ActivTrades Review

In our comprehensive ActivTrades review below, our experts will cover the important criteria and features of this London-based multi-asset broker. We have extensively assessed and compared the broker’s quality with that of other industry leaders. After reading it, you can decide whether to initiate the onboarding process with ActivTrades. 

ActivTrades is an Award-winning broker with over 55 global awards, over 20 years of experience, and more than 100,000 clients. Users can trade over 1,000 CFDs on shares, ETFs, bonds, indices, cryptocurrencies, and 48 major, minor, and exotic forex pairs with up to 30:1 leverage. 

The use of automated trading software like Expert Advisors is allowed, and external trading platforms such as MetaTrader 4, 5, and TradingView are supported. Additionally, the broker allows users to create demo and Islamic swap-free accounts to familiarize themselves with the trading platform or trade according to Sharia Law. 

ActivTrades features no requotes, average trade execution times of under 0,004 seconds, no hidden fees, and unbeatable spreads, starting at 0,5 pips (on EUR/USD). Additionally, the broker offers negative balance protection to all its retail clients, is regulated in 5 top jurisdictions (FCA, CSSF, SCB, BACEN & CVM, and CMVM), insures its clients’ funds up to $1,000,000, and provides research and educational materials in the form of weekly webinars, daily market analysis, and price movers and alerts.

Another key feature of ActivTrades is its social trading or copy trading functionality, which beginner traders can use to copy the trades of experienced traders automatically from within their accounts. 

ActivTrades’ list of available trading accounts includes a Professional Account, an Individual Account, a Demo Account, and an Islamic Account. In addition, trading techniques like day trading, swing trading, automated trading, high-frequency trading, and scalping are allowed at ActivTrades.

Now that we have briefly covered the most important aspects of the brokers, our experts will start this extensive ActivTrades review with a comprehensive list of its available financial instruments and asset classes.

Assets (Best Multi-Platform Forex and CFD Broker)

ActivTrades allows clients to trade more than 1610 financial instruments, including:

• 48 CFDs on forex
• 31 CFDs on indices
• 1,021 CFDs on stocks
• 22 CFDs on commodities
• 16 CFDs on crypto
• 6 CFDs on bonds
• 500 CFDs on ETFs

Although ActivTrades offers a wide selection of CFDs on multiple asset classes, the broker does not support real share trading or investing. Additionally, ActivTrades does not offer futures or options trading, making it a more suitable broker for swing, day, automated, intraday, and scalpers.

Use the table below to compare ActivTrades with our other top-rated forex and CFD brokers:

	ActivTrades	eToro	Interactive Brokers
Stock CFDs	1,021	2,000	8,500
Forex	48	52	100+
Indices CFDs	31	20	13
ETF CFDs	500	264	–
Commodity CFDs	22	32	–
Crypto CFDs	16	74	–
Bond CFDs	6	–	–
FX Options	N/A	N/A	N/A
	OPEN ACCOUNT	OPEN ACCOUNT	OPEN ACCOUNT

Commission, Fees, and Spreads

ActivTrades allows users to trade forex and CFDs commission-free and charges competitive spreads, starting as low as 0,5 pips on EUR/USD. ActivTrades does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fees but does apply 0,50% currency conversion fees on transactions not made in the account’s set currency, 1,5% credit card processing fees, and a $10/month inactivity fee after 12 months after inactivity on accounts which have remaining balances. 

The table below compares ActivTrades’ trading and non-trading fees with our other top-rated brokers.

Trading Fees

Trading Fee	ActivTrades	eToro	Interactive Brokers
Stocks	N/A	$0,00	$0,00
Cryptocurrencies	As CFDs only	1%	0,18%
Forex	0,5 pips (EUR/USD)	1,0 pip (EUR/USD)	1,4 pips (EUR/USD)
CFDs	0,5 – 2,0 pips/trade	0,5 – 1,0 pip/trade	0,05%

Non-trading fees

Type of Fee	ActivTrades	eToro	Interactive Brokers
Inactivity Fees	$10/month after 12 months of inactivity	$10/month after 12 months of inactivity	None
Conversion Fees	0,50%	0,0050 pips	$50/conversion
Deposit Fee	1,5% on credit card deposits	None	None
Withdrawal Fee	$10 for bank transfers	$5	None (only in USD)
Management/Administration Fees	None	None	None
Social Copy Trading Fees	None	None	N/A
Overnight Funding	It depends on the assets traded	None	None

With industry-average trading and non-trading fees, ActivTrades is one of our top suggested forex and CFD brokers for UAE traders.

Deposits and Withdrawals

ActivTrades is an internationally operating broker that supports a wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods, including debit and credit cards, bank wire transfers, and e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill. The broker does not require a minimum deposit to open a live trading account, and users can practice with a free demo account before placing real money trades.

Deposits and withdrawals are processed within 30 minutes and the same working day, respectively, making ActivTrades one of the fastest-paying forex and CFD brokers.

Use the table below to compare the deposit and withdrawal features of ActivTrades with our other top-rated brokers:

Broker	ActivTrades	eToro	AvaTrade
Bank Wire Transfer	✓	✓	✓
Credit/Debit Card	✓	✓	✓
E-wallets	✓	✓	✓
Crypto	N/A	✓	N/A
Account Minimum	$0	$200	$100
Deposit Charges	1,5% for credit and debit card deposits	None	None
Withdrawal Charges	$10 for bank wire transfers	$5	None

Account types

ActivTrades has 4 available trading accounts, including the:

• Professional Account – Allows clients to trade with up to 400:1 leverage, up to 30% close-out level, and provides them with a personal, dedicated account manager.
• Individual Account – Enables users access to nearly 1,200 CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, and other asset classes with up to 30:1 leverage, no requotes, negative balance protection, and enhanced funds insurance (up to $1,000,000). 
• Demo Account – Allows users to familiarize themselves with the available trading platforms and backtest their trading strategies for free in a virtual environment that mirrors real-world market conditions. 
• Islamic Account – Trading account meant for UAE traders that want to trade according to Sharia Law with no interest charged on contracts lasting longer than 24 hours, with zero rollover interest consistently. 

Account opening is seamless at ActivTrades and done within minutes. Users must provide identity documents and Proof of Address to start live trading. 

Trading Platforms & Tools (Best for Choice of Platforms)

Having done extensive research, our financial experts have classified ActivTrades as the best forex and CFD broker for its choice of platforms. The broker has its own proprietary ActivTrader desktop trading platform and app but also supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and TradingView. 

Users can access powerful real-time charting features, allowing them to explore historical trends, conduct technical analysis, and apply indicators such as Simple Moving Averages and Stochastic Oscillators. Additionally, ActivTrades offers Progressive Trailing and regular Trailing Stops, market sentiment data, and support for hedging. 

Automated or high-frequency trading through Expert Advisors is allowed via MetaTrader 4 or 5, and users can trade directly off the charts via the broker’s TradingView platform integration. 

ActivTrades’ list of available platforms and third-party integrations includes:

• ActivTrader – The broker’s proprietary trading platform and app allows users to trade over 1,100 CFDs across 7 asset classes (forex, shares, indices, commodities, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and bonds). 
• TradingView – Enables clients the possibility to trade directly off the charts, choose from 12 different charts, have up to 8 charts open per tab, and on a wide range of available timelines, including seconds and range bars.
• MetaTrader 4 – The most popular trading platform globally amongst forex and CFD traders that supports Expert Advisors (EAs) and allows users to use more than 50 pre-installed technical indicators, trade 9 different timeframes, and set price alerts and trailing stops.
• MetaTrader 5 provides users access to over 500 CFDs on stocks and ETFs and all instruments offered on MetaTrader 4. Additionally, the platform features 21 timeframes, 8 order types, and an economic news headlines layout section. 

Use the table below to compare ActivTrades’ features with those of our other top-rated brokers.

Feature / Broker	ActivTrades	eToro	AvaTrade
Desktop Platform	✓	✓	✓
Web Platform	✓	✓	✓
Mobile Platform	✓	✓	✓
Easy to Use	✓	✓	✓
Watchlist	✓	✓	✓
Market Depth/Level 2	✗	✗	✗
Advanced Charting	✓	✗	✓
Trading Alerts	✓	✓	✓
Demo Account	✓	✓	✓
MT4/MT5	✓	✗	✓
TradingView	✓	✗	✗
Other non-Proprietary	✗	✗	✓
Proprietary	✓	✓	✓
Social/Copy Trading	✓	✓	✓
Strategy Tester	✓	✗	✓
Scalping	✓	✓	✓

ActivTrades allows users to trade the financial markets however they want, automate their trades, develop integrations, and build custom trading apps. Additionally, the broker’s average order execution speed is below 0,004 seconds, micro-lot trading is available, and over 93,60% of all orders are executed at the requested price. 

Users can access a built-in watchlist feature, strategy tester, trading alerts, an economic calendar, and daily news and market analysis. As ActivTrades is an award-winning broker with more than 55 global awards under its wing, our experts have rated it as one the best forex and CFD brokers for beginner to professional traders.

Research and Education

ActivTrades provides users access to various research and educational materials, including educational webinars, seminars, platform manuals, an economic calendar, and news & analysis. However, users cannot access a live trading room or receive trading signals from the broker.

The seminars and webinars are given in English, German, and Italian every week by professional traders, investors, and experienced fund managers. 

Customer Service

The ActivTrades customer service is available 24/5 via live chat, e-mail, and phone in English, Arabic, and 12 other languages. Additionally, users can send a message through the broker’s online form or request a free callback.

Regulation

ActivTrades is a licensed and regulated broker regulated by 7 regulatory bodies, including the FCA, CSSF, SCB, CMVM, CONSOB, CMVM, and Bacen. Below, our experts provide you with a detailed overview of the broker’s license information:

• United Kingdom – ActivTrades PLC is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 434413 to offer financial services to UK traders legally.
• The Bahamas – ActivTrades Corp is regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas under Commonwealth Bahamas registration number 199667 B.
• Portugal – ActivMarkets is authorized and regulated in Portugal by the Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM) under license number 433 and Portuguese Company House number 516 929 291.
• Luxembourg – In Luxembourg, ActivTrades PLC is regulated by the CSSF and based at 1a, Rue Thomas Edison, L-1445, Strassen Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
• Italy – ActivTrades is regulated by the CMVM and registered with CONSOB to legally offer financial services to its Italian clients.
• Brazil – ActivTrades is regulated by Bacen for its Brazilian clients. 
• Bulgaria – ActivTrades Corp has a physical office in Bulgaria, located at Bul. Bulgaria 69, 1404, Sofia. 

Security

ActivTrades has won more than 55 international awards, has 20+ years experience in the online brokerage world, is audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, offers enhanced protection of funds up to $1,000,000, and negative balance protection. These facts make ActivTrades one of the safest and most trustworthy brokers for UAE traders. 

Security features include no requotes, SSL-encrypted trading platforms and apps, and enhanced order confirmation windows. The only downside, security-wise, is that users cannot protect their accounts using a two-factor authentication. 

ActivTrades UAE Special Features

ActivTrades offers ultra-fast trade execution speeds, no requotes, no hidden fees, enhanced fund protection, and supports multiple trading platforms and third-party integrations. Additionally, over 93,60% of all orders are executed at the requested price or better, and the broker offers Islamic swap-free accounts for UAE traders who want to trade Halal assets only.

Other special features include a freely available demo account and the option to trade directly off the charts with the broker’s TradingView integration. Furthermore, the trading platform manuals offered by the broker are extensive and more detailed than those provided (if at all) by other forex and CFD brokers.

Pros

• Below is industry pricing without any hidden fees
• Supports TradingView, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and Expert Advisors
• Provides access to 48 forex pairs and over 1,600 other financial instruments
• Supports a wide selection of payment methods, including bank wire transfers, Neteller, Skrill, and Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards.
• Low spreads on forex (from 0,5 pips on EUR/USD)
• Has won over 55 awards
• There is no minimum deposit requirement to open a live trading account

Cons

• No real shares or ETFs offered
• High deposit and withdrawal fees compared to other brokers
• 24/5 customer support instead of 24/7

Conclusion

ActivTrades is one of the longest-lasting and multi-award-winning forex and CFD brokers. It offers users the opportunity to trade over 1,600 CFDs and 48 forex pairs with up to 30:1 leverage. It supports TradingView, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Expert Advisors, and social trading via Mql5. 

Additionally, the broker has no minimum deposit requirement, offers demo and Islamic swap-free accounts, and provides professional and institutional trading and financial services through its ActiveTrades Pro platform, where users can trade with up to 400:1 leverage.

Although ActivTrades misses features like Level 2 order book data, cTrader support, and ECN or Raw spread accounts, our experts recommend the broker to beginner to professional traders looking to conduct scalping, swing trading, automated trading, day trading, and intraday trading.