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InvestinGoal » CMC Markets vs Oanda: Comparison and Analysis

CMC Markets vs Oanda: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD trading

CMC Markets and Oanda are two great brokers in the UK for scalping. However, CMC Markets is the better choice if you are looking for more tradable symbols (12,000 against 1,500), an account held in 2 currencies against 1 and execution in 9 ms. Oanda is better because it has a lower EUR/USD cost (4.75 USD per lot against 7.00 USD), adds futures to its CFDs, opens raw spread accounts and allows expert advisors, VPS hosting and API access. CMC Markets and Oanda are both regulated in the UK by the FCA. Both ask for no minimum deposit, run MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView next to their own platform, offer CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and shares, provide a demo account that does not expire, open corporate and professional accounts, allow hedging and settle deposits and withdrawals in 2 days.

Our verdict · Real stock investing

CMC Markets and Oanda cannot be compared for real stock investing in the UK, because Oanda is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks to buy. If you want to invest in real stocks and you are choosing between the two, CMC Markets is the better option, because it lets you own ETFs and shares outright.

Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD brokers: leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers: real shares and ETFs you own outright.

Best overall

CMC Markets

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Regulated in your country CMC Markets holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
CMC Markets review ›
84CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. 78StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Oanda

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Oanda holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Oanda review ›
82CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. not offeredStocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders CMC Markets and Oanda are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.
1 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Oanda for long-term investors and high-volume traders, while Oanda is better for professional traders and futures traders. Scalpers, swing traders and news traders can choose either CMC Markets or Oanda.

Best for
Overall score CMC Markets 84 78 Oanda 82 -2 not offered
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise CMC Markets and the ones that supervise Oanda.
2 / 12

CMC Markets and Oanda are both regulated in the UK, by the FCA.

Regulation
Section score CMC Markets 100 100 Oanda 100 not offered
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that CMC Markets and Oanda have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
3 / 12

CMC Markets and Oanda both offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme. CMC Markets also offers additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score CMC Markets 95 Best 95 Oanda 79 -16 not offered
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1989 1996
Parent company i CMC Markets plc OANDA Group
CEO i Peter Cruddas Gavin Bambury
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 1,000,000
Annual revenue i USD 324,700,000 USD 16,900,000
Monthly website search traffic i 10.5M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with CMC Markets and with Oanda in United Kingdom, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

CMC Markets and Oanda are equally good for CFD costs, as CMC Markets has tighter EUR/USD standard spreads, at 0.7 pips (against Oanda's 0.85 pips), and has tighter gold CFD spreads, at 0.2 points (against Oanda's 0.57 points). On the other hand, Oanda is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 4.75 USD per lot (against CMC Markets' 7 USD), and has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.49 points (against CMC Markets' 0.5 points). Neither CMC Markets nor Oanda charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

CMC Markets and Oanda cannot be set side by side for real stock costs, as Oanda is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike CMC Markets.

Costs
Section score CMC Markets 73 -2 44 Oanda 75 not offered
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i USD 5 Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.7 pips
0.85 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 7 USD 4.75
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.5 points 0.49 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.2 points 0.57 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.02 USD 0.06
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Percentage
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i Free
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with CMC Markets and with Oanda in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Oanda is better than CMC Markets for CFD markets, because Oanda offers futures on crypto and forex, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Oanda offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks.

There is no like-for-like comparison for real stock markets, as Oanda is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Available markets
Section score CMC Markets 75 -25 30 Oanda 100 Best not offered
Total tradable symbols i 12,000 1,500
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i Crypto, Forex
Options i
Assets you can own i ETF, Stocks

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that CMC Markets and Oanda make available to their clients in United Kingdom.
6 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Oanda for platforms, given that CMC Markets offers social trading and copy trading, which Oanda does not. CMC Markets and Oanda both offer a proprietary platform and MetaTrader 5.

Oanda does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so CMC Markets and Oanda cannot be compared for platforms.

Platform
Section score CMC Markets 97 Best 97 Oanda 91 -6 not offered
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of CMC Markets and Oanda in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Oanda is better than CMC Markets for mobile trading, as Oanda offers mobile charting tools and mobile drawing tools, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Oanda offer a proprietary mobile app and the MetaTrader 5 app.

CMC Markets and Oanda cannot be compared for mobile trading, because CMC Markets is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Oanda is a CFD broker.

Mobile
Section score CMC Markets 73 -13 73 Oanda 86 Best not offered
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that CMC Markets and Oanda allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.
8 / 12

Oanda is better than CMC Markets for CFD trading features, given that Oanda offers tier-1 liquidity providers, VPS hosting and API access, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Oanda offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

There is no like-for-like comparison for real stock trading features, as Oanda is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Trading features
Section score CMC Markets 69 -14 71 Oanda 83 Best not offered
Trade execution
Broker type i Agency Agency
Average execution time i 9 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0.08%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1 30:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1 20:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1 20:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 10:1
Gold leverage i 20:1 20:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1 10:1
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 0 USD 0
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at CMC Markets and at Oanda in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Oanda is better than CMC Markets for CFD account types, since Oanda offers a raw spread account, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and Oanda offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Oanda does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so CMC Markets and Oanda cannot be compared for real stock account types.

Account types
Section score CMC Markets 48 -5 45 Oanda 53 Best not offered
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with CMC Markets and with Oanda in United Kingdom.
10 / 12

CMC Markets and Oanda are equally good for account opening, since CMC Markets offers 2 account base currencies (against Oanda's 1). On the other hand, Oanda offers local payment methods. Neither CMC Markets nor Oanda requires a minimum deposit.

Oanda does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so CMC Markets and Oanda cannot be compared for account opening.

Account opening
Section score CMC Markets 65 65 Oanda 65 not offered
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i EUR, USD USD
Deposit waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 2 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 2 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of CMC Markets and Oanda in United Kingdom, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Oanda for customer care, given that CMC Markets offers customer support in 9 languages (against Oanda's 5), has a website in 9 languages (against Oanda's 7), and offers a dedicated account manager, which Oanda does not. CMC Markets and Oanda both offer phone support and live chat.

There is no like-for-like comparison for customer care, as Oanda is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Customer care
Section score CMC Markets 73 Best 73 Oanda 46 -27 not offered
Number of languages supported i 9 7
Website languages i German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese German, English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese German, English, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that CMC Markets and Oanda provide to their clients in United Kingdom.
12 / 12

CMC Markets is better than Oanda for learning, given that CMC Markets offers professional reports and daily market commentary, which Oanda does not. Both CMC Markets and Oanda offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

There is no like-for-like comparison for learning, as Oanda is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Learning
Section score CMC Markets 100 Best 100 Oanda 80 -20 not offered
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
CMC Markets
Open Account 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Oanda
Open Account 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

CMC Markets vs Oanda: which one should you choose?

CMC Markets

CFD Choose CMC Markets if you want an online CFD broker with a wide choice of markets and fast execution.

Stocks Choose CMC Markets if you want a stockbroker with a wide choice of markets and fast execution.

Open Account 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Oanda

CFD Choose Oanda if you want a CFD and forex broker with low trading costs, futures trading and raw spread accounts.

Open Account 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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