Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of CMC Markets 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.
Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a publicly traded online broker known for its high level of trustworthiness in the financial industry. The firm is not a bank, but it boasts an impressive Trust Score of 99 out of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com, placing it in the highly trusted category. Supporting this trust are CMC Markets' six Tier-1 licenses, which are highly rated for regulatory safety, and one Tier-2 license. These credentials underscore CMC Markets' strong regulatory standing and commitment to maintaining high standards for its clients.
In contrast, Swissquote, founded in 1996, is both a publicly traded company and a bank, giving it a unique standing in the online brokerage field. Like CMC Markets, Swissquote holds a perfect Trust Score of 99 out of 99 as per ForexBrokers.com, reflecting its solid reputation. Swissquote holds five Tier-1 licenses and two Tier-2 licenses, indicating its trusted regulatory framework. Despite the slight difference in the number of Tier-1 and Tier-2 licenses compared to CMC Markets, Swissquote's strong regulatory presence supports its credibility as a reliable option for online brokerage services.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1989 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | Yes |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 5 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
Looking at commissions and fees, CMC Markets is the cheaper pick for most traders, while Swissquote tends to cost more in exchange for its banking brand. ForexBrokers.com rates CMC Markets 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks it #4 out of 63 brokers. Swissquote earns 3.5 stars and ranks #35 out of 63.
CMC Markets posts tight pricing across account types, with an average EUR/USD spread around 0.61 pips (Aug 2023). Its FX Active plan charges $2.50 per side with minimum spreads from 0, delivering roughly 0.5 pips all-in on EUR/USD and five other major pairs; for example, NZD/USD can drop from 1.5 pips on the standard account to about 0.5 pips with FX Active. CMC’s Price Plus Scheme can further trim costs for high-volume traders by awarding Trading Points (two points per standard lot); hitting Tier 4 requires about 1,250 lots in a month for a 20% spread discount. Notably, CMC’s averages tend to track close to its quoted minimums.
Swissquote’s fees vary by region and account. In the U.K., the Elite account (for deposits of $10,000 or more) uses a commission model at $5 per round turn with reduced spreads; the Standard account starts around 1.3 pips on EUR/USD, while Prime advertises a 0.6 pip minimum (remember that minimums are not averages). In Luxembourg, minimum spreads span roughly 1.5 pips (Standard) to 0.8 pips (Prime). In Switzerland, forex accounts show minimums near 1.7 pips (Standard), 1.4 pips (Premium), and 1.1 pips (Prime) with higher deposit thresholds and custom pricing only by negotiation. Overall, Swissquote’s pricing sits above the industry’s lowest-cost providers.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1000 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 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.
CMC Markets and Swissquote both support forex trading as CFDs and as spot contracts. CMC Markets lists 12,029 tradeable symbols and 141 forex pairs, while Swissquote offers 472 symbols and 80 forex pairs. Each broker lets you buy exchange-traded shares in the U.S. (such as Apple) and on international markets (such as Vodafone), and both provide copy trading.
For crypto, CMC Markets offers cryptocurrency via CFDs but not direct, delivered coins. Swissquote offers both real crypto purchases and crypto CFDs. Both earn 5 stars for Range of Investments from ForexBrokers.com, with CMC Markets ranked 9th out of 63 brokers and Swissquote ranked 2nd. Pick CMC Markets if you want the widest selection of markets and forex pairs; pick Swissquote if direct crypto ownership matters alongside access to global shares.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12029 | 472 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 141 | 80 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | 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.
CMC Markets and Swissquote both check the key boxes for platform range and usability. Each broker offers a free demo account for paper trading, a proprietary platform built in-house, and access via both a downloadable Windows desktop platform and a web-based platform. They also support copy trading and give you the option to trade directly from charts. For third‑party tools, both brokers support MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), making it easy to plug into popular indicators and automated strategies.
If you’re comparing quality at a glance, CMC Markets edges ahead on industry reviews. According to ForexBrokers.com, CMC Markets earns 5 out of 5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools and ranks #6 out of 63 brokers, while Swissquote earns 4.5 out of 5 stars and ranks #12. In short, both are strong picks for platform choice and trading features, with CMC Markets receiving the higher marks overall.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
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) | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 73 | 86 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Comparing CMC Markets to Swissquote for mobile trading, both brokers check the key boxes: iPhone and Android apps, price alerts, trendline drawing, and auto-saving chart annotations. Day-to-day charting is strong on both platforms, with Swissquote offering 30 built-in technical studies and CMC Markets offering 29—functionally very close for most traders.
The bigger difference comes down to workflow and recognition. CMC Markets syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your web account, so any changes you make carry across devices; Swissquote does not offer this sync. For quality benchmarks, CMC Markets earns a 5-star Mobile Trading Apps rating and ranks #5 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Swissquote holds a 4.5-star rating and ranks #12. If seamless watchlist syncing and top-tier scores matter to you, CMC Markets has the edge; if you want one more built-in study, Swissquote slightly leads on that front.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
CMC Markets and Swissquote both check the key boxes for market research. Each broker delivers daily market commentary, an economic calendar with global events, and real-time forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. They also both integrate Autochartist for pattern recognition. On the flip side, neither firm offers Trading Central, TipRanks, or Acuity Trading research tools.
Where they differ: CMC Markets adds a sentiment tool that shows the ratio of long vs. short positions, while Swissquote does not. That extra insight helps explain why CMC Markets earns 5 stars for research and ranks #6 out of 63 brokers with ForexBrokers.com, compared with Swissquote’s 4 stars and #15 ranking. If crowd sentiment matters to you, CMC Markets has the edge; if you just want the essentials with Autochartist and top-tier news, both brokers fit the bill.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Comparing CMC Markets vs Swissquote for beginner education: both brokers deliver a deep library of on-demand learning, including at least 10 beginner videos and at least 10 advanced videos covering trading topics. If you like live learning, Swissquote runs ongoing educational webinars (at least one per month), while CMC Markets does not offer monthly client webinars.
For overall quality, CMC Markets earns 5 stars for Education and ranks #10 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Swissquote earns 4 stars and ranks #19. Choose CMC Markets if you want a higher-rated on-demand video experience for forex and CFD education, and consider Swissquote if live, interactive webinars are a priority.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | No | 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 CMC Markets is better than Swissquote. CMC Markets finished with an overall rank of #5, while Swissquote finished with an overall rank of #11.
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
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 |
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CMC Markets vs Swissquote: both brokers offer cryptocurrency CFDs, but only Swissquote lets you buy and hold actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, whereas CMC Markets does not.
In the CMC Markets vs Swissquote comparison for deposits and withdrawals, both brokers support ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wires, but only Swissquote supports 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 | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | Swissquote Review |
| Broker Screenshots | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
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| Regulation | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1989 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 5 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | CMC Markets | 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) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12029 | 472 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 141 | 80 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | 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 | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $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 | CMC Markets | 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) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 73 | 86 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | CMC Markets | 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 | 29 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | No | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | Swissquote Review |
| Overall | CMC Markets | Swissquote | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | Swissquote Review |
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