For this ActivTrades review, we opened a live account and deposited over €5,000.

We traded the popular instrument in each market to identify the actual spreads and placed a total of 12 trades.

We reached out to the broker’s customer support team to resolve the challenges we faced.

Finally, we withdrew our funds to evaluate whether the withdrawal process was smooth.

What is ActivTrades

ActivTrades is a global Forex and CFDs broker founded in 2001 with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom.

The broker is licensed in the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and the Bahamas.

ActivTrades offers almost a thousand tradable instruments in the Forex, indices, stocks and commodities segments.

The broker offers a substantial number of tradable instruments as compared to industry leaders.

Here’s a summary of Activtrades’ main features:

🗺️ Authorised & Regulated inUK, Bahamas, Luxembourg
🛡️ Is ActivTrades safeYes
💰 EUR/USD Spread0.57
💳 Minimum depositUS$ 500
💰 Withdrawal feeBank Wire: $12.50; others are free
🖥️ Trading PlatformMT4, MT5, ActivTrader
📈 Markets offeredForex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities
📉 Number of Products999

Licenses and Regulations

ActivTrades is licensed by 3 global regulators, including the top-tier UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB), and Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

Here’s a full list of the licenses held by ActivTrades’ subsidiaries:

Legal entityRegistered inRegulatorLicense NumberAccepting Clients FromCompensation Scheme Amount
ActivTrades PlcUnited KingdomFinancial Conduct Authority (FCA)434413United Kingdom£85,000
ActivTrades CorpBahamasSecurities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB)199667 BGlobally many countriesNo compensation scheme
ActivTrades Europe SALuxembourgCommission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF)B232167EU€20,000
ActivTrades Plc*UAEDubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)F003511UAENo compensation scheme

*ActivTrades Plc UAE license was recently revoked, leaving the broker with 3 global licenses.

ActivTrades FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) Registration
ActivTrades FCA License

Is ActivTrades Safe

Yes, ActivTrades is safe to trade. The broker is regulated by the top-tier UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has stringent rules and enforcement mechanisms.

The UK’s FCA guarantees investors’ deposit compensation of up to £85,000 if the broker declares bankruptcy. The broker also offers supplementary insurance up to $1,000,000 for qualified clients.

The broker is also licensed by Luxembourg’s CSSF and the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).

We had a smooth experience when trading with ActivTrades.

For this review, we opened an MT5 Individual account with ActivTrades Europe SA, regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg.

We recommend that you open your account with the UK or Luxembourg entity if it is available to you.

Fees and Commissions

ActivTrades charges low, average and high fees for trading the main assets on offer. The fees charged for trading Forex pairs, and stocks, are lower than industry benchmarks.

The broker charges average fees for trading commodities such as gold.

However, the average fees charged on indices such as the FTSE 100 are much higher than industry averages.

The two accounts offered by ActivTrades charge a spread on trades with zero commission.

Spread Charged in our Trades

For our tests, we traded the most popular instrument in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to arrive at an accurate estimate of the average spread. We tested the MT5 Individual Account, which charges a spread on all instruments.

MarketsInstruments1st trade 2nd trade 3rd trade Avg. Spread
ForexEUR/USD0.60.550.550.57
IndicesFTSE 1003.173.112.672.98
StocksApple11.511.17
CommoditiesGold3.63.53.63.57

We executed all our trades via the MetaTrader 5 mobile app on our iPhone.

A closer look at the spreads charged in our trades shows that they were mixed. The spreads on Forex, stocks and commodities trades were lower than industry averages. However, the spreads charged on indices were much higher than industry averages, as shown below.

MarketsInstrumentsAvg. Spread ChargedIndustry Avg. Spread
ForexEUR/USD0.571.16
IndicesFTSE 1002.981.65
StocksApple1.171.75
CommoditiesGold3.573.53

Other fees

ActivTrades does not charge any other non-trading fees such as deposit and withdrawal fees or account inactivity fees.

Account Types

ActivTrades offers 2 account types with slight differences. These are the Individual Account and the Islamic Account.

The differences are outlined below:

Individual AccountIslamic Account
Trading PlatformsMetaTrader 4 & 5, ActivTraderMetaTrader 4 & 5
Account CurrencyEUR/ USD/ CHFEUR/ USD/ CHF
Minimum Deposit$1,000$500
CommissionZeroZero
Order ExecutionMarket ExecutionMarket Execution
SpreadFrom 0.5From 0.5
Note

ActivTrades offers swap-free Islamic Accounts to Muslim clients only. Such accounts do not attract a swap fee for positions held overnight in line with Sharia Law.

For our tests, we chose to open the Individual MT5 Account.

Account Opening

ActivTrades account opening was quick and smooth. We went through the entire process and completed it digitally.

Here are the 5 steps to opening an ActivTrades account:

  1. Enter your country of residence, title, given name, last name, email, password, and phone number.
  2. Provide your date of birth, nationality, tax identification number, residential address, time at current address
  3. Enter your trading experience based on how long you have traded contracts for difference (CFDs).
  4. Provide your employment status, employer, industry, job title, annual income, the value of savings, intended deposits over the next 6 months, source of funds, and trading preferences.
  5. Lastly, choose your trading platform and your account currency.
ActivTrades Account Opening
ActivTrades Account Opening

The registration process took 6 minutes only, and our account was approved in 1 working day.

We opened the account on 26 February 2023, and it was approved on 28 February 2023.

We provided a copy of our ID and a bank statement to verify our account.

For this test, we opened an MT5 Individual account with ActivTrades Europe SA, regulated by Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

Deposit and Withdrawal

ActivTrades offers free and fast deposits and withdrawals. Traders can deposit and withdraw from their accounts via bank transfers, credit and debit cards, and e-wallets such as Skrill, PayPal, and Neteller.

ActivTrades Deposit Methods
ActivTrades Deposit and Withdrawal

ActivTrades Minimum Deposit

ActivTrades has a minimum deposit requirement of US$500 on its Islamic accounts. The Standard account requires a minimum deposit of US$1,000.

Deposit

ActivTrades’ clients can deposit funds into their trading accounts via bank transfers, debit and credit cards, and e-wallets such as Skrill, PayPal, and Neteller.

The table below shows the details of our deposits:

Payment MethodSubmitted DateFunded Account DateFunding TimeFee
Credit Card5 March 2023 5 March 202330 minutes€0.00
Skrill5 March 20235 March 2023 1 hour€0.00
Neteller5 March 20232 5 March 2023 Instant€0.00
PayPal5 March 20235 March 20231 hour€0.00

The broker processed our deposits quickly and with zero fees. We did not test the bank wire option.

Withdrawal

ActivTrades allows its clients to make withdrawals via the same payment methods available for deposits making it easy for investors to access their funds.

ActivTrades does not charge a fee on withdrawals.

Payment MethodSubmitted DateFunds Released DateFunds Arrived DateWithdrawal TimeFee
Credit card06 March 2023 06 March 2023 07 March 2023 1 working dayzero
Neteller06 March 2023 06 March 2023 06 March 2023 4 hourszero
Skrill06 March 2023 06 March 202307 March 2023 1 working dayzero
PayPal06 March 2023 06 March 2023 06 March 2023 half working dayzero

We did not face any challenges when withdrawing our funds.

Markets and Products

ActivTrades offers various tradable instruments in the Forex, indices, stocks, and commodities markets.

Here’s the complete list of ActivTrades’ product offering:

MarketsInstruments
Forex48
Indices35
Stocks898
Commodities18
CryptocurrenciesN/A

The broker’s collection of stock CFDs is quite impressive, placing it among the top brokers who offer a wide variety of tradable instruments.

Trading Conditions

The trading conditions at ActivTrades are great. Traders can execute most trading strategies as the broker allows high-risk strategies such as hedging and scalping.

ActivTrades also allows traders to run automated strategies powered by Expert Advisors (EAs).

There are no time limits for how long traders can keep their hedging positions open.

Trading MethodAllowed
HedgingYes
ScalpingYes
Change LeverageYes

Leverage

ActivTrades offers its clients various leverage levels depending on the entity under which their account is registered.

Traders are allowed to change their account’s leverage levels after registration.

The table below shows the different leverage levels available to clients:

MarketsActivTrades Plc UKActivTrades Europe SAActivTrades Corp
Major Currency Pairs30:130:1200:1
Non-major Currency Pairs20:120:1200:1
Gold20:120:1200:1
Other Commodities (except gold)10:110:1200:1
Indices5:120:1200:1
Stocks5:15:125:1
CryptocurrenciesN/AN/AN/A

Bonus

ActivTrades does not offer bonuses to its clients.

Trading Platform

ActivTrades has a proprietary platform known as ActivTrader. We found the platform easy to use with an intuitive design. However, the platform does not support automated trading and is only available as a web trader.

The broker also offers the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms. Clients can access the two platforms via the desktop and mobile MT4 and MT5 applications.

ActivTrades MetaTrader 5

The broker’s SmartTools suite offered via the MT4 platform consist of seven unique add-ons that transform the MT4 platform into a superior platform. Retail individual traders should use this tool to get an edge in the markets.

ActivTrader

ActivTrades Proprietary Trading Platform
ActivTrades Proprietary Trading Platform

ActivTrades MetaTrader 4

The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform offers a suite of Smart Tools that drastically improves its functionality. Traders can also access third-party plugins that support automated trading, unlike with the proprietary ActivTrader platform. However, the MT4 platform does not have all the instruments offered by the broker.

We found the ActivTrader platform to be best suited to manual traders, while traders who use automated strategies might prefer the MetaTrader 4 & 5 platforms, which are a better fit.

Research and Tools

ActivTrades provides market research via the Smart Tools suite found on the MetaTrader platforms, which provides high-quality trading insights from analysts, pattern recognition indicators and much more.

Traders also have access to short market analysis pieces published by the broker’s in-house analysts, which could be more detailed and specific. The ideas lack the depth and research quality offered by top brokers.

The broker provides an economic calendar on its website under the ‘Markets’ tab but does not provide historical data. Traders can track various economic releases and plan their trading activities accordingly.

ActivTrades SmartTools Suite
ActivTrades SmartTools Suite

The broker’s research offering was a bit underwhelming.

Education

Activ Trades Review found several learning resources to its clients. The broker provides one-to-one lessons to new traders that are quite helpful. This is a unique service that most brokers do not offer.

Traders have access to a video library with tutorials about how to use the MT4 platform and general educational videos.

The broker also hosts educational webinars to discuss advanced trading topics, which are recorded and available on the website. The broker used to host in-person seminars before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

ActivTrades Demo Account

Traders also have access to a demo account where they can practice trading and test their strategies.

ActivTrades Educational Material
ActivTrades One to One Training

Customer Service

ActivTrades’ customer service team was accommodating and gave us direct and accurate answers to our questions. We first contacted the team via live chat and asked them to approve our request to add extra instruments to our account.

We received a fast response from the agent, saying that they will approve the request soon and that the UK100 was closed from CET 2:00 – 22:00 on that day.

ActivTrades Customer Support
ActivTrades Customer Support Live Chat

You can also reach the ActivTrades customer service team via email. We sent the team an email asking whether they allow scalping and hedging strategies and how long they would take to process our withdrawals.

We got a response two working days later saying that they allow both scalping and hedging strategies. Also, withdrawal requests made before 12:30 PM UK time are processed on the same day, but one cannot withdraw intraday profits until the next business day.

Here are the results of our test below:

QuestionResponse TimeQuality of reply
Live chatWe asked if they can approve our request of adding shares instrument in our trading account and to confirm if UK100 is not able to trade2 minutes.It was direct, fast and accurate.
EmailWe asked if they allow scalping and hedging and how long time the withdrawal will be proceed2 working daysIt was direct and accurate.

Conclusion

Overall, we had a smooth experience with ActivTrades. However, we could not trade shortly after our initial deposit, but the issue was resolved quickly after contacting the support team.

We tested four deposit methods, all of which did not attract charges, but only the Neteller deposits were instant. The rest took a maximum of 1 hour to be credited to our account.

To trade Apple Inc CFDs, we had to request the broker to add stock instruments to our account, for which the broker charges a Market Data fee of 1 EUR/month.

The withdrawal process was seamless as the client only needs to indicate the amount they want to withdraw. The broker’s systems will automatically distribute the corresponding amounts via the different payment methods used.

We got fast responses to our queries via the live chat function, while email queries are answered within 1 working day, and traders should be aware of the same. We recommend traders use the live chat function to contact the broker.

We also recommend ActivTrades to all traders, from beginners to advanced traders.

We recommend  ActivTrades for traders who

  • Experienced traders
  • Beginners
  • Run Scalping
  • Hedging
  • Use automated trading strategies
  • Trading through MT4/MT5 platform

ActivTrades might not be a fit if you are

  • Real Stock / Futures Trading
  • Commission based trading

Author of this review

By George Rossi

Author of this review

I am a well-rounded financial services professional experienced in fundamental and technical analysis, global macroeconomic research, foreign exchange and commodity markets and an independent trader.

Now I am passionate about reviewing and comparing forex brokers.

Everything you find on BrokerTested is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology

9 replies on “ActivTrades Review 2023”

One day I received an offer to trade with ActivTrades. I decided to think about it, although I had no experience in trading on the foreign exchange market. I surfed the Internet and asked some feedbacks about ActivTrades. So I decided to give it a try. At the beginning, I was getting some training, and I was getting a lot of help.
Well, to this day, I’m still here and I make small but steady money. It’s the first time I entrusted my money based on the opinion of other people, which is the only argument. The only hope is that neither they nor I are wrong.

I remember as if it was yesterday I came to trade with ActivTrades broker and now half a year has gone.
I was lucky enough to take the chance to learn and practice with a mentor so that after 2 months I could enter the market on my own and not “drain” my budget like a newbie. Therefore, I can say that after four months from the start of trading I was able to withdraw my first profit via PayPal.

I think $500 initial deposit for a top-tier broker is a great deal. I know that a big part of traders are looking for the lowest minimum deposit possible.

However I can assure you that top level brokers all have substantial minimum depo. And it’s done for a specific reason, they don’t rely on beginner traders and their deposits losses. Respectable companies plan their businesses in the long run.

Having tried various platforms all starting up with amounts to start up then followed by an instant request to upgrade in the most dishonest way being asked to pay more. So daunting is also when they ask for commission before withdrawal, these requests don’t stop they keep coming one after the other and then all of my investment was lost. Luckily chargebacksecured com helped me recover all of my funds back in the most professional manner.

ActivTrades’ fee policy is quite amazing I think. The broker does have the tightest spreads for currencies. And currencies are the most popular asset for CFD trading.

Plus no account maintenance fees is very impressive. Let’s be honest, I would pay account fees anyways, because it’s Activtrades.

ActivTrades does certainly not lie about their spreads being as narrow as possible. They comply to tons of regulatory protocols, keeping the environment safe, tons of assets and a great proprietary trading platform to offer them. I personally like the company the service it provides as a trader of 2 years there. Great review btw. You guys definitely dug deep.

A trading path of mine with ActivTrades has been smooth.
-enhanced funds insurance
-wide pool of securitites to trade with
Can I also use charting tools of TradingView ?

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