Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FXCM vs Markets4you, 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.
Founded in 1999, FXCM is a well-established online broker known for its strong regulatory standing. The company holds four Tier-1 licenses, highlighting its status as a highly trusted broker, and also possesses two Tier-2 licenses, further emphasizing its reliability. FXCM is publicly traded, offering transparency and accountability to its clients. With a Trust Score rating of 95 out of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, FXCM is regarded as a highly trusted platform, positioning itself as a dependable choice for traders.
In contrast, Markets4you, which entered the scene in 2007, does not hold any Tier-1 or Tier-2 licenses, indicating a potential area for improvement in safety and trust perceptions. Unlike FXCM, Markets4you is not publicly traded, which could imply less transparency. Its Trust Score rating from ForexBrokers.com stands at 61 out of 99, categorizing it as a high-risk option. Traders may want to weigh these factors critically when choosing an online broker.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2007 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
When comparing the commission and fee structures of FXCM and Markets4you, there are notable differences. FXCM's pricing for forex trading is marginally higher than the industry standard. For their standard accounts, the average spread on the popular EUR/USD pair was 0.78 pips for users in regions like the EU, U.K., and Australia, based on May 2024 data. However, spreads from their St. Vincent and the Grenadines entity reached 1.38 pips, which surpasses the industry average. For traders opting for FXCM's commission-based accounts, the average spread was 0.28 pips, excluding commissions. Notably, FXCM offers an Active Trader Rebate Program that provides discounts based on trade volume, but it's limited to certain regions and requires substantial trading volume to benefit fully.
FXCM's Active Trader Rebate Program consists of five tiers, rewarding traders who handle at least $10 million in monthly trading volume. Rebates range from $5 to $25 per million traded, depending on the tier. This program, though offering a rebate option, isn't as aggressive as the pricing strategies of competitors like Tickmill and FP Markets. FXCM's commission-based accounts have an effective spread close to 0.74 pips after factoring in the commission costs. The rebate and discount mechanisms vary by geographical location and trading volume, offering deeper savings for high-volume traders.
In contrast, detailed spread data for Markets4you isn't available. However, FXCM is rated at 4 stars for commissions and fees, whereas Markets4you holds a slightly lower rating of 3.5 stars. Furthermore, FXCM ranks #24 out of 62 brokers in the Commissions and Fees category according to ForexBrokers.com, while Markets4you is positioned at #53. These rankings highlight FXCM's stronger performance in this area, though there remains room for improvement, especially when compared to industry leaders.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | Starts from $50 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.78 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.78 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | 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.
FXCM and Markets4you both offer forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, making them competitive options for forex enthusiasts. FXCM stands out with a wider array of 440 tradeable symbols, giving traders more opportunities to diversify their portfolios compared to Markets4you's offering of 150 symbols. Both brokers offer an identical set of 43 tradeable forex pairs, demonstrating their shared focus on currency markets. However, neither platform provides access to exchange-traded securities from U.S. or international exchanges, which limits their offerings to other asset classes like stocks.
When it comes to additional trading features, both FXCM and Markets4you provide copy trading services and options to trade cryptocurrency derivatives rather than direct cryptocurrencies. With equal ratings of 3.5 stars out of five for their range of investments, they present similar overall value, albeit with different strengths. Notably, FXCM is ranked #47 while Markets4you stands at #58 in the category of Range of Investments according to ForexBrokers.com. This distinction suggests that FXCM might offer a slightly more comprehensive trading experience overall, even though both hold similar ratings in other aspects.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 440 | 150 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 43 | 43 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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 considering trading platforms and tools, both FXCM and Markets4you offer a variety of features catering to different trading needs. Both brokers provide simulated trading via free virtual demo accounts and have created their own proprietary platforms. They also offer MetaTrader 4, a popular choice for traders, along with web-based and Windows-based desktop platforms. FXCM supports ZuluTrade for social trading, while Markets4you does not, though both brokers offer copy trading. Additionally, only Markets4you supports MetaTrader 5, giving it an edge for those looking for the latest trading technology.
Charting tools and watch list customization give a distinct flavor to each broker's platform. FXCM provides ten drawing tools and allows streaming of stocks directly from charts, while offering 13 customizable fields for watch lists compared to Markets4you’s 15 drawing tools and seven watch list fields. Overall, FXCM excels with a five-star rating for Trading Platforms and Tools, ranking sixth out of 62 brokers. On the other hand, Markets4you scores four stars in the same category, placing it at 52nd. This comparison underscores FXCM's slightly superior edge in terms of trading platform offerings and trader resources, according to industry rankings.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 10 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 13 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both FXCM and Markets4you provide mobile trading options that cater to iPhone and Android users, offering various tools to keep you updated on stock or forex prices through alerts. While both platforms enable features like trendline drawing and viewing charts in multiple time frames, FXCM edges out Markets4you with its watchlist syncing capability that allows seamless transition between mobile and online accounts. FXCM also boasts a larger variety of technical studies in its mobile app, offering 59 compared to Markets4you's 30, providing a more comprehensive toolset for those keen on technical analysis.
On top of these features, both apps allow for watchlist creation with real-time quotes and have auto-save functionalities for chart drawings. However, when looking at overall user satisfaction, FXCM holds a higher rating of 4.5 stars versus Markets4you's 4 stars in mobile trading apps. Furthermore, FXCM is positioned much more favorably in industry rankings, coming in at 16th place among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com, compared to Markets4you's 50th-place ranking. If syncing features and a broad range of technical tools are important to you, FXCM might be the better choice for mobile trading.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 59 | 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.
Both FXCM and Markets4you excel in providing essential market research tools for online brokers, offering daily market commentary and forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. While both platforms feature tools from Trading Central and provide a comprehensive economic calendar, a closer look reveals notable differences. FXCM takes the lead with a sentiment-based trading tool that provides insight into market trends with long and short position ratios, alongside market research from TipRanks. However, Markets4you compensates by offering advanced analysis tools from Autochartist, which FXCM lacks.
For traders who heavily rely on sentiment analysis and third-party research, FXCM proves to be a strong contender, earning a 4.5-star research rating and ranking 11th out of 62 brokers, according to ForexBrokers.com. Conversely, Markets4you, rated at 3.5 stars and ranked 47th, caters to traders seeking advanced technical analysis features, courtesy of Autochartist. These contrasts provide traders a tailored option based on their specific research needs and trading strategies.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for new traders, FXCM and Markets4you both offer a variety of materials, but there are some clear differences. FXCM provides more extensive educational support for beginners with over 10 pieces of content focused on forex and CFDs, including articles, videos, and archived webinars. Additionally, FXCM hosts monthly online webinars and maintains a searchable archive of past sessions, giving newcomers ample opportunity to learn. In contrast, while Markets4you also offers more than 10 educational materials, it falls short in other areas. Specifically, Markets4you does not provide regular monthly webinars, limiting real-time learning opportunities.
FXCM further distinguishes itself by offering a wide array of beginner-focused videos, ensuring new traders start with a solid foundation. Moreover, FXCM provides advanced educational videos for seasoned traders and includes an investor dictionary that defines over 50 investing terms—features that Markets4you lacks. Reflecting this comprehensive approach, FXCM earns a superior rating of 4.5 stars for education, compared to Markets4you's 3.5 stars. This is further underscored by their rankings, with FXCM positioned at #14 out of 62 brokers in the education category on ForexBrokers.com, while Markets4you stands at #25, highlighting FXCM as the more educationally supportive option for beginner traders.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that FXCM is better than Markets4you. FXCM finished with an overall rank of #15, while Markets4you finished with an overall rank of #55.
For traders who appreciate advanced trading tools and quality market research, FXCM is a winner, especially for algorithmic trading. Its range of tradeable markets is fairly narrow, however, and the pricing at FXCM is just average.
| Feature |
FXCM
|
Markets4you
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 61 |
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Both FXCM and Markets4you allow users to trade cryptocurrency derivatives but do not offer the option to purchase actual, delivered cryptocurrency.
FXCM offers a more versatile range of deposit and withdrawal options compared to Markets4you, providing ACH, SEPA, PayPal, Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires, while Markets4you supports Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires but lacks ACH, SEPA, and PayPal options.
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 | FXCM | Markets4you | |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 61 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FXCM Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FXCM | Markets4you | |
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| Regulation | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 95 | 61 | |
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2007 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | 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) | Yes | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 440 | 150 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 43 | 43 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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 | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.78 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.78 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | Starts from $50 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 13 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 10 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 59 | 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 | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | FXCM | Markets4you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | No | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | No | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | No | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | No | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | No | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | No | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | No | |
| Review | FXCM Review |
| Overall | FXCM | Markets4you | |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 61 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FXCM Review |
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