trading an integral part of Forex industry.

FXTM run the FXTM Invest platform, which connects investors with Strategy Managers. Strategy Managers are graded on several metrics and investors can filter Strategy Managers to find the right combination of return and risk they feel comfortable with. Investors only pay a fee on successful trades.

Avatrade offers multiple direct and indirect copy trading options. AvaTrade has also partnered with the Mirror Trader and ZuluTrade platforms to offer a wide range of copy trading functionality. Mirror Trader allows investors to switch between manual copy trading, semi-automatic trading, or automatic trading when following a provider. ZuluTrade is a community of providers, who have been ranked using various practical parameters including maximum drawdown and average profitability.

How do I choose the best copy trading system?

The best copy trading system will not always be the most profitable. It is important to look at a provider’s long-term strategy and risk management to make sure these align with your account balance and goals. Aggressive strategies may make money in the short-term – and may even be successful for those with larger account balances over the long term – but can lead to account wipeouts for those with smaller balances.

Like with all Forex trading, it is important to do your own research and manage your risk appropriately.

Final Word

While a relatively recent method of Forex trading, copy trading has fast become one of the largest. The advantages are obvious for beginner traders, and many experienced traders also swear by it. But, like all Forex trading, it must be entered into with education, caution and a thought for risk management.

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