ActivTrades or Oanda – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare ActivTrades and Oanda 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.
OANDA is an award-winning global broker, established in 1996. The hugely respected brand offers competitive trading accounts and serves clients from 196 countries. It remains a popular option with both beginners and experienced traders thanks to its user-friendly and sophisticated web platform, no minimum deposit and premium currency products and services. The company is also overseen by reputable regulators, including the FCA, ASIC and CIRO.
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.
The OANDA Trade web platform serves serious traders, with 100+ technical indicators, an economic overlay and a Dow Jones news feed
OANDA recently improved its prop trading service, OANDA Labs Prop Trader, offering an 80% profit share to skilled traders
The guaranteed stop loss order (GSLO) is a useful risk management tool not available at many alternatives
There are no restrictions on short-term trading strategies with scalping, hedging and netting permitted
OANDA has enhanced its suite of stocks, now providing exposure to over 2,200 US and European shares
With 68 forex pairs and access to a premium MT4 upgrade, the broker will serve active forex traders
Oversight from tier-one regulators like the FCA and ASIC makes the broker reliable and trustworthy
The $0 minimum deposit will appeal to newer traders
Spreads are tight and there are zero hidden fees
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.
The range of payment methods trail competitors, only offering a handful vs the 10+ available at alternatives like AvaTrade
It's a shame that social and copy trading tools aren't supported for traders who want to explore other ways to trade
High-volume traders get limited fee rebates or perks compared to leading brands
Weekend customer support and extended hours trading aren't available
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
Best FX Broker 2021 - Le Fonti Award
Best Trading Tools winner 2021 - Online Personal Wealth Awards
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
4.7
Android App Rating
3.8
3.7
Margin Trading
Yes
Yes
Margin Rate
2%
MetaTrader 4
Yes
Yes
MetaTrader 5
Yes
No
cTrader
No
No
AlgoTrader
No
No
OmniTrader
No
No
TradingView
Yes
Yes
Autochartist
No
Yes
eSignal
No
No
Trading Central
No
No
STP Account
Yes
No
ECN Account
No
No
DMA Account
No
No
MAM Account
No
No
PAMM Account
No
No
LAMM Account
No
No
Demat Account
No
No
AI / Machine Learning
No
No
Robo Advisor
No
No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes
Yes
Market Maker
Yes
Yes
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
No
Yes
Auto Trading
Yes (APIs), Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader and OANDA API
Copy Trading
No
No
Social Trading
No
No
Trade Signals
Yes
VPS Hosting
No
No
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
No
No
Custodial Account
No
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
Yes
Inactivity Fee
€/£10
$10
Islamic Account
Yes
No
Account Currencies
USD
EUR
GBP
CHF
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
JPY
CHF
HKD
SGD
Commodities
Gold
Oil
Natural Gas
Wheat
Copper
Cocoa
Coffee
Corn
Orange Juice
Palladium
Platinum
Silver
Soybeans
Sugar
Corn
Palladium
Platinum
Copper
Wheat
Gold
Silver
Oil
Natural Gas
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.
You can speculate on popular financial assets covering forex, commodities, indices, metals and bonds. You can get started with $0 minimum deposit, making the broker a good pick for beginners. There’s also over 130 technical indicators available collectively in the MT4 and OANDA Trade platforms.
Leverage
1:30 (UK and EU), 1:400 (Global & Pro)
1:30
FTSE Spread
0.6
1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.8
1.4
Oil Spread
0.03
3.0
Stocks Spread
Variable
12 (Apple Inc)
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.
OANDA offers 68 currency pairs, which is above the industry average. You can speculate on majors, minors and exotics, with spreads from 0.8 pips on popular pairs. There are no commissions and leverage is available up to 1:200. Average execution speeds are fast based on tests, at 12 milliseconds.
Assets
50+
68
GBPUSD Spread
0.8
1.4
EURUSD Spread
0.5
0.8
EURGBP Spread
0.8
0.9
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.
OANDA offers trading on leading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. You can place trades in the app hassle-free and practice in the unlimited demo account. The broker offers guaranteed stop-loss orders to help protect you against crypto market volatility.
