Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FP 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.
FP Markets and Alpari are both well-established online brokers, founded in 2005 and 1998 respectively. Neither of these companies is publicly traded nor operates as a bank. When it comes to regulation, FP Markets leads with two Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, which are indicators of high trust and reliability as per ForexBrokers.com. Alpari, on the other hand, does not hold any Tier-1 or Tier-2 licenses, which may be a point of concern for those prioritizing regulatory oversight.
FP Markets has a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 89, categorizing it as a trusted broker. In contrast, Alpari has a Trust Score of 68, placing it in the high-risk category. While both brokers are seasoned players in the financial market, FP Markets offers a more trusted experience backed by solid regulatory credentials.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2005 | 1998 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
When comparing FP Markets and Alpari in terms of commissions and fees, FP Markets stands out with its cost-effective offerings. Recognized with a 5-star rating, FP Markets excels, especially in its commission-based ECN account available on both MetaTrader and cTrader platforms. FP Markets was also ranked #6 by ForexBrokers.com for Commissions and Fees in their 2024 Annual Awards, testament to its competitive pricing. However, traders should be aware that its Iress ViewPoint account is more expensive and better suited for those with substantial account balances.
FP Markets offers two main account types: the Raw ECN account, known for its low spreads averaging 0.1 pips (or 0.8 pips including commissions), and the Standard account, which typically has higher spreads averaging 1.1 pips. For the Iress platform users in Australia, a variety of account levels exist with varying deposit requirements to waive platform fees. Options are available based on trading needs and budget, though high-balance accounts tend to benefit the most.
In contrast, Alpari, with a 4-star rating, is ranked #41 out of 63 brokers for commissions and fees by ForexBrokers.com. It lacks comprehensive average spread data, making FP Markets the more transparent and favorable choice for traders focused on minimizing trading costs. As the gap in rankings suggests, traders seeking the best value for commissions and fees may prefer FP Markets over Alpari.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 AUD | $20 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | 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 FP Markets and Alpari, FP Markets offers a more extensive selection of investment opportunities, with 10,000 tradeable symbols available. In contrast, Alpari provides a smaller portfolio of 105 tradeable symbols. For forex enthusiasts, FP Markets presents 71 currency pairs, a larger selection compared to Alpari's 46 pairs. Both platforms allow forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, but FP Markets has been recognized with a higher rating of 4.5 stars for its range of investments, ranking #18 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. Meanwhile, Alpari has a 3-star rating and ranks at #63.
Even though neither FP Markets nor Alpari offers exchange-traded U.S. securities like Apple shares, Alpari does provide access to international equities such as Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange, a feature absent with FP Markets. For those interested in cryptocurrency, both brokers facilitate trading of cryptocurrency derivatives rather than actual currencies. Additionally, investors have access to copy trading on both platforms, providing a useful feature for those looking to mirror the trades of successful investors. Overall, FP Markets delivers a broader scope in investment options compared to Alpari, making it a preferred choice for those seeking variety.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 | 105 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 | 46 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| 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 FP Markets and Alpari, both brokers offer a range of trading platforms and tools that cater to different trader needs. Each company provides users with access to free virtual demo accounts, enabling newcomers and experienced traders to practice and refine their strategies in a risk-free environment. Both FP Markets and Alpari offer proprietary platforms developed in-house, Windows-based desktop downloads, and web-based trading platforms ensuring flexibility in how traders can enter the financial markets. Additionally, they both support MetaTrader 4 and 5, as well as copy trading options, but do not offer DupliTrade or ZuluTrade.
Charting features are important for technical analysis, and here FP Markets offers 17 drawing tools, slightly edging out Alpari's 15. Both firms allow direct trading from stock charts and provide similar fields for watch lists, each offering 7 columns. In terms of star ratings, both FP Markets and Alpari score 4 out of 5 stars for their trading platforms and tools. However, FP Markets is ranked higher at #23 compared to Alpari’s #55 in the Trading Platforms and Tools category by ForexBrokers.com. This ranking suggests a slightly better overall user experience with FP Markets in this area.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 17 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When it comes to mobile trading apps, both FP Markets and Alpari offer dedicated applications for iPhone and Android users, ensuring accessibility for traders on the go. Both platforms provide stock and forex price alerts, along with the ability to draw trendlines and view multiple time frames on charts, which can greatly enhance the trading experience. However, neither FP Markets nor Alpari offers watchlist symbol syncing across devices, which means that watchlist changes made on one device won’t carry over to another. This is a notable limitation for users who switch between mobile and desktop frequently.
FP Markets stands out by including the MetaTrader platform by default, allowing for comprehensive technical studies, whereas Alpari offers a distinct number of 30 technical studies. Another advantage FP Markets holds is the automatic saving of chart drawings, a feature not available in Alpari's app. Both allow for the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes, which is useful for active traders. Rated evenly at four stars for mobile trading apps, FP Markets gains an edge in industry rankings, securing the 18th spot out of 63 brokers in ForexBrokers.com's evaluations, compared to Alpari's 56th position.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | MetaTrader (Default) | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
FP Markets provides a comprehensive suite of market research tools, making it an appealing choice for traders seeking insightful information. With daily market commentary and access to forex news from top sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, traders stay well-informed about market trends. Additionally, FP Markets offers technical analysis tools from both Autochartist and Trading Central, as well as a sentiment-based trading tool to gauge market movements. An economic calendar is also available, providing crucial updates on global news events. This extensive offering of resources has earned FP Markets a 4-star research rating and a ranking of 25th out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.
Alpari, although well-established, lacks in a few areas compared to FP Markets when it comes to market research capabilities. While it shares a strength in providing forex news from esteemed sources and features an economic calendar, Alpari does not offer daily market commentary or tools from Trading Central. Additionally, the absence of a sentiment-based trading tool may leave traders with fewer insights into market psychology. With similar access to tools from Autochartist, Alpari receives a 3-star research rating and a significantly lower ranking of 57th among 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com, highlighting the differences in their market research offerings.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | 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, FP Markets and Alpari both offer a variety of materials, but there are notable differences. FP Markets stands out because they provide online educational webinars every month, along with a searchable archive of these sessions for clients. These webinars offer a valuable opportunity for beginners to engage with real-time learning and revisit past sessions for further understanding. FP Markets also offers a comprehensive set of educational videos for both beginners and advanced traders, ensuring a wide range of topics are covered to enhance your trading knowledge. In addition, their investor dictionary simplifies complex investing terms, making learning more accessible.
Alpari, while providing sufficient educational content with over 10 beginner-focused videos and an extensive investor dictionary, falls short in some areas. It does not offer monthly webinars or a searchable archive of previous sessions, limiting access to potentially crucial live educational experiences and resources. Advanced traders might find their resources wanting since more advanced educational videos aren't available. According to ForexBrokers.com, FP Markets achieves a 4-star rating for its education and ranks 23rd among 63 brokers, while Alpari receives a 3-star rating and is ranked 48th. This suggests FP Markets may offer a more enriching educational platform for those stepping into the trading world.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that FP Markets is better than Alpari. FP Markets finished with an overall rank of #19, while Alpari finished with an overall rank of #58.
FP Markets shines as a low-cost broker for trading forex and CFDs – as long as you use the MetaTrader platform. The Iress platform suite offers well over 9,000 tradeable symbols, but it’s mostly a share trading platform – and is generally a much pricier option.
| Feature |
FP Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 68 |
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Both FP Markets and Alpari offer opportunities to trade cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither platform provides the option to purchase actual, delivered cryptocurrencies.
FP Markets and Alpari both provide options for deposits and withdrawals through Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, but FP Markets uniquely offers PayPal while neither platform supports ACH or SEPA transfers.
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 | FP Markets | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FP Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FP Markets | Alpari | |
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| Regulation | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 89 | 68 | |
| Year Founded | 2005 | 1998 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | 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) | No | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 | 105 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| 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 | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 AUD | $20 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | 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 | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 17 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | MetaTrader (Default) | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | FP Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | FP Markets Review |
| Overall | FP Markets | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 89 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FP Markets Review |
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