ActivTrades or AAATrade – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare ActivTrades and AAATrade in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
ActivTrades is a UK-headquartered CFD and forex broker established in 2001. The award-winning brokerage has secured licenses from trusted bodies, notably the UK’s FCA, and facilitates trading on over 1000 instruments spanning 7 asset classes, with over 93.60% of orders are executed at the requested price.
AAATrade is a forex and CFD broker established in 2013 and regulated by CySEC. The STP broker offers tens of thousands of Stocks, ETFs, CFDs, securities and cryptocurrency products on the proprietary and MetaTrader platforms. Traders can benefit from standard retail accounts as well as portfolio management and advisory services.
Pros
ActivTrades offers tight spreads, particularly for forex trading with spreads starting from 0.5 pips on major currency pairs without additional commissions. The €/£10 inactivity fee doesn’t kick in for 52 weeks either, so it doesn’t penalize active traders.
Although cTrader isn’t supported, MT4, MT5, TradingView and the broker’s ActivTrader cater to diverse trading needs, with the firm’s web-accessible platform hitting the mark for beginners during testing with a slick look and feel.
ActivTrades is highly trusted, boasting 20+ years in the industry, authorization from 3 ‘green tier’ bodies under DayTrading.com’s Regulation & Trust Rating, and it goes the extra mile for UK traders with £1M in investor compensation (exceeding the £85K through the FSCS) in the event of brokerage insolvency.
ActivTrades provides fast, dependable and multilingual support based on our tests of its live chat, email, and phone assistance, making it excellent for active traders and beginners.
With execution speeds averaging just 4ms, an order fulfilment rate of 93.6%, and no restrictions on short-term strategies, ActivTrades offers an excellent environment for fast-paced strategies like trading.
I was glad to see commission-free trading available in the Novice account, though seasoned traders can also benefit from low commissions from 0.125% in the Experienced account
There's a good range of trading platforms, including the new AAATrader™ and MT5 mobile app. I particularly appreciated the broker's in-house crypto exchange platform
I feel assured the AAATrade is regulated by tier-1 authority, the CySEC and is also a member of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF)
I like that there is no minimum deposit for both the Novice and Experienced Accounts, making the broker accessible for all traders
I was very impressed to find a $100,000 demo account available with free access to webinars and forex education
Cons
There are no copy trading or social trading features, which is a drawback for traders seeking passive investment opportunities or the ability to mimic the trades of more experienced traders, especially compared to eToro and Vantage.
There's a varied selection of 1000+ markets, such as forex, commodities, indices, and ETFs, but the range of asset classes overall is limited, notably there are zero stocks outside the US, UK and Europe, while BlackBull offers a superior 26,000+ markets.
Its research tools are good but not great, with a growing ‘Analysis’ hub but no Trading Central or Autochartist for advanced technical summaries which could help aspiring traders identify opportunities in fast-moving markets.
ActivTrades still has some way to go to match firms like XTB and CMC Markets in the education department, with some well-presented, informative webinars but limited courses and quizzes for a more comprehensive and engaging learning journey.
I'm a little disappointed that fees charged on deposits, which puts the broker behind most competitors offering free deposits
Crypto trading does not have the same protection or regulation as other markets, though this is industry standard
Awards
Safest Global Broker 2023 - International Investor Magazine
Best Online Trading Services 2023 - ADVFN International Financial Awards
Best Forex Broker Europe 2022 - Forex-Awards.com
Most Trusted Global FX Broker 2022 - International Investor Magazine
Best CFD Broker 2021 - Rankia
Safest Global Broker 2021 - International Investor Award Winners
ActivTrades provides a choice of mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. The proprietary ActivTrader app and support for MT4, MT5, and TradingView give access to real-time market data, advanced charting tools, and customizable trading features. All four apps let you trade and manage you accounts intuitively, but ActivTrades boasts the most seamless trading experience, combining the broker’s ultra-fast execution speeds with dynamic charting and research tools.
iOS App Rating
4.9
Android App Rating
3.8
Margin Trading
Yes
Yes
Margin Rate
1:200
MetaTrader 4
Yes
No
MetaTrader 5
Yes
Yes
cTrader
No
No
AlgoTrader
No
No
OmniTrader
No
No
TradingView
Yes
No
Autochartist
No
No
eSignal
No
No
Trading Central
No
No
STP Account
Yes
Yes
ECN Account
No
Yes
DMA Account
No
Yes
MAM Account
No
Yes
PAMM Account
No
Yes
LAMM Account
No
Yes
Demat Account
No
No
AI / Machine Learning
No
No
Robo Advisor
No
No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes
Yes
Market Maker
Yes
No
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
No
Yes
Auto Trading
Yes (APIs), Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Copy Trading
No
No
Social Trading
No
No
Trade Signals
Yes
Yes
VPS Hosting
No
No
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
No
No
Custodial Account
No
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
No
Inactivity Fee
€/£10
Islamic Account
Yes
No
Account Currencies
USD
EUR
GBP
CHF
USD
EUR
GBP
Commodities
Gold
Oil
Natural Gas
Wheat
Copper
Cocoa
Coffee
Corn
Orange Juice
Palladium
Platinum
Silver
Soybeans
Sugar
CFD
ActivTrades specializes in CFD trading, offering over 1000 instruments spanning currencies, shares, indices, commodities, and more. The broker has picked up industry awards for its CFD trading environment, delivering fast and reliable order execution with transparent margin requirements for traders.
During my tests, I found thousands of leveraged CFD products across forex, indices, commodities, stocks and cryptocurrencies. Commissions are competitive and I particularly enjoyed using all the free CFD trading resources available in the demo account.
Leverage
1:30 (UK and EU), 1:400 (Global & Pro)
1:200
FTSE Spread
0.6
0.5
GBPUSD Spread<
0.8
0.00002
Oil Spread
0.03
0.10
Stocks Spread
Variable
Floating
Forex
ActivTrades offers its lowest fees in the forex department, with excellent spreads on majors like the EUR/USD from 0.5 pips and zero commissions, keeping pricing simple. Improvements to the ActivTrades platform, alongside access to the industry-leading MetaTrader 4, also give traders the tools they need to navigate the FX market confidently.
AAATrade offers 80+ forex pairs, including majors and minors, which is a competitive range and more than most brokers I have reviewed. I was also able to take advantage of the broker's daily technical insights with chart analysis, as well as the live economic calendar.
Assets
50+
10000+
GBPUSD Spread
0.8
0.00002
EURUSD Spread
0.5
0.00002
EURGBP Spread
0.8
0.00002
Currency Indices
USD
Cryptocurrency
Trade 15+ of the most know cryptos, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Digital currencies can be traded around the clock with no hidden fees. 1:10 leverage is also available on major tokens like BTC.
I was impressed with AAATrade's range of 50 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, which is more than most brokers I review. I was particularly glad to see a good mix of crypto-crypto pairs, as well as some crypto-fiat pairs against USD and EUR.