Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FP Markets 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.
FP Markets and ActivTrades are both prominent online brokers with a strong presence in the trading world. Founded in 2005, FP Markets holds two Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, reflecting its solid regulatory backing. While not publicly traded or a bank, FP Markets boasts a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 89 out of 99, classifying it as a trusted broker according to industry standards.
Established in 2001, ActivTrades also holds two Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, indicating a reliable regulatory structure. Like FP Markets, ActivTrades is neither publicly traded nor a bank. It holds a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 81, placing it within the trusted category, though slightly lower than FP Markets. Both brokers provide trustworthy services, but FP Markets carries a slightly higher trust rating among traders.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2005 | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
FP Markets and ActivTrades are both popular online brokers known for their commissions and fees, but they cater to slightly different needs and trading styles. FP Markets shines as a cost-competitive option for traders worldwide, especially through its commission-based ECN accounts available on MetaTrader and cTrader platforms. It impressively earned a 5-star rating and ranks 6th in the Commissions and Fees category by ForexBrokers.com. The broker offers a noteworthy Iress platform suite, although the more advanced Iress ViewPoint accounts require higher balances or monthly commissions to avoid additional fees. The Raw ECN account features highly competitive spreads, averaging 0.1 pips (0.8 pips all-in after commission) as of October 2023, whereas the Standard account offers higher spreads.
In contrast, ActivTrades provides an Individual Account with slightly better-than-average spreads, making it a good choice for those not necessarily seeking the lowest costs but still wanting quality service. While the broker doesn't focus on active trader pricing or high-volume accounts, it offers Professional and Islamic Account options for different trading needs. Its spreads remain fairly steady across accounts, with an average spread for the EUR/USD at 0.98 pips as of May 2024. ActivTrades rates 4 stars in commissions and fees and is ranked 28th by ForexBrokers.com, highlighting its solid performance though not as competitive as FP Markets in terms of cost.
Both FP Markets and ActivTrades offer unique benefits depending on your trading style. FP Markets is suited for those prioritizing low-cost trading options, especially in the forex market, while ActivTrades caters to traders looking for flexibility with distinct account types and average spreads. Choosing between the two depends on whether minimizing fees or flexibility and service are your main priorities.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 AUD | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 0.98 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | 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.
When comparing the range of investment options between FP Markets and ActivTrades, both platforms offer forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, making them accessible for those interested in currency markets. FP Markets stands out with a wider selection of 10,000 tradeable symbols compared to ActivTrades’ 1,267, plus FP Markets offers more forex pairs, providing 71 options against ActivTrades' 49. However, when it comes to exchange traded securities on international exchanges, ActivTrades has the upper hand, allowing clients to purchase stocks like Vodafone, which FP Markets does not facilitate.
In terms of investment experience, both FP Markets and ActivTrades provide copy trading options, catering to investors seeking to mimic successful strategies. While neither broker allows for the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies, both offer cryptocurrency derivatives, ensuring traders have access to this popular asset class. Ranking-wise, FP Markets scores 4.5 stars and is positioned at #18, showcasing a slightly better range of investments compared to ActivTrades’ 4-star rating and #31 ranking out of 63 brokers as evaluated by ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 | 1267 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 | 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.
FP Markets and ActivTrades both offer a comprehensive range of trading platforms and tools that cater to diverse trading needs. Both brokers provide free demo accounts, allowing traders to hone their skills with simulated trading environments. Notably, each broker has developed its own proprietary platform while also supporting popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 software, making them versatile choices for traders who prefer different styles and functionalities. Both brokers offer Windows-based and web-based platforms, along with the feature to trade directly from stock charts, ensuring flexibility and user-friendly experiences across devices.
In terms of additional features, FP Markets and ActivTrades both support copy trading, enhancing their appeal to traders looking to diversify strategies. While neither offers DupliTrade or ZuluTrade services, FP Markets does slightly edge out ActivTrades with 17 drawing tools for charting compared to 15 offered by ActivTrades. However, ActivTrades compensates with more comprehensive watch lists, offering 11 fields compared to FP Markets’ seven. Despite these subtle differences, both brokers are equally rated at four stars for trading platforms and tools, with FP Markets ranking 23rd and ActivTrades ranking 30th out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
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 | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 17 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both FP Markets and ActivTrades offer mobile trading applications compatible with iPhone and Android devices, making it easy for traders to stay connected on the go. Users of either platform can expect to receive real-time stock and forex price alerts, facilitating timely investment decisions. Both apps also allow users to draw trendlines and view stock or forex charts using multiple time frames, whether daily, weekly, or intraday. Additionally, drawings on charts are automatically saved, and traders can create and manage watchlists with real-time quotes. While neither app provides watchlist symbol syncing between the mobile app and online account, each delivers a comprehensive trading experience in its own right.
In terms of technical studies, FP Markets relies on the MetaTrader default setup, whereas ActivTrades offers 30 different technical studies for charting. Both platforms share the same four-star rating for mobile trading apps and are closely ranked, with FP Markets placing 18th and ActivTrades 19th out of 63 brokers reviewed by ForexBrokers.com. These ratings and features demonstrate that both FP Markets and ActivTrades offer reliable and efficient mobile trading solutions suitable for traders seeking flexibility and access to essential trading tools.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | MetaTrader (Default) | 30 |
| 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.
Both FP Markets and ActivTrades excel in providing daily market commentary and top-tier forex news from reputable sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. When it comes to technical analysis tools, FP Markets has a clear advantage, offering advanced options from companies like Autochartist and Trading Central, which ActivTrades does not provide. Both brokers supply sentiment-based trading tools to help traders understand market positions, and they also include economic calendars that showcase key global news events.
In terms of overall research, both FP Markets and ActivTrades receive a commendable four-star rating. However, FP Markets slightly edges out with a higher ranking at 25th among 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, compared to ActivTrades, which holds the 30th spot. Although neither broker offers research tools from TipRanks or Acuity Trading, FP Markets' inclusion of additional technical tools gives it a slight upper hand for traders seeking comprehensive market analysis options.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | 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 providing educational resources for forex and CFDs, both FP Markets and ActivTrades excel in equipping beginners with essential knowledge. Each broker offers over 10 educational pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars, focusing on forex and CFD trading. New traders can benefit from monthly online webinars hosted by both platforms, which are ideal for deepening their understanding of market trends and trading strategies. Recorded sessions are available in a searchable archive, allowing learners to revisit past webinars at their convenience.
For those starting their trading journey, FP Markets and ActivTrades each provide at least 10 beginner-oriented educational videos. Additionally, they cater to seasoned traders with over 10 advanced videos to refine their skills. While both brokers rank closely in educational offerings with a 4-star rating, FP Markets stands out slightly by providing an investor dictionary with over 50 key investing terms, a feature not offered by ActivTrades. Ultimately, FP Markets ranks higher in the education category on ForexBrokers.com, coming in at #23 out of 63 brokers, compared to ActivTrades' #38 ranking.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
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 FP Markets is better than ActivTrades. FP Markets finished with an overall rank of #19, while ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33.
FP Markets shines as a low-cost broker for trading forex and CFDs – as long as you use the MetaTrader platform. The Iress platform suite offers well over 9,000 tradeable symbols, but it’s mostly a share trading platform – and is generally a much pricier option.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 81 |
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Both FP Markets and ActivTrades do not offer the option to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they do provide the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives, allowing investors to speculate on price movements without owning the physical asset.
Comparing FP Markets and ActivTrades, both brokers lack ACH and SEPA transfer options, support Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, but FP Markets uniquely offers PayPal, while both provide Skrill services for deposits and withdrawals.
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 | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FP Markets Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
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| Regulation | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 89 | 81 | |
| Year Founded | 2005 | 2001 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 | 1267 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 | 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 | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 0.98 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 AUD | $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 | FP Markets | 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 | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 17 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | MetaTrader (Default) | 30 | |
| 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 | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FP Markets | 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 | FP Markets | 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 | FP Markets Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Overall | FP Markets | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FP Markets Review | ActivTrades Review |
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