Head to head

Dukascopy Bank vs Axi — which broker is better?

Dukascopy Bank or Axi? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.

Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Dukascopy Bank

A real Swiss bank running a real ECN — with a tariff sheet that punishes anyone who moves money often.

4,0

Group index 82/100Protection depends on your legal entity

FINMAJFSALatvijas Banka

Stocks (per order): 0.06 %
Minimum deposit: US$100
EUR/USD spread: 0.1 pips

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Axi

A 2007-vintage Australian FX broker that has quietly become one of the better all-round CFD platforms — if you check which entity you sign with.

3,9

Group index 71/100Protection depends on your legal entity

ASICFCADFSA+1

Stocks (per order): in the spread
Minimum deposit: US$100
EUR/USD spread: 0.7 pips

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The verdict in numbers

Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.

Overall Dukascopy Bank takes it, 4.0 against 3.9 out of 5. On commissions there is little between them — €5.00 against €5.00 for a reference EUR 5,000 order. Dukascopy Bank scores 82 against 71 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. Both cover 8 of 14 asset classes. On platform and app Axi is ahead, 4.3 against 4.2 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.

Overall score

Dukascopy Bank: 4.0 — Better
Axi: 3.9

CostsTie

Dukascopy Bank: €5.00
Axi: €5.00

Group indexNo winner

Dukascopy Bank: 82 of 100
Axi: 71 of 100

Product rangeTie

Dukascopy Bank: 8/14
Axi: 8/14

Platform & app

Dukascopy Bank: 4.2
Axi: 4.3 — Better

Compare brokers side by side

Up to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.

Data as of: 30 Aug 2026

Best value in the row

Dukascopy Bank · Axi
Criterion	Dukascopy Bank 4,0 Visit broker	Axi 3,9 Visit broker

Overall score	4.0 — Better	3.9
Group index	82 of 100	71 of 100
Best for	Experienced ECN and algorithmic FX tradersClients who want a bank, not a brokerSwiss and cross-border investorsJava strategy developers and API usersHigher-volume, low-withdrawal-frequency traders	Active FX and CFD tradersCopy-trading followers and signal providersTraders chasing funded capitalMulti-currency account holdersMetaTrader EA users

Regulation	FINMAJFSALatvijas Banka	ASICFCADFSAFSA
Top-tier licences	2	2
Investor protection	CHF 100,000 — Better	£85,000
Listed group	No	No
Banking licence	Yes	No
Segregated client accounts	Yes	Yes
Negative balance protection	No	Yes
Audited financials	Yes	No
Disclosed regulatory actions	None	1
Founded	2004	2007
Headquarters	Geneva, CH	Sydney, AU

Fees	3.4	4.1 — Better
Safety & regulation	4.8 — Better	3.4
Trading platform	4.6 — Better	4.2
Product range	4.2 — Better	3.6
Mobile app	3.8	4.3 — Better
Research	4.0 — Better	3.8
Customer support	3.9	4.2 — Better
Deposit & withdrawal	2.8	4.3 — Better
Account opening	3.2	4.2 — Better
Education	3.2	4.0 — Better

Reference order EUR 5,000	€5.00	€5.00
Minimum deposit	US$100	US$100
Stocks (per order)	0.06 %	in the spread
US stocks	US$0.02/share	n/a
ETFs	n/a	in the spread
Options	Not offered	Not offered
Futures	Not offered	Not offered
Crypto	tiered	in the spread
Bonds (order)	n/a	n/a
Funds (order)	n/a	n/a
EUR/USD spread	0.1 pips — Better	0.7 pips
Index CFD spread	n/a	n/a
FX conversion	n/a	n/a
Inactivity fee	CHF 100 · after 6 months	n/a
Custody fee	None	n/a
Withdrawal fee	US$35	free — Better
Deposit fee	2.5 %	free — Better
Overnight financing	n/a	n/a
Other fees	Volume commission — FX: USD 35 per USD 1 million traded at the entry tier, then 33 / 30 / 25 / 18 / 16 / 15 / 14 / 10 and USD 5 above USD 3 million of net deposit, equity or 30-day volume Volume commission — CFDs: USD 52.50 per USD 1 million for commodities, indices, metals and crypto at entry, falling to USD 7.50 at the top tier Currency conversion: 0.05%–1.00% over Dukascopy Bank's spot rate, depending on the size of the conversion Account opening and closing: Free Dormant account: Minimum CHF 500, but never more than the account balance Gold holdings: 1.5% per year of the average gold balance +4	Standard account: No commission; EUR/USD from 0.7 pips, gold from 16 cents, BTC/USD from USD 12, ETH/USD from USD 1.25. Minimum deposit USD 100. Pro account: EUR/USD from 0.0 pips plus USD 4.50 commission per standard lot round turn; gold from 9 cents. Minimum deposit USD 100. Elite account: EUR/USD from 0.0 pips plus USD 3.50 commission per standard lot round turn. Minimum deposit USD 25,000; base currencies limited to USD, EUR, GBP and AUD. Inactivity fee: Axi reserves the right to charge a monthly fee after 12 months with no trading activity and no open positions. The amount depends on your account currency and is stated only in the Product Schedule, not on the public fees page — we have not recorded a figure because none is published. Deposit and withdrawal fees: None charged by Axi; card issuers may apply cash-advance charges and receiving banks may charge on international wires Swap / overnight financing: Applied daily at the 17:00 New York close, can be positive or negative; triple swap on Wednesdays or Thursdays depending on the instrument +1

Asset classes (of 14)	8	8
Exchanges	n/a	n/a
Stocks	Yes	Yes
ETFs	Yes	Yes
Options	No	No
Futures	No	No
Forex	Yes	Yes
CFDs	Yes	Yes
Crypto	Yes	Yes
Bonds	Yes	No
Funds	No	No
Commodities	Yes	Yes
Indices	Yes	Yes
Warrants	No	No
Spread betting	No	No
Social trading	No	Yes

Platforms	JForex 4JForex Web 3Visual JForexJForex mobileMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5JForex API and FIX API	Axi Trading PlatformMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5Axi Copy TradingAxi mobile apps
Demo account	Yes	Yes
Fractional shares	No	No
Maximum leverage	1:200 · Pro 1:200	1:1000
Account opening	Fully online with video identification, but Swiss bank onboarding asks for more documentation and takes longer than a CFD-only broker — typically 1–3 business days	Fully online with ID and proof-of-address upload; most accounts approved the same or next business day
Account types	JForex ECNMT4 / MT5Swiss bank accountIslamic (swap-free)PAMM and managed accounts	StandardProEliteSwap-free (Islamic)

Payment methods	Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardSkrillNetellerCrypto	Bank transferCredit cardDebit cardSkrillNetellerCrypto
Account currencies	USDEURCHFGBPAUDCADJPYNZDCZKAED	AUDCADCHFEURGBPHKDJPYNZDPLNSGD+1
Deposit time	Bank transfer 1–3 business days; card and e-wallet deposits typically same day; crypto on network confirmation	Instant for cards and e-wallets; 1–3 business days for bank transfer. Local payment rails vary by region.
Withdrawal time	1–3 business days for bank transfers once approved	Same-day processing on most methods; 1–3 business days to reach the account
Free withdrawals	n/a	n/a

Languages	EnglishGermanFrenchItalianSpanishRussianChineseJapaneseArabicPolish+4	EnglishGermanSpanishFrenchItalianPortuguesePolishArabicChineseThai+7
Channels	PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system	Live chatEmailPhoneWhatsApp
Availability	24/7 during the trading week, with live chat, phone and a ticket queue	24/7 multilingual support, advertised across 17 languages

Strengths and weaknesses side by side

Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.

Dukascopy Bank

A real Swiss bank running a real ECN — with a tariff sheet that punishes anyone who moves money often.

4,0

Pros

Licensed by FINMA as both a bank and a securities firm — full Swiss banking supervision, capital requirements and audit obligations, not a CFD-broker permission
esisuisse depositor protection up to CHF 100,000 per client on cash balances, which is five times the EUR 20,000 investor compensation most EU brokers offer
SWFX Swiss FX Marketplace is a genuine ECN with visible depth, where EUR/USD spreads start from 0.1 pips and commission is charged separately and transparently
JForex 4 is one of the deepest retail platforms available: roughly 270 indicators, a Java strategy API, tick-level historical data for backtesting and depth-of-market
FIX API access for accounts above roughly USD 100,000, with the JForex Java API available at any account size — institutional connectivity offered at retail account sizes
Volume commission ladder is fully published and improves on any of three criteria — net deposit, equity or 30-day traded volume — so it rewards capital as well as churn
The banking side is real: multi-currency accounts, IBAN, cards and e-banking sit alongside the trading account under one Swiss licence
USD 100 entry on the JForex ECN account, so the Swiss banking counterparty is not gated behind a six-figure balance

Cons

Bank transfer withdrawals are priced per currency and rail — EUR 2.3 over SEPA up to EUR 20, USD 19 up to USD 35, and nominally much more in minor currencies such as HUF 5,500 or JPY 2,500 — and card withdrawals add EUR 1.5 plus 2.5%; cash movement is the single worst part of the tariff
Cash conversions — exchanges, deposits, withdrawals, transfers — are charged at 0.05%–1.00% over spot depending on size, with smaller conversions at the punitive end; profits, losses and commissions outside the account's base currency are converted for a flat 0.5% fee at the Swiss bank (0.1% at the Latvian entity), so a multi-currency trader pays that charge repeatedly
JForex 4 has a genuinely steep learning curve, and Dukascopy publishes little structured beginner education to soften it
No exchange-listed options, no cleared futures and no real share ownership — everything outside spot FX is a CFD with Dukascopy as counterparty
MT4 and MT5 accounts require USD 1,000 rather than the USD 100 that opens a JForex ECN account, and carry a much narrower instrument list
Physical gold holdings are charged 1.5% per year and quarantined crypto assets CHF 2,000 every six months — unusual charges that are easy to miss in the tariff PDF

Best for

Experienced ECN and algorithmic FX tradersClients who want a bank, not a brokerSwiss and cross-border investorsJava strategy developers and API usersHigher-volume, low-withdrawal-frequency traders

Axi

A 2007-vintage Australian FX broker that has quietly become one of the better all-round CFD platforms — if you check which entity you sign with.

3,9

Pros

Pro account at USD 4.50 round turn per standard lot on 0.0-pip spreads, available from a USD 100 minimum rather than a five-figure balance
Proprietary Axi Trading Platform covers 650+ markets with TradingView charting built in and true web-to-mobile position sync
Three distinct crypto routes — CFDs to 200:1, perpetual futures on around 150 coins, and spot crypto you actually own
Eleven account base currencies including CHF, PLN, HKD, JPY and SGD, which removes a conversion step for non-euro clients
24/7 support in 17 languages across live chat, phone, email and WhatsApp — better coverage than most brokers this size
Axi Select funded-trader programme is free to join, with six stages from USD 5,000 to USD 1,000,000 and profit splits rising to 80%
Long operating history since 2007 with tier-1 ASIC and FCA licences alongside a DFSA licence in the DIFC
Copy trading via a dedicated app where copiers control their own sizing and risk rather than buying into a managed pool

Cons

Most international clients are booked with AxiTrader LLC in St Vincent and the Grenadines — no prudential supervision, no compensation scheme, and The Financial Commission rather than a regulator as escalation
We found no EEA-licensed Axi entity in its published legal documentation, so EU residents are contracting offshore by default
An inactivity fee applies after 12 months of dormancy but the amount is disclosed only in the Product Schedule, never on the public fees page
Leverage up to 1000:1 on the offshore entity, and 200:1 on crypto CFDs, is a retail-harm profile rather than a genuine benefit
No real shares, no ETF units you can own, no bonds, no funds and no listed options — the equity and ETF range is CFD-only
No German Abgeltungsteuer or Austrian KESt withholding, and Axi's own UK disclosures show 66–72% of retail accounts losing money

Best for

Active FX and CFD tradersCopy-trading followers and signal providersTraders chasing funded capitalMulti-currency account holdersMetaTrader EA users

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