Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of City Index vs Swissquote, 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.
City Index and Swissquote stand out as two reputable online brokers in the financial world. Both have a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 99, indicating they are highly trusted establishments. Founded in 1983, City Index offers a solid track record and is publicly traded, although it is not a bank. In terms of regulatory credentials, City Index holds an impressive seven Tier-1 licenses, which are highly regarded, further enhancing its credibility. Additionally, it holds one Tier-2 license, which is also trusted.
On the other hand, Swissquote, established in 1996, adds the benefit of being both a publicly traded company and a bank, potentially offering more financial stability to its clients. With five Tier-1 licenses, Swissquote also maintains a strong regulatory standing, supported by two Tier-2 licenses. Both brokers enjoy a high level of trust with their clients, but if you're seeking a company with more Tier-1 regulatory oversight, City Index might have the edge.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1983 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | Yes |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 5 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
City Index offers commissions and fees that are generally in line with the industry average for CFDs, forex, and spread betting, with better pricing available on its own platform or MetaTrader. Its EUR/USD spread averaged 0.74 pips as of July 2023, and active traders may also qualify for lower costs through rebates and Premium Trader pricing if they deposit more than £10,000. City Index is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #16 out of 36 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.
Swissquote tends to cost a bit more, mainly because it is a Swiss banking group and its pricing reflects that premium position. Costs vary by region and account type, but in general its spreads and commissions are less competitive than the lowest-cost brokers; for example, Swissquote U.K.’s Elite account charges $5 per round-turn trade, while its Standard account starts from 1.3 pips on EUR/USD. Swissquote is rated 3.5 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees and is ranked #36 out of 36 brokers.
Overall, City Index is the stronger choice for lower trading costs, especially for active traders who can benefit from rebates or account-based discounts. Swissquote may appeal to traders who value its banking brand and account choices, but its commissions and spreads are usually higher, making it less attractive if keeping fees down is your main goal.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £100.00 | $1000 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.4 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
City Index and Swissquote both let clients trade forex, copy other traders, and access cryptocurrency CFDs. City Index stands out for sheer choice, with 13,500 tradeable symbols and 66 forex pairs, making it a strong option for traders who want a wide spread of markets in one account. Swissquote, by comparison, offers 472 tradeable symbols and 80 forex pairs, so it has fewer total markets but a slightly larger forex line-up.
The bigger difference is in direct market access. Swissquote lets investors buy real shares on U.S. and international exchanges, and it also offers delivered cryptocurrency, while City Index does not. For range of investments, both brokers are rated 5 stars, but Swissquote is ranked higher by ForexBrokers.com at #2 out of 36, compared with City Index at #8.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 13500 | 472 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 66 | 80 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | 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.
City Index and Swissquote are both well equipped for traders who want flexibility, since each offers a free demo account, a proprietary platform, a Windows desktop platform, a web-based platform, copy trading, and MetaTrader 4. Both also let users trade directly from charts, which can make order entry faster and easier for active traders. On ForexBrokers.com, each broker earns a 4.5-star rating for Trading Platforms and Tools, showing that both are strong choices in this area.
The biggest difference is that Swissquote supports MetaTrader 5, while City Index does not. That may matter for traders who want the newer MetaTrader platform and its added features. In ForexBrokers.com’s category ranking, City Index places slightly higher at #11 out of 36 brokers, compared with Swissquote at #12, so the overall comparison is very close. For most people, the better fit will come down to whether MT5 is important and which platform layout feels easier to use.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 88 | 86 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
City Index and Swissquote both give traders a mobile app for iPhone and Android, plus price alerts, trendline drawing, and auto-saving for chart drawings. They are also tied on user rating in the Mobile Trading Apps category, with each earning 4.5 out of 5 stars. For everyday mobile trading needs, both apps cover the basics well and make it easy to follow the market on the go.
The main difference is in charting and watchlists. City Index offers watchlist symbol syncing between its mobile app and online account, while Swissquote does not. City Index also provides far more technical studies for mobile charting, with 88 compared with Swissquote’s 30. That edge helps explain why City Index ranks higher for mobile trading apps overall, coming in at #9 out of 36 brokers, versus Swissquote at #12 out of 36.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 88 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
City Index and Swissquote both give traders a solid set of market research tools, including daily market commentary, forex news from leading sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, and an economic calendar for tracking key global events. Each broker is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for Research, showing that both offer strong support for staying on top of market developments. However, City Index stands out a little more in independent rankings, placing #10 out of 36 brokers for Research, while Swissquote is ranked #15.
Where they differ is in the extra tools they provide. City Index offers Trading Central research and a sentiment tool that shows the balance of long and short positions, which may help traders gauge market mood. Swissquote, on the other hand, includes Autochartist for technical and fundamental analysis, but it does not offer Trading Central or a sentiment-based trading tool. TipRanks and Acuity Trading are not available with either broker.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | Yes | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
City Index and Swissquote both give beginners plenty of learning material, including forex and CFD education with at least 10 pieces of content on those topics. Each broker also offers online educational webinars at least once a month, plus at least 10 beginner videos and 10 advanced videos, so traders can keep learning as their skills grow. In terms of education quality, both are rated 4.5 out of 5 stars.
When it comes to ranking, City Index comes out ahead at #9 out of 36 brokers for Education, while Swissquote is ranked #19. That makes City Index the stronger pick for education overall, even though both brokers offer a similar range of useful learning resources for new traders.
| Feature |
City Index
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 City Index is better than Swissquote. City Index finished with an overall rank of #8, while Swissquote finished with an overall rank of #11.
Backed by StoneX Group, City Index is a trusted brand known for its versatile trading platforms, excellent mobile app, diverse market research, and extensive range of tradeable markets.
| Feature |
City Index
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Swissquote
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|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 |
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In a comparison of online brokers, City Index offers cryptocurrency exposure only via CFDs and does not support buying actual (delivered) coins, whereas Swissquote enables clients to buy delivered cryptocurrencies and trade crypto CFDs.
Online brokers City Index and Swissquote both support ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wire deposits and withdrawals, but only Swissquote offers Skrill, while Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either broker.
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 | City Index | Swissquote | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | City Index Review | Swissquote Review |
| Broker Screenshots | City Index | Swissquote | |
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| Regulation | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1983 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 5 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| 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) | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 13500 | 472 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 66 | 80 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | 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 | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.4 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £100.00 | $1000 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 88 | 86 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 88 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | City Index | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | City Index Review | Swissquote Review |
| Overall | City Index | Swissquote | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | City Index Review | Swissquote Review |
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