Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of BlackBull Markets vs Octa, 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.
BlackBull Markets, established in 2014, and Octa, founded in 2011, are online brokers that are not publicly traded or banks. When it comes to trust ratings from ForexBrokers.com, BlackBull Markets garners a Trust Score of 78, placing it in the average risk category. Meanwhile, Octa scores a slightly lower Trust Score of 72, also categorizing it as an average-risk broker. This highlights that both are generally considered to pose a similar level of investment risk.
Regarding regulation, both BlackBull Markets and Octa hold one Tier-1 license each, reflecting a high level of trust in their regulatory standing. However, Octa holds one additional Tier-2 license, which denotes a trusted level of regulation, while BlackBull Markets does not possess any Tier-2 licenses. This adds another layer of regulatory oversight for Octa, potentially providing a bit more assurance to its users.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2011 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of BlackBull Markets and Octa, BlackBull Markets stands out for offering different account types that cater to a range of trader needs. The Prime account at BlackBull Markets, with a 0.16 pip average spread on the EUR/USD, results in a total cost of 0.76 pips per trade after including the commission charge of $6 per 10,000 traded. This is notably advantageous compared to its Standard account, which is commission-free but comes with higher spreads. For those who are more active traders and can meet the $20,000 minimum, the ECN Institutional account offers even more competitive pricing at a commission rate of $4 per round turn. With a 4.5-star rating and a ranking of #18 out of 62 brokers, BlackBull Markets is recognized for its cost-effective trading options.
Octa has made notable strides in enhancing its pricing structure, closing in on some of the lowest-cost MetaTrader brokers available today. Despite some past challenges, Octa now offers no slippage on 97.5% of orders and no overnight carry costs, which is a significant advantage. However, the trading experience at Octa depends on which version of the platform and under which regulatory entity your account is held, as these affect the specific spread rates. For instance, the EU entity offers a more competitive 0.5 pip spread on the EUR/USD compared to the 0.9 pips in other regions. Although their pricing seems competitive, Octa lacks date range information for their spread data, making a precise comparison challenging. Octa earns a 4-star rating and is ranked #29 among 62 brokers.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $25 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.71 | 0.9 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.71 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | 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 exploring online brokers for investment opportunities, BlackBull Markets and Octa present distinct offerings. BlackBull Markets provides an extensive selection with 26,000 tradeable symbols and 72 forex pairs, giving investors numerous options to diversify their portfolios. In contrast, Octa offers a smaller variety with 300 tradeable symbols and 35 forex pairs. Both brokers accommodate forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, ensuring flexibility for traders. However, BlackBull Markets excels by providing access to both U.S. and international exchange-traded securities, such as Apple shares on the NASDAQ and Vodafone shares on the London Stock Exchange, while Octa only offers international exchange-traded securities.
In addition to their range of investments, both BlackBull Markets and Octa cater to traders interested in copy trading and cryptocurrency derivatives, though neither offers actual cryptocurrency purchases. Despite these similarities, BlackBull Markets stands out, achieving a 5-star rating and ranking 6th out of 62 brokers for its range of investments on ForexBrokers.com. Octa, by comparison, earns a 3.5-star rating and ranks 52nd, underscoring BlackBull Markets' broader investment options and appeal to traders seeking a larger variety of assets.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 | 300 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 | 35 |
| 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 it comes to trading platforms and tools, both BlackBull Markets and Octa provide ample options for traders, but with some notable differences. BlackBull Markets does not have a proprietary platform but supports popular platforms like MetaTrader 4 and 5, available for both Windows and web browser use. They offer a comprehensive range of 60 drawing tools for charting, and traders can trade directly from a stock chart. Additionally, BlackBull Markets supports copy trading and offers ZuluTrade as a social trading option. Providing six columns for watch lists, they rank 4 stars for their trading platforms and tools, placing 29th out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
Octa, on the other hand, has developed its own proprietary platform, which is available alongside the widely used MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms for Windows and web. Like BlackBull Markets, Octa offers paper trading through a free virtual demo account and provides a copy trading feature. Although they do not offer ZuluTrade, they provide 15 drawing tools for charting and allow trades directly from stock charts, with seven columns available for watch lists. Octa also receives a 4-star rating in trading platforms and tools, though they rank slightly lower at 37th in the category among 62 brokers, as reported by ForexBrokers.com. Both brokers deliver solid performance and flexibility, catering to different trading preferences and needs.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No | 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 | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 109 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 60 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 6 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both BlackBull Markets and Octa provide comprehensive trading apps compatible with iPhone and Android devices, featuring essential tools like stock and forex price alerts and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Each app supports viewing multiple time frames, such as daily, weekly, or intraday, allowing users to gain various perspectives on their trades. In terms of technical studies, both apps offer 30 options for charting. They also allow the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes, ensuring that users have up-to-date market information at their fingertips.
A key difference between the two is that BlackBull Markets offers watchlist symbol syncing. This feature ensures that changes made to a watchlist are automatically updated across both the app and the user's online account, while Octa lacks this functionality. Additionally, both platforms have apps that auto-save drawings on charts, offering convenience during technical analysis. Despite these similarities, BlackBull Markets ranks slightly higher at 31 out of 62 brokers in the Mobile Trading Apps category, compared to Octa at 35. Nevertheless, both receive a solid four-star rating for their mobile trading apps, making either a strong choice for traders on the go.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | 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 BlackBull Markets and Octa for market research offerings, both online brokers provide daily market commentary and economic calendars to keep traders informed about key global events. However, Octa steps ahead with forex news from prestigious sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters, whereas BlackBull Markets does not cover this aspect. On the other hand, BlackBull Markets offers a sentiment-based trading tool that displays the ratio of long and short positions across various instruments, a feature that Octa lacks.
Both brokers offer access to technical analysis and fundamental research tools from Autochartist, but neither provides similar tools from Trading Central or market research from TipRanks and Acuity Trading. Despite these similarities, BlackBull Markets holds a slightly better rank at #18 in the Research category on ForexBrokers.com, compared to Octa's #26 position. Each broker is rated four out of five stars for their research capabilities, indicating robust offerings overall.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
BlackBull Markets and Octa both offer a wide range of educational resources that cater to beginners in forex and CFDs trading. Each broker provides at least ten educational pieces such as articles, videos, and archived webinars, focusing primarily on forex or CFDs to help newcomers gather foundational knowledge. Additionally, both platforms conduct monthly webinars to enhance educational outreach, ensuring new traders have regular access to expert insights and trading strategies. The two brokers also maintain a searchable archive of their recorded webinars, making it easy for users to revisit topics of interest whenever needed.
In terms of video resources, BlackBull Markets and Octa each have more than ten beginner-oriented videos to help traders understand basic concepts. They also offer educational content for advanced traders, with over ten videos that dive deeper into more complex strategies. Furthermore, both brokers provide an investor dictionary, which includes definitions of at least fifty investing terms, aiding newcomers in becoming familiar with trading jargon. In terms of ratings, both BlackBull Markets and Octa have been rated four out of five stars for their educational content. However, BlackBull Markets is ranked 29th out of 62 brokers for education, while Octa stands at the 41st position, according to ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 BlackBull Markets is better than Octa. BlackBull Markets finished with an overall rank of #24, while Octa finished with an overall rank of #47.
BlackBull Markets is a plain-vanilla MetaTrader broker with a growing range of products and support for a handful of third-party social copy trading platforms.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
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Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 78 | 72 |
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Both BlackBull Markets and Octa do not offer the option to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they both provide the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both BlackBull Markets and Octa provide several options for depositing and withdrawing funds, including Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wire transfers, but neither supports ACH, SEPA, or PayPal 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 | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 78 | 72 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review | Octa Review |
| Broker Screenshots | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
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| Regulation | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 78 | 72 | |
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2011 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 | 300 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 | 35 | |
| 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 | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.71 | 0.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.71 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $25 | |
| 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 | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | No | 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 | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 6 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 109 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 60 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | BlackBull Markets Review | Octa Review |
| Overall | BlackBull Markets | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 78 | 72 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review | Octa Review |
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