This Eightcap vs FXTM (Forextime) found both forex brokers have no dealing desk forex brokers with ECN-like pricing. This review compares the two brokers based on trading accounts, spreads, trading platforms and products.
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Eightcap and FXTM (Forextime) are two globally recognised and award-winning forex brokers. Both are great to trade with, however, to help you decide on your next broker, we choose between Eightcap vs FXTM.
The two account types offered by most brokers are a standard and a ‘raw’ account type. While the standard account is commission free, a ‘raw’ or STP-style account comes with commissions on trades.
Although a standard account comes with no commission, you will still face brokerage via the spread cost. The bid-ask spread is the difference between the price you can buy or sell an instrument at, and therefore, you want to be getting the lowest spreads you can.
To help you with this, we have a spread module to compare the average spreads between brokers. This data is taken from the broker’s website and is updated monthly.
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Standard Account Spreads
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1.90 | 2.00 | 2.40 | 2.00 | 2.20 |
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.40 |
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1.13 | 1.01 | 1.71 | 1.66 | 1.12 |
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1.20 | 0.90 | 1.50 | 1.80 | 1.80 |
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1.20 | 1.40 | 1.50 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.50 | 1.20 |
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1.10 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
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1.20 | 1.80 | 1.90 | 1.90 | 1.60 |
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1.32 | 1.95 | 1.37 | 1.70 | 1.40 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
While Eightcap does not advertise their average spreads for their standard account. However, the brokers advise that their spreads start from 1.0 pips. It is clear from the module above that FXTM has pretty wide (and therefore not great) spreads. Most of the other brokers have tighter spreads and Eightcap is no different.
Eightcap’s minimum spread starts at 1 pip wide on all of their major forex pairs, however, their average spreads will still be fairly tight, especially when compared to FXTM’s average spreads.
FXTM offers two types of standard accounts. A Micro account and an Advantage Pro account. Regardless of which account you use, the minimum spread is set at 1.5 pips, further solidifying the price advantage Eightcap has over FXTM.
The micro account is designed for traders that wish to trade small volumes (aka micro lots or 1000 lots) as opposed to the usual standard lots.Trading with this account uses Instant execution meaning you may get a requote if the spreads change during trading execution.
The other account FXTM is the Advantage Plus account. This account is similar to the Standard account with Eightcap in that it allows trading with standard lots and uses market execution (meaning no requotes as it uses the best available market price at the time of processing).
Looking at the data, it’s clear that there are differences in the standard account spreads between Eightcap, FXTM, and the industry average.
Eightcap has consistently lower spreads across all forex pairs compared to FXTM. For instance, the EUR/USD spread for Eightcap is 1, while for FXTM it’s 1.9. This pattern is consistent across all pairs, making Eightcap the cheaper option in terms of spread.
| Forex Pair | Eightcap | FXTM | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 1 | 1.9 | 1.35 |
| USD/JPY | 1.1 | 2.2 | 1.54 |
| GBP/USD | 1 | 2 | 1.68 |
| AUD/USD | 1.2 | 2 | 1.63 |
| USD/CAD | 1 | 2.5 | 1.93 |
| EUR/GBP | 1 | 2.4 | 1.69 |
| EUR/JPY | 1.2 | 2.3 | 2.04 |
| AUD/JPY | 1.9 | 3.1 | 2.31 |
Standard Account Analysis Updated September 2023[1]September 2023 Published And Tested Data
However, it’s important to note that while Eightcap’s spreads are lower than FXTM’s, they are generally close to the industry average. The industry average for EUR/USD is 1.35, which is slightly higher than Eightcap’s but significantly lower than FXTM’s. This suggests that while Eightcap offers competitive spreads, they are not exceptionally lower than what is typically offered in the market.
In my opinion, if you’re looking for lower spreads, Eightcap seems to be the better choice between the two. However, it’s crucial to remember that spreads are just one aspect of trading costs. Other factors such as commission fees, execution speed, and the trading environment should also be considered when choosing a forex broker.
An ECN or STP-style account (often known as a ‘raw’ account) comes with commission fees. This is to compensate the brokers for giving you direct access to their liquidity providers, meaning that you get ‘raw’ or market-priced spreads. These are much lower than on the standard account, where spreads are artificially increased by brokers.
Eightcap does share their average spreads for their Raw Account, allowing you to make a direct comparison between the two brokers in our spread module below. Like with the standard account, data is taken from the broker’s website and updated periodically.
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ECN Broker Spreads
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0.23 | 0.20 | 0.06 | 0.42 | 0.27 |
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n/a | 0.60 | n/a | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.30 | 0.20 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
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0.30 | N/A | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.24 | N/A | 0.17 | 0.54 | 0.30 |
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0.30 | 0.70 | 0.20 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.30 | 1.10 | 0.10 | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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0.77 | 1.41 | 0.44 | 1.13 | 1.23 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
Once again, Eightcap comes out as our clear winner, with lower average spreads compared to FXTM for every currency pair. Even though both brokers advertise a minimum spread of 0 pips wide, it is much more likely that you get lower spreads on Eightcap’s Raw account rather than FXTM’s Advantage account.
Unsurprisingly, the other trading cost to consider for commission-based accounts is the commission fees.
On Eightcap, commission fees are set at $7 AUD/USD to open and close a standard lot position. If you use a different base currency, you will be charged the equivalent of $7 USD.
FXTM has lower commission fees compared to Eightcap. The most you will pay is USD $4.00 round-turn for a standard lot on their Advantage MT4 account, this assumes you have USD $0 – 2,999 of equity in your trading account. FXTM Commission is tiered so the amount you pay is progressively lower the larger your account is and the more you trade each month. This means you will get the best value if your account has equity of over $1mil USD and you trade more than $250mil USD. In this case, you will pay just $0.8 round-turn in commission for each lot.
Commission with FXTM’s Advantage MT5 account on the hand will always pay USD $4.00 round-turn per lot regardless of your trading volume.
Eightcap easily wins on brokerage fees against FXTM for both the standard and STP-style account types. With lower minimum and average spreads on their standard account, the only place FXTM beats Eightcap is for commission fees. Even then, Eightcap has far lower average spreads for the commission-based account.
Eightcap and FXTM provide you with a wide range of payment methods to allow you to seamlessly fund your trading account.
FXTM allows you to fund via a bank transfer, Visa/Mastercard debit and credit cards, as well as e-Wallets like Neteller and Skrill. You need $10 of one of the three base currencies (USD/EUR/GBP) to fund a standard account and $500 in your chosen base currency for the commission-based Advantage account.
Eightcap offers even more ways for you to deposit funds into your trading accounts. In Australia, you can use BPay or POLi as an alternative to a bank transfer. PayPal is available for all Eightcap traders. If you are outside Australia, you can fund a trading account with cryptos like Bitcoin if you would like to.
For the standard account in Australia, you need a minimum deposit of $500, and for the Raw account, the minimum deposit falls to $250. Outside of Australia, both accounts have a minimum deposit of $100.
The safe broker between Eightcap and FXTM will be better regulated by the regulatory agencies of the countries they operate in.
As you can see from the image above, Eightcap is regulated by one top-tier and one second-tier regulatory agency. The top-tier licence is held with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), giving them regulatory protection in Australia. Eightcap’s second-tier licence is with the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB), which gives global regulatory coverage.
In comparison, FXTM has three top-tier licences as well as one second-tier licence. These are with:
– The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in the United Kingdom
– The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), gives coverage for the EU
– The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), in South Africa
– The Financial Services Commission (FSC) in the Mauritius Islands, gives global regulatory coverage (outside the above-regulated regions)
To stay protected when trading forex and other CFD products, you should trade with a brokerage regulated in the country or region that you plan on trading from.
Therefore, we recommend that you trade with Eightcap if you are in Australia. If you are in the UK, EU, or South Africa, you should trade with FXTM for better protection.
In terms of platforms, both Eightcap and FXTM have a wide range of options available. On top of the base platforms, Eightcap also offers some bonus trading tools to improve your trading experience.
As you can see in the graphic above, both Eightcap and FXTM offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). These are the most popular forex trading platforms in the world and unsurprisingly, are regarded as the best in the world.
Eightcap also gives you access to two bonus platforms. The Capitalise.ai platform is extremely convenient for you to run algorithmic trading bots, as you can build these bots without having to actually code. By just typing in what you want your algorithm to do, the platform automatically trades for you based on what you want. TradingView is a chart-trading focused platform, with such a wide range of chart tools and indicators that it would be impossible to list them all. All that you need to know is that you’ll have everything you need and more to chart-trade successfully.
FXTM’s only other platform is their FXTM Trader mobile app. This is available on Android and iOS, allowing you to trade on the go. FXTM’s advertisements emphasise the convenience and user-friendliness of the app.
If you trade with Eightcap, you will also have access to several trading tools. Their three most prominent trading tools are:
1. The Amazing Trader, sends you signals for when to execute a trade based on a well-known trading expert’s algorithm.
2. CryptoCrusher, aimed at helping you “crush” the markets with daily crypto-focused trading ideas as well as great insights into the crypto markets
3. FX BlueLabs, which gives you a suite of widgets and signals to help you improve your trading
Eightcap’s wider variety of trading platforms plus their additional trading tools means that they are our winner for both platforms and tools. Beginner or advanced trader, you can always be sure to have a great experience when trading with Eightcap.
Both Eightcap and FXTM provide a wide range of trading products, with CFDs on forex, indices, commodities, and even crypto, plus shares and ETFs.
For forex pairs, you get 46 different pairs to trade on Eightcap. There are major pairs like the EUR/USD as well as minor or exotic currency pairs like the GBP/NZD. However, Eightcap specialises in cryptocurrency trading, with over 250 different options available for you to trade. These include popular coins like Bitcoin paired against fiat currencies and other cryptos, plus several crypto indices to give you access to a basket of cryptocurrencies.
FXTM has more forex pairs, at 63 different pairs. Another instrument FXTM provides a lot of is share CFDs, with 200 more than Eightcap. However, you cannot trade any crypto with FXTM.
Leverage will depend on where you are trading from as regulators limit the leverage the broker’s subsidiaries can offer.
With Eightcap, if you are trading from Australia, forex leverage is capped at 1:30 for major pairs and 1:20 for minor pairs. If you are trading outside Australia, leverage is capped at 1:500.
FXTM leverage will depend not only on where you are trading from but the type of account you are using.
If you are trading from Europe or the UK, the leverage is capped at 1:30 for major pairs and 1:20 for minor pairs regardless of the account you trade with. If you are outside these regions and are using the Micro account, then leverage can be up to 1:1000 (fixed) while if you are using one of the other accounts, leverage can be up to 1:2000 with the maximum leverage determined by the size of your trading account.
While FXTM does have slightly more forex pairs and share CFDs, our overall winner is Eightcap. This is because of their incredible range of cryptocurrencies, meaning that it is likely to be more convenient for you to trade with Eightcap, as you’ll have most of the instruments you need.
To see how Eightcap and FXTM are rated, we look at user reviews on TrustPilot.
FXTM has fairly poor reviews from their users, with just 3.3 stars out of 5. This gives them an ‘Average’ rating, with over 692 users providing a rating.
Eightcap is the far better-rated choice, with 811 users giving them a rating of 4.4/5 stars. As a result, Eightcap is an ‘Excellent’ user choice.
The lower brokerage fees, a wider range of platforms & availability of trading tools, and stronger products offering pushes Eightcap to the win. Although FXTM does have more regulatory licences and more forex pairs, Eightcap is the overall stronger broker and our winner in Eightcap vs FXTM.
No commission account spread propiety testing data and published wesbite spread information, centralised on our standard account spread page..
