ActivTrades vs CMC Markets
A side-by-side comparison built from each broker's own published record — licenses checked against official registers, terms quoted from their own pages, with the source linked on every claim.
| Regulation | FCA · SCB · FSC · CMVM · BACEN · CSSF | FCA · FCA · ASIC · ASIC · BaFin · MAS |
| License no. | FCA 434413 (ActivTrades PLC; company reg. England & Wales 05367727) SCB 199667 B (ActivTrades Corp — printed as company 'registration number 199667 B'; SCB licence number not separately printed) FSC GB24203277 (ActivTrades Markets Ltd., Global Business Licence) CMVM 433 (ActivMarkets Empresa de Investimento, S.A.; company reg. 516 929 291) BACEN CNPJ 45.050.917/0001-03 (ActivTrades CCTVM — 'autorizada a funcionar pelo Banco Central do Brasil'; no separate licence number printed) CSSF not published on fetched pages (entity ActivTrades Europe SA and 'Regulated by CSSF' verified on broker site; Luxembourg company reg. B232167 appears in search-indexed broker content but was not directly verified) | FCA CMC Markets UK plc — Register No. 173730 FCA CMC Markets Investments Limited — Register No. 948126 ASIC CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd — ABN 11 100 058 213, AFSL No. 238054 ASIC CMC Markets Stockbroking Limited — ABN 69 081 002 851, AFSL No. 246381 (stockbroking) BaFin CMC Markets Germany GmbH — Registernummer 154814 MAS CMC Markets Singapore — licence number not printed on cited page |
| Founded | 2001 | 1989 |
| Minimum deposit | $0 | $0 |
| EUR/USD spread from | 0.5 pips (standard Individual account — broker publishes "Trade With Spreads from 0.5 pips", commission-free; localized spread table shows EURUSD "as low as 0.5") | 0.5 pips (standard CFD/spread betting account); from 0.0 pips on EUR/USD with FX Active account + 0.0025% commission per transaction — https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/forex |
| Leverage | SCB (Bahamas): 1:400 on forex (0.25% initial margin) CMVM (Portugal): Retail 1:30 on forex (3.33% margin) | FCA (UK): Published as margin rates rather than a ratio: from 3.34% forex, 5% indices and commodities, 20% shares and ETFs |
| Gulf Payments | ||
| Platforms | ActivTrader, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, MetaTrader 4 (still named in site copy 'MT4, MT5, ActivTrader and TradingView', but absent from the current Platforms menu) | Next Generation (CMC proprietary web platform), Mobile trading app, MetaTrader 4 (MT4, incl. WebTrader) |
| Broker-published claim | Withdrawals are processed "Same day if request by 12:30 (UK Time Zone)"; the Funding And Withdrawals Fact Sheet lists a Standard Timeframe of "Same working day" for bank transfer and "30 min" for credit/debit cards, Neteller, Skrill and crypto — with the caveat that "the specified timeframes are indicative only" and apply after the company has received the transaction. [Source] | Withdrawals to a registered bank account requested before the cut-off time (4pm UK; 11am outside the UK) are processed the same day. Card withdrawals: some card issuers within an hour, others up to five working days. Standard bank withdrawals: UK domestic one to two working days; international three to five working days (subject to UK banking hours). No charges for card or standard bank transfer withdrawals. [Source] |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer, Credit/Debit card, Neteller, Skrill, Crypto (BCH, BTC, ETH, LINK, LTC, USDC, USDT, XLM, XRP, DASH), PayPal (ActivTrades PLC and ActivTrades Europe SA clients only), Instant bank transfer – Volt (entity-dependent) | Debit/credit card, Bank transfer |
| Crypto deposits/withdrawals | Yes | No |
| Islamic Accounts | Yes | No |
| Measured by us | Testing in progress | Testing in progress |
| Accepts clients from | Australia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey, Mongolia, Kenya, Colombia, Italy, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Argentina, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain | Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Italy, United Arab Emirates |
| Open account | Open account |
We do not name a winner here. The two records sit side by side because the right answer depends on where you live, what you trade, and which entity would onboard you — all of which the table shows.
By Country
- ActivTrades + CMC Markets: Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy
- ActivTrades Yes / CMC Markets No: Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan, India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey, Mongolia, Kenya, Colombia, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Argentina, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain
Is ActivTrades or CMC Markets better?
Neither is better in the abstract. Compare the rows that apply to you: whether each broker accepts clients from your country, which entity and regulator you would be onboarded under, the minimum deposit, and how withdrawals work on the rail you would actually use.
Which is safer, ActivTrades or CMC Markets?
Safety follows the entity that holds your money, not the brand. Both records list every regulator and license number each broker publishes — check which entity serves your country, then verify that license on the regulator's own register.