FXCM vs XTB

FXCM or XTB – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare FXCM and XTB in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.

FXCM vs XTB Comparison Table 2024
FXCM XTB
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3.5
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4.8
FXCM is ranked #44 among CFD brokers. XTB is ranked #2 among CFD brokers.
FXCM is a respected forex and CFD broker, established since 1999. The British-headquartered broker has won multiple awards and operates in various jurisdictions, including the UK and Australia. With zero commissions, over 400 assets, and a range of analysis tools, FXCM remains a popular choice for traders. The broker is also regulated by top-tier authorities including the FCA and ASIC. Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 935,000 clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of 5,600+ assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring traders.
77% of retail accounts lose money.
Pros
  • Alongside the 4 charting platforms, FXCM also offers a market-leading range of specialist software for experienced investors, including QuantConnect, AgenaTrader and Sierra Chart
  • The proprietary Trading Station terminal is a good choice for traders looking for an all-in-one solution for their short-term and automated trading strategies
  • Traders can utilize several top-tier trading tools including a market scanner, forex signals and third-party research site, eFXPlus
  • FXCM’s global reputation is impressive, with licenses from the FCA, ASIC, CySEC and FSCA and a 20-year business history
  • A range of funding methods are available including bank cards, Apply Pay and PayPal, with instant processing times
  • The broker offers spread discounts and other excellent perks for experienced traders in the Active Trader account
  • FXCM has expanded its range of trading opportunities with 24-hour stock CFDs through MetaTrader 4
  • With over 5,600 instruments across forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, including CFDs, share dealing and more recently Investment Plans, XTB caters to both short-term traders and longer-term investors.
  • The xStation platform continues to impress with its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, including customizable news feeds, sentiment heatmaps, and trader calculator, reducing the learning curve for newer traders.
  • With an excellent range of educational materials, including training videos and articles integrated into the platform, XTB supports traders at all levels.
  • XTB has started offering interest on uninvested balances (up to 5% on $30K+) with lower requirements than brokers like eToro (up to 5% on $50K+).
  • Opening an XTB account is a hassle-free, entirely online process that takes just a few minutes, making the entry into trading smooth for new traders.
  • First-class 24/5 customer support is available, including a friendly live chat with response times of under two minutes during testing.
  • XTB offers fast withdrawals with same-day payments if requested before 1 pm, ensuring traders have quick access to their funds.
Cons
  • Although FXCM continues to gear their services towards experienced traders, it’s a shame that there are no managed accounts on offer
  • There is no choice of retail accounts for traders, nor any Cent/Micro account options
  • The live chat support can be slow and unreliable compared to the top competitors
  • XTB does not offer a raw spread account, which is becoming increasingly common among competitors like Pepperstone, and may disappoint traders looking for the tightest spreads.
  • The demo account expires after just four weeks, a serious limitation for traders who wish to thoroughly test the xStation platform and practice short-term strategies before committing real funds.
  • XTB discontinued support for MT4, limiting traders to its proprietary platform, xStation, potentially deterring advanced traders familiar with the MetaTrader suite.
  • Trading fees are competitive with average spreads of around 1 pip on the EUR/USD but still trail the cheapest brokers like IC Markets, plus there's an inactivity fee after 12 months.
  • The research tools at XTB are good but could be great if they went beyond in-house features with access to leading third-party tools such as Autochartist, Trading Central and TipRanks.
  • Not being able to adjust the default leverage level of XTB products is frustrating, as manual adjustment can significantly mitigate trade risk, especially in forex and CFD trading.
Awards
  • Best Forex Broker for Beginners 2022
  • Best Customer Service 2021
  • Best Forex Broker for Low Costs 2021
  • Best Mobile App for Investing 2020
  • #1 EMEA Bloomberg spot for FX accuracy in Q2 of 2020 and Q3 of 2018
  • Best Polish Forex Broker 2019
  • Best Execution Broker 2019
FCA Regulated
Yes Yes
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Commodities CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, ETFs
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$50 $0
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
Variable 0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, CySEC, ASIC FCA, CySEC, KNF, CNMV, DFSA, FSC
Mobile Apps
iOS and Android iOS & Android
Trading App

Year after year XTB’s app stands out for its slick design and uncluttered interface that we love. It’s quick, responsive and packed with useful features, notably integrated sentiment data, market news, economic calendars and education. The user-friendly order panel underneath the trading chart also makes placing trades, including adding take profit and stop loss levels, really straightforward.

iOS App Rating
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4.7
Android App Rating
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4.3
Margin Trading
Yes Yes
Margin Rate
4.5%
MetaTrader 4
Yes No
MetaTrader 5
No No
cTrader
No No
AlgoTrader
No No
OmniTrader
No No
TradingView
Yes No
Autochartist
No No
eSignal
Yes No
Trading Central
No No
STP Account
No Yes
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
No Yes
MAM Account
Yes 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 No
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
No Yes
Auto Trading
Open API
Copy Trading
Yes No
Copy Trading Platform
FXCM offers social and copy trading on forex, CFDs and cryptos through the hugely popular ZuluTrade platform. The sign-up process is quick and you can track your performance in real-time.
Social Trading
Yes No
Trade Signals
Yes
VPS Hosting
No No
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
Yes No
Ethical Investing
No Yes
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No Yes
Inactivity Fee
$0
Islamic Account
No Yes
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • ZAR
  • CHF
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • HUF
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Oil
  • Silver
  • Cannabis
  • Gold
  • Oil
  • Silver
  • Copper
  • Cotton
  • Sugar
  • Precious Metals
  • Gasoline
  • Cocoa
  • Coffee
  • Natural Gas
  • Nickel
  • Soybeans
  • Aluminium
  • Livestock
  • Corn
  • Palladium
  • Platinum
  • Wheat
  • Zinc
CFD
You can trade a range of CFD instruments across forex, shares, indices and commodities. There’s an excellent selection of platforms for traders, including TradingView and MT4, plus additional tools for experienced algo traders including API solutions. XTB offers a huge selection of more than 2,100 CFDs spanning forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptos (location-dependant). Leverage up to 1:30 is available in the EU and UK, while global clients and pro traders can access up to 1:500. XTB stands out for its CFD trading resources and tutorials to assist traders in developing short-term trading strategies.
Leverage
1:30 1:30
FTSE Spread
1.18 pts var* 1.8
GBPUSD Spread<
0.5 pips* 1.4
Oil Spread
0.05 (var)* 0.03
Stocks Spread
0.2% Var* 0.2%
Forex
FXCM offers an average range of 40+ currency pairs, although there are no commissions and spreads are competitive from 0.78 pips for EUR/USD. The broker also offers 3 forex baskets covering USD, Yen and emerging markets benchmarks. XTB provides access to 70+ currency pairs with low spreads averaging around 1 pip on majors. The xStation platform offers an intuitive environment for forex traders with an excellent charting package encompassing 30+ indicators, plus a range of order types, catering to various strategies and risk management techniques.
Assets
40 70+
GBPUSD Spread
0.5 pips var* 1.4
EURUSD Spread
0.2 pips var* 1.0
EURGBP Spread
0.5 pips var* 1.4
Currency Indices
  • JPY
Cryptocurrency
You can trade some of world's most popular digital coins with zero commission and leverage up to 1:4. FXCM also stands out for its crypto major basket which offers exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash in one trade. XTB offers an excellent selection of cryptos with more than 50 digital currencies. Spreads are tight starting from 0.22% on BTC and leverage reaches 1:5. The xStation platform also provides intra-crypto pairs like ETH/BTC and DSH/BTC. With the capability to trade cryptos 24/7, XTB ensures a secure environment with transparent accounts for cryptocurrency trading.
Spread
Variable 0.22%
Coins
  • BTC
  • ETH
  • LTC
  • BTC
  • ADA
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • DSH
  • EOS
  • ETH
  • IOTA
  • LTC
  • NEO
  • XRP
  • XLM
  • TRX
  • XEM
  • XLM
  • XMR
  • DOGE
  • BNB
  • LINK
  • UNI
  • DOT
  • XTZ
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
FXCM XTB
77% of retail accounts lose money.
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