Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of BlackBull Markets vs Alpari, 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.
BlackBull Markets and Alpari are both online brokers catering to a wide range of traders, but they differ notably in their regulatory standings and perceived trustworthiness. Founded in 2014, BlackBull Markets, though young, has secured one Tier-1 license, which is a mark of high trust according to ForexBrokers.com. It holds a Trust Score rating of 78, placing it in the average risk category, suggesting a moderate level of confidence for users engaging with their services.
In contrast, Alpari, established in 1998, has more experience but no Tier-1 licenses under its belt. This absence could be a significant point of consideration for potential investors seeking credible protection measures. With a Trust Score rating of 68, Alpari falls into the high-risk bracket, indicating the need for heightened caution when choosing to trade through this platform. Neither BlackBull Markets nor Alpari is publicly traded, and neither functions as a bank, two factors prospective clients may want to consider when evaluating their options.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2014 | 1998 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
BlackBull Markets charges about average trading costs overall, with fees varying by account. The Standard account is commission-free with no minimum deposit but uses wider spreads. The Prime account requires a $2,000 minimum and charges $3 per side ($6 round turn) per lot, in exchange for tighter pricing; in March 2024 the average EUR/USD spread on Prime was 0.16 pips, for an all-in cost of about 0.76 pips after commission. For high-volume clients, the ECN Institutional account starts at $20,000 and lowers commissions to $2 per side ($4 round turn). BlackBull Markets earns 4.5/5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #19 out of 63 brokers with ForexBrokers.com.
Alpari’s average spread data isn’t available, so it’s harder to estimate typical trade costs or compare all-in pricing across account types. That said, Alpari holds a 4/5 star rating for commissions and fees and ranks #42 out of 63 brokers with ForexBrokers.com.
Bottom line: BlackBull Markets provides clearer pricing and, on its Prime account, potentially lower all-in costs for active or spread-sensitive traders—if you can meet the minimum deposit. Alpari may still be competitive, but the lack of published average spreads makes side-by-side cost comparisons less precise.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $20 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.71 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.71 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
BlackBull Markets vs Alpari: When it comes to the range of investments, BlackBull lists about 26,000 tradeable symbols and 72 forex pairs, while Alpari offers roughly 105 symbols and 46 forex pairs. Both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot. BlackBull also lets clients buy exchange-traded U.S. shares like Apple, and provides access to international shares; Alpari does not offer U.S. shares but does provide exchange-traded international shares. Both support copy trading. Neither broker sells delivered cryptocurrency, but each offers cryptocurrency CFDs.
Independent ratings echo the difference in choice: BlackBull Markets earns 5 stars and ranks #6 of 63 brokers for Range of Investments at ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari receives 3 stars and ranks #64 in the same category. If you want the widest selection, BlackBull is the stronger pick; if you only need core forex and a modest set of markets, Alpari may suffice.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 | 105 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 | 46 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | 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.
BlackBull Markets and Alpari both deliver popular trading platforms and tools. Each offers a free demo account for paper trading, along with MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) on Windows desktop and in your web browser. Copy trading is available at both brokers, and you can place orders straight from charts. One key difference is platform ownership: BlackBull Markets relies on third-party platforms, while Alpari also provides a proprietary, in-house platform alongside MetaTrader.
For Trading Platforms and Tools, both brokers earn 4 out of 5 stars. However, in ForexBrokers.com’s comparison of 63 brokers, BlackBull Markets ranks #31, while Alpari ranks #56. If a higher third-party evaluation and broad MetaTrader access are your priorities, BlackBull Markets is appealing; if you want the option of a broker-built platform in addition to MT4/MT5, Alpari may suit you.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | No | 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) | 109 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
BlackBull Markets and Alpari both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, complete with forex and stock price alerts, 30 technical studies, and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Where they start to differ is in convenience: BlackBull Markets syncs your watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, while Alpari does not. BlackBull’s app also auto-saves your chart drawings so your annotations are there the next time you open a chart; Alpari’s app does not save drawings automatically.
In terms of evaluations, both brokers earn 4 out of 5 stars for their mobile trading apps. However, ForexBrokers.com ranks BlackBull Markets higher in the Mobile Trading Apps category (#33 out of 63) compared with Alpari (#57 out of 63). If watchlist syncing and saved chart work matter to you, BlackBull Markets could be the more seamless choice, while both deliver similar charting tools and alerts on iOS and Android.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing market research, BlackBull Markets focuses on in-house insights while Alpari emphasizes curated news. BlackBull delivers daily market commentary, a trader sentiment tool, Autochartist for technical ideas, and an economic calendar. It does not include Trading Central, TipRanks, Acuity Trading tools, or premium news feeds. Alpari skips daily commentary but provides forex news from major outlets, plus Autochartist and an economic calendar; it does not offer Trading Central or a sentiment tool, and TipRanks/Acuity availability is not specified.
Overall, BlackBull Markets earns 4 out of 5 stars for Research and ranks #18 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari scores 3 out of 5 stars and ranks #58 out of 63. If you want daily analysis and a view of crowd positioning, BlackBull Markets is the stronger pick; if headline-driven forex news matters more, Alpari has the edge.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | |
| Acuity Trading | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
BlackBull Markets and Alpari both provide forex and CFD education with at least 10 learning pieces, and each offers 10+ beginner trading videos. For ongoing support, BlackBull Markets runs client webinars at least once a month, which can help beginners ask questions in real time. BlackBull also supplies 10+ advanced trading videos for when you’re ready to level up. Alpari does not host monthly educational webinars and does not offer 10+ advanced videos, but it does cover the basics with beginner-focused content.
When it comes to quality scores, BlackBull Markets earns 4 stars for Education and ranks #29 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari earns 3 stars and ranks #48 out of 63. If you want beginner-friendly videos plus live webinars and room to grow into advanced topics, BlackBull Markets is the stronger pick. If you only need introductory videos, Alpari can still get you started.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| 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 BlackBull Markets is better than Alpari. BlackBull Markets finished with an overall rank of #24, while Alpari finished with an overall rank of #58.
BlackBull Markets is a plain-vanilla MetaTrader broker with a growing range of products and support for a handful of third-party social copy trading platforms.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 78 | 68 |
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Neither BlackBull Markets nor Alpari lets you buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but both brokers allow you to trade cryptocurrency CFDs.
Comparing deposit and withdrawal methods at online brokers BlackBull Markets and Alpari: both lack ACH/SEPA; BlackBull does not support PayPal but supports Skrill and bank wires, while Alpari’s PayPal, Skrill, bank wire, and Visa/Mastercard availability—and BlackBull’s card support—are 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 | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 78 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
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| Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Regulation | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 78 | 68 | |
| Year Founded | 2014 | 1998 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 | 105 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | 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 | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.71 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.71 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $20 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | ||
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | ||
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | ||
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | No | 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 | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 109 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review |
| Overall | BlackBull Markets | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 78 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review |
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