Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs BDSwiss, 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 2010, ThinkMarkets is an online brokerage known for its solid regulatory credentials. With a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 92 out of 99, ThinkMarkets falls within the highly trusted bracket. The company holds 5 Tier-1 licenses, demonstrating its commitment to maintaining high standards of regulation. Additionally, ThinkMarkets possesses 2 Tier-2 licenses, further solidifying its reputation as a reliable platform for investors. It should be noted that ThinkMarkets is neither publicly traded nor operates as a bank.
In contrast, BDSwiss began operations in 2012 and carries a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 73 out of 99, placing it in the average risk category. While BDSwiss holds only 1 Tier-1 license and lacks any Tier-2 licenses, it is not publicly traded and does not function as a bank. This regulatory standing indicates that while BDSwiss offers some level of trust, investors may want to compare options based on their risk preferences and investment needs.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2012 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
ThinkMarkets vs BDSwiss: both earn 4 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees. In ForexBrokers.com’s rankings, BDSwiss places #31 of 63, while ThinkMarkets is #48. One key difference is transparency: ThinkMarkets does not publish average spread data, making it harder to gauge typical costs, whereas BDSwiss provides good order execution statistics even though its spreads are higher than the lowest-cost brokers.
For EUR/USD at BDSwiss, the Classic account spread is about 1.5 pips, which is on the pricey side. The Raw account posts around 0.3 pips plus a $5 commission per side (buy and sell), for an effective cost near 1.3 pips, and the VIP account averages about 1.2 pips. Active traders may find Raw or VIP better value than Classic.
ThinkMarkets’ lack of published average spreads means you’ll want to check live quotes in the platform and confirm any commissions, financing (swap) rates, and other potential charges for your specific account type. Bottom line: both brokers score 4 stars, but BDSwiss ranks higher (#31 vs #48) and provides clearer pricing benchmarks, while ThinkMarkets requires a bit more digging to estimate your all-in trading costs.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $10-$5000 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 1.3 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | ||
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | ||
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
ThinkMarkets and BDSwiss both support forex trading (CFD or spot) and offer copy trading, plus cryptocurrency CFDs (but not actual crypto). ThinkMarkets lists about 4,000 tradeable symbols, far more than BDSwiss’s 1,081. BDSwiss edges ahead on currency choice with 53 forex pairs versus 46 at ThinkMarkets. Neither broker lets you buy U.S.-listed shares outright (non-CFD), but ThinkMarkets does offer access to international exchange-traded shares, while BDSwiss does not.
For overall market variety, ThinkMarkets earns 4.5/5 stars and ranks 24th out of 63 brokers for Range of Investments on ForexBrokers.com, compared with BDSwiss at 4/5 stars and 35th. If you want the widest selection of markets and the option to buy some international stocks directly, ThinkMarkets is the stronger fit. If your focus is slightly more forex pairs and you’re fine trading mainly via CFDs, BDSwiss is a solid alternative.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 1081 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 53 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| 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.
ThinkMarkets and BDSwiss both check the key boxes for traders who want flexibility and choice. Each broker offers a free demo (paper) account, a proprietary in-house platform, a Windows desktop download, and a web-based platform. They also support MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), include copy trading options, and let you place orders directly from charts. Indicator counts and the number of watchlist columns weren’t specified and can vary by platform layout.
For trading platforms and tools, both brokers earn 4 stars. In ForexBrokers.com’s category rankings out of 63 brokers, BDSwiss sits at #24 and ThinkMarkets at #28. If you’re deciding between them, try their demo accounts to compare platform feel, charting preferences, and watchlist customization before you commit.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
ThinkMarkets and BDSwiss both deliver mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, complete with price alerts, trendline drawing, and auto-saving of chart drawings. One limitation shared by both brokers is that watchlists created in the mobile app do not sync with the online account.
For charting depth, ThinkMarkets offers 94 technical studies compared with 30 at BDSwiss, which may appeal to traders who rely heavily on indicators. Both apps are rated 4 stars, yet ForexBrokers.com ranks ThinkMarkets slightly higher (#20 of 63) than BDSwiss (#24 of 63). Choose ThinkMarkets if you want a larger indicator library; pick BDSwiss if you prefer a simpler toolset with the core features covered.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
BDSwiss edges out ThinkMarkets for market research, earning 4/5 stars and a #24 rank out of 63 brokers from ForexBrokers.com, compared with ThinkMarkets’ 3.5/5 stars and #51 rank. Both brokers publish daily market commentary and offer an economic calendar. ThinkMarkets stands out for live forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones—something BDSwiss does not provide. By contrast, BDSwiss includes popular add-ons like Autochartist and Trading Central, which are not available at ThinkMarkets.
Tool sets differ in other ways: ThinkMarkets provides a sentiment tool that shows long/short positioning and integrates Acuity Trading (Signal Centre), while BDSwiss lacks both. Neither broker uses TipRanks. In short, choose BDSwiss if you want Trading Central and automated chart pattern ideas from Autochartist. Choose ThinkMarkets if real-time institutional news, trader sentiment data, and Acuity signals matter most to you—alongside daily commentary and a handy calendar on both platforms.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
ThinkMarkets and BDSwiss both provide beginner-friendly education with ongoing access to learning materials. Each broker runs client webinars at least once a month and offers 10+ beginner videos that cover trading basics, along with 10+ advanced videos for when you’re ready to go deeper. This mix of videos and live sessions helps new traders build skills at a steady pace.
If ratings and rankings matter to you, BDSwiss has a slight edge. BDSwiss earns 4 out of 5 stars for Education and ranks #22 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while ThinkMarkets scores 3.5 stars and ranks #52. In short, both can help you get started, but BDSwiss is evaluated higher overall for education.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
BDSwiss
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 ThinkMarkets is better than BDSwiss. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while BDSwiss finished with an overall rank of #36.
ThinkMarkets has multiple regulatory license and offers a proprietary trading platform, as well as the entire MetaTrader suite. The broker has made progress in key areas, such as research and education, and the range of markets available, although trails behind the best brokers in these categories.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
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BDSwiss
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|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 92 | 73 |
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ThinkMarkets vs BDSwiss: neither broker lets you buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but both offer cryptocurrency trading via CFDs.
In this comparison of online brokers ThinkMarkets vs. BDSwiss, BDSwiss supports ACH/SEPA transfers for deposits and withdrawals while ThinkMarkets does not; no information was provided about PayPal, Skrill, Visa/Mastercard, or bank wire options.
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 | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BDSwiss Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 73 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2012 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 1081 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 53 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.1 | 1.6 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 1.3 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | No |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $10-$5000 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | |||
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | |||
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | |||
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | BDSwiss Review |
| Overall | ThinkMarkets | BDSwiss | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BDSwiss Review |
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