Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of HFM vs GBE brokers, 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.
When comparing the regulatory standing of online brokers HFM and GBE brokers, it's essential to consider their trust scores and the licenses they hold. HFM was founded in 2010 and holds a Trust Score of 86 out of 99, putting it in the 'trusted' category. It is not publicly traded nor operates as a bank, but it stands out with two Tier-1 licenses, considered highly trusted, and three Tier-2 licenses, which signify a trusted status. These various licenses contribute to HFM's strong regulatory credibility.
On the other hand, GBE brokers, established in 2013, has a Trust Score of 71, categorized as average risk. Like HFM, it is neither publicly traded nor a bank. GBE brokers possess one Tier-1 license but do not have any Tier-2 licenses. This positioning provides some level of regulatory trust, though not as extensive as HFM. With different trust levels and licensing, both brokers present distinct profiles for potential clients to consider.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2013 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
Comparing commissions and fees, HFM and GBE brokers both earn 4 out of 5 stars, but HFM edges ahead in the rankings: HFM is #32 of 63 in ForexBrokers.com’s Commissions and Fees category, while GBE brokers is #38 of 63. That suggests HFM has a slight advantage on pricing overall, even though both are rated similarly.
HFM’s trading costs are slightly above the industry average. The company lists a typical spread of 1.2 pips on its standard account, but no date range is provided, so the true average could be higher. Its Zero account advertises an effective spread of 0.7 pips after commission; however, this figure is also not an average, making real-world costs dependent on market conditions.
For GBE brokers, average spread data isn’t available, which makes it harder to estimate day-to-day trading costs. Even so, GBE brokers holds a 4/5 star rating for commissions and fees and is ranked #38 of 63, indicating competitive—though less transparent—pricing. Traders comparing HFM vs. GBE brokers should review live spreads and the commission schedule for the specific account type they plan to use.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1000 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
HFM vs GBE Brokers: both let you trade forex via CFDs/spot and list the same total number of instruments (500). The key difference is depth in currencies—HFM offers 102 forex pairs, while GBE Brokers lists 71. Neither broker provides direct share dealing on U.S. or international exchanges (no buying actual stocks), and neither supports buying real cryptocurrency. Both do, however, offer copy trading and access to cryptocurrency derivatives.
For range of investments, HFM is rated 4 stars and ranks #37 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while GBE Brokers earns 3.5 stars and ranks #45. If having more forex pairs matters, HFM has the edge; otherwise, both are similar on total symbols and features like copy trading and crypto derivatives.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 71 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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). | 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.
HFM vs GBE Brokers: both online brokers offer free demo (paper) accounts, Windows desktop platforms, web platforms, copy trading, and the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Each also lets you place trades directly from charts, and both omit DupliTrade and ZuluTrade. One clear difference is that HFM also provides its own proprietary platform, while GBE Brokers does not.
For charting, HFM lists 30 drawing tools compared with 15 at GBE Brokers; indicator counts are not specified. Both support watchlists with 7 columns. According to ForexBrokers.com, each earns 4 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools, with HFM ranked #43 of 63 brokers and GBE Brokers ranked #58 of 63. If you want an in-house platform and more drawing tools, HFM may appeal; if you just need the essentials with MT4/MT5 on desktop and web, GBE Brokers is comparable.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
HFM and GBE brokers both deliver fully featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports price alerts, real-time quote watchlists, and drawing tools like trendlines. Charting is strong on both, with 30 technical studies and the ability to switch between multiple time frames, from intraday to weekly views. Your chart drawings auto-save, so your work is preserved. One notable limitation for both: watchlist symbol syncing isn’t available, meaning changes you make in the mobile app won’t sync to your online account and vice versa.
When it comes to quality scores, HFM and GBE brokers each earn 4 stars for mobile trading. However, HFM ranks higher at #40 out of 63 brokers in the ForexBrokers.com Mobile Trading Apps category, while GBE brokers sits at #58. If ranking matters in your choice, HFM has the edge; if you only need the core mobile tools listed above, both apps cover the essentials well.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
HFM and GBE Brokers both cover the basics with daily market commentary and an economic calendar. HFM goes further by delivering forex news from top-tier sources (such as Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones), plus Autochartist for technical setups and a sentiment tool showing long/short positioning. GBE Brokers also offers a sentiment tool and calendar, but it lacks premium news feeds and Autochartist. Neither broker includes Trading Central.
HFM does not offer research from TipRanks or Acuity Trading; availability of these for GBE Brokers isn’t specified in the provided details. Based on ForexBrokers.com, HFM earns 4 out of 5 stars for Research and ranks #20 of 63 brokers, while GBE Brokers scores 3 out of 5 stars and ranks #63 of 63. If you want stronger built-in news and analysis tools, HFM is the more feature-rich choice, whereas GBE Brokers covers essential research without the extras.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
HFM is the stronger pick for beginner education. It offers a wide range of forex and CFD learning materials and earns 4 stars for Education from ForexBrokers.com, ranked #37 out of 63. GBE brokers trails with a 3-star Education score and a lower ranking (#64 by ForexBrokers.com). For newcomers who want clear guidance and frequent learning touchpoints, HFM stands out, while GBE brokers provides far less.
HFM supplies at least 10 forex/CFD pieces, holds at least one client webinar each month, keeps a searchable archive of recorded sessions, and provides 10+ beginner videos as well as 10+ advanced videos. It also includes an investor dictionary with 50+ terms. By contrast, GBE brokers lacks each of these: it does not meet the 10-piece threshold for forex/CFD education, does not run monthly webinars, has no webinar archive, does not offer 10+ beginner or advanced videos, and has no large investor glossary. For learners starting from scratch, that difference can make it much easier to build skills step by step with HFM.
| Feature |
HFM
|
GBE brokers
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that HFM is better than GBE brokers. HFM finished with an overall rank of #30, while GBE brokers finished with an overall rank of #57.
Alongside its enhanced MetaTrader offering and quality research, HFM (HF Markets), previously known as HotForex, offers a proprietary copy trading platform, HFcopy, a proprietary HF mobile app, and a decent selection of over 1,000 CFDs and 47 forex pairs. Still, trading costs at HFM are slightly above the industry average.
| Feature |
HFM
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GBE brokers
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| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 71 |
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Both HFM and GBE Brokers do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but they both provide options to purchase cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing the online brokers HFM and GBE brokers, GBE brokers stands out by offering a wider range of fund transfer options such as ACH, SEPA, and PayPal, while both brokers support Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wire transactions.
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 | HFM | GBE brokers | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review |
| Broker Screenshots | HFM | GBE brokers | |
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| Regulation | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 86 | 71 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2013 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| 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) | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 71 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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). | 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 | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1000 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| Trading Tools | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | HFM | GBE brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | HFM Review |
| Overall | HFM | GBE brokers | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review |
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