Written by ForexBrokers.com
Is CMC Markets better than XTB? In our analysis of 23 international regulators across 39 of the best forex brokers, CMC Markets is considered low-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 99 out of 99. XTB is considered low-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 95 out of 99. Learn more about Trust Score.
| Overall Rating | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | |||
| Commissions & Fees | |||
| Offering of Investments | |||
| Platform & Tools | |||
| Mobile Trading | |||
| Research | |||
| Education | |||
| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | 99 |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | XTB Review | IG Review |
| Regulation | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | 99 |
| Year Founded | 1989 | 2002 | 1974 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No | Yes |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Authorised in European Union | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| About Regulation | A “Yes” for any individual regulator indicates that the broker has at least one brand or entity that is licensed and/or authorized by that regulator within its group/organizational structure. Learn more about Trust Score. | A “Yes” for any individual regulator indicates that the broker has at least one brand or entity that is licensed and/or authorized by that regulator within its group/organizational structure. Learn more about Trust Score. |
| Tier-1 Licenses (High Trust) | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASIC Authorised (Australia) | Yes | No | Yes |
| IIROC Authorised (Canada) | Yes | No | No |
| SFC Authorised (Hong Kong) | No | No | No |
| CBI Authorised (Ireland) | No | No | No |
| FSA Authorised (Japan) | No | No | Yes |
| MAS Authorised (Singapore) | Yes | No | Yes |
| FINMA Authorised (Switzerland) | No | No | Yes |
| FCA Authorised (U.K.) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CFTC Registered (USA) | No | No | Yes |
| FMA Authorised (New Zealand) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Average Trust) | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBRC Authorised (China) | No | No | No |
| CySEC Authorised (Cyprus) | No | Yes | No |
| SEBI Authorised (India) | No | No | No |
| ISA Authorised (Israel) | No | No | No |
| CBR Authorised (Russia) | No | No | No |
| FSCA Authorised (South Africa) | No | Yes | Yes |
| SEC Authorised (Thailand) | No | No | No |
| DFSA / Central Bank Authorised (UAE) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-3 Licenses (Low Trust) | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCB Authorised (Bahamas) | No | No | No |
| IFSC Authorised (Belize) | No | Yes | No |
| CIMA Authorised (Cayman Islands) | No | No | No |
| BMA Authorised (Bermuda) | No | No | Yes |
| FSC Authorised (British Virgin Islands) | No | No | No |
| FSC Authorised (Mauritius) | No | No | No |
| VFSC Authorised (Vanuatu) | No | No | No |
| Investments | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12377 | 12000 | 19537 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 158 | 49 | 100 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFD) | Yes | 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). | 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 | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.51 (August 2022) | 1.07 (Q3 2022) | 0.86 (September 2022) |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.51 (August 2022) | 1.04 (Q3 2022) | 0.5957 (September 2022) |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | Yes |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Initial Deposit | $0 | $0 | £250.00 |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | No |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | No |
| cTrader | No | No | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No | No |
| Trading Tools | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 9 | 8 | 14 |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 84 | 39 | 33 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 40 | 30 | 20 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 39 | 33 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Forex Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Research | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Education | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has Education - Forex or CFDs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Review | CMC Markets Review | XTB Review | IG Review |
| Overall | CMC Markets | XTB | IG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | |||
| Commissions & Fees | |||
| Offering of Investments | |||
| Platform & Tools | |||
| Mobile Trading | |||
| Research | |||
| Education | |||
| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | 99 |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | XTB Review | IG Review |
Comparing forex brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2022 annual forex broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 39 forex and CFD brokerages to find the best forex broker. Let's compare CMC Markets vs XTB.
Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spreads data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough annual assessment, CMC Markets offers better pricing overall for traders.
At ForexBrokers.com, we track where each forex and CFD broker is regulated across over 23 international regulator databases. Here's our findings. CMC Markets holds 5 global Tier-1 licenses, while XTB holds 1. XTB holds 3 global Tier-2 licenses, while CMC Markets holds 1. In our analysis of 23 international regulators across 50 brokers, CMC Markets earned a higher Trust Score than XTB.
To compare the trading platforms of both CMC Markets and XTB, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, IG offers a better experience. With research, IG offers superior market research. Finally, we found IG to provide better mobile trading apps.
For forex and CFDs traders, copy trading and MetaTrader are both popular platform options. Both CMC Markets and XTB offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4).CMC Markets and XTB both offer copy trading.
CMC Markets provides traders 158 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to XTB's 49 available pairs. Forex pairs aside, CMC Markets offers traders access to 12377 CFDs while XTB has 12000 available CFDs, a difference of 377.
CMC Markets is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by five tier-1 regulators (high trust), one tier-2 regulator (average trust), and zero tier-3 regulators (low trust). CMC Markets is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Financial Markets Authority (FMA), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
XTB is a publicly traded company that is authorised by one tier-1 regulator (high trust), three tier-2 regulator (average trust), and one tier-3 regulator (low trust). XTB is authorised by the following tier-1 regulator: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
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.
As a trusted multi-asset broker, XTB offers outstanding customer service, a wide variety of forex and CFDs, and an excellent overall trading experience. Its xStation 5 trading platform is well-designed and packed with innovative features, and XTB’s comprehensive educational content and research helped the broker finish Best in Class for Research in 2022.
Overall winner: IG
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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