Things to consider
There are many aspects to assessing a broker’s services in general, maybe even too many to list. Below, we’ll focus on the most important criteria that should be taken into account when determining whether a broker is good for beginners.
A beginner-friendly broker should have:
- an excellent web and mobile trading platform
- low fees
- great educational tools
- good customer service
- an easy account opening process
- low minimum deposit
Legitimacy is also very important, but since we recommend only legit brokers regulated by top-tier financial authorities, this is one thing you don’t have to worry about.
More and more people are looking to become a player on financial markets either as traders or investors. However, when researching the basics, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available online.
This is where BrokerChooser offers a helping hand. The reason is simple: choosing the right service, especially when you are taking your first steps in trading, is highly important.
In this article we’ll check whether ActivTrades is the right choice for a starting trader.
Disclaimer: 74-85% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Is ActivTrades good for beginners
ActivTrades is a CFD broker
Just a quick heads up: ActivTrades focuses mainly on CFDs. Usually we don’t recommend CFD products for beginners. For beginners looking to trade mostly stocks, we suggest choosing a stockbroker where you can buy the actual shares of a company instead of a CFD contract for the stock.
Some CFD brokers offer you the opportunity to place orders on the price movements of some popular stocks; some might even offer company shares as a so-called stock CFD (contract for difference). While this might be convenient for some short-term traders, there are many drawbacks to it: for starters, you’ll need to pay the broker a so-called financing charge as long as you hold the CFD. This could add up to a significant amount if you hold the CFD for more than a few weeks.
If you’d like to stick with CFDs, you might want to take a look at our article on CFD trading tips.
Is ActivTrades good for beginners
Is ActivTrades good for beginners?
Based on our scoring methodology, ActivTrades is not considered good for beginners. If you'd like to see alternatives, check out our picks for the best brokers for beginners.
Let's take a look at its services one by one, following the criteria we set above, to get the whole picture.
- 💻 When it comes to its web platform, ActivTrades might suit the needs of beginners: User-friendly. Clear fee report. Two-step (safer) login. Overall, this platform may be an optimal choice for beginners.
- 📱 Sadly, ActivTrades's mobile platform is not its strongest side, but there are a few positive aspects to it: User-friendly. Good search function. Touch/Face ID login. On the other hand, there are some things that could be improved: No two-step (safer) login. No price alerts.
- 🕖 An account opening process is great when it is seamless from the get-go. ActivTrades does an excellent job in this area: Fast. Fully digital. User-friendly.
- 📚 ActivTrades's education materials are a great place to start: Demo account. Trading platform tutorial. One to one training. This makes ActivTrades's material worthy reading.
- 📞 Relevant answers on the phone. However, there is some room for improvement in ActivTrades's customer service: No 24/7 support. Slow live chat. Slow phone support. No answer to emails.
- 💰 Low minimum deposits and low-cost transactions are attractive for new traders. ActivTrades's deposit and withdrawal processes have some good things to offer: Credit/Debit card available. Free withdrawal. No deposit fee.
Is ActivTrades good for beginners
Overview of ActivTrades's services
Let’s take an overall look at how ActivTrades compares to its peers when it comes to platforms, fees, account opening and education tools. Our scores are on a scale of 1.0 to 5.0, from worst to best.
| ActivTrades | Admirals (Admiral Markets) | FxPro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web platform score | 4.4 stars | 2.8 stars | 2.8 stars |
| Mobile platform score | 3.9 stars | 3.8 stars | 4.3 stars |
| Fees | Low | Low | Low |
| Account opening score | 5.0 stars | 5.0 stars | 5.0 stars |
| Education score | 5.0 stars | 5.0 stars | 4.0 stars |
| Customer service score | 1.7 stars | 5.0 stars | 5.0 stars |
| Deposit and withdrawal score | 4.5 stars | 5.0 stars | 4.5 stars |
If you wish to read more about ActivTrades, click 'Visit Broker' to go to the broker's website. We also have a detailed review of the broker that you can read by clicking on the 'More' button.
Is ActivTrades good for beginners
Is ActivTrades legit?
We hear more and more stories each day about clients who lost their money to scammers from Telegram or through unregulated services. BrokerChooser only features brokers that have top-tier financial regulators. As such, ActivTrades is a legit and trusted broker.
If you’d like to know more, check out our deeper dive into ActivTrades's legitimacy.
Is ActivTrades good for beginners
Where can I find more information?
If ActivTrades is not the right broker for you, go ahead and check out our picks for Best Brokers for Beginners in 2023 for some alternatives.
Also, if you feel that some things weren’t clear when it comes to the brokerage world, no worries. We have lots of content to cover your questions. You can find our articles in the Education section of our site.
For example, if you want to know how to buy shares online and how the whole process works, there’s an article about that. If you’d like to learn more about investing in stocks or what short selling is, we have articles about these topics too.
We have also written a few materials that focus on recent events in the news, like what a short squeeze is.
We hope you found all of the information above useful. If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you, just write to us at [email protected]. See you there!
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