Head to head

OANDA vs ActivTrades — which broker is better?

OANDA or ActivTrades? 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.

OANDA

Thirty years, six top-tier licences and the best mobile app in FX - attached to spreads you have to work around.

4,1

Group index 89/100Protection depends on your legal entity

CFTC/NFAFCAASIC+5

Stocks (per order): 0.06 %
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 1.7 pips

Visit broker Full review

ActivTrades

A twenty-five-year-old London CFD house that buys extra insurance for your money and charges nothing to hold it.

4,0

Group index 68/100Protection depends on your legal entity

FCACMVMCVM+2

Stocks (per order): in the spread
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 1.0 pips

Visit broker Full review

Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.

The verdict in numbers

Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.

Overall OANDA takes it, 4.1 against 4.0 out of 5. OANDA is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €3.00 there against €5.00. OANDA scores 89 against 68 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. OANDA covers more ground with 10 of 14 asset classes against 9. On platform and app OANDA is ahead, 4.4 against 4.2 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.

Overall score

OANDA: 4.1 — Better
ActivTrades: 4.0

Costs

OANDA: €3.00 — Better
ActivTrades: €5.00

Group indexNo winner

OANDA: 89 of 100
ActivTrades: 68 of 100

Product range

OANDA: 10/14 — Better
ActivTrades: 9/14

Platform & app

OANDA: 4.4 — Better
ActivTrades: 4.2

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

OANDA · ActivTrades
Criterion	OANDA 4,1 Visit broker	ActivTrades 4,0 Visit broker

Overall score	4.1 — Better	4.0
Group index	89 of 100	68 of 100
Best for	BeginnersMobile-first tradersUS and Canadian residentsResearch-led discretionary tradingAPI and algo access	Safety-conscious CFD tradersMetaTrader and TradingView usersSmall starting balancesSwiss and UK clientsUK spread betting

Regulation	CFTC/NFAFCAASICCIROMASJFSAKNFBVI FSC	FCACMVMCVMSCBFSC
Top-tier licences	6 — Better	1
Investor protection	CA$1,000,000 — Better	£85,000
Listed group	No	No
Banking licence	No	No
Segregated client accounts	Yes	Yes
Negative balance protection	Yes	Yes
Audited financials	Yes	Yes
Disclosed regulatory actions	None	2
Founded	1996	2001
Headquarters	New York, US	London, GB

Fees	3.5	3.9 — Better
Safety & regulation	4.7 — Better	4.2
Trading platform	4.2	4.2
Product range	3.5 — Better	3.3
Mobile app	4.5 — Better	4.2
Research	4.6 — Better	3.4
Customer support	3.9	4.3 — Better
Deposit & withdrawal	3.8	4.2 — Better
Account opening	4.3	4.4 — Better
Education	3.6 — Better	2.8

Reference order EUR 5,000	€3.00 — Better	€5.00
Minimum deposit	None	None
Stocks (per order)	0.06 %	in the spread
US stocks	0.06 %	in the spread
ETFs	0.06 %	in the spread
Options	Not offered	Not offered
Futures	Not offered	Not offered
Crypto	in the spread	in the spread
Bonds (order)	in the spread	in the spread
Funds (order)	n/a	n/a
EUR/USD spread	1.7 pips	1.0 pips — Better
Index CFD spread	1 points	0.6 points — Better
FX conversion	1 %	0.5 % — Better
Inactivity fee	US$20 · after 12 months	£10 · after 18 months — Better
Custody fee	n/a	n/a
Withdrawal fee	free — Better	US$12.50
Deposit fee	free	free
Overnight financing	n/a	n/a
Other fees	EUR/USD spread (spread-only account): Advertised from 0.6 pips; ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.68 to 1.69 pip average in 2026 testing, and BestBrokers put it at 1.4 pips EUR/USD core pricing: From 0.0 to 0.4 pips plus commission - USD 7 per USD 100,000 per side in the US (OANDA states 0.70 per 10,000 units on each leg), USD 3 per 100,000 per side in Singapore. Round turn is double: USD 14 and USD 6 Core pricing eligibility: OANDA states it directly: core spread and commission pricing is available to clients with a balance of USD 10,000 or greater Currency conversion: 1.0 percent mark-up or mark-down on the mid-market rate (OANDA Europe Limited) Index CFD spreads: UK 100 from 1.0 point, Germany 40 from 1.2 points, USD/JPY from 1.3 pips Guaranteed stop-loss order: A fixed premium is charged only if the GSLO is actually triggered +2	EUR/USD spread: Advertised from 0.5 pips; ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.08 pip monthly average on the standard account in October 2025 Commission: None on the standard account - every cost sits inside the spread FTSE 100 index CFD: From 0.6 points Inactivity fee: GBP/EUR 10 per month after 18 months of no activity, only while a positive balance remains Currency conversion: 0.5 percent when a position settles in a currency other than your account base currency Deposits and withdrawals: Free on all published methods +2

Asset classes (of 14)	10 — Better	9
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	Yes
Funds	No	No
Commodities	Yes	Yes
Indices	Yes	Yes
Warrants	No	No
Spread betting	Yes	Yes
Social trading	Yes	No

Platforms	OANDA Trade (web)OANDA Trade (mobile)MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingViewAlgo Labs API	ActivTraderActivTrader mobileMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingView
Demo account	Yes	Yes
Fractional shares	No	No
Maximum leverage	1:30	1:30 · Pro 1:400
Account opening	Online application, usually approved within one business day	Fully digital, usually approved within one business day
Account types	Standard (spread-only)Core pricing + commissionPremium and Premium PlusSpread betting (UK only)Professional (UK)	IndividualProfessionalIslamic (swap-free)Spread betting (UK only)Demo

Payment methods	Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardSkrillNeteller	Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalSkrillNetellerSofortApple PayGoogle Pay
Account currencies	USDEURGBPAUDCADJPYSGDHKD	EURGBPUSDCHF
Deposit time	Instant on cards, 1-3 business days by bank transfer	Minutes for cards and e-wallets, 24-48 hours by bank transfer
Withdrawal time	1-3 business days; bank wires can take longer	Same day to 2 business days once the account is verified
Free withdrawals	n/a	n/a

Languages	EnglishGermanSpanishChineseJapanesePolish	EnglishGermanItalianSpanishFrenchPortuguesePolishCzechChineseArabic
Channels	PhoneEmailLive chat	PhoneEmailLive chat
Availability	24/5	24/5, with a scheduled callback service during European business hours

Strengths and weaknesses side by side

Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.

OANDA

Thirty years, six top-tier licences and the best mobile app in FX - attached to spreads you have to work around.

4,1

Pros

Regulated by six tier-1 authorities - CFTC/NFA, FCA (542574), CIRO, ASIC (AFSL 412981), MAS and the JFSA - a licence footprint almost nobody in retail FX matches
Trading since 1996, with client money segregated and FSCS cover up to GBP 85,000 for UK clients and CIPF cover up to CAD 1,000,000 in Canada
No minimum deposit at all - you can open and fund a live account with any amount you choose
The mobile app is the strongest in this comparison set: full order management, alerts and charting rather than a cut-down position viewer
Research rated 5 out of 5 by ForexBrokers.com - MarketPulse commentary, Autochartist integration, news feeds and podcasts, all in-house rather than bought in
Share CFD commission of 0.06 percent of notional per side with no minimum, which is cheap on small tickets where per-order minimums usually bite
Open REST and streaming API through Algo Labs, with no punitive volume threshold attached
Available to US, Canadian and Japanese residents, who cannot open accounts at most global CFD brokers

Cons

The default spread-only account is expensive: EUR/USD has been measured at 1.4 to 1.7 pips against roughly 0.8 pips all-in at raw-spread competitors
Core pricing closes most of that gap but is reported to require a USD 10,000 balance, so the cheap tariff is not available to the clients who need it most
A 1.0 percent currency conversion mark-up applies whenever the instrument currency differs from your account currency - the largest hidden cost in this review
Inactivity fee of up to USD 20 a month - GBP 20 at the UK entity - after twelve months without an open or active position, though up to three months are refundable once you trade again
No options, no futures and no mutual funds; outside the EU no share ownership either (the EU entity, OANDA TMS Brokers S.A., offers real shares and ETFs, held by a custodian in an omnibus account in OANDA TMS's name) - and the product list varies so much by entity that US clients get forex and spot crypto only
Support is 24/5 rather than 24/7, with narrower language coverage than the Australian competitors

Best for

BeginnersMobile-first tradersUS and Canadian residentsResearch-led discretionary tradingAPI and algo access

ActivTrades

A twenty-five-year-old London CFD house that buys extra insurance for your money and charges nothing to hold it.

4,0

Pros

FCA licence 434413 held since 2005, plus a CMVM-regulated EU entity, an SCB entity and a Brazilian brokerage - one of the longest continuous track records in retail CFDs
Excess-of-loss cover at Lloyd's of London pays up to USD 1,000,000 per claimant on an insolvency - and it covers the offshore entities, which is where clients have no compensation scheme at all; UK clients have FSCS cover of GBP 85,000 instead
No minimum deposit at all on the standard account, and no deposit or withdrawal fee on any published method
Four platforms on one account - ActivTrader, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView - with the SmartOrder, SmartLines and SmartPattern add-ons bundled into MetaTrader
Four base currencies including CHF, which is rare and removes a conversion round trip for Swiss clients
Support runs 24/5 in roughly fourteen languages with a published average email response time of about 27 minutes
UK clients can trade the same book as spread bets, which changes the tax treatment of gains in the UK

Cons

82 percent of ActivTrades retail accounts lose money on CFDs - the highest disclosed rate among the fourteen FCA-regulated CFD brokers surveyed by The Investors Centre in 2026, against a 69.9 percent mean
Spread-only pricing is not cheap for active traders: ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.08 pip EUR/USD monthly average on the standard account, versus roughly 0.8 pips all-in at raw-spread competitors
A 0.5 percent currency conversion fee applies whenever an instrument settles outside your base currency, which quietly taxes every US share CFD held in a EUR or GBP account
Education is limited and poorly structured - archived webinars and roughly seventy articles folded into the research section rather than a course path
Everything is a CFD. No listed options, no exchange-traded futures, no mutual funds, no fractional shares and no share ownership of any kind
The Luxembourg entity was fined EUR 14,000 by the CSSF in December 2024 for AML and counter-terrorist-financing failings, including training written for UK rules and applied unchanged in Luxembourg

Best for

Safety-conscious CFD tradersMetaTrader and TradingView usersSmall starting balancesSwiss and UK clientsUK spread betting

Open an account with either

A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.

Visit broker: OANDA Visit broker: ActivTrades

More comparisons

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OANDA vs ActivTrades — which broker is better?

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

The verdict in numbers

Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.

OANDA · ActivTrades
Criterion	OANDA 4,1 Visit broker	ActivTrades 4,0 Visit broker

Overall score	4.1 — Better	4.0
Group index	89 of 100	68 of 100
Best for	BeginnersMobile-first tradersUS and Canadian residentsResearch-led discretionary tradingAPI and algo access	Safety-conscious CFD tradersMetaTrader and TradingView usersSmall starting balancesSwiss and UK clientsUK spread betting

Regulation	CFTC/NFAFCAASICCIROMASJFSAKNFBVI FSC	FCACMVMCVMSCBFSC
Top-tier licences	6 — Better	1
Investor protection	CA$1,000,000 — Better	£85,000
Listed group	No	No
Banking licence	No	No
Segregated client accounts	Yes	Yes
Negative balance protection	Yes	Yes
Audited financials	Yes	Yes
Disclosed regulatory actions	None	2
Founded	1996	2001
Headquarters	New York, US	London, GB

Fees	3.5	3.9 — Better
Safety & regulation	4.7 — Better	4.2
Trading platform	4.2	4.2
Product range	3.5 — Better	3.3
Mobile app	4.5 — Better	4.2
Research	4.6 — Better	3.4
Customer support	3.9	4.3 — Better
Deposit & withdrawal	3.8	4.2 — Better
Account opening	4.3	4.4 — Better
Education	3.6 — Better	2.8

Reference order EUR 5,000	€3.00 — Better	€5.00
Minimum deposit	None	None
Stocks (per order)	0.06 %	in the spread
US stocks	0.06 %	in the spread
ETFs	0.06 %	in the spread
Options	Not offered	Not offered
Futures	Not offered	Not offered
Crypto	in the spread	in the spread
Bonds (order)	in the spread	in the spread
Funds (order)	n/a	n/a
EUR/USD spread	1.7 pips	1.0 pips — Better
Index CFD spread	1 points	0.6 points — Better
FX conversion	1 %	0.5 % — Better
Inactivity fee	US$20 · after 12 months	£10 · after 18 months — Better
Custody fee	n/a	n/a
Withdrawal fee	free — Better	US$12.50
Deposit fee	free	free
Overnight financing	n/a	n/a
Other fees	EUR/USD spread (spread-only account): Advertised from 0.6 pips; ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.68 to 1.69 pip average in 2026 testing, and BestBrokers put it at 1.4 pips EUR/USD core pricing: From 0.0 to 0.4 pips plus commission - USD 7 per USD 100,000 per side in the US (OANDA states 0.70 per 10,000 units on each leg), USD 3 per 100,000 per side in Singapore. Round turn is double: USD 14 and USD 6 Core pricing eligibility: OANDA states it directly: core spread and commission pricing is available to clients with a balance of USD 10,000 or greater Currency conversion: 1.0 percent mark-up or mark-down on the mid-market rate (OANDA Europe Limited) Index CFD spreads: UK 100 from 1.0 point, Germany 40 from 1.2 points, USD/JPY from 1.3 pips Guaranteed stop-loss order: A fixed premium is charged only if the GSLO is actually triggered +2	EUR/USD spread: Advertised from 0.5 pips; ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.08 pip monthly average on the standard account in October 2025 Commission: None on the standard account - every cost sits inside the spread FTSE 100 index CFD: From 0.6 points Inactivity fee: GBP/EUR 10 per month after 18 months of no activity, only while a positive balance remains Currency conversion: 0.5 percent when a position settles in a currency other than your account base currency Deposits and withdrawals: Free on all published methods +2

Asset classes (of 14)	10 — Better	9
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	Yes
Funds	No	No
Commodities	Yes	Yes
Indices	Yes	Yes
Warrants	No	No
Spread betting	Yes	Yes
Social trading	Yes	No

Platforms	OANDA Trade (web)OANDA Trade (mobile)MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingViewAlgo Labs API	ActivTraderActivTrader mobileMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingView
Demo account	Yes	Yes
Fractional shares	No	No
Maximum leverage	1:30	1:30 · Pro 1:400
Account opening	Online application, usually approved within one business day	Fully digital, usually approved within one business day
Account types	Standard (spread-only)Core pricing + commissionPremium and Premium PlusSpread betting (UK only)Professional (UK)	IndividualProfessionalIslamic (swap-free)Spread betting (UK only)Demo

Payment methods	Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardSkrillNeteller	Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalSkrillNetellerSofortApple PayGoogle Pay
Account currencies	USDEURGBPAUDCADJPYSGDHKD	EURGBPUSDCHF
Deposit time	Instant on cards, 1-3 business days by bank transfer	Minutes for cards and e-wallets, 24-48 hours by bank transfer
Withdrawal time	1-3 business days; bank wires can take longer	Same day to 2 business days once the account is verified
Free withdrawals	n/a	n/a

Languages	EnglishGermanSpanishChineseJapanesePolish	EnglishGermanItalianSpanishFrenchPortuguesePolishCzechChineseArabic
Channels	PhoneEmailLive chat	PhoneEmailLive chat
Availability	24/5	24/5, with a scheduled callback service during European business hours

Criterion

4,1

4,0

Overall score

4.1

4.0

Group index

89 of 100

68 of 100

Best for

BeginnersMobile-first tradersUS and Canadian residentsResearch-led discretionary tradingAPI and algo access

Safety-conscious CFD tradersMetaTrader and TradingView usersSmall starting balancesSwiss and UK clientsUK spread betting

Regulation

CFTC/NFAFCAASICCIROMASJFSAKNFBVI FSC

FCACMVMCVMSCBFSC

Top-tier licences

Investor protection

CA$1,000,000

£85,000

Listed group

Banking licence

Segregated client accounts

Negative balance protection

Audited financials

Disclosed regulatory actions

None

Founded

1996

2001

Headquarters

New York, US

London, GB

Fees

3.5

3.9

Safety & regulation

4.7

4.2

Trading platform

4.2

Product range

3.5

3.3

Mobile app

4.5

4.2

Research

4.6

3.4

Customer support

3.9

4.3

Deposit & withdrawal

3.8

4.2

Account opening

4.3

4.4

Education

3.6

2.8

Reference order EUR 5,000

€3.00

€5.00

Minimum deposit

None

Stocks (per order)

0.06 %

in the spread

US stocks

0.06 %

in the spread

ETFs

0.06 %

in the spread

Options

Not offered

Futures

Not offered

Crypto

in the spread

Bonds (order)

in the spread

Funds (order)

n/a

EUR/USD spread

1.7 pips

1.0 pips

Index CFD spread

1 points

0.6 points

FX conversion

1 %

0.5 %

Inactivity fee

US$20 · after 12 months

£10 · after 18 months

Custody fee

n/a

Withdrawal fee

free

US$12.50

Deposit fee

free

Overnight financing

n/a

Other fees

EUR/USD spread (spread-only account): Advertised from 0.6 pips; ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.68 to 1.69 pip average in 2026 testing, and BestBrokers put it at 1.4 pips
EUR/USD core pricing: From 0.0 to 0.4 pips plus commission - USD 7 per USD 100,000 per side in the US (OANDA states 0.70 per 10,000 units on each leg), USD 3 per 100,000 per side in Singapore. Round turn is double: USD 14 and USD 6
Core pricing eligibility: OANDA states it directly: core spread and commission pricing is available to clients with a balance of USD 10,000 or greater
Currency conversion: 1.0 percent mark-up or mark-down on the mid-market rate (OANDA Europe Limited)
Index CFD spreads: UK 100 from 1.0 point, Germany 40 from 1.2 points, USD/JPY from 1.3 pips
Guaranteed stop-loss order: A fixed premium is charged only if the GSLO is actually triggered
+2

EUR/USD spread: Advertised from 0.5 pips; ForexBrokers.com measured a 1.08 pip monthly average on the standard account in October 2025
Commission: None on the standard account - every cost sits inside the spread
FTSE 100 index CFD: From 0.6 points
Inactivity fee: GBP/EUR 10 per month after 18 months of no activity, only while a positive balance remains
Currency conversion: 0.5 percent when a position settles in a currency other than your account base currency
Deposits and withdrawals: Free on all published methods
+2

Asset classes (of 14)

Exchanges

n/a

Stocks

ETFs

Options

Futures

Forex

CFDs

Crypto

Bonds

Funds

Commodities

Indices

Warrants

Spread betting

Social trading

Platforms

OANDA Trade (web)OANDA Trade (mobile)MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingViewAlgo Labs API

ActivTraderActivTrader mobileMetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5TradingView

Demo account

Fractional shares

Maximum leverage

1:30

1:30 · Pro 1:400

Account opening

Online application, usually approved within one business day

Fully digital, usually approved within one business day

Account types

Standard (spread-only)Core pricing + commissionPremium and Premium PlusSpread betting (UK only)Professional (UK)

IndividualProfessionalIslamic (swap-free)Spread betting (UK only)Demo

Payment methods

Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardSkrillNeteller

Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalSkrillNetellerSofortApple PayGoogle Pay

Account currencies

USDEURGBPAUDCADJPYSGDHKD

EURGBPUSDCHF

Deposit time

Instant on cards, 1-3 business days by bank transfer

Minutes for cards and e-wallets, 24-48 hours by bank transfer

Withdrawal time

1-3 business days; bank wires can take longer

Same day to 2 business days once the account is verified

Free withdrawals

n/a

Languages

EnglishGermanSpanishChineseJapanesePolish

EnglishGermanItalianSpanishFrenchPortuguesePolishCzechChineseArabic

Channels

PhoneEmailLive chat

Availability

24/5

24/5, with a scheduled callback service during European business hours