ActivTrades vs IFC Markets 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 ActivTrades and IFC Markets? Our independent database powered by our unbiased research will help you compare ActivTrades vs IFC Markets 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 ActivTrades?
ActivTrades has a Trust Score of 81, giving it a "Trusted" Trust Score Label.
Can I trust IFC Markets?
IFC Markets has a Trust Score of 67, giving it a "High Risk" Trust Score Label.
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.
Is IFC Markets a good broker?
IFC Markets is a long-standing brand with 17 years of operation. Traders will appreciate that IFC Markets delivers a growing range of markets, numerous trading platforms, and a decent balance of research and educational resources. That said, IFC Markets holds just one Tier-4 regulatory license; increasing its number of licenses would increase its Trust Score.
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. ActivTrades holds regulatory licenses in the following Tier-1 jurisdictions: United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised). IFC Markets, on the other hand, is licensed in these Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions: none. Neither have Australia (ASIC Authorised), Canada (CIRO Authorised), Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), New Zealand (FMA 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, unfortunately, neither ActivTrades nor IFC Markets are China (CBRC Authorised), Cyprus (CySEC Authorised), India (SEBI Authorised), Israel (ISA Authorised), Russia (CBR Authorised), South Africa (FSCA Authorised), Thailand (SEC Authorised) and UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised).. Neither have UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised). When comparing tier-3 licenses ActivTrades is Bahamas (SCB Authorised), while IFC Markets is British Virgin Islands (FSC Authorised).. Neither have Belize (FSC Authorised), Bermuda (BMA 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 ActivTrades and IFC Markets offer a Proprietary Platform and Desktop Platform (Windows). Neither have cTrader, DupliTrade and ZuluTrade
Does ActivTrades offer MetaTrader? Does IFC Markets offer MetaTrader?
Both ActivTrades and IFC Markets offer the whole MetaTrader suite, which consists of both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. If you’re new to MetaTrader 4 here’s our educational guide on how to use MT4.
How do ActivTrades and IFC Markets differ in terms of minimum deposit? What about average spreads and funding options?
ActivTrades requires a minimum deposit of 0, while IFC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $1. 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 ActivTrades supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for funding and deposit methods, whereas IFC Markets supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit). Neither have PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)
Which broker offers more tradeable asset classes, ActivTrades or IFC Markets?
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 ActivTrades delivers a more diverse selection of investment options than IFC Markets, offering tradeable asset classes and investment types such as Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Spread Betting, Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals and U.S. Stocks (CFD).
We also keep track of each broker’s total number of tradeable symbols; ActivTrades offers 1267, and IFC Markets offers a total of 630 tradeable symbols.
Can I trade cryptocurrency with ActivTrades or IFC Markets?
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 ActivTrades nor IFC Markets allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.
Who offers more research tools, ActivTrades or IFC Markets?
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. ActivTrades delivers the following research tools: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. IFC Markets, on the other hand, provides the tools listed here: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts and Social Trading / Copy Trading. Neither have Autochartist and Trading Central (Recognia)
Broker Reviews
Overall winner: IFC 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.