Best Day Trading Platform in South Africa 2021

Day trading can enable you to make money off a fast-changing market, but it’s important to have the right platform if you want to succeed. In this guide, we’ll review the 8 best day trading platforms in South Africa for 2021.

Best Day Trading Platforms 2021 List

Here are the 8 best day trading platforms in South Africa for 2021:

• eToro – Overall Best Trading Platform for Day Traders
• Capital.com – Best Day Trading Platform for Beginners
• Pepperstone – Cheapest Day Trading Platform in South Africa
• Plus500 – Day Trading Software with Alerts
• Skilling – Best Day Trading Software Tools
• Tickmill – Best Forex Day Trading Broker
• Blackstone Futures – Best FSCA-regulated Day Trading Platform 
• Libertex – Build Custom Day Trading Strategies

Best Platforms for Day Traders Reviewed Reviewed

Let’s take a closer look at each of the 8 best trading platforms for day traders:

1. eToro – Overall Best Trading Platform for Day Traders

eToro is our top-rated day trading platform in South Africa. The broker offers an enormous selection of assets, including over 2,000 stocks and ETFs from around the globe. In addition, eToro has over 40 currency pairs, 16 cryptocurrencies, and dozens of commodities and stock indices.

Trading with eToro is very affordable. The platform charges no commissions for stock and ETF trading, and spreads from just 1.0 pips for forex day trading. It’s also worth noting that eToro is one of the only day trading platforms we reviewed that enables you to buy shares of stocks or to invest in cryptocurrencies outright.

What we love best about eToro, though, is its social trading network. You can connect with tens of thousands of day traders from around the world to learn new day trading strategies, share trade ideas, and stay on top of market news. eToro also lets you see a market sentiment gauge for every asset on the platform, so it’s easy to spot changes in momentum.

eToro also supports copy trading, which allows you to mimic the moves of more experienced day traders. You can set aside some or all of your portfolio for copy trading, and even copy several different traders to get exposure to different asset classes.

Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

eToro is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers 24/5 customer support. You can open a day trading account with as little as $200 – about 2,800 ZAR – and the broker supports payments by credit card, debit card, or PayPal.

Pros:

Cons:

67% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site.

2. Capital.com – Best Day Trading Platform for Beginners

If you’re new to trading, Capital.com is the best trading platform for day trading. That’s because the broker offers tons of educational resources, including a video library that covers the basics of CFD trading and popular day trading strategies. Capital.com also has an educational mobile app complete with quizzes to test your trading knowledge. You can also try your hand risk-free with a demo account.

Once you start trading with a live account, Capital.com continues to support you. The platform uses artificial intelligence to detect patterns in your trading and alert you to ways to increase your win rate. This is extremely helpful for training good trading habits early on and maintaining discipline around your trading strategy.

Capital.com isn’t just for beginners, either. The platform offers more than 3,000 stocks to trade and over 140 forex pairs. You can also trade dozens of cryptocurrencies as CFDs with fiat currencies like the US dollar. All trades with Capital.com are commission-free, and the broker’s spreads start as low as 0.8 pips for forex day trading.

Capital.com’s trading platform is very easy to use. However, it’s not the most advanced for technical analysis. You’ll get access to several dozen built-in indicators and drawing tools, but you can’t create your own studies. In addition, price alerts are only available on the mobile app.

The platform is comprehensive enough for many traders, though, and you can be sure your money is safe when trading with Capital.com. That’s because the broker is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). You can also get support from Capital.com 24/7 by phone, email, and live chat.

Pros:

Cons:

75.26% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider.

3. Pepperstone – Cheapest Day Trading Platform in South Africa

If you’re looking to keep the costs of day trading as low as possible, take a look at Pepperstone. This international broker offers forex spreads starting from just 0.6 pips, making it one of the cheapest brokers in South Africa to execute forex day trading strategies. In addition, Pepperstone doesn’t add spreads for stock trading, so you can day trade stocks at nearly no cost.

Pepperstone also stands out for covering a wide variety of markets for day trading in South Africa. You can access CFDs for over 60 currency pairs as well as stocks from the US, UK, Germany, and Australia. Pepperstone currently only has 9 cryptocurrencies, but you’ll find the most popular tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and more.

Pepperstone offers several different platforms, all of which can work together for smooth day trading in South Africa. To start, you have access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 – the same powerful day trading software that Libertex and other top brokers offer. On top of that, Pepperstone offers a cTrader platform to enable algorithmic trading.

The broker also supports copy trading with Myfxbook. While you’ll mostly find forex day trading strategies to copy, the platform does include some share and crypto copy trading. You can also use DupliTrade, which allows you to copy trading signals directly into MetaTrader 4.

Pepperstone is regulated in the UK, Australia, and Dubai, and it’s widely considered to be safe. The platform requires a $200 minimum deposit to get started, which you can pay by credit or debit card to start trading right away.

Pros:

Cons:

Your capital is at risk.

4. Plus500 – Day Trading Software with Alerts

Plus500 is a reliable all-around brokerage that’s perfect for day trading in South Africa. There’s no one thing that makes Plus500 the best trading platform for day traders. Rather, it just does everything well.

With this CFD broker, you get access to thousands of instruments. That includes nearly 2,000 shares, dozens of forex pairs, and 14 of the most popular cryptocurrencies. Plus500 also supports commodities, ETF, and stock indices trading.

Trading at Plus500 is fairly inexpensive. The broker charges forex spreads from 1.0 pips and variable spreads for shares that are typically below market average. In addition, the broker charges no deposit fee, no withdrawal fee, and no commissions. There is an inactivity fee of $10 per month after 3 months, but you can avoid this just by logging into your account.

Plus500’s trading platform is also a highlight for this broker. It’s incredibly easy to use, making this broker a good choice to get into day trading for beginners. The software is packed with technical studies and drawing tools, and it even supports customisable price alerts to help you stay on top of the market throughout the day. Importantly, you can trade on the go and receive alerts on your phone using the Plus500 mobile app.

Plus500 is regulated by the UK FCA and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. So, you can be confident that the broker keeps your money safe. On top of that, the broker offers 24/7 customer support by phone and email.

Pros:

Cons:

72% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

5. Skilling – Best Day Trading Software Tools

Skilling is one of the best trading platforms for day traders who want to lean heavily into technical analysis. The broker has developed its own platform, Skilling Trader, that offers dozens of technical studies, watchlists, alerts, and more. On top of that, many of the studies are customisable – so you can easily create your own custom day trading strategies to pair with the platform.

On top of that, Skilling also has its own cTrader platform for algorithmic trading. You’ll need some C# programming to get it off the ground, so it’s not designed to enable day trading for beginners. That said, it’s extremely powerful and includes many of the user-friendly features of the Skilling Trader app.

Skilling even supports copy trading through an integration with the cTrader platform. You’ll find thousands of traders to mimic, with options ranging from forex day trading strategies to stock and crypto trading strategies. As your skills improve, you can also put your own strategies up for copying and earn money every time someone follows you.

This broker covers a wide variety of markets for day trading in South Africa. You can trade over 700 shares from the US, UK, and Europe, plus more than 70 forex pairs. The broker’s spreads are very competitive and start at just 0.7 pips for forex trading. Spreads for share trading start at around 0.35%.

Skilling is regulated by CySEC and by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles. All accounts come with negative balance protection, which is a major plus if you’re trading with leverage. You can open an account with a $100 minimum deposit.

Pros:

Cons:

Your capital is at risk.

6. Tickmill – Best Forex Day Trading Broker

If you’re interested in developing forex day trading strategies, Tickmill is the broker for you. This trading platform offers 62 currency pairs and leverage up to 500:1. So, you can place big bets on short-term day trades across a huge variety of forex markets.

Tickmill puts a ton of tools at your disposal to help you succeed with day trading in South Africa. The broker integrates with MetaTrader 4, so you immediately have access to highly advanced technical analysis tools and forex signals. On top of that, Tickmill gives you access to Autochartist to help you analyse technical patterns with ease.

You can also take advantage of copy trading with this broker through Myfxbook. You’ll find thousands of forex day trading strategies to choose from and it only takes a few clicks to get started.

In case all of that isn’t enough, Tickmill offers traders a $30 welcome bonus. In fact, this is one of the best forex brokers with a bonus in South Africa. There are no requirements other than opening an account and you’re free to withdraw any profits you make from trading the bonus. This is a great way to try out Tickmill’s trading tools with no risk.

Tickmill is regulated in the Seychelles, which isn’t known for its strict trader protections. However, the broker keeps client funds segregated and is generally considered to be a safe platform for day trading in South Africa. If you need help, you can get in touch 5 days a week by phone, email, or live chat.

Pros:

Cons:

Your capital is at risk.

7. Blackstone Futures – Best FSCA-regulated Day Trading Platform 

If you’re looking for a homegrown brokerage firm to use for day trading in South Africa, we recommend Blackstone Futures. This South African broker has been based in Johannesburg since it launched in 2009 and is regulated by South Africa’s Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA).

Since Blackstone Futures is a local FSCA broker, you’ll find a variety of South African assets to trade, including ZAR forex pairs and shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The broker has around 750 CFDs to trade in total, so there’s no shortage of a selection. Just note that Blackstone Futures does not offer cryptocurrency trading at this time.

Blackstone Futures allows you to choose between two trading platforms for day trading in South Africa: MetaTrader 4 and CloudTrade. MetaTrader 4 is one of the most popular day trading software packages in the world, so you certainly can’t go wrong with that platform.

However, we were impressed at CloudTrade’s capabilities. This proprietary software matches MetaTrader’s flexibility when it comes to customising technical indicators. It also offers fixed spreads and guaranteed stops, which are incredibly important when day trading on razor-thin margins. The platform is available for desktop and mobile devices.

Blackstone Futures offers 24/5 customer support within South Africa. We also love that the broker offers free same-day withdrawals, making it easy to access your money when you want it. All accounts come with negative balance protection, so you can feel confident when trading with leverage up to 400:1.

Pros:

Cons:

Your capital is at risk.

8. Libertex – Build Custom Day Trading Strategies

Libertex is the best trading platform for day traders looking to develop forex day trading strategies. That’s because the platform offers the MetaTrader 4 day trading software, which is one of the most advanced trading stations on the market.

With Libertex’s MetaTrader 4 integration, you can create your own custom indicators and backtest strategies to see how they perform under historical market conditions. In addition, MetaTrader 4 allows you to trade with forex signals and forex robots. You can also copy signals from other traders using the MQL5 service available through MetaTrader.Libertex has around 50 currency pairs available for trading, but it’s not limited to forex. The broker also offers more than 40 cryptocurrencies for trading, including crypto-crypto pairs like BTC/ETH. Libertex does have a selection of stock CFDs, but it’s somewhat small and mostly limited to mega-cap US stocks.

Libertex offers a few extra tools for day traders, including a real-time market news feed and economic calendar. You can also trade on the go using Libertex’s custom trading app. It’s not nearly as comprehensive as MetaTrader, but the Libertex app is very easy to use and offers plenty of built-in indicators for simple analyses.

You can open a Libertex account with a minimum deposit of just $10 (140 ZAR) and the broker accepts most credit and debit cards. Libertex is regulated by CySEC.

Pros:

Cons:

74% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site.

Day Trading Platforms Fees Comparison

The cost of trading is a major thing to consider when choosing the best trading platform for day traders. So, let’s take a look at how our 8 top day trading broker compare:

Day Trading for Beginners Guide

If you’re new to day trading, the amount you need to know to get started can seem overwhelming. You need to figure out what trading platform to use, how to develop day trading strategies, and how to build habits for success.

To help, we’ve put together this guide to day trading for beginners. We’ll cover everything you need to know about how day trading works and highlight some common day trading strategies. We’ll also show you how to get started with eToro, our top-rated day trading platform for 2021.

What is Day Trading?

Day trading is the act of buying and selling an asset, like a stock, within a single trading day. A day trader might keep a position open for as long as several hours or as short as a few seconds. However, day traders almost never keep a position open past market close.

To understand how day trading works, let’s look at a simple example. Say Amazon shares are trading at $3,250 in the morning, shortly after the market opens. You buy 10 shares at that price. Then an hour later, the price rises to $3,300 and you sell all of your shares for a $500 profit. Since that trade was opened and closed within a single trading day, it is considered a day trade.

Day traders usually conduct many trades like this in a single day. Often, the profit you’ll gain from any one trade is much less than $500. But even small profits – say $50 – can add up quickly when you’re placing several trades per day.

What Assets Can You Day Trade?

You can day trade most types of popular assets. Some of the most common assets to day trade include:

• Stocks
• ETFs
• Forex
• Commodities
• Stock indices
• Cryptocurrencies
• Bonds

All of these assets can be bought and sold in seconds (or even faster with an STP broker). So, it’s relatively easy to open and close a trade in a single day.

Some types of assets aren’t as amenable to day trading. Take real estate, for example. While you can buy and sell physical real estate, a single trade typically takes weeks to months to complete.

Day Trading Strategies

One of the most important aspects of day trading is developing a strategy. Your strategy should be your guiding light when deciding when to buy and sell and choosing what assets to target for day trading. So, it’s incredibly important to find a strategy that works consistently.

To help you get started, let’s take a look a 4 of the most popular day trading strategies in use today:

Momentum Trading

Momentum trading is a type of day trading where the goal is to piggyback on assets that are trending strongly upwards or downwards. The goal isn’t to time the top or bottom of a price movement, but rather to ride the middle of the price movement. Once the momentum starts to weaken, it’s time to get out.

Scalping

Scalping is a type of day trading that capitalises on very small movements in price. In our earlier example with Amazon shares, you wouldn’t be looking for a $50 price movement over the course of an hour. Instead, a scalper would be trading on a charge of $1 or less in the course of seconds or minutes.

Scalping typically requires placing hundreds of trades per day to turn a meaningful profit. Each trade will have just a small profit margin, but together those small profits can add up.

Reversal Trading

Reversal day trading involves looking for price tops and price bottoms. The goal is to spot when a price trend is faltering and to trade around the reversal. For example, if a stock is on a bullish run you might short-sell shares just as it looks to be reaching a new high. You can then buy back the shares to close your position after the price falls.

This type of trading can be risky since it involves forecasting a change in the price direction of an asset. However, since the moves can often be significant, it’s easier to make a large profit off of a single trade.

News Trading

Another strategy for day trading in South Africa is to focus on market news. Stocks, currencies, commodities, and cryptocurrencies often move rapidly in response to good or bad headlines.

To make this strategy work, you’ll need a real-time news feed to monitor. You’ll also need to keep an eye on what announcements are expected for the upcoming day, like stock earnings or economic reports. It’s important to act on news as quickly as possible since the market can move very fast in response to breaking information.

Helpful Day Trading Books

One of the best ways to learn more about day trading is to pick up a book. There are 2-day trading books that we’d especially recommend for new traders:

Day Trading for Dummies, by Ann Logue

Day Trading for Dummies is one of the best books for traders who are completely new to the market. The book takes a progressive approach, covering everything from the basics of how and why prices change throughout the day to common-day trading strategies. It’s very easy to read and can be a great resource to help you get started with day trading.

Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market, by Kathy Lien

This is the updated edition of the incredibly popular book, Day Trading the Currency Market. Lien, who is Director of Currency Research for a major forex day trading firm, goes into a lot of detail about how to put technical and fundamental day trading strategies to work for you. She also explains what moves the forex market, including variables like interest rate differentials, news, and central bank announcements.

How to Get Started with the Best Day Trading Broker

Ready to start day trading? We’ll show you how to place your first-day trade with eToro. This platform offers a huge range of assets to trade plus a built-in social network to help you stay on top of the market.

Step 1: Open a Trading Account

To get started, head to the eToro website and click ‘Join Now.’ Enter your email and a new password to create a new trading account. You can also sign up using your Google or Facebook login information.

67% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

Step 2: Verify Your Identity

eToro requires you to verify your identity before you can withdraw funds, and it’s easiest to get this out of the way now. You can complete the verification step in just a few minutes online. Simply upload a copy of your driver’s license or passport and a copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement that shows your current address.

Step 3: Deposit Funds

Next, deposit funds to your new trading account. eToro requires a minimum deposit of $200, which is about 2,800 ZAR. You can pay by credit card, debit card, bank transfer, PayPal, Neteller, or Skrill.

67% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

Step 4: Start Trading

Now you’re ready to start day trading. Search for the asset you want to day trade, and then click ‘Trade’ when it appears to open a new order form.

In the order form, enter the amount of money you want to trade. You can choose how much leverage you want to use. Depending on your day trading strategy, you may also want to add a stop-loss or take-profit order.

Once you’re ready, click ‘Open Trade’ to place your first-day trade. When it’s time to sell, you can repeat this same process to close out your trade.

eToro – Best Day Trading Platform in South Africa

Day trading is a fast-paced and exciting way to get into the market. In order to make money day trading, you need to have a well-developed day trading strategy and a high-quality platform that’s built to help you succeed.

If you’re ready to start day trading, click the link below to open an account with the best trading platform for day trading: eToro.

67% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

FAQs