Is XM better than FXTM? Who offers lower spread, better trading conditions and is safer broker to trade?
We provide answers to all questions in this XM vs FXTM Comparison Review. For this Review we opened real accounts and deposit over $6,000 in total to compare both offerings, account opening process at XM vs FXTM, also the fees, trading conditions, platform selection and withdrawal process.
What is XM and FXTM
XM is a global Forex and one of the regulated CFD brokers, offering trading with forex pairs, indices, stocks, and commodities.
ForexTime, known as FXTM, founded in 2011, offers trading services with forex pairs, indices, commodities, stocks, cryptocurrencies, spot metals, and also real stocks.
Some of the highlights of XM vs FXTM are:
| XM | FXTM | |
| 💻 Website | www.xm.com | www.forextime.com |
| 🛡️Founded year | 2009 | 2011 |
| 🏦 Headquarter | Limassol, Cyprus | Cyprus |
| 🗺️ Authorized & Regulated in | UK, Cyprus, Australia, UAE, Belize | UK, Cyprus, South Africa, Mauritius |
| 🔒 Is Broker safe | Yes | Yes |
| 💰 EUR/USD Spread | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$5 | US$10 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | US$0 | US$0 (with exceptions) |
| 🖥️ Trading Platform | MT4, MT5 | MT4, MT5, FXTM Trader |
| 📈 Markets offered | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies |
| 📉 Number of Products | 1336 | 258 |
| 🔎 Our Detailed Review | XM Review | FXTM Review |
Licenses and Regulation
XM vs FXTM are both safe to trade and are highly reliable, low-risk trading Brokers due to regulations and are not a scam.
XM is regulated by the top-tier ASIC, and Cyprus’ CySEC, which have strict rules and enforcement mechanisms.
FXTM holds 4 regulatory licenses from several top regulators, like the United Kingdom’s FCA.
For this review, we opened an account with XM Trading Point of Financial Instruments Limited, regulated by CySEC and a stock CFD account with ForexTime Limited, regulated by CySEC in Cyprus.
We recommend that you open your account with the XM Cyprus entity since it is the only one that offers deposit protection to traders if it is available to you and with the FXTM UK or Cypriot entity because of their compensation schemes.
| XM | FXTM | |
| 🔒 Licenses | ASIC, CySEC, DFSA FCA, FSC | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC |
| Top Tier License | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Publically Traded | ❌ | ❌ |
| Compensation Scheme | ✔️ (depending on entity) | ✔️ (depending on entity) |
XM vs FXTM Fees
XM and FXTM fees are similar, built into a spread basis, and both have commission based accounts.
There are no additional fees charged by XM, moreover, the broker charges average fees for trading the main instruments and the fees charged on stocks and commodities are lower than industry averages.
FXTM does not have any deposit fee but charges withdrawal fees for some payment modes. The broker, however, charges a $5 monthly inactivity fee after any account is inactive for 6 months.
| XM Fees | FXTM Fees | |
| Fees based on spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Floating Spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Fixed Spread | ❌ | ❌ |
| Commission based fees | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Inactivity Fee | $0 | $5 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 (with exceptions) |
| Active trader/ VIP Programs | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Spreads Charged in Our Trades
For our test trades on XM vs FXTM accounts, we chose popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to get the average spread and we were able to find both negative and positive sides for each Broker spreads.
A closer look at the spreads charged in our XM trades revealed that they were all aligned with industry benchmarks. The broker’s spreads on indices, commodities and stocks were slightly lower than those of its peers.
Our testing with standard account finds that FXTM spreads for forex are above the industry average. Spreads on indices and commodities are significantly higher than the average industry benchmark. Stock spreads are closer to the average industry benchmark but still a bit on the lower side.
| Markets | Instruments | XM commission | FXTM commission | Industry avg. spread |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 1.5 | 5.1 | 1.65 |
| Forex | EUR/USD | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.16 |
| Commodities | Gold | 3.5 | 4.50 | 3.53 |
| Stocks | AAPL | 1.35 | 1.57 | 1.75 |
| Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | – | – | 72.81 |
| ETFs | QQQ | – | – | 0.45 |
Account Types Compared
XM offers 5 account types with different fee structures, that is, the Micro, Standard, XM Zero, XM Ultra-low, and Shares accounts.
FXTM offers both standard and ECN accounts. There are 3 FXTM account types under standard accounts: Standard Account, Cent Account, and Stock CFDs Account. Under ECN, there are 4 types of FXTM accounts: Stocks Account, ECN Account, ECN Zero Account, and FXTM Pro Account.
XM account opening is quick and effortless. The registration process took exactly 14 minutes, and our account was approved two days later.
Opening a new account with FXTM is simple and fast. The registration process took merely 20 minutes, and our account was verified after 1 business day.
| XM Accounts | FXTM Accounts | |
| Standard Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| ECN / Commission Based Account | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Islamic Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PAMM Account | ❌ | ✔️ |
Markets and Products
Both XM vs FXTM offer a large variety of tradable instruments in the forex, indices, stocks, and commodities markets.
| Markets | XM Instruments | FXTM Instruments |
| Indices | 26 | 11 |
| Forex | 57 | 62 |
| Commodities | 17 | 8 |
| Stocks | 1236 | 173 |
| Cryptocurrency | – | 4 |
| ETFs | – | – |
| Bonds | – | – |
Trading Conditions
The trading conditions both at XM vs FXTM are great. Both traders allow high-risk strategies such as hedging and scalping.
| Trading Method | XM | FXTM |
| Hedging | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Scalping | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Change Leverage | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Copy trading/ Social trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Beginners Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Professional Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Deposit and Withdrawal
XM processes client withdrawals via the same payment methods available for deposits making it easy for clients to withdraw their funds. It also does not charge any withdrawal fees. FXTM charges a 2% fee on all withdrawals via PayPal.
Both XM vs FXTM’s clients can deposit funds into their trading accounts via bank transfers, debit/credit cards, and e-wallets such as Skrill, PayPal, and Neteller.
The deposit methods offered by XM are instant and free. Anyway, the first deposit has to be made via credit card.
We have tested the deposit process on FXTM using multiple payment modes. There was no deposit fee and the fundings were quick.
| XM | FXTM | |
| 💰 Deposit Fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 (with exceptions) |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$5 | $/€/£100 |
| Bank Transfer | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Debit/ Credit Cards | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PayPal | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Skrill | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Neteller | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Platform
Both XM vs FXTM offer the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). FXTM also offers its own FXTM Trader platform.
While the XM MT4 platform is a bit dated, we found the MT5 platform to be more than adequate for traders who prefer a modern platform.
FXTM Trader is available on both Android and iOS devices.
| XM Platform | FXTM Platform | |
| Proprietary Platform | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Web Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Desktop Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Mobile App | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Alternative Platforms | ❌ | ✔️ |
| MetaTrader 4 | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| MetaTrader 5 | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Simple to use platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Demo Account Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Execution Agency Model | ❌ | ❌ |
| Research | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Advanced Research tools | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Education and Support
Both XM vs FXTM have a great education offering for beginners. XM’s Tradepedia video course provides an in-depth guide to the markets. The videos are of high quality with excellent delivery from the instructors.
XM runs over 40 webinars weekly in different languages that its clients can join and learn about the markets. The webinars are based on experience level and take place in different timezones to suit its clients.
FXTM offers many learning resources to educate new traders. The broker also offers a demo trading account.
| XM Support | FXTM Support | |
| Trading School for Beginners | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Tutorials | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Trading Videos | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Webinars | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Daily News and Analysis | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Economic Calendar | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Live Chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Email Support | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| 24/7 availability | ❌ | ❌ |
Conclusion on XM vs FXTM
Comparing XM vs FXTM side by side we found both brokers reliable and with good standing. XM provides great customer support response times and the spreads on most instruments are aligned with industry averages. FXTM has excellent customer support and a detailed Q&A section for frequently faced issues.
Overall, we had a smooth experience with XM vs FXTM starting from the account opening, to the deposit, trading and withdrawal processes.
We recommend XM to traders who prefer the MT4/5 platforms and to those who run EAs due to the free VPS service. The broker is also suitable for beginner traders because of its detailed educational materials.
We recommend FXTM ECN accounts to traders who use scalping strategies and focus on expert advisory (EA) trading.
| XM | FXTM | |
| Recommended for | ✔️ CFD stocks trading ✔️ Beginning traders ✔️ Experienced traders ✔️ Trading currency Pairs ✔️ EAs trading ✔️ Scalping trader ✔️ Hedging trader ✔️ Trading through MT4 / MT5 | ✔️ Beginning traders ✔️ Experienced traders ✔️ ECN traders ✔️ Automated trading ✔️ EA trader ✔️ Micro trading ✔️ Trading currency pairs ✔️ Cryptocurrency trading ✔️ Scalping trader ✔️ Hedging trader |
| Might not be fit for | ❌ Commission based trading ❌ Real stock / futures trading | ❌ Day trader ❌ Trading of real stocks |