Between 54-87% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Based on 69 brokers who display this data.
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BrokerDNA™
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
City Index
9.2
/10
VISIT CITY INDEX
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
Instaforex
0
/10
VISIT INSTAFOREX
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
AvaTrade
9.7
/10
VISIT AVATRADE
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
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About |
City Index is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. City Index have provided Forex trading services since 1983. |
InstaForex are regulated by CySEC. They were founded in 2007 and are used by over 7,000,000 traders. |
AvaTrade is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC (Australia), FSA (Japan), FSB (South Africa) and BVI. AvaTrade have provided Forex trading services since 2006. |
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Why choose them? |
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Headquarters | London, UK | Kaliningrad, Russia | Dublin, Ireland | |
TRADING SERVICES OFFERED |
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Spot Forex | ||||
Forex (CFD) | ||||
CFD | ||||
Spread Betting | ||||
Social Trading | ||||
MARKETS & INSTRUMENTS | ||||
Forex (currency pairs) | 84 | 107 | 59 | |
Commodities Offered | 26 | 2 | 16 | |
Stocks Offered | 4500 | 88 | 99 | |
Bitcoin | ||||
Majors | ||||
Indices | ||||
US Stocks | ||||
Penny stocks | ||||
Energies | ||||
Metals | ||||
Agriculturals | ||||
FTSE | ||||
Dow Jones | ||||
Dax | ||||
Nikkei | ||||
ETFs | ||||
IPO | ||||
See all instruments
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See all instruments
50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See all instruments
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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PLATFORM & FEATURES |
See the platforms and features offered by each broker |
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Screenshot |
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MT4 | ||||
MT5 | ||||
MT4 Mac | ||||
WebTrader | ||||
Mirror Trader | ||||
ZuluTrade | ||||
Sirix | ||||
cTrader | ||||
PAMM | ||||
Custom Platforms | AT Pro, Advantage Web | No | AvaTradeAct, AVAOptions | |
APPS |
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iOS |
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Android |
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Windows |
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Available Languages |
English, Spanish, German, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese |
Arabic, Chinese, English, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Indonesian |
English, Italian, German, French, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic, Malay, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch |
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See platform & features
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See platform & features
50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See platform & features
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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ACCOUNT INFORMATION |
From micro accounts to ECN accounts, compare the accounts offered by City Index and Instaforex |
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Demo account | ||||
Mini account | ||||
Micro account | ||||
Standard account | ||||
ECN Account | ||||
Islamic account | ||||
Zero spread account | ||||
VIP account | ||||
Fixed spreads | ||||
Variable spreads | ||||
See account options
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See account options
50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See account options
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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TRADING CONDITIONS |
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Scalping | ||||
Hedging | ||||
Expert advisors (EAs) | ||||
Virtual private server | ||||
Direct market access | ||||
STP broker | ||||
Market maker | ||||
Min trade | 1 Lot | 0.01 Lot | 0.01 Lot | |
Max trade | Varies | 1,000 Lot | None | |
Min deposit | $25 | $1 | $100 | |
RISK MANAGEMENT |
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Stop losses | ||||
Limit orders | ||||
One-click trading | ||||
Trailing stops | ||||
Price alerts | ||||
Signal trading | ||||
FUNDING METHODS |
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Credit card | ||||
Bank transfer | ||||
Standard account | ||||
Paypal | ||||
Neteller | ||||
Skrill | ||||
Payment processing time | 2-3 business days | 1-2 business days | Varies | |
Withdrawal processing time | 2-3 business days | 1-6 business days | Varies | |
See all funding options
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See all funding options
50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See all funding options
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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DETAILED INFO |
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Excluded countries | US | US | BE,BR,NZ,US,KE,IN,GH | |
Contact email | Send Email | Send Email | Send Email | |
Phone number | 0845 355 0801 | 7 (812) 4580354 | (44) (0) 8005200423 | |
Live Chat | ||||
Website | www.cityindex.co.uk | https://www.instaforex.com/ | http://www.avatrade.com/ | |
Spreads: | ||||
EUR/USD (Average: 0.7 pips) | 0.7 pips | Not offered | 0.9 pips | |
GBP/USD (Average: 1.1 pips) | 1.7 pips | 2.0 pips | 1.6 pips | |
USD/JPY (Average: 1.1 pips) | 0.6 pips | 2.0 pips | 1.1 pips | |
AUD/USD (Average: 0.8 pips) | 0.6 pips | 2.0 pips | 1.1 pips | |
USD/CHF (Average: 2.3 pips) | 2.3 pips | Not offered | 1.6 pips | |
USD/CAD (Average: 2.9 pips) | 0.5 pips | Not offered | 2.0 pips | |
NZD/USD (Average: 3.6 pips) | 2.8 pips | Not offered | 1.8 pips | |
EUR/GBP (Average: 2.4 pips) | 0.5 pips | Not offered | 1.5 pips | |
View all spreads
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
View all spreads
50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
View all spreads
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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FEES |
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Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | No | |
Commission | 0.0015 | Yes, $30 | No | |
Deposit Fee | Varies | No | No | |
Withdrawal Fee | Varies | Yes | No | |
View All Fees
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
View All Fees
50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
View All Fees
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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Featured In | Best Day Trading BrokersBest Brokers For CommoditiesBest Brokers For CopperBest DAX BrokersBest FCA Regulated Brokers | Best MT5 BrokersBest Brokers For Expert AdvisorsBest 5 Digit BrokersBest Brokers With VPSBest Brokers For Indices | Best MT4 BrokersBest Bitcoin BrokersBest Ethereum BrokersBest Ripple BrokersBest Litecoin Brokers | |
Last update |
All information collected from www.cityindex.co.uk. Last updated on 01/03/2021. |
All information collected from https://www.instaforex.com/. Last updated on 01/03/2021. |
All information collected from http://www.avatrade.com/. Last updated on 01/03/2021. |
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Company |
Since establishing themselves as one of the first spread betting providers in the UK. , City Index have grown to a global company in over 50 countries completing over two million trades every month. City Index provide some of the most competitive spreads across thousands of markets including indices, shares, currencies, commodities and many more. For more information about trading with City Index, we have put together an indepth City Index review with some of the pros and cons about this broker. |
InstaForex are regulated by CySEC. They were founded in 2007 and are used by over 7,000,000 traders. |
Since 2006, Avatrade have attracted over 20,000 traders to their platform. While their spreads are not the most competitive, they do offer traders a range of great features, such as guaranteed stop losses, the ability to hedge / scalp, and low margins. |
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Popular comparisons |
Popular comparisons feat. City Index
City Index vs IG |
Popular comparisons feat. Instaforex
ETX Capital vs Instaforex |
Popular comparisons feat. AvaTrade
Avatrade vs LCG |
If you’re a trader looking for a broker with low spreads on popular instruments like EUR/USD, City Index is likely a better option. However, if you want a broker that allows you to scalp as a trading strategy, Instaforex may be more suitable.
You can determine a broker’s reliability & trustworthiness by looking at eight factors:
Based on these eight factors, we consider City Index and Instaforex to be equally reliable. We’ve broken down why below:
City Index is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, ASIC and MAS, while Instaforex is regulated by CySEC.
AvaTrade are regulated by Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, IIROC, FSA, FSB, UAE and BVI
If a broker has been around for a long period of time, they’re likely to be more reliable (in comparison, most scam brokers only exist for several years before they disappear).
This also suggests that a broker has good risk management processes that have prevented them being caught out by major financial events, as was the case with Alpari UK going bust when they were there was a policy reversal of capping the Swiss Franc against the Euro.
City Index has been around for 38 years, while Instaforex have been around for 14 years. Our third alternative broker, AvaTrade, have been around for 15 years.
You wouldn’t want your broker paying their staff out of the same bank account account that you’re depositing your trading funds into, would you?
Fortunately, all regulated brokers must use segregated bank accounts to hold client money. This is one of the reasons why we only feature regulated brokers here on BrokerNotes.
All three brokers above will hold your money in a separate bank account.
Most tier-1 banks like Barclays and HSBC have been around for over 100 years and manage trillions of dollars of assets, proving that they have stood the test of time.
City Index uses tier one banks as their banking partner.Instaforex does not use tier one banks as their banking partner.
If a broker has been penalised by a regulator in the past five years, it may mean that they were caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing - which may be of concern to you as an end client.
While not always the case, the number of traders a broker has can be a good metric for understanding how reputable a brokers is.
According to their websites, City Index is more popular with over 140,000 traders, while Instaforex is used by 7,000,000 traders. AvaTrade, in comparison, is used by 200,000.
Companies that are publicly listed on a stock exchange tend to be considered more reputable as they will be required to disclose their financials, and aspects of their operations, to the public.
Both City Index and Instaforex are privately owned companies.
Most reputable brokers tend to be headquartered in a major capital city or a financial hub such as Cyprus.
City Index are based in London, UK, while Instaforex are based in Kaliningrad, Russia .
Assuming the brokers you’re choosing between are reputable, the next point to consider is whether they offer all of the features you require to trade.
This can be broken down into three categories:
If you’re looking to trade currency pairs, both City Index and Instaforex offer forex trading. Instaforex have a slightly larger variety of currency pairs with 107 pairs, compared to 84 offered by City Index. Also, if you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies, Instaforex offers a handful of cryptocurrency CFDs to trade, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
If you’re looking to trade commodities like gold, silver or oil, City Index may be a better fit as Instaforex does not offer commodity trading.
Instaforex also offer social trading, which allows you to follow the trading activity, engage in discussion, and even copy the trades of other traders.
If you trade forex, there’s a good chance you might want a broker that offers the popular MT4 trading platform. If that’s the case, both City Index and Instaforex offer this. Instaforex also offer the new & improved MT5 platform. Our alternative broker, AvaTrade, also offers MT4 and MT5.
In addition to the platform, you’ll also want to ensure that the broker you choose offers the account type best suited to your needs. City Index, for example, offer a mini account, standard account and VIP account.
If you have a certain trading style (e.g. scalping, hedging, or using EAs), you’ll want to double check that the broker you choose allows this, as not all of them do.
City Index does not allow scalping but allows hedging. While Instaforex also allows scalping and hedging. You can trade with EAs (expert advisors) on both City Index and Instaforex.
In terms of risk management tools, neither City Index or Instaforex offers negative balance protection. Negative balance protection prevents you owing your broker more than you’ve deposited.
City Index also offer stop losses, limit orders, and price alerts to help you automate aspects of your trading strategy.
City Index accept Payoneer while Instaforex accept Neteller.
Comparing the fee structures of different brokers can be a minefield at times. The important thing to consider is what the spreads & fees are on the specific instruments and account type that you will be using.
For trading EUR/USD, City Index charges 0.50 points, while Instaforex charges points. Therefore, Instaforex is the more affordable for this instrument. If you want to compare their spreads across more instruments, You can jump back up to our comparison of their currency pair & indice spreads above.
Another consideration is whether or not your broker charges inactivity, deposit/withdrawal fees, or commissions on trades. If you’re a frequent trader, inactivity fees are unlikely to be an issue.
There’s no such thing as a perfect broker, but some are going to be a better fit for you than others.
Objectively, Instaforex is more reliable based on our criteria above. City Index has a wider range of instruments to trade. Instaforex offer lower spreads on popular forex instruments like EUR/USD and are used by more traders.
Both brokers offer demo accounts, allowing you to test their platforms to see which is suitable for you. You can test drive their demos using the links below:
Finally, if you’re really not sure you can always use our free tool (takes 15 seconds) that will help you find a suitable broker based on your precise requirements here.