Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ActivTrades vs iFOREX, 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.
ActivTrades and iFOREX are both established online brokers, with ActivTrades debuting in 2001 and iFOREX in 1996. Neither broker is publicly traded or operates as a bank. When it comes to regulatory licenses, ActivTrades holds a stronger position with two Tier-1 licenses, reflecting a high degree of trust, and an additional Tier-2 license, which is also seen as trustworthy. Meanwhile, iFOREX holds one Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses, suggesting a somewhat less comprehensive regulatory framework in comparison to ActivTrades.
In terms of trustworthiness ratings by ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades earns a Trust Score of 81 out of 99, placing it in the "trusted" category. Conversely, iFOREX receives a Trust Score of 75, indicating an "average risk" in terms of credibility. These scores, combined with the number of regulatory licenses held, highlight ActivTrades as a more reliable choice for investors prioritizing security and regulatory oversight in their brokerage services.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
When comparing the online brokers ActivTrades and iFOREX, it's essential to look at their commissions and fees. ActivTrades generally offers spreads that are slightly better than the industry average but fall short of the most affordable forex brokers. They provide various account options, including an Individual Account, a Professional Account, and an Islamic Account for traders adhering to Sharia law. A downside is the lack of an account specifically tailored for high-volume traders, as there is no active trader pricing available. The reported average spread for the EUR/USD at ActivTrades was 0.98 pips for May 2024, although spreads can fluctuate depending on the trading session.
In comparison, iFOREX offers less transparency regarding their average spread data, which may make it challenging for traders to fully estimate their potential trading costs. This factor can be a significant consideration for those who prioritize cost efficiency in their trading. Both brokers present varying fees based on the assets being traded and other conditions, but ActivTrades provides more detailed information about their target spreads, which may provide a clearer picture of potential costs for traders.
In terms of rankings and ratings, ActivTrades receives a 4-star rating out of five for commissions and fees and is ranked #28 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, iFOREX holds a 3-star rating and is positioned significantly lower, at #61 out of 63 brokers in the same category. This distinction highlights ActivTrades as potentially offering better value in terms of fees compared to iFOREX.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| 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 ActivTrades and iFOREX in terms of the range of investments, both platforms offer forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts. ActivTrades provides a greater overall selection with 1,267 tradeable symbols compared to iFOREX's 750. Although iFOREX surpasses ActivTrades by offering 88 tradeable forex pairs compared to ActivTrades' 49, ActivTrades still stands out by allowing access to actual exchange-traded securities on international exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange, unlike iFOREX.
For those interested in diversified investment opportunities, ActivTrades also delivers the added benefit of copy trading, which iFOREX does not offer. Both brokers permit trading in cryptocurrency derivatives but not in actual cryptocurrencies. ActivTrades is rated 4 stars for its range of investments, ranking 31st out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while iFOREX holds a slightly lower rating of 3.5 stars, coming in at 41st place. This makes ActivTrades a strong contender for traders seeking a broader array of trading options.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 750 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 88 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| 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 the trading platforms and tools of ActivTrades and iFOREX, several differences and similarities stand out. ActivTrades offers a free virtual demo account, allowing new traders to practice without financial risk, whereas iFOREX does not provide this feature. Both brokers have developed their own proprietary platforms, but when it comes to MetaTrader support, ActivTrades has the edge by providing both MetaTrader 4 and 5, which iFOREX does not. Additionally, ActivTrades offers a Windows desktop platform, while iFOREX only provides a web-based platform. For those interested in copy trading, ActivTrades supports this feature, but iFOREX does not offer it. Both companies enable trading directly from a stock chart, making the process more intuitive for users.
In terms of charting tools, ActivTrades offers 15 drawing tools in comparison to iFOREX’s 25, giving iFOREX users a bit more flexibility in chart customization. When it comes to watch lists, ActivTrades offers 11 columns for fields versus 9 from iFOREX, giving more detailed information at a glance. Both firms are rated with 4 stars out of 5 for their trading platforms and tools, indicating a competitive standing. However, in rankings by ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades holds the 30th position out of 63 brokers, suggesting a higher preference for its platform capabilities compared to iFOREX, which ranks 54th in the same category.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 57 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 25 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 9 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When it comes to mobile trading apps, both ActivTrades and iFOREX offer apps for iPhone and Android, but they differ in features and user experience. ActivTrades stands out with several advanced tools, like price alerts for stock or forex and the ability to draw trendlines and view multiple time frames on charts—features that iFOREX does not offer. For traders who value technical analysis, ActivTrades provides 30 technical studies for charting, which is not available with iFOREX. Additionally, ActivTrades allows users to create watchlists with real-time quotes and saves chart drawings automatically.
Despite these differences, both apps are rated similarly at four stars; however, ActivTrades holds a better ranking at 19th place among 63 brokers compared to iFOREX's 55th position for mobile trading apps on ForexBrokers.com. Traders who prefer more comprehensive charting tools and notifications will likely lean toward ActivTrades, while those satisfied with a more basic approach might still consider iFOREX. Ultimately, individual preferences will dictate which app better meets specific trading needs.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Both ActivTrades and iFOREX provide daily market commentary, making them valuable options for traders who rely on regular updates. ActivTrades distinguishes itself by offering forex news from prestigious sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones, ensuring that users have access to top-tier market insights. While neither broker offers tools from Autochartist, ActivTrades provides a sentiment-based trading tool that reveals the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments, helping traders gauge market leanings effectively.
In contrast, iFOREX enhances its market research capabilities by incorporating technical analysis tools from Trading Central, offering users additional analytical support. Both brokers offer an economic calendar to keep traders informed of global economic events. While ActivTrades holds a 4-star rating and ranks 30th out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com for research, iFOREX follows closely with a 3.5-star rating and a 48th place ranking. This comparison highlights ActivTrades' slight edge in delivering comprehensive and high-quality market research, while iFOREX provides solid, yet slightly less extensive, resources.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| 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.
For beginners venturing into the world of online trading, ActivTrades stands out with its comprehensive educational offerings. This platform provides a broad range of resources, including articles, videos, and archived webinars focused on forex and CFDs. New traders can also benefit from the monthly live webinars, which offer an opportunity for real-time learning and interaction. ActivTrades supports its users with a searchable archive of recorded webinars, ensuring that valuable lessons are just a few clicks away. While it does not offer an investor dictionary, ActivTrades boasts more than 10 beginner and advanced educational videos, making it a strong contender for those seeking to advance their trading knowledge.
In contrast, iFOREX offers a more limited selection of educational tools for traders at the starting line. The platform does provide over 10 beginner-focused videos, which are beneficial for those new to trading. However, iFOREX lacks the depth of educational content that ActivTrades offers, with no regular webinars or archived sessions available for learners to revisit. Although iFOREX neither offers advanced trading videos nor an investor dictionary, it still earns a respectable rating for its educational efforts. In a comparison of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades ranks higher than iFOREX, reflecting a more comprehensive support system for beginner traders.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that ActivTrades is better than iFOREX. ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33, while iFOREX finished with an overall rank of #52.
ActivTrades is a long-standing brand that offers a proprietary trading platform, ActivTrader, and support for the award-winning TradingView and MetaTrader (MT4 and MT5) platforms. ActivTrades also delivers a selection of custom add-ons, indicators, and trading tools for traders who prefer to use MetaTrader. Drawbacks for trading with ActivTrades include a smaller selection of tradeable symbols and fewer educational resources than what’s available from the best forex brokers.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 81 | 75 |
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While neither ActivTrades nor iFOREX offer the ability to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, both provide options to trade cryptocurrency derivatives, allowing investors to speculate on price movements without owning the underlying assets.
While both ActivTrades and iFOREX do not support ACH or SEPA transfers, they offer Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, and bank wire options for deposits and withdrawals, with iFOREX additionally providing PayPal access for enhanced flexibility.
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 | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review |
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| Regulation | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 81 | 75 | |
| Year Founded | 2001 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 750 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 88 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| 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 | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 9 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 57 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 25 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ActivTrades Review |
| Overall | ActivTrades | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review |
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