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.
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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 |
When comparing ActivTrades vs. Questrade on commissions and fees, ActivTrades comes out ahead for most everyday forex traders. ActivTrades uses spread-based pricing, with average EUR/USD spreads around 0.98 pips, which is slightly better than the industry average but still not as low as the cheapest brokers. It offers an Individual Account, Professional Account, Islamic Account, and a demo account, but it does not have special pricing for high-volume traders. ActivTrades is rated 4 stars for commissions and fees and is ranked #22 out of 36 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.
Questrade Global also uses spread-based pricing for forex, but its costs can be higher in real-world trading. While Questrade says spreads can be as low as 0.8 pips in normal market conditions, average spreads for major pairs were found to be closer to 2.1 to 2.5 pips, which can make trading more expensive. For CFDs, Questrade adds a $9.95 USD trading fee per unit on top of the spread, which can significantly raise the total cost of a trade. Questrade is rated 3.5 stars for commissions and fees and is ranked #34 out of 36 brokers.
In simple terms, ActivTrades is the better choice if you want lower overall trading costs and a stronger commissions-and-fees score, while Questrade may be more expensive, especially for CFD trades. If keeping fees low is a top priority, 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 comparing ActivTrades vs Questrade for range of investments, Questrade has the edge overall, earning 5 out of 5 stars and a higher ForexBrokers.com ranking at #12 out of 36 brokers, compared with ActivTrades at 4 stars and #26. Questrade also offers a larger list of tradeable forex pairs, with 110 versus 49 at ActivTrades, making it a stronger choice for traders focused on currency markets.
That said, ActivTrades offers a wider total selection of tradeable symbols, with 1,267 compared with Questrade’s 675, and it stands out for access to international exchange-traded securities, copy trading, and cryptocurrency CFDs. Neither broker lets clients buy actual cryptocurrency, and neither offers U.S.-listed exchange-traded shares as direct stock purchases. For investors looking for more global market access and extra trading features, ActivTrades may appeal more, while Questrade is better for those who want a higher-rated range of investments and more forex pairs.
| 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 free demo accounts, in-house platforms, Windows desktop downloads, and browser-based trading. Each broker also lets you place trades directly from a stock chart, and both earn 4 out of 5 stars for trading platforms and tools. In ForexBrokers.com’s ranking of 36 brokers, ActivTrades places slightly higher at #27, while Questrade comes in at #29.
Where ActivTrades stands out is in its extra trading features. It supports copy trading, along with MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, which may appeal to traders who want more platform options and charting tools in one place. Questrade does not offer copy trading, MT4, or MT5, so its platform lineup is simpler. For traders looking for a more flexible set of tools, ActivTrades has the edge, while Questrade still covers the basics well.
| 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. Each app also lets users draw trendlines on charts, and both save those drawings automatically. For traders who want simple access to the markets on the go, both brokers cover the basics well.
The bigger differences show up in chart tools and account syncing. Questrade supports watchlist syncing between its mobile app and online account, which makes it easier to keep track of changes across devices, while ActivTrades does not offer this feature. Questrade also provides more chart studies, with 64 technical indicators compared with 30 at ActivTrades. Still, ActivTrades comes out ahead in overall mobile app review scores, earning 4 out of 5 stars and ranking #21 out of 36 brokers, while Questrade is rated 3.5 stars and ranks #29.
| 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 more built-in news and analysis than Questrade in a few key areas. ActivTrades offers daily market commentary, forex news from top sources like Reuters and Dow Jones, a sentiment tool showing long and short positions, and an economic calendar for tracking global events. Questrade, on the other hand, does not provide daily commentary, top-tier forex news, sentiment tools, or an economic calendar, but it does include research features from Autochartist, Trading Central, and TipRanks.
Overall, ActivTrades is rated 4 out of 5 for research and ranks #27 out of 36 brokers in the ForexBrokers.com research category, while Questrade is rated 3.5 out of 5 and ranks #35. If you want more market news and trader sentiment tools, ActivTrades may be the better fit. If you prefer access to research tools from well-known third-party providers, Questrade has the edge.
| 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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