Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of XM Group 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.
Choosing an online broker can be daunting when considering factors like trustworthiness and regulatory backing. XM Group, established in 2009, holds a favorable position in terms of trust with a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 88, placing it in the "trusted" category, just shy of the top level. Boasting four Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, XM Group exhibits a strong regulatory standing. Despite its reputable status, the company is not publicly traded nor classified as a bank, aligning with many other online brokers.
iFOREX, on the other hand, commenced its operations in 1996 and has a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 75, indicating an average risk level. It holds only one Tier-1 license and carries no Tier-2 licenses. This positions iFOREX differently in the regulatory landscape compared to XM Group. Similar to XM Group, iFOREX is not publicly traded and is not a banking institution. The differences in trust scores and licenses highlight key considerations that potential investors might weigh when choosing between these online brokers.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2009 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
When comparing online brokers XM Group and iFOREX in terms of commissions and fees, XM Group offers a mixed bag. While its standard account spreads are on the higher side, there's an additional concern as average spreads aren't disclosed for its commission-based XM Zero account. Rated four out of five stars in this category, XM Group is ranked 33rd out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
On the other hand, iFOREX also presents some challenges for traders when evaluating costs. The absence of available average spread data makes it difficult for users to fully comprehend potential expenses. iFOREX receives a three-star rating for its commissions and fees and is ranked 61st out of 63 brokers, indicating room for improvement compared to its competitors.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $5 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.6 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 | 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 evaluating the range of investment opportunities between XM Group and iFOREX, several key differences emerge. XM Group provides a wider array of tradeable symbols with 1,394 options compared to iFOREX's 750. While both platforms offer forex trading as CFDs, XM focuses on 55 forex pairs, whereas iFOREX offers a more extensive selection of 88 forex pairs. However, XM Group excels in offering exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, allowing clients to purchase stocks like Apple and Vodafone directly, a feature that iFOREX does not provide. Additionally, XM supports copy trading as part of its service suite, which iFOREX does not include.
Both brokers permit trading of cryptocurrency derivatives, although neither allows purchasing actual cryptocurrencies. In terms of evaluation, XM Group is rated higher with 4.5 stars for their range of investments, compared to iFOREX’s 3.5 stars. According to ForexBrokers.com, XM Group holds the 23rd spot out of 63 brokers in the Range of Investments category, significantly ahead of iFOREX, which is ranked 41st. This data collectively highlights XM Group's broader investment offerings and market accessibility compared to iFOREX.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1394 | 750 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 55 | 88 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 it comes to trading platforms, XM Group and iFOREX showcase different features tailored for both beginners and seasoned traders. XM Group offers a range of options including MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), known for their powerful analysis tools. Although it does not have its own in-house platform, XM Group compensates with a Windows-based desktop platform, a web-based browser platform, and the availability of a simulated demo account. XM Group also offers copy trading options, providing more flexibility to those who hope to follow successful trading strategies.
In contrast, iFOREX delivers its own proprietary trading platform, giving users a unique, tailored experience. While it doesn't offer MetaTrader 4 or 5, or a desktop download for Windows, it does provide a comprehensive web-based platform ideal for on-the-go traders. iFOREX excels with 25 drawing tools for advanced charting and nine columns for watch lists, allowing users to personalize their trading environment. Despite these differences, both brokers earn a solid four-star rating for their trading platforms and tools, with XM Group slightly ahead in industry ranking.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No |
| Proprietary Platform | No | 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 XM Group and iFOREX, both offer downloadable applications for iPhone and Android users. However, XM Group enhances its user experience with several features that iFOREX misses out on. XM Group provides stock and forex price alerts, importance of real-time information at every investor's fingertips, which is not available with iFOREX. Additionally, there's greater flexibility with XM Group as their app syncs watchlist symbols seamlessly between mobile and online accounts. iFOREX, on the other hand, lacks this integration, potentially leaving users with outdated information.
For those interested in technical analysis, XM Group's app offers 30 technical studies, allowing users to explore data and draw trendlines to aid in their decision-making. iFOREX does not provide such charting capabilities. XM Group also supports multiple time frame views on charts, while iFOREX falls short in this area. Both services scored 4 out of 5 stars for their mobile trading apps, yet in a broader comparison, XM Group ranks higher at #29 out of 63 brokers, compared to iFOREX's position at #55. Overall, XM Group's mobile app seems to provide a more comprehensive and connective trading experience.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | 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 | No | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Both XM Group and iFOREX provide traders with daily market commentary and access to economic calendars that highlight significant news events. However, XM Group sets itself apart by offering forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, a feature not present with iFOREX. Moreover, both brokers support the use of Trading Central tools for technical analytics, making them beneficial for traders seeking advanced market insights. XM Group also stands out with its sentiment-based trading tool, much like iFOREX, which helps traders gauge market sentiment by displaying the ratio of long or short positions.
Despite similarities, there are notable differences in their overall research capabilities. XM Group is highly rated with 5 stars and holds an impressive #8 ranking out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com for research quality, indicating superior reliability and depth of information for market analysis. In contrast, iFOREX, although offering essential research tools, falls behind with a 3.5-star rating and a #48 ranking. Neither broker offers research tools from Autochartist or Acuity Trading, nor do they provide TipRanks market research, which might influence traders looking for these specific features.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing XM Group and iFOREX in terms of educational resources for beginners, XM Group clearly stands out. XM Group provides a rich variety of educational content, offering more than 10 pieces focused on forex and CFDs. Clients can also benefit from their regularly scheduled monthly webinars and have access to a searchable archive of past webinars. Additionally, XM Group presents a comprehensive collection of beginner and advanced educational videos, tailor-made for traders at different skill levels. On the other hand, while iFOREX also provides beginner educational videos, it falls short in offering content on other educational fronts, such as webinars and advanced educational materials.
XM Group shines with a stellar rating of 5 out of 5 stars for its educational offerings, and it holds an impressive 7th place out of 63 brokers in the Education category according to ForexBrokers.com. Meanwhile, iFOREX, with a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, ranks lower at 53rd place. Both XM Group and iFOREX lack an investor dictionary, but for those seeking a well-rounded educational experience, especially webinars and advanced topics, XM Group emerges as a superior choice.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
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) | No | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that XM Group is better than iFOREX. XM Group finished with an overall rank of #17, while iFOREX finished with an overall rank of #52.
XM Group is a MetaTrader-only broker that offers a strong selection of high-quality educational content and market research.
| Feature |
XM Group
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 88 | 75 |
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Both XM Group and iFOREX do not provide the option to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but they do offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing the online brokers XM Group and iFOREX, neither supports ACH or SEPA transfers, but while iFOREX accepts PayPal for transactions, XM Group does not; both brokers, however, facilitate deposits and withdrawals via Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires.
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 | XM Group | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 88 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | XM Group Review |
| Broker Screenshots | XM Group | iFOREX | |
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| Regulation | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 88 | 75 | |
| Year Founded | 2009 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | 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) | 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) | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1394 | 750 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 55 | 88 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | 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 | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.6 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $5 | $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 | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | No | 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 | XM Group | 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 | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | 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 | No | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | XM Group | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | XM Group | 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) | No | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | XM Group | 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 | XM Group Review |
| Overall | XM Group | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 88 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | XM Group Review |
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