FXCM vs ActivTrades 2024

FXCM's parent company is publicly-traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by four Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), two Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). FXCM is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

For traders who appreciate advanced trading tools and quality market research, FXCM is a winner, especially for algorithmic trading. Its range of tradeable markets is fairly narrow, however, and the pricing at FXCM is just average.

ActivTrades is a long-standing brand that offers a proprietary trading platform, ActivTrader, and support for the award-winning TradingView and MetaTrader (MT4 and MT5) platforms. ActivTrades also delivers a selection of custom add-ons, indicators, and trading tools for traders who prefer to use MetaTrader. Drawbacks for trading with ActivTrades include a smaller selection of tradeable symbols and fewer educational resources than what’s available from the best forex brokers.

To open a trading account with FXCM, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of Starts from $50.

ActivTrades requires a minimum deposit of 0 before you can open an account and start trading.

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. FXCM offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas ActivTrades provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that FXCM offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that FXCM holds 4 global Tier-1 licenses, while ActivTrades holds 2. FXCM holds 2 global Tier-2 licenses, while ActivTrades holds 1.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that FXCM (95) earned a higher Trust Score than ActivTrades (81).

To compare the trading platforms of both FXCM and ActivTrades, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, FXCM offers a better experience. With research, FXCM offers superior market research. Finally, we found FXCM to provide better mobile trading apps.

Here’s what trading platforms are available at FXCM:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - No
• ZuluTrade - Yes
• TradingView - Yes

Here’s what trading platforms are available at ActivTrades:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - Yes

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Both FXCM and ActivTrades offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. FXCM and ActivTrades both offer copy trading.

ActivTrades provides traders 49 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to FXCM's 43 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, ActivTrades offers traders access to 1267 tradeable symbols, while FXCM offers access to 440 tradeable symbols; so ActivTrades offers 827 more tradeable symbols than FXCM.

We found in our testing that ActivTrades offers a more diverse selection of investment options than FXCM, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Cryptocurrency (Derivative), Social Trading / Copy Trading and Spread Betting. Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical).