In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. Trading 212 and TD Markets are two popular options, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. This comparison will dive into the key features of both platforms,helping you decide which one best suits your trading style and goals.
The radar chart above illustrates the comparison between Trading 212 and TD Markets across several key metrics, with the highest possible score being 100 in each category.
At FxScouts, our mission is to assist traders in finding the broker that best suits their needs. Comparing brokers side-by-side is an effective method to achieve this goal. We evaluated Trading 212 and TD Markets, using our standard criteria: trust and regulation, trading platforms, costs and trading conditions, and educational and market analysis resources.
Trust and regulation are crucial when selecting a Forex broker. A broker’s credibility is largely built on its regulatory status. We spend considerable time verifying the safety of each broker by examining their regulatory licenses. We also consider numerous factors when deciding which tier a regulator belongs to. Regulators that we rank as the world’s top regulators, gets a tier 1 rank, while regulators who only scores a tier 5-rank, provide virtually no regulatory oversight. The more top-tier authorities regulating a broker, the higher its trust rating. Read more about regulation and our tier system here.
In our comparison:
Based on these findings, Trading 212 earned a higher trust rating than TD Markets.
When comparing brokers, trading costs are a significant factor. We consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and ongoing costs, including spreads and commissions. We measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit, including both the spread and any commission charged.
We found that TD Markets has overall lower trading costs than Trading 212.
Trading Platforms Offered Traders prefer brokers that offer a variety of trading platforms. We rate brokers higher if they support multiple platforms like MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, and proprietary platforms.
Copy trading is beneficial for beginner traders or those unable to trade full-time. In this case both TD Markets and Trading 212 offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. Trading 212 offers a greater variety of instruments compared to TD Markets:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, Trading 212 offers 0 cryptocurrencies, while TD Markets offers 0 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, Trading 212 is the better choice for cryptocurrency trading.
Traders prefer brokers with quick and cost-effective deposit and withdrawal processes. We favor brokers that process withdrawals within 24 hours using multiple methods without charging fees.We found that neither TD Markets nor Trading 212 charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, Trading 212 has better deposit and withdrawal processes than TD Markets.Â
We often find that brokers offer very little in the way of educational materials, forcing traders to use other third-party sites or self-educate elsewhere. Beginner traders need well-structured, well-presented materials in multiple formats to get a good start at trading. More experienced traders also benefit from webinars led by experts in the field and advanced trading strategy sections with new trading ideas.Â
Trading 212 has better educational support than TD Markets. Both TD Markets and Trading 212 offer educational support for more experienced traders.Access to frequent and high-quality market research and analysis is crucial.
We found that Trading 212 offers better research analysis than TD Markets and that both TD Markets and Trading 212 offer frequent webinars.
A well-regulated broker, Trading212 appeals to traders looking for a large number of tradable assets and a simple account structure. However, traders should be aware that Trading212 is primarily a low-cost stock broker and that its CFD spreads are significantly wider than other brokers.
With over 1800 financial instruments, including over 180 Forex pairs, commodities, equities, ETFs, and indices, Trading212 offers a much wider range of tradable instruments than other similar brokers.
Trading is only offered on the Trading212 platform, which has a simple and intuitive interface, but does not have the execution speeds of third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5 and does not have algorithmic trading capabilities. Trading212 also only offers one live commission-free account, with a minimum deposit of 10 USD, but spreads that average at 2.40 pips on the EUR/USD, making it an uncompetitive offer.Â
Educational and market analysis materials are also limited, making it a poor choice for beginner traders, but it does offer a free, unlimited demo account. Additionally, customer service is only available via a ticketing system, and its response times are extremely slow.
Founded in 2015, TD Markets is an FSCA-regulated local broker with a low deposit ZAR account, renowned for its customer-focused approach to traders. However, traders should note that the trading costs on its entry-level account are significantly higher than other brokers.Â
TD Markets' entry-level Gold Account accommodates beginner traders with a minimum deposit of 50 USD, spreads averaging at 1.80 pips on the EUR/USD, which is significantly wider than other brokers, but with no commissions. Its Pro Account offers a very competitive spread, which will appeal to more experienced traders, but the minimum deposit on this account is 1000 USD. Traders will also be pleased that TD Markets charges no fees for deposits, withdrawals, or on dormant accounts.
TD Markets' CFD assets outside of their Forex offering are limited compared to other brokers, with only 12 indices, and 8 commodities available, restricting traders who wish to diversify their trading strategy. Additionally, TD Markets only offers support for the MT4 trading platform, offers virtually no trading tools, and its educational and market analysis materials are severely limited compared to other brokers.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of Trading 212 and TD Markets.
Alison and Chris cover a range of topics, including how to choose a Forex broker, safety and regulation, how to reduce your risk, trading psychology, trading platforms, and trading strategies, among others.
The FxScouts podcast helps beginner Forex traders get the best start to their trading careers.