Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of HFM vs ActivTrades, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
When comparing online brokers HFM and ActivTrades, both non-bank entities have been operating since 2010 and 2001 respectively. Neither is publicly traded, pointing to a focus on private ownership. From a regulatory standpoint, both brokers hold two Tier-1 licenses, indicating their operations are considered highly trusted. However, the number of Tier-2 licenses, which denotes a trusted status, differs, with HFM holding three compared to ActivTrades’ one.
In terms of overall trustworthiness, ForexBrokers.com provides a Trust Score to measure risk and reliability. HFM boasts a Trust Score of 86, placing it firmly within the "trusted" category. ActivTrades, while slightly lower, holds a Trust Score of 81, also falling under the "trusted" range. These ratings reflect the brokers' adherence to regulatory standards and their commitment to providing a reliable trading environment.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of online brokers HFM and ActivTrades, both receive a 4-star rating in this category. HFM’s trading costs are slightly above the industry average. For standard trading accounts, the broker reports a typical spread of 1.2 pips. The Zero account advertises a reduced effective spread of 0.7 pips after commission; however, neither of these figures are confirmed as averages across a specific date range. ForexBrokers.com ranks HFM at #31 out of 62 brokers for commissions and fees.
ActivTrades offers a slightly better spread than the industry average, though it doesn't quite match the lowest-cost forex brokers. Their main “Individual Account” does not include specialized pricing for high-volume trading, but spreads are consistent across their other accounts. The effective average spread for the EUR/USD pair was reported at 0.98 pips for May 2024. As with many brokers, ActivTrades' actual spreads fluctuate throughout sessions. ActivTrades also receives a 4-star rating for commissions and fees and is ranked #28 by ForexBrokers.com in this category.
Both HFM and ActivTrades provide various account options, but neither excels in offering the lowest trading costs available in the market. Each has unique features suited to different trader needs, such as ActivTrades' Islamic Account for Sharia compliance. Ultimately, individual trading requirements and asset choices will largely determine the overall cost-effectiveness of these brokers.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | 0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 0.98 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When it comes to the range of investment options, both HFM and ActivTrades present distinct offerings. HFM offers forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, with a substantial selection of 500 tradeable symbols, including 102 forex pairs. However, HFM does not provide the ability to purchase exchange-traded securities on U.S. or international exchanges. Nonetheless, it does include options for cryptocurrency derivatives and offers copy trading capabilities.
ActivTrades, on the other hand, also enables forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts but stands out with more tradeable symbols at 1267, albeit fewer forex pairs at 49. Unlike HFM, ActivTrades allows clients to buy exchange-traded securities on international exchanges, adding a layer of diversity to its offerings. Like HFM, ActivTrades offers both cryptocurrency derivatives and copy trading. Both platforms have received a 4-star rating for their range of investments, but ActivTrades is slightly higher ranked at #31 compared to HFM's #36 ranking by ForexBrokers.com in their category.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 1267 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 49 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing the trading platforms and tools of HFM and ActivTrades, both brokers provide a comprehensive range of options to cater to varied trader needs. They each offer simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts, allowing users to practice without financial risk. HFM and ActivTrades present proprietary platforms and downloadable Windows-based applications, alongside web-based alternatives for seamless access across devices. In addition, both brokers support widely acclaimed platforms MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, enhancing flexibility for traders. Those interested in copy trading will find both brokers equipped for this practice. However, neither offers DupliTrade or ZuluTrade.
In terms of charting tools, HFM surpasses ActivTrades by offering 30 drawing tools compared to ActivTrades' 15. While both brokers allow trading directly from a stock chart, there are variations in watchlist customization; HFM provides 7 fields, whereas ActivTrades includes 11. Despite these differences, both platforms are rated four stars for their trading tools and platform features. Yet, when ranked by ForexBrokers.com among 62 brokers, ActivTrades stands at #30, placing higher than HFM at #42, showcasing a subtle differentiation in their overall tool offerings and trader satisfaction.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When considering mobile trading apps, both HFM and ActivTrades offer versatile options suitable for traders on the go. Available for iPhone and Android users, these apps ensure access to trading platforms regardless of the device. Both HFM and ActivTrades feature essential tools like stock and forex price alerts and enable users to draw trendlines on charts. They offer 30 technical studies for detailed analysis and support multiple time frames, such as daily, weekly, or intraday views. On top of that, each app automatically saves chart drawings, adding convenience for those who frequently analyze trends.
While both HFM and ActivTrades allow the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes, neither app provides the ability to synchronize these watchlists with online accounts. According to ForexBrokers.com rankings, ActivTrades holds a higher position at #19 out of 62 brokers for mobile trading apps, compared to HFM's #39 spot. Despite this difference in ranking, both apps earn a solid 4-star rating, offering comparable experiences for mobile traders. Whether you're inclined towards HFM or ActivTrades, both platforms deliver fundamental features to aid your trading journey.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing market research offerings between HFM and ActivTrades, both brokers provide a solid foundation for traders. They each offer daily market commentary as well as forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. A sentiment-based trading tool is also available with both brokers, which displays the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments. Additionally, both HFM and ActivTrades include an economic calendar to track global news events. However, HFM edges out ActivTrades with its inclusion of technical analysis tools from Autochartist, a feature ActivTrades does not provide. Neither broker offers tools from Trading Central or research services from TipRanks and Acuity Trading.
Both HFM and ActivTrades have received a rating of 4 out of 5 stars for their research offerings. However, in a market comparison conducted by ForexBrokers.com, HFM ranks higher at number 20 out of 62 brokers compared to ActivTrades, which stands at number 30. While both brokers offer comprehensive market research features, HFM's additional technical analysis tool may appeal to traders looking for more depth in market research capabilities.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational offerings for beginners at HFM and ActivTrades, both online brokers provide valuable resources to novice traders interested in forex or CFDs. Each offers a collection of educational articles, videos, and archived webinars, ensuring that beginners have access to essential learning material beyond the minimum requirement of ten pieces. Additionally, both platforms conduct regular online webinars, with at least one session per month, and maintain a searchable archive of previously recorded webinars for added convenience. This allows users to revisit sessions at their own pace and reinforce their understanding.
However, there are subtle differences in their educational toolsets. Both brokers present over ten educational videos specifically tailored for beginners, as well as advanced topics for more experienced traders. Yet, while HFM stands out with a comprehensive investor dictionary containing definitions of over fifty investing terms, ActivTrades does not offer this feature. Despite these differences, both companies achieve a strong educational rating of four out of five stars. According to ForexBrokers.com, HFM ranks slightly higher in educational offerings, sitting at 37th among 62 brokers, while ActivTrades is closely behind at 38th place. This demonstrates their commitment to equipping traders with the knowledge needed to navigate the trading world.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that HFM is better than ActivTrades. HFM finished with an overall rank of #30, while ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33.
Alongside its enhanced MetaTrader offering and quality research, HFM (HF Markets), previously known as HotForex, offers a proprietary copy trading platform, HFcopy, a proprietary HF mobile app, and a decent selection of over 1,000 CFDs and 47 forex pairs. Still, trading costs at HFM are slightly above the industry average.
| Feature |
HFM
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ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 86 | 81 |
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Both HFM and ActivTrades do not provide the option to purchase actual cryptocurrencies for delivery but do offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
While both HFM and ActivTrades lack ACH, SEPA, and PayPal options for depositing or withdrawing funds, they both offer convenient alternatives like Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wire transfers, providing versatile funding methods for traders.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | HFM | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | ActivTrades Review |
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| Regulation | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 86 | 81 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2001 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 1267 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 49 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 0.98 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | 0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | HFM Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Overall | HFM | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | ActivTrades Review |
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