Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ActivTrades vs IronFX, 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 ActivTrades and IronFX, their regulatory status is a key factor. ActivTrades, founded in 2001, holds two Tier-1 licenses, making it highly trusted in the industry. It also has one Tier-2 license, which adds another layer of reliability. Despite not being publicly traded or a bank, ActivTrades earns a trust score of 81 from ForexBrokers.com, placing it in the "trusted" category.
IronFX, established in 2010, holds three Tier-1 licenses, underscoring its trusted status. Although it lacks Tier-2 licenses, its trust score of 83 still classifies it as trusted by ForexBrokers.com. Like ActivTrades, IronFX is neither publicly traded nor a bank. This information can guide investors in gauging the credibility and reliability of these brokers in the competitive online trading landscape.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
When comparing commissions and fees, both ActivTrades and IronFX receive a 4-star rating, yet they differ significantly in their offerings. ActivTrades is known for its industry-average spreads, with a focus on providing a main Individual Account along with Professional and Islamic options. While its spreads aren't the lowest on the market, the average spread for EUR/USD is reported at 0.98 pips. Despite lacking specialized pricing for high-volume traders, ActivTrades offers a solid choice for users seeking a straightforward trading experience. Ranked at #28 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades stands as a competent option in terms of commissions and fees.
IronFX, on the other hand, could improve in the area of pricing, with spreads that often exceed industry averages. The Standard variable spread account lists a typical spread of 1.8 pips, although details about timeframes are lacking, and these spreads vary per account type. For traders seeking zero fixed spread, IronFX offers an alternative with a $18 per lot commission, though spreads increase to 3 pips overnight. Despite offering different pricing models, IronFX's commissions and fees rank it at #46 out of 63 brokers, showing there's room for enhancement.
In summary, while both brokers offer competitive star ratings, their rankings indicate differences in cost-effectiveness based on trading strategies and preferences. ActivTrades has an edge in terms of rank and average spreads, making it a more attractive choice for those prioritizing cost management. IronFX, however, provides alternative account options that might suit traders looking for specific pricing arrangements, though its overall ranking suggests the need for competitive adjustments.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| 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 ActivTrades and IronFX, both brokers provide forex trading as a CFD or spot contract, catering to diverse trading needs. ActivTrades stands out with an impressive offering of 1,267 tradeable symbols, significantly more than IronFX's 340. However, IronFX offers more tradeable forex pairs, with a total of 83 compared to ActivTrades' 49 pairs. An advantage for ActivTrades is its ability to access international exchange-traded securities, allowing clients to invest in companies like Vodafone; this option is not available with IronFX. Both brokers do not offer exchange-traded securities on U.S. exchanges and lack the feature to buy actual cryptocurrency, though they do provide access to cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both platforms support copy trading, enhancing the social trading experience for their users. In terms of investment range, ActivTrades scores higher with four stars compared to IronFX's 3.5 stars, and ranks #31 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, while IronFX is positioned at #51. This suggests that ActivTrades may offer a slightly more comprehensive range of investments, appealing to traders seeking variety in their portfolios.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 340 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 83 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| 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.
ActivTrades and IronFX both offer traders the chance to practice and refine their skills with free virtual demo accounts, a valuable feature for both novices and seasoned traders. While both brokers provide Windows-based desktop platforms and web-based browser platforms, ActivTrades sets itself apart with its proprietary platform that offers customization tailored to its clientele. On the other hand, IronFX lacks an in-house developed trading platform, instead offering MetaTrader 4 as its main platform. While both brokers support copy trading and feature 15 drawing tools for charting, ActivTrades additionally supports MetaTrader 5, expanding its platform offerings further than IronFX.
When it comes to using technical tools directly from charts, both ActivTrades and IronFX provide this functionality, enhancing the trading experience with ease of access. A significant distinction arises in watch list capabilities, as ActivTrades offers more customization with 11 columns for data fields, compared to IronFX’s 7 columns. With a higher rating of 4 out of 5 stars for trading platforms and tools, ActivTrades outpaces IronFX, which holds a 3.5-star rating. In ranking by ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades comes in at #30 out of 63 brokers in the Trading Platforms and Tools category, substantially higher than IronFX, which is placed at #61.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of ActivTrades and IronFX, both platforms offer accessibility for iPhone and Android users, making them versatile choices in the digital trading landscape. Each provides essential features like price alerts for stock and forex, as well as the ability to customize charts with trend lines and multiple time frames. Both apps also support real-time watchlist creation, although neither offers the convenience of syncing watchlists with a client's online account. Additionally, both apps come equipped with 30 technical studies, catering to traders who rely on in-depth market analysis.
Despite these commonalities, user ratings and rankings highlight some differences. ActivTrades boasts a slightly higher user rating at 4 stars, as opposed to IronFX's 3.5 stars. This reflects in their rankings by ForexBrokers.com, where ActivTrades holds the 19th position out of 63 brokers, while IronFX sits lower at 62nd. These distinctions may influence traders who prioritize user experience and recognition when choosing a mobile trading platform.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| 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.
ActivTrades and IronFX both offer daily market commentary and provide forex news from prestigious sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters. However, when it comes to technical analysis tools, ActivTrades lacks offerings from Autochartist and Trading Central but compensates with a sentiment-based trading tool to track investors' positions across currency pairs. Conversely, IronFX lacks this sentiment tool but provides Trading Central analytics to help with technical assessments.
Both brokers supply economic calendars to keep traders informed about critical global news events. While neither partner with the likes of TipRanks or Acuity Trading for additional market research, both are rated with 4 stars for research by ForexBrokers.com. In terms of rankings among 63 brokers, ActivTrades comes in at #30, while IronFX takes a slightly higher ranking at #28, reflecting subtle differences in their research services.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
ActivTrades and IronFX both offer a variety of educational resources for beginners interested in forex and CFDs trading, but there are some differences that set them apart. ActivTrades provides a comprehensive package with over ten educational pieces such as articles, videos, and archived webinars on forex and CFDs. Additionally, they host monthly online webinars for clients and offer a searchable archive of these recorded sessions. For those just starting, ActivTrades presents at least ten beginner-focused educational videos, and for traders with more experience, they deliver another ten advanced videos. However, they do not supply an investor dictionary for terminology.
IronFX also meets the standard by offering more than ten educational materials centered on forex and CFDs. They maintain a searchable archive of past webinars but do not offer monthly online educational webinars for clients. Beginner traders can take advantage of more than ten educational videos tailored specifically for their needs, although advanced traders may find less content geared for them as IronFX falls short here. One unique offering by IronFX is an investor dictionary defining over fifty investing terms. Both brokers received a four-star rating in education, but ActivTrades ranks slightly higher at 38th out of 63 brokers compared to IronFX, which is ranked 44th by ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
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 IronFX. ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33, while IronFX finished with an overall rank of #48.
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
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 83 |
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Both ActivTrades and IronFX do not offer the ability to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they do provide options for buying cryptocurrency derivatives, allowing investors to trade without owning the actual asset.
Both ActivTrades and IronFX do not support ACH or SEPA transfers for deposits and withdrawals and neither offer PayPal, but both brokers provide options for Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires.
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 | IronFX | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
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| Regulation | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 81 | 83 | |
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 340 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 83 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | 1.2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 | |
| 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 | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ActivTrades | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | IronFX | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review |
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