Written by ForexBrokers.com
Is Charles Schwab better than Octa? In our analysis of 23 international regulators across 62 of the best forex brokers, Charles Schwab is considered Highly Trusted, with an overall Trust Score of 99 out of 99. Octa is considered Average-Risk, with an overall Trust Score of 70 out of 99. Learn more about Trust Score.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 70 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | Octa Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| Regulation | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 70 | |
| Year Founded | 1971 | 2011 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| 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 | Octa | |
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| 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 | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 277 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 52 | |
| 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 | Octa | |
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| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.25 | 0.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.25 | 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 | Octa | |
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| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $25 | |
| 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 | Octa | |
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| 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 | Octa | |
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| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 580 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 24 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| 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 | 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 | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| 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 | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| 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 | Octa Review |
| Overall | Charles Schwab | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 70 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | Octa Review |
We’ve made it easy to compare the best forex brokers, side-by-side. Our editorial team has collected thousands of data points, written hundreds of thousands of words of research, and tested over 60 brokers to help you find the best forex brokers in the industry. Our research is unbiased and independent; learn more about how we test. That same research and data powers our broker comparisons. Let's compare Charles Schwab vs Octa.
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).
Octa is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. OctaFX is authorised by one Tier-1 regulator (high trust), one Tier-2 regulator (average trust), zero Tier-3 regulators (low trust), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). Octa is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.
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.
Octa offers a basic, low-cost MetaTrader platform experience alongside its social copy-trading platform.
To open a trading account with Charles Schwab, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.
Octa requires a minimum deposit of $25 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. Charles Schwab offers Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Octa provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have PayPal (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 Charles Schwab 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 Charles Schwab holds 5 global Tier-1 licenses, while Octa holds 1. Octa 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 Charles Schwab (99) earned a higher Trust Score than Octa (70).
To compare the trading platforms of both Charles Schwab and Octa, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Charles Schwab offers a better experience. With research, Charles Schwab offers superior market research. Finally, we found Charles Schwab to provide better mobile trading apps.
Here’s what trading platforms are available at Charles Schwab:
Here’s what trading platforms are available at Octa:
The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Octa offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Charles Schwab does not. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. While Octa offers copy trading, Charles Schwab does not.
Charles Schwab provides traders 73 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Octa's 52 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, Charles Schwab offers traders access to 40000 tradeable symbols, while Octa offers access to 277 tradeable symbols; so Charles Schwab offers 39723 more tradeable symbols than Octa.
We found in our testing that Charles Schwab offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Octa, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) and Cryptocurrency (Derivative). Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical) and Spread Betting.
Overall winner: Charles Schwab
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