Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs Trade Nation, 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.
ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation are both online brokers established in the past decade, with ThinkMarkets founded in 2010 and Trade Nation in 2014. Neither broker is a bank or publicly traded. When evaluating the level of trust, ThinkMarkets holds a significant edge with a higher Trust Score of 92 out of 99, ranking them as highly trusted. In contrast, Trade Nation scores 85, placing them in the trusted category according to ForexBrokers.com. This higher rating aligns with ThinkMarkets' coverage of five Tier-1 licenses, compared to Trade Nation's two.
Beyond Tier-1, ThinkMarkets also carries two Tier-2 licenses while Trade Nation has one, further adding to their trust credentials. Both firms offer a reliable background for investors, yet ThinkMarkets' higher rating and broader regulatory coverage make it a more attractive option for individuals seeking confidence in their online broker.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2014 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
When evaluating ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation based on their commissions and fees, it is clear that each has distinct offerings. ThinkMarkets does not provide specific average spread data, making it challenging to compare directly based on spreads alone. Despite this, ThinkMarkets has earned a solid rating of 4 out of 5 stars for its commissions and fees and ranks #47 out of 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
On the other hand, Trade Nation offers a comprehensive pricing model with competitive fixed-spread pricing on its proprietary platform and variable-spread pricing on MetaTrader. Their EUR/USD fixed spread is listed at 0.6 pips, though it can widen up to 1.4 pips during the daily rollover period. This makes their true average spread around 1 pip. Trade Nation provides three main account types, including a Raw Spread account with a $7 round-trip commission per standard lot, and a TN Trader account boasting lower spreads. Their consistent pricing strategies have earned them an impressive 5-star rating and a #7 rank in the commissions and fees category by ForexBrokers.com.
In summary, while ThinkMarkets maintains a respectable position with its solid fee structure, Trade Nation's clear and competitive pricing, along with its fixed-spread strategy, positions it more favorably in terms of commissions and fees. Trade Nation's approach likely appeals to traders who value predictability in trading costs, contributing to its higher rating and rank.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 0.6 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.6 |
| 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 Trade Nation both cater to forex traders with identical offerings of 46 currency pairs, available as CFDs or spot contracts. However, ThinkMarkets stands out with a broader selection, offering 4,000 tradeable symbols compared to Trade Nation's 1,000. If you're looking to invest in exchange-traded securities on international platforms, ThinkMarkets provides access that Trade Nation does not extend. Both platforms allow for copy trading and buying cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither offers the option to purchase actual cryptocurrencies.
The difference in the variety of investment choices is reflected in their ratings. ThinkMarkets boasts a 4.5-star rating for its range of investments, ranking 22nd out of 63 on ForexBrokers.com. In contrast, Trade Nation holds a 3.5-star rating, placing it at 38th in the same category. These distinctions can influence your decision depending on your preference for specific investment opportunities.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 1000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 46 |
| 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.
When comparing the trading platforms and tools offered by ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation, both brokers provide a wide range of resources to facilitate trading. They each offer simulated trading with free virtual demo accounts, enabling users to practice without financial risk. Both have developed proprietary platforms and offer Windows desktop and web-based trading options, alongside the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4). However, ThinkMarkets also supports MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which Trade Nation does not. Copy trading is supported by both brokers, though neither offers integration with DupliTrade or ZuluTrade for social trading enthusiasts. For charting, ThinkMarkets includes 15 drawing tools, whereas Trade Nation offers an impressive 39. Additionally, ThinkMarkets allows trading directly from a stock chart, a feature absent in Trade Nation.
Despite some differences in their offerings, both brokers are evenly matched with a 4-star rating for their trading platforms and tools. However, they differ in their rankings on ForexBrokers.com, with ThinkMarkets placed at #28 and Trade Nation at #44 among 63 brokers. ThinkMarkets provides slightly more customization options for watch lists with 15 columns compared to Trade Nation's 14. Overall, while both brokers support essential trading functionalities, ThinkMarkets edges ahead slightly with additional features and higher ranking, appealing to traders seeking a comprehensive platform.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 115 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 39 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | No |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 14 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation both offer strong mobile trading options for iPhone and Android users, complete with essential features such as price alerts, the ability to draw trendlines, and real-time watchlists. Both apps support different time frames for chart analysis and automatically save chart drawings to enhance user experience. While both platforms receive a solid 4-star rating for their mobile trading apps, ThinkMarkets slightly edges out Trade Nation in terms of technical analysis, offering 94 studies compared to Trade Nation's 99.
One notable difference is that Trade Nation enables watchlist symbol syncing, allowing any changes made in your mobile app to reflect in your online account instantly—a feature absent in ThinkMarkets. When it comes to overall rankings, ThinkMarkets stands ahead at #20 compared to Trade Nation's #45 in the Mobile Trading Apps category by ForexBrokers.com. Despite their similarities, these distinctions make each platform appealing in different ways depending on the user's needs.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 99 |
| 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.
When comparing the market research offerings of ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation, both platforms provide daily market commentary and access to forex news from sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. Each broker also supplies a sentiment-based trading tool, showing the ratio of long or short positions across currency pairs. While neither offers tools from Autochartist or Trading Central, both give access to research tools from Acuity Trading. However, only ThinkMarkets provides an economic calendar for global news events, which is a crucial feature for traders interested in tracking economic indicators worldwide.
Despite their similarities in specific areas, such as sharing the same research rating of 3.5 out of five stars, Trade Nation slightly edges out ThinkMarkets with a higher ranking of 42 out of 63 brokers, compared to ThinkMarkets' position at 50, according to ForexBrokers.com. This difference might indicate a slight preference among users for the research experience at Trade Nation, although both companies hold their own in the competitive broker landscape.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation both provide educational resources for individuals new to trading, making them strong contenders for beginners seeking knowledge about forex and CFDs. Each platform offers a solid collection of educational materials, with more than 10 pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars focusing on forex and CFDs. Both brokers also supply beginner-friendly educational videos and comprehensive investor dictionaries that cover over 50 investing terms. While their offerings for advanced educational videos are similarly extensive, a key difference is in their webinar services. ThinkMarkets holds monthly client webinars and maintains a searchable archive of recorded sessions, an advantage for those who appreciate live learning and easy access to past lessons. In contrast, Trade Nation does not provide ongoing webinars or a similar archive.
When examining user ratings, both ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation earn 3.5 stars for their educational offerings. However, their ForexBrokers.com rankings differ; Trade Nation edges out with a position of 41 out of 63 brokers, while ThinkMarkets is placed at 52. This ranking suggests that despite comparable ratings, user experiences and preferences might slightly sway towards Trade Nation. Overall, both brokers offer valuable educational resources for beginners, with ThinkMarkets distinguishing itself through its webinar offerings.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| 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 Trade Nation. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while Trade Nation finished with an overall rank of #34.
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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Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 85 |
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Both ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation do not provide the option to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency, offering instead the ability to trade in cryptocurrency derivatives.
Both ThinkMarkets and Trade Nation provide Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wire options for depositing or withdrawing funds, but they do not support ACH, SEPA, or PayPal transfers.
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 | Trade Nation | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Trade Nation Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 85 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2014 | |
| 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 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes | |
| 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 | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 1000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 46 | |
| 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 | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 0.6 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.6 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 15 | 14 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 115 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 39 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | No | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 99 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Trade Nation Review |
| Overall | ThinkMarkets | Trade Nation | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Trade Nation Review |
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