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City Index vs HFM 2023

BrokerNotes.co

Written by BrokerNotes.co

August 24, 2023

Trying to decide between City Index and HFM? We’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation with our Comparison Tool. Use our tool to compare hundreds of data points, side-by-side, to see how these two brokers stack up against each other.

Based on our extensive research, hands-on testing, and expert analysis of over a hundred data-driven variables, we've determined that, overall, City Index ranks more highly than HFM.

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Compare

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Overall Rating City Index HFM
Overall Rating 9.2 / 10 7.8 / 10
Account Type City Index HFM
Standard Trade Size (100,000 units) info Yes Yes
Mini Trade Size (10,000 units) info Yes Yes
Micro Trade Size (1,000 units) info Yes Yes
Islamic Account info No Yes
Copy Trading City Index HFM
Social Trading / Copy Trading info Yes Yes
DupliTrade info No No
ZuluTrade info No No
Cryptocurrency City Index HFM
Cryptocurrency (Physical) info No No
Cryptocurrency (Derivative) info Yes Yes
Bitcoin info Yes Yes
ethereum info Yes Yes
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) City Index HFM
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs info Yes Yes
Indices (Index CFDs) City Index HFM
DAX info Yes Yes
Dow Jones info Yes Yes
FTSE info Yes Yes
NASDAQ 100 info Yes Yes
Nikkei info Yes Yes
SP 500 info Yes Yes
Investments City Index HFM
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info Yes No
Social Trading / Copy Trading info Yes Yes
Metals info Yes Yes
Energies info Yes Yes
Agriculturals info Yes Yes
ETF info Yes Yes
U.S. Stocks (CFD) info Yes Yes
Trading Platforms City Index HFM
Apple iOS App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Proprietary Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info Yes Yes
Web Platform info Yes Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info Yes Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info No Yes
Regulatory Licenses City Index HFM
Tier-1 Licenses info 7 2
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info Yes No
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info Yes No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info No No
Japan (SFC Authorised) info No No
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info Yes No
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info No No
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info Yes Yes
USA (CFTC Authorized) info No No
New Zealand (FMA Authorised) info No No
European Union Authorised (MiFID) info Yes info Yes info
Tier-2 Licenses info 1 3
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Research, Education City Index HFM
Trading Central (Recognia) info Yes No
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info Yes Yes
Daily Market Commentary info Yes Yes
Autochartist info No Yes
Investor Dictionary (Glossary) info Yes No
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info Yes Yes
Trading Costs City Index HFM
Minimum Deposit info £100.00 $0
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard info 1.0 info 1.2 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 1.0 info 0.9 info
Active Trader or VIP Discounts info Yes No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) info Yes Yes
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes No
Trading Tools City Index HFM
Watchlists - Total Fields info 11 7
Mobile Watchlist info Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 88 15
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info 88 30
Trust Factors City Index HFM
Year Founded info 1983 2010
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes No
Bank info No No
European Union Authorised (MiFID) info Yes info Yes info
Trust Score info 99 86
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City Index vs HFM Comparison

Comparing forex brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2023 annual forex broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 39 forex and CFD brokerages to find the best forex broker. Let's compare City Index vs HFM.

Can I trust City Index?

City Index has a trust score of 99, giving it a "Highly Trusted" trust label. Here's what each trust score label means:

  • "Highly Trusted" (90-99) - These brokers are considered the most trustworthy firms in the industry. Simply put, we would not hesitate to open and fund an account with a Highly Trusted broker.
  • "Trusted" (80-89) - These brokers are reliable and trustworthy. "Trusted" firms are a solid choice, and may simply hold fewer regulatory licences or feature different corporate structures than those brokers that have earned our top Trust Score rating.
  • "Average Risk" (70-79) - Average Risk brokers are firms we generally consider to be safe, but that may warrant a closer inspection before you open and fund a live trading account. At the least, we always encourage traders to check the regulatory licenses for Average Risk firms to verify that they are regulated in their own country of residence.
  • "High Risk" (60-69) - High-risk firms should be scrutinized and carefully reviewed before opening an account. These forex brokers are – in most cases – operating without credible regulatory licensing, and likely have a history of legal or financial issues. Before considering an account with a high-risk firm, we recommend checking our country guides for your country of residence to see if a more trusted broker is available.
  • "Do Not Trust" (<59) - We do not recommend opening an account of any kind with a broker that earns a “Do Not Trust” rating.

Can I trust HFM?

HFM has a trust score of 86, giving it a "Trusted" trust label.

Is City Index a good broker?

City Index, part of StoneX Group, is an award-winning, highly trusted broker with a long history of offering forex and CFDs across its global offices. Featuring a well-designed mobile trading app and a powerful web platform, City Index delivers a winning variety of tools for forex traders. Founded in 1983, City Index is regulated in multiple Tier-1 jurisdictions and carries a Trust Score rating of 99. The broker's flagship platform suite provides a large range of markets, but pricing is just average. Only a handful of markets are available on City Index's MetaTrader platform (and MT5 is not yet available).

Is HFM a good broker?

HFM is a trusted broker that offers an enhanced MetaTrader experience. Traders at HFM gain access to both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 alongside third-party upgrades like Premium Trader Tools from FX Blue Labs and trading signals via the Autochartist plugin. HFM also offers its own proprietary copy trading platform, HFcopy, and a proprietary mobile trading platform, the HFM app. It's worth noting that you'll need to hold a Premium account with HFM to use the HFM app for trading.

What Tier-1 jurisdictions is each broker regulated in?

Tier-1 regulators go above and beyond by requiring additional capital requirements, checking in on brokers more frequently, and putting brokers through a tougher screening process. City Index is Australia (ASIC Authorised), Canada (CIRO Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised) and United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised), while HFM is United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised).. Neither have Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC 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, City Index is Cyprus (CySEC Authorised) and UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised), while HFM is Cyprus (CySEC Authorised), South Africa (FSCA Authorised) and UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised).. Neither have China (CBRC Authorised), India (SEBI Authorised), Israel (ISA Authorised), Russia (CBR Authorised) and Thailand (SEC Authorised). When comparing tier-3 licenses City Index is Cayman Islands (CIMA Authorised), while HFM is Mauritius (FSC Authorised).. Neither have Bahamas (SCB Authorised), Belize (FSC Authorised), Bermuda (BMA Authorised), British Virgin Islands (FSC Authorised) and Vanuatu (VFSC Authorised).

Which broker offers more trading platforms?

Both City Index and HFM offer a Proprietary Platform and Desktop Platform (Windows).. Neither have cTrader, DupliTrade and ZuluTrade

Does City Index offer MetaTrader? Does HFM offer MetaTrader?

For MetaTrader City Index provides MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while HFM 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 City Index and HFM differ in terms of minimum deposit? What about average spreads and funding options?

City Index requires a minimum deposit of £100.00, while HFM requires a minimum deposit of $0. From our testing we found City Index offers spreads of 1.0 , while HFM offers spreads of 1.2. City Index supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) for popular funding options, where HFM supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw).

Which broker offers more tradeable asset classes, City Index or HFM?

City Index offers a more diverse selection of investment options than HFM allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Spread Betting, Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals, ETF and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Looking at total tradeable symbols, City Index has 13500, compared to 3500 from HFM.

Can I trade cryptocurrency with City Index or HFM?

Crypto trading is popular with forex traders. Most crypto assets are offered either as the underlying physical asset or as a CFD or other derivative — including spot forex contracts. In terms of trading physical cryptocurrency neither City Index nor HFM allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

Who offers more research tools, City Index or HFM?

In terms of research and research tools City Index gives traders the following tools: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. In comparison HFM has the tools listed here: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) and Social Trading / Copy Trading.

Broker Reviews

Still looking for more information, read our broker reviews.

City Index Review

HFM Review

Overall winner: City Index

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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.

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