Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Swissquote vs AvaTrade, 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.
Swissquote and AvaTrade are established online brokers with clear differences. Swissquote, founded in 1996, is publicly traded and operates as a bank. AvaTrade, launched in 2006, is privately held and not a bank.
In terms of regulation, Swissquote holds 5 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, while AvaTrade holds 4 Tier-1 and 3 Tier-2 licenses. Their ForexBrokers.com Trust Scores signal top-tier safety: Swissquote scores 99/99 and AvaTrade 96/99—both fall in the “highly trusted” range (90–99; 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, under 59 not trusted).
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1996 | 2006 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 3 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
Swissquote vs AvaTrade on commissions and fees: AvaTrade usually comes out cheaper. AvaTrade earns 4.5/5 stars and ranks #14 of 63 for Commissions and Fees, with typical EUR/USD spreads near 0.9 pips (June 2024) and about 0.6 pips on its Professional account. Swissquote, which carries the appeal of a Swiss banking group, generally charges more; it scores 3.5/5 stars and ranks #35 of 63.
Swissquote’s pricing varies by region. In the U.K., costs and minimums are lighter (though the product range is narrower): active traders who can deposit at least $10,000 may favor the Elite account for lower spreads plus a $5 round turn commission; the Professional tier is similar but has a lower margin call stop-out level. The Standard account starts around 1.3 pips on EUR/USD, while Prime advertises minimum spreads from 0.6 pips. In Luxembourg, the Standard ($1,000), Premium ($5,000), and Prime ($50,000) accounts show minimum spreads from 1.5 pips down to 0.8 pips. In Switzerland, the Standard ($1,000), Premium ($10,000), and Prime ($50,000) accounts start near 1.7, 1.4, and 1.1 pips respectively; custom discounts are negotiated by volume.
AvaTrade keeps pricing straightforward: its typical EUR/USD spread sits just under one pip (about 0.9), which is close to the market average and a bit higher than some entry-level leaders. Traders who qualify as professionals can access about 0.6-pip pricing, comparable to FP Markets. If your goal is to minimize day-to-day trading costs and you don’t need Swissquote’s banking brand appeal, AvaTrade is generally the more cost-effective choice.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $1000 | $100 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | N/A | 0.93 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.61 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Comparing Swissquote vs AvaTrade for range of investments: both brokers offer forex trading as CFDs or spot and support copy trading. AvaTrade lists more total instruments (1,260 vs 472), but Swissquote provides more forex pairs (80 vs 53). A key difference is stock market access—Swissquote lets clients buy exchange‑traded shares on U.S. and international exchanges, while AvaTrade does not.
For crypto, both offer cryptocurrency CFDs, but only Swissquote lets you buy actual coins. Based on ForexBrokers.com’s Range of Investments ratings, Swissquote scores 5/5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers, while AvaTrade earns 4/5 stars and ranks #26.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 472 | 1260 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 80 | 53 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | 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.
Comparing Swissquote vs AvaTrade on trading platforms and tools, both brokers cover the essentials. Each offers a free paper trading (demo) account, a proprietary platform alongside MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, plus both a Windows desktop download and a web-based platform. You can place trades straight from charts, and copy trading is available at both brokers to help you follow or mirror strategies while you get comfortable with the software.
On quality, the two are neck and neck: both earn 4.5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools. According to ForexBrokers.com, Swissquote ranks slightly higher at #12 out of 63 brokers, with AvaTrade close behind at #13. If you want the slight edge in standings, Swissquote wins by a hair; otherwise, choose based on which interface you prefer or whether you plan to use the in-house platform or MetaTrader add-ons most.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 86 | 80 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Swissquote and AvaTrade both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, and each supports price alerts for stocks and forex. You can draw trendlines in both apps, but their everyday conveniences differ: AvaTrade syncs your watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, while Swissquote does not. If you like your lists to match across devices automatically, that’s a clear point for AvaTrade.
For charting tools, AvaTrade offers more technical studies (73) than Swissquote (30). However, Swissquote automatically saves your chart drawings, whereas AvaTrade does not. Both apps earn 4.5 out of 5 stars for Mobile Trading Apps. In ForexBrokers.com’s rankings of 63 brokers, Swissquote sits at #12 and AvaTrade at #13. Choose AvaTrade if you want broader indicator coverage and synced watchlists; pick Swissquote if autosaving drawings and a slightly higher ranking matter more to you.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 73 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
For market research, Swissquote edges ahead of AvaTrade. Swissquote publishes daily market commentary and, like AvaTrade, streams forex news from major outlets such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. Both brokers provide an economic calendar to track upcoming events that can move markets.
Their toolkits differ: Swissquote integrates Autochartist for technical and fundamental insights, while AvaTrade offers Trading Central and a sentiment tool that shows the ratio of long vs. short positions. Neither includes TipRanks or Acuity Trading tools. On ForexBrokers.com, Swissquote is rated 4.5/5 for Research and ranks 15th out of 63 brokers; AvaTrade is rated 4/5 and ranks 28th. Choose Swissquote if you want daily commentary and Autochartist; choose AvaTrade if Trading Central and sentiment data are priorities.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central | No | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners, Swissquote and AvaTrade both make learning forex and CFDs easier. Each hosts client webinars at least once a month and offers 10+ beginner-friendly videos that explain trading basics step by step. When you’re ready to go deeper, both also provide 10+ advanced videos to sharpen strategy and platform skills.
In testing by ForexBrokers.com, Swissquote earns 4.5 out of 5 for Education (ranked 19th of 63), while AvaTrade scores 4 out of 5 but ranks 2nd. Choose Swissquote if you want slightly higher-rated content; choose AvaTrade if a top-ranked education hub and regular webinars appeal to you. Either way, both give beginners a clear path from first trade to more advanced techniques.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
AvaTrade
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 Swissquote is better than AvaTrade. Swissquote finished with an overall rank of #11, while AvaTrade finished with an overall rank of #15.
Traders choose Swissquote for its quality research and vast multi-asset offering – as long as they are willing to pay a premium to have their brokerage account held with a Swiss bank.
| Feature |
Swissquote
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AvaTrade
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|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 96 |
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Swissquote lets you buy actual, delivered cryptocurrencies and trade crypto CFDs, while AvaTrade offers cryptocurrency CFDs only and does not support purchasing real, delivered crypto.
Comparing online brokers, Swissquote and AvaTrade both support PayPal, Skrill, and bank wire funding, but only Swissquote offers ACH/SEPA transfers for deposits and withdrawals.
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 | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 96 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Swissquote Review | AvaTrade Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
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| Regulation | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 96 | |
| Year Founded | 1996 | 2006 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 3 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 1 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| 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). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 472 | 1260 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 80 | 53 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | 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 | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | N/A | 0.93 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.61 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $1000 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 86 | 80 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 73 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Swissquote Review | AvaTrade Review |
| Overall | Swissquote | AvaTrade | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 96 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Swissquote Review | AvaTrade Review |
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