Both Hugosway and KOT4X are MetaTrader 4 brokers offering CFD and forex trading with no underlying ‘tier 1’ regulation. We compared the brokers based on spreads, forex trading platforms and trading features.
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Hugo’s Way and Kings of Transparency (KOT4X) are both ECN-like forex brokers. They offer MetaTrader 4 trading accounts for you to trade forex, cryptocurrencies, stocks, CFDs, and futures. However, despite their broad similarities, there are plenty of differences to be aware of with each brokerage it comes to the finer details.
Above all, Hugo’s Way highlights being a “true ECN broker” offering Straight Through Processing (STP) execution, meaning it avoids manipulation. It’s true that the spreads are low on the platform, but it also charges a high commission, so take the claims with a pinch of salt.
Hugo’s Way and KOT4X have a range of different accounts for you to choose from, depending on your needs.
Let’s look at the account types offered on both trading platforms.
Unlike most other brokers, Hugo’s Way doesn’t offer different account types or tiers. Every live account is ECN/STP to minimize price manipulation and give you the best spread provided by liquidity providers.
So, no need to worry about wasting time figuring out which account is right for you.
In contrast, there are four different live account types available on KOT4X; the one you choose dictates the type of pairs you can trade, the fee structure you’ll face, and how many lots you can trade. These are as follows:
The MINI account offers forex trading only, whereas the other three accounts also allow you to trade the full array of forex, indices, commodities, stocks, and cryptos. Also, on a MINI account, you’ll be restricted to 29 pairs of forex currency pairs, whereas the other accounts allow you to trade up to 55 pairs.
For most people, either the PRO or the VAR accounts make the most sense. The MINI account is too restrictive and the commission you’ll have to pay on the Standard account makes it too prohibitive. Meanwhile, the low spreads from the PRO account and the lack of commission for the VAR account make these accounts more attractive, especially as there doesn’t appear to be a tradeoff compared to the Standard account.
As the name suggests, the PRO account is best for experienced traders, and the VAR account for beginners (so they don’t have to grapple with commissions). Each one only offers to trade on MT4 since this is all the platform supports. Also, every account allows you to use the STP trading model, market execution, swaps, and trade between 0.01 and 1000 lots.
The other primary differences between the accounts are the minimum deposits and fees, but we’ll go into that later.
You can open a demo account on both platforms, which lets you trade in exactly the same way as you would on a standard account, with none of the repercussions. You can access the same amount of leverage and unlimited funds.
Neither KOT4X nor Hugo’s Way have Islamic accounts. However, Hugo’s Way has shown that it may add this account type in the future. Watch this space!
KOT4x offers a choice of multiple account types as opposed to the one account type from Hugo’s Way, so KOT4X wins.
All traders want to maximize their profitability when trading, so one of the first things to consider is the rates a platform charges. Overall, the rates on KOT4X and Hugo’s Way are decent. As discussed, they both use ECN-like pricing through the Straight Through Processing (STP) execution model to keep spreads low and as close to possible as what the initial liquidity prices offer.
But they’re certainly not the best in the industry. For better rates, you’d be better off opting for one of the better platforms out there, such as Pepperstone, IC Markets, Markets.com, or FP Markets.
It’s quick and easy to find out the latest spreads on Hugo’s Way — there’s a live spreads page on the website which covers FX majors and crosses, cryptos, indices, and commodities. However, beware that this advertises the minimum spreads rather than the average. Spreads start from 0 for foreign currency pairs, but they’re usually higher, hovering between 0.7 and 1.5 (although some go far higher).
Unfortunately, neither KOT4X nor Hugo’s Way provide their average spreads on their website. A good, reliable, transparent broker would be happy to provide their average spreads, so we think it is disappointing that these brokers do not provide these details.
Each month, we here at Compare Forex Brokers compile the average spreads of different brokers that have been published on the broker’s website. The module below gives a decent idea of spreads you should expect from some of the better brokers for low spreads and can also help show which brokers you should avoid.
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 2.00 | 1.50 |
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0.70 | 2.20 | 1.10 | 1.60 | 1.60 |
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1.90 | 2.00 | 2.40 | 2.30 | 2.50 |
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1.40 | 2.50 | 2.50 | 2.60 | 2.60 |
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1.20 | 1.80 | 1.90 | 2.30 | 2.30 |
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1.32 | 1.95 | 1.37 | 1.87 | 1.73 |
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1.30 | 1.70 | 2.10 | 1.70 | 2.10 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
However, Hugo’s Way also charges commission — a $5 fee and a $10 round-turn fee for trades. Once you account for these, the ECN-like pricing suddenly doesn’t sound so appealing. These spreads and fees are ok but you could find them even lower elsewhere, one should not be paying more than $3.50/$7.00 (round turn) in commission costs.
| Commission | Side-ways (Standard lot) | Round-turn (Standard lot) |
|---|---|---|
| HugosWay | USD$5.00 | $10.00 |
| KOT4X | USD$3.50 | USD$7.00 |
| Pepperstone | USD or AUD$3.50 | USD or AUD$7.00 |
| IC Markets | USD or AUD$3.50 | USD or AUD$7.00 |
| Think Markets | USD or AUD$3.50 | USD or AUD$7.00 |
| Fusion Markets | AUD$2.25 | AUD$4.50 |
| AxiTrader | USD$3.50 | USD$7.00 |
| Go Markets | AUD$3.00/USD$2.50 | AUD$6.00/USD$5.00 |
As we’ve seen already, the fees you can expect on KOT4X will depend on the account type you choose.
The currency you’ll pay the fees in depends on the dominant currency selected. If you open a USD account, you’ll pay 7 USD, and if you open a EUR account, you’ll pay 7 EUR per lot round-turn. It’s hard to compare the two platforms directly since spreads are always changing and the commission depends on a few factors. However, KOT4X has the edge, provided you open a VAR or PRO account.
We cover withdrawals and deposit fees in the minimum deposit and funding section
Hugo’s Way charges an inactivity fee of $15 per month, which is quite sneaky if you ask us and definitely something to be aware of. There are no additional fees we know of on KOT4X — we’d expect no less considering their commitment to transparency.
The spreads with Hugo’s Way would need to be truly outstanding to make up for the additional commission costs. Given both brokers are ECN or STP-style brokers, we don’t think this is likely.
KOT4X and Hugo’s Way both offer high leverage – up to 1:500 for trades. However, the exact amount of leverage you can access depends on the asset class you’re trading (you can find a full list of what’s offered further down). Most platforms offer less leverage for cryptocurrencies, and this is also true here. KOT4X offers 1:100 leverage for crypto, but this is still higher than the average forex broker. Hugo’s Way also gives 1:100 leverage for trading cryptocurrencies.
As for indices and all commodities, you can have up to 1:200 leverage on KOT4X, which is again more than normal. On Hugo’s Way, leverage is fixed at 1:200 for indices and energies (but you can have a leverage of up to 1:500 on metals). Stocks have the lowest leverage at just 1:20 on KOT4X and 1:20 on Hugo’s Way.
One thing to note is that leverage with Hugo’s Way is fixed for indices, crypto, energies and stocks. This means you cannot reduce the leverage if you wish.
While both brokers have much the same leverage, some products are fixed with Hugo’s Way, which reduces leverage flexibility.
For obvious reasons, security and regulation are major factors to consider when deciding which broker to choose. This one can be answered quickly, but unfortunately, it’s not good news. Both Hugo’s Way and KOT4X are offshore brokers (they’re in St Vincent and the Grenadines) and so neither are regulated, brokers.
Most offshore brokers such as those with offices in the Bahamas, Seychelles, Belize and Vanuatu do have some level of regulation. We could call the level of regulation these brokers offer tier-3 since their regulatory standards are lower than top-level regulation jurisdictions like Australia, Europe and Singapore, and mid-tier regulators like the UAE or South Africa. Unlike above, St Vincent and Grenadines don’t provide any regulation. The only requirement is for the broker to be registered as a company in the country.
To ensure your money and data are protected, you’d be better off opting for another platform. For instance, notable brokers such as Pepperstone, IC Markets, Markets.com, FP Markets and OANDA are regulated by ASIC, Australia’s primary regulator for Australian clients. All these brokers also make use of European regulators such as for European clients. Pepperstone for example is a regulated broker in the UK (FCA), BaFIN (Germany) and CySEC (Cyprus), making them a broker you can definitely trust with your funds. But if you want the full picture of both platforms’ security measures, keep reading.
At CompareForexBrokers, we never recommend unregulated brokers. While we are not suggesting these brokers are scams or untrustworthy, we don’t see why you would want to risk your valuable savings when you can use regulated brokers that have much the same trading conditions and superior financial services.
If you’re based in the UK, you’ll also want to remember Hugo’s Way classifies the nation as a restricted country. Somewhat confusingly, this doesn’t mean that you can’t use the trading platforms, but it means that you won’t be able to verify your account. A representative told us that “it is the responsibility of our clients to ensure that their activity is in line with their local regulations.”
As a result, if you decide to proceed and use Hugo’s Way with an unverified account, you’ll only be able to deposit and withdraw using Bitcoin or Instacoins.
However, you’ll still be able to use KOT4X with no issues.
If it puts your mind at rest a little, just because the platforms aren’t regulated, it doesn’t mean that they’re completely insecure.
For instance, they both use two-factor authentication (2FA) as an extra security measure (although adding it is optional). For this to work, you need to pair your account with an authentication app by scanning a QR code. You’ll then need to enter the code the app generates every time you log into your account.
This is a pleasant feature that not every broker has the decency to offer.
They also both keep your money in segregated accounts from established institutions to ensure your funds don’t get used for anything else or mixed in with the money of KOT4X/Hugo’s Way themselves. However, the brokers don’t deserve too much credit for this — it’s the bare minimum they can do for their customers, and it’s partly meaningless without a regulator overseeing everything.
Hugo’s Way also uses Know-Your-Customer (KYC) to make sure none of their clients isn’t money laundering, which adds some extra credibility.
We can’t recommend a broker that doesn’t have oversite from top regulators, so we won’t declare a winner for this one. That’s not to say you can’t choose a broker that is not regulated. If you prefer to fund your account using cryptocurrencies, you could look into such a broker, but make sure you do your research first and know your risks.
Both Hugo’s Way and KOT4X only offer trading through the MetaTrader 4 platform. Some traders might find this slightly limiting since many brokers also support the MetaTrader 5 platform, which has added tools and functionality, and others may have cTrader too.
However, considering MT4 remains the most popular for most traders and has pretty much everything you need to trade, it’s certainly not a deal-breaker.
Because both platforms only offer MT4, which is quite generic no matter which broker is offering it, there aren’t many major differences here. But just to leave no doubts in your mind, let’s take a more in-depth look at what the trading platforms look like on both services, and which features you can expect.
Hugo’s Way only offers MT4 trading, which you can use on Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, or via the webtrader option. You can also use it via Play on Mac for Mac OS, but this isn’t officially supported.
We downloaded MT4 for Windows, and after installing it successfully, we were taken to the following screen to choose a server.
Here, you can see all the features available and start trading if you wish.
The process is almost exactly the same for KOT4X. You can download the MT4 software for Windows, Mac, Android, or IOS, and you can also use it through the web browser. After downloading it from the website (select55 the MT4 for Windows option), you’ll be prompted to choose one of the following trading servers.
Based on the MT4 software alone, it’s pretty hard to differentiate between both brokers!
As you can see from the screenshots above, the two interfaces are both very similar. They should be easy and pleasant to use if you’re familiar with ML4.
However, if you’re completely new to this kind of trading then you might struggle — not least because there are no educational resources on either website to guide you through the process.
In contrast, many other brokers provide training materials and the latest news about investments to guide you through your trading journey.
Since the brokers use an MT4 platform, you can access all the usual features, including technical analysis and algorithmic trading. They allow scalping, hedging, margin calls, and access to expert advisors (EAs) to automate your trading. See that big “AutoTrading” button on the screenshots?
However, overall we’d say that both platforms have weaker features than similar competitors. For instance, they don’t provide any educational resources, tools for market analysis (like news and blogs), social trading tools, or advanced risk management. These factors should make you consider opting for something else.
Experienced traders might want more options, while beginners might need more help. See the dilemma?
Both brokers offer the same trading platform so they cannot be separated.
Hugo’s Way and KOT4X both specialize in forex trading, but that doesn’t mean they offer nothing else — quite the contrary. You can choose from a range of derivative options, including indices, stocks, cryptocurrencies and hard commodities. You can even trade futures.
One thing to note is that KOT4X say they have 104 stocks on their main page, but they only actually list 24 on the trading asset page.
Both brokers give you a choice of 55 forex pairs to pick from. These comprise major and minor pairs, but there may be an exotic or two. The number of forex pairs is around the mark for what most brokers offer. However, some good brokers offer over 60 pairs.
As a CFD broker, the indices offered by Hugo’s Way and KOT4X are broadly quite similar, but Hugo’s Way has the edge by offering a few more options. It has the Australian Securities Exchange 200, Nikkei 225, or the Hang Seng 50, which KOT4X lacks.
Hugo’s Way offers these indices:
KOT4X offers these indices:
Once again, there’s a lot of overlap in the cryptocurrencies you can trade on both platforms, but KOT4X just about wins out. You can only trade Basic Attention Coin, Binance, Stellar, and Doge on KOT4X, but Hugo’s Way offers nothing that KOT4X doesn’t have.
In leverage, both have a maximum of 1:100, but leverage with HugosWay is fixed.
Hugo’s Way has 15 different cryptocurrencies available and 32 crypto cross-pairs. This offering is quite substantial and would make Hugo’s Way among the best of any broker. Below lists the crypto-assets available:
Meanwhile, KOT4X offers 13 cryptocurrencies, but on their main page, they say they have 31 cryptos, so it’s likely there are cross pairs you can choose from that they don’t list on their trading products page.
As for metals, you’ll have the following options on Hugo’s Way to trade against the USD or with Gold the Euro:
And the following on KOT4X:
Clearly, the two are broadly the same, but only Hugo’s Way will let you trade copper. Pretty niche, but good to know.
StocksThere are more stocks available for trading on Hugo’s Way, which offers a very impressive range of most major companies, but KOT4X also offers a good mix to choose between. With Hugosway some 64 stocks are available and these are not just limited to the American stock exchanges like NASDAQ and NYSE.
When trading stocks, both brokers limit leverage to 1:20.
KOT4x allows you to choose from 2 stocks and these all come from NASDAQ or NYSE.
You can also buy Brent oil (UK), and crude oil (USA) with KOT4X and Hugo’s Way, but KOT4X list Natural Gas as an option which Hugos do not.
Overall, the brokers have similar offerings, you are really splitting hairs but Hugos lists more products on their website we are giving the win to them.
With customer support, we’re sad to say that neither broker is particularly promising. Perhaps that shouldn’t be overly surprising, considering the lack of regulation.
While both offer a FAQ, Hugo’s Way fares slightly better overall.
Hugo’s Way offers a 24/7 support team that gives you two principal methods to choose between: live chat or submitting a contact form. But like many live chat options, you’ll be speaking with a chatbot initially. Instead of directing you to a person, it will direct you to the support forum, so we recommend submitting a support form (even though it’s a slower option).
There is no phone number given on the website, but you can also request a callback if you’d prefer to speak to a human about your queries.
If you need support on KOT4X, your primary option is to submit a ticket, then wait for a response. You can choose whether you’d prefer to receive communications via email or phone.
Unfortunately, there’s no option to call a representative directly. There’s a live chat option on the website, but once again, this is a chatbot rather than a human representative. Still, with a little trial and error, you might be passed on to somebody more useful.
Although Hugo’s Way seems promising on the surface for offering a few different ways to contact them, this doesn’t guarantee a great service overall. Hugo’s Way has poor reviews on Trustpilot and other review sites, which should certainly be a word of warning.
But KOT4X doesn’t fare any better — in fact, it’s even worse. The average score is the same, but there are fewer reviews and the page hasn’t even been claimed. A bad sign? Perhaps.
Both brokers have pretty poor customer service. Both have live chat but don’t expect them to answer questions beyond the most basic.
Many people make the mistake of only worrying about things like minimum deposits and funding options once they’ve already signed up for a broker and started using it. Don’t be like most people!
Hugo’s Way fares well with its unique funding options and low minimum deposits, giving it an edge over more well-known and respected forex brokers. KOT4X doesn’t do so well, but it’s still worth considering.
There are no withdrawal or deposit fees for wire transfers on KOT4X, but you may encounter network fees when withdrawing Bitcoin / BTC (though these come from the Blockchain network rather than KOT4X).
On Hugo’s Way, there’s a 5% charge for depositing if you use VLoad (we’ll explain what this is later), but there are no fees involved if you use Bitcoin or a credit or debit card. Whichever method you choose, there are no withdrawal fees.
Hugo’s Way stands out from many other brokers because of its unique funding options. Besides using a credit or debit card, you can fund your account with Bitcoin, VLoad, and a third-party platform called Ole.
What’s VLoad, you ask? It’s essentially a voucher system — you buy vouchers using a wider range of funding methods, and then use the vouchers to fund your account, giving you greater flexibility without making you pay more.
You can also use bank wire, but this incurs a costly fee of $25 (which also applies for withdrawing money). Finally, you can use a Visa or MasterCard card to fund your account, but it is more expensive.
On KOT4X, you can fund your account through Bitcoin or your card (either via eCommerce or a third-party platform.
Unfortunately, the withdrawal and deposit process for Bitcoin is confusing on KOT4X.
On Hugo’s Way, the minimum deposit amount depends on the method you choose. For a credit or debit card and Bitcoin, the minimum is $50, but this goes down to just $10 if you use VLoad. This is a significant advantage for beginners who just want to test the water or those who want to start by trading micro-lots or mini-lots (a useful feature that Hugo’s Way offers)
The minimum deposit on KOT4x to open an account depends on the account type you select. They’re as follows:
Considering that the VAR and PRO accounts are the most attractive option for most people due to their lower fees and greater options, the higher minimum funding might seem off-putting.
Hugo’s Way gives you more funding options. This is important when you consider these brokers don’t offer conventional funding methods such as credit cards and PayPal.
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There are some positives about both platforms. For the retail trader, they both offer a rich range of trading products with decent commissions, and a solid trading platform like MT4 can (almost) never fail. But it’s not clear that these benefits can justify you choosing them over brokers with a more established history.
Although Hugo’s Way and KOT4X have some outstanding features to offer, they are unregulated brokers makes us reluctant to recommend them. Even worse, their customer service is lacking. Instead, select a regulated platform — there are plenty of them about! We like Pepperstone and IC Markets but always do your own research as your choice comes down to your personal preferences and needs.
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