Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Vantage vs ActivTrades, 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.
Vantage and ActivTrades are both well-established online brokers, with Vantage having been founded in 2009 and ActivTrades in 2001. Neither company is publicly traded nor operates as a bank. When it comes to regulatory credentials, both Vantage and ActivTrades hold two Tier-1 licenses, marking them as highly trusted according to ForexBrokers.com. They also each hold a Tier-2 license, which further supports their reliability.
In terms of Trust Score ratings from ForexBrokers.com, Vantage stands out with a score of 90, placing it in the highly trusted category. Meanwhile, ActivTrades holds a score of 81, ranking it as a trusted broker. These scores reflect the companies' compliance with regulatory standards and their history in the financial industry, making them both solid choices for investors seeking reliability and security in online trading.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2009 | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
Looking at commissions and fees, Vantage earns 4.5/5 stars and ranks #20 of 63 for this category at ForexBrokers.com, while ActivTrades scores 4/5 stars and ranks #29 of 63. Costs at both brokers vary by account type and what you trade. Based on disclosed data, Vantage’s Standard account listed a typical EUR/USD spread of 1.30 pips (March 2023), whereas ActivTrades reported an average EUR/USD spread of 0.98 pips (May 2024). That means ActivTrades’ headline spread was slightly tighter in that snapshot, though Vantage can be cheaper if you use its commission-based ECN accounts.
Vantage offers three account types: Standard STP (spread-only), plus RAW ECN and PRO ECN (both charge commissions). The RAW ECN account averaged 0.15 pips on EUR/USD with a $3 per side commission ($6 round turn), for about 0.75 pips all-in during March 2023. The PRO ECN drops the commission to $2 per side ($4 round turn) but has eligibility requirements (for example, wholesale-client status in Australia or a $10,000 minimum under its Cayman entity). An active trader program pays rebates of $2–$8 per standard lot based on balance and volume, but it applies only to the Standard account, which has the widest spreads. Overall, Vantage’s pricing sits near the industry average, with its PRO ECN offering the most competitive all-in costs for those who qualify.
ActivTrades keeps things simpler with one main “Individual” account alongside Professional and Islamic options; spreads are the same across account types, and there’s no separate active trader or volume-based pricing. The broker lists target spreads by asset and confirmed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.98 pips for May 2024. Fees will depend on the instruments and platform you choose, and while ActivTrades’ spreads are slightly better than the industry average, they’re not as low as the very cheapest brokers. Star rating: 4/5; Commissions and Fees ranking: #29 of 63.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.32 | 1.08 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.72 | 0.92 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Vantage vs ActivTrades for range of investments: ActivTrades lists 1,267 tradeable symbols, more than Vantage’s 1,000. Both brokers support forex trading via CFDs or spot, but their currency lineups differ—Vantage offers 61 forex pairs, while ActivTrades lists 49. Each broker also provides copy trading and access to cryptocurrency markets through CFDs (neither lets you purchase actual crypto).
For stocks, neither broker lets you buy U.S.-listed shares outright; however, ActivTrades does let you buy certain international shares on-exchange (for example, London-listed names), while Vantage does not. Reflecting this coverage, ForexBrokers.com rates ActivTrades 4 stars for Range of Investments (ranked 32nd of 63), ahead of Vantage at 3.5 stars (51st of 63). Choose ActivTrades if you want more total instruments and access to real international shares; pick Vantage if a wider list of forex pairs matters most.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1000 | 1267 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 | 49 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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.
Vantage and ActivTrades are closely matched on trading platforms and tools. Both brokers provide a free demo account for paper trading, along with access to a proprietary platform plus MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). You can trade on Windows desktop or directly in your browser, use copy trading, and place orders from a chart. Each broker includes technical indicators and watchlists to help with analysis and monitoring markets.
In independent testing by ForexBrokers.com, both Vantage and ActivTrades earned 4 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools. However, Vantage ranked #21 out of 63 brokers, while ActivTrades ranked #32. If you’re deciding between the two, consider trying both demo accounts to see which platform experience you prefer.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Vantage and ActivTrades both offer iPhone and Android mobile trading apps. Each app supports price alerts, 30 technical studies for charting, trendline drawing, and automatic saving of your chart drawings. Watchlists do not sync between the mobile app and the online account on either platform, so changes made on one won’t update the other.
Both brokers earn 4 out of 5 stars for mobile trading apps, but ForexBrokers.com ranks ActivTrades higher (#19 of 63) than Vantage (#29 of 63). If rankings matter to you, ActivTrades has the edge; otherwise, feature-wise the mobile experience is very similar across the two.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
In this Vantage vs ActivTrades market research comparison, both brokers check the key boxes traders expect. Each provides daily market commentary and streams forex news from top-tier sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones. You’ll also find a sentiment tool that shows the ratio of long vs. short positions, plus an economic calendar to track upcoming events.
The main difference is in third‑party research add‑ons: Vantage includes tools from Autochartist and Trading Central, while ActivTrades does not. Neither broker offers research from TipRanks or Acuity Trading. Both earn a 4 out of 5 star Research rating, yet Vantage ranks higher overall in the category (#22 of 63) compared with ActivTrades (#31 of 63), giving Vantage a slight edge for research depth.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central | Yes | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners comparing Vantage vs ActivTrades, both brokers offer forex and CFD education with well over the minimum 10 learning pieces, spanning articles, videos, and archived webinars. Each runs online client webinars at least once per month and provides 10+ beginner videos, along with 10+ advanced videos for when you’re ready to take the next step.
Both are rated 4 out of 5 stars for Education by ForexBrokers.com. That said, Vantage ranks higher in the Education category (#24 of 63) than ActivTrades (#38 of 63). If you want the higher-ranked learning center, Vantage has a slight edge; if you’re leaning toward ActivTrades, you’ll still find plenty of beginner-friendly content and ongoing webinars to help you get started.
| Feature |
Vantage
|
ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Vantage is better than ActivTrades. Vantage finished with an overall rank of #26, while ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33.
Vantage rounds out its MetaTrader platform suite offering with support for multiple social trading platforms, content powered by Trading Central and a proprietary mobile app. However, Vantage trails industry leaders in key areas such as research and education.
| Feature |
Vantage
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ActivTrades
|
|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 90 | 81 |
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Vantage vs ActivTrades: neither broker supports buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but both offer cryptocurrency CFD trading for investors seeking crypto exposure without owning the underlying asset.
Comparing online brokers Vantage and ActivTrades for deposit and withdrawal methods: neither supports ACH/SEPA, both support bank wires and Skrill, only Vantage offers PayPal, 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 | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 90 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Vantage Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
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| Regulation | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 90 | 81 | |
| Year Founded | 2009 | 2001 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | 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 |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No |
| Investments | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1000 | 1267 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 | 49 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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 | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.32 | 1.08 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.72 | 0.92 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Vantage Review | ActivTrades Review |
| Overall | Vantage | ActivTrades | |
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| Trust Score | 90 | 81 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Vantage Review | ActivTrades Review |
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