Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of ThinkMarkets vs Trading 212, 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 Trading 212 are prominent players in the online brokerage landscape, each bringing a unique approach to their services. Founded in 2010, ThinkMarkets has positioned itself as a highly trusted broker with a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 92. Its reliability is underscored by the possession of five Tier-1 licenses and two Tier-2 licenses, which are notable indicators of safety and credibility in the industry. Interestingly, ThinkMarkets is not publicly traded nor a bank, which remains consistent with the landscape of many online brokerages.
Trading 212, established in 2004, holds a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 80, indicating a trusted status in the financial community. The firm has secured three Tier-1 licenses, further bolstering its reputation, although it lacks Tier-2 licenses. Like ThinkMarkets, Trading 212 is neither publicly traded nor classified as a bank. This comparison highlights the distinctive regulatory tiers and trust ratings each broker brings to potential investors and traders seeking a dependable online brokerage service.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2004 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
Comparing commissions and fees, both ThinkMarkets and Trading 212 earn 4 out of 5 stars. In ForexBrokers.com’s Commissions and Fees rankings, ThinkMarkets is #48 out of 63 brokers, while Trading 212 is #50. Average spread data is not available from ThinkMarkets, which makes direct cost comparisons harder. Trading 212, by contrast, now publishes average spreads; for April 2025 its EUR/USD average was 2.7 pips—higher than the industry average—so its CFD and forex pricing can be costlier than many peers despite zero-commission marketing.
Trading 212 offers two accounts: Invest (for shares) with a 1-euro minimum deposit, and CFD (for CFDs and forex) with a 10-euro minimum. This comparison focuses on the CFD account. There’s no ticket commission, but you pay the spread and may incur other costs such as overnight financing. Publishing average spreads is a step toward transparency, yet the 2.7-pip EUR/USD average leaves Trading 212 at a disadvantage on raw spread pricing.
For ThinkMarkets, with average spread data not published, it’s wise to check live quotes during your trading hours and factor in all-in costs (spreads, financing, and any currency conversion fees). With both brokers rated 4 stars and ranked mid-pack (ThinkMarkets #48; Trading 212 #50), cost-conscious traders should compare real-time spreads and total trading costs before choosing.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | €1 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 2.7 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 2.7 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When it comes to sheer variety, Trading 212 has the edge: it lists 7,868 tradeable symbols and 146 forex pairs, compared with ThinkMarkets’ 4,000 symbols and 46 forex pairs. Both brokers let you trade forex either as CFDs or spot contracts, and both support cryptocurrency derivatives while not offering purchases of actual (delivered) crypto. In ForexBrokers.com’s Range of Investments ratings, Trading 212 scores 5 stars and ranks 16th out of 63 brokers; ThinkMarkets earns 4.5 stars and ranks 24th.
For real shares, Trading 212 offers exchange-traded securities on U.S. markets (so you can buy stocks like Apple), while ThinkMarkets does not; however, both provide access to exchange-traded shares on international exchanges (such as Vodafone in London). Copy trading is available at ThinkMarkets but not on Trading 212. Choose Trading 212 if you want the largest selection and U.S. shares, or pick ThinkMarkets if copy trading and international share access matter most.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 7868 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 146 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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.
ThinkMarkets and Trading 212 both provide free demo (paper) accounts and their own in-house trading platforms, plus web-based platforms you can use in a browser. Only ThinkMarkets offers a Windows desktop platform. Both let you place trades directly from charts. Each earns 4 stars for trading platforms and tools, though ForexBrokers.com ranks Trading 212 higher (#20 of 63) than ThinkMarkets (#28 of 63).
If you want MetaTrader, ThinkMarkets supports both MT4 and MT5, while Trading 212 does not. ThinkMarkets also offers copy trading; Trading 212 doesn’t. In short, ThinkMarkets fits traders who want MetaTrader, copy trading, and a desktop download, whereas Trading 212 suits those who prefer a streamlined, browser-first experience with a strong proprietary platform and free practice trading.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 54 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
ThinkMarkets and Trading 212 both offer polished mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, complete with stock and forex price alerts. Charting is strong on both: you can draw trendlines and your drawings auto-save between sessions. If you lean on technical analysis, Trading 212 provides a slightly larger toolkit with 104 technical studies versus ThinkMarkets’ 94.
The biggest practical difference is watchlists: Trading 212 syncs symbols between the mobile app and your online account, while ThinkMarkets does not. Both platforms earn 4 stars for their mobile trading apps, with ForexBrokers.com ranking Trading 212 at #17 and ThinkMarkets at #20 out of 63 brokers. If synced watchlists and a few extra indicators matter to you, Trading 212 has a slight edge; otherwise, ThinkMarkets still delivers capable charts and timely alerts for trading on the go.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 104 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing market research, ThinkMarkets stands out for offering daily market commentary, while Trading 212 does not. Both brokers deliver forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, provide sentiment tools that show long/short positioning, and include an economic calendar. Neither broker includes tools from Autochartist, Trading Central, or TipRanks.
ThinkMarkets adds research tools from Acuity Trading (such as Signal Centre), which Trading 212 does not offer. Despite both earning 3.5 out of 5 stars for Research, ForexBrokers.com ranks Trading 212 slightly higher (#45 of 63) than ThinkMarkets (#51 of 63). Choose ThinkMarkets if you want daily commentary and Acuity-powered insights; pick Trading 212 if you prefer similar core research with a marginally better category ranking.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Both ThinkMarkets and Trading 212 deliver video-based learning for new traders, offering at least 10 beginner videos and 10 advanced videos. ThinkMarkets stands out for live education with client webinars at least once a month, while Trading 212 does not run monthly webinars. It isn’t clearly stated whether either broker provides a 10-plus-piece library focused specifically on forex and CFDs, a searchable archive of past webinars, or an investor dictionary with 50+ terms.
For overall quality of education, both earn 3.5 out of 5 stars, yet Trading 212 ranks higher (#21 of 63) than ThinkMarkets (#52 of 63) on ForexBrokers.com. If you value live, scheduled learning, ThinkMarkets’ monthly webinars may appeal. If you want a broker with a higher third-party ranking for education and plenty of beginner-friendly videos, Trading 212 is worth a look. Either way, beginners can access structured videos to start learning forex and CFD trading basics.
| Feature |
ThinkMarkets
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | 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 Trading 212. ThinkMarkets finished with an overall rank of #27, while Trading 212 finished with an overall rank of #31.
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
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 80 |
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Both ThinkMarkets and Trading 212 do not provide the option to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
ThinkMarkets vs Trading 212: for deposits and withdrawals, both brokers support bank wire transfers, Trading 212 also offers ACH/SEPA and PayPal while ThinkMarkets supports Skrill, and card options (Visa/Mastercard) are not specified for either.
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 | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 80 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Trading 212 Review |
| Broker Screenshots | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
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| Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Regulation | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 92 | 80 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2004 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| 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 | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 4000 | 7868 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 146 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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 | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 | 2.7 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 2.7 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $50 | €1 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 54 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 94 | 104 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Trading 212 Review |
| Overall | ThinkMarkets | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 92 | 80 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Trading 212 Review |
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