Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ActivTrades vs Octa, 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 Octa, both established players in the online brokerage industry, offer distinct experiences for traders. Founded in 2001, ActivTrades has built a reputation for reliability, evidenced by its holding of two Tier-1 licenses and a Trust Score of 81 out of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, which rates it as a trusted broker. Meanwhile, Octa, which began operations in 2011, holds one Tier-1 license and carries a Trust Score of 72, placing it in the average risk category. Neither ActivTrades nor Octa is publicly traded or operates as a bank, emphasizing their focus on brokerage services.
Choosing between ActivTrades and Octa involves assessing regulatory trust levels and operational years. ActivTrades's higher Trust Score and regulatory standing with two Tier-1 licenses might appeal to traders looking for increased reassurance. However, Octa's decade-long presence and competitive offering make it a viable option for those comfortable with a moderate level of risk.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2011 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
When it comes to online trading, ActivTrades and Octa both maintain competitive positioning, each boasting a 4-star rating for their commissions and fees. ActivTrades offers slightly better spreads than the industry average, with an example being 0.98 pips for the EUR/USD pair. The broker provides various account options, including Individual, Professional, and Islamic accounts, along with a demo account for practice. While the spreads remain consistent across account types, the lack of high-volume trader pricing and specific active trader accounts might be a consideration for serious traders. However, individual asset availability can vary based on the platform used.
On the other hand, Octa has significantly improved its pricing structure, closely aligning itself with the most cost-efficient MetaTrader brokers. With no slippage on 97.5% of executed orders and no overnight carry costs, Octa presents a solid choice for traders, although restrictions may impact high-frequency trading. Octa offers a diverse range of account types tailored to different regulatory entities, including EU and international clients. Spreads can vary depending on these entities, with the EU entity offering an average spread of 0.5 pips for EUR/USD—slightly better than its foreign counterparts.
Despite these differences, both brokers are well-regarded in the commissions and fees category. ActivTrades ranks #28, while Octa follows closely at #29 out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. Each has its strengths, making them noteworthy options for traders focused on competitive spreads and pricing. The ultimate choice may depend on individual trading needs and geographic considerations.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $25 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | 0.9 |
| 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 | 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.
ActivTrades and Octa both provide opportunities for forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, but there are notable differences in their range of investment options. ActivTrades offers a broader selection with 1,267 tradeable symbols, including 49 forex pairs, while Octa provides 300 tradeable symbols and 35 forex pairs. Neither broker allows direct purchase of U.S. exchange-traded securities, such as Apple; however, both brokers support trading international exchange-traded securities, enabling clients to buy shares like Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange. Additionally, copy trading is available on both platforms, allowing users to replicate the trades of successful investors.
In the realm of cryptocurrency trading, ActivTrades and Octa do not facilitate the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. Instead, they offer trading in cryptocurrency derivatives, catering to clients interested in digital currencies without the need to own the underlying asset. Given these offerings, ActivTrades earns a higher rating of 4 stars for its range of investments compared to Octa's 3.5 stars, as evaluated by ForexBrokers.com. Furthermore, in terms of investment range, ActivTrades holds the 31st position out of 63 brokers, whereas Octa is ranked 52nd, highlighting the former's more extensive selection of available investments.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 300 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 35 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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.
ActivTrades and Octa both provide feature-rich trading experiences with various platforms and tools to cater to different trading needs. Both brokers offer simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts, providing an excellent opportunity for beginners to practice. Each broker also boasts its own proprietary platform and supports popular platforms like MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Whether you prefer a Windows-based desktop solution or a web-based platform accessible from your browser, both ActivTrades and Octa ensure that you are covered. Additionally, they support copy trading, allowing users to replicate successful trades of others, which can be beneficial for those looking to diversify their strategies.
When it comes to charting, both brokers offer 15 drawing tools, enabling traders to analyze price movements comprehensively. Trading directly from stock charts is also a feature available with both, enhancing the convenience of executing trades. However, ActivTrades provides more customization options for watch lists, offering 11 columns compared to Octa's 7, which can be a deciding factor for traders who seek detailed market data presentations. Both brokers have garnered a 4-star rating for Trading Platforms and Tools, but ActivTrades ranks slightly higher at 30th, while Octa comes in at 37th among 63 brokers reviewed by ForexBrokers.com. Overall, ActivTrades and Octa offer well-rounded platforms that cater to a diverse range of traders.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 15 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both ActivTrades and Octa offer iPhone and Android apps, ensuring accessibility for traders on the go. Each platform provides essential features such as stock and forex price alerts, and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Users can view multiple time frames and enjoy auto-saved drawings, simplifying the tracking of market movements. Although both apps offer 30 technical studies for in-depth analysis, a limitation shared by ActivTrades and Octa is the absence of watchlist symbol syncing, meaning watchlist changes do not automatically update between the mobile app and the online account.
Creating a watchlist with real-time quotes is possible on both platforms, ensuring users have immediate access to crucial market data. Despite ActivTrades and Octa sharing a four-star rating for their mobile trading apps, ActivTrades stands out with a higher rank of 19 out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com, compared to Octa's rank of 36. Thus, while both apps deliver a comparable trading experience, ActivTrades achieves a slight edge in industry ranking, which might influence a trader's choice between the two.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| 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.
Both ActivTrades and Octa provide traders with daily market commentary and forex news from reputable sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring that you stay updated on major financial movements. They each offer an economic calendar that highlights key upcoming global events, allowing you to plan your trades around important announcements. However, their offerings start to diverge when it comes to specific tools. ActivTrades features a sentiment-based trading tool that gives insights into market positions, which Octa lacks. On the other hand, Octa distinguishes itself by offering technical analysis tools from Autochartist, a feature that ActivTrades does not have.
Neither broker currently offers market research from companies like TipRanks or Acuity Trading, nor do they include tools from Trading Central. When it comes to research ratings, both ActivTrades and Octa have received a solid 4-star rating. However, in the highly competitive broker landscape, ActivTrades ranks slightly lower at #30 compared to Octa's #27 in ForexBrokers.com's Research category. Each broker brings its unique strengths, making them both viable choices depending on your specific research needs.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| 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.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, both ActivTrades and Octa stand out as reliable online brokers offering a rich selection of learning materials on forex and CFDs. Each provides over ten educational pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars, ensuring new traders have ample opportunities to learn. Both platforms also host regular online webinars monthly, with recorded sessions archived for ongoing access. This makes it easy for traders to find content that suits their schedule and learning pace. Additionally, beginners can access at least ten introductory videos on each platform, covering essential trading topics tailored to their level.
Advanced traders are not left out, as both ActivTrades and Octa offer more than ten specialized videos for experienced market players. A notable difference in their educational offerings is the provision of an investor dictionary; Octa meets this need by providing definitions for over 50 investing terms, while ActivTrades does not incorporate this feature. Both brokers boast a commendable 4-star rating for education. However, in a ranking of 63 brokers for education by ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades is placed slightly higher at #38 compared to Octa at #42. This places both brokers quite high in the realm of online trading education, providing valuable resources for both novice and seasoned traders.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 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 Octa. ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33, while Octa finished with an overall rank of #47.
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
|
Octa
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 72 |
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Both ActivTrades and Octa provide the option to trade cryptocurrency derivatives but do not offer the ability to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency.
Both ActivTrades and Octa do not offer ACH or SEPA transfers or PayPal for depositing or withdrawing funds, but both provide options like Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires for account transactions.
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 | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 72 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Octa Review |
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| Regulation | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 81 | 72 | |
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2011 | |
| 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 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| 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 | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 300 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 35 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | 0.9 | |
| 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 | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $25 | |
| 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 | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ActivTrades | Octa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Octa Review |
| Overall | ActivTrades | Octa | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 72 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Octa Review |
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