Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ActivTrades vs Xtrade, 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.
Founded in 2001, ActivTrades is a well-established online broker that brings a sense of security with its two Tier-1 licenses, which are highly trusted according to ForexBrokers.com. With an additional Tier-2 license, ActivTrades reinforces its credibility. The firm, not publicly traded and not a bank, holds a Trust Score of 81 out of 99, categorizing it as trusted by industry standards. This offers a reassuring level of credibility to those looking to entrust their money with a broker that has a solid regulatory foundation.
Set up in 2003, Xtrade carries a reputation bolstered by one Tier-1 license and another Tier-2 license, marking it as a broker with a respectable level of trust. Although also not publicly traded and not a bank, Xtrade holds a Trust Score of 74 out of 99, placing it in the average risk category. Clients seeking an option that balances reasonable trust with experience might find Xtrade appealing. Both brokers provide opportunities for investment, but ActivTrades edges forward slightly in terms of regulatory assurance and trust score.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2003 |
| 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 comparing the commissions and fees between ActivTrades and Xtrade, ActivTrades stands out with a higher ranking and better spreads. ActivTrades offers average spreads that are slightly better than the industry average, but they don't reach the competitive rates of the top low-cost forex brokers. They provide an Individual Account, alongside Professional and Islamic Account options, which have the same spreads but differ in margin requirements. While ActivTrades shares target spreads for each asset, these can fluctuate during trading sessions. Notably, EUR/USD spreads averaged 0.98 pips in May 2024. Despite its offerings, there's no special account or pricing for high-volume traders.
In contrast, Xtrade does not provide average spread data, which can make it challenging for traders to fully assess potential trading costs. This lack of transparency is reflected in its lower rating and ranking. While Xtrade may offer general trading services, it falls short when it comes to clear, competitive, and precise spread and fee information.
ActivTrades holds a solid rating of 4 stars out of five for its commissions and fees, ranking them 28th out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. Xtrade, however, receives a lower rating of 2.5 stars, placing it at the bottom of the list, ranked 63rd out of 63 brokers. This significant difference underscores ActivTrades as a more favorable choice for traders seeking better commission and fee arrangements.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $250 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | N/A |
| 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.
When comparing ActivTrades and Xtrade, both online brokers provide opportunities for forex trading as CFDs but differ significantly in their overall offerings. ActivTrades presents a wider variety of tradeable symbols, with 1,267 options, significantly surpassing Xtrade’s 482. However, when it comes to tradeable forex pairs, Xtrade slightly edges out ActivTrades, offering 56 pairs compared to ActivTrades' 49. Both brokers do not permit purchasing exchange-traded securities on U.S. exchanges, yet ActivTrades extends its services to international exchanges, allowing clients to purchase shares like Vodafone, a feature unavailable with Xtrade. Also of note, ActivTrades supports copy trading, adding to its versatility, whereas Xtrade does not offer this feature.
For those interested in cryptocurrency trading, both ActivTrades and Xtrade offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives but do not support the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. Evaluating these brokers on their range of investments, ActivTrades receives a 4-star rating, slightly higher than Xtrade’s 3.5-star rating. This difference is further highlighted by their rankings out of 63 brokers; ActivTrades is placed at #31, with Xtrade trailing at #49. These factors combined illustrate that ActivTrades provides a broader selection of investment options, especially for those looking beyond U.S. exchanges and seeking copy trading capabilities.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 482 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 56 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| 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.
When comparing trading platforms and tools between ActivTrades and Xtrade, several differences emerge that may influence a trader's choice. Both brokers offer free virtual demo accounts, allowing users to practice trading without financial risk. Each also provides proprietary platforms, but only ActivTrades supplements its offerings with the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which are favored by many experienced traders. For those who prefer a Windows-based desktop platform, ActivTrades has the edge, while Xtrade focuses entirely on its web-based platform. Additionally, ActivTrades offers copy trading capabilities, setting it apart from Xtrade in terms of social trading options.
Charting tools and accessibility vary significantly between the two brokers. ActivTrades provides a user-friendly charting experience with the ability to trade directly from stock charts and offers 15 drawing tools. In contrast, Xtrade compensates with a substantial number of 100 drawing tools but lacks the depth provided by MT4 and MT5 platforms. Watchlist functionality also differs slightly, with ActivTrades offering 11 columns for customization, compared to Xtrade's nine. Both brokers enable trading directly from stock charts, yet ActivTrades surpasses Xtrade in overall trading platform and tool ratings. ActivTrades holds a 4-star rating, ranking #30 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, while Xtrade earns 3.5 stars, placing it at #58.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | N/A |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 100 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 9 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of ActivTrades and Xtrade, both platforms offer availability on iPhone and Android, making them accessible to a wide range of users. ActivTrades stands out with its impressive ability to send stock or forex price alerts and offers a variety of 30 technical studies for charting—something that Xtrade does not provide. Furthermore, ActivTrades allows for the drawing of trendlines and viewing of multiple time frames on a chart, enhancing the tools available for technical analysis on the go. Although both do not offer watchlist symbol syncing, ActivTrades allows users to create a watchlist with real-time quotes, offering more dynamic interaction compared to Xtrade.
In terms of usability features, ActivTrades provides auto-saving of drawings on charts, which is not available with Xtrade's app. Despite these differences, both mobile apps are rated four stars for overall experience. However, ActivTrades ranks higher at #19 compared to Xtrade's #53 in the Mobile Trading Apps category according to ForexBrokers.com. Whether you're a casual user or an experienced trader, these differences in feature offerings might influence your choice depending on what trading tools you prioritize the most.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When diving into the world of online trading, both ActivTrades and Xtrade present valuable market research options for traders. Customers of both companies can access daily market commentary and forex news from esteemed sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. However, when it comes to technical analysis tools from companies like Autochartist or Trading Central, neither broker provides these resources. ActivTrades gains an edge with its sentiment-based trading tool, which offers insights into long or short positions across various currency pairs—a feature not available with Xtrade.
Both ActivTrades and Xtrade offer an economic calendar to keep traders informed about global news events. Despite their similarities, ActivTrades has a slightly superior research offering, reflected in its higher rating of 4 out of 5 stars compared to Xtrade's 3.5-star rating. Additionally, ActivTrades ranks 30th among 63 brokers for research according to ForexBrokers.com, whereas Xtrade stands at 52nd place. While each broker provides essential market research tools, ActivTrades appears to deliver a more comprehensive set of resources for traders seeking insightful analysis.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| 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, ActivTrades appears to have an edge over Xtrade. Both brokers offer a variety of educational material such as articles and videos focused on forex and CFDs. However, ActivTrades goes further by providing resources more frequently and in diverse formats. With regular monthly webinars and a searchable archive of past client webinars, ActivTrades ensures that beginner traders can access fresh and relevant content regularly. Additionally, ActivTrades offers a solid library of educational videos tailored for both beginner and advanced traders, which is not matched by Xtrade.
In contrast, Xtrade does provide a useful investor dictionary with definitions of over 50 investing terms, a feature that ActivTrades lacks. Despite this, ActivTrades still ranks higher in educational offerings, as reflected in their higher educational rating and ranking by ForexBrokers.com. While Xtrade received a 3.5-star rating and ranks 46th out of 63 brokers for their educational materials, ActivTrades boasts a 4-star rating and ranks 38th, offering a more comprehensive educational experience for new traders looking to deepen their understanding of trading.
| Feature |
ActivTrades
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| 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 Xtrade. ActivTrades finished with an overall rank of #33, while Xtrade finished with an overall rank of #60.
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
|
Xtrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 74 |
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While both ActivTrades and Xtrade do not provide the option to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency, they each offer the capability to buy cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both ActivTrades and Xtrade provide similar options for depositing or withdrawing account funds; neither offers ACH, SEPA, or PayPal transfers, but both support Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wire 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 | Xtrade | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 74 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Xtrade Review |
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| Regulation | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 81 | 74 | |
| Year Founded | 2001 | 2003 | |
| 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 | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1267 | 482 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 56 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | N/A | |
| 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 | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $250 | |
| 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 | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 9 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | N/A | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 100 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | No | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Xtrade Review |
| Overall | ActivTrades | Xtrade | |
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| Trust Score | 81 | 74 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | ActivTrades Review | Xtrade Review |
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