CMC Markets vs Axi

CMC Markets or Axi – which is better for UK traders 2025? Compare CMC Markets and Axi in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.

CMC Markets vs Axi Comparison Table 2025
CMC Markets Axi
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4.7
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3.7
CMC Markets is ranked #3 among CFD brokers. Axi is ranked #27 among CFD brokers.
Review
Review
Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a reputable broker publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. It holds authorisation from top-tier regulators such as the FCA, ASIC, and CIRO. The brokerage, which has received multiple awards, boasts a global membership exceeding one million traders. Founded in 2007, Axi is a forex and CFD broker operating under multiple regulations. Over the years, it has enhanced the trading experience by broadening its stock offerings, upgrading the Axi Academy, and launching a proprietary copy trading app.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 72.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Pros
  • The CMC web platform offers an exceptional user experience with sophisticated charting tools for trading and customisable options, suitable for both novice and seasoned traders. It supports MT4 but not MT5, and TradingView will be available from 2025.
  • We've upgraded the 'Assets & Markets' rating due to frequent product enhancements in early 2025. These include extended trading hours for US stocks and the introduction of new share CFDs.
  • CMC provides competitive pricing with narrow spreads and low trading fees, except for stock CFDs. The Alpha and Price+ programmes offer additional benefits for active traders, including discounts on spreads of up to 40%.
  • CMC Markets is well-regulated by respected financial authorities, ensuring a secure and reliable trading environment. It upholds a strong reputation, providing traders with confidence.
  • The brokerage excels with an extensive array of valuable resources, such as pattern recognition scanners, webinars, tutorials, news feeds, and research from reputable sources like Morningstar.
  • Axi provides an excellent MT4 experience, enhanced by the NextGen plug-in for sophisticated order management and analytics, with low execution latency around 30ms.
  • Axi Academy offers a wealth of educational resources, from free eBooks and video tutorials to interactive quizzes. These are particularly beneficial for novice traders.
  • Based on our tests, Axi's new trading app is highly intuitive. It offers practical filtering options to align strategies with individual risk preferences.
  • Experienced traders are invited to join the Axi Select funded trader programme via the broker's international branch. This scheme offers up to $1 million in capital with the benefit of a 90% profit share.
Cons
  • Although there have been improvements, the online platform still needs further refinement to match the user-friendly trading experience offered by competitors such as IG.
  • CMC provides a robust range of assets; however, it does not support trading actual stocks, and UK clients are unable to trade cryptocurrencies.
  • Trading stock CFDs comes with a relatively high commission, particularly when compared to low-cost brokers such as IC Markets.
  • A monthly inactivity charge of $10 is imposed after a year's inactivity, potentially discouraging occasional traders.
  • The CMC Markets app provides a comprehensive trading package; however, its design and user experience lag behind market leaders such as eToro.
  • Axi lags by solely providing MT4, while competitors have upgraded to MT5, cTrader, TradingView, and bespoke platforms, delivering a smoother user experience with enhanced tools.
  • Even with the expansion of stock CFDs in the US, UK, and EU markets, its range still falls short compared to companies like BlackBull, which provide thousands of equities for varied trading opportunities.
  • Axi retains our confidence. However, recent issues with ASIC and FMA require it to maintain a secure environment and comply with licensing standards.
  • Although Axi delivers excellent performance, its support is not available 24/7. This unavailability can be inconvenient for traders operating in different time zones or requiring help beyond regular trading hours.
Awards
  • Best Trading App 2023 - DayTrading.com
  • No.1 Platform Technology 2022
  • No.1 New Tool 2022
  • No.1 Most Currency Pairs 2022
  • Best Trade Execution 2021
  • Best Forex Broker For Beginners 2021
  • Most Transparent Forex Broker Europe 2020
  • Best Trading Platform 2020
  • Best Trading App 2019
  • Best Customer Service 2018
  • Best Forex Provider 2023 – Online Money Awards
  • Best MT4 Provider UK 2022 – International Business Magazine Awards
  • Best CFD Provider 2022 – Shares Awards
  • Best CFD Provider 2021 – Shares Awards
  • Most Transparent Forex Broker (Middle East) 2021 - Global Forex Awards
  • Best EMEA Region Broker 2020 - ADVFN International Financial Awards
FCA Regulated
Yes Yes
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Treasuries, Custom Indices, Spread Betting CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0 $0
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots 0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, ASIC, MAS, CIRO, BaFin, FMA, DFSA FCA, ASIC, FMA, DFSA, SVGFSA
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android iOS & Android
Trading App
CMC Markets' award-winning app has revolutionised mobile trading. Its modern, customisable interface provides a unique user experience that sets it apart. Enhanced with 25 technical indicators, 15 drawing tools, and a swift, stable trading platform, it is an outstanding option for traders. Axi's app offers a seamless trading experience, combining essential tools for active global market trading in one place. Enhanced with bug fixes and improved speed, it now includes push notifications, custom watchlists, and educational videos, all within an impressive user-friendly interface.
iOS App Rating
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4.1
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3.6
Android App Rating
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rating full
3.7
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rating full
4.2
Margin Trading
Yes Yes
Margin Rate
1%
MetaTrader 4
Yes Yes
MetaTrader 5
No No
cTrader
No No
AlgoTrader
No No
OmniTrader
No No
TradingView
Yes No
Autochartist
No Yes
eSignal
No No
Trading Central
No No
STP Account
No Yes
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
No No
MAM Account
No Yes
PAMM Account
No Yes
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 No
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
Yes Yes
Auto Trading
Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, Myfxbook
Copy Trading
No Yes
Social Trading
Yes Yes
Trade Signals
Yes MT4, Autochartist
VPS Hosting
Yes Yes
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
Yes Yes
Ethical Investing
No No
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Yes No
Inactivity Fee
$10 $10
Islamic Account
Yes Yes
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • NZD
  • SEK
  • NOK
  • SGD
  • PLN
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CHF
  • PLN
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Oil
  • Silver
  • Copper
  • Coffee
  • Wheat
  • Precious Metals
  • Natural Gas
  • Soybeans
  • Orange Juice
  • Nickel
  • Palladium
  • Steel
  • Cannabis
  • Platinum
  • Livestock
  • Sugar
  • Gasoline
  • Copper
  • Oil
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Platinum
  • Cocoa
  • Coffee
  • Gasoline
  • Natural Gas
  • Precious Metals
CFD
CMC enables trading of CFDs on over 12,000 assets, including currencies, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, and treasuries. In 2025, new equities will feature sectors like quantum computing, AI learning, and digital car sales. Enjoy competitive spreads without hidden fees, and leverage the renowned MetaTrader 4 platform. Consistently, CMC stands out as a leading CFD broker. Axi provides an expanding range of CFDs on currencies, shares, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, subject to location. Designed for active traders, it imposes no limits on scalping or algorithmic strategies, offers significant leverage, and ensures rapid execution with latency below 100ms.
Leverage
1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro) 1:30
FTSE Spread
1 pt 1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.9 0.6
Oil Spread
3.5 0.03
Stocks Spread
0.02 0.07
Forex
CMC offers a broad selection of over 300 forex pairs, featuring tight spreads and quick execution. This exceeds many competitors in currency variety. Their forex indices provide a distinctive and comprehensive method to speculate on major currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP. Axi excels with over 70 currency pairs, outpacing competitors such as AvaTrade, which provides just over 50. Coupled with the enhanced MT4 platform via the NextGen add-on, Axi stands out as a top choice for forex traders.
Assets
300+ 70+
GBPUSD Spread
0.9 0.5
EURUSD Spread
0.7 0.2
EURGBP Spread
1.1 0.5
Currency Indices
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • JPY
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • NZD
  • CHF
Cryptocurrency
CMC Markets provides trading opportunities with popular digital currencies such as Bitcoin. However, it excels in offering crypto indices, granting broader market exposure. With minimal slippage and an impressive 99.9% fill rate, CMC is an excellent choice for active traders in the cryptocurrency sector. Axi offers round-the-clock short-term trading on 30 popular cryptocurrencies paired with fiat currencies, other tokens, and metals. It distinguishes itself with leverage options up to 1:200 for experienced crypto traders, enhancing both potential gains and risks.
Spread
From 1.3 From 0.0
Coins
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • ETH
  • LTC
  • EOS
  • TRON
  • NEO
  • ADA
  • XLM
  • BCH
  • BNB
  • BTC
  • LTC
  • OMG
  • FTT
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • DOG
  • LTC
  • XLM
  • AAVE
  • COMP
  • LRC
  • MKR
  • SUSHI
  • UNI
  • BAT
  • CRV
  • ENJ
  • LNK
  • MANA
  • MATIC
  • SAND
  • XRP
  • LNK
  • XRP
  • KSM
  • AVAX
  • ETH
  • SOL
  • XTZ
  • ADA
  • DOT
  • EOS
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
CMC Markets Axi
Review
Review
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 72.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
More Comparisons
CMC Markets
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 Axi
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