Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of HFM vs RoboForex, 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 online brokers HFM and RoboForex, both companies have been in operation for over a decade, with HFM founded in 2010 and RoboForex in 2009. Neither of the brokers is listed on a stock exchange, nor do they operate as banks. Regulatory oversight and trust scores form crucial aspects of evaluating online brokers. HFM stands out with two Tier-1 licenses, signaling strong regulatory backing, and a trust score of 86 from ForexBrokers.com, indicating it is a trusted broker. In contrast, RoboForex holds one Tier-1 license and has a trust score of 73, suggesting a moderate level of risk.
Beyond primary licenses, HFM also holds three Tier-2 licenses, providing additional trust and security assurances, whereas RoboForex does not have any Tier-2 licenses. These differences in regulatory status and trust scores help potential investors gauge the risk and reliability of engaging with these brokers in the fast-paced world of online trading.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2009 |
| 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 | 2 |
When it comes to trading commissions and fees, HFM offers slightly higher costs than the industry average. For standard trading accounts, HFM lists a typical spread of 1.2 pips, although this figure does not specify an average over a particular time period, meaning traders might encounter higher average spreads. The Zero account from HFM presents an effective spread of 0.7 pips after the commission is factored in, but this figure also lacks clarity regarding its average spread. For their pricing structure, HFM holds a solid rating of 4 out of 5 stars and is ranked 31st out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com in the Commissions and Fees category.
RoboForex, on the other hand, has average spreads of 1.3 pips for the EUR/USD pair on their Procent and Pro accounts, which are considered high. Despite this, RoboForex still manages to secure a respectable position in the market with a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars for its commission and fee structure. However, among its peers, RoboForex is ranked lower, coming in at 55th out of the 63 brokers listed in the same category on ForexBrokers.com.
Overall, both HFM and RoboForex have distinctive pricing models that potential customers should weigh carefully. HFM, with its relatively lower effective spreads for some accounts, is rated higher and ranks better than RoboForex. Nevertheless, it's essential for traders to consider their individual needs and preferences when choosing between these two online brokers.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| 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.
When comparing the investment offerings of HFM and RoboForex, it's clear both brokers provide engaging options, yet they cater to different trading needs. HFM offers 500 tradeable symbols with a strong focus on forex, providing 102 forex pairs for diverse currency exchange opportunities. RoboForex, on the other hand, outshines with an impressive 8,400 tradeable symbols but offers a more limited selection of 28 forex pairs. Both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts and enable traders to engage with cryptocurrency derivatives, although they don't facilitate buying actual cryptocurrencies.
Neither HFM nor RoboForex provides access to purchasing exchange-traded securities on U.S. or international exchanges, such as shares of Apple or Vodafone. However, both platforms include copy trading features, allowing traders to mimic the strategies of experienced investors. In terms of ratings, HFM scores 4 stars with a ForexBrokers.com ranking of 36 out of 63 brokers for its range of investments, while RoboForex takes a slight lead with a 4.5-star rating and a ranking of 20. This suggests that RoboForex may offer a broader spectrum of investment opportunities, appealing to traders seeking diverse financial instruments.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 8400 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 28 |
| 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 and RoboForex both offer traders a comprehensive suite of platforms and tools to enhance their trading experience. Both brokers provide free virtual demo accounts, allowing users to practice their strategies in a risk-free environment. When it comes to proprietary platforms, HFM boasts its own in-house developed platform, while RoboForex relies on third-party solutions. However, both brokers cater to various trading preferences by offering Windows-based desktop and web-based trading platforms. Additionally, traders can engage in copy trading and access popular platforms such as MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) with either broker.
Although neither broker supports DupliTrade or ZuluTrade, HFM distinguishes itself by offering 30 drawing tools for charting compared to RoboForex's 15. Both brokers, however, enable trading directly from stock charts and provide watch lists with seven customizable columns. Despite their differences, both HFM and RoboForex receive a rating of 4 stars for their trading platforms and tools. HFM ranks slightly higher at #42 compared to RoboForex's #43 out of 63 brokers assessed by ForexBrokers.com, showcasing their competitive offerings in this space.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| 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.
For those looking to trade on the go, both HFM and RoboForex provide convenient mobile trading apps available for iPhone and Android users. These apps feature a wide range of functionalities including stock and forex price alerts, the ability to draw trendlines on charts, and the option to view multiple time frames like daily, weekly, or intraday. Both platforms offer 30 technical studies for charting purposes, which can greatly assist in making informed trading decisions. Additionally, users can create watchlists with real-time quotes on both apps, although it's important to note that neither app offers watchlist symbol syncing with online accounts.
In terms of user experience and features, both HFM and RoboForex auto-save drawings on charts to ensure that all annotations can be revisited or modified as needed. Despite these capabilities, neither ranked particularly high in ForexBrokers.com's mobile trading app category, with HFM coming in at #39 and RoboForex at #43 out of 63 brokers. Nevertheless, both received a promising 4-star rating for their mobile trading apps, reflecting a solid overall performance. Whether you choose HFM or RoboForex, you'll find similar features to enhance your mobile trading experience.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 RoboForex both provide well-rounded daily market commentary and top-tier forex news from reputable sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring traders have access to timely and reliable information. However, when it comes to research tools, the two brokers offer different strengths. HFM offers valuable tools from Autochartist and a sentiment-based trading tool that reveals long and short positions across various instruments. Meanwhile, RoboForex brings technical analysis through Trading Central and offers insights via Acuity Trading's Signal Centre.
For traders interested in comprehensive market tools, HFM might be more appealing, given its array of features and higher ranking, holding a 4-star rating for research and coming in at #20 out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. RoboForex, with its 3.5-star rating and ranking at #37, still holds its ground with offerings like Trading Central and Acuity Trading, catering to those who prefer these specific tools. Both platforms provide an economic calendar to track global economic events, equipping traders to make informed decisions.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners diving into the world of online trading, the educational resources offered by HFM and RoboForex can significantly influence their learning journey. HFM excels in providing a broad spectrum of educational materials focused on forex and CFDs. They offer over ten educational articles and videos specifically tailored for beginners. In addition to this, HFM hosts monthly educational webinars and maintains a searchable archive of previously recorded sessions, giving learners the flexibility to revisit crucial topics at their convenience. Moreover, they provide both beginner and advanced educational videos, ensuring that traders at any level can enhance their skills. Finally, HFM includes an investor dictionary with definitions of over 50 investing terms, which can be particularly useful for novices trying to familiarize themselves with trading jargon.
Conversely, RoboForex does not measure up to the same standard in terms of quantity and variety of educational resources. While they offer some degree of educational content, they fall short by not providing the minimum number of educational articles, videos, or regular webinars. Furthermore, RoboForex lacks both the archival facility for past webinars and the comprehensive educational video library that HFM provides. This difference in educational offerings is reflected in their respective ratings and rankings; HFM garners a slightly higher education rating with four stars and is ranked higher in the education category. For those new to trading, these distinctions highlight HFM as a more resource-rich platform for acquiring the necessary trading knowledge.
| Feature |
HFM
|
RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 RoboForex. HFM finished with an overall rank of #30, while RoboForex finished with an overall rank of #46.
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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RoboForex
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 73 |
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Both HFM and RoboForex do not provide the option to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they each offer the capability to buy cryptocurrency derivatives instead.
In comparing online brokers HFM and RoboForex, it's notable that while both platforms support Skrill, Visa/Mastercard, and bank wire transfers for deposits and withdrawals, RoboForex offers additional flexibility with ACH or SEPA transfers and PayPal, options that are not available with HFM.
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 | RoboForex | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | RoboForex Review |
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| Regulation | HFM | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 86 | 73 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2009 | |
| 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 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | HFM | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | No | |
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | HFM | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 8400 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 28 | |
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 1.3 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | HFM | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 | |
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | HFM | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | RoboForex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | RoboForex Review |
| Overall | HFM | RoboForex | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | RoboForex Review |
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