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CMC Markets vs Forex.com: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD/FX trading

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for CFD trading in Australia by a small margin, because it has faster execution (2 ms against 40 ms) and fixed-spread accounts, and it leads in account base currencies (12 against 3). CMC Markets, on the other hand, has a lower EUR/USD cost (US$6.50 per lot against US$7.50) and asks for no minimum deposit, against US$106.00 at Forex.com. CMC Markets offers MetaTrader 5 and TradingView, which Forex.com does not offer, and lists more tradable symbols (12,000 against 6,300). Forex.com and CMC Markets are both regulated in Australia by ASIC. Both offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks. Both offer a demo account, and both allow scalping, hedging, expert advisors and VPS.

CMC Markets

CFDCFD CMC Markets offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX CMC Markets offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side. Regulated in your country CMC Markets is allowed by ASIC to onboard clients residing in Australia.
CMC Markets review ›
80CFD/FXOverall score CMC Markets scores 80/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Best overall

Forex.com

CFDCFD Forex.com offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX Forex.com offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side. Regulated in your country Forex.com is allowed by ASIC to onboard clients residing in Australia.
Forex.com review ›
83CFD/FXOverall score Forex.com scores 83/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders CMC Markets and Forex.com are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in Australia.
1 / 12

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for professional traders. High-volume traders, scalpers and swing traders can choose either Forex.com or CMC Markets.

Best for
Overall score CMC Markets 80 -3 Forex.com 83 Best
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise CMC Markets and the ones that supervise Forex.com.
2 / 12

CMC Markets and Forex.com are both regulated in Australia, by ASIC.

Regulation
Section score CMC Markets 100 Forex.com 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that CMC Markets and Forex.com have in place to protect your money in Australia.
3 / 12

CMC Markets and Forex.com both offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication.

Safety
Section score CMC Markets 73 Forex.com 73
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1989 1999
Parent company i CMC Markets plc StoneX Group Inc.
CEO i Peter Cruddas Glenn Stevens
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i Barclays Bank Ireland, J.P. Morgan SE N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 1,000,000 1,000,000
Annual revenue i US$324,700,000 US$169,500,000
Monthly website search traffic i 10.5M monthly visits 1.9M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with CMC Markets and with Forex.com in Australia, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

CMC Markets and Forex.com are equally good for costs, as CMC Markets is cheaper on EUR/USD, at US$6.5 per lot (against Forex.com's US$7.5), and has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.5 points (against Forex.com's 0.6 points). On the other hand, Forex.com has tighter EUR/USD raw spreads, at 0.2 pips (against CMC Markets' 0.3 pips), and does not charge deposit fees. Neither CMC Markets nor Forex.com charges account maintenance fees or withdrawal fees.

Costs
Section score CMC Markets 68 -3 Forex.com 71
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i US$5 US$5
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.5 pips
0.8 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.3 pips
0.2 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i US$6.5 US$7.5
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.5 points 0.6 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.2 points 0.3 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i US$15 US$35
US stocks fees (CFD) i US$0.02 US$0.02
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with CMC Markets and with Forex.com in Australia, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for available markets. Both CMC Markets and Forex.com offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks.

Available markets
Section score CMC Markets 75 -10 Forex.com 85 Best
Total tradable symbols i 12,000 6,300
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that CMC Markets and Forex.com make available to their clients in Australia.
6 / 12

CMC Markets and Forex.com are equally good for platforms, as CMC Markets offers MetaTrader 5 and TradingView. On the other hand, Forex.com offers social trading. CMC Markets and Forex.com both offer a proprietary platform and MetaTrader 4.

Platform
Section score CMC Markets 91 Forex.com 89 -2
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of CMC Markets and Forex.com in Australia, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for mobile trading, because Forex.com offers mobile charting tools and mobile drawing tools, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Forex.com offer a proprietary mobile app and the MetaTrader 4 app.

Mobile
Section score CMC Markets 73 -13 Forex.com 86 Best
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that CMC Markets and Forex.com allow on their platforms in Australia.
8 / 12

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for trading features, because Forex.com executes orders faster, within 2 ms (against CMC Markets' 40 ms), and offers VPS hosting and API access, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Forex.com offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Trading features
Section score CMC Markets 89 -7 Forex.com 96 Best
Trade execution
Broker type i Agency Agency
Average execution time i 40 ms 2 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0.08%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1 30:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1 20:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1 20:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 10:1
Gold leverage i 20:1 20:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1 10:1
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i 2:1 2:1
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i US$1 US$1
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at CMC Markets and at Forex.com in Australia, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Forex.com for account types, since CMC Markets offers a corporate account and an unlimited demo account, which Forex.com does not. CMC Markets and Forex.com both offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Account types
Section score CMC Markets 53 Best Forex.com 39 -14
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with CMC Markets and with Forex.com in Australia.
10 / 12

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for account opening, given that Forex.com offers 12 account base currencies (against CMC Markets' 3). That said, CMC Markets asks for no minimum deposit at all (against Forex.com's US$106).

Account opening
Section score CMC Markets 70 -5 Forex.com 75 Best
Minimum deposit i US$0 US$106
Minimum withdrawal i US$0 US$0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i AUD, USD, HKD AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, NZD, PLN, SGD, USD
Deposit waiting time i Instant up to 2 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i Instant up to 3 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of CMC Markets and Forex.com in Australia, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

CMC Markets and Forex.com are close on customer care, as both offer a dedicated account manager and phone support. CMC Markets has a slight edge, as it offers customer support in 2 languages (against Forex.com's 1), and has a website in 9 languages (against Forex.com's 7).

Customer care
Section score CMC Markets 71 Forex.com 71
Number of languages supported i 9 7
Website languages i German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese Arabic, German, English, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i English, Chinese English
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that CMC Markets and Forex.com provide to their clients in Australia.
12 / 12

Forex.com is better than CMC Markets for learning, since Forex.com offers daily market commentary and a glossary, which CMC Markets does not. CMC Markets and Forex.com both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score CMC Markets 88 -7 Forex.com 95 Best
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
CMC Markets
Open Account CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Forex.com
Open Account CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Our verdict

CMC Markets vs Forex.com: which one should you choose?

CMC Markets

CFD/FX Choose CMC Markets if you want a CFD and forex broker with low trading costs, no minimum deposit and a choice of trading platforms.

Open Account CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Forex.com

CFD/FX Choose Forex.com if you want an online CFD broker with fast order execution and fixed-spread accounts.

Open Account CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

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