Eightcap
ThinkMarkets
Our Rating
8.50
7.67
Eightcap review
Review Of ThinkMarkets
Eightcap don't provide % of clients who lose money
75.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Regulations and Licenses

Feature
Eightcap
ThinkMarkets
ASIC (Australia)
FCA (UK)
FSCA (South Africa)
FINMA (Switzerland)
FSA (Seychelles)
SCB (Bahamas)

Brokerage

Feature
Eightcap
ThinkMarkets
EUR/USD Avg. Raw Spread
0.06
0.1
GBP/USD Avg. Raw Spread
0.73
-
AUD/USD Avg. Raw Spread
0.27
-
EUR/USD Standard Spread
1.06
-
EUR/USD Fixed Spreads
-
-
Commissions (USD Base)
$3.50
$3.50
Minimum Deposit
$250 (Raw)
$500 (Standard)
$0
Swap Free Account
No Inactivity Fees
Funding Methods
8+
6+
No Funding Fees

Markets and Instruments

Feature
Eightcap
ThinkMarkets
Currency Pairs
40+
46+
Cryptocurrency CFDs*
250+
21+
Index CFDs
10+
21+
Share CFDs
400+
1200+
Commodities CFD
4+
15+
Stockbroking
-
-
Retail Max Leverage (Australia)
Major Pairs 30:1
Minor Pairs 20:1
Major Pairs 30:1
Minor Pairs 20:1
Pro. Max Leverage (Australia)
500:1
500:1
Retail Max. Leverage (The United Kingdom)
-
Major Pairs 30:1
Minor Pairs 20:1
Pro. Max. Leverage (The United Kingdom)
-
500:1
Retail Max. Leverage (Europe)
-
Major Pairs 30:1
Minor Pairs 20:1
Pro. Max. Leverage (Europe)
-
500:1
Pro. Max. Leverage (South Africa)
-
500:1
Retail Max. Leverage (With offshore regulators)
500:1
500:1

*Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available to retail traders in the UK due to FCA regulations

Trading Platforms + Tools

Feature
Eightcap
ThinkMarkets
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
cTrader
TradingView
Proprietary Platform
Automated Trading
Social + Copy Trading
Standard Stop Loss
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Demo Account
Unique Feature
Low ECN Spreads
STP Order Execution

Overall

Eightcap
ThinkMarkets
Our Rating
8.50
7.67
Eightcap review
Review Of ThinkMarkets
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Is It Cheaper To Trade On EightCap Or ThinkMarkets?

If you are trying to decide between ThinkMarkets and Eightcaps then we suggest ThinkMarkets for Standard Accounts and Eightcap for Commission Accounts.

Below we look at why.

ThinkMarkets Has A Superior Standard Account

Many brokers offer a no-commission account, where there are no commission costs for trading instead spreads are artificially widened to cover the brokers service fee. Both ThinkMarkets and Eightcap, many brokers call this account the Standard Account.

Spreads with ThinkMarkets start from 0.4 pips on the EUR/USD. It’s not just this currency pair that has such low spreads, most major and even minor pairs also start from 0.4 pips. Only exotic pairs have higher minimums.

EightCap has a much higher minimum spread, with the spread for the EUR/USD and other major pairs starting from 1 pip.

Given we have not seen such a low minimum spread from any other broker in the industry for a standard account, ThinkMarkets should be your choice over Eightcap for standard account.

Standard Account Spreads
1.06 1.27 1.42 1.73 1.23
0.75 0.85 1.40 1.19 0.86
0.86 0.74 1.19 1.19 0.83
0.70 1.30 1.30 2.20 1.40
0.80 0.90 1.70 1.80 0.80
1.20 1.10 1.10 1.70 1.40
1.30 1.50 1.80 2.00 1.30
1.10 1.20 1.40 1.50 1.20
1.30 1.40 1.50 1.50 1.40
1.20 1.20 1.40 1.40 1.20
1.20 1.20 1.40 1.40 1.40
1.30 1.50 1.50 1.70 1.70

Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 01/05/2022

Eightcap Review >>Visit Eightcap >>

STP Account Spreads For Both Brokers Are As Low As 0 Pips

A Straight-Through-Processing (STP) account links your trades directly to liquidity suppliers connected with your broker, providing you with market price spreads. To keep spreads organic, brokers charge a commission for facilitating STP transactions.

On ThinkMarkets ThinkZero and EightCap’s Raw Spread Accounts, spreads for most currency pairs start from 0 pips.

ThinkMarkets does not advertise their average spread however they do provide ‘typical spreads’ which have not been updated since mid 2020. Typical spreads include 0.0 pips for EUR/USD, USD/JPY. 0.3 for GBP/USD, USD/CAD. EUR/GBP, EUR/GBP and NZD/USD. ‘Typical’ however is not the same as average spreads.

Eightcap spreads are very competitive with all brokers in the industry as shown by the table below.

ECN Broker Spreads
0.23 0.20 0.06 0.42 0.27
0.30 0.40 0.20 0.40 0.30
0.26 0.47 0.17 0.40 0.24
0.20 0.30 0.20 0.40 0.20
0.50 0.60 0.30 0.50 0.50
0.30 N/A 0.30 0.50 0.40
0.20 0.83 0.44 0.40 0.42
0.24 N/A 0.17 0.54 0.30
0.30 0.70 0.20 0.50 0.40
0.30 1.10 0.10 0.60 0.50
n/a 0.30 n/a 0.60 0.50
0.48 1.21 0.33 0.92 1.11

Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 01/05/2022

View ThinkMarkets Review >>Visit ThinkMarkets >>

For this reason, we recommend Eightcap Raw Account over ThinkMarkets ThinkZero account.

Eightcap Have Better Commission Costs For Some Currencies

To facilitate the operation of STP accounts, both EightCap and ThinkMarkets charge commission fees per trade.

EightCap charges AUD or USD $7 round-turn per standard lot (100k units), the same cost charged by ThinkMarkets. This is a relative industry standard.

If you are using a different currency as your base then you can expect a commission of GBP £5.00 or EUR €6.00 round-turn per standard lot with ThinkMarkets.

EightCap has a commission of $7.00 for dollar currencies such as AUD, USD, NZD, SGD and CAD. If your base currency is GBP expect a commission of 4.50 and 5.50 for EUR.

In terms of commission, it won’t matter if your base currency is AUD or USD, other traders will likely benefit from using Eightcap.

Eightcap Review >>Visit Eightcap >>

How Safe Are EightCap And ThinkMarkets?

Overall, the longevity and reputation built up by both EightCap and ThinkMarkets mean that they are very safe for you to trade with. However, due to their differing regulatory environments, we do recommend that traders in the UK choose ThinkMarkets over EightCap.

EightCap Is Older, But Both Brokers Are Around The Same Size

Both brokers are over a decade old, however, EightCap is slightly older than ThinkMarkets. EightCap was founded in 2009, and ThinkMarkets was founded a year later in 2010.

According to Similarweb, both brokers received over 400 thousand visits across Jan 2022, with very little separating them.

The second most popular keyword leading to EightCap’s website, reflecting their status as our top cryptocurrency broker of 2022.

ThinkMarkets Is More Regulated Than EightCap

To stay as safe as possible, you should use a broker which is regulated in your country or region.

ThinkMarkets is fairly widely regulated and has subsidiaries that operate with ASIC (Australia), FCA (UK, Europe) and FSCA (South Africa) regulation. Their Seychelles subsidiary accepts traders outside the above regions and is regulated by the FSA (Seychelles).

EightCap is an Australia-based broker, however, their only major regulatory environment is under ASIC. Traders outside Australia will sign with their Bahamas subsidiary regulated by the SCB (Bahamas).

While you will be safe with either broker in Australia or internationally, the UK and South African traders should use ThinkMarkets as a safer choice.

Both Brokers Offer The Maximum Allowed Leverage

Under ASIC and FCA regulations, leverage with retail traders for forex pairs is capped at 30:1. Both EightCap and ThinkMarkets offer this maximum level, with international and professional traders able to access leverage as high as 500:1.

This makes trading forex and other derivatives products available with the brokers extremely risky.

ThinkMarkets UK notes that 71.89% of retail traders lose money, and therefore, you should be aware of the risks you are taking when utilising leverage with these brokers.

For traders outside Australia, you will find Eightcap caps the maximum leverage you can use depending on the size of your trading account. Since the Bahamas subsidiary does not include negative balance protection, this move makes sense.

Eightcap Review >>Visit Eightcap >>

What Is The Minimum Deposit Requirement For EightCap And ThinkMarkets?

ThinkMarkets has no minimum deposit requirement for their standard account, however, you need to deposit $500 in your base currency for their STP ThinkZero Account.

EightCap requires minimum deposits for both of their accounts. In Australia, you need to deposit $500 for their standard account, and $250 for their Raw Spread (STP) account. Outside of Australia, all you need is a minimum deposit of USD $100 for either of their accounts.

What Platforms Do EightCap And ThinkMarkets Offer To Traders?

Both brokers offer MetaTrader 4 and 5, and ThinkMarkets also provides their own proprietary share trading platform, ThinkTrader.

Eightcap Is The Better MetaTrader 4 Broker

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the most popular forex trading platform with traders worldwide and is available with many top forex brokers, including ThinkMarkets and EightCap. MT4’s widespread usage can be attributed to its ease of use, access and the many essential tools they provide to traders.

MT4 provides you with 30 technical indicators and also has over 2,000 additional free custom indicators available for you to add-on. They also have 8 order types including 4 pending orders.

You also have access to the largest range of Expert Advisors (EAs) compared to all other forex trading platforms. An EA can provide you with functions to help you automate your trade or provide a more in-depth market analysis.

Both brokers are generous with how you use the MT4 trading platform. Both brokers allow full use of EAs so you can automate your trading. Scalping is also permitted and when it comes to lot size, you can trade with mini lots, micro lots and standard lots

When it comes to additional tools to use with MetaTrader 4,Eightcap offering is superior.

EightCap has partnered with FX Blue Labs, one of the leading providers of apps and widgets for forex and derivatives analysis. Tools available for you to use include a correlation matrix, a sentiment trader, and even a ‘mini terminal’ for your convenience.

They also offer Capitalise.ai, which is a code-free program that allows you to automate your trades. This makes automated trading far more accessible to traders without a programming background.

ThinkMarkets however might be a better option for social trading since they offer ZuluTrade which can integrate with the web version of MT4. Eightcap only has MetaTrader signal which is included with MetaTrader platforms.

In conclusion, EightCap edges out ThinkMarkets as the better MT4 broker on account of their tools available.

The Better MetaTrader 5 Broker Is EightCap

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is an upgraded platform, intended to surpass MT4. It is a more powerful platform, with 64-bit processing power and has even more trading tools.
For example, MT5 comes with 38 trading indicators compared to the 30 of MT4 and even has an in-built economic calendar for traders to refer to.

Unlike MT4, MT5 provides access to both centralised and decentralised markets. This allows you to access trading instruments that are unavailable on MT4 and this includes most cryptocurrencies.

As the top broker for trading cryptocurrencies, this greatly benefits EightCap, allowing the broker to offer their full range of products to traders using MT5.

However, ThinkMarkets does offer more forex pairs and stocks than EightCap.

You have access to over 1,500 share CFDs and 46 forex pairs on ThinkMarkets, compared to 400 shares and 40 forex pairs on EightCap.

You still have access to EightCap’s trading tools, FX Blue Labs and Capitalise.ai, on MT5. ZuluTrade is not available on MT5 with ThinkMarkets.

Although ThinkMarkets does offer more forex pairs and shares than EightCap, EightCap’s overall MT5 offering, with various trading tools and their wide range of crypto options makes them the better MT5 broker.

The Best Cryptocurrency Broker In 2022 Is EightCap

EightCap is undoubtedly the best broker for cryptocurrencies in 2022. With over 250 crypto options available including 120 coins paired against the USD and a further 20 pairs against other currencies such as GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, MXN and even the Bitcoin crypto, few brokers can match Eightcaps offering.

When trading, you are able to trade with the maximum permitted leverage. Under ASIC (Australia) regulation, retail traders have their leverage capped at 2:1 leverage, however, professional traders and those outside Australia have access to up to 5:1 leverage with EightCap.

You can even deposit funds to EightCap via cryptocurrency, however you are restricted to using Bitcoin, TRC20 and ERC20, and this is not available for Australian traders.

ThinkMarkets Offers Traders A Proprietary Share Trading Platform, ThinkTrader

ThinkMarkets gives you access to over 3,100 ASX and Chi-X shares, however, to access these, you need to be an Australian trader and use their ThinkTrader platform.

The ThinkTrader platform provides you with live market price information, as well a plethora of technical indicators and tools to help you with your analysis.

Trading costs are also very low, starting from just $8 AUD for trades under $200,000 AUD, and 0.05% for any trades above that.

ThinkTrader can be accessed on your desktop or their mobile app, allowing you constant access to the Australian markets even when on the go.

If you are focused on trading Australian shares, we recommend using ThinkMarkets’ ThinkTrader platform to trade with due to their wide range of tools and cheap trading costs.

Eightcap Review >>Visit Eightcap >>

Only ThinkMarkets Offers Swap-Free Or Islamic Account Types

Under Sharia Law, Muslims are forbidden from taking or paying a riba, or interest. However, most brokers charge interest (also known as ‘swap fees’) every time you hold your trading position overnight.

The use of a riba means traders processing Islam cannot trade, to resolve this some brokers offer Islamic, or swap-free accounts.

ThinkMarkets offers an Islamic version of both of their account types. To facilitate this account, they also charge a weekly ‘administration fee’ instead of swap fees. It is also worth noting that ThinkMarkets is restricted on which instruments are available with many exotic forex pairs not being an option.

Eightcap by contrast does not offer a swap-free account.

As a result, if you wish to comply with Sharia Law and be able to trade, you need to use ThinkMarkets’ offering.

View ThinkMarkets Review >>Visit ThinkMarkets >>

About the author: Justin Grossbard

Justin Grossbard has been investing for the past 20 years and writing for the past 10. He co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014 after working with the foreign exchange trading industry for several years. He also founded a number of FinTech and digital startups including Innovate Online and SMS Comparison. Justin holds a Masters Degree and an Honours in Commerce from Monash University. He and his wife Paula live in Melbourne, Australia with his son and Siberian cat. In his spare time, he watches Australian Rules Football and invests on global markets.

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