Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Charles Schwab vs OANDA, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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Charles Schwab, founded in 1971, stands out as a well-established player in the financial services industry. As a publicly traded bank, it boasts a top Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, placing it among the highest in trust. Schwab holds 5 Tier-1 licenses, representing a significant level of trustworthiness in regulatory circles. Being both a bank and publicly traded enhances its credibility and security for clients seeking dependable investment services.
In contrast, OANDA, established in 1996, is a privately held company and not a bank. With a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 93, OANDA is also considered highly trusted, though slightly less than Schwab. Despite this, it surpasses Schwab in the number of Tier-1 licenses, holding 7, which indicates a substantial commitment to adhering to stringent regulatory standards. While not publicly traded, OANDA's focus remains solely on online trading, making it a formidable competitor in the space.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1971 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 7 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
Charles Schwab and OANDA both earn 4 stars for commissions and fees, but they take different paths to pricing. Schwab offers commission-free forex trading where your cost is the spread; its average EUR/USD spread was 1.35 pips in October 2024. OANDA’s default spreads were higher at 1.61 pips on EUR/USD in July 2024, but its Core pricing can trim costs to about 1.4 pips all-in (0.4-pip spread plus $10 round-trip commission per standard lot), if you meet the $10,000 minimum. In ForexBrokers.com’s Commissions and Fees rankings, Schwab is #26 of 63 brokers, while OANDA is #35 of 63.
For Schwab, there’s no minimum deposit for its main brokerage accounts, and forex trading runs through thinkorswim with a Schwab One account. Trades settle in U.S. dollars and the smallest trade size is 10,000 units (about $500 minimum margin at 20:1 leverage). If you want to trade in a foreign currency directly, you’ll need to call Schwab, or you can use a Schwab Global account to access 12 international markets in local currencies; currency conversion fees range from 0.2% to 1% depending on your balance. Schwab also displays overnight financing charges in-platform to help you estimate carry costs.
OANDA keeps things straightforward with automated trade execution and two pricing choices: default spread-only pricing or Core pricing with lower spreads plus a commission of $5 per side per $100,000 traded. Traders who value small position sizes may appreciate that OANDA allows orders as tiny as 1 unit, and high-volume clients can access Elite Trader rebates of $5–$17 per million. OANDA publishes trailing spread data for transparency, but because it doesn’t fix the reporting window (like a monthly average), apples-to-apples comparisons can be tricky. Spreads and costs vary with market conditions for both brokers.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.32 | 1.69 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.32 | 1.69 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Charles Schwab vs. OANDA: for range of investments, Schwab offers far more choice with 40,000 tradeable symbols and 73 forex pairs, plus access to exchange‑traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges. OANDA lists 4,172 symbols and 69 forex pairs, and also provides U.S. and international exchange‑traded securities. Both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot, and both offer crypto CFDs. Key differences: OANDA includes copy trading and lets you buy real (delivered) cryptocurrency, while Schwab does not offer copy trading or direct crypto purchases.
On ratings, Charles Schwab earns 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks #5 out of 63 brokers, while OANDA earns 4 stars and ranks #28. Choose Schwab if you want the widest overall selection across markets; pick OANDA if copy trading and the ability to buy actual crypto matter more to you.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 4172 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 69 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | Yes |
| 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.
Charles Schwab and OANDA both make it easy to get started with trading platforms and tools. Each broker offers a free paper trading (demo) account, a proprietary platform built in-house, a downloadable Windows desktop platform, and a web-based platform you can use in your browser. Both also let you place trades directly from price charts, which is handy for timing entries and exits.
Where they differ: OANDA supports copy trading and gives you access to MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Charles Schwab does not. In independent testing by ForexBrokers.com, Charles Schwab earns 5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools and ranks #5 out of 63 brokers, whereas OANDA earns 4 stars and ranks #15. Choose Charles Schwab if you want a higher-rated, all-in-one platform experience; choose OANDA if MT4/MT5 access and copy trading are priorities.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 89 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both Charles Schwab and OANDA deliver full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports price alerts, drawing trendlines on charts, and auto-saving your chart annotations. They also share strong user acclaim, with both earning 5 stars for Mobile Trading Apps.
The main differences show up in charting depth and account syncing. Charles Schwab offers watchlist syncing with your online account, while OANDA does not. For technical analysis, Schwab provides 374 technical studies compared with OANDA’s 30, giving Schwab more advanced charting options. Reflecting these strengths, Schwab is ranked #6 for Mobile Trading Apps by ForexBrokers.com, while OANDA is close behind at #7.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 374 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Comparing market research at Charles Schwab and OANDA shows plenty of overlap with key differences. Both brokers deliver daily market commentary, forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg/Reuters/Dow Jones (or similar), and an easy-to-use economic calendar. Where OANDA pulls ahead is in trading extras: it offers Autochartist tools for pattern and signal spotting and a sentiment-based tool that shows the ratio of long vs. short positions. Schwab does not provide Autochartist or a sentiment tool, and neither broker includes Trading Central, TipRanks, or Acuity Trading.
Both brokers earn a 5-star Research rating, but ForexBrokers.com ranks OANDA slightly higher at #4 versus Schwab at #5 out of 63 brokers. If you value built-in pattern recognition and crowd sentiment to help time entries, OANDA has the edge. If you simply want daily insights, premium news, and an economic calendar, both Schwab and OANDA cover those needs well.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Charles Schwab and OANDA both deliver strong education for new traders. Each hosts live online webinars at least monthly and offers sizable video libraries that cover beginner basics as well as more advanced topics (10+ videos for each level). Both earn a 5-star education rating, but Schwab ranks higher in the category (#6 of 63) than OANDA (#19), which may matter if you want a clearer learning path and extensive support material from day one.
For forex and CFD education specifically, the details provided here don’t confirm whether either broker offers 10 or more lessons focused on those markets. If currency or CFD trading is your goal, check their learning centers to gauge the depth of forex- and CFD-focused courses, archived webinars, and articles. Bottom line: beginners will find plenty of guidance at both, with Schwab getting the edge in overall ranking and OANDA remaining a solid choice for webinars and step-by-step videos.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 Charles Schwab is better than OANDA. Charles Schwab finished with an overall rank of #6, while OANDA finished with an overall rank of #12.
Charles Schwab is a highly trusted financial institution and multi-asset broker catering to U.S.-based and international forex traders. Schwab's award-winning thinkorswim platform offers over 70 tradeable currency pairs alongside impressive tools, research, and education. That said, the broker’s forex offering is still largely limited to what is available on thinkorswim.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 |
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Charles Schwab vs OANDA: OANDA lets you buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency and trade cryptocurrency CFDs, while Charles Schwab offers only cryptocurrency CFDs and does not support buying actual coins.
Charles Schwab and OANDA both support ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers for deposits and withdrawals, but only OANDA also accepts PayPal and Skrill, while Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either.
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 | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | OANDA Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
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| Regulation | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Year Founded | 1971 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 7 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | Yes | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | ||
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | ||
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | ||
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | No | ||
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | ||
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 4172 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 69 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.32 | 1.69 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.32 | 1.69 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 89 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 374 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | OANDA Review |
| Overall | Charles Schwab | OANDA | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review | OANDA Review |
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