Plus500 vs Hitbtc: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Plus500 and Hitbtc This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on August 25, 2025

Plus500

Hitbtc

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

China

Canada

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

United Kingdom

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Plus500 is ideal if:

Beginner-friendly simplicity — Plus500 offers an intuitive, uncluttered trading platform across web and mobile, making it easy to start trading even without prior experience.
Risk-safe practice — You get a free, unlimited demo account and essential risk-management tools, letting you gain confidence without risking real capital.
Versatile CFD access — Plus500 provides a broad selection of tradable instruments via CFDs, including cryptos, stocks, forex, and commodities—great if you want exposure across different markets.

Hitbtc is ideal if:

Sophisticated API-driven tooling Perfect for algorithmic and pro traders leveraging fast REST, WebSocket, or FIX services and advanced order types like scaled or trailing entries
Extensive demo zone and broad pair availability Great for learning or testing strategies without risk, while enjoying access to hundreds of spot, margin, and futures pairs
Robust security and transparency systems Ideal if you value strong safeguards like cold storage, 2FA, session monitoring, and audit-friendly reporting

Plus500 isn’t ideal if:

Lacks advanced trading features — No support for expert tools like algorithmic bots, third-party platforms (MT4/5), or social/copy trading, so power users may feel constrained.
Not suited for high-frequency or scalping strategies — Accounts may be closed if rapid trades (under two-minute intervals) are used, limiting active day traders.
Platform focuses more on CFDs, not long-term investing — With a model centered on leveraged derivatives, it's less ideal for buy-and-hold investors or those seeking diversified asset management.

Hitbtc isn’t ideal if:

Frustration-prone customer support Resolving urgent account or withdrawal issues may take days or longer, leaving critical calls pending
Opaque corporate governance Unclear headquarters, anonymous leadership, and regulation gaps can hinder your confidence and legal recourse
Inactivity-fee risks & asset access issues Long idle periods may lead to unexpected charges or frozen funds without clear notifications

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

Plus500 does not follow a maker/taker fee model, nor does it offer volume-tiered discounts or native token reductions; instead, all costs are embedded in the platform’s floating buy-sell spreads, meaning you always pay whatever spread is quoted when executing spot trades.

HitBTC applies a tiered fee system where initial maker/taker rates decrease with higher 30-day trading volumes, and the highest tiers may even reward maker activity—while holding the native HIT token can further reduce spot and margin trading costs.

Futures/Derivatives

Futures trading operates on a platform-fee-free basis, though there are specified contract commissions per side, while overnight funding (rollover) charges apply automatically if positions remain open past the funding cutoff time.

Futures (including perpetuals) follow fixed maker/taker pricing that can drop with volume tiers, and while there’s a funding or liquidation cost element applied per position, no dynamic funding fees like funding rate cycles are noted.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Spread values for crypto pairs like BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT aren’t published as flat numbers and vary with market flux; Plus500 uses dynamic pricing that blends its own markup into quoted spreads, so you’ll see wider-than-raw-market spreads depending on volatility conditions.

Spreads on major liquid pairs remain competitive, typically tight due to deep order books and active liquidity, though exact spread sizes aren’t publicly fixed and fluctuate with market conditions.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

You can use methods like bank transfer, credit/debit cards, and e-wallets (e.g. PayPal, Skrill); Plus500 typically charges no internal deposit or withdrawal fees, although third-party provider or bank charges—and occasional exchange-related fees—may still apply; processing generally takes 1–7 business days depending on the method.

HitBTC doesn’t directly support fiat deposits or withdrawals through bank or wire; instead, you must use third-party providers (like credit/debit card services) to buy crypto, which incurs third-party fees and varies in speed depending on provider.

On-chain Withdrawals

On-chain withdrawals aren’t offered—Plus500 doesn’t support direct cryptocurrency withdrawals—so there are no fixed or dynamic network-based crypto withdrawal costs.

Withdrawal costs are adjusted dynamically based on each network’s conditions—this means fees adapt in real time depending on blockchain traffic rather than being a fixed flat fee.

Hidden Costs

Hidden or incidental costs include a currency conversion fee of up to approximately 0.7% when trading or transacting in currencies other than your account base, plus a monthly inactivity fee (e.g. around $10) after consecutive months without logging in; there are no express KYC or surprise platform charges.

While no explicit fees for inactivity, KYC acceleration, or base currency conversion are listed, indirect costs may arise through third-party fiat services, prolonged KYC delays, or transaction spread during conversions.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

If you buy €500 worth of BTC, you’ll implicitly pay for the spread markup, which might be in the range of a few percent over market price, but there’s no explicit commission; if you later attempt to withdraw funds (fiat), there’ll be no withdrawal fee from Plus500 unless limits or conditions are broken, though your bank or payment service may charge its own fee.

If you purchase €500 worth of BTC via a credit card provider, you’d incur that provider’s fee (often a few percent), face the execution spread on BTC, and then pay a dynamic network withdrawal cost when moving BTC off-platform—creating a bundled cost beyond a simple fee.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

Plus500 offers around 20 cryptocurrency-related CFDs, including major coins and a “Crypto 10 Index” that tracks top cryptocurrencies, meaning its range is relatively limited compared to comprehensive exchanges.

HitBTC hosts between roughly 300 to over 500 cryptocurrencies and hundreds—likely between 500 to 2,300—trading pairs, while the top 20 by volume typically includes heavy-hitters like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, ADA/USDT, SOL/USDT and AAVE/USDT.

Product Range

Plus500 provides spot-style CFDs and crypto futures, but doesn’t offer traditional margin trading, crypto ETFs, staking, earning features, lending services, copy trading, grid bots, or automated DCA—its product set is streamlined around derivatives.

HitBTC supports spot, margin, and perpetual futures trading, along with staking functionality; it does not offer options, crypto ETFs, copy trading, or automatic DCA tools.

Liquidity

Liquidity and depth data for BTC/ETH aren’t disclosed publicly, but Plus500 typically operates as the counterparty to your trades rather than routing through public order books, so traditional volume or depth metrics are not directly applicable.

The exchange processes substantial 24-hour trading volume—often several hundred million dollars—and offers solid book depth for liquid pairs like BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT, fostering efficient execution in large-size orders.

Tools

The platform supports limit, stop-loss, trailing-stop, and conditional orders, offers price alerts and advanced charting with technical indicators, yet lacks external API access or native TradingView integration for algorithmic or programmatic trading.

HitBTC provides advanced trading tools, including limit, stop, and OCO order types, customizable price alerts, TradingView-integrated charting, and robust API access via REST, WebSocket, and FIX.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Availability of key products like crypto CFDs and futures varies by jurisdiction—for instance, CFDs are not available to U.S. traders, and futures may be restricted or offered under a separate U.S. entity depending on local regulation.

Derivatives and some advanced features are unavailable in jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and various sanctioned regions, even while spot trading remains globally accessible in most locales.

Innovation

Plus500 does not offer innovative features like launchpads, launchpools, or differential earn programs—its platform focuses on the core CFD experience without those DeFi-style utility or token launch functionalities.

The platform does not currently support launchpads or launchpools, and while it offers staking, it appears geared toward flexible-use models rather than fixed-term or locked reward schemes.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Plus500 Ltd is a publicly traded fintech company founded in 2008, headquartered in London (listed on the LSE as part of the FTSE 250), and operates via regional subsidiaries based in Cyprus, the UK, Australia, Singapore, Israel, the Seychelles, the UAE, Japan, the Bahamas, and others.

Htechno Business LTD (and operators such as Ullus Corporations/Hit Solutions Limited) runs the platform, having launched around 2013 with ties to both Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and Hong Kong, plus branch operations in Chile.

Licenses/Registration

The platform is licensed and regulated by multiple top-tier authorities including the UK FCA, CySEC (EU), ASIC (Australia), MAS (Singapore), ISA (Israel), along with recent additions such as the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization and UAE approval; not specifically under MiCA/EU frameworks.

The exchange does not hold explicit financial licenses (e.g., VASP or MiCA-based EU registration), and while it conducts KYC and AML compliance, its regulatory standing remains relatively informal and varies by user region.

Custody

Plus500 holds client funds in segregated accounts in compliance with regulations, but it does not support direct crypto custody—hence no public proof of reserves, cold storage statistics, or third-party wallet audits are offered.

HitBTC retains a high percentage of assets in cold storage (roughly 80–90 %), conducts external wallet-balance proofs, and states it’s never been breached or lost custody of user funds—though full audit reports are not publicly published.

Insurance & Protection Funds

There is no mention of specific crypto or third-party insurance on holdings; however, regulated jurisdictions provide standard investor protections, such as compensation schemes in the UK and EU for client funds.

There appears to be no formal insurance coverage or dedicated protection fund for user assets, meaning that gamblers with large holdings are not shielded against operational or platform risks.

Incident History

There are no widely reported incidents of security breaches or hacks on record; past regulatory action includes an FCA fine in earlier years for AML-related deficiencies, but there have been no recent major operational interruptions.

The platform claims zero successful hacks or asset losses since inception; however, users have occasionally reported account freezes or withdrawal delays, though there’s no record of formal penalties or regulatory sanctions.

Risk Controls

Plus500 employs standard security controls such as SSL encryption and protected logins; however, features like two-factor authentication, address whitelisting, anti-phishing tools, sub-account structures, or granular API access are not prominently highlighted as available.

Security tools include mandatory two-factor authentication (via app or YubiKey), withdrawal whitelists, phishing safeguards, session kill-switches, and granular API access, plus identity recovery protocols for lost 2FA.

Transparency

Plus500 publishes regular financial and corporate reports, operates under UK corporate governance standards, and adheres to regulatory transparency; public blockchain wallet visibility or formal SLAs are not provided.

HitBTC supports transparency through public wallet-address disclosures for proof-of-reserves, but does not regularly publish monthly audit reports or uptime SLAs, and further formal documentation remains limited.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

You can deposit via bank transfers, Visa/MasterCard, PayPal, Skrill, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. The general minimum is around $100, though wire transfers may require more depending on your region; maximum limits vary by country and payment method. Deposits are free on Plus500’s side but may incur charges from your provider, and processing typically takes between 1 to 7 business days depending on the method and your location.

HitBTC does not support direct fiat deposits via bank transfer or e-wallets; any fiat funding goes through third-party providers such as card processors, which bring their own limits and variable processing times.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

Account registration is swift and includes mandatory identity verification (KYC/AML). Although Phases like “Basic” or “Advanced” are not explicitly categorized, funding and withdrawal capabilities may be restricted until you submit standard documents like government-issued ID and proof of residence; further verification may be requested depending on individual circumstances.

HitBTC offers tiered account statuses—unverified “starter”, “verified”, and “qualified”—each unlocking progressively higher crypto withdrawal and (insider-access to) fiat limits, with basic trading accessible even without KYC.

Withdrawals

Plus500 does not support cryptocurrency withdrawals, only fiat. Withdrawal processing takes around 1 to 3 business days, though your bank or wallet provider may extend that to as much as a week. If you withdraw less than $100, a fee may apply, and exceeding a certain number of monthly withdrawals could also trigger additional charges.

limits, timing & networks

Customer Support

Support operates 24/7 via live chat and email, with quick response times and an accessible FAQ/Trading Academy for self-help. While response speeds can vary, most clients find support prompt and helpful, aided by a broad knowledge base covering deposits, trading, and platform navigation.

Support is primarily via ticket or email (not live chat), with a knowledge base available, and response times can slow during busy periods despite claims of 24/7 availability.

Languages & Localization

The platform supports over 30 languages, including native Spanish, and displays prices in your account base currency (e.g., €). It operates under local regulatory regimes in multiple regions, ensuring that services are tailored to local rules and currency preferences.

The platform is natively in English, shows prices in USD or EUR, but does not tailor regulatory disclosures or fees for local jurisdictions—geospecific clarity is limited.

App Quality & Stability

Plus500’s app is widely rated as stable and user-friendly across both mobile and web platforms. While specific crash-rate figures and update logs aren’t published, ongoing enhancements and a clean operational record suggest consistent attention to performance and reliability.

HitBTC’s mobile app is actively maintained and used for trading on the go, though it may lack some features from the web interface; official crash-rate data isn’t published, but periodic updates continue to improve stability and UX.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

Plus500 offers a clean, minimalistic interface designed for quick onboarding—there’s no separate lite or pro mode, just one unified platform that scales from basic to advanced features as you explore it.

The platform balances usability for beginners with depth for pros; while there’s no “Lite/Pro” toggle, the demo mode offers a simplified environment, and the main interface supports both intuitive order entry and advanced API-driven workflows.

Performance

Execution is generally smooth and low-latency in stable markets, though during extreme volatility the platform may slow down; KYC delays have been reported during bull runs, but such cases are rare and resolve quickly.

HitBTC generally delivers low-latency order execution, though market surges can spike system load; its real-time system monitor dashboard reveals live queues and statuses of deposits, withdrawals, and trading availability.

Education

Their Trading Academy includes ebooks, guided videos, and webinars plus a fully functional, unlimited demo account—while most resources are in English, some video subtitles and FAQs support Spanish.

The exchange offers a fully functional demo/simulator with virtual funds to practice strategies across spot, margin, and futures markets, supplemented by support articles and multilingual content; while resources exist, dedicated Spanish-language materials are limited.

Community

Plus500 does not prominently host community forums or manage official Discord or Telegram groups; referral options exist but are based on affiliate links rather than social investor networks.

HitBTC supports community engagement via its blog, Reddit, and Telegram channels, and runs a referral program, though standalone forums or Discord-based discussions appear minimal.

Integrations

The platform runs its proprietary web and mobile interface and does not support native TradingView, bot integration, tax-report automation, or accounting tool sync.

The platform integrates with TradingView-style charts natively, supports robust external bots through REST, WebSocket, and FIX APIs, and while it doesn’t offer tax tools, traders can export trade reports for accounting tasks.

Who Each One Is Best For

Plus500 shines for traders seeking a straightforward, demo-supported CFD experience built around usability and risk tools—especially newcomers or those who prioritize simplicity over advanced automation or social features.

HitBTC suits algorithmic and experienced traders seeking deep asset coverage and programmatic access, while demo tools lower the entry barrier—but newcomers without comfort in API or report-driven accounting may find it less straightforward.