Written by ForexBrokers.com
Is HFM better than Trading 212? In our analysis of 23 international regulators across 62 of the best forex brokers, HotForex is considered Trusted, with an overall Trust Score of 86 out of 99. Trading 212 is considered Average-Risk, with an overall Trust Score of 77 out of 99. Learn more about Trust Score.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 79 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | Trading 212 Review |
| Broker Screenshots | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Regulation | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 79 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2004 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | HFM | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | HFM | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 500 | 8025 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 102 | 146 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 | 1.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.7 | 1.9 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Minimum Deposit | $0 | €10 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | HFM | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 5 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 54 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 20 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 104 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | HFM Review | Trading 212 Review |
| Overall | HFM | Trading 212 | |
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| Trust Score | 86 | 79 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | Trading 212 Review |
We’ve made it easy to compare the best forex brokers, side-by-side. Our editorial team has collected thousands of data points, written hundreds of thousands of words of research, and tested over 60 brokers to help you find the best forex brokers in the industry. Our research is unbiased and independent; learn more about how we test. That same research and data powers our broker comparisons. Let's compare HFM vs Trading 212.
HotForex is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. HotForex is authorised by two Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), Three tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk). HotForex is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulator: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.
Trading 212 is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. Trading 212 is authorized by two Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Average Trust), zero Tier-3 regulators (Low Trust), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High-Risk). Trading 212 is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.
Alongside its enhanced MetaTrader offering and quality research, HFM (HF Markets), previously known as HotForex, offers a proprietary copy trading platform, HFcopy, a proprietary HF mobile app, and a decent selection of over 1,000 CFDs and 47 forex pairs. Still, trading costs at HFM are slightly above the industry average.
Best known for its mobile trading app, Trading 212 offers an easy-to-use trading platform suite for CFD and share trading, as well as a large variety of forex pairs. However, despite its well-designed platform and wide range of symbols, its lack of advanced trading tools and flat research offerings hamper Trading 212’s bid to be considered a top broker.
To open a trading account with HFM, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.
Trading 212 requires a minimum deposit of €10 before you can open an account and start trading.
It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. HFM offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Trading 212 provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw).
Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that HFM offers better pricing overall for traders.
Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.
At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that Both HFM and Trading 212 hold 2 global Tier-1 licenses. HFM holds 3 global Tier-2 licenses, while Trading 212 holds 0.
After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that HFM (86) earned a higher Trust Score than Trading 212 (79).
To compare the trading platforms of both HFM and Trading 212, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Trading 212 offers a better experience. With research, HFM offers superior market research. Finally, we found Trading 212 to provide better mobile trading apps.
Here’s what trading platforms are available at HFM:
Here’s what trading platforms are available at Trading 212:
The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. HFM offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Trading 212 does not. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. While HFM offers copy trading, Trading 212 does not.
Trading 212 provides traders 146 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to HFM's 102 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, Trading 212 offers traders access to 8025 tradeable symbols, while HFM offers access to 500 tradeable symbols; so Trading 212 offers 7525 more tradeable symbols than HFM.
We found in our testing that Trading 212 offers a more diverse selection of investment options than HFM, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Cryptocurrency (Derivative) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical) and Spread Betting.
Overall winner: HFM
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