Go Markets is an ECN forex broker with 50+ currency pairs and 350+ CFDs products, low commission fees and MetaTrader 4 and 5 as trading platforms options. Axi is an Australian forex broker with 80+ CFDs products that provide access to the MetaTrader 4 platform, Bitcoin Cryptocurrency CFDs, while requiring no initial minimum deposits.
Updated: 04/03/2021
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With tight spreads, low commission fees and MetaQuotes trading platforms, GO Markets and Axi (formally AxiTrader) are top ASIC regulated brokers. Both online brokers provide access to ECN-style trading conditions with a range of CFD and forex markets to choose from. Read on to find out which is the best forex broker when Axi and GO Markets go head to head.
Depending on the pricing and commission structure a trader wishes to use, GO Markets and Axi offer two different account types to suit traders’ needs. Customers of both brokers can sign up to a Standard Account where spreads are all-inclusive of commission fees, or a Pro (Axi) or GO Plus+ account where traders gain access to ECN-style spreads as low as 0.0 pips while paying a flat-rate commission fee.
For those with little experience, a Standard account type can be a soft entry to trading into high-risk financial instruments such as Forex and other CFDs. When trading forex under a standard account type, traders pay no additional commission fees, with all-inclusive spreads as low as 0.4 pips with Axi and 1.0 pips for those trading with GO Markets. View the Axi standard vs Pro comparison.
Both online brokers offer customers an ECN-style account type with institutional grade spreads and low commission fees. Designed for scalping, high volume trading and Expert Advisor strategies, ECN accounts charge a flat rate commission fee per trade, rather than brokers receiving compensated through the spread as with a Standard account. When comparing flat rate commission fees charged by the forex brokers, GO Markets customers incur lower trading costs. GO Plus+ account holders pay an AUD $6 round-turn commission fee, while Axi Pro account holders are charged USD $7.
There are no differences between Axi’s Standard and Pro accounts apart from pricing structure, yet GO Markets provides GO Plus+ (ECN account) customers gain enhanced customer support through a dedicated account manager.
Demo accounts are a useful resource for both prospective customers and experienced traders. Rather than testing out new trading strategies with a live account, traders can use demo accounts to practise trading CFDs and forex. Both GO Markets and Axi’s demo accounts have time restrictions and are only available for 30 days.
Unfortunately, traders following Sharia Law may run into trouble when trying to set up Islamic accounts with GO Markets or Axi. Neither broker advertises an Islamic account option, where no interest is charged or received and instead a flat rate overnight financing fee is charged.
GO Markets had the lowest fees when spread and commissions were factored in. Based on this, low fee traders should go for the GO Markets ECN style account.
Open a demo account >>Visit GO Markets >>
GO Markets and Axi offer customers ECN-like account types that provide access to institutional grade spreads as low as 0.2 pips. As spreads are ultra-tight, brokers are compensated through a flat rate commission fee. While Axi charges USD $7, GO Markets customers pay AUD $6 round turn per 100k traded.
Customers wanting to focus on currency pairs such as the EUR/USD and AUD/USD are best to trade with GO Markets. Average spreads of 0.20 pips for the Euro vs United States Dollar are much more competitive than Axi’s 0.44 pips. Likewise, GO Markets average spreads for AUD/USD are 0.20 pips and Axi offers 0.42 pips. While GO Markets generally provides access to tighter spreads than Axi, for those wanting to trade EUR/JPY forex pair, Axi offers the tighter spreads.
Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 02/04/2021
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Although GO Markets and Axi have strengths with particular currency pairs, unlike brokers such as Pepperstone, they fail to offer consistently narrow spreads across all major currencies.
When comparing the average spreads of both brokers, GO Markets is clearly the winner. As well as charging lower round turn commission fees for ECN-type accounts, spreads are tighter than Axi’s in nearly all major currency pairs.
GO Markets and Axi are considered ECN brokers that provide direct market access (DMA) allowing customers to trade at tight spreads with ultra-fast execution.
When trading under an ECN account type, customers gain access to spreads that historically were only offered to institutional forex market participants. As no dealing desk brokers, ECN brokers pass on forex orders to liquidity providers rather than market makers. This means that ECN accounts can access tighter spreads than standard accounts as the broker consolidates forex bid-ask spreads from a diverse range of liquidity sources.
Both GO Markets and Axi’s servers are hosted by Equinix in New York and London. The broker’s partnership with Equinix data centres allows for low latency and ultra-fast order execution. To improve trading conditions, GO Markets and Axi offer VPS (Virtual Private Server) services. Axi has partnered with a range of VPS hosting services to enhance MT4’s execution speeds and Expert Advisor functionality, including MetaTrader VPS and ForexVPS. Those trading with GO Markets can subscribe to the broker’s optional VPS service on MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5.
GO Markets and Axi tie this round as both brokers provide similar trading conditions with direct market access (DMA), ECN pricing, VPS services and ultra-fast execution.
While Axi customers are restricted to MetaTrader 4 (MT4), those trading with GO Markets have a choice of MT4 and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Although MT5 offers certain upgrades over its predecessor, both trading platforms provide users with advanced trading tools to automate trading and manage the high risk of CFD and forex trading.
MetaTrader 4 is the most popular forex trading platform available to retail investor accounts. In addition to the advanced charting tools, the trading platform is well-known for its automated trading features, such as Expert Advisors (EAs) and account mirroring services.
MT4’s powerful technical analysis tools allow users to develop trading strategies by identifying forex market trends and patterns. When conducting analysis, traders can utilise the platform’s 24 objects, 9 timeframes and 30 technical indicators. In addition to the pre-installed charting tools, MT4 users can download free and paid custom indicators or create their own using the MQL4 programming language. As well as tools to detect trends and make forecasts, traders can set Take Profit and Stop Loss levels to minimise a trading strategies risk.
Autochartist is a market scanner plug-in for MetaTrader platforms. The automated technical analysis software saves traders’ time by scanning markets and alerting traders of potential opportunities. Autochartist features include:
Note that AutoChartist is only available on Windows desktops for GO Markets MT4 and MT5 users, and an initial minimum deposit of $500 is required.
For traders wanting to implement algorithmic trading strategies, Expert Advisors can be used and created. EAs are popular as they save time conducting analysis and placing an order while ensuring trading decisions are not influenced by human emotion. Expert Advisors can be developed using the MQL4 (MT4) and MQL5 (MT5) programming languages or downloaded from MetaQuotes EA library.
MetaTrader 4 (and MT5) are as Windows and Mac desktop trading platforms, as well as web trader and trading apps. The mobile trading apps for Android and iOS devices allow investors to stay up to date with real-time markets news and place orders on the go with one-click trading.
Although MetaTrader 4 currently retains its place as the gold standard for forex trading, MetaQuotes is phasing out customer support for the platform, with many traders choosing MT5 for this reason. While Axi customers are restricted to the forex trading platform, MT4, GO Markets traders can choose between MT4 and MT5.
MT4 was designed as a CFD trading platform, therefore trading asset classes such as Shares and Treasuries are restricted. Many traders prefer MT5 as it’s a multi-asset platform, meaning Share trading among other previously restricted markets is allowed. As well as greater market access and ongoing MetaQuotes customer support, many traders prefer MT5 due to the expanded charting and analysis tools. The key differences between MT4 and MT5 are shown in the table below.
Social-copy trading tools are available to both GO Markets and Axi customers. The account mirroring service is the biggest social trading community for forex traders. Those using Myfxbook can copy the trading strategies of successful, proven investors, allowing users to automate trading and save time developing and executing strategies. While Axi offers Myfxbook for free to standard and pro account holders, only standard account holders gain access to the third-party provider when trading with GO Markets.
While MT4 suits many traders happy to focus on forex markets, MT5 offers many benefits over its predecessor, including Share trading, expanded charting tools. depth of market and ongoing customer support. As GO Markets customers have a choice between MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, while Axi clients are restricted to MT4, GO Markets win this round.
Axi and GO Markets are seen as trustworthy forex brokers as they are overseen by top tier financial authorities. While Australian forex broker GO Markets is solely regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Axi subsidiaries are regulated in 4 different jurisdictions.
Axi’s Melbourne based firm is overseen by ASIC, while the broker’s UK subsidiary is called AxiCorp and regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). As well as ASIC and the FCA, Axi subsidiaries follow financial regulation enforced by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in New Zealand as well as the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
Financial regulation and investor protection schemes vary between countries. Therefore, risk management features required by brokers such as close-out margins, negative balance protection, and leverage caps only apply in certain jurisdictions such as the FCA and CySEC. Due to the high risk involved with CFD and forex trading, prospective clients should research the subsidiary they are registered with and the investor protection they will receive.
Both brokers are well-respected and follow stringent regulation enforced by top-tier financial authorities. As Axi subsidiaries operate from multiple jurisdictions, some of which offer the strongest investor protection available to retail investor accounts, they are the winners in regards to financial regulation.
Both brokers provide customer support via phone, email and live chat 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Axi and GO Markets live is provides fast and relevant responses, yet email replies may take 1-2 days.
Research tools are limited when trading with Axi and GO Markets. Although news, articles and economic calendars inform traders of real-time market changes, both brokers do not supply data to conduct fundamental analysis.
GO Markets and Axi offer forex education centres where traders can learn new skills and expand their understanding of CFD trading. A range of educational resources is available with both brokers that include ebooks, tutorials, videos, and demo accounts. Although high-quality information is provided, unfortunately, neither Axi or GO Markets provide webinars.
Axi customers gain the added benefit of complimentary access to the Knightsbridge Trading Academy offered by the London Stock Exchange. Courses are taught by elite tutors and traders, with videos, webinars and exams available to expand a traders forex knowledge.
There are no major differences between Axi and GO Markets customer support, with both brokers offering standard 24/5 customer support via email, phone and live chat. When comparing the educational and research resources provided to traders, Axi is the winner as they provide free access to trading courses developed by the London Stock Exchange.
Open a demo account >>Visit Axi >>
As well as the 50+ forex pairs offered by GO Markets and 80+ major, minor and exotic currency pairs offered by Axi, customers can diversify trading strategies using a range of CFD products ranging from Indices to Cryptocurrency.
Axi’s product range includes 11 Indices, while GO Markets provides customers access to 15 different Cash and Futures Index CFDs. Both brokers offer top Indices such as ASX 200, CAC 40, and FTSE 100.
GO Markets offers a limited selection of Commodity CFDs consisting of Gold, Silver, WTI Crude Oil and Brent Crude Oil. On the other hand, Axi provides market access to precious metals, oil and soft commodities such as Gold, Silver, Copper, Oil, Natural Gas, Coffee and Cocoa.
As Axi is only available on MetaTrader 4, Share trading is prohibited. Yet, GO Markets customers using MT5 as their trading platform can access over 200 Australian Shares (ASX) and more than 80 US Shares (NYSE and NASDAQ).
While GO Markets traders gain access to a range of Cryptocurrency products, Axi customers are restricted to Bitcoin CFDs. When trading CFDs with GO Markets, customers can choose from 5 of the most popular Crypto CFDs worldwide, being Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
Please note: that if you are trading with Axi’s FCA regulated subsidiary, you will not have access to Crypto markets. Recently, the FCA banned all UK retail traders from trading crypto products.
While Axi’s provides greater access to forex markets, GO Markets offers traders a wider range of Indices, Commodity and Crypto CFDs. If a GO Markets customer is using MT5, they also gain access to over 280 US and Australian Shares, an asset class not offered by Axi.
As an Axi customer, accepted currencies vary between funding methods. The broker provides a wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods that are free of charge including credit card, debit card, bank transfer, Bpay, POLi, FasaPay, Sofort, Neteller and Skrill, among various local payment services such as Singapore and Chinese internet banking.
A similar range of funding methods is available to GO Markets customers. Unless traders are transferring funds internationally (AUD $20 fee), the following deposit and withdrawal methods are fee-free:
Axi is the winner of this round as the broker requires a lower initial minimum deposit as well as offering a wider range of fee-free deposit and withdrawal methods.
With tighter spreads, a wider product range and MetaTrader 5 as a trading platform option, GO Markets is the winner when compared to Axi. When trading with GO Markets, customers can trade forex pairs with narrower spreads while paying lower commission fees than Axi. As well as trading conditions more like a true ECN environment, GO Markets clients also benefit from the greater market access and charting tools available on MetaTrader.
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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