ActivTrades Review 2026

Trust

ActivTrades Licensing

How Does ActivTrades Protect You?

To confirm ActivTrades’ client protections and best practices, I reviewed the broker’s client agreement, risk notice, and order execution policy. I accessed these and other ActivTrades disclosures by clicking ‘Legal Documents’ on the website’s main page.

Here is what I found out about the broker:

To learn more about the most important safety mechanisms and how they apply to you, check our dedicated guide on client protections.

Stability and Transparency

To assess ActivTrades’ background, I reviewed its LinkedIn profile and website. I learned that the broker was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in London. I also took note of ActivTrades’ company size in the 250-300 range. This is more than what most other brokers report and speaks to ActivTrades’ stable corporate model.

I also reviewed ActivTrades’ risk notice, which is glued to the top panel of the main page. It reads that more than 69%* of retail traders lose money with this provider. Displaying such information is standard among brokers authorized by Tier-1 regulators, such as the FCA. It helps first-time traders gain a real sense of the dangers of trading leveraged products.

Is ActivTrades Safe?

Based on my research, I found ActivTrades safe to trade with because:

• It is licensed and regulated by 5 regulators, including the top-tier FCA and CMVM.
• It has issued an Excess of Loss policy with £1 million coverage.*
• It keeps client funds segregated.
• It guarantees negative balance protection.
• Its website and legal documents are accessible and very transparent.

Fees

ActivTrades Trading Fees

ActivTrades Spreads

I tested ActivTrades’ spreads on a live Individual account, using the MetaTrader 5 platform on 27 July during the London and New York market openings. Here are my results:

The spreads I recorded with an Individual account on 27 July during the London market opening (09:00 on the image above), using the MetaTrader 5 platform.

I recorded very low spreads on EURUSD and GBPJPY after the London market opening. However, they exceeded the industry average in the New York session. Another highlight of my testing was the low stock spreads. Apple shares traded around 7 cents vs the 31.8- cent benchmark, while Tesla shares traded around 16 cents vs the 48.7-cent benchmark.

Commodities and indices were an entirely different story, though. Gold eclipsed the industry average of 33 cents and peaked at 47 cents, while crude oil traded in the $0.05-$0.08 range. The biggest outlier of my testing was Dow Jones 30, which reached 15.97 points immediately after the New York opening, vs the industry average of 3.3 points. However, there is a caveat.

I did my testing on Monday, so this initial spike in volatility can be attributed to events that occurred over the weekend. And after the market priced in those initial reactions in a minute or so, the DJI 30 spread then promptly decreased. In other words, this massive DJI30 spread is more of a warning to inexperienced traders to tread carefully at major market openings than an indictment of ActivTrades.

ActivTrades Swaps

I tested ActivTrades’ swaps on a live Individual account on 27 July 2026, using the MetaTrader 5 platform.

The values listed below are for one full base currency contract (100,000 units):

From my live tests, ActivTrades’ forex, metals, and stock swaps all gravitated around the respective industry averages. The DJI 30 swap long of $6.63 was significantly better than the industry average of $86.06, though the $13.06 WTI swap long came in above the energy’s $2.22 benchmark.

Please note that swaps fluctuate over time, subject to changing interest rates.

Are ActivTrades’ Fees Competitive?

To help you understand how much you’ll pay to trade each instrument, I calculated the cost of trade using the formula: spread rate x pip value (swaps are not included).

I estimated that the broker’s FX costs are well aligned with industry averages, while its commodity costs sit in the upper range.

Stock costs were much better, with the $7 CoT on Apple shares vs the $31.78 industry average making the strongest impression on me. On the other hand, index costs were much higher. The $101.12 price tag for the Dow Jones 30 marked the biggest departure from the $33.37 industry average.

ActivTrades Non-Trading Fees

Inactivity Fee: Accounts that have been dormant for 18 consecutive months incur a £10 monthly fee until account activity resumes or the balance drops to £0. The fee rate meets industry standards, while the waiting period is longer than with most other brokers (typically 12 months).

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees: £0.

Platforms and Tools

ActivTrader Platform

For this review, I tested the web-based ActivTrader. It requires no installation and runs on all major browsers. The platform is available in English, French, German, Bulgarian, and several other languages.

The defining feature of ActivTrader is its fluid, high-definition charts powered by TradingView. Price action is represented in great detail, making it easy to spot even small price fluctuations. However, the charting area lacks a full-screen mode.

Availability & Features

I also identified the lack of Depth-of-Market (DoM) support and algo trading via Expert Advisors (EAs), which may disappoint some traders. On the plus side, both functionalities are available on MT4 and MT5, which are supported by ActivTrades.

Chart Parameters

ActivTrader’s analytical tools include:

Order Types

ActivTrader features the following order types:

It’s worth noting that ActivTrades’ progressive trailing stop order is unique to the ActivTrader platform, and the broker deserves credit for its creation.

ActivTrader App

I tested the ActivTrader App on my personal Google Pixel phone running Android. I downloaded the App from the Google Play Store and had it installed in seconds.

I was happy to see that the app felt just as flexible as the web version. Price action is again fluid and easily scalable, but at low resolution. This is a problem inherent to all mobile apps.

I also learned that the ActivTrader App supports all basic order types, including market, limit, and stop orders, and can be used to set price alerts and customize watchlists. Moreover, it integrates advanced market analytics, including a news screener and market sentiment gauges.

I deem ActivTrader a good option for active day and news traders.

MetaTrader 4&5 Tools

I sampled the MetaTrader add-ons offered by ActivTrades, which many other brokers do not provide, and explained their usability:

ActivTrades Execution Parameters

Execution Model

ActivTrades operates as a No-Dealing-Desk (NDD) broker. I confirmed this from its client agreement and execution performance documents. ActivTrades uses the Straight-Through Processing (STP) model, in which client orders are routed to the broker’s pool of liquidity providers and filled at the best possible price.

Execution Speed

I measured ActivTrades’ order execution speed using MetaTrader 5’s speed gauge. I placed orders on the EURUSD, GBPJPY, gold, crude oil, Dow Jones 30, and Germany 40in quick succession on 27 July, just after the New York market opening.

Please note that I used a demo account for my hands-on tests because I did not deposit real capital to my live account. Here are my results:

I calculated ActivTrades’ average order execution speed at 68ms, beating the industry benchmark of 243ms (based on the performance of 12 brokers I recently reviewed).

A key factor in my testing was my location relative to ActivTraders’ servers. I am based in a European country (Bulgaria), and the broker has servers located in the UK. This close proximity reduced the overall latency. However, bear in mind that the further away you are from your broker’s servers, the higher the latency.

Tradable Instruments

What CFDs Can You Trade With ActivTrades?

Customer Support

Customer Support Channels

Customer Support Test

I conducted my test of ActivTrades on 28 July at around 09:00 CET via live chat. When I first opened my ticket, an agent connected within less than 2 minutes. Even though I’ve experienced faster engagement with other brokers, this is still pretty fast.

I decided to begin my testing with a question about the TradingView platform. I wanted to know whether it’s possible to link an ActivTraders account to the web-based platform, and the agent confirmed it’s possible.

Then I asked about ActivTrades’ spread betting and professional accounts and received extensive information on both. What impressed me most was that the agent laid out the eligibility criteria for the professional account within seconds of my asking, which meant they either had it memorized or knew exactly where to find it. In either case, this speaks to the agent’s preparedness.

From my experience with the agent, I rated ActivTrades’ customer support very highly.

Deposit and Withdrawal

How Do You Deposit Money with ActivTrades

Note that if your deposit currency differs from your account base currency, you may have to pay a conversion fee.

How Do You Withdraw Money with ActivTrades

Account Types and Terms

How to Open an Account With ActivTrades

To open an account with ActivTrades, follow these simple steps:

1. Click ‘Sign Up’ at the top-right corner of the main page.
2. Choose your country of residence and title.
3. Enter your name and email address.
4. Choose your account password and hit ‘Accept & continue’.
5. Provide your phone number, DoB, country of birth, and nationality.
6. Enter your TIN number (if applicable) for tax purposes.
7. Provide your personal address details.
8. Elaborate on your employment status and financial background.
9. Upload proof of ID and proof of address to verify your account.
10. Elaborate on your trading experience and goals.
11. Choose your trading platform and account currency.
12. Agree to ActivTrades’ terms and conditions.

ActivTrades Account Types

ActivTrades’ one-size-fits-all Individual account is built to accommodate most trading styles. It has no barrier to entry, so traders decide how much to deposit. The Individual account is also calibrated for commission-free trading, which benefits high-volume traders, though its spreads on instruments from different asset classes vary in competitiveness.

Payable Interest

I also learned that ActivTrades has recently launched a new program that lets holders of USD accounts earn up to 3.3% interest on their free margin. For EUR-based accounts, the maximum interest is 2.4%.

There are no hidden costs or complicated conditions. The program applies to accounts with a maximum equity of 100,000 EUR/USD. The interest is calculated daily based on your unused margin for that day, and paid monthly.

I also confirmed that there is no risk to your free margin; however, bear in mind that the program is available only through ActivTrades’ offshore and EU-based entities (not for clients from the UK).

Spread Betting

As a UK-based broker, ActivTrades offers spread betting to local clients. Unlike trading CFDs, where you profit from the pips you’ve managed to squeeze, in spread betting, you earn by guessing the market’s general direction.

Professional Account*

The UK entity of ActivTrades caters to high-volume traders through its professional account.

Its perks include:

• Professional leverage up to 1:400.
• Up to 30% close out level.
• Dedicated account manager.

To qualify for a professional account, you need to meet at least two of the following three criteria:

1. have an investment portfolio of at least £500,000;
2. have placed at least 10 trades in significant size per quarter over the last four quarters;
3. have worked in the financial sector for at least 1 year.

What Leverage Does ActivTrades Offer?

The maximum retail leverage at ActivTrades is 1:30, which aligns with the industry standard for Tier-1 regulated brokers. It means that if you open a trade with a $100 margin and use the full 1:30 leverage, you can open a position worth $3,000.

A word of caution: Trading on margin with high leverage is extremely risky and may result in significant losses.

ActivTrades does not accept as clients traders from American Samoa, Canada, Cuba, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States, Libya, Afghanistan, Belarus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Japan, United States Minor Outlying Islands, or any other jurisdiction where trading leveraged products is prohibited by law.

Research

Economic Calendar

You can access ActivTrades’ economic calendar from the ActivTrader platform by clicking ‘Calendar’. It enables you to keep track of upcoming economic releases and news events. You can filter them by market impact, release date, country, and more. The economic calendar also displays the consensus forecasts and the previous release numbers. News traders can refer to those to position themselves accordingly.

Market Buzz

The Market Buzz sentiment gauge by Trading Central, also integrated into ActivTrader, tracks the latest social media interactions with assets across different markets. I used it to check how other ActivTraders clients have engaged with popular US stocks, and discovered that META has had 25 mentions over the last 24 hours.

By assessing the volume of mentions of a particular instrument as compared to other assets from the same market, you can project potential upsurges and downsurges in volatility for that instrument.

News Screener

ActivTrader’s built-in news screener allows you to read up on the latest financial news while having your morning coffee. All key details are presented in a neat, structured way, making it extremely easy to follow the story. I also liked that most articles also elaborate on the market’s reaction to the particular news, as was the case with AUDUSD’s bearish correction ahead of the Australian CPI report’s release.

Weekly Outlook & Market Analyses

ActivTrades builds on the economic calendar and news screener with its own weekly outlook reports and deep market analyses. These types of content delve deeper and explore the same topics in greater detail. I found them well-suited for those traders who want to understand not only where the market might be headed next, but also why.

I pored over the latest article on gold, which explained why the precious metal rallied as dollar pressure eased amid renewed strikes between the US and Iran. The article was easy to digest, and even first-time traders can understand the link between these cross-market interactions.

Education

I counted over 115 past webinar episodes from ActivTrades that cover technical analysis, fundamental analysis, risk management, and trading psychology. You can learn about many different but equally important things, such as how to trade pullbacks and breakouts, where to position your protective stop-losses, how not to let your emotions impede your decision-making process, and much more.

And while I found the webinars extremely valuable, my biggest concern is that they lack structure and coherence. There is no logical progression from one topic to the next, making it more difficult for inexperienced traders to monitor their progression. One week, they might tune it for a webinar on Japanese candlesticks, and the next, they might be learning about various cognitive biases.

I also found 21 tutorials on MT4, MT5, TradingView, and ActivTrader that explain how to use each trading platform. These are available on the broker’s YouTube channel, as with the webinars.

The Bottom Line

ActivTrades is a UK-based financial derivatives broker offering 1,600+ trading instruments. Founded in 2001 and supervised by the FCA, CMVM, SCB, and other regulators, it adheres to the strictest safety regulations, provides a diverse selection of trading platforms, and even offers spread betting solutions for UK-based traders.

The broker’s greatest asset is its powerful ActivTrader platform, which features advanced charting visuals and on-board market research. The platform also got my stamp of approval for its progressive trailing stop order, which helps you squeeze the maximum returns even from abrupt changes in market direction.

Research is another area where ActivTrades excels. It publishes its own market breakdowns and integrates content from Trading Central. I found the content informative and well-suited for active news traders and trend followers.

On the downside, ActivTrades’ fees could be more competitive. The broker’s spreads range from super low, such as the 7-cent APPL spread I captured during the New York opening, to very high, like the massive DJI 30 spread of 15.97 points. The lack of cryptocurrencies and copy trading are two other meaningful limitations to ActivTrades’ UK-based entity.

All things considered, I found ActivTrades an excellent choice for active news traders, experienced technical traders, and volatility traders. However, it’s less than ideal for cost-conscious commodity and index traders.

What I Did not Test

Please note that for this review of ActivTrades, I did not:

1. Use a live account to test ActivTrades’ order execution speeds;
2. Upload proof of ID and proof of address to fully verify my ActivTrades live accounts;
3. Deposit or withdraw real capital into or from ActivTrades. My score for the Deposits and Withdrawals category is based on my assessment of the broker’s payment options and listed fees.