Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Saxo vs ThinkMarkets, 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.
Saxo and ThinkMarkets are two well-regarded online brokers, each with its own set of strengths when it comes to trust and regulation. Saxo, established in 1992, operates as a bank and holds an impressive seven top-tier, highly trusted licenses. This contributes to its outstanding Trust Score of 99, as rated by ForexBrokers.com. Meanwhile, ThinkMarkets, which was founded in 2010, holds five of these top-tier licenses and achieves a strong Trust Score of 92. Although neither company is publicly traded, Saxo's status as a bank sets it apart in terms of regulatory standing.
Additionally, Saxo has one Tier-2 license, while ThinkMarkets has two Tier-2 licenses, indicating their diversified regulatory reach. With Trust Scores that place Saxo in the highest category and ThinkMarkets comfortably in the trusted range, both brokers secure a high level of confidence from their clients. Choosing between the two may depend on whether you value Saxo's long-standing history and banking status, or ThinkMarkets' relatively newer presence with a still impressive license collection.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1992 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 5 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 3 |
When comparing Saxo and ThinkMarkets in terms of commissions and fees, Saxo stands out with a clear advantage. Saxo offers excellent pricing for active and high-volume traders, as well as those who maintain large account balances. This is reflected in Saxo’s five-star rating and its impressive ranking of #9 out of 62 brokers. Saxo's pricing structure varies with account types: the EUR/USD average spread is 1.1 pips for Classic accounts, 1.0 pips for Platinum accounts, and 0.9 pips for VIP accounts. Notably, Saxo has eliminated the minimum deposit requirement for its Classic account, while the Platinum and VIP accounts require $200,000 and $1,000,000 minimums, respectively.
Saxo also supports a loyalty program that allows traders to upgrade their account tiers based on trading volume, offering the lowest pricing through their VIP account. Although Saxo is generally commission-free, accounts trading less than 50,000 units per month incur a $3 ticket fee per side. Saxo earned the 2024 Annual Award for the #1 VIP Client Experience, adding to its appeal for elite investors. In contrast, ThinkMarkets, with a four-star rating, ranks #48 in the Commissions and Fees category, lacking the detailed spread data and flexibility in pricing options found with Saxo.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When comparing Saxo and ThinkMarkets, Saxo stands out for its extensive range of investment options. Saxo offers traders access to 70,000 tradable symbols, outshining ThinkMarkets, which provides 4,000. In the realm of forex, Saxo provides 190 tradable forex pairs, greatly surpassing ThinkMarkets’ offering of 46 pairs. Both platforms allow for forex trading via CFDs or spot contracts and support copy trading but differ when it comes to shares on U.S. exchanges. Saxo allows clients to trade U.S. exchange-traded securities, such as Apple shares, while ThinkMarkets does not.
Both Saxo and ThinkMarkets facilitate international exchange-traded securities and cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither offers the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. Based on their range of investment offerings, Saxo is highly rated with five stars and is ranked third among 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. ThinkMarkets follows closely with a 4.5-star rating but ranks 21st in the same category, highlighting Saxo's comprehensive selection for investors seeking a broad spectrum of products.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 70000 | 4000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 190 | 46 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes |
| 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 Saxo and ThinkMarkets for their trading platforms and tools, both brokers provide essential features for traders. Saxo and ThinkMarkets each offer simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts, making it easy for beginners to practice without financial risk. Both brokers have developed proprietary platforms in-house, and support for Windows-based desktop downloads and web-based trading ensures flexibility for varied trader preferences. Copy trading is available with both Saxo and ThinkMarkets, granting users the ability to mirror experienced traders' strategies. However, when it comes to MetaTrader support, only ThinkMarkets offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, giving it an edge in this domain.
Charting tools and functionalities provide another layer of comparison. Saxo and ThinkMarkets allow trading directly from stock charts, but Saxo takes the lead with 20 drawing tools compared to ThinkMarkets' 15. Furthermore, Saxo allows up to 60 columns for watch lists, significantly more than ThinkMarkets' 15, helping traders organize and analyze market data more efficiently. Rated 5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools and ranked #1 by ForexBrokers.com among 62 brokers, Saxo clearly stands out as the superior choice for those seeking advanced trading capabilities, while ThinkMarkets secures a respectable 4-star rating and ranks #27.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 64 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 60 | 15 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of Saxo and ThinkMarkets, both offer availability on iPhone and Android platforms, ensuring accessibility for all users. Each broker provides stock and forex price alerts, catering to traders who want to stay updated on market movements. Both platforms support the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes, but Saxo takes a slight lead with its ability to sync watchlist symbols across devices, which is not offered by ThinkMarkets. This feature allows for seamless transitions between mobile and desktop experiences, ensuring consistency for users.
In terms of charting tools, ThinkMarkets supports a wider range, offering 94 technical studies compared to Saxo's 64. Both platforms enable drawing trendlines and viewing multiple time frames on charts, along with auto-saving of drawings, enhancing the overall user interface on both apps. However, Saxo shines with a higher user rating of 5 stars compared to ThinkMarkets' 4-star rating. Saxo is also ranked higher, at #2 out of 62 brokers for mobile trading apps according to ForexBrokers.com, significantly outpacing ThinkMarkets, which is ranked at #20. This makes Saxo a highly favored choice for mobile traders seeking a comprehensive and reliable app experience.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 64 | 94 |
| 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 Saxo and ThinkMarkets in terms of market research offerings, both brokers provide daily market commentary and access to forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. However, Saxo stands out with its offering of technical analysis tools from Autochartist, which ThinkMarkets does not provide. While both platforms lack tools from Trading Central and TipRanks, ThinkMarkets compensates with research tools from Acuity Trading, such as Signal Centre, which Saxo does not offer.
Both Saxo and ThinkMarkets provide sentiment-based trading tools and economic calendars for tracking global news events. However, Saxo's superior overall research offerings have earned it a 5-star rating from ForexBrokers.com, placing it at the top of 62 brokers in the Research category. In contrast, ThinkMarkets receives a 3.5-star rating, ranking 50th in the same category. This comparison underscores Saxo's comprehensive and highly ranked research services.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, both Saxo and ThinkMarkets offer a rich variety of materials to help new traders get started. Each broker provides at least ten educational pieces, like articles and videos, focused on forex and CFDs. Moreover, they both host online webinars monthly with searchable archives for further learning. Beginners will also find over ten videos tailored just for them, providing a strong foundation in trading concepts. On top of that, there are advanced videos for those who wish to deepen their understanding, as well as comprehensive investor dictionaries with definitions for more than 50 terms.
Despite these similarities, there's a notable difference in their educational rankings and ratings. Saxo earns a higher rating of 5 stars out of 5 for its educational offerings, indicating exceptional quality and depth, while ThinkMarkets is rated 3.5 stars. Saxo ranks as the 13th broker for education out of 62 reviewed by ForexBrokers.com, showing its commitment to quality educational resources, whereas ThinkMarkets is positioned at 52nd. This difference showcases Saxo as a slightly more appealing option for those prioritizing educational resources in their choice of an online broker.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Saxo is better than ThinkMarkets. Saxo finished with an overall rank of #3, while ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27.
Saxo is an exclusive multi-asset broker with brilliant research and a superb trading platform experience – as well as a stunning selection of over 40,000 securities.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ThinkMarkets
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 92 |
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Both Saxo and ThinkMarkets do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but they each provide the option to purchase cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both Saxo and ThinkMarkets provide Visa or Mastercard and bank wires as options to deposit or withdraw account funds, but unlike Saxo, ThinkMarkets also accepts Skrill; neither broker offers ACH, SEPA, or PayPal transfers.
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 | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 92 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Saxo Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
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| Regulation | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 92 | |
| Year Founded | 1992 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 5 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 3 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 70000 | 4000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 190 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | |
| 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 | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 1.1 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 60 | 15 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 64 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 64 | 94 | |
| 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 | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saxo Review |
| Overall | Saxo | ThinkMarkets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 92 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Saxo Review |
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