Table of contents
XM and OctaFX are two very different brokers with various features that attract more than 10 million Forex traders worldwide. XM is a regulated Forex broker with a diverse portfolio of over 1000 financial instruments. On the other hand, OctaFX is an ECN broker which is no more regulated and offers a portfolio of less than 100 trading assets. Despite the differences, both brokerage companies have their own loyal customer bases due to the numerous benefits that they offer.
Established in 2011, OctaFX is famous for its low trading costs, commission-free trading, and tight spreads on the 32 most volatile Forex currency pairs. The maximum leverage for currency pairs can go up to 1:500. The clients of OctaFX broker can also access up to 10 most popular index CFDs with 1:50 maximum leverage, gold and silver assets with 1:200 maximum leverage, Oil products with 1:50 leverage, and the 5 most popular cryptocurrencies with the maximum leverage of 1:25.
XM broker was established in 2009 and since then has received numerous awards as the most reliable, transparent, and low-cost Forex broker in many regions across the globe. XM is regulated by several renowned regulatory bodies, including CySEC and ASIC. The broker offers more than 55 Forex currency pairs with maximum leverage of 1:888. You can trade more than a thousand stock CFDs, commodities, equity indices, precious metals, energies, and shares.
Follow our broker comparison review OctaFX vs XM to find out which Forex broker suits your trading goals and needs better, has more advanced trading platforms, provides better safety, and offers more generous promotional programs.
XM | OctaFX | |
Rating | ||
Min. Deposit | 5 USD | 100 USD |
Max. Leverage | 1:888 | 1:2000 |
Regulations | IFSC, ASIC, CySEC | - |
Trading Platforms | MT4, MT5 | MT4, MT5, cTrader |
Bonuses | 30 USD no deposit | 50% deposit |
Fees and trading benefits vary according to live trading account types at OctaFX and XM brokers’ platforms. The minimum deposit requirement is also determined according to the type of the account with XM, however, with OctaFX all three account types recommend a starting capital of 100 US dollars. XM offers three account types – Micro, Standard, and XM Ultra-low – with just a 5 USD minimum deposit requirement. However, in order to open an XM Shares account, the clients need to deposit at least 10,000 US dollars.
Luckily for the clients of OctaFX and XM brokers, most of the brokers’ account types come without commission fees. Both brokers offer only a single commissionable account. With XM the commission charges apply to the Shares Account only, which is the most expensive account of the broker. OctaFX cTrader account, which is designed for progressive traders is the only account that charges commission fees on the trades.
Now as for the XM vs OctaFX spreads comparison we have to look at particular account types, again. The MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 account types at OctaFX both offers spreads starting from 0.6 pips on Forex currency pairs. Their premium account on OctaFX cTrader comes with a floating spread starting at 0.8 pips. XM on the other hand provides 0.6 pips spread on its XM Ultra-low account type. The rest of the accounts offer 1 pip spread on Forex pairs. While the XM Shares account has spread as per the underlying exchange.
Get your XM Standard account with $5 deposit
XM | OctaFX | |
CFD | ✓ | ✓ |
Commodities | ✓ | - |
Precious Metals | ✓ | ✓ |
Energies | ✓ | ✓ |
Stocks | ✓ | - |
Indices | ✓ | - |
Cryptocurrencies | - | ✓ |
XM and OctaFX both provide industry-leading trading platform options. These brokerage companies heavily rely on the MetaTrader software, which is undoubtedly the all-time favorite choice of all Forex traders globally. They support both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. While MT4 is the best fit for Forex traders, MT5 represents a multi-asset trading platform suitable for trading various financial instruments. These two platforms come with numerous functionalities. The traders can access complex analysis tools, charting systems, and multiple indicators.
However, since both MT4 and MT5 require downloading and installing, brokers provide several MetaTrader modifications for their clients. You can find the version that runs on the browser. It is called a WebTrader. WebTraders do not require installation and are compatible with all popular browsers. Furthermore, the brokers also support MT platforms on mobile applications. The clients of XM and OctaFX can access mobile apps on both IOS and Android devices.
In addition to MetaTrader platforms, OctaFX also supports cTrader. cTrader is a ground-breaking copy-trading platform. On the cTrader mobile application the users can:
These two Forex online trading brokers are taking extra measures to guarantee the safety of their clients’ money and resources. However, both brokerages have different approaches towards the security of their clients. For example, XM is a regulated broker, whereas OctaFX is unregulated. OctaFX held an official license from the Financial Conduct Authority a few years ago. But, nowadays the broker has no regulatory license, anymore. Despite the fact that OctaFX is unregulated, the broker still provides Negative Balance Protection and other security measures. Under Negative Balance Protection, the clients are guaranteed that they will not be liable to pay back much more than they have deposited with the broker.
XM broker is a regulated Forex broker with several authorizations from the leading regulatory financial institutions. The authorities that regulate the broker are:
The broker is based in Belize. However, XM has many headquarters in different regions of the world. The broker also employs Negative Balance Protection and encrypts the personal data of its clients.
If we conduct XM vs OctaFX compare the analysis of their respective promotional campaigns we will observe that both brokers have multiple bonus programs for their clients. Their promotional portfolios include many different types of promotions, including no deposit and deposit bonuses, trading contests, referral programs, and loyalty programs. However, the terms and conditions, as well as the prize amounts differ from XM to OctaFX.
OctaFX offers a 50% deposit bonus. According to the terms and conditions of the bonus, a 50% bonus will be granted to the user once making the first initial deposit. However, the bonus amount is not withdrawable at first. The users have to trade with the bonus money in order to withdraw any profits generated from it. In addition, OctaFX broker runs trading contests, as well. The prizes of the contest will be awarded to the best performing trader. The prize pool includes various expensive gadgets like wristwatches, an android smartphone, and a laptop.
XM on the other hand has two types of bonuses with additional referral and loyalty programs. XM bonuses range from no deposit to deposit bonuses. As a welcome gift, the traders are granted XM 30 USD no deposit bonus upon registration and verification of the account. This bonus type is also withdrawable. Furthermore, when traders make an initial deposit they are eligible to claim a 50% deposit bonus for up to 500 USD total bonus amount, and for the rest amount, the traders will be able to claim an additional 20% deposit bonus.
Claim XM $30 no deposit bonus here
XM | OctaFX | |
Pros | - low trading costs | - offers cryptos |
- multi-regulated | - flexible leverage | |
- diverse portfolio | - many promo programs | |
Cons | - no cryptocurrencies | - higher min. deposit |
- geographic restrictions | - not regulated | |
- restricted leverage | - limited portfolio |
Overall, after comparing XM vs OctaFX we slightly prefer the XM Forex broker due to several reasons. First of all, the account types of the XM brokerage platform are more flexible and convenient. However, most importantly we like the fact that XM holds that many official licenses from the top-tier regulatory authorities. We always give an advantage to the broker who is regulated, since it is much more reliable to trade with licensed and authorized companies than with unregulated ones. On the other hand, we recommend OctaFX to those experienced traders who would like to benefit from the flexible bonuses, since regulations do not allow XM to offer leverage more than 1:888.
Subscribe to receive updates about FX bonuses
Be the first one to find out about available Forex trading bonuses that can be trusted