City Index vs HFM 2024

City Index is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by seven Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), one Tier-2 regulator (Trusted), zero Rier-3 regulator (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk). City Index is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

HotForex is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. HotForex is authorised by two Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), Three tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk). HotForex is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulator: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

Backed by StoneX Group, City Index is a trusted brand known for its versatile trading platforms, excellent mobile app, diverse market research, and extensive range of tradeable markets.

Alongside its enhanced MetaTrader offering and quality research, HFM (HF Markets), previously known as HotForex, offers a proprietary copy trading platform, HFcopy, a proprietary HF mobile app, and a decent selection of over 1,000 CFDs and 47 forex pairs. Still, trading costs at HFM are slightly above the industry average.

To open a trading account with City Index, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of £100.00.

HFM requires a minimum deposit of $0 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. City Index offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas HFM provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (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 City Index 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 City Index holds 7 global Tier-1 licenses, while HFM holds 2. HFM holds 3 global Tier-2 licenses, while City Index holds 1.

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 City Index (99) earned a higher Trust Score than HFM (86).

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

Here’s what trading platforms are available at City Index:

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

Here’s what trading platforms are available at HFM:

• 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 City Index and HFM offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. City Index and HFM both offer copy trading.

HFM provides traders 102 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to City Index's 84 available pairs. If you are interested in trading CFDs, City Index offers traders access to 13500 CFDs, while HFM offers access to 3500 CFDs; so City Index offers 10000 more CFDs than HFM.

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