Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FOREX.com vs Admirals, 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.
Founded in 1999, FOREX.com stands out for its high level of trustworthiness, boasting a perfect Trust Score rating of 99 out of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com. It holds seven Tier-1 licenses, which reflects its credibility and security within the online trading community. Furthermore, FOREX.com is publicly traded, enhancing its transparency and reputation, although it does not operate as a bank. These factors altogether signify a highly trusted broker platform for online traders seeking peace of mind.
In comparison, Admirals, established in 2001, also presents a strong regulatory standing with a Trust Score rating of 93 from ForexBrokers.com, indicating it is trusted. Admirals owns four Tier-1 licenses and three Tier-2 licenses, providing a sound mix of regulation and oversight. Unlike FOREX.com, Admirals is not publicly traded, but like its competitor, it is not a bank. These attributes make Admirals a reliable option for online traders looking for a secure broker that is well-regulated at different tiers.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 3 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
When evaluating online brokers for their commissions and fees, FOREX.com and Admirals stand out for different reasons. FOREX.com offers robust options with a range of account types and execution methods, but it tends to be slightly more expensive in terms of average spreads, especially within the US. The Standard account, which is the only option available for MetaTrader users at FOREX.com, features higher spreads averaging 1.4 pips on the EUR/USD. On the other hand, the recently launched RAW Spread account provides lower commissions-based pricing, making it potentially more cost-effective for active traders outside the US, with spreads as low as 0.13 pips before adding the commission of $7 per standard lot.
Admirals is known for its competitive pricing with typical spreads of 0.8 pips on their Trade account, similar to what their Zero account type offers. This makes Admirals an appealing choice for traders seeking cost efficiency without the trade-offs seen with some other brokers. Although both brokers have the same rating of 4.5 stars for commissions and fees, Admirals focuses on delivering consistently low costs, making it a strong contender for budget-conscious traders.
In terms of overall ranking, FOREX.com outperforms Admirals slightly, securing the 13th spot among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. Admirals, meanwhile, is ranked 17th, reflecting a solid performance in the commissions and fees category. While both brokers offer appealing features, traders may lean toward FOREX.com for raw spreads and execution variety, or choose Admirals for its straightforward, low-cost pricing structure.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When comparing the range of investments offered by FOREX.com and Admirals, both brokers provide forex trading through CFDs and spot contracts, making them accessible for currency traders. However, the scope of available tradeable symbols sets them apart. Admirals boasts a more extensive selection with 8,702 tradeable symbols, compared to FOREX.com's 5,500. Despite this broader range, FOREX.com edges slightly ahead in the number of tradeable forex pairs, offering 91 pairs compared to Admirals' 82.
Admirals offers additional investment options by allowing clients to buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges, while FOREX.com does not provide this service. Admirals also supports copy trading, a feature absent from FOREX.com. Both brokers facilitate trading in cryptocurrency derivatives but not the actual digital currencies themselves. Despite these differences, FOREX.com receives a higher rating of five stars for its range of investments, ranking seventh among 62 brokers, while Admirals holds a four-and-a-half-star rating, placing it nineteenth in the same category.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 8702 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 91 | 82 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | 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.
Both FOREX.com and Admirals provide traders with essential tools for effective trading. They both offer simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts, allowing users to practice without financial risk. Each platform has its in-house developed interface, giving traders a unique experience. Both brokers also support downloadable trading software for Windows as well as web-based options accessible from any browser. FOREX.com and Admirals cater to the popular MetaTrader platforms, offering both MT4 and MT5, but neither supports DupliTrade or ZuluTrade for social trading.
While FOREX.com and Admirals provide the option to trade directly from stock charts, the platforms vary in some functionalities. FOREX.com distinguishes itself with 239 charting drawing tools compared to Admirals' 106, and offers more versatile watch lists, accommodating 20 fields compared to Admirals' 7. Admirals, on the other hand, supports copy trading, which FOREX.com does not. Overall, these distinctions contribute to FOREX.com's higher rating of 5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools and a #7 ranking by ForexBrokers.com, compared to Admirals' 4-star rating and #19 ranking.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 88 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 239 | 106 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 20 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both FOREX.com and Admirals provide comprehensive mobile trading apps for both iPhone and Android users, offering features like stock and forex price alerts and the ability to view various time frames on charts. However, FOREX.com has a significant edge with 88 technical studies available for charting compared to Admirals' 30. Additionally, FOREX.com supports watchlist symbol syncing between the app and the online account, ensuring seamless updates across platforms, a feature not available with Admirals. Both platforms enable drawing trendlines and auto-save these drawings on stock or forex charts, along with creating watchlists featuring real-time quotes.
In terms of app performance and usability, FOREX.com is highly commended, receiving a perfect 5-star rating and securing the #3 spot among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com rankings for their mobile app. Admirals follows with a respectable 4-star rating and holds the #23 position. While both apps cater well to trading needs, FOREX.com's comprehensive features and higher user rankings make it a standout choice for mobile traders seeking a more integrated and feature-rich experience.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 88 | 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 it comes to market research, both FOREX.com and Admirals provide a comprehensive range of tools and resources for traders. Each platform offers daily market commentary and access to forex news from major sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. Both brokers include technical analysis features from Trading Central and provide a sentiment-based tool to visualize trading decisions. Additionally, each platform maintains an economic calendar summarizing key global events, ensuring traders are informed and up-to-date.
Despite their similarities, there are notable differences between the two platforms. Admirals edges out with additional research support from TipRanks and Acuity Trading, offering extra layers of insight not available on FOREX.com. However, FOREX.com leads in overall research ratings, earning 4.5 stars and securing the #9 spot out of 62 brokers, compared to Admirals' 4-star rating and #15 ranking. Ultimately, while both brokerages equip traders with essential research tools, FOREX.com may offer a slight edge for those prioritizing high research ratings and recognition.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | Yes |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational resources for beginners between FOREX.com and Admirals, both platforms offer a comprehensive range of learning materials suitable for new traders. Each provides at least 10 educational pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars focused on forex and CFDs. Moreover, both brokers host regular educational webinars every month, ensuring that learners have access to updated and interactive content. For those who prefer on-demand learning, each platform offers a searchable archive of past webinars. Beginners will also find value in the more than 10 starter videos available from both brokers, covering essential trading topics to kickstart their journey.
In addition to beginner-friendly resources, FOREX.com and Admirals cater to more experienced traders with over 10 advanced educational videos. The learning experience is further enriched with investor dictionaries at both platforms, each containing definitions for over 50 investing terms, helping users to better understand market jargon. However, when it comes to ratings for educational offerings, FOREX.com slightly edges out Admirals with a rating of 4.5 stars compared to Admirals' 4 stars. Reflecting this, FOREX.com ranks #4 out of 62 brokers in the Education category on ForexBrokers.com, while Admirals stands at #12, making FOREX.com a slightly favored choice for education-focused traders.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that FOREX.com is better than Admirals. FOREX.com finished with an overall rank of #5, while Admirals finished with an overall rank of #18.
FOREX.com is a trusted brand that delivers an excellent trading experience for forex and CFDs traders across the globe. It offers a wide range of markets and provides an impressive suite of proprietary platforms – alongside limited access to MetaTrader.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Admirals
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 |
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Both FOREX.com and Admirals do not provide the option to buy actual cryptocurrency, yet they both allow for the purchase of cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both FOREX.com and Admirals provide a wide range of options for funding and withdrawing account funds, including ACH or SEPA transfers, PayPal, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires, with Admirals additionally offering Skrill as a deposit and withdrawal method, unlike FOREX.com.
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 | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FOREX.com Review | Admirals Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
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| Regulation | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2001 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 3 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | Yes |
| Investments | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 8702 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 91 | 82 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | 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 | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.4 | 0.8 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | 0.8 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 20 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 88 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 239 | 106 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 88 | 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 | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | Yes | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | FOREX.com Review | Admirals Review |
| Overall | FOREX.com | Admirals | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FOREX.com Review | Admirals Review |
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