ForexTime FXTM vs Stock Trainer: what's the best forex trading platform?
In the modern world, trading various instruments is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and some sort of computer or mobile device. The forex market presents a range of trading opportunities for everyone from retail investors to major financial institutions.
With this in mind, we’ve compared two of the best forex trading apps, ForexTime FXTM and Forex.com. ForexTime FXTM focuses on forex trading, but it also provides access to the stock market and various other CFDs. Forex.com is very similar, with a huge client base and a wide range of trading instruments available.
For starters, both Forex.com and FXTM offer a range of powerful features that puts them up there among the best forex trading platforms in the world. On the one hand, Forex.com provides access to two trading interfaces. Beginners will benefit from the standard MetaTrader 4 interface, while the native Advanced Trading Platform comes with a wide range of additional features and technical indicators to help you improve your trading performance.
Similarly, FXTM also offers a couple of different trading platforms. On the one hand, you can download either MetaTrader 4 or 5 for desktop or mobile trading. Alternatively, use the basic web interface to make forex trades quickly and efficiently.
Forex.com also has a great Active Trader Program that provides traders with a number of benefits. For example, regular traders will be able to access cashbacks of up to $9 per million dollars traded. Similarly, you will have access to a personal market advisor and exclusive events.
On the other hand, FXTM comes with a range of additional tools to help you trade. For example, all users have access to an automatic trading signals interface that provides technical analysis of various forex pairs and other instruments. There are also extra tools available for download, along with regular contests and trading promotions.
Overall, both FXTM and Forex.com offer extremely impressive features and advanced trading tools suited to traders of all levels. It’s impossible to separate the two here.
FXTM provides access to technical indicators designed to help you improve your trading performance (Image credit: FXTM)
Performance
In order to gauge the overall performance of both Forex.com and FXTM, we tested a simple demo account with both platforms. And although both are extremely powerful and offer the trading experience expected from a leading platform, there were a few surprises.
For starters, the Forex.com web interface is extremely beginner-friendly, with advanced features designed to demystify the forex trading process. It allows you to view charts, markets, your open positions, and more from one very cleverly designed dashboard.
When it comes to actually opening and closing trades, Forex.com also excels. When you open a trade, you will be presented with a number of options allowing you to specify the order quantity, along with stop loss and take profit prices. And, you will even be notified how much margin is required to fulfill the order. Additionally, one-click trading is available for those who need to get into new positions immediately.
For its part, FXTM has a trading interface that’s more than acceptable, but it simply can’t compare to Forex.com’s. The web trader is based on MT4, and it can be a little clunky and confusing at times.
In saying that, all of the required tools are available. Like Forex.com, FXTM offers one-click trading and allows you to specify order quantities, stops, and take profit prices. Advance order options are also available. However, the main problem we had with FXTM was that it doesn’t specify how much margin is required before making a trade. This lack of transparency can make it a little difficult to manage your funds.
Forex.com is a clear winner here with its beginner-friendly interface and advanced trading features.
The Forex.com web trader is very beginner friendly and comes with advanced tools (Image credit: FXTM)
Support
FXTM and Forex.com both offer a range of support services, including various educational resources and how-to articles. Both include full documentation, along with a selection of guides outlining how to trade forex and how to use more advanced features.
Additionally, FXTM comes with solid live customer service through its 24/5 phone, live chat, WhatsApp, Telegram, and other support channels. Similarly, Forex.com offers live chat and phone support, along with an email option for more complicated issues.
Overall, there’s little to separate the two platforms here.
FXTM offers a range of live support channels (Image credit: FXTM)
Pricing and plans
Forex.com and FXTM both use spread-based fee structures, and both offer various account options. FXTM has the most available choice here, with seven live account types, along with various demo account options. Spreads are generally very low, starting from just 0.1 pips in with some accounts. And, FXTM never charges commission with forex trades.
On the other hand, Forex.com only offers three different account types, along with one demo option that’s only valid for up to 30 days. Its spreads are very similar to FXTM’s, although it has a minimum of 0.8 pips as opposed to 0.1.
FXTM offers more account options than Forex.com (Image credit: FXTM)
Verdict
FXTM and Forex.com are both extremely powerful forex trading platforms, and they’re both industry leaders for a reason. Overall, it’s extremely hard to separate them, even after hours of comprehensive testing and comparison.
In the end, Forex.com is a slightly better option if you’re looking for a beginner-friendly web trading interface. On the other hand, FXTM is a better choice for those looking for higher leverage and more flexible account options. Both platforms have similar fees, highly advanced trading features, and great customer support.
Strong passwords alone might not be enough to solve all your security problems
Despite being around for years, passwords are a relatively weak form of security, and many users are realising that they need other forms of protection to stay safe online, new research has found.
A report from the FIDO Alliance, an open industry association working to reduce the reliance on passwords, revealed that globally, a quarter (25%) of the population is using biometrics (fingerprints, facial recognition tech, and the likes) in some capacity. In the UK alone, biometrics are being used by at least 39% of people.
The report warns that passwords are still susceptible to various forms of remote attacks, such as phishing, credential stuffing, or different ways of social engineering. As a result, many Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and software developers are turning towards possession-based factors such as biometrics and security keys, for both B2B and the consumer market.
The report also found that UK consumers have “high levels” of awareness on the security issues of passwords, and that most of them are “actively” taking steps to protect their accounts from hackers and cybercriminals.
Staying secure too complicated for some
That leaves almost one in eight that don’t take any steps to improve their online security. Most of them (43%) said they didn’t know how, while for others (30%) going about it was “too complicated”. Another 15% of these consumers said they didn’t believe a data breach, or hack, would happen to them.
To make sure small and medium-sized businesses remain secure, during this time of heightened cybercrime, experts suggest always deploying multi-factor authentication protocols, pairing passwords with at least one other authentication method.
Drilling deeper into why people choose biometrics over other factors (MFA, tokens, or such), most consumers said they believed it was the most secure way. Still, 16% think passwords are the most secure authentication method, while 9% would choose SMS OTPs. Authentication software and physical security keys are still a long way from mainstream adoption, with 6% and 3% finding it the most secure method, respectively.
“Time and time again we see data breaches, ransomware and other attacks that leverage vulnerabilities associated with passwords and other ‘what you know’ forms of authentication -- including OTPs as a second factor,” said Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director & CMO of the FIDO Alliance.
“The industry at large must shift towards possession-based factors such as biometrics and security keys that are not susceptible to remote attacks such as phishing, credential stuffing and various forms of social engineering that frankly are difficult if not impossible for the average user to detect"
