Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Capital.com vs Alpari, 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.
Capital.com, established in 2016, and Alpari, founded in 1998, are both prominent names in the online brokerage space. However, when it comes to regulatory trust and safety, these brokers differ significantly. Capital.com holds three top-tier licenses, reflecting a strong commitment to regulatory compliance, while Alpari does not have any Tier-1 licenses. Furthermore, Capital.com has an additional mid-tier license, which adds to its credibility among users.
The Trust Score from ForexBrokers.com paints a clear picture of these brokers' reliability. Capital.com has a Trust Score of 87, placing it in the 'trusted' category, signifying it as a more secure choice for traders. On the other hand, Alpari scores a 68, indicating a 'high risk' classification. Both brokers are privately held and not banks, but when it comes to regulatory standing, Capital.com emerges as a more trusted option over Alpari.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2016 | 1998 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of Capital.com and Alpari, Capital.com emerges as a more competitive option, particularly for forex traders. Capital.com offers slightly better pricing than the industry average, with an appealing average spread of 0.67 pips for EUR/USD, verified as the average spread for April 2024. This makes Capital.com an attractive choice for those seeking low-cost trading. It provides a universal account for retail traders and a professional account for those qualifying as elective professionals, although it’s important to note that professional clients may not have the same regulatory protection.
In contrast, Alpari does not provide average spread data, which can make fee comparison challenging. Despite this, it remains a popular choice among traders. However, in terms of pricing and transparency, Capital.com holds a distinct advantage due to its clear and competitive costs, which are below industry norms, especially for forex trading pairs like EUR/USD.
Based on ratings and rankings by ForexBrokers.com, Capital.com excels with a 5-star rating and ranks as the #3 broker out of 62 in the Commissions and Fees category. Meanwhile, Alpari holds a respectable 4-star rating but is ranked #41 out of 62 brokers. These evaluations reflect Capital.com's superior fee structure and more favorable trading costs compared to Alpari.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $20 | $20 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.67 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.67 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | 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.
When exploring the available range of investments between Capital.com and Alpari, one will find key differences. Capital.com offers an impressive array of 3,007 tradeable symbols, significantly overshadowing Alpari's selection of 105. In the realm of forex trading, Capital.com provides access to 125 pairs compared to Alpari's 46, making it a suitable choice for those seeking extensive forex options. Both brokers allow forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, yet neither offers direct access to U.S. exchange-traded securities like Apple shares. However, a notable advantage of Alpari is its ability to offer international exchange securities such as Vodafone shares, a feature Capital.com lacks.
For those interested in digital assets, both Capital.com and Alpari permit trading of cryptocurrency derivatives, though neither enables the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. Alpari gets an edge with the availability of copy trading, a service Capital.com does not have. In terms of ratings, Capital.com scores a high 4.5 out of 5 stars for its range of investments, ranking 22nd out of 62 brokers. Alpari receives a modest 3-star rating, placing last in the same category. These ratings and offerings suggest that Capital.com might be more appealing for those looking for a broader range of investment options.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3007 | 105 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 125 | 46 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| 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.
Capital.com and Alpari are both online brokers offering a variety of trading platforms and tools to enhance the trading experience. Both brokers provide the convenience of simulated trading through a free virtual demo account, allowing users to practice without financial risk. Each broker also boasts its own proprietary platform, developed in-house, alongside the widely-used MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. However, Alpari extends its offering with MetaTrader 5 (MT5) and integrates copy trading features, which are not available with Capital.com. For those who prefer desktop trading, both Capital.com and Alpari support Windows-based downloads and web-based platforms, ensuring flexibility in trading environments.
When it comes to charting features, Capital.com offers traders 18 drawing tools and the ability to trade directly from stock charts, giving them an edge in functionality compared to Alpari, which offers 15 drawing tools. Additionally, Capital.com's platform allows for more comprehensively detailed watch lists with 11 columns, as opposed to Alpari's seven. Ratings from the industry also favor Capital.com, which earned 4.5 stars for its trading platforms and tools, compared to Alpari’s 4 stars. Capital.com ranks 11th out of 62 brokers for Trading Platforms and Tools according to ForexBrokers.com, significantly ahead of Alpari, which ranks 55th. This makes Capital.com a strong contender for traders seeking advanced platform features and tools.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 83 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 18 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of Capital.com and Alpari, both brokers provide apps compatible with iPhone and Android devices, making them accessible to a wide array of users. Each app offers essential features such as stock or forex price alerts and real-time watchlists, enabling traders to stay informed while on the move. Traders can also perform technical analysis, with each app offering 30 technical studies and the ability to draw trendlines and view different time frames on their charts. However, while Capital.com ensures your chart drawings are automatically saved, Alpari does not offer this feature, which may be a consideration for traders who prioritize convenience in their technical analysis practices.
In terms of ratings, Capital.com’s mobile trading app shines with a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars, placing it at an impressive 12th position out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. In contrast, Alpari's app secures a respectable 4-star rating but is ranked considerably lower at 56th. Neither platform offers watchlist symbol syncing, which means changes made in the app won't automatically update in your online account. For traders focused on high-quality mobile experience and ease of use, Capital.com's app appears to have the edge.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing Capital.com to Alpari for market research offerings, several differences become clear. Capital.com stands out with its daily market commentary and a sentiment-based trading tool that provides insights into the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments. Additionally, Capital.com offers market research through TipRanks and features a comprehensive economic calendar that showcases global news events. While Capital.com does lack forex news from top-tier sources and certain technical analysis tools, it still garners an impressive 4.5-star rating for research, placing it 14th out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
On the other hand, Alpari offers forex news updates from renowned sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as research tools from Autochartist, which might appeal to traders seeking these specific resources. Like Capital.com, Alpari also provides an economic calendar, but it does not offer daily market commentary or sentiment-based trading tools. Furthermore, Alpari does not incorporate market research from TipRanks and lacks Trading Central tools, leading to a lower research rating of 3 stars and a 57th place ranking in the ForexBrokers.com research category comparison.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Capital.com and Alpari provide beginners with a foundation in forex and CFDs, each offering more than 10 educational pieces such as articles, videos, and archived webinars. While neither broker hosts monthly webinars, Capital.com stands out with a searchable archive of recorded client webinars, offering a library of past sessions at your fingertips, which Alpari lacks. Both brokers cater to novices with over 10 beginner trading videos; however, Capital.com extends its educational reach to advanced traders with an additional 10 videos, a feature Alpari does not offer.
For those seeking to deepen their understanding of trading terminology, both Capital.com and Alpari offer comprehensive investor dictionaries with over 50 terms. However, Capital.com receives a higher rating for its educational resources, boasting 4.5 stars and an impressive 8th place in the ForexBrokers.com Education category rankings. In contrast, Alpari is rated 3 stars and placed 48th, reflecting Capital.com's superior offering for traders eager to learn.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | No | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| 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 Capital.com is better than Alpari. Capital.com finished with an overall rank of #10, while Alpari finished with an overall rank of #57.
Capital.com stands out for its quality research, strong educational content, and innovative web platform. Capital.com holds fewer regulatory licenses and offers a narrower range of markets than some of the best brokers, but still significantly outperforms the industry average.
| Feature |
Capital.com
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 87 | 68 |
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Capital.com and Alpari both provide options for trading cryptocurrency derivatives, yet neither allows the purchase of actual delivered cryptocurrencies.
In comparing online brokers, both Capital.com and Alpari do not offer ACH or SEPA transfers, but Capital.com supports PayPal for funding and withdrawals where Alpari does not, while both platforms offer Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires as available transaction methods.
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 | Capital.com | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 87 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Capital.com Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Capital.com | Alpari | |
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| Regulation | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 87 | 68 | |
| Year Founded | 2016 | 1998 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | 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 | No | |
| 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) | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3007 | 105 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 125 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| 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 | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.67 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.67 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $20 | $20 | |
| 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 | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 83 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 18 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | No | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Capital.com | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Capital.com Review |
| Overall | Capital.com | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 87 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Capital.com Review |
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