Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Octa vs IronFX, 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.
When comparing the online brokers Octa and IronFX, it's clear both companies hold a strong presence in the trading world. Octa, founded in 2011, is a non-bank entity that is not publicly traded. It holds one Tier-1 license and one Tier-2 license, earning it a Trust Score rating of 72 out of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com, placing it in the average risk category.
IronFX, established a year earlier in 2010, shares the distinction of not being a bank or publicly listed. However, it distinguishes itself with three Tier-1 licenses, contributing to its higher Trust Score of 83 out of 99, placing it in the trusted category. This indicates a more reassuring level of trustworthiness, especially for those concerned with regulatory oversight.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2011 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of online brokers Octa and IronFX, it’s clear that Octa has taken strides in improving its pricing structure, making it competitive among the lowest-cost MetaTrader brokers. Octa excels with features such as no slippage on 97.5% of executed orders and no overnight carry costs. However, certain restrictions might pose challenges for high-frequency traders. Octa offers different account types based on your regulatory location: EU clients have a singular MT5-focused account, while international clients can choose from MT4, MT5, and OctaTrader accounts. Spread pricing also varies, with the EU entity showcasing a more favorable spread of 0.5 pips for the EUR/USD pair compared to 0.9 pips under other entities. Despite these improvements, the lack of a date range for Octa’s spread data impacts the precision in comparison to other brokers. Overall, Octa secures a 4-star rating and ranks #29 for commissions and fees among 62 brokers, according to ForexBrokers.com.
On the other hand, IronFX presents more room for growth in terms of pricing, with spreads often above the industry norm. The Standard variable spread account shows typical spreads of 1.8 pips, although this varies across different account types and lacks a supporting date range for these claims. The zero fixed-spread account starts with zero spreads but introduces a $18 per lot commission and widens spreads to 3 pips overnight, offering a diverse but less favorable fee structure. In comparison, IronFX is also rated 4 stars in the commissions and fees category, yet it stands at a lower rank of #47 out of 62 on ForexBrokers.com.
In summary, while both Octa and IronFX share a 4-star rating for their commissions and fees, they differ quite notably in their market rankings and fee structures. Octa has shown marked improvement, ranking higher by ForexBrokers.com, and maintains an economical edge with competitive options for its users. IronFX, though delivering various account types, could further refine its pricing strategies to better align with industry standards. Users should weigh these factors according to their trading needs when choosing between these two brokers.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $25 | $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| 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 comparing the investment options between Octa and IronFX, both online brokers provide forex trading either as CFDs or spot contracts. However, IronFX offers a slightly broader range of tradeable symbols, with 340 compared to Octa's 300. In the realm of forex pairs, IronFX delivers a more extensive choice with 83 pairs against Octa's offering of 35. These differences might appeal to traders seeking diverse forex opportunities, but neither broker allows purchasing U.S.-listed stocks directly, such as Apple shares, which might be a consideration for some investors.
Both Octa and IronFX support international exchange-traded securities, although Octa has the edge here, allowing clients to purchase shares like Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange, whereas IronFX does not. Additionally, both brokers offer the ability to engage in copy trading and to trade cryptocurrency derivatives, yet they do not provide options for buying actual cryptocurrencies. Rated similarly at 3.5 stars for their range of investments, IronFX is slightly ahead of Octa in ForexBrokers.com's ranking. Overall, traders might choose between the two based on specific investment needs such as international securities and the number of forex pairs available.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 300 | 340 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 35 | 83 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 comparing Octa and IronFX in terms of their trading platforms and tools, both brokers offer a range of options for traders. Octa stands out with its proprietary platform, in addition to offering the widely-used MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms, giving traders a versatile experience. IronFX, on the other hand, provides MT4 but does not offer MT5 or a proprietary platform. Both brokers support a Windows-based desktop download trading platform and a web-based trading platform, ensuring accessibility across different devices. They also provide copy trading and simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts, catering to various trading preferences and experience levels.
In terms of trading tools, Octa and IronFX both offer the ability to trade directly from a stock chart and furnish traders with 15 drawing tools for charting. Octa and IronFX also offer identical watch list customization with seven available columns. While technical indicators are not specified for either broker, Octa boasts a slightly higher rating of 4 stars compared to IronFX’s 3.5 stars in the trading platforms and tools category. Furthermore, Octa is ranked #37 by ForexBrokers.com, significantly higher than IronFX's ranking of #60 out of 62 brokers, indicating a more favorable reception for Octa's offerings in this area.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Octa and IronFX both provide iPhone and Android apps for their users, ensuring access to powerful trading tools on the go. Each platform allows traders to receive vital stock or forex price alerts, as well as the opportunity to draw trendlines and switch between multiple time frames on charts. In terms of technical capabilities, both apps come equipped with 30 technical studies for charting, and they support auto-saving of chart drawings. Watchlists with real-time quotes are available on both apps; however, neither platform offers syncing, meaning changes made on the mobile app won’t automatically appear on the desktop version.
When we look at user ratings and rankings, Octa comes out on top with a four-star rating for its mobile trading app, compared to IronFX, which earned a 3.5-star rating. This difference is also reflected in their rankings by ForexBrokers.com, where Octa is positioned at #35 out of 62 brokers for mobile trading apps, while IronFX trails behind at #61. If a higher-rated mobile experience is essential for you, Octa might have a slight edge over IronFX.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | 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 Octa and IronFX for market research offerings, both stand out for providing essential insights to traders. Both brokers deliver daily market commentary and access to forex news from elite sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring traders stay informed with high-quality information. Octa excels by offering tools from Autochartist, which IronFX lacks, aiding traders in technical and fundamental analysis. However, IronFX complements this by including resources from Trading Central, a feature not present in Octa's offerings. While neither platform provides a sentiment-based trading tool or uses resources from TipRanks or Acuity Trading, they both feature an economic calendar, allowing users to track global economic events efficiently.
In terms of research ratings, both Octa and IronFX scored a commendable 4 out of 5 stars. Despite this equal star rating for research, Octa holds a slightly higher rank at number 26 in the category by ForexBrokers.com, compared to IronFX's position at number 28 out of 62 brokers. This subtle difference might reflect the slight edge Octa has with its technical analysis tools from Autochartist. Overall, traders must consider their preference for specific research tools when choosing between these two well-regarded brokers.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | No |
| TipRanks | No | 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 beginners, both Octa and IronFX provide a solid foundation with a variety of learning materials including articles, videos, and archived webinars focused on forex and CFDs. This means beginners have access to more than 10 pieces of educational content from each broker. Particularly for visual learners, both platforms offer at least 10 beginner-level educational videos. While both brokers provide a searchable archive of previously recorded webinars, a critical difference is that Octa holds live educational webinars monthly, a feature not currently available with IronFX.
In terms of content geared towards more advanced traders, Octa stands out by offering a collection of videos tailored for experienced individuals, whereas IronFX does not have the same level of advanced educational content. Both brokers include an investor dictionary that explains over 50 investing terms, making it easier for beginners to understand industry jargon. Despite these offerings, when ranked by ForexBrokers.com for education, Octa holds the 42nd position compared to IronFX's 44th. They both share a four-star rating for their educational services, reflecting a strong commitment to helping users learn but indicating there might still be room for improvement.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 Octa is better than IronFX. Octa finished with an overall rank of #47, while IronFX finished with an overall rank of #48.
Octa offers a basic, low-cost MetaTrader platform experience alongside its social copy-trading platform.
| Feature |
Octa
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 72 | 83 |
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Both Octa and IronFX do not offer the ability to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency but provide options for trading cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both Octa and IronFX do not support ACH or SEPA transfers or PayPal for deposits and withdrawals, but they offer Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wire options for these 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 | Octa | IronFX | |
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| Trust Score | 72 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Octa Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Octa | IronFX | |
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| Regulation | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 72 | 83 | |
| Year Founded | 2011 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | 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 | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 300 | 340 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 35 | 83 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.9 | 1.2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $25 | $50 | |
| 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 | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | 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 | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Octa | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Octa Review |
| Overall | Octa | IronFX | |
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| Trust Score | 72 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Octa Review |
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