Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs HFM, 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 ThinkMarkets and HFM, both established in 2010, regulatory information plays an important role in assessing their trustworthiness. Neither company is publicly traded, nor are they banks, which is common among many online brokers. ThinkMarkets stands out with a higher Trust Score of 92 as rated by ForexBrokers.com, landing it in the 'highly trusted' category. This is bolstered by its possession of 5 Tier-1 licenses, which are considered top-tier regulatory approvals. In contrast, HFM holds a Trust Score of 86, categorizing it as 'trusted', with 2 Tier-1 licenses. Both brokers' credibility is further supported by their respective holdings of Tier-2 licenses, with ThinkMarkets having 2 and HFM having 3, ensuring a solid level of regulation.
With the regulatory landscape being a significant factor for traders, ThinkMarkets may appeal to those seeking a broker with higher levels of regulatory trust due to its greater number of Tier-1 licenses and superior Trust Score. Meanwhile, HFM still represents a trusted choice with a respectable regulatory foundation, backed by its Tier-2 licenses. Both brokers provide strong regulatory oversight, making them viable options for traders worldwide, although ThinkMarkets has a slight edge in terms of regulatory reputation.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 3 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
For commissions and fees, both ThinkMarkets and HFM earn 4 out of 5 stars. In the ForexBrokers.com rankings (out of 63 brokers), HFM places #32 while ThinkMarkets ranks #48. That means HFM scores higher in this category, even though both sit in the same star tier.
ThinkMarkets does not provide average spread data. Without averages or a clear date range, it’s difficult to estimate typical trading costs or make an apples-to-apples comparison versus other brokers. Rating: 4/5 stars; Ranking: #48 of 63 for Commissions and Fees.
HFM’s trading costs are slightly above the industry average. The company lists a typical spread of 1.2 pips for its Standard account, but no date range is given, so the true average may be higher. Its Zero account shows an effective spread of 0.7 pips after commission, yet this figure is also not an average. Rating: 4/5 stars; Ranking: #32 of 63 for Commissions and Fees.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.7 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
ThinkMarkets and HFM both support forex trading, offered as CFDs or spot contracts depending on availability, and each provides copy trading. Both also let you trade cryptocurrency derivatives (not the actual coins). Neither broker offers U.S.-listed exchange-traded securities; however, ThinkMarkets does provide access to exchange-traded shares on select international exchanges, while HFM does not. In overall market breadth, ThinkMarkets lists about 4,000 tradeable symbols compared with roughly 500 at HFM. If your focus is currency choice, HFM offers 102 forex pairs versus 46 at ThinkMarkets.
For Range of Investments, ForexBrokers.com rates ThinkMarkets 4.5 out of 5 stars and ranks it 24th out of 63 brokers, while HFM earns 4.0 stars and ranks 37th. In short, ThinkMarkets suits traders seeking a wider menu of symbols and access to international exchange-traded shares, whereas HFM appeals to those who want more forex pairs.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 102 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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). | 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.
ThinkMarkets vs HFM: both brokers check the key boxes for platform access and ease of use. Each offers a free paper-trading demo account, a proprietary platform alongside MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), plus Windows desktop and web-based trading. Copy trading is available at both, while DupliTrade and ZuluTrade aren’t supported. You can also place trades directly from charts with either broker.
For charting and lists, ThinkMarkets provides 15 drawing tools and up to 15 watchlist columns, while HFM offers 30 drawing tools and 7 watchlist columns. Indicator counts weren’t specified. Both earn 4 out of 5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools, and ForexBrokers.com ranks ThinkMarkets #28 out of 63 brokers versus HFM at #43. If you value more drawing tools, HFM has the edge; if you prefer richer watchlists, ThinkMarkets stands out.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| 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) | 30 | 15 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
ThinkMarkets vs HFM: both brokers deliver full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports price alerts, drawing trendlines, multiple time frames, auto‑saving chart drawings, and creating watchlists with real-time quotes. Note that neither app syncs watchlist symbols between mobile and the web platform, so lists built on one device won’t mirror automatically on the other.
Charting depth is the main difference. ThinkMarkets offers 94 technical studies in its mobile charts, while HFM provides 30. Despite that gap, both apps earn 4 out of 5 stars for mobile trading. In ForexBrokers.com’s Mobile Trading Apps category, ThinkMarkets ranks #20 out of 63 brokers, and HFM ranks #40. If you rely on a wide range of indicators and more detailed chart work, ThinkMarkets is likely the better fit; if you prefer a simpler toolkit with the essentials, HFM does the job.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 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.
Both ThinkMarkets and HFM cover the essentials for market research. Each broker provides daily market commentary, top-tier forex news (from sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones), a sentiment tool that shows long/short positioning, and an economic calendar to track upcoming events. Neither broker includes research from Trading Central or TipRanks.
The key differences lie in their add-on tools. HFM includes Autochartist for chart pattern scanning, while ThinkMarkets does not. By contrast, ThinkMarkets offers tools from Acuity Trading (including Signal Centre), which HFM lacks. In ForexBrokers.com’s 2024 ratings for Research, HFM scores 4 stars and ranks #20 out of 63 brokers, while ThinkMarkets earns 3.5 stars and ranks #51. Choose HFM if you want Autochartist baked in; pick ThinkMarkets if you value Acuity Trading signals alongside core research features.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational resources available for beginners between ThinkMarkets and HFM, both online brokers offer a comprehensive range of learning tools. ThinkMarkets provides more than ten educational pieces including articles, videos, and archived webinars on forex and CFDs. Additionally, they host monthly educational webinars and maintain a searchable archive of past sessions. For beginners, ThinkMarkets offers at least ten videos focused on foundational trading topics. They also cater to experienced traders with more advanced video content, and they provide an investor dictionary featuring definitions of over 50 investing terms.
HFM matches ThinkMarkets in offering a minimum of ten educational articles, videos, and webinars centered on forex and CFDs, alongside monthly webinars and a searchable archive of recordings. Beginner traders can access over ten instructional videos tailored to their needs, with additional resources for those seeking advanced knowledge. HFM also includes an investor dictionary with entries for more than 50 terms. Interestingly, while both brokers offer extensive educational support, HFM is rated slightly higher, earning 4 stars compared to ThinkMarkets' 3.5 stars. In terms of global rankings from ForexBrokers.com, HFM is positioned at #37 among 63 brokers, whereas ThinkMarkets is ranked at #52, indicating a stronger overall educational offering by HFM for newcomers to trading.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| 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 ThinkMarkets is better than HFM. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while HFM finished with an overall rank of #30.
ThinkMarkets has multiple regulatory license and offers a proprietary trading platform, as well as the entire MetaTrader suite. The broker has made progress in key areas, such as research and education, and the range of markets available, although trails behind the best brokers in these categories.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
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HFM
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 86 |
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Both ThinkMarkets and HFM do not offer the ability to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they do provide the option to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
ThinkMarkets and HFM both facilitate seamless transactions through Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires for deposits and withdrawals, yet neither broker supports transactions via ACH, SEPA transfers, or PayPal.
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 | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 86 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 86 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 3 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| 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) | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 102 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | 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). | 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 | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 1.2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.7 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 15 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 94 | 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 | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | HFM | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 86 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review |
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