ActivTrades vs HFM (HF 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 · CySEC · FSCA · FSA · CMA |
| 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 801701 (HF Markets (UK) Ltd) CySEC 183/12 (HF Markets (Europe) Ltd, HE 277582) FSCA 46632 (HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd) FSA SD015 (HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd) CMA 155 (HFM Investments Ltd) |
| Founded | 2001 | 2010 |
| 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") | 0.0 pips (Zero account, "From 0 on Forex"; Pro from 0.6, InfinityX from 0.3, Cent/Premium from 1.4 — hfm.com/int/en/trading-accounts) |
| Leverage | SCB (Bahamas): 1:400 on forex (0.25% initial margin) CMVM (Portugal): Retail 1:30 on forex (3.33% margin) | Offshore — no financial regulator named: InfinityX unlimited; Cent, Zero, Pro and Premium 1:2000 (subject to adjustment per the terms) |
| 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) | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, HFM Platform (browser, TradingView charts), HFM WebTrader, HFM App (mobile) |
| 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 are processed 24/7. "Withdrawals submitted before 10:00am server time are processed on the same business day between 7:00am and 5:00pm server time. Withdrawals submitted after 10:00am server time, will be processed on the following business day between 7:00am and 5:00pm server time." [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) | bank wire transfer, credit/debit card, Skrill, Neteller, Fasapay, crypto |
| Crypto deposits/withdrawals | Yes | No |
| Islamic Accounts | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | Kenya |
| 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 + HFM (HF Markets): Kenya
- ActivTrades Yes / HFM (HF Markets) No: Australia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey, Mongolia, Colombia, Italy, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Argentina, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain
Is ActivTrades or HFM (HF 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 HFM (HF 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.