Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Octa vs iFOREX, 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.
Octa, founded in 2011, and iFOREX, established in 1996, are prominent online brokers in the trading world, each bringing their own strengths to the table. Neither company is publicly traded or functions as a bank, but both have made strides to gain regulatory trust. Octa holds one Tier-1 license, which signals a high level of trust, and one Tier-2 license, considered trusted. In comparison, iFOREX holds just one Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses, focusing their efforts on a single, highly regarded regulatory approval.
In terms of trustworthiness, Octa and iFOREX have varying ratings according to ForexBrokers.com. Octa holds a Trust Score of 72, placing it in the average risk category, while iFOREX achieves a slightly higher score of 75, also categorized under average risk. Both brokers strive for transparency and reliability, yet iFOREX seems to inch forward slightly in trust rating, despite fewer licenses overall.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2011 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of online brokers Octa and iFOREX, Octa emerges as a strong contender, offering competitive pricing improvements that bring it close to the lowest-cost MetaTrader brokers. Octa has shown significant progress in pricing, boasting no slippage on 97.5% of executed orders and no overnight carry costs. However, some restrictions may affect high-frequency traders. The costs incurred at Octa depend on the chosen account type and regulatory entity—European clients utilize the EU entity with a single account available on MT5, while international clients can choose accounts on MT4, MT5, or OctaTrader via South Africa or Mwali. Octa achieves a 4-star rating for commissions and fees, ranking 29th out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com.
On the other hand, iFOREX falls short in providing detailed transparency with its pricing, as average spread data is not readily available. This lack of information can make it challenging for potential investors to gain confidence in their cost structure, potentially impacting their trading decisions. iFOREX's commissions and fees receive a 3-star rating with a much lower ranking of 61st out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.
In terms of spread comparisons, Octa offers varied pricing based on the entity, with the EU entity offering better spreads for the EUR/USD pair at 0.5 pips on average, compared to 0.9 pips for its foreign entities. However, the lack of a date range for Octa's typical spread data requires investors to proceed with caution. Overall, Octa demonstrates enhanced pricing competitiveness, although its claim about average spreads could benefit from further clarity.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $25 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.9 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| 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 it comes to the range of investments, Octa and iFOREX both offer forex trading through CFDs and spot contracts, giving traders a choice in how they engage with the forex market. However, iFOREX provides a broader selection with 750 tradeable symbols, including 88 forex pairs, compared to Octa's 300 tradeable symbols and 35 forex pairs. While neither broker allows the purchase of exchange-traded securities on U.S. exchanges, Octa stands out by offering access to international exchange-traded securities, unlike iFOREX, which does not. In terms of cryptocurrency options, both brokers offer cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither provides the ability to purchase actual cryptocurrencies.
For traders interested in social trading, Octa offers copy trading features, which can appeal to those looking to follow experienced traders' strategies. On the other hand, iFOREX does not support this service. Despite these differences, both brokers are rated similarly, each receiving a 3.5-star rating for their range of investments. However, in the ForexBrokers.com ranking, iFOREX scores slightly better, placing at #41, while Octa is at #52 out of 63 brokers. This comparison highlights the diverse options and specific advantages each broker offers to cater to different trading preferences and needs.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 300 | 750 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 35 | 88 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| 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.
When weighing the trading platforms and tools offered by Octa and iFOREX, there's a clear distinction in features that may appeal to different types of traders. Octa stands out with its provision of a simulated trading experience through a free virtual demo account, a great advantage for beginners looking to practice without financial risk. Alongside this, Octa not only offers its proprietary platform but also supports industry standards MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, accommodating those with varying preferences for interactive trading. Furthermore, Octa provides a Windows-based desktop platform and supports copy trading, features that iFOREX does not match. However, both brokers do include web-based platforms and allow direct trading from stock charts.
Despite both Octa and iFOREX receiving a four-star rating in trading platforms and tools, Octa’s placement at #37 versus iFOREX's #54 in the ForexBrokers.com ranking highlights some differences worth considering. iFOREX doesn't offer simulated accounts or the popular MetaTrader platforms, potentially limiting choice and testing opportunities for their users. However, iFOREX compensates with a higher number of drawing tools (25) compared to Octa’s 15, and offers more watch list fields. These options may appeal to traders who prioritize charting functionality and data organization. Ultimately, both brokers have unique offerings that can cater to specific trader needs and preferences.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 57 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 25 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 9 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of Octa and iFOREX, both brokers offer applications on iPhone and Android devices, catering to a wide range of traders. Octa stands out by offering more advanced features like stock and forex price alerts, a variety of technical studies, and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Additionally, Octa allows users to view different time frames on charts and auto-save drawings, providing a comprehensive trading experience. iFOREX, conversely, lacks these features but still provides a functional mobile platform, rated similarly in user satisfaction.
Neither Octa nor iFOREX supports watchlist symbol syncing between mobile and online accounts, but Octa enables users to create watchlists with real-time quotes, a feature missing in the iFOREX app. Although both brokers receive four-star ratings for their mobile trading apps, Octa ranks higher at #36 compared to iFOREX's #55, according to ForexBrokers.com. Ultimately, Octa's mobile app offers more tools and flexibility, catering to traders who value technical analysis features and real-time market updates.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
In a comparison of market research capabilities, both Octa and iFOREX offer daily market commentary and maintain economic calendars that track important global news events. However, Octa provides forex news sourced from highly reputed outlets like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring traders have access to top-tier information. In contrast, iFOREX does not supply forex news from these notable sources. Octa further strengthens its offerings with technical and fundamental analysis tools from Autochartist, which iFOREX lacks.
On the other hand, iFOREX surpasses Octa when it comes to sentiment-based trading tools, helping traders assess the ratio of long or short positions across currency pairs. iFOREX also offers insights through Trading Central, which is not available through Octa. While both platforms have their strengths, Octa holds a higher overall research rating with four stars compared to iFOREX's 3.5 stars, and ranks 27th among 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, where iFOREX is ranked 48th.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When considering the educational tools for beginners in forex and CFDs, Octa stands out by providing a variety of learning materials. It excels with a diverse collection of over ten educational pieces such as articles, videos, and archived webinars, all focusing on forex and CFDs. Furthermore, Octa hosts monthly online educational webinars and maintains a searchable archive of past webinars. For those just starting their trading journey, Octa offers at least ten beginner-focused trading videos. Advanced traders are not left out, as Octa also supplies over ten videos aimed at more seasoned investors. To top it off, they provide a comprehensive investor dictionary featuring definitions of over 50 investment terms. With these offerings, Octa achieves a respectable four-star rating and is ranked 42nd out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com for education.
In contrast, iFOREX presents a more limited selection of educational resources. While they do offer at least ten beginner educational videos, their resources fall short in other areas. iFOREX does not provide a minimum of ten forex or CFD-focused educational pieces, nor do they hold monthly webinars or have a library of past webinar recordings. Additionally, there is no investor dictionary featuring more than 50 terms, making it a less comprehensive choice for traders eager to expand their financial lexicon. This more restricted approach to education results in a 3.5-star rating and a 53rd place ranking in the education category by ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| 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 Octa is better than iFOREX. Octa finished with an overall rank of #47, while iFOREX finished with an overall rank of #52.
Octa offers a basic, low-cost MetaTrader platform experience alongside its social copy-trading platform.
| Feature |
Octa
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 72 | 75 |
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Both Octa and iFOREX do not offer the ability to buy actual cryptocurrency, providing only cryptocurrency derivatives for traders instead.
While both Octa and iFOREX provide options for fund transactions via Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, only iFOREX offers the added convenience of PayPal, as neither broker supports ACH or SEPA transfers for deposits or withdrawals.
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 | Octa | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 72 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Octa Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Octa | iFOREX | |
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| Regulation | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 72 | 75 | |
| Year Founded | 2011 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | No | Yes | |
| 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) | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 300 | 750 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 35 | 88 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.9 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $25 | $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 | No |
| Trading Platforms | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 9 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 57 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 25 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | Octa | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Octa Review |
| Overall | Octa | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 72 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Octa Review |
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