Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Saxo vs ATFX, 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.
When comparing the online brokers Saxo and ATFX, there are distinct differences in their histories and trust ratings. Established in 1992, Saxo operates as a bank and holds a total of seven Tier-1 licenses, which are highly regarded for trust. This contributes to its impressive Trust Score of 99 as per ForexBrokers.com. In contrast, ATFX was founded in 2017 and does not operate as a bank. With four Tier-1 licenses and a Trust Score of 85, it is still deemed a trusted choice, albeit not as high-ranking as Saxo.
Neither Saxo nor ATFX is publicly traded. Saxo's strong foundation and longer history, along with its extensive regulatory coverage, bolster its position as a leading broker. While ATFX is a relatively newer player in the market, its acquisition of four Tier-1 and two Tier-2 licenses reflects a commitment to maintaining trust and compliance. Both brokers offer secure options, though Saxo's higher Trust Score distinguishes it as a more established name in the brokerage space.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1992 | 2017 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
For commissions and fees, Saxo earns 5 stars and ranks #9 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while ATFX earns 3 stars and ranks #61. Saxo stands out for low costs if you trade larger sizes or maintain higher balances. ATFX provides less publicly available pricing detail, which makes head-to-head cost comparisons harder.
As of November 2023, Saxo’s average EUR/USD spreads were 1.1 pips on its Classic account, 1.0 pips on Platinum, and 0.9 pips on VIP; minimum spreads were about 0.2 pips tighter (Classic minimum 0.9). Forex trading is commission-free, with one exception: if you trade under 50,000 units per month, a $3-per-side ticket fee applies. Saxo also waives custody fees on share trading if you opt into securities lending. Account minimums: Classic $0; Platinum $200,000 (AUD 300,000 for Australian forex traders); VIP $1,000,000, with upgrade paths via the Loyalty Program (roughly $40M forex volume for Platinum and $167M for VIP, each valid 12 months).
ATFX does not have verified average spread data available in this review set, so we cannot quote typical costs on major pairs. Given its 3-star score and #61 ranking for commissions and fees, cost-focused traders may prefer Saxo’s clear, tiered spread structure—especially at higher volumes—while light-volume traders should factor in Saxo’s potential ticket fee and check ATFX’s live quotes and any commission plans before deciding.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $500 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Saxo offers a far wider range of investments than ATFX. Saxo lists about 70,000 tradeable symbols and 190 forex pairs, while ATFX has roughly 150 symbols and 44 forex pairs. Both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot, offer copy trading, and provide access to cryptocurrency derivatives (but not actual, delivered crypto).
For exchange-traded securities, Saxo lets clients buy real shares on U.S. and international exchanges (think Apple on NASDAQ or Vodafone in London). ATFX does not offer exchange-traded stocks and focuses on CFDs instead. Reflecting this breadth, ForexBrokers.com rates Saxo 5 stars and ranks it #3 out of 63 for Range of Investments; ATFX earns 3.5 stars and ranks #58. Choose Saxo if you want maximum variety; pick ATFX if you’re comfortable with a smaller, CFD-centered lineup.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 70000 | 150 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 190 | 44 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| 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.
Saxo and ATFX both offer free demo (paper) accounts, browser-based platforms, Windows desktop apps, and the ability to place trades directly from charts. Saxo provides its own in-house platform, while ATFX does not; instead, ATFX supports MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which Saxo does not. Both support copy trading, and neither offers DupliTrade or ZuluTrade. For charting, Saxo lists 20 drawing tools versus 15 at ATFX, and both let you trade from charts; technical indicator counts were not specified. Watchlists show a big gap: Saxo offers up to 60 columns, compared with 7 at ATFX.
In independent testing of trading platforms and tools by ForexBrokers.com, Saxo earned 5 stars and ranked #1 out of 63 brokers, while ATFX earned 3.5 stars and ranked #63. In short, choose Saxo if you want a feature-rich, proprietary platform with deeper watchlist customization; pick ATFX if you prefer the familiar MT4/MT5 experience.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 64 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 60 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Saxo vs ATFX: both brokers offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android with price alerts, real-time quote watchlists, trendline drawing, multiple time frames, and auto-saved chart drawings. You can track markets, set alerts, and mark up charts on the go for stocks and forex with either app.
The key differences are depth and syncing. Saxo includes 64 technical studies and syncs watchlists with your online account, so symbols update across devices. ATFX provides 7 technical studies and does not sync watchlists between app and web. Reflecting this, ForexBrokers.com rates Saxo 5 stars and ranks it #2 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps, while ATFX is rated 3.5 stars and ranked #64 out of 63. If you want advanced charting and seamless device-to-web continuity, Saxo is the better fit; if you only need the essentials, ATFX covers the basics.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 64 | 7 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Saxo vs ATFX market research: Both brokers publish daily market commentary and include an economic calendar. Saxo stands out by offering forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, and it provides Autochartist plus a sentiment tool showing long/short positions. ATFX also offers Autochartist and adds Trading Central, but it does not provide top-tier news or a sentiment gauge. Saxo does not include TipRanks or Acuity Trading; ATFX availability for those providers wasn’t specified.
Ratings and rankings: According to ForexBrokers.com, Saxo earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers, while ATFX earns 3 stars and ranks #55. In short, choose Saxo if you want premium news and sentiment data alongside Autochartist, or pick ATFX if Trading Central plus Autochartist matters more to you.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, Saxo and ATFX both provide a solid foundation with over 10 educational pieces like articles and videos focused on forex and CFDs. However, Saxo stands out by offering monthly webinars to enhance learning—something ATFX does not provide. Both brokers offer searchable archives of past webinars, allowing users to revisit content at their convenience. For those new to trading, both Saxo and ATFX offer over 10 educational videos that focus specifically on beginner trading topics, making it easier for novices to get started.
For traders looking to deepen their knowledge, Saxo outshines ATFX with a collection of advanced educational videos, whereas ATFX lacks this feature. Both platforms provide investor dictionaries with definitions of over 50 investing terms, useful for grasping trading jargon. Saxo’s overall educational offerings earn it a 5-star rating and the 13th spot out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com, while ATFX receives a 3-star rating, ranking 28th. In summary, for beginners looking for comprehensive education and ongoing learning opportunities, Saxo delivers a more extensive range of resources compared to ATFX.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| 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 Saxo is better than ATFX. Saxo finished with an overall rank of #3, while ATFX finished with an overall rank of #51.
Saxo is an exclusive multi-asset broker with brilliant research and a superb trading platform experience – as well as a stunning selection of over 40,000 securities.
| Feature |
Saxo
|
ATFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 85 |
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While both Saxo and ATFX do not offer the ability to purchase actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, they each provide options to trade cryptocurrency derivatives, allowing clients to engage in the crypto market without owning the underlying assets.
When comparing the online brokers Saxo and ATFX, both offer Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires for depositing and withdrawing funds, but neither supports ACH or SEPA transfers, nor PayPal; however, ATFX uniquely provides the option to use Skrill, which Saxo does not.
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 | Saxo | ATFX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Saxo Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Saxo | ATFX | |
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| Regulation | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 85 | |
| Year Founded | 1992 | 2017 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| 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). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No |
| Investments | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 70000 | 150 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 190 | 44 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $500 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 60 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 64 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 64 | 7 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Saxo | ATFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saxo Review |
| Overall | Saxo | ATFX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Saxo Review |
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