Founded in 2009, Markets.com is a multi-asset online CFD broker that provides access to forex pairs, commodities, indices and indices futures, cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, and bonds. My research showed that the broker operates under six entities regulated by FSC BVI, ASIC, FCA, FSCA, and CySEC, with one unregulated entity registered in St. Vincent & The Grenadines.
Markets.com offers the highly popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, as well as its own in-house trading platform. As one of its main features, the broker offers spread-based accounts which provide additional perks depending on the size of the traders’ deposit.
Recommended in 2 best broker guides: |
CFD Brokers | Segregated Account |
Pros | Cons |
|
|
Markets.com offers a wide selection of tradable instruments, with a particular focus on commodities and indices. A key feature of the broker is its spread-based accounts, which come with various perks that scale according to the client’s deposit size.
Markets.com is well-suited both for novice and professional traders. Strong research & educational support, a solid customer support team, and a user-friendly in-house trading platform will make the first steps of the trading journey easier for beginners. Advanced traders with higher deposit levels will enjoy the special perks provided to such clients.
We performed our tests with a Basic Account, using the MT5 desktop and MT5 mobile platform, opened with the Finalto BVI Ltd entity of Markets.com, regulated by FSC BVI. Some features and services may vary depending on where you reside.
☑️ Regulations | FSCM (Mauritius), FSCA (South Africa), CySEC (Cyprus), ASIC (Australia), FCA (United Kingdom) |
🗺 Supported Languages | English, French, Arabic, Bulgarian, Italian, Spanish, German |
💰 Products | Currencies, Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Bonds, Indices, Commodities, Futures |
💵 Min Deposit | $100 |
💹 Max Leverage | 1:300 (FSCM), 1:300 (FSCA), 1:30 (CySEC ), 1:30 (ASIC), 1:30 (FCA) |
🖥 Trading Desk Type | Market Maker, STP |
📊 Trading Platforms | MT5, Proprietary, MT4 |
💳 Deposit Options | Wire Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Credit Card |
💳 Withdrawal Options | Wire Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Credit Card |
🤴 Demo Account | Yes |
🗓 Foundation Year | 2009 |
🌎 Headquarters Country | Cyprus |
Markets.com has a global presence and is regulated by CySEC, ASIC, FCA, FSCA, and BVI FSC. The broker also has an unregulated entity, which is registered in St Vincent & The Grenadines. Founded in 2009, the broker has been in business for more than 14 years. All entities maintain clients’ funds in segregated accounts and provide negative balance protection.
Markets.com operates under six entities:
Each regulator has its requirements for brokers, which may differ substantially. Such requirements include leverage levels and specific protections offered to investors, such as negative balance protection, segregated accounts, and investor compensation funds. Traders must understand the differences between regulations to evaluate whether the broker suits their needs.
Markets.com operates under six entities, so clients will find a suitable entity for them. The global entity, Finalto (BVI) Ltd, is registered in the British Virgin Islands and regulated by FSC, a Tier 3 regulator.
The broker has three entities that are authorized by Tier 1 regulators: Finalto (Australia) Pty Ltd (ASIC), Finalto Financial Services Ltd. (FCA), and Safecap Investments Limited (CySEC). Finalto (South Africa) Pty Limited is regulated by FSCA, a Tier 2 regulator. Finalto International Limited is registered in St Vincent & The Grenadines and operates with regulation.
All entities hold clients’ funds in segregated accounts to ensure that the clients’ money is not used for the broker’s own business purposes. Using segregated accounts increases the safety of clients’ funds in case the broker faces financial problems.
Markets.com also provides negative balance protection in all entities, which means that clients cannot lose more money than they have in their accounts.
There are additional protections available for clients of Finalto Financial Services Ltd and Safecap Investments Limited. Clients of the FCA-regulated entity benefit from the protection of the investor compensation fund, which covers losses of up to GBP 85,000 in case the broker has financial problems. Clients of the CySEC-regulated entity benefit from the protection of the investor compensation fund, which covers losses of up to EUR 20,000.
I have summarized key aspects of the broker’s entities in terms of regulation and safety in the table below:
Entity | Finalto (BVI) Ltd | Finalto (Australia) Pty Ltd | Finalto Financial Services Ltd | Finalto (South Africa) Pty Limited | Safecap Investments Limited | Finalto International Limited |
Country/Region | FSC (BVI) | ASIC (Australia) | FCA (UK) | FSCA (South Africa) | CySEC (Cyprus) | FSA (St Vincent & The Grenadines) |
Regulation | Tier 3 | Tier 1 | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 1 | Unregulated |
Segregated Funds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Negative Balance Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Compensation Scheme | No | No | Up to GBP 85,000 | No | Up to EUR 20,000 | No |
Standard Leverage | Up to 1:300 | Up to 1:30 | Up to 1:30 | Up to 1:300 | Up to 1:30 | Up to 1:30 |
Markets.com has entities that are regulated by Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 regulators, as well as an unregulated entity registered in St Vincent & The Grenadines. In my view, the presence of Tier 1-regulated entities is always beneficial for clients, even if they open their accounts with other entities.
The broker must invest heavily in its procedures to get a Tier 1 regulation, and the presence of such a regulation shows that the broker took the extra steps to ensure safety and transparency.
All entities provide negative balance protection and hold their funds separately from the firm’s funds. The segregation of the client’s funds ensures that the broker cannot use them for its own needs. Moreover, with negative balance protection, clients cannot lose more money than they have in their accounts.
In our tests for the Trust category, we also cover factors relating to stability and transparency. Here, we focused on how long the broker has been in business, how big the company is, and how transparent it is in terms of information being readily available.
Markets.com, established in 2009, is not publicly traded and does not have a bank parent, which is common for a broker. They provide easy access to all essential documents via the Regulation and Legal Pack section of the broker’s website, including Terms & Conditions, Risk Disclosure Statement, Privacy Policy Statement, Conflicts of Interest Policy, and Clients Complaints Handling Policy.
The fee structure details can be found on the Account Types page. Traders can learn more about the differences between various entities in the Our Group section of the company’s website.
In summary, my research indicates that Markets.com can be regarded as having a high level of trust and stability due to the following factors:
My tests showed that Markets.com trading fees were mostly higher than the industry average, although traders might find competitive rates for certain instruments like EUR/USD and Gold.
For this review, I tested the Markets.com Basic Account, where the broker levies spreads and swap/rollover fees, but does not charge any commissions. Spreads are variable and depend on the liquidity condition for each instrument at a certain point in time.
I tested the spread on the Markets.com Basic Account during the London open at 8 a.m. UK time and shortly after the US open at 2.45 p.m. UK time. These are the most actively traded hours.
Instrument | Live spread AM | Live spread PM |
EURUSD | 0.8 | 0.7 |
GBPJPY | 2.8 | 2.6 |
Gold | 30 | 30 |
WTI Oil | 0.05 | 0.05 |
DAX | 1.2 | 1.2 |
Dow Jones | 3.5 | 2.8 |
Apple | n/a | 1.04 |
Tesla | n/a | 1.07 |
Bitcoin | 76.28 | 74.82 |
Markets.com features competitive spreads for EUR/USD and Gold. I’d note that EUR/USD spreads are indeed attractive for a standard spread-based account as many brokers would have spreads above the 1.0 level at such accounts. The spreads for DAX and Dow Jones are moderate, while the spreads for GBP/JPY, WTI Oil, Apple, Tesla, and Bitcoin are relatively high.
Instrument | Swap Long | Swap Short |
EUR/USD | -16.5668 | -5.42945 |
GBP/JPY | -4.92252 | -32.1136 |
My findings indicated that the swap fees for EUR/USD were high, in contrast to the notably low swap fees for GBP/JPY.
While the broker provides attractive spreads for EUR/USD and Gold, the spreads for other instruments I tested were either moderate or high, compared to the industry average. Generally, I found Markets.com’s fees to be above the industry benchmark, which we established through our extensive comparative research.
Markets.com applies an inactivity fee of $10 per month if the account is inactive for one year.
Markets.com provides access to the highly popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms alongside their in-house trading platform, which was designed with the needs of beginner traders in mind. This broad selection guarantees that traders of all levels will find a platform that meets their requirements.
In this review, I tested the MetaTrader 5 platform, analyzing charts, indicators, drawing tools, orders, and the general ease of use of the platform.
MT5 is an advanced trading platform that could be tailored to traders’ needs. The interface is rather intuitive, although some traders may want to search for tutorials to take a deep dive into MT5’s capabilities. In general, advanced traders would have no problems with MT5, while beginners may need to spend some time learning the fundamental features of the platform.
For beginner traders, it’s beneficial to familiarize themselves with various chart options, indicators, drawing tools, and order types. You may need to learn how to create your watchlists and manage your trading positions. Despite the initial time and effort required, traders who invest in this learning ultimately gain a powerful tool that helps achieve better trading results.
While the general look of the MetaTrader 5 platform may seem a bit outdated, I find the platform fairly intuitive and easy to learn. Markets.com provides that standard MT5 offering, so those who have previously used the platform with other brokers will be ready to trade in a couple of minutes.
MT5 offers 97 indicators and 21 timeframes, which is more than enough to customize your charts and adjust them to your needs.
Trend indicators, oscillators, volumes, Bill Williams indicators, and custom indicators help to design the chart you need.
Available timeframes range from 1 minute to 1 month, providing the trader with opportunities to observe short-term developments, as well assignificant multi-month trends.
MT5 also supports:
These tools are commonly used for decision-making in trading, so their inclusion is a must for any reputable trading platform.
Each chart could be displayed as a bar, a candlestick, and a line. Candlesticks are generally the most popular among traders as they suggest plenty of various patterns that are used for making trading decisions. That said, other chart types also have their advocates.
MT5 charts are accessible even to novice traders, nevertheless they also offer enough options for experts.
MT5 offers all main order types including:
Different expiration types are available for all pending orders, including GTC (good-till-cancel), Today, Specified, and Specified Day.
In this review, I have tested the Markets.com MetaTrader 5 Mobile App for Android.
The MT5 mobile app for Android is quite user-friendly. It provides charts, quotes, account balance info, an economic calendar, news, and other tools to help traders make informed trading decisions. As usual, traders have access to the standard MT5 mobile app. If you worked with the MT5 app before, you’ll spend little time before you will be ready to trade.
MT5 mobile app offers:
This selection of options is sufficient for mobile-based trading. Typically, the mobile app is used when the trader does not have access to the desktop platform but needs to monitor the market and open positions. While the app is helpful in certain circumstances, it is not as efficient as the desktop platform, which remains the primary solution for traders who require fast and active trading capabilities.
The MT5 mobile app allows you to place market orders, limit orders, and stop orders. However, trailing stops are not available on mobile trading terminals.
In addition to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, Markets.com offers a proprietary trading platform that is designed with beginners’ needs in mind. The platform has a user-friendly interface featuring clean charts, prepopulated watchlists, key statistics, and related instruments.
The platform allows trading from a chart, which is convenient. With 90 indicators available, traders will find enough options for technical analysis. In general, the platform is rather simplistic but does not have a steep learning curve, which is important for beginner traders.
In my view, Markets.com provides a balanced platform offering that features the widely used MT4 and MT5, as well as the beginner-friendly proprietary trading platform. MetaTrader 5, extensively tested in this review, is feature-rich with a suite of chart options, indicators, drawing tools, and a variety of order types, offering a high level of customization and functionality for both beginner and advanced traders. Meanwhile, the in-house platform of Markets.com, tailored for beginner traders, provides a user-friendly interface with a manageable learning curve, promoting trading convenience and simplicity.
My research showed that Markets.com’s selection of commodities and indices is very broad. Their offerings align well with industry standards.
Markets.com provides access to 59 forex pairs, 16 commodities, 22 indices, and indices futures, 6 cryptocurrencies, 259 stocks, and 2 bonds.
The number of available commodities and indices is high, forex pairs and stocks are moderate, while the availability of cryptocurrencies is low.
CFDs (Contracts for Differences) are financial instruments that allow traders to bet on price movements of securities without owning the underlying assets. The key advantage of CFDs is the access to significant leverage, which is typically not available when trading other instruments. Consequently, CFDs are very popular in short-term trading.
Forex | Shares |
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | EUR/TRY | Amazon | LVMH | Xiaomi |
Indices | Cryptocurrencies |
Dow Jones | DAX | CAC 40 | BTC | ETH | XRP |
Commodities | ETFs |
Gold| Silver| Natural Gas | LIT| ERX| UNG |
Markets.com offers a diverse range of tradable instruments including forex pairs, commodities, indices, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and bonds. Traders have access to a higher number of commodities and indices. The stock and forex offerings are average for the industry, while the cryptocurrency offering covers only the basic assets.
Markets.com provides support via online chat, phone, and email. My tests indicated that the broker’s support team delivers fast and professional answers. The overall experience exceeded the industry average.
During my tests, I posed various questions to the support team. For example, I used the online chat to ask questions about the maximum leverage, inactivity fees, and account type details. The responses were quick (I waited for about a minute before getting the first answer) and professional, and it was clear that support agents’ answers were based on their own knowledge rather than a script. This proficiency is crucial for traders since knowledgeable support agents can provide assistance in unusual situations that occasionally arise during trading.
The broker offers customer support in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, German, and Bulgarian.
Markets.com clients can deposit and withdraw funds via credit cards, bank transfers, Neteller, and Skrill. The processing times align with industry standards, and the broker does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees.
Deposit Method | Base Currencies | Fees | Processing Time |
Credit card | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Instant |
Neteller | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Instant |
Skrill | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Instant |
Wire Transfer | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Instant |
Local Bank Transfer | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Instant |
Markets.com provides standard deposit options, including credit cards, bank transfers, and popular e-wallets, such as Neteller and Skrill. In this review, I focus on the BVI entity, which is available for global clients. Other entities offer additional payment methods. If you are a client of another entity, please take a look at this page to check your options. Traders should note that the broker offers a deposit bonus of up to 20%.
Bonuses are only available for BVI FSC and FSCA entities.
Withdrawal Method | Base Currencies | Fees | Processing Time |
Credit card | USD, EUR, GBP | No | 2 – 7 business days |
Neteller | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Up to 24 hours |
Skrill | USD, EUR, GBP | No | Up to 24 hours |
Wire Transfer | USD, EUR, GBP | No | 2 – 5 business days |
Local Bank Transfer | USD, EUR, GBP | No | 2 – 5 business days |
Markets.com does not impose withdrawal fees. However, traders should be aware that third parties may apply such fees, so it’s advisable to verify this before choosing any withdrawal method.
Markets.com offers MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and its own proprietary platform for account management. Additional options are provided to the clients, based on the size of their deposit.
Markets.com clients can open CFD, MT4-CFD, and MT5-CFD accounts. The in-house platform provides access to blends (unique indices such as Metaverse Blend and Buffet Blend). All accounts are spread-based, meaning traders pay the spread with no commissions involved.
Choosing an account that aligns with your trading needs is crucial. Typically, the trader should consider factors such as base currency options, contract size, commission, fees, the number of pending orders/positions, and the minimum deposit size.
Account | CFD | MT4-CFD | MT5-CFD |
Commission (excluding equities) |
No | No | No |
Spread | variable | variable | variable |
Minimum Deposit | $100 | $100 | $100 |
Leverage | Up to 1:300* | Up to 1:300* | Up to 1:300* |
Islamic Account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Demo Account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Available leverage for entities regulated by FSC (BVI) and FSCA. On the entity regulated by CySEC, the maximum leverage is 1:30.
Markets.com offers three types of accounts: CFD, MT4-CFD, and MT5-CFD. Depending on the size of the deposit, additional features may be available such as margin call SMS, higher bonus levels, Reuters analyst research (pdf stocks), and other perks.
CFD Leverage allows traders to avoid paying the full value of the position. Instead, they pay a deposit, which is called margin, while borrowing the remaining funds.
In the case of Markets.com, clients of the BVI-regulated entity have access to leverage of up to 1:300. This is a high level of leverage, so traders should be careful and use the appropriate risk management techniques when using the available leverage to its fullest extent. However, clients who work with the entity regulated by CySEC can benefit from much lower leverage of up to 1:30.
To perform my tests, I opened an account with Markets.com. The account opening process was fast and did not take much time — I quickly went through the questions and got access to the client portal.
To open an account with Markets.com:
A demo account is an account that allows you to test the broker’s services and your trading skills without risking your money.
Please note that your trading experience will differ when using a demo account compared to a real-money account due to psychological factors, as traders find themselves under pressure when real money is at stake.
It’s a good idea to use such an account for practicing and learning the trading platform, but do not spend too much time on the demo.
Markets.com offers interesting research tools integrated into its proprietary trading platform. These include financial commentary, analyst research, and sentiment tools.
Markets.com provides news and analysis on its website, but the core of the research support can be found in its in-house trading platform. Traders have access to financial commentary, which is a news feed from several providers, such as financial bloggers, insiders, and traders. Sentiment tools have gained popularity in recent years as additional decision-making aids for traders.
In my opinion, the research tools are especially beneficial when trading stocks as Markets.com also provides key stats and financials, as well as Thomson Reuters analytical reports for some stocks (available for clients whose deposits exceed $2,500).
Traders can also take a look at related instruments when working with the in-house platform, which could be a useful tool for beginner traders making their first steps in the markets.
In general, while the research offering is intriguing, it is primarily limited to the proprietary trading platform.
Markets.com offers trading webinars, an interesting podcast, along with articles and videos that teach the basics of trading. I found that Markets.com provides a well-rounded offering that will be interesting to both beginners and advanced traders.
Markets.com has an Education Center, which provides access to a collection of articles, covering the basics of trading. One disadvantage is that these articles do not form a structured trading course. Nevertheless, beginner traders can still gain considerable knowledge from these resources.
The webinars, which are available in several languages, cover various topics. In my opinion, the highlight of the offering is the podcast named “Traders’ Clinic”, where two traders, Charlie Burton and Ali Crooks, share insights on trading strategies, trading psychology, and other important aspects of a trader’s life.
Overall, Markets.com offers a comprehensive service, which includes robust educational and research tools, a swift and professional customer support team, and a user-friendly in-house trading platform. In addition to this platform, Markets.com also offers the highly popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms.
The broker operates under six entities globally and is regulated by top-tier agencies, including FCA, ASIC, and CySEC. This extensive regulatory oversight ensures that the broker can serve a diverse range of traders worldwide and provide a good level of safety to the clients.
Markets.com provides access to forex pairs, commodities, indices, futures, stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and bonds. Markets.com’s offering would be especially interesting to traders working with commodities and indices, as the broker provides a high number of these instruments. When it comes to the broker’s fees, the cumulative charges are higher than the industry average. However, traders can discover good deals when they examine each tradable instrument individually. Traders have access to multiple deposit and withdrawal options, which differ a bit depending on the entity. The broker does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees, which is fairly standard nowadays.
Headquarters Country | Cyprus |
Foundation Year | 2009 |
Regulations | FSCM (Mauritius), FSCA (South Africa), CySEC (Cyprus), ASIC (Australia), FCA (United Kingdom) |
Publicly Traded | No |
Number Of Employees | 200 |
Trading Desk Type | Market Maker, STP |
Trading Platforms | MT5, Proprietary, MT4 |
Restricted Countries | Belgium, Russian Federation, Venezuela, Yemen, Tuvalu, Botswana, Brazil, Uganda, Syria, French Polynesia, Cambodia, Lebanon, Serbia, Mayotte, Ethiopia, Taiwan, Fiji, Vanuatu, Panama, Israel, Singapore, Japan, Libya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, Haiti, Hong Kong, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Zimbabwe, Samoa, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, China, Cuba, Dominica, Eritrea, Ghana, Jamaica, Jordan, North Korea, Palau, Mali, Morocco, New Zealand, Gibraltar, Iran, Grenada, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guam, Cayman Islands, Senegal, United States, Albania, Turkey, Marshall Islands, Tunisia, Trinidad and Tobago, Northern Mariana Islands, Somalia, Puerto Rico, Mongolia |
Supported Languages | English, French, Arabic, Bulgarian, Italian, Spanish, German |
Min Deposit | $100 |
Max Leverage | 1:300 (FSCM), 1:300 (FSCA), 1:30 (CySEC ), 1:30 (ASIC), 1:30 (FCA) |
Deposit Options | Wire Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Credit Card |
Withdrawal Options | Wire Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Credit Card |
Time to Withdrawal | 4 |
Time to Open an Account | 5 |
Crypto | Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Dash |
Products | Currencies, Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Bonds, Indices, Commodities, Futures |
Demo Account | Yes |
OCO Orders | No |
Offers Hedging | No |
Automated Trading | No |
API Trading | No |
Guaranteed Stop Loss | No |
Guaranteed Limit Orders | No |
Guaranteed Fills / Liquidity | No |
Economic calendar | No |
Trading From Chart | Yes |
One-Click Trading | Yes |
Expert Advisor | No |
Social Trading | No |
Autochartist | No |
Trading Signals | Yes |
Platform Languages | Multi-lingual |
24 Hours Support | Yes |
Support During Weekends | No |
Live Chat | Yes |
Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
Webinars | Yes |
Deposit Fee | No |
Withdrawal Fee | No |
Inactivity Fee | Yes |
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.