Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of BlackBull Markets vs IronFX, 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 online brokers, BlackBull Markets and IronFX offer distinct profiles. Founded in 2014, BlackBull Markets holds a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 78, which places it within the average risk category. Despite not being publicly traded or a bank, BlackBull Markets benefits from having one highly trusted Tier-1 license, enhancing its credibility for potential investors.
On the other hand, IronFX, established in 2010, boasts a higher Trust Score of 83, indicating it is a trusted broker. Like BlackBull Markets, IronFX is neither publicly traded nor a bank. However, IronFX stands out by possessing three Tier-1 licenses, suggesting a stronger regulatory framework. These licenses may offer clients greater confidence in IronFX's operations and protections.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
Comparing commissions and fees, BlackBull Markets comes out looking sharper overall than IronFX. BlackBull Markets earns 4.5/5 stars and ranks #19 of 63 for Commissions & Fees (ForexBrokers.com), while IronFX earns 4/5 stars and ranks #47 of 63. In short, BlackBull’s pricing is about average for the industry and can be quite competitive on its Prime account, whereas IronFX’s pricing appears higher than average across common setups.
At BlackBull Markets, account choice drives your costs. The Standard account is commission‑free with higher spreads and no minimum deposit. The Prime account requires a $2,000 minimum but offers tighter pricing: in March 2024 the average EUR/USD spread was 0.16 pips, working out to about 0.76 pips all‑in after a $3‑per‑side ($6 round‑turn) commission per lot—making Prime the better value for active traders. For larger deposits, the ECN Institutional account starts at $20,000 with lower commissions of $2 per side ($4 round‑turn).
IronFX lists a typical 1.8‑pip spread on its Standard variable spread account (no time range provided). Its Zero fixed‑spread account starts at 0.0 pips but adds an $18 per‑lot commission, and spreads widen to 3 pips overnight, which can raise total trading costs. Taken together, IronFX’s structure tends to price higher than the industry average, trailing BlackBull Markets on both star rating (4/5 vs. 4.5/5) and category ranking (#47 vs. #19).
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.71 | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.71 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | 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.
Comparing BlackBull Markets and IronFX for investment range, both support forex trading as CFDs/spot. The key difference is scale: BlackBull offers about 26,000 tradeable symbols versus IronFX’s roughly 340. IronFX does provide more forex pairs (83 vs 72), but BlackBull lets you buy exchange-traded shares on both U.S. and international exchanges—so you can purchase stocks like Apple or Vodafone directly, not only as CFDs. Both brokers offer copy trading. For crypto, each provides derivatives, but neither allows buying actual coins.
Independent ratings reflect this spread of choices: ForexBrokers.com gives BlackBull Markets 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks it 6th out of 63 brokers, while IronFX earns 3.5 stars and ranks 52nd. Choose BlackBull if you want broad market access and the ability to hold real shares alongside CFDs; pick IronFX if your priority is primarily forex pairs and CFD trading.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 | 340 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 | 83 |
| 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.
BlackBull Markets and IronFX both let you practice with a free demo (paper) account and both use third‑party platforms rather than their own. Each offers a Windows desktop download and a web-based platform, plus MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and copy trading. BlackBull goes further with MetaTrader 5 (MT5) and ZuluTrade, while IronFX does not support MT5 or ZuluTrade. Neither supports DupliTrade. For charting, both allow trading directly from the chart; indicator counts aren’t specified, but BlackBull lists 60 drawing tools versus 15 at IronFX. Watch lists include multiple fields on both platforms, with IronFX listing 7 columns and BlackBull 6.
For trading platforms and tools, ForexBrokers.com rates BlackBull Markets 4 stars and ranks it #31 of 63 brokers, compared with IronFX at 3.5 stars and #62. In short, if you want MT5 access, ZuluTrade, and more drawing tools, BlackBull Markets has the edge; if you prefer a slightly more detailed watch list out of the box, IronFX offers one extra column.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 109 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 60 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 6 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
BlackBull Markets and IronFX both offer iPhone and Android trading apps with the essentials: price alerts, real-time watchlists, 30 technical studies, drawing tools like trendlines, auto‑saved annotations, and the ability to switch among multiple time frames. If you’re looking for core charting and alerts on the go, either app will cover those needs.
The key difference is watchlist syncing. BlackBull Markets syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, while IronFX does not. In third-party evaluations for Mobile Trading Apps, BlackBull Markets holds a 4-star rating and ranks #33 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, compared with IronFX at 3.5 stars and a #63 ranking. Choose BlackBull if synced watchlists and higher standings matter to you; IronFX remains a solid option for basic mobile trading features.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| 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.
BlackBull Markets and IronFX both deliver daily market commentary and maintain an economic calendar, earning each a 4 out of 5 Research rating from ForexBrokers.com. That said, BlackBull ranks higher overall (#18 of 63) than IronFX (#29 of 63). A key difference is news: IronFX streams forex news from major wires like Bloomberg/Reuters/Dow Jones, while BlackBull does not include top‑tier news feeds.
Toolsets also diverge. BlackBull provides Autochartist and a sentiment tool that shows the ratio of long vs. short positions, but it lacks Trading Central, TipRanks, and Acuity Trading. IronFX offers Trading Central and top‑tier news, but does not include Autochartist or a sentiment tool; access to TipRanks and Acuity Trading wasn’t confirmed. In short, choose IronFX if you value wire news and Trading Central; pick BlackBull if Autochartist signals and sentiment data are higher on your list.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| 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 comparing BlackBull Markets and IronFX regarding educational resources for beginners, both brokers offer a solid foundation. They each provide a collection of over 10 educational materials that include articles, videos, and archived webinars on forex and CFD trading. However, BlackBull Markets distinguishes itself by hosting monthly live webinars, whereas IronFX does not offer live sessions for clients. Both companies maintain searchable archives of their previous webinars, facilitating easy access to past educational content.
In terms of video content, BlackBull Markets and IronFX both supply a variety of beginner-friendly educational videos. Advanced traders might find BlackBull Markets more beneficial as it also provides advanced educational videos, unlike IronFX. When it comes to investor dictionaries, both platforms offer a glossary with over 50 trading terms. Despite these offerings, both platforms earned a 4-star rating for education, although BlackBull Markets ranks higher at #29 compared to IronFX at #44, according to ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
BlackBull Markets
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 BlackBull Markets is better than IronFX. BlackBull Markets finished with an overall rank of #24, while IronFX finished with an overall rank of #48.
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
|
IronFX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
|
| Trust Score | 78 | 83 |
| Range of Investments |
|
|
| Commissions & Fees |
|
|
| Platforms & Tools |
|
|
| Research |
|
|
| Mobile Trading |
|
|
| Education |
|
|
Both BlackBull Markets and IronFX do not offer the ability to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they both provide options for trading cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both BlackBull Markets and IronFX do not offer ACH or SEPA transfers, nor PayPal for deposits and withdrawals, but they both support Skrill, Visa/Mastercard, and bank wire transfers as convenient options for managing account funds.
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.
Select Brokers
↓×Compare
0 of 5| Overall Rating | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| |
| Commissions & Fees |
|
| |
| Range of Investments |
|
| |
| Platforms & Tools |
|
| |
| Mobile Trading |
|
| |
| Research |
|
| |
| Education |
|
| |
| Trust Score | 78 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
|
| Regulation | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 78 | 83 | |
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 | 340 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 | 83 | |
| 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 | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.71 | 1.2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.71 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | 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 | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | No | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 6 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 109 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 60 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 30 | 30 | |
| 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 | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | BlackBull Markets Review |
| Overall | BlackBull Markets | IronFX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| |
| Commissions & Fees |
|
| |
| Range of Investments |
|
| |
| Platforms & Tools |
|
| |
| Mobile Trading |
|
| |
| Research |
|
| |
| Education |
|
| |
| Trust Score | 78 | 83 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | BlackBull Markets Review |
IG
CMC Markets
FOREX.com
XTB
eToro
AvaTrade
Plus500
Pepperstone
FP Markets
Tickmill