Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Admirals vs ThinkMarkets, 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 Admirals and ThinkMarkets, both companies showcase a strong regulatory framework, yet they have some differences. Admirals, founded in 2001, holds four Tier-1 licenses and three Tier-2 licenses, supporting a Trust Score of 93 out of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com. ThinkMarkets, established in 2010, possesses five Tier-1 licenses and two Tier-2 licenses, earning a nearly equivalent Trust Score of 92, making both brokers highly trusted by industry standards.
Neither Admirals nor ThinkMarkets is publicly traded or operates as a bank, which aligns them in this regard. However, the presence of an additional Tier-1 license gives ThinkMarkets a slight edge in regulatory rigor, while Admirals holds a higher overall trust score. These attributes suggest that both platforms are secure choices for traders, appealing to retail and more cautious investors who prioritize safety and regulation.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 5 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 3 |
When it comes to online trading, Admirals and ThinkMarkets offer different experiences in terms of commissions and fees. Admirals provides competitive pricing with typical spreads of 0.8 on their Trade account and similar pricing on the Zero account type. This makes Admirals a strong choice for traders looking for cost-effective solutions.
In comparison, ThinkMarkets does not provide average spread data, which might make it challenging for traders who want a clear view of potential trading costs. Despite this, ThinkMarkets maintains a solid reputation in the market.
In terms of ratings, Admirals scores 4.5 out of 5 stars for their commissions and fees, securing the #17 spot among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. Meanwhile, ThinkMarkets earns a 4-star rating, positioning them at #48 within the same category. These rankings highlight Admirals' stronger performance in offering attractive trading costs.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | 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.
Admirals and ThinkMarkets are both well-regarded online brokers that cater to forex traders. Admirals supports forex trading both as a CFD and as a spot contract, providing access to an impressive 8,702 tradeable symbols and 82 forex pairs. In comparison, ThinkMarkets also offers forex trading as a CFD and spot contract, but with a smaller selection of 4,000 tradeable symbols and 46 forex pairs. This broader range at Admirals allows traders to explore more diverse markets and opportunities.
For those interested in exchange-traded securities, Admirals has the edge by offering the ability to purchase shares on U.S. and international exchanges, allowing clients to buy stocks like Apple and Vodafone directly. ThinkMarkets, while also offering international exchange-traded securities, does not provide access to U.S. exchanges. Both brokers support copy trading and offer cryptocurrency derivatives, although neither facilitates the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. Despite these differences, Admirals and ThinkMarkets receive equal ratings of 4.5 stars for their range of investments and are closely ranked by ForexBrokers.com, with Admirals at #19 and ThinkMarkets at #21 among 62 brokers.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8702 | 4000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 82 | 46 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 considering trading platforms and tools, both Admirals and ThinkMarkets stand out with offerings that cater to different trader needs. Admirals and ThinkMarkets provide simulated trading through a free virtual demo account, which is ideal for beginners looking to practice their trading strategies. Both brokers also feature proprietary platforms developed in-house, in addition to the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), ensuring traders have a wide range of options. Whether you prefer a Windows-based desktop download or the flexibility of a web-based platform, both Admirals and ThinkMarkets have got you covered. Furthermore, they each support copy trading, providing opportunities for users to mimic the trades of successful investors.
In terms of charting tools, Admirals offers an impressive 106 drawing tools, significantly more than ThinkMarkets' 15. However, ThinkMarkets compensates with a broader array of columns for watch lists, offering 15 compared to Admirals' 7. While neither broker supports DupliTrade or ZuluTrade, they do allow trading directly from stock charts, enhancing the trading experience. Both Admirals and ThinkMarkets have earned a 4-star rating for their trading platforms and tools, with Admirals ranked slightly higher at #20 compared to ThinkMarkets at #27 by ForexBrokers.com out of 62 brokers. This suggests that while both have strengths, Admirals may offer a slightly more comprehensive trading platform experience according to these rankings.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 106 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 15 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both Admirals and ThinkMarkets provide comprehensive mobile trading apps available for iPhone and Android users. These platforms offer valuable features such as stock and forex price alerts and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Users can also access multiple time frames, such as daily or weekly views, and benefit from auto-saving their chart drawings, which adds convenience to their trading experience. While both apps allow for creating watchlists with real-time quotes, neither supports syncing these watchlists with a client's online account.
When it comes to technical studies available for charting, ThinkMarkets significantly outpaces Admirals with 94 options compared to the latter's 30. Despite this difference, both brokerage apps receive a well-regarded 4-star rating for their mobile trading capabilities. However, ThinkMarkets is ranked slightly higher in the mobile trading category by ForexBrokers.com, coming in at #20 out of 62 brokers, while Admirals takes the #28 spot, reflecting subtle distinctions in user experience and app functionality.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 94 |
| 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 the market research offerings of Admirals and ThinkMarkets, both platforms provide daily market commentary and access to forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. Admirals distinguishes itself by offering tools from Trading Central, providing users with access to technical analytics, which are not available through ThinkMarkets. Additionally, Admirals incorporates sentiment-based trading tools and market insights from TipRanks, giving traders a comprehensive view of market conditions and trends. Both brokers offer research tools from Acuity Trading, such as Signal Centre, and maintain economic calendars to keep users informed about key global news events.
Despite both Admirals and ThinkMarkets striving to deliver valuable research features, Admirals holds an edge with a research rating of 4 stars compared to ThinkMarkets’ 3.5 stars. This advantage is further reinforced by its superior position in the ForexBrokers.com research category, ranking 15th out of 62 brokers, while ThinkMarkets comes in at the 50th position. This difference suggests that Admirals may provide more comprehensive market research resources, making it potentially more appealing to traders who prioritize skilled market analysis and information diversity.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, both Admirals and ThinkMarkets provide a comprehensive selection of materials geared towards building foundational knowledge in forex and CFDs. Admirals offers a collection of over 10 educational pieces, which include articles, videos, and archived webinars. ThinkMarkets matches this variety with its own set of similar educational resources. Both brokers host at least one educational client webinar per month, bolstering their commitment to enhancing client understanding. Additionally, they provide searchable archives of past webinars, allowing learners to revisit valuable content.
In terms of video content, Admirals and ThinkMarkets each provide access to over 10 beginner-friendly educational videos, making it easier for newcomers to get started with trading. They also feature an investor dictionary with more than 50 investing terms, aiding users in understanding industry jargon. Admirals stands out slightly more, being rated with 4 stars in education and ranked 12th among 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, compared to ThinkMarkets' 3.5 stars and 52nd ranking. This distinction may suggest a slight edge towards Admirals in terms of educational offerings, but both brokers evidently place a strong emphasis on equipping beginners with the necessary tools to succeed.
| Feature |
Admirals
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 Admirals is better than ThinkMarkets. Admirals finished with an overall rank of #18, while ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27.
Traders choose Admirals for its excellent investor education and advanced MetaTrader features – such as the Supreme add-ons – alongside an extensive range of shares, forex and CFD markets, and premium research content.
| Feature |
Admirals
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ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 93 | 92 |
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Both Admirals and ThinkMarkets do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but they do provide options for trading cryptocurrency derivatives.
Comparing online brokers, Admirals provides more diverse deposit and withdrawal options than ThinkMarkets, offering ACH or SEPA transfers, PayPal, Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires, while ThinkMarkets only offers Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires but lacks ACH, SEPA transfers, and PayPal support.
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 | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
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| Trust Score | 93 | 92 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Admirals Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
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| Regulation | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 93 | 92 | |
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 5 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 3 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | Yes | No |
| Investments | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8702 | 4000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 82 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.8 | 1.1 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 15 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 106 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 94 | |
| 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 | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Admirals Review |
| Overall | Admirals | ThinkMarkets | |
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| Trust Score | 93 | 92 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Admirals Review |
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