Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs IUX, 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 it comes to trust and regulation, ThinkMarkets and IUX stand at different ends of the spectrum. ThinkMarkets, established in 2010, boasts a Trust Score of 92 out of 99 on ForexBrokers.com, reflecting its high level of trustworthiness. The company is bolstered by holding five Tier-1 licenses, which are seen as very trustworthy. In contrast, IUX, which entered the scene in 2016, has a Trust Score of 78 out of 99, placing it in the average risk category. This score is supported by its possession of just one Tier-1 license.
Neither ThinkMarkets nor IUX is publicly traded or operates as a bank, which can be a deciding factor for some investors. Additionally, ThinkMarkets holds two Tier-2 licenses, which also contribute to its reliability, whereas IUX holds one Tier-2 license. These regulatory differences highlight the stronger trust framework associated with ThinkMarkets compared to IUX.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2016 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of ThinkMarkets and IUX, both brokers receive a four-star rating out of five. However, they are positioned closely in ForexBrokers.com's rankings, with ThinkMarkets at #47 and IUX at #48 out of 63 brokers. ThinkMarkets does not provide average spread data, which can make it challenging for traders to assess its cost structure in detail.
IUX, on the other hand, offers varied pricing based on the account type selected, catering to both standard and active traders. For standard trading, the Standard account requires a minimum deposit of just $10 and offers lower spreads compared to the Standard+ account, which provides deposit bonus promotions but with wider spreads. For those trading more actively, IUX provides Raw and Pro accounts. The Raw account requires a $500 minimum deposit, offers the lowest spreads with a commission of $6 per 100,000 units traded, while the Pro account is spread-only and boasts lower spreads than the Standard accounts without any added commission.
In terms of competitive pricing, IUX provides attractive options, especially with its Pro account offering an average EUR/USD spread of 0.7 pips. The Raw account further enhances cost-efficiency with an effective spread of around 0.6 pips when accounting for commission. Nonetheless, while IUX’s pricing structure is competitive for a smaller broker, it may not rival the industry's lowest-cost options, making it crucial for traders to evaluate the trade-offs between spreads, commissions, and deposit requirements when selecting the right account.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | 10 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.6 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| 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 IUX both provide opportunities for forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts. However, when it comes to the variety of investments, ThinkMarkets leads the way with 4,000 tradeable symbols, including 46 forex pairs. In comparison, IUX offers a more modest selection of 152 tradeable symbols, featuring 34 forex pairs. While neither broker allows clients to buy U.S. exchange-traded securities like Apple shares, both facilitate trading on international exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange for Vodafone shares.
For those interested in cryptocurrency, both brokers offer derivatives rather than actual coins. Additionally, ThinkMarkets offers copy trading, which is not available with IUX. These aspects contribute to ThinkMarkets' higher rating of 4.5 stars for range of investments, whereas IUX holds a 3.5-star rating. Consequently, ThinkMarkets ranks at #23 out of 63 brokers in this category on ForexBrokers.com, significantly ahead of IUX, which is ranked #60.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 152 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 34 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes |
| 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing the trading platforms and tools of ThinkMarkets and IUX, both brokers offer a solid foundation for various types of traders. ThinkMarkets provides a simulated trading experience with a free virtual demo account, a feature IUX also offers. Both brokers present their in-house developed platforms and support for Windows-based desktop downloads as well as web-based browser platforms. While ThinkMarkets includes MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 in its offerings, IUX supports only MetaTrader 5, creating a slight technological edge for ThinkMarkets in terms of platform variety. Additionally, ThinkMarkets has integrated copy trading capabilities, a feature not available with IUX.
ThinkMarkets distinguishes itself further with the ability to trade directly from stock charts and a comprehensive selection of 15 drawing tools for charting purposes. On the other hand, IUX impresses with 89 drawing tools, enhancing visualization options for traders. When it comes to customizing watch lists, IUX provides 46 columns, far exceeding ThinkMarkets' 15, which could be beneficial for users seeking detailed information at a glance. Despite these differences, ThinkMarkets ranks #28 by ForexBrokers.com for trading platforms and tools, while IUX ranks at #59. Overall, ThinkMarkets is rated 4 stars against IUX's 3.5 stars, signifying a slightly superior offering in the trading platforms and tools realm.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 106 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 89 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 46 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both ThinkMarkets and IUX offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, providing traders with on-the-go access to their accounts. ThinkMarkets stands out by providing stock and forex price alerts directly through their app, a feature not available with IUX. While both platforms do not support watchlist symbol syncing, they do allow users to create watchlists with real-time quotes. When it comes to charting tools, ThinkMarkets offers 94 technical studies, slightly fewer than IUX, which offers 106. However, ThinkMarkets allows users to draw trendlines on charts, a capability that is missing in the IUX app.
Both mobile apps let users view charts in multiple time frames and automatically save any drawings made. In terms of overall ratings, ThinkMarkets is slightly ahead with a 4-star rating compared to IUX's 3.5 stars. According to ForexBrokers.com, ThinkMarkets is ranked #20 out of 63 brokers in their Mobile Trading Apps category, whereas IUX comes in at #60. This comprehensive set of features and the higher ranking make ThinkMarkets a more appealing option for those seeking a versatile mobile trading experience.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 106 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing ThinkMarkets and IUX for market research, ThinkMarkets stands out with its comprehensive offerings. ThinkMarkets provides daily market commentary and forex news sourced from top-tier providers like Bloomberg and Reuters, which is not available with IUX. Furthermore, ThinkMarkets includes sentiment-based trading tools that give insights into long or short positions across trading pairs, a feature IUX lacks. Additionally, ThinkMarkets offers research tools from Acuity Trading, such as Signal Centre, adding breadth to its market analysis resources. Both brokers include an economic calendar, useful for tracking global news events, but ThinkMarkets clearly offers more in terms of depth and variety.
Though neither ThinkMarkets nor IUX offers tools from Autochartist or Trading Central, ThinkMarkets is rated higher with a 3.5-star research rating compared to IUX's 3-star rating. In terms of brokerage rankings, ThinkMarkets is positioned at #50 out of 63 brokers for the research category according to ForexBrokers.com, ahead of IUX, which ranks at #59. For traders prioritizing comprehensive market insights and reliable forex news, ThinkMarkets offers a stronger suite of research features compared to IUX.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For those new to forex or CFD trading, ThinkMarkets provides an extensive range of educational resources, notably more than IUX. ThinkMarkets offers over 10 educational pieces such as articles and videos focused on forex and CFDs, while IUX falls short in this area. They host monthly online webinars and maintain a searchable archive of past sessions, which are valuable for continuous learning. Additionally, ThinkMarkets presents over 10 videos specifically for beginners and even includes a dictionary with over 50 investment terms to bolster foundational knowledge. On the contrary, IUX matches ThinkMarkets in beginner video offerings but lacks in other educational supports such as webinars and an investing glossary.
When it comes to resources for advanced traders, ThinkMarkets has you covered with over 10 advanced educational videos, an option not provided by IUX. This detailed educational strategy gives ThinkMarkets an edge, although both brokers receive modestly similar ratings, with 3.5 stars for ThinkMarkets and 3 stars for IUX. Ranking-wise, ThinkMarkets is placed at 52 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com in the education category, slightly ahead of IUX, which is ranked at 59. For beginners seeking a broker with a comprehensive range of educational materials, ThinkMarkets stands out as a more supportive choice.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 ThinkMarkets is better than IUX. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while IUX finished with an overall rank of #55.
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
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 78 |
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Both ThinkMarkets and IUX do not provide the option to buy actual delivered cryptocurrencies, but they both offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both ThinkMarkets and IUX do not offer ACH, SEPA, or PayPal for fund transactions, but support Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires for deposits and 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 | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 78 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
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| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 78 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2016 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | 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) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 152 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 34 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | |
| 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). |
| Cost | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 0.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.6 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | 10 | |
| 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 | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 46 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 106 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 89 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 106 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
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| Overall | ThinkMarkets | IUX | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 78 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review |
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