Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ActivTrades vs Questrade, 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 vs Questrade: ActivTrades was founded in 2001, while Questrade started in 2000. Neither broker is publicly traded or operates as a bank. If you care about safety and oversight, their regulation and Trust Scores can help guide your choice.
According to ForexBrokers.com, ActivTrades holds two Tier-1 licenses (highly trusted) and one Tier-2 license (trusted), while Questrade holds one Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses. ActivTrades earns an 80/99 Trust Score and Questrade scores 85/99—both in the “trusted” 80–89 range. In short, Questrade posts a slightly higher Trust Score, while ActivTrades offers more top-tier regulatory coverage.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2000 |
| 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 | 0 |
ActivTrades and Questrade both use spread-based pricing, but ActivTrades comes out ahead on commissions and fees. ActivTrades’ spreads are slightly better than the industry average, with EUR/USD averaging 0.98 pips in May 2024, and it does not charge an active trader fee or offer special high-volume pricing. It has a few account options, including Individual, Professional, and Islamic accounts, but the spreads are generally the same across them. ActivTrades is rated 4 out of 5 stars and is ranked #21 out of 36 for Commissions and Fees.
Questrade Global also builds trading costs into the spread, but its pricing is usually less competitive. While Questrade says spreads can start as low as 0.8 pips in normal market conditions, average major-pair spreads were closer to 2.1 to 2.5 pips at the time of review, which can make forex trades noticeably more expensive. For CFDs, Questrade adds a $9.95 USD fee per unit, which can push total costs much higher, especially on smaller trades. Questrade is rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and is ranked #33 out of 36 for Commissions and Fees.
In simple terms, ActivTrades is the lower-cost choice overall for most forex traders, while Questrade may become expensive for CFD trading because of its extra per-unit fee. If you want tighter everyday trading costs, ActivTrades has the edge.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.08 | 0.8 or higher |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.92 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When it comes to range of investments, ActivTrades and Questrade both let clients trade forex as CFDs or spot contracts, but they serve different types of investors. ActivTrades offers a wider overall list of tradable symbols, with 1,267 available compared with Questrade’s 675, and it also provides 49 forex pairs. Questrade, however, stands out for forex selection, offering 110 currency pairs. Neither broker offers direct U.S. exchange-listed stocks as actual shares, but ActivTrades does give access to exchange traded securities on international markets, such as London-listed shares, while Questrade does not.
There are also differences in extra trading options. ActivTrades supports copy trading and cryptocurrency CFDs, while Questrade does not offer either feature. Neither broker allows clients to buy real, delivered cryptocurrency. Based on ForexBrokers.com, Questrade is rated higher for Range of Investments, earning 5 stars and ranking #12 out of 36 brokers, while ActivTrades receives 4 stars and ranks #25.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 675 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 110 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | No |
| 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
ActivTrades and Questrade both give traders a wide range of platform choices, including a free demo account, a proprietary platform, Windows desktop software, and a web-based trading platform. Each also lets users trade directly from a chart, and both are rated 4 out of 5 stars for trading platforms and tools. In ForexBrokers.com’s ranking, ActivTrades places slightly higher at #26 out of 36 brokers, while Questrade comes in at #28.
The key difference is that ActivTrades offers more advanced third-party trading options, including MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and copy trading, while Questrade does not. For traders who want more platform flexibility and social trading features, ActivTrades has the edge. Questrade still covers the core needs well, but ActivTrades is the stronger pick overall for trading platforms and tools.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 64 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
ActivTrades and Questrade both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, along with stock and forex price alerts, trendline drawing, and automatic saving for chart drawings. Both apps are built to help traders manage positions and follow the markets on the go, making them useful options for everyday mobile trading.
That said, Questrade has an edge in a key area: its watchlists sync between the mobile app and online account, while ActivTrades does not offer this feature. Questrade also provides more charting tools, with 64 technical studies compared with 30 at ActivTrades. Even so, ActivTrades earns a higher mobile trading apps rating at 4 stars versus Questrade’s 3.5 stars, and it ranks higher overall in this category, placing #21 out of 36 brokers compared with Questrade at #28.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 64 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When it comes to market research, ActivTrades gives traders a broader set of built-in tools than Questrade in a few key areas. ActivTrades offers daily market commentary, forex news from top sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones, a sentiment tool showing long and short positioning, and an economic calendar for global events. Questrade, on the other hand, does not provide daily market commentary, top-tier forex news, sentiment data, or an economic calendar, but it does stand out with research from Autochartist, Trading Central, and TipRanks.
Overall, ActivTrades is rated 4 out of 5 stars for research and ranks #26 out of 36 brokers in the ForexBrokers.com Research category, while Questrade is rated 3.5 stars and ranks #34. This makes ActivTrades the better pick for traders who want more day-to-day market updates and trading sentiment tools, while Questrade may appeal more to users looking for third-party charting and stock research resources.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | Yes |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners looking for trading education, ActivTrades has more to offer than Questrade. ActivTrades provides forex and CFD learning content, monthly client webinars, and at least 10 beginner-focused videos, along with 10 or more advanced videos for traders who want to go further. It earns 4 out of 5 stars for Education and is ranked #30 out of 36 brokers by ForexBrokers.com in this category.
Questrade also offers education, but it falls short in several areas that matter to new traders. It does not appear to provide monthly educational webinars or the same depth of beginner and advanced video content as ActivTrades, though it is ranked slightly higher at #28 out of 36 and holds a 3.5-star Education rating. Overall, ActivTrades is the stronger choice for beginners who want more trading lessons, webinars, and video-based support.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | 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 Questrade. ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #28, while Questrade finished with an overall rank of #29.
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
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Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 80 | 85 |
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ActivTrades vs Questrade: ActivTrades offers cryptocurrency CFD trading, whereas Questrade does not, and neither broker lets you buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency.
ActivTrades vs Questrade: for account funding and withdrawals, both brokers do not support ACH/SEPA or PayPal, both support bank wire transfers, only ActivTrades offers Skrill, and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified.
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 | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 80 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Questrade Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
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| Regulation | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 80 | 85 | |
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2000 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA 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 |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 675 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 110 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| 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). |
| Cost | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.08 | 0.8 or higher | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.92 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | No |
| Funding | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 64 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 64 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | Yes | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Education | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Questrade Review |
| Overall | ActivTrades | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 80 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Questrade Review |
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