Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Charles Schwab vs Exness, 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.
Charles Schwab, founded in 1971, stands as a highly trusted and established financial entity in the online brokerage world. It is publicly traded on a stock exchange and operates as a bank, offering a sense of security and stability. Rated with a perfect Trust Score of 99 by ForexBrokers.com, Charles Schwab holds an impressive five Tier-1 licenses, showcasing its significant regulatory oversight and commitment to trustworthy client dealings.
In comparison, Exness, which entered the market in 2008, is not publicly traded and does not operate as a bank. It holds a Trust Score of 81, categorizing it as trusted according to ForexBrokers.com. Exness has secured two Tier-1 licenses and three Tier-2 licenses, reflecting its commitment to adhering to regulatory standards though it remains less established than Charles Schwab. Ultimately, both entities offer trusted services, yet Charles Schwab's longer history and stronger regulatory foundation may appeal to those prioritizing these factors.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1971 | 2008 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 3 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 3 |
When comparing Charles Schwab and Exness for their commissions and fees in forex trading, both brokers offer robust options for traders. Charles Schwab boasts a fee structure without commissions for forex trading, relying instead on the bid/ask spread, with an average spread on the EUR/USD around 1.35 pips, which is relatively high compared to industry standards. With no minimum deposit requirement and multiple account options like Schwab One and Schwab Global, Schwab caters to various trading needs, though it does involve currency conversion fees ranging from 0.2% to 1% for international transactions. Charles Schwab is highly rated for its fees, earning 4 out of 5 stars and ranking #23 out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
Exness provides an eclectic mix of account types for traders, offering both commission-free and commission-based accounts. While standard accounts with Exness usually have higher spreads, their Pro account and professional accounts like Zero Spread and Raw charge commissions ranging from $0.05 to $7 per lot and deliver narrower spreads. All accounts enable market execution, with the Pro account also supporting instant execution. This flexibility in trading execution is a distinctive feature of Exness. However, Exness shares the same rating as Schwab for commissions and fees, with 4 out of 5 stars, but is ranked slightly lower at #38 on ForexBrokers.com.
In summary, Charles Schwab sets itself apart with commission-free forex trading and a high industry rating but involves broader average spreads and currency conversion fees for international trading. Exness, on the other hand, provides more dynamic account options tailored to varying spreads and commission preferences, appealing to both low and high-frequency traders. Despite these differences, both brokers receive commendable ratings, thus offering valuable options to consider based on your trading needs.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $10 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.35 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.35 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When comparing Charles Schwab and Exness based on their range of available investments, Charles Schwab stands out with an impressive offering of 40,000 tradeable symbols. In contrast, Exness provides access to 227 symbols. Both brokers allow forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, with Schwab providing 73 tradeable forex pairs while Exness offers more, with 96 pairs. Charles Schwab also shines in the realm of exchange-traded securities, allowing its clients to purchase stocks on both U.S. and international exchanges, such as Apple on the NASDAQ and Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange. Exness, however, does not offer trading in exchange-traded securities on these exchanges.
For those interested in cryptocurrency, both Charles Schwab and Exness offer speculative trading through derivatives but not actual digital currencies. Exness does offer an appealing feature with its copy trading option, which is not available at Charles Schwab. Ultimately, Charles Schwab is rated higher for its range of investments, earning a five-star rating and ranking fifth among 62 brokers as per ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, Exness receives a 3.5-star rating, landing at the 56th position. This makes Charles Schwab the preferable choice for traders seeking extensive investment options.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 227 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 96 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| 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.
Both Charles Schwab and Exness provide impressive trading platforms, each boasting a proprietary system and offering simulated trading, which allows new traders to hone their skills with virtual accounts. Traders seeking versatility can find a Windows-based desktop platform as well as a web-based option with both brokers. Where they differ significantly is in the specialized features available—Exness offers copy trading and integrates with MetaTrader 4 and 5, catering to traders who favor automated and forex trading. Charles Schwab, on the other hand, does not support these MetaTrader platforms nor copy trading, focusing instead on its proprietary features.
In terms of charting tools, Exness provides a wide array of 87 drawing tools compared to Charles Schwab's 24, granting Exness users more options for technical analysis. However, Charles Schwab excels in the depth of its watch lists, offering a staggering 580 columns for detailed market monitoring, which far surpasses Exness's 7 columns. Rated at five stars for trading platforms and tools, Charles Schwab ranks fifth out of 62 brokers, underscoring its robust offerings in this category. Exness, with a four-star rating, stands at 31st, still notable but trailing behind Charles Schwab in this domain.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 107 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 24 | 87 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 580 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Charles Schwab and Exness both offer mobile trading apps compatible with iPhone and Android devices, packed with features desirable for both novice and seasoned traders. Both apps provide stock and forex price alerts, enabling traders to stay updated on market movements with ease. However, when it comes to syncing watchlist symbols, Charles Schwab stands out by allowing watchlists in its mobile app to sync seamlessly with the client's online account, a feature Exness currently does not support. Furthermore, Charles Schwab surpasses Exness with an impressive 374 technical studies available for charting, compared to Exness's 35. Both platforms allow users to draw trendlines and view a range of time frames on stock and forex charts, but only Charles Schwab saves chart drawings automatically.
Creating a watchlist with real-time quotes is supported on both mobile apps, and Charles Schwab has earned a higher user rating, scoring 5 out of 5 stars, compared to Exness’s 4 stars. In terms of ranking among mobile apps from 62 brokers evaluated by ForexBrokers.com, Charles Schwab secures the #6 spot, whereas Exness is positioned at #32. Both brokers offer powerful tools for mobile trading, yet users might find Charles Schwab’s additional features and ease of use more appealing for comprehensive market analysis and trading.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 374 | 35 |
| 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.
Charles Schwab and Exness are both reputable online brokers offering a suite of market research tools, albeit with contrasting features. Both provide daily market commentary and forex news sourced from high-tier channels such as Bloomberg and Reuters. They also offer economic calendars to keep traders informed about global news events. However, Exness distinguishes itself with additional features like Trading Central tools and sentiment-based trading assessments, which are not available through Charles Schwab. This added functionality may be an attractive option for traders seeking diverse analytical tools.
Despite these differences in offerings, Charles Schwab consistently earns a higher rating for research, with a commendable 5 stars compared to Exness's 3.5 stars. Furthermore, Charles Schwab is ranked #4 out of 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com in the Research category, whereas Exness holds the #41 position. These rankings reflect Schwab's dedication to providing extensive research resources to its clients, making it a strong contender for those seeking comprehensive market insights.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational resources available for beginners between Charles Schwab and Exness, both platforms provide a variety of forex and CFD learning materials, each boasting at least 10 pieces of content that include articles, videos, and archived webinars. However, Charles Schwab stands out with its offering of client webinars on a monthly basis, a feature that Exness does not include. Both brokers provide a searchable archive of recorded webinars and have a strong selection of beginner-focused videos. Despite this, Schwab extends its video library to include content tailored for more experienced traders, a resource that Exness lacks.
For those just starting in the trading world, Charles Schwab also offers an investor dictionary with over 50 investing terms, as does Exness, ensuring that newcomers have a solid foundation in trading vocabulary. However, the overall educational experience seems to favor Charles Schwab, which is reflected in its higher education rating of five stars compared to Exness's 3.5 stars. Additionally, Schwab is ranked as the sixth best broker for education by ForexBrokers.com, while Exness comes in at 47th out of 62 brokers, highlighting a notable difference in educational quality and support for beginners.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| 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 Charles Schwab is better than Exness. Charles Schwab finished with an overall rank of #6, while Exness finished with an overall rank of #41.
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.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
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Exness
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 81 |
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Both Charles Schwab and Exness do not offer the option to purchase actual cryptocurrency with delivery, but they both provide the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
While Charles Schwab supports ACH, SEPA transfers, and bank wires for account funding, but not PayPal, Skrill, Visa, or Mastercard, Exness provides options for Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, yet lacks ACH, SEPA, and PayPal support, highlighting distinct payment flexibility between the online brokers.
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 | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | Exness Review |
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| Regulation | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 81 | |
| Year Founded | 1971 | 2008 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 3 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 3 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Yes |
| Investments | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 227 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 96 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.35 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.35 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $10 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 580 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 107 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 24 | 87 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 374 | 35 | |
| 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 | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Charles Schwab Review | Exness Review |
| Overall | Charles Schwab | Exness | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | Exness Review |
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