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.
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.
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 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees, but Schwab ranks higher (#23 of 63) than OANDA (#30 of 63) with ForexBrokers.com. Schwab charges no commission on forex; your cost is the spread, which averaged 1.35 pips on EUR/USD in October 2024. OANDA’s default (commission-free) pricing averaged 1.61 pips on EUR/USD in July 2024, while its Core pricing adds a commission but can bring the all-in cost closer to 1.4 pips. Schwab has no minimum deposit for accounts that access thinkorswim, whereas OANDA’s Core pricing requires a $10,000 minimum.
At Schwab, forex trades settle in U.S. dollars via the Schwab One account, and the smallest trade size is 10,000 units (about $500 minimum margin at 20:1 leverage). If you want to place orders directly in a foreign currency from a Schwab One account, you must call by phone. The Schwab Global account lets you trade in 12 local markets, with currency conversion fees of about 0.2% to 1% depending on balance size. Overnight financing (carry) costs are easy to preview in the thinkorswim platform’s calculator.
OANDA’s default spreads are typically higher than top discount competitors, but its Core pricing reduces spreads and adds a $5 per side commission per $100,000 traded (about $10 per round turn), resulting in an example all-in cost near 1.4 pips on EUR/USD. OANDA also allows ultra-small trade sizes (down to 1 unit), which can lower the dollar cost of testing strategies. Active traders may qualify for volume rebates of $5 to $17 per million. For clarity, OANDA publishes trailing average spreads, though the format can make like-for-like comparisons tricky. Rating: OANDA 4/5 stars, ranked #30 of 63; Schwab 4/5 stars, ranked #23 of 63.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
OANDA
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.27 | 1.68 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.27 | 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 offers a much wider range of investments than OANDA, with about 40,000 tradeable symbols compared with OANDA’s 4,172. Both brokers support forex as CFDs or spot contracts; Schwab lists 73 currency pairs while OANDA lists 69. Each also lets clients buy exchange‑traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges, so you can trade names like Apple on the NASDAQ and Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange.
Feature-wise, OANDA adds copy trading and lets you buy actual cryptocurrency, while both brokers offer cryptocurrency CFDs. For Range of Investments, ForexBrokers.com rates Charles Schwab at 5 stars (ranked #5 of 63) and OANDA at 4 stars (ranked #20). Choose Charles Schwab if you want the largest selection across markets; pick OANDA if copy trading and direct crypto buying matter most.
| 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.
In this Charles Schwab vs OANDA comparison of trading platforms and tools, both brokers provide a free demo (paper) account, in-house platforms, Windows desktop software, and web-based trading. Each lets you place trades directly from charts. Key differences: OANDA supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Charles Schwab does not. Counts for built-in technical indicators and watch list columns were not specified.
For quality scores, ForexBrokers.com rates Charles Schwab 5 stars and ranks it #7 of 63 for Trading Platforms and Tools, while OANDA earns 4 stars and ranks #16. Choose OANDA if you want copy trading or MetaTrader compatibility; pick Charles Schwab if you want a higher-rated, all-in-one platform experience with paper trading on both desktop and web.
| 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 vs OANDA for beginner trading education: both brokers deliver extensive learning support. Each offers online client webinars at least monthly, plus 10+ beginner videos that explain trading topics in plain language. As you progress, both also provide 10+ advanced videos for experienced traders. According to ForexBrokers.com, each broker’s education earns a 5-star rating.
Where they differ is overall placement in the Education rankings: Charles Schwab sits at #6 out of 63 brokers, while OANDA places #18. If you want a higher-ranked education experience, Schwab has the edge; if you simply need dependable webinars and a deep set of beginner and advanced videos, both Schwab and OANDA are strong options for getting started and building your skills.
| 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 #13.
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 (FSA 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 | 1.27 | 1.68 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.27 | 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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