CMC Markets vs ActivTrades Comparison
Comparing forex brokers side by side is no easy task. Our research 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. Trying to decide between CMC Markets and ActivTrades? Our independent database powered by our unbiased research will help you compare CMC Markets vs ActivTrades side-by-side.
What is Trust Score?
Trust Score is a data-driven rating system that provides an at-a-glance rating of a broker’s overall trust by tracking 60+ brokers and over 100 regulatory jurisdictions across the globe. To make things clearer for everyday traders, we’ve created a five-tier system for regulators and Trust Score rating labels. Learn more about Trust Score, and check out our country guides to see the most trusted brokers in your country of residence.
Can I trust CMC Markets?
CMC Markets has a Trust Score of 99, giving it a "Highly Trusted" Trust Score Label.
Can I trust ActivTrades?
ActivTrades has a Trust Score of 81, giving it a "Trusted" Trust Score Label.
Is CMC Markets a good broker?
CMC Markets is a highly trusted multi-asset broker regulated in multiple Tier-1 jurisdictions, with an overall Trust Score rating of 99. CMC's powerful Next Generation proprietary trading platform (available for web and mobile) delivers a huge selection of tradeable markets wrapped in a fantastic user experience. Traders at CMC Markets also gain access to MetaTrader 4, and forex traders in Australia can use the CMC Markets Invest app for exchange-traded equities. CMC Markets is a great choice for traders looking for high-quality research, good educational content, powerful trading tools, and low-cost forex trading.
Is ActivTrades a good broker?
ActivTrades has been around for over 20 years and holds multiple Tier-1 regulatory licenses. Traders gain access to the broker's proprietary trading platform, ActivTrader, along with a decent offering of third-party platforms. Though ActivTrades boasts above-average spreads and several innovative platform features, its selection of tradeable symbols is below-average and there are no active trading accounts or volume-based discounts.
What Tier-1 jurisdictions is each broker regulated in?
Tier-1 is reserved for the strictest, most stringent regulatory jurisdictions in the world. Tier-1 regulators impose additional capital requirements and require a tougher initial screening process. CMC Markets holds regulatory licenses in the following Tier-1 jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised), Canada (CIRO Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), New Zealand (FMA Authorised) and United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised). ActivTrades, on the other hand, is licensed in these Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions: United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised). Neither have Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized)
What Tier-2 jurisdictions is each broker regulated in? What about Tier-3?
Tier-2 and tier-3 licenses are still important in evaluating the overall trustworthiness of forex brokers. As far as tier-2 licenses go, CMC Markets is UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised), while ActivTrades is none.. Neither have China (CBRC Authorised), Cyprus (CySEC Authorised), India (SEBI Authorised), Israel (ISA Authorised), Russia (CBR Authorised), South Africa (FSCA Authorised) and Thailand (SEC Authorised). When comparing tier-3 licenses CMC Markets is none, while ActivTrades is Bahamas (SCB Authorised).. Neither have Belize (FSC Authorised), Bermuda (BMA Authorised), British Virgin Islands (FSC Authorised), Cayman Islands (CIMA Authorised), Mauritius (FSC Authorised) and Vanuatu (VFSC Authorised).
Which broker offers more trading platforms?
Whether your broker develops its own proprietary platforms or provides access to popular third-party platforms, you should make sure you can use your preferred type of trading platform. In our testing, we found that both CMC Markets and ActivTrades offer a Proprietary Platform and Desktop Platform (Windows). Neither have cTrader, DupliTrade and ZuluTrade
Does CMC Markets offer MetaTrader? Does ActivTrades offer MetaTrader?
For MetaTrader CMC Markets provides MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while ActivTrades provides MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). If MetaTrader is a must for you, read our guides on the best MT4 brokers or best MT5 brokers.
How do CMC Markets and ActivTrades differ in terms of minimum deposit? What about average spreads and funding options?
CMC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $0, while ActivTrades requires a minimum deposit of 0. It's also important to ensure your broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. In our research, we've found that CMC Markets supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) for funding and deposit methods, whereas ActivTrades supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)
Which broker offers more tradeable asset classes, CMC Markets or ActivTrades?
When choosing a forex broker, it’s important to consider each broker’s available investment products and tradeable asset classes. We’ve researched each broker’s individual offering of investments to help you pick the right broker for what you want to trade. During our testing, we found that CMC Markets delivers a more diverse selection of investment options than ActivTrades, offering tradeable asset classes and investment types such as Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Spread Betting, Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals, ETF and U.S. Stocks (CFD).
We also keep track of each broker’s total number of tradeable symbols; CMC Markets offers 11925, and ActivTrades offers a total of 1267 tradeable symbols.
Can I trade cryptocurrency with CMC Markets or ActivTrades?
Crypto trading has become popular among forex traders across a range of international jurisdictions. As a result, many forex brokers now offer crypto products to their clients; most crypto assets are offered either as an underlying physical asset (such as when you own actual bitcoin assets, for example) or as a derivative product like a CFD. If you are looking to trade physical cryptocurrencies, you’ll find that neither CMC Markets nor ActivTrades allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.
Who offers more research tools, CMC Markets or ActivTrades?
Market research plays a huge role in any forex trader’s ability to conduct analysis within the global forex market. We test each broker’s research offering to help you decide which broker is right for your technical or fundamental analysis needs. CMC Markets delivers the following research tools: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. ActivTrades, on the other hand, provides the tools listed here: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. Neither have Trading Central (Recognia)
Broker Reviews
Overall winner: CMC Markets
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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.