FlowBank vs Alpari 2024

FlowBank operates a regulated Swiss bank, and is authorised by one Tier-1 regulator (high trust): the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

Alpari is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. Alpari is authorised by zero Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk).

As a relative newcomer to the Swiss online brokerage scene, FlowBank already has a lot to offer its customers. FlowBank clients benefit from the advantages that come with holding a Swiss bank account, and its brokerage services provide access to more advertised symbols than any online broker that we’ve reviewed thus far.

Alpari is one of the first brokers to offer the MetaTrader platform glopbally before it became popular. The Alpari group of companies are regulated only in a few jurisdictions, putting the broker at a disadvantage compared to the most trusted brokers.

To open a trading account with FlowBank, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.

Alpari requires a minimum deposit of $20 before you can open an account and start trading.

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. FlowBank offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Alpari provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw).

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that FlowBank offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that FlowBank holds 1 global Tier-1 licenses, while Alpari holds 0. Both FlowBank and Alpari hold 0 global Tier-2 licenses.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that FlowBank (80) earned a higher Trust Score than Alpari (68).

To compare the trading platforms of both FlowBank and Alpari, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, FlowBank offers a better experience. With research, FlowBank offers superior market research. Finally, we found FlowBank to provide better mobile trading apps.

Here’s what trading platforms are available at FlowBank:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

Here’s what trading platforms are available at Alpari:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Both FlowBank and Alpari offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. FlowBank and Alpari both offer copy trading.

FlowBank provides traders 52 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Alpari's 46 available pairs. If you are interested in trading CFDs, FlowBank offers traders access to 408600 CFDs, while Alpari offers access to 105 CFDs; so FlowBank offers 408495 more CFDs than Alpari.

We found in our testing that FlowBank offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Alpari, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD), Cryptocurrency (Derivative) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical) and Spread Betting.