OctaFX Review

OctaFX offers traders a mostly vanilla MetaTrader and cTrader trading platforms experience. Beyond its European license in Cyprus, OctaFX lacks regulation in major jurisdictions, which puts it at a severe disadvantage compared to other trusted forex brokers.

Top Takeaways for 2021

Here are our top findings on OctaFX:

• Founded in 2011, OctaFX is regulated in only one tier-2 jurisdiction (Cyprus), making it a high-risk broker for forex and CFD trading. Customers are also served by the broker’s non-regulated offshore entity in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). ForexBrokers.com doesn’t include this jurisdiction in our Trust Score calculation due to the extremely low regulatory requirements required to operate in SVG.
• From among its account offerings, including MetaTrader and cTrader platforms, the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) Pro account stands out but still trails industry leaders in terms of low-cost forex trading and range of markets. In total, OctaFX offers less than 50 tradeable symbols.
• Pricing and product offering aside, compared to leading multi-asset brokers, OctaFX also struggles to compete in areas such as research and education.

Overall Summary

Is OctaFX Safe?

OctaFX is considered high-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 59 out of 99. OctaFX is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. OctaFX is authorised by zero tier-1 regulators (high trust), one tier-2 regulator (average trust), and zero tier-3 regulators (low trust). Learn more about Trust Score.

Regulations Comparison

Offering of Investments

OctaFX offers less than 50 tradeable instruments. By comparison, industry leaders Saxo Bank, IG, and CMC Markets all offer over 10,000 tradeable instruments.

The following table summarizes the products available to OctaFX clients. The following table summarizes the different investment products available to OctaFX clients.

Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency trading is available through CFDs, but not available through trading the underlying asset (e.g. buying Bitcoin). Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's UK entity, nor to UK residents.

Commissions and Fees

OctaFX’s commission and fees vary depending on one of the three available account types chosen: MT4 Micro, MT5 Pro, or the cTrader ECN account. All in all, when it comes to pricing, OctaFX struggles to compete against the lowest cost MetaTrader brokers.

MetaTrader: Spreads are lowest in the MT4 Micro account where the broker offers only 39 tradeable instruments; the EUR/USD typical spread is listed as 0.7 pips, whereas the MT5 Pro account provides the full range of 45 tradeable products, and spreads are slightly higher at 1.1 pips.

cTrader: Compared to its other account types, the cTrader ECN account at OctaFX is more limited in terms of the product range, with only 28 forex pairs and two metals. It uses a $6 per round-turn standard lot ($3 per side) commission-based fee structure, which is added to typical spreads of 0.4 pips, bringing the all-in cost to 1 pip.

MetaTrader vs cTrader: The MT5 Pro account offering stands out as it is similarly priced with the cTrader ECN account offering, but offers nearly double the range of tradeable instruments.

Platforms and Tools

OctaFX is primarily a MetaTrader broker, offering the suite of platforms from MetaQuotes Software Corporation, including MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). cTrader, including the cAlgo platform, is also available.

Copy Trading: OctaFX offers a web interface for copy trading (providers are known as Masters) that connects to its MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform offering. Overall, OctaFX’s copy trading experience lacks a community-feel, which is an attribute the best copy trading brokers all share.

From over 3340 systems available on OctaFX’s copy trading offering, 630 providers were profitable in the last three months or about 18% of all strategies. Overall, I found the layout useful, although I would like to see more performance statistics incorporated to help traders differentiate from among the Masters (providers of each strategy).

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Research

OctaFX has a decent basis for its research offering as it provides a little of all essential content types, including that from third parties. However, when compared to research leaders IG, Saxo Bank, and CMC Markets, OctaFX has room to enhance its research offering.

OctaFX provides a range of research content under its Traders’ Tools section, including an economic calendar, market insights, and daily analysis posts, as well as trading signals from AutoChartist. OctaFX also produces video content such as its regular Market in a Minute post on YouTube alongside several archived webinars and some educational content.

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Education

OctaFX provides a section on its site dedicated to forex education, which contains 19 primary articles. However, there are mostly platform tutorials and user manuals in terms of both materials and video content. Beyond the trading glossary and dozens of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), there isn’t much educational content in terms of understanding market dynamics and how to trade. It's worth mentioning the broker does have a blog and YouTube channel, yet I was still left wanting more.

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Mobile Trading

Since OctaFX is a MetaTrader and cTrader-only broker, it provides both the standard iOS and Android versions of the MT4 and cTrader mobile apps. No proprietary mobile app is offered.

Final Thoughts

While OctaFX offers MetaTrader and cTrader, there is a limited offering of tradeable instruments and pricing is not competitive. No question, OctaFX needs to improve its product, pricing, and tools offering if it wants to compete with the best MetaTrader brokers.

Beyond its latest regulatory status in Cyprus, OctaFX’s lack of additional reputable licenses heavily weighs down its Trust Score. Becoming regulated in more jurisdictions, especially tier-1 jurisdictions, will go a long way to earning the trust of prospect customers.

FAQs

Is OctaFX a good broker?

OctaFX is an up-and-coming broker that continues to expand its products and services as a result of its company growth after nearly 10 years in operation. Adding additional regulatory licenses in tier-1 jurisdictions would be a welcome addition to help OctaFX win even more clients’ trust.

Is my money safe with OctaFX?

Because OctaFX is only regulated in Cyprus, we consider the broker a higher risk compared to firms that are regulated in numerous tier-1 jurisdictions, when it comes to trust factors and keeping your money safe.

Founded in 2011, OctaFX holds regulatory licenses primarily in Europe through its Cyprus-based entity, Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd, regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Your account may be eligible for certain protections from CySEC, for up to 20,000 euros from the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF), in the extraordinary event of bankruptcy of Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd.

The brand’s international entity, Octa Markets Incorporated, is based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where there is little to no protection provided by the regulator. The degree of security of your funds, in terms of regulatory protection, will depend on which OctaFX entity holds your account and any relevant regulations that provide customer protections.

What is the minimum deposit for OctaFX?

The minimum deposit with OctaFX varies from $25 U.S. (USD) when funding with Visa/Mastercard or 50 euros (EUR) when using Skrill/Neteller, depending on the payment method you use, to as much 500,000 Indian rupees (INR). Any applicable minimum also depends on your country of residence and which OctaFX entity you choose to establish a trading account.

OctaFX has over 50 different payment options (such as Visa, Neteller, Fasapay, bitcoin, and a large variety of local bank transfers), the availability of which may also depend on your country of residence.

About OctaFX

Founded in 2011, OctaFX is part of a group of global entities, which include Octa Markets Incorporated (based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), and Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (based in Cyprus).

Forex Risk Disclaimer

"There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses." Learn more.