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
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Overall | |
| Trust Score | 59 |
| Offering of Investments | |
| Commissions & Fees | |
| Platforms & Tools | |
| Research | |
| Mobile Trading | |
| Education |
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
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 |
| Trust Score | 59 |
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 from any broker's UK entity, nor to UK residents.
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Forex Trading | Yes |
| CFDs (Total) | 17 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 28 |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFD) | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
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.
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Minimum Initial Deposit | $25 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 (July 2020) |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.0 (July 2020) |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No |
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).
Gallery
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| cTrader | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No |
| ZuluTrade | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 51 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 31 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes |
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.
Gallery
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Weekly Webinars | Yes |
| AutoChartist | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No |
| Delkos Research | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
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.
Gallery
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Has Education - Forex | Yes |
| Has Education - CFDs | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes |
| Tutorials/Guide (PDF or Interactive) | No |
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.
| Feature | OctaFX |
|---|---|
| Android App | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes |
| Watch List | Yes |
| Watch List Syncing | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 |
| Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes |
| Charting - Trendlines Moveable | No |
| Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes |
| Charting - Drawings Autosave | No |
| Forex Calendar | Yes |
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.
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.
About the author: Steven Hatzakis Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
