Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of AvaTrade vs ActivTrades, 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.
AvaTrade and ActivTrades, two prominent online brokerage firms, come with distinct regulatory credentials. AvaTrade, established in 2006, boasts a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 94, indicating a high level of trust. This score is backed by AvaTrade's possession of four Tier-1 licenses, which are seen as highly trusted, and three Tier-2 licenses. Despite not being publicly traded or operating as a bank, AvaTrade is well-regarded for its regulatory compliance and secure trading environment.
In contrast, ActivTrades, founded in 2001, holds a Trust Score of 81 on ForexBrokers.com, marking it as trusted but slightly below AvaTrade. ActivTrades has two Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, ensuring a solid regulatory framework. Like AvaTrade, ActivTrades is neither publicly traded nor functions as a bank, but its regulatory setup provides a dependable trading option for users. Both brokers offer secure options for trading, though AvaTrade holds a slight edge in trustworthiness and the number of high-tier licenses.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2006 | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
AvaTrade’s pricing sits near the market average, with EUR/USD spreads around 0.9 pips as of June 2024—slightly higher than the entry-level pricing you might find at CMC Markets or Tickmill. If you qualify as an elected professional trader, AvaTrade’s Professional account tightens spreads to about 0.6 pips, comparable to FP Markets. ActivTrades, meanwhile, tested slightly better than the industry average, with an average EUR/USD spread of 0.98 pips in May 2024, though it doesn’t undercut the very cheapest brokers.
At ActivTrades, fees depend on the assets you trade and the platform you choose, and spreads can widen during quieter or rollover periods. It offers one main Individual account plus Professional and Islamic options; spreads are the same across these account types, with the Professional tier mainly affecting margin (and thus leverage). There’s no dedicated high‑volume pricing or active trader program. AvaTrade’s setup is simpler: standard spreads are near 0.9 pips, with lower pricing available only if you qualify for the Professional account.
Ratings and rankings: AvaTrade earns 4.5 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #13 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. ActivTrades earns 4 out of 5 stars and ranks #29 out of 63. If you can access AvaTrade’s Professional pricing, it tends to be cheaper on headline spreads; otherwise, both brokers land close to the market average, with small differences based on what and when you trade.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.93 | 0.98 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.61 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | 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.
AvaTrade vs ActivTrades: range of investments comparison. Both brokers support forex trading and offer copy trading. ActivTrades lists slightly more total instruments (1,267 tradeable symbols) than AvaTrade (1,260), while AvaTrade edges ahead on currency coverage with 53 forex pairs versus ActivTrades’ 49. For crypto, neither broker lets you buy actual coins, but both provide access to cryptocurrency derivatives.
When it comes to exchange-traded shares (not CFDs), neither broker offers U.S.-listed stocks, but ActivTrades stands out by offering access to international exchange-traded securities, which AvaTrade does not. Both earn 4 out of 5 stars for Range of Investments, with ActivTrades ranked #32 of 63 and AvaTrade close behind at #33 by ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1260 | 1267 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 53 | 49 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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.
AvaTrade and ActivTrades both check the key boxes for platform flexibility and ease of use. Each broker offers a free demo account, a proprietary platform alongside MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), plus both web-based and Windows desktop platforms. Copy trading is available with both, but AvaTrade stands out by supporting DupliTrade and ZuluTrade, which ActivTrades does not. You can place trades directly from charts on either broker, making execution quick and convenient.
For charting, both brokers include a range of technical indicators, with AvaTrade offering 13 drawing tools and ActivTrades providing 15. Watchlists are more detailed at ActivTrades (11 fields) compared to AvaTrade (7 fields). In independent testing for Trading Platforms and Tools, AvaTrade earned 4.5 stars and ranked #13 out of 63 brokers, while ActivTrades received 4 stars and ranked #32. Choose AvaTrade if you want wider copy-trading network options, or ActivTrades if you prefer more watchlist fields and slightly more drawing tools.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | Yes | No |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 80 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 13 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both AvaTrade and ActivTrades offer mobile trading apps that are available on iPhone and Android, providing users with convenient forex and stock price alerts. AvaTrade stands out for its ability to sync watchlist symbols between the mobile app and online account, a feature ActivTrades lacks. When it comes to technical charting capabilities, AvaTrade offers 73 technical studies compared to the 30 available through ActivTrades. Both brokers allow users to draw trendlines and view charts in multiple time frames such as daily, weekly, or intraday. However, ActivTrades has an advantage with its auto-save feature for chart drawings, which is not available with AvaTrade.
For traders interested in real-time market monitoring, both applications allow the creation of watchlists with live quotes. AvaTrade's mobile app is highly rated, receiving 4.5 stars, and is ranked 13th by ForexBrokers.com in the Mobile Trading Apps category. In comparison, ActivTrades' app holds a 4-star rating and ranks 19th. Overall, AvaTrade's app offers more advanced charting tools and seamless account synchronization, making it a preferred choice for mobile trading enthusiasts.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 73 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
AvaTrade and ActivTrades both deliver strong market research features, each earning 4 stars. ActivTrades edges ahead in the ForexBrokers.com rankings at #31 versus AvaTrade at #35 (out of 63). Both brokers provide forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, along with a handy economic calendar and sentiment tools that show long/short positioning. A key difference: ActivTrades publishes daily market commentary, while AvaTrade does not.
When it comes to third-party research tools, neither broker includes Autochartist, TipRanks, or Acuity Trading. However, AvaTrade stands out by offering Trading Central, which adds extra technical and fundamental insights that ActivTrades lacks. Choose AvaTrade if you want Trading Central’s analysis built in; pick ActivTrades if daily in-house commentary is a must. Either way, both brokers cover the essentials for news and analysis-driven trading.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | No | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| 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 AvaTrade and ActivTrades offer a comprehensive array of materials to help new traders. Each platform provides more than 10 educational pieces focused on forex and CFDs, ensuring newcomers have access to essential learning tools. Both brokers host monthly webinars to engage their clients and have searchable archives of past sessions, allowing traders to catch up on any missed insights. Furthermore, they each deliver over 10 beginner videos, easing novices into the intricacies of trading.
Despite the similarities in basic educational offerings, some key differences might sway a beginner's choice. AvaTrade goes a step further by offering an investor dictionary with definitions for more than 50 trading terms, a resource not available at ActivTrades. This commitment to easing traders into the complex world of forex and CFDs might explain AvaTrade's higher ranking at #2 in ForexBrokers.com's education category, compared to ActivTrades' position at #38. Nonetheless, both platforms enjoy a solid 4-star rating for their educational offerings, signifying a commendable standard of support for beginners in the trading experience.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that AvaTrade is better than ActivTrades. AvaTrade finished with an overall rank of #13, while ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33.
AvaTrade is a trusted global brand best known for offering an extensive selection of trading platforms for forex and CFD traders, as well as exceptional educational content that helped it nab Best in Class honors for Beginners in the ForexBrokers.com 2025 Annual Awards.
| Feature |
AvaTrade
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ActivTrades
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|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 94 | 81 |
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Both AvaTrade and ActivTrades provide the option to buy cryptocurrency derivatives but do not offer the ability to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency.
In comparing online brokers AvaTrade and ActivTrades, both do not support ACH or SEPA transfers but provide bank wire and Visa or Mastercard options for deposits and withdrawals; however, AvaTrade uniquely offers PayPal as an option, while both brokers support Skrill.
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 | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 94 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | AvaTrade Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Broker Screenshots | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
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| Regulation | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 94 | 81 | |
| Year Founded | 2006 | 2001 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | ||
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | ||
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | ||
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | ||
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | ||
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | ||
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1260 | 1267 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 53 | 49 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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 | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.93 | 0.98 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.61 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | 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 | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | Yes | No | |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 80 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 13 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 73 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | No | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | AvaTrade Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Overall | AvaTrade | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 94 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | AvaTrade Review | ActivTrades Review |
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