Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of HFM 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.
When comparing online brokers HFM and ActivTrades, both non-bank entities have been operating since 2010 and 2001 respectively. Neither is publicly traded, pointing to a focus on private ownership. From a regulatory standpoint, both brokers hold two Tier-1 licenses, indicating their operations are considered highly trusted. However, the number of Tier-2 licenses, which denotes a trusted status, differs, with HFM holding three compared to ActivTrades’ one.
In terms of overall trustworthiness, ForexBrokers.com provides a Trust Score to measure risk and reliability. HFM boasts a Trust Score of 86, placing it firmly within the "trusted" category. ActivTrades, while slightly lower, holds a Trust Score of 81, also falling under the "trusted" range. These ratings reflect the brokers' adherence to regulatory standards and their commitment to providing a reliable trading environment.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
When considering trading costs, HFM and ActivTrades both offer appealing options, but with notable differences in their fee structures. HFM's standard trading account features spreads typically around 1.2 pips. For those seeking potentially tighter spreads, the Zero account might be an option with an effective spread of 0.7 pips after taking into account the commission fees. However, these figures are not presented as long-term averages, which could make the actual cost slightly more unpredictable. Rated 4 out of 5 stars, HFM holds the 31st position in commissions and fees among 63 brokers ranked by ForexBrokers.com.
ActivTrades provides a competitive edge with spreads that are generally slimmer than the industry average. The Individual Account is the main option, while Professional and Islamic Accounts cater to different trader needs. Unlike some of its competitors, ActivTrades does not offer special pricing for high-volume traders, which could be a consideration for those trading in large quantities. Actual spreads can fluctuate with market conditions, such as during the rollover period. An inquiry to ActivTrades revealed that their average spread for the EUR/USD currency pair was slightly better than HFM's, standing at 0.98 pips for May 2024. Like HFM, ActivTrades also earns a 4-star rating for commissions and fees but ranks slightly higher at 28th out of 63 on ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $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 | No | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | 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 HFM and ActivTrades in terms of available investments, both brokers offer forex trading as a CFD or spot contract. HFM provides access to 500 tradeable symbols, including 102 forex pairs. Meanwhile, ActivTrades offers a wider selection with 1267 tradeable symbols and 49 forex pairs. Neither broker supports the direct purchase of exchange traded securities on U.S. exchanges. However, ActivTrades does stand out by allowing trading of international exchange securities, such as Vodafone shares, while HFM does not. Both brokers support copy trading options and provide access to cryptocurrency derivatives, although neither allows for the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies.
In terms of ratings, both HFM and ActivTrades have received a 4-star rating for their range of investments. According to rankings from ForexBrokers.com, HFM is positioned at #36 out of 63 brokers, while ActivTrades holds a slightly higher spot at #31. This indicates that ActivTrades may offer a more diverse selection for investors seeking a broader range of opportunities. Overall, each platform offers unique strengths for traders, with the choice largely depending on individual preferences and trading priorities.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 1267 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 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.
When comparing HFM and ActivTrades, both brokers provide a comprehensive array of trading platforms and tools that cater to varying trader needs. They each offer free virtual demo accounts for those keen on trying simulated trading to hone their skills. Also, both brokers boast proprietary platforms developed in-house, which are accessible via Windows-based desktop downloads and web browsers. For traders interested in social trading, both HFM and ActivTrades enable copy trading. Additionally, traditional options like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) are available, though neither broker supports DupliTrade or ZuluTrade for external social trading experiences.
In terms of technical capabilities, HFM and ActivTrades both enable traders to execute trades directly from stock charts. HFM stands out with 30 drawing tools, contrasted with ActivTrades' 15. When it comes to organizing market data, HFM provides 7 columns for watch lists compared to ActivTrades' 11 columns. Despite these differences, both brokers share a 4-star rating for their platforms and tools. However, ActivTrades is ranked higher at #30 by ForexBrokers.com, while HFM ranks at #42 out of 63 assessed brokers. This suggests ActivTrades has a slight edge in overall user satisfaction within this category.
| Feature |
HFM
|
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) | 15 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When it comes to mobile trading, both HFM and ActivTrades offer strong options for traders on the go. Both brokers have developed apps for iPhone and Android users, ensuring accessibility across popular devices. Within their apps, they provide features like stock and forex price alerts and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Traders can also view multiple time frames such as daily, weekly, or intraday, making it easy to monitor their investments. However, neither broker offers watchlist symbol syncing, meaning updates on watchlists in the mobile app won’t sync with the online account. Both apps also offer the ability to create watchlists with real-time quotes, auto-save drawings, and include 30 technical studies for charting.
While both apps receive a commendable rating of 4 out of 5 stars for their mobile trading capabilities, there is a difference in their rankings by ForexBrokers.com. ActivTrades ranks higher at #19, compared to HFM's #39 out of 63 brokers. While these rankings may influence choice, users of both platforms can enjoy a range of trading features designed to provide a comprehensive mobile trading experience.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 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.
When it comes to market research offerings, both HFM and ActivTrades provide robust features like daily market commentary and news from top-tier sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters. Both brokers also offer sentiment-based trading tools that help traders gauge market trends by showing the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments. Additionally, each platform includes an economic calendar to keep traders updated with global news events. However, a key difference is that HFM offers tools from Autochartist, enhancing their research capabilities, while ActivTrades does not.
Neither broker incorporates market research tools from companies like Trading Central, TipRanks, or Acuity Trading, which might be a drawback for some traders. Still, both received a respectable four-star rating for research, reflecting their comprehensive offerings. Despite this, HFM edges out ActivTrades in ranking, coming in as the 20th out of 63 brokers in the Research category according to ForexBrokers.com, while ActivTrades holds the 30th position.
| Feature |
HFM
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | 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 comparing HFM and ActivTrades in terms of educational resources for beginners, both online brokers offer comprehensive materials to help newcomers understand the world of forex and CFDs trading. Each provides more than 10 educational pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars, specifically focused on forex and CFDs. They also host at least one webinar each month, and both have a searchable archive of past webinars, allowing users to learn at their own pace. Additionally, both platforms cater to beginner traders with at least 10 beginner educational videos, ensuring that novices have ample resources to grasp fundamental trading concepts.
While both HFM and ActivTrades excel in producing a wide range of beginner and advanced videos, HFM distinguishes itself by offering an investor dictionary with over 50 investing terms, which ActivTrades does not. Both brokers are equally rated with four stars for their educational offerings. Despite their similarities, HFM slightly edges out ActivTrades in rankings, being placed at #37 compared to ActivTrades' #38 in the Education category according to ForexBrokers.com. Whether you opt for HFM or ActivTrades, you can expect a solid foundation in trading education to begin your investment journey.
| Feature |
HFM
|
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 HFM is better than ActivTrades. HFM finished with an overall rank of #30, while ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33.
Alongside its enhanced MetaTrader offering and quality research, HFM (HF Markets), previously known as HotForex, offers a proprietary copy trading platform, HFcopy, a proprietary HF mobile app, and a decent selection of over 1,000 CFDs and 47 forex pairs. Still, trading costs at HFM are slightly above the industry average.
| Feature |
HFM
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ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 81 |
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Both HFM and ActivTrades do not provide the option to purchase actual cryptocurrencies for delivery but do offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
While both HFM and ActivTrades lack ACH, SEPA, and PayPal options for depositing or withdrawing funds, they both offer convenient alternatives like Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wire transfers, providing versatile funding methods for traders.
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 | HFM | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Broker Screenshots | HFM | ActivTrades | |
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| Regulation | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 86 | 81 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 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 | 3 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | 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) | Yes | 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) | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 1267 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 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 | HFM | 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 | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | 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 | HFM | 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 | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 11 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | HFM | 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 | 30 | 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 | HFM | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | HFM | 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 | HFM | 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 | HFM Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Overall | HFM | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | ActivTrades Review |
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