Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of CMC Markets vs FXOpen, 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.
CMC Markets and FXOpen, both established online brokers, offer distinct trust levels and regulatory environments for forex traders. Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is publicly listed and holds a top-tier status with five Tier-1 licenses, known for being highly trusted by ForexBrokers.com. This contributes to its impressive Trust Score of 99 out of 99, effectively positioning it as a highly trusted choice among online brokers. In contrast, FXOpen, founded in 2003, remains privately held with two Tier-1 licenses, indicating a lower but still notable level of trust. It carries a Trust Score of 76, marking it as an average risk in the eyes of ForexBrokers.com.
While neither CMC Markets nor FXOpen operates as a bank, their regulatory standings are significant. CMC Markets' regulatory reach extends further with an additional Tier-2 license, further enhancing its trustworthiness in regulatory compliance. On the other hand, FXOpen does not hold any Tier-2 licenses, underscoring a more modest regulatory framework. The distinction in trust ratings and regulatory coverage makes CMC Markets a prime choice for those seeking a highly regulated and trusted trading environment, while FXOpen caters to traders who accept a moderate risk level in exchange for potentially different offerings.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1989 | 2003 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
CMC Markets emerges as a top choice for traders seeking favorable commissions and fees, excellent enough to earn a 5-star rating and secure the #1 rank out of 63 brokers in the category by ForexBrokers.com. Known for consistently low spreads across all customer segments and account types, CMC Markets reported average spreads of just 0.61 pips on the EUR/USD as of August 2023. Their innovative Price Plus Scheme offers an active trader program that rewards lower trading costs based on collected Trading Points, providing discounts such as a 20% spread reduction at Tier 4 for high-volume traders.
In comparison, FXOpen garners a 4-star rating and ranks #44 by ForexBrokers.com for commissions and fees. However, the platform lacks available average spread data, making direct comparison challenging. Despite this, FXOpen is often preferred by those already familiar with its structure or seeking alternative features not primarily focused on fees.
Additionally, CMC Markets' FX Active pricing structure, which was introduced in 2022, offers traders a commission-based model with spreads dropping to zero pips for users in regions like Southeast Asia, Australia, and the U.K. The all-in cost when trading EUR/USD, including commissions, is approximately 0.5 pips, affirming CMC Markets as a leader in low-cost trading. This competitive edge sets CMC Markets apart, especially for traders keen on minimizing costs.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.61 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.51 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
CMC Markets and FXOpen both offer the opportunity to trade forex as a CFD (Contract for Difference) or spot contract, catering to various trading preferences. However, when it comes to the sheer volume of tradeable symbols, CMC Markets far exceeds FXOpen, offering a staggering 11,925 symbols compared to FXOpen’s 87. CMC Markets also stands out in the forex trading arena, providing access to 156 forex pairs, while FXOpen offers just 25. Additionally, CMC Markets allows clients to trade exchange-traded securities from both U.S. and international exchanges. In contrast, FXOpen does not offer this capability, limiting its offerings to derivatives and CFDs.
Both brokers make room for cryptocurrency derivatives, yet neither provides the option to buy actual cryptocurrencies. They each support copy trading, enabling users to follow and replicate the strategies of others. However, the range of investments is where CMC Markets truly outshines FXOpen, earning a 5-star rating and ranking 9th among 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, FXOpen is rated with 3 stars and sits at rank 62 in the same category, highlighting a significant gap in the investment opportunities offered by the two platforms.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 11925 | 87 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 156 | 25 |
| 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing trading platforms and tools, CMC Markets and FXOpen both offer a variety of features, but they cater to slightly different needs. CMC Markets boasts a proprietary trading platform that is available as a Windows-based desktop download and a web-based version, allowing for flexibility across devices. Similarly, FXOpen offers a Windows-based and web-based trading platform, though it lacks a proprietary solution. Both brokers provide access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, essential for those who prefer these popular interfaces. Additionally, each broker supports copy trading, providing ample opportunities for traders to follow and learn from successful strategies. However, only FXOpen offers ZuluTrade integration, enriching its social trading options.
For charting enthusiasts, CMC Markets stands out with 40 drawing tools available, compared to FXOpen's 15. Additionally, CMC Markets provides more comprehensive watch lists with 11 columns for fields, whereas FXOpen offers 7. Both platforms allow traders to execute trades directly from stock charts, enhancing the user experience. In terms of ratings, CMC Markets shines with 5 stars for its trading platforms and tools, ranking #4 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. FXOpen holds a respectable 4-star rating but is positioned lower at #53. Both brokers offer demo accounts to help new users get acclimated, ensuring a well-rounded trading experience, although CMC Markets’ offering appears slightly more comprehensive.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | 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 | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 79 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 40 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of CMC Markets and FXOpen, both platforms provide essential features, including availability on iPhone and Android, the ability to send price alerts for stocks or forex, and trendline drawing capabilities on charts. CMC Markets stands out with its excellent watchlist symbol syncing, ensuring that any changes made on the mobile app or the online account are seamlessly updated across devices. In contrast, FXOpen lacks this syncing capability. Furthermore, CMC Markets supports a robust 29 technical studies for detailed chart analysis, while FXOpen surpasses this slightly with 30 technical studies. Both apps allow viewing multiple time frames on stock or forex charts.
CMC Markets has a distinct edge with its auto-save function for chart drawings, a feature FXOpen does not provide. Both apps allow users to create watchlists with real-time quotes. In user ratings, CMC Markets shines with a perfect 5-star rating, while FXOpen trails with 4 stars. According to ForexBrokers.com rankings, CMC Markets secures an impressive position at #5 out of 63 brokers for mobile trading apps, while FXOpen is ranked at #54. Overall, CMC Markets offers a more polished and user-friendly mobile trading experience.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When it comes to market research, both CMC Markets and FXOpen offer daily market commentary and provide news from leading sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, keeping traders updated with the latest forex happenings. However, CMC Markets gains an edge with its access to Autochartist's technical analysis tools, providing users with additional resources for in-depth analysis. While both platforms lack tools from Trading Central and Acuity Trading, CMC Markets stands out with a sentiment-based trading tool that helps traders see the percentage of long and short positions in currency pairs, an option not available with FXOpen.
Additionally, both brokers offer an economic calendar to highlight upcoming global news events, which is essential for staying informed on potential market shifts. Based on an evaluation by ForexBrokers.com, CMC Markets is rated 5 stars for research quality and holds an impressive 6th rank out of 63 brokers, showcasing its comprehensive research offerings. On the other hand, FXOpen, with a 3-star rating, is placed significantly lower at the 63rd position, indicating room for improvement in its research services.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners seeking educational resources, CMC Markets shines compared to FXOpen. CMC Markets offers a vast range of learning materials including over ten educational pieces such as articles, videos, and archived webinars focused on forex and CFDs. They're known for having a comprehensive archive of recorded client webinars and a wide selection of both beginner and advanced trading videos. Additionally, CMC Markets provides an investor dictionary with over 50 terms clearly explained. On the other hand, FXOpen falls short in several areas. Although they offer an investor dictionary similar to CMC Markets, they lack the broader educational resources found at CMC, such as a significant number of educational videos or a searchable archive of webinars. Moreover, neither platform provides regular, live educational webinars to their clients.
This difference in educational offerings reflects in their ratings, with CMC Markets receiving a strong 5-star rating for education, while FXOpen lags behind with 3 stars. Within the Education category ranked by ForexBrokers.com, CMC Markets is positioned at number 10 out of 63 brokers, indicating its strong emphasis on supporting beginner traders. Meanwhile, FXOpen is ranked near the bottom at number 58, highlighting significant room for improvement in their educational provisions. For beginners eager to learn about trading and investing, CMC Markets presents a more resource-rich environment compared to FXOpen.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | No | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| 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 CMC Markets is better than FXOpen. CMC Markets finished with an overall rank of #4, while FXOpen finished with an overall rank of #54.
CMC Markets is well-trusted across the globe, and delivers a terrific trading experience thanks to its excellent pricing and selection of over 12,000 tradeable instruments.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 |
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Both CMC Markets and FXOpen do not provide the option to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they do offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing online brokers, CMC Markets offers more diverse account funding options with ACH, SEPA, PayPal, Visa/Mastercard, and bank wires, whereas FXOpen provides Visa/Mastercard, Skrill, and bank wires but does not support ACH, SEPA, or PayPal transfers.
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 | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review |
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| Regulation | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Year Founded | 1989 | 2003 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| 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) | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 11925 | 87 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 156 | 25 | |
| 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). |
| Cost | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.61 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.51 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | 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 | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 11 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 79 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 40 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 29 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | No | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | CMC Markets Review |
| Overall | CMC Markets | FXOpen | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review |
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