CMC Markets vs Charles Schwab 2024

CMC Markets is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by five Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), one tier-2 regulator (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). CMC Markets is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Financial Markets Authority (FMA), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Charles Schwab is publicly-traded, does operate a bank, and is authorised by five Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). Schwab is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Securities Futures Commission (SFC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

CMC Markets is well-trusted across the globe, and delivers a terrific trading experience thanks to its excellent pricing and selection of over 12,000 tradeable instruments.

Charles Schwab is a highly trusted financial institution and multi-asset broker catering to U.S.-based and international forex traders. Schwab's award-winning thinkorswim platform offers over 70 tradeable currency pairs alongside impressive tools, research, and education. That said, the broker’s forex offering is still largely limited to what is available on thinkorswim.

To open a trading account with CMC Markets, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.

Charles Schwab requires a minimum deposit of $0 before you can open an account and start trading.

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. CMC Markets offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Charles Schwab provides Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that CMC Markets offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that Both CMC Markets and Charles Schwab hold 5 global Tier-1 licenses. CMC Markets holds 1 global Tier-2 licenses, while Charles Schwab holds 0.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that CMC Markets and Charles Schwab have earned the same Trust Score (99).

To compare the trading platforms of both CMC Markets and Charles Schwab, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, CMC Markets offers a better experience. With research, CMC Markets offers superior market research. Finally, we found CMC Markets to provide better mobile trading apps.

Here’s what trading platforms are available at CMC Markets:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - No
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

Here’s what trading platforms are available at Charles Schwab:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - No
• MT5 - No
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. CMC Markets offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Charles Schwab does not. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. While CMC Markets offers copy trading, Charles Schwab does not.

CMC Markets provides traders 156 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Charles Schwab's 73 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, Charles Schwab offers traders access to 40000 tradeable symbols, while CMC Markets offers access to 11925 tradeable symbols; so Charles Schwab offers 28075 more tradeable symbols than CMC Markets.

We found in our testing that CMC Markets offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Charles Schwab, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD), Cryptocurrency (Derivative), Social Trading / Copy Trading and Spread Betting. Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical).