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HFM vs XM: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD/FX trading

HFM is better than XM for CFD trading by a small margin, because it has ECN accounts and guaranteed stop-loss orders. XM, on the other hand, has more tradable symbols (1,400 against 500) and faster withdrawals (1 day against 2 days). HFM is regulated by CySEC and the FCA, with an offshore company registered with the FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). XM is regulated by CySEC, the DFSA, the CMA (Kenya) and the FSCA, with an offshore company regulated by the FSC (Belize). HFM charges 10.50 USD per lot to trade EUR/USD, against 10.00 USD at XM, and both offer a demo account together with MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. XM asks for 5.00 USD at all of its companies, while HFM asks for 5,000.00 USD at its European company, which is reserved for professional clients, and for no minimum deposit at its UK and offshore companies. HFM offers crypto CFDs at its European and offshore companies, while XM offers them at its South African and offshore companies.

Best overall

HFM

CFDCFD HFM offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX HFM offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
HFM review ›
84CFD/FXOverall score HFM scores 84/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

XM

CFDCFD XM offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX XM offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
XM review ›
79CFD/FXOverall score XM scores 79/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

75.12% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders HFM and XM are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in .
1 / 12

HFM is better than XM for professional traders and crypto traders. Both are a good fit for scalpers, swing traders and news traders.

Best for
Overall score HFM 84 Best XM 79 -5
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 HFM and the ones that supervise XM.
2 / 12

HFM and XM are both regulated by top-tier authorities, HFM by CySEC and the FCA (United Kingdom) and XM by CySEC.

Regulation
Section score HFM 100 Best XM 90 -10
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i CySEC (Cyprus)
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 HFM and XM have in place to protect your money in .
3 / 12

Both HFM and XM offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication. HFM also offers additional money insurance. XM also offers an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score HFM 74 -4 XM 78 Best
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2010 2009
Parent company i HF Markets Group Trading Point Holdings
CEO i Domluke Da Silva Tasos Anastasiou
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i N/A N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 3,500,000 20,000,000
Annual revenue i USD 1,000,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with HFM and with XM in , both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

HFM and XM are equally good for costs, since HFM charges lower forex commissions, at 6 USD per lot (against XM's 7 USD), and has tighter EUR/USD raw spreads, at 0.1 pip (against XM's 0.2 pips). On the other hand, XM is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 10 USD per lot (against HFM's 10.5 USD), and has tighter gold CFD spreads, at 0.3 points (against HFM's 0.32 points). Neither HFM nor XM charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score HFM 59 XM 57 -2
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 6About this value. This is the forex commission per lot at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: Free (the EU), USD 6 (the UK). USD 7
EUR/USD average standard spread i
1.4 pips
1.1 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
0.2 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 10.5 USD 10
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.4 points 0.6 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.32 points 0.3 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 39
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.1 Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Spread
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
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 HFM and with XM in , and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

HFM and XM are equally good for available markets, as HFM offers CFDs on crypto. On the other hand, XM gives access to 1,400 tradable symbols (against HFM's 500). Both HFM and XM offer CFDs on commodities, ETFs, forex, indices and stocks.

Available markets
Section score HFM 75 XM 75
Total tradable symbols i 500 1,400
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that HFM and XM make available to their clients in .
6 / 12

HFM is better than XM for platforms, because HFM offers social trading and AutoChartist, which XM does not. Both HFM and XM offer MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4.

Platform
Section score HFM 71 Best XM 63 -8
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 HFM and XM in , and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

HFM is better than XM for mobile trading, given that HFM offers a social trading app and a copy trading app, which XM does not. HFM and XM both offer a proprietary mobile app and the MetaTrader 5 app.

Mobile
Section score HFM 93 Best XM 86 -7
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 HFM and XM allow on their platforms in .
8 / 12

HFM and XM are equally good for trading features, since HFM offers guaranteed stop losses while XM allows for high-frequency trading. Both HFM and XM offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Trading features
Section score HFM 89 XM 87 -2
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD Agency
Average execution time i 66 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 2000:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 30:1 (the EU, the UK). 30:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 400:1 (Kenya), 30:1 (the UAE), 1000:1 (other accepted countries, South Africa).
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 2000:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 20:1 (the EU, the UK). 20:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 400:1 (Kenya), 20:1 (the UAE), 1000:1 (other accepted countries, South Africa).
Major indices leverage i 1000:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 20:1 (the EU, the UK). 20:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 400:1 (Kenya), 20:1 (the UAE), 500:1 (other accepted countries, South Africa).
Minor indices leverage i 500:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 10:1 (the EU, the UK). 10:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 250:1 (Kenya, other accepted countries, South Africa), 10:1 (the UAE).
Gold leverage i 2000:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 20:1 (the EU, the UK). 20:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 400:1 (Kenya), 20:1 (the UAE), 1000:1 (other accepted countries, South Africa).
Commodities leverage i 500:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 10:1 (the EU, the UK). 10:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 400:1 (Kenya, other accepted countries, South Africa), 10:1 (the UAE).
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1About this value. This is the equities leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 20:1 (Kenya, other accepted countries, South Africa), 5:1 (the UAE).
Cryptocurrency leverage i 1000:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 2:1 (the EU). 2:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC). At XM's other companies: 2:1 (the UAE), 1000:1 (other accepted countries, South Africa).
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 HFM and at XM in , and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

HFM is better than XM for account types, since HFM offers a professional traders account, an ECN account and a copy trading account, which XM does not. Both HFM and XM offer a demo account and a corporate account.

Account types
Section score HFM 97 Best XM 64 -33
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 HFM and with XM in .
10 / 12

XM is better than HFM for account opening, since XM offers 10 account base currencies (against HFM's 2), credits deposits faster, within the same day (against HFM's 1 day), and pays out withdrawals faster, within 1 day (against HFM's 2 days). That said, HFM asks for no minimum deposit at all (against XM's 5 USD).

Account opening
Section score HFM 80 -10 XM 90 Best
Minimum deposit i USD 0About this value. This is the minimum deposit at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: USD 5,000 (the EU), USD 0 (the UK). USD 5
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 5
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i Neteller, Skrill Neteller, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i EUR, USDAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). It is different at HFM's companies in the UK. AUD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HUF, PLN, RUB, SGD, USD, ZAR
Deposit waiting time i up to 1 business days Instant
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of HFM and XM in , in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

XM is better than HFM for customer care, given that XM offers customer support in 20 languages (against HFM's 1), and has a website in 19 languages (against HFM's 16). Both HFM and XM offer a dedicated account manager and phone support.

Customer care
Section score HFM 75 -3 XM 78 Best
Number of languages supported i 16 20
Website languages i Arabic, German, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, Czech, German, Greek, English, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i English Arabic, Czech, German, Greek, English, French, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, 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 HFM and XM provide to their clients in .
12 / 12

HFM is better than XM for learning, because HFM offers professional reports, which XM does not. HFM and XM both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score HFM 100 Best XM 88 -12
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
HFM
Open Account 70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
XM
Open Account 75.12% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

HFM vs XM: which one should you choose?

HFM

CFD/FX Choose HFM if you want a forex broker with ECN accounts and guaranteed stop-loss orders.

Open Account 70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
XM

CFD/FX Choose XM if you want an online CFD broker with a wide choice of markets and fast withdrawals.

Open Account 75.12% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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