Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs Axi, 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.
ThinkMarkets, founded in 2010, and Axi, established in 2007, are both well-regarded online brokers, though neither is publicly traded or operates as a bank. When it comes to trust and regulation, ThinkMarkets leads the way with a Trust Score of 92 from ForexBrokers.com, placing it in the highly trusted category. Axi, while also a reliable choice, scores an 82, positioning it in the trusted bracket.
Regarding regulatory licenses, ThinkMarkets holds five Tier-1 licenses, which are highly respected, and two Tier-2 licenses. Axi, in comparison, possesses two Tier-1 licenses alongside one Tier-2 license. These licenses are crucial in ensuring that both brokers adhere to international financial regulations, thus enhancing their credibility among users.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2007 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of online brokers ThinkMarkets and Axi, both hold a similar standing with a rating of four stars out of five in this category. This rating reflects the competitive nature of their respective pricing structures for trading services. Despite the absence of specific average spread data, both brokers are positioned to offer competitive fee structures that cater to a wide range of traders.
ThinkMarkets is ranked #48 out of 62 brokers, according to ForexBrokers.com, for its commissions and fees. This ranking indicates that while ThinkMarkets offers a solid fee structure that appeals to many traders, there might be alternative brokers with slightly more favorable conditions for cost-conscious traders.
On the other hand, Axi sits slightly higher in the same rankings at #44. This position suggests that Axi potentially provides a marginally more competitive edge in its fee offerings compared to ThinkMarkets, though both are closely matched in their overall fee ratings. Despite their close proximity in the rankings, Axi's slightly better position might attract traders seeking modest cost advantages.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| 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 comparing the range of investments offered by ThinkMarkets and Axi, several distinctions become apparent. ThinkMarkets provides access to 4,000 tradeable symbols, whereas Axi offers 175, catering to investors looking for greater diversity in trading options. Although Axi surpasses ThinkMarkets in the number of tradeable forex pairs with a selection of 65 compared to ThinkMarkets’ 46, the latter allows users access to international exchange-traded securities, giving them the chance to purchase shares from companies like Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange—an option not available through Axi. Both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, as well as cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither allows for the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies or U.S. exchange-listed securities like Apple shares.
Another valuable service both platforms provide is copy trading, beneficial for those who may not have the time or expertise to actively manage their investments. However, ThinkMarkets excels further in its overall range of investments, with a rating of 4.5 stars compared to Axi’s 3.5 stars. This is echoed in their respective rankings for the Range of Investments category on ForexBrokers.com, where ThinkMarkets holds the 21st spot among 62 brokers, while Axi is ranked much lower at 55th position. These distinctions make ThinkMarkets a more versatile choice for traders seeking a broader selection of investment opportunities.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 175 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 65 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| 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 ThinkMarkets and Axi for their trading platforms and tools, both brokers provide strong offerings, but there are notable differences. ThinkMarkets stands out with its proprietary platform, offering an in-house developed trading experience that Axi lacks. Both brokers support Windows-based desktop and web-based trading platforms, providing flexible access for traders. ThinkMarkets and Axi also offer popular trading platforms like MetaTrader 4, with ThinkMarkets extending support to MetaTrader 5, a feature absent in Axi’s lineup. Both brokers cater to new and experienced traders by providing paper trading accounts and copy trading options. However, Axi distinguishes itself by offering ZuluTrade for social trading, while this feature is not available with ThinkMarkets.
In terms of charting tools, both ThinkMarkets and Axi provide 15 drawing tools, allowing traders to analyze market movements effectively. ThinkMarkets, however, gives traders a more detailed watchlist experience with 15 columns for tracking stocks compared to Axi’s 7 columns. Performance ratings also reflect these differences, with ThinkMarkets earning a 4-star rating for Trading Platforms and Tools, while Axi receives a 3.5-star rating. Rankings from ForexBrokers.com further emphasize ThinkMarkets' edge, positioning it at #27 out of 62 brokers, whereas Axi stands at #62 for the same category. These distinctions can guide traders in selecting a platform that aligns best with their trading needs.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When it comes to mobile trading apps, both ThinkMarkets and Axi cater to iPhone and Android users, providing stock and forex price alerts as well as the capability to draw trendlines on charts. However, ThinkMarkets stands out with a substantial offering of 94 technical studies for charting, compared to Axi's 30. Additionally, while both platforms allow users to view multiple time frames like daily, weekly, or intraday, ThinkMarkets has the added advantage of automatically saving chart drawings. Users can create watchlists with real-time quotes on both apps, though neither supports syncing these watchlists with online accounts.
In terms of ratings, ThinkMarkets boasts a 4-star rating for its mobile app experience, surpassing Axi's 3.5 stars. The distinction extends to rankings too, where ThinkMarkets secures the 20th spot in ForexBrokers.com's Mobile Trading Apps category out of 62 brokers, while Axi comes in at 59th. This suggests that while both platforms are reliable choices for mobile trading, ThinkMarkets might provide a more enhanced user experience, especially for those interested in comprehensive technical analysis features.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 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 ThinkMarkets and Axi for market research offerings, investors seeking daily market commentary will find ThinkMarkets more appealing, as it provides this feature, unlike Axi. Both brokers offer forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. In terms of research tools, Axi stands out with its inclusion of Autochartist, a notable resource in technical and fundamental analysis, while ThinkMarkets does not offer such tools from Autochartist or Trading Central. However, both ThinkMarkets and Axi provide sentiment-based trading tools to show the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments, aiding traders in market analysis.
ThinkMarkets supports traders with a tool from Acuity Trading, a service that Axi lacks. When it comes to keeping traders informed, both platforms feature economic calendars to track global news events. Ratings from ForexBrokers.com show ThinkMarkets slightly ahead, earning 3.5 stars compared to Axi's 3 stars for research. Additionally, within a comparison of 62 brokers, ThinkMarkets ranks at #50 in the research category, while Axi trails at #55. This indicates that while both brokers offer similar baseline features, ThinkMarkets holds a slight edge in overall research capabilities.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When diving into the educational resources offered by online brokers ThinkMarkets and Axi, both platforms provide a solid foundation for beginners interested in forex or CFD trading. ThinkMarkets excels with its comprehensive suite of resources, featuring over 10 educational pieces such as articles and videos dedicated to forex or CFDs, as well as monthly webinars. Notably, ThinkMarkets provides a searchable archive of recorded webinars, a valuable tool absent from Axi's offerings. Both platforms deliver over 10 beginner-focused trading videos, but ThinkMarkets extends its educational reach by including materials suited for advanced traders, which Axi does not.
In addition to video tutorials, both ThinkMarkets and Axi offer an investor dictionary containing over 50 investing terms, helping users get familiar with trading jargon. Nevertheless, the education star ratings reveal subtle differences: ThinkMarkets holds a 3.5-star rating, slightly edging out Axi's 3-star evaluation. Despite this, Axi outperforms ThinkMarkets in the ForexBrokers.com education ranking, securing the 26th spot compared to ThinkMarkets' ranking at 52. This disparity suggests Axi has a more favorable educational reputation among users, even though ThinkMarkets provides a greater variety of learning materials.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| 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 ThinkMarkets is better than Axi. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while Axi finished with an overall rank of #49.
ThinkMarkets has multiple regulatory license and offers a proprietary trading platform, as well as the entire MetaTrader suite. The broker has made progress in key areas, such as research and education, and the range of markets available, although trails behind the best brokers in these categories.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Axi
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 82 |
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Both ThinkMarkets and Axi do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but they each provide options to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both ThinkMarkets and Axi do not support ACH or SEPA transfers, nor do they offer PayPal for account deposits or withdrawals, but they both provide options for Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wire transactions.
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 | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 82 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
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| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 82 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2007 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | 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) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 175 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 65 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $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 | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 94 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
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| Overall | ThinkMarkets | Axi | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 82 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review |
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