Swissquote vs FXCM 2024

Swissquote is a publicly traded company, operates a regulated bank, and is authorised by five Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), one Tier-2 regulator (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). Swissquote is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Securities Futures Commission (SFC), Monetary Authority of Sinagpore (MAS), Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

FXCM's parent company is publicly-traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by four Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), two Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). FXCM is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

Traders choose Swissquote for its quality research and vast multi-asset offering – as long as they are willing to pay a premium to have their brokerage account held with a Swiss bank.

For traders who appreciate advanced trading tools and quality market research, FXCM is a winner, especially for algorithmic trading. Its range of tradeable markets is fairly narrow, however, and the pricing at FXCM is just average.

To open a trading account with Swissquote, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $1000.

FXCM requires a minimum deposit of Starts from $50 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. Swissquote offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas FXCM provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), PayPal (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 FXCM 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 Swissquote holds 5 global Tier-1 licenses, while FXCM holds 4. FXCM holds 2 global Tier-2 licenses, while Swissquote 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 Swissquote (99) earned a higher Trust Score than FXCM (95).

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

Here’s what trading platforms are available at Swissquote:

• 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 FXCM:

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

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

Swissquote provides traders 80 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to FXCM's 40 available pairs. If you are interested in trading CFDs, Swissquote offers traders access to 472 CFDs, while FXCM offers access to 440 CFDs; so Swissquote offers 32 more CFDs than FXCM.

We found in our testing that Swissquote offers a more diverse selection of investment options than FXCM, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD), Cryptocurrency (Physical) and Social Trading / Copy Trading.