Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs Questrade, 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.
Founded in 2010, ThinkMarkets is an online broker that emphasizes safety and reliability, boasting a Trust Score of 92 out of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, which places it in the "highly trusted" category. This strong endorsement is supported by its five Tier-1 licenses and two Tier-2 licenses, confirming the broker's adherence to strict regulatory standards. ThinkMarkets is privately owned and operates outside of the banking framework, allowing it to focus solely on providing exceptional trading services to its global clientele.
Questrade, established in 2000, presents a solid option for online trading, with a Trust Score of 86 from ForexBrokers.com, marking it as "trusted." While not publicly traded or operating as a bank, Questrade holds two Tier-1 licenses, ensuring a sound regulatory foundation. It may lack Tier-2 licenses, but its long-standing presence in the financial market reflects a commitment to trustworthy service. Both brokers cater to traders seeking dependable platforms without the complexities of bank-linked operations.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2000 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
When comparing ThinkMarkets and Questrade on commissions and fees, ThinkMarkets offers a relatively favorable experience with a 4-star rating in this category. Despite the lack of available average spread data, the broker secures the 47th position out of 63 brokers as ranked by ForexBrokers.com, reflecting its competitive cost structure for trades.
In contrast, Questrade presents a less appealing option concerning costs, receiving a 3-star rating for its commissions and fees. One of the notable factors contributing to this rating is its target spread of 1.9 pips on the EUR/USD pair, which is higher than the industry average. This results in Questrade being ranked 58th out of 63 brokers for commissions and fees, signifying it might be a pricier choice for customers prioritizing low-cost trading.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $250 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
ThinkMarkets and Questrade both provide diverse investment opportunities, yet they cater to different priorities for potential investors. ThinkMarkets offers 4,000 tradable symbols, including an impressive array of 46 forex pairs, and facilitates forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts. However, it lacks access to U.S. exchange-traded securities like individual stock purchases such as Apple. Conversely, Questrade offers a smaller selection with 641 tradeable symbols but boasts a broader range of 110 forex pairs. It provides access to U.S. exchange-traded securities, allowing users to purchase stocks such as Apple directly, which ThinkMarkets does not offer.
Furthermore, both platforms allow trading in cryptocurrency derivatives but not in the actual delivered cryptocurrencies. Notably, ThinkMarkets endorses copy trading, while Questrade does not. Regarding the range of investments, ThinkMarkets ranks #23 with a 4.5-star rating, while Questrade surpasses it with a 5-star rating, ranked #11 in this category by ForexBrokers.com. As such, if global and varied trading symbols are a priority, ThinkMarkets might be suitable. However, for those looking to invest in U.S. stocks and a greater number of forex pairs, Questrade may better fit your investment strategy.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 641 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 110 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| 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.
ThinkMarkets and Questrade both provide traders with a suite of tools and platforms that cater to a wide range of needs and preferences. Both brokers offer simulated trading with free virtual demo accounts, allowing users to practice strategies without risking real money. They also provide proprietary platforms developed in-house, in addition to offering Windows-based desktop and web-based trading platforms. However, ThinkMarkets stands out with additional options such as MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), popular choices known for their comprehensive charting and trading capabilities. On the other hand, Questrade offers DupliTrade, which ThinkMarkets does not, providing users with an alternative way to explore automated trading strategies.
In terms of charting capabilities, ThinkMarkets offers 15 drawing tools, while Questrade provides 20, giving Questrade a slight edge for those who prioritize detailed technical analysis. Moreover, both brokers support the ability to trade directly from a stock chart, offering traders a seamless execution process. When it comes to organizing and customizing watch lists, Questrade offers 52 columns compared to ThinkMarkets' 15, which could provide a more personalized trading experience. Both brokers received a respectable 4-star rating for their trading platforms and tools, though ThinkMarkets ranks slightly higher in the category according to ForexBrokers.com, placed at #28 compared to Questrade's #34 out of 63 brokers, reflecting a close competition in delivering effective trading solutions.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| DupliTrade | No | Yes |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 64 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 20 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 52 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both ThinkMarkets and Questrade provide comprehensive mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android users, ensuring that you can manage your investments on the go. Both platforms allow traders to receive real-time stock or forex price alerts, and they enable users to draw trendlines and explore multiple time frames on stock and forex charts. One notable difference is that only Questrade offers watchlist symbol syncing, which keeps your watchlists consistent across devices. ThinkMarkets, however, stands out with more technical studies—offering 94 compared to Questrade's 64—which could be crucial for technical traders seeking deeper insights into market trends.
In terms of creating watchlists with real-time quotes, both apps perform similarly, allowing users to stay updated with the latest market information. The ability to auto-save chart drawings is also available on both platforms, enhancing convenience for traders who work from multiple devices. When it comes to ratings, both apps are rated four stars for their mobile trading capabilities. However, ThinkMarkets holds a higher rank at #20 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com for mobile trading apps, compared to Questrade's ranking at #34. This ranking might be an indicator to consider for those weighing their options between these two brokers.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 64 |
| 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.
ThinkMarkets and Questrade go head-to-head in offering market research tools to their users, each presenting distinct advantages. ThinkMarkets prides itself on delivering daily market commentary, providing valuable insights and updates. Forex enthusiasts will appreciate ThinkMarkets' access to news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, and its sentiment-based trading tool that gives a snapshot of market positions. Additionally, ThinkMarkets includes research tools from Acuity Trading and a comprehensive economic calendar to keep traders informed. However, it lacks some advanced research tools that Questrade boasts.
Questrade, on the other hand, stands out with its incorporation of sophisticated tools like Autochartist and Trading Central, catering to those who value in-depth technical and fundamental analysis. Moreover, Questrade includes market research from TipRanks, further enhancing its analytical offerings. While Questrade does not provide daily market commentary or a sentiment-based trading tool, it matches ThinkMarkets with its economic calendar. Both brokers hold a research rating of 3.5 stars and are closely ranked by ForexBrokers.com, with ThinkMarkets at #50 and Questrade at #51 out of 63 brokers.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | Yes |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational offerings of ThinkMarkets and Questrade for beginners, both platforms provide a solid foundation in forex or CFDs education with more than ten educational pieces each, such as articles, videos, and webinars. ThinkMarkets sets itself apart by offering regular monthly webinars and a comprehensive searchable archive of past webinars, a resource that can be immensely valuable for ongoing learning. While both brokers offer a variety of beginner videos, only ThinkMarkets extends its reach to advanced educational content tailored for more experienced traders.
ThinkMarkets further enhances its educational appeal with an extensive investor dictionary, helping new traders get acquainted with over 50 essential investing terms, a feature not available through Questrade. Despite these offerings, both ThinkMarkets and Questrade achieve a similar education rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. However, when placed in a broader industry context, Questrade ranks higher at #36 compared to ThinkMarkets at #52 out of 63 brokers, indicating a slightly more favorable position in educational resources overall.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| 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 Questrade. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while Questrade finished with an overall rank of #32.
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
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 86 |
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Both ThinkMarkets and Questrade do not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but they do provide options for purchasing cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing online brokers ThinkMarkets and Questrade, neither offers ACH or SEPA transfers, both lack PayPal as a deposit or withdrawal option, ThinkMarkets supports Skrill while Questrade does not, and both platforms accept Visa, Mastercard, and bank wire transactions for managing account funds.
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 | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 86 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Questrade Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 86 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2000 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | 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 | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | 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 |
| Investments | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 641 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 110 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | No |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $250 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | Yes | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 52 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 64 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 20 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 64 | |
| 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 | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | ||
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | Yes | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Questrade Review |
| Overall | ThinkMarkets | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 86 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Questrade Review |
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