ActivTrades

ActivTrades was established in 2001 and is headquartered in London, expanding globally since. The broker holds robust regulation, including the FCA (UK) and the Bahamas SCB, and it maintains physical offices in Milan, Sofia, and Nassau.

ActivTrades offers a wide suite of over 1,000 instruments—covering forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, bonds, and crypto CFDs—across popular platforms (MT4, MT5), TradingView, and its in-house ActivTrader web and mobile platform.

Testing ActivTrades, the ActivTrader platform caught our attention first. It’s polished, responsive, and packed with features like Progressive Trailing Stops, sentiment data, and hedging options—giving it a professional feel beyond the usual MetaTrader experience. Execution was solid in our trials—fast, reliable, and with no requotes or disruptions, which is crucial for active trading.

The broker clearly focuses on enhancing everyday tools. Their Smart Tools suite for MT4/MT5—like SmartOrder and SmartPattern—adds utility for seasoned traders. Education is equally strong: webinars, one-to-one sessions, tutorials, and a live market commentary section make it easy to stay informed. We found the support team responsive and helpful—available 24/5 in multiple languages—and user reviews on Trustpilot praise their quality service.

ActivTrades offers variable spreads, which means costs can nudge higher during low liquidity or volatile periods. While spreads on majors—like EUR/USD around 1.80 pips—are reasonable, they’re not the lowest available. In fact, on our 16-instrument panel, ActivTrades scored poorly on trading costs (spread score 39.91), lagging behind many top-tier low-cost brokers.

Some traders might find the ActivTrader web platform less fully featured than dedicated tools like TradingView. Additionally, while they excel in CFDs, ActivTrades doesn’t offer direct investment in physical stocks, and currency conversion fees (about 0.5%) can add up for multi-currency accounts.

If you’re after a well-regulated broker with a strong platform offering and excellent educational support, ActivTrades makes a compelling case. ActivTrader, Smart Tools, and fast execution combine to offer a smooth and professional trading experience—especially for MetaTrader users who want more than the standard setup.

However, while conditions are transparent and educationally rich, cost-conscious traders may find better pricing elsewhere. At TraderGuide, we emphasise trading costs heavily, and ActivTrades didn’t shine as a low-cost standout—especially for high-frequency or scalping strategies.

In short, ActivTrades is a well-rounded, stable, and trader-focused broker. It earns high marks for support, tech features, and regulation—but if trading costs are your top priority, it’s worth comparing spreads against lower-cost alternatives.