Summary
Recommended for forex traders familiar with the MetaTrader 4 platform
Axi (previously known as AxiTrader) is an Australian forex broker founded in 2007. The new brand "Axi" was launched in 2020.
Axi is regulated by multiple financial authorities worldwide, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). As such, Axi is considered safe because it is regulated by several top-tier authorities.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Axi pros and cons
Axi has low forex fees, doesn't charge an inactivity fee and deposits and withdrawals are free of charge as well. The account opening process is smooth and fully digital.
The broker only has a small range of products, which are forex instruments and some CFDs. Customer support is available only 24/5, while research options are limited.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Low forex fees and no inactivity fee | • Offers only forex and CFD trading |
• No withdrawal and deposit fees | • Limited research tools |
• Fully digital account opening | • 24/5 customer service |
🗺️ Country of regulation | UK, Australia, Dubai, St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
💰 Trading fees class | Low |
💰 Inactivity fee charged | No |
💰 Withdrawal fee amount | $0 |
💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
🕖 Time to open an account | 1-3 days |
💳 Deposit with bank card | Available |
👛 Depositing with electronic wallet | Available |
💱 Number of base currencies supported | 11 |
🎮 Demo account provided | Yes |
🛍️ Products offered | Forex, CFD, Crypto |
Axi review
Fees
or
Axi has low forex and CFD fees. Non-trading fees are also low, as no withdrawal or inactivity fees are charged.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Low non-trading fees | None |
• Low forex fees | |
• Low CFD fees |
Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
---|---|---|
EURUSD | Low | Pro account pricing: $3.5 per lot per trade plus spread cost. 0.4 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
GBPUSD | Low | Pro account pricing: $3.5 per lot per trade plus spread cost. 0.7 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
S&P 500 CFD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 0.5 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
Inactivity fee | Low | No inactivity fee |
How we ranked fees
We ranked Axi's fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.
First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.
- Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
- Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.
In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Axi for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading the most important fees are spreads, commissions and financing rates.
We also compared Axi's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, TMGM and Eightcap. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Axi alternatives.
To have a clear overview of Axi, let's start with the trading fees.
Axi has low trading fees. There are two account types, each with cost structures. We tested the Pro account in this review, which has low spreads and commission fees.
We know it's hard to compare trading fees for forex brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compare brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.
We have chosen popular instruments in each asset class usually provided by forex brokers:
- Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP
- Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50
A typical trade means buying a leveraged product, holding it for one week and then selling. For the volume, we chose a $20,000 position for forex and a $2,000 position for stock index and stock CFD transactions. The leverage we used is:
- 30:1 for forex
- 20:1 for stock index CFDs
These catch-all benchmark fees include spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let's see the verdict for Axi's fees.
Forex fees
Forex fees at Axi are low, however, you can find similarly priced alternatives.
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
EURUSD benchmark fee | $5.6 | $6.7 | $6.4 |
GBPUSD benchmark fee | $4.8 | $5.4 | $5.0 |
AUDUSD benchmark fee | $3.9 | $6.9 | $5.6 |
EURCHF benchmark fee | $1.9 | $4.1 | $4.5 |
EURGBP benchmark fee | $4.4 | $7.7 | $6.9 |
For Pro accounts, there's a $3.5 charge per traded lot, and a much lower spread cost. For Standard accounts, spreads are much wider.
CFD fees
Axi has low CFD trading fees.
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
S&P 500 index CFD fee | $1.3 | $0.5 | $2.2 |
Europe 50 index CFD fee | $2.3 | $1.1 | $2.0 |
Non-trading fees
Axi has no non-trading fees. It charges no account, inactivity or withdrawal fees.
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
Account fee | No | No | No |
Inactivity fee | No | Yes | No |
Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Axi review
Account opening
or
Account opening at Axi is user-friendly and fully digital, but it takes a bit longer than at similar online brokers.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Fully digital | • Slower account opening time |
• No minimum deposit | |
• Low minimum deposit |
Can you open an account?
What is the minimum deposit at Axi?
Axi doesn't require a minimum deposit.
Account types
Axi differentiates its accounts based on two things: who owns them and what fee structure is applied.
Based on ownership, there are three types of accounts:
- Individual - account is owned by an individual
- Joint - account is owned by multiple individuals
- Corporate - account is owned by a legal entity
Accounts can differ in fee structure, too:
- Standard account - no commission fees, generally higher spreads
- Pro account - $7 round trip commission, generally lower spreads
There's also an option to open an Islamic account.
In this review, we have tested the individual Pro account.
How to open your account
Creating an account is easy and fully digital, but it took 2 business days until our account was approved.
The steps of account opening at Axi are the following:
- Provide personal information, like your email address and country of residence
- Select the account type
- Answer a couple of questions that assess your level of understanding of trading
- Verify your identity and residency by uploading either a copy of your ID card, driver's license or passport, and uploading a copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement
Axi review
Deposit and withdrawal
or
Axi charges no deposit or withdrawal fees. You can use credit/debit cards, bank transfer and electronic wallets for deposits, but only wire transfers and e-wallets for withdrawals.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Credit/Debit card available | • Withdrawal only via wire transfer or e-wallets |
• Free withdrawal | |
• No deposit fee |
Account base currencies
At Axi, you can choose from 11 base currencies. These are the following:
AUD | CAD | CHF | EUR |
GBP | HKD | JPY | NZD |
PLN | SGD | USD |
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
Number of base currencies | 11 | 5 | 7 |
This selection is great compared to competing brokers. Both TMGM and Eightcap offer fewer base currencies.
Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you don't have to pay a conversion fee.
A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.
Deposit fees and options
Axi charges no deposit fees.
Besides bank transfer, you can use credit/debit cards, broker-to-broker transfer and several electronic wallets, including:
Payment Method | Currencies |
---|---|
Sofort | EUR |
GiroPay |
EUR |
IDeal | EUR |
Fasapay | IDR, USD |
Neteller | EUR, GBP, USD |
Skrill | AED, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, INR, SGD, USD |
Polish Internet Banking | PLN |
The methods are available in different currencies and for different residents.
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A bank transfer can take several business days, while payments with a credit/debit card or electronic wallets are instant.
You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.
Axi withdrawal fees and options
Axi charges no withdrawal fees and has several withdrawal options.
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Credit/debit card | No | Yes | No |
Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
However, if you deposited with a debit/credit card you can only withdraw funds to your bank account and in the case of electronic wallets, you can only withdraw to the wallet you used for depositing.
How long does it take to withdraw money from Axi? We tested the bank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.
How do you withdraw money from Axi? You can withdraw money from Axi by following these steps:
- Log in to the Client Portal
- Select 'Withdraw Funds'
- Choose the withdrawal method
- Add your bank account details, like IBAN and Swift code (if you haven't done it before)
- Enter the amount you wish to withdraw
- Initiate the withdrawal
Want to stay in the loop?
Sign up and we'll let you know when a new broker review is out.
Axi review
Web trading platform
or
The web trading platform of Axi (provided by MetaTrader) is highly customizable and has a clear fee report. On the other hand, its design is outdated and it lacks a two-step login and price alerts.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Clear fee report | • No two-step (safer) login |
• Good customizability (for charts, workspace) | • No price alerts |
• Order confirmation | • Poor design |
Trading platform | Score | Available |
---|---|---|
Web | 2.8 stars | Yes |
Mobile | 3.8 stars | Yes |
Desktop | 3.4 stars | Yes |
Axi does not have its own self-developed trading platform, it uses MetaTrader 4, a third-party platform. To access it, first, you have to log in to a completely redesigned client platform. The new layout is great, however, it can be really slow. There were times, when accessing certain menus took ages, with the whole page frozen, while loading.
MetaTrader 4 is available in an exceptionally large number of languages.
Arabic | Bulgarian | Chinese | Croatian | Czech | Danish |
Dutch | English | Estonian | Finnish | French | German |
Greek | Hebrew | Hindi | Hungarian | Indonesian | Italian |
Japanese | Korean | Latvian | Lithuanian | Malay | Mongolian |
Persian | Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Russian | Serbian |
Slovak | Slovenian | Spanish | Swedish | Tajik | Thai |
Traditional Chinese | Turkish | Ukrainian | Uzbek | Vietnamese |
Look and feel
Axi's web trading platform has great customizability. You can easily change the size and the position of the tabs.
However, the platform feels outdated and some features are hard to find. For example, it took some time until we found how to add an asset to the watchlist.
Login and security
Axi provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure.
You can't use a biometric login. Providing this feature would be more convenient.
Search functions
The search functions are average. You can find the assets in categories. However, we missed the usual search function, when you can type the asset's name manually.
Placing orders
You can use basic order types, but will not find more sophisticated ones, like 'one-cancels-the-other'. The following order types are available:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Trailing Stop
Trailing Stop is available only in the MT4 desktop platform.
If you are not familiar with order types, read this overview.
There are also order time limits you can use:
- Good 'til canceled (GTC)
- Good 'til time (GTT)
Alerts and notifications
You can't set alerts and notifications on the Axi web trading platform. This feature is available only on the desktop trading platform.
Portfolio and fee reports
Axi has clear portfolio and fee reports. You can easily see your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports can be found under the 'History' tab. We didn't find a way to download them. However, all your monthly financial statements are available to download at the Client Portal. You should click on 'Financial Statements' within the 'Trading Accounts' menu.
Axi sends your monthly financial statements automatically via email, too.
Axi review
Mobile trading platform
or
Axi has a great mobile trading platform, offered by MetaTrader 4. It is well-designed and user-friendly, with a good search function. However, it lacks a safer login.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• User-friendly | • No two-step (safer) login |
• Good search function | • No Touch/Face ID login |
• Price alerts | • No order confirmation |
Similarly to the web trading platform, Axi offers MetaTrader 4 as a mobile trading platform. MetaTrader 4 is available for both iOS and Android. We tested it on iOS.
After you download the MT4 mobile trading platform, you have to access the Axi-Live server.
Just like at the web trading platform, you can choose from a lot of languages on the mobile trading platform too. Changing the language is a bit tricky on Android devices: you have to change the default language of your mobile.
Arabic | Chinese (Simplified) | Chinese(Traditional) | Czech | English |
French | German | Greek | Hindi | Indonesian |
Italian | Japanese | Korean | Polish | Portuguese |
Portuguese (Brazil) | Russian | Spanish | Thai | Turkish |
Ukrainian | Vietnamese |
Look and feel
Axi has a great mobile trading platform, we really liked its design and user-friendliness. You will easily find all the features.
Login and security
Similarly to the web trading platform, Axi provides only a one-step login. A two-step login would be safer.
You can't use fingerprint or Face ID authentication. Providing this feature would be more convenient.
Search functions
The search functions are good. You can search for products easily by typing the name of the product or by navigating the category folders.
Placing orders
You can use the same order types and order time limits as the ones on the web trading platform.
Alerts and notifications
You can set alerts and notifications, although only via the desktop trading platform. It would be much easier, if you could set these notifications on the mobile trading platform itself.
Axi review
Desktop trading platform
or
In design and functionality, Axi's MetaTrader 4 desktop platform is almost the same as the web trading platform. One major difference is that you can set price alerts on it.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Clear fee report | • No two-step (safer) login |
• Good customizability (for charts, workspace) | • Poor design |
• Price alerts | • Search function could be improved |
Axi offers MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform.
It has the same design, is available in the same languages, offers the same order types plus Trailing Stop, has the same search functions, and offers the same portfolio and fee reports as the web trading platform.
The major difference is that you can set alerts and notifications in the form of mobile push and email notifications on the desktop trading platform. To set them, you have to add your email address and mobile MetaQuotes ID (you can find it in the MT4 app's settings), by going to the 'Tools' menu and then 'Options'.
Axi review
Markets and products
or
Axi provides only forex and CFDs. Popular asset classes, like real stocks or ETFs, are not available.
Axi has a great selection of forex products. The stock index, commodity, and crypto CFD selection is average, while stock, ETF, and bond CFDs are not available.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Axi | TMGM | Eightcap | |
---|---|---|---|
Currency pairs (#) | 76 | 62 | 45 |
Stock index CFDs (#) | 14 | 20 | 10 |
Stock CFDs (#) | - | 9,900 | 300 |
ETF CFDs (#) | - | - | - |
Commodity CFDs (#) | 16 | 10 | 4 |
Bond CFDs (#) | - | - | - |
Cryptos (#) | 6 | 5 | 5 |
FCA bans the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers from 6 January 2021.
You cannot change leverage levels if you are under FCA jurisdiction. For European clients, it is a fixed 1:30. For clients under different entities, it could be changed.
Changing the leverage is a very useful feature, when you want to lower the risk of your trade. We think this is something you should be in control of. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels may be too high.
Axi offers a social trading service via Forex Trading Signals on the MT4 platform.
Axi review
Research
or
At Axi, you can use the research tools of the MetaTrader 4 platform, which has no trading ideas or fundamental data. As a plus, there are alternative web tools, like a great economic calendar.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• User-friendly | • No trading ideas |
• Great economic calendar | • No fundamental data available |
Axi's research tools have two sources:
- The MetaTrader trading platform
- 'Markets Blog' on its website
MetaTrader tools are available in multiple languages.
Trading ideas
Axi does not provide trading ideas.
Fundamental data
Axi does not offer fundamental data.
Charting
Axi has averge charting tools. These charting tools can be found on the MetaTrader trading platforms. You can use 31 technical indicators and other technical tools, such as trendlines or Fibonacci retracement.
On the other hand, the design is outdated and some features are hard to use. For example, we had difficulty in finding how to remove an indicator from the chart.
News feed
Axi has a news feed on its MetaTrader 4 platform. This is a great addition compared to similar CFD brokers. However, the news section lacks charts and other visual elements.
We liked the market analysis section, which can be found on the website under 'Markets Blog.'
An economic calendar is also provided with multiple filters, such as 'Country' or event 'Category'. All in all, nice touch.
News are structured best on Axi's own site. The articles are of good quality and they are updated daily.
Unfortunately, some articles are available only through the Australian and UK websites. If you are on the international website, you will only be able to access forex market analysis news and educational pieces. Also, the quantity of news differ from language to language - for example, news in Spanish only seems to be updated once a month.
PsyQuation
Axi clients are provided a lifetime access of PsyQuotetiuon Premium. PsyQuotation is a AI driven analystics platform to help you discover strategies that would work on MT4. There are many tools to choose from - from 'Order Flow Sentiment Indicator Charts' to a 'Twitter vs Rates' tool, which shows how Twitter news affect symbol price changes. Below, you can see the tools and their short descriptions.
- OFSI chart: shows the order flow sentiment indicator for multiple symbols
- OFSI table: the indicator is showed in a table form instead of a chart
- Intraday moves: you can check how closely related symbols are in their movements
- Lot sizing & risk calculator: helps you to calculate the probability of reaching a particuler stop loss/take profit value
- Price journey: shows symbols that save a large intraday move, with explanation on the event
- Account benchmark: scores your trading account based on numerous criteria
- MAE/MFE: helps your exit strategy with Maximum Adverse Excursion and Maximum Facourable Excursion
- Symbols correlations: similar to 'Intraday moves', it helps you see the correlation between symbols' movement
- Yearly price journey: comparative movement journey of a symbol return in comparison with others
- Lead lag: you can explore the lead/lag relationship visually between symbols
- Twitter vs. rates: you can see how Twitter news affect symbol price changes
- Yield curve analysis: you can examine the yield curve and spreads of differnet countries over time
Axi review
Customer service
or
Axi is reachable via phone, live chat, and emails, too. The answers are mostly relevant in a quick manner. On the other hand, it is 24/5 only.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Phone support | • No 24/7 support |
• Live chat | |
• Fast response time |
You can contact Axi via:
- Live chat
- Phone
Axi has a fast live chat, an agent is connected almost immediately. However, the answers were semi-relevant, as our operator proceeded with another issue, not with our main question. There was also a time, when our operator gave false info on the fees of CFD indexes.
Axi's phone support was average-speed and we got relevant answers. In all our tests, the operator was really helpful and gave us a broader context to our questions.
Via email, we received relevant answers in okayish speed.
We missed 24/7 availability. Axi's customer support is only a 24/5 service.
Axi review
Education
or
Axi does a great job when it comes to education. You can use a demo account, watch high-quality educational videos and read great ebooks. On the other hand, not all contents are translated.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Demo account | • Not all contents are translated |
• Trading platform tutorial | |
• Educational videos |
At Axi you can learn in the following ways:
- Demo account
- Platform tutorial videos
- General educational videos
- Quality educational articles
- Ebooks
You can find the primary educational tools under the 'Learn to Trade' menu from the top of the front page. There are educational articles in 'Markes Blog' as well, which are up-to-date and well-written.
The general educational videos have great quality and cover a lot of topics, like trading psychology and forex trading. You can download multiple high-quality ebooks as well.
Under 'Learn to Trade', you can find 'Free Webinars & Seminars'. At the time of our review, these were only scheduled for certain pages, like the Spanish one.
Axi review
Safety
or
Axi is regulated by a number of top-tier financial authorities. It is a well-established brand but it is not listed on any exchange and it doesn't hold a banking license.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
• Majority of clients belong to a top-tier financial authority | • Does not hold a banking license |
• Negative balance protection | • Not listed on stock exchange |
• Financial information is not publicly available |
Is Axi regulated?
Yes, it is regulated by a number of authorities and bodies throughout the world:
- the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
- the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
- the Financial Service Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (FSA)
Being regulated by a top-tier financial authority is a great sign for Axi safety. On the other hand, note that Axi's license has been suspended in New Zealand by the country's regulator, the Financial Markets Authority, since July 29, 2019. You can read more about the suspension here.
Axi is based in Australia and was founded in 2007.
Is Axi safe?
To be certain, we highly advise that you check two facts:
- how you are protected if something goes wrong
- what the background of the broker is
How you are protected
Protection matters for you because the investor protection amount and the regulator differ from entity to entity.
Country of clients | Protection amount | Regulator | Legal entity |
---|---|---|---|
UK + European clients | £85,000 | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | AxiCorp Limited |
Australia + New Zealand |
No protection | Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd |
Arab Emirates | No protection | Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) | AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd |
All other clients | No protection | Financial Service Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (FSA) | AxiTrader Limited |
Axi provides negative balance protection for forex spot and CFD trading, but only for retail clients from the European Union. Professional and non-EU clients are not covered with any negative balance protection.
Background
Axi was established in 2007. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
Axi review
Bottom line
or
Axi is regulated by multiple authorities globally, like the UK's FCA and ASIC in Australia.
On the plus side, forex fees are low and no inactivity fee is charged. Deposits and withdrawals are also free of charge. Account opening is easy and fully digital, without any minimum deposit, which is also great.
AxiTrader has some drawbacks, though. Its product range is limited to FX and CFDs, and its research tools lack recommendations and fundamental data. In addition, customer support is only 24/5.
Feel free to try Axi, as the trading fees are low and there are no deposit, withdrawal or inactivity fees.