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Alison Heyerdahl is the Head of Content at FxScouts, a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), and an experienced trader, as well as a financial writer with extensive expertise in Forex trading, broker analysis, and market research. She has reviewed 100+ brokers, publishes weekly YouTube trading videos, and co-hosts the “Let’s Talk Forex” podcast.
In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. FP Markets and HFM 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 FP Markets and HFM 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 FP Markets and HFM, 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, FP Markets earned a higher trust rating than HFM.
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 FP Markets has overall lower trading costs than HFM.
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 FP Markets and HFM offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. FP Markets offers a greater variety of instruments compared to HFM:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, HFM offers 40 cryptocurrencies, while FP Markets offers 11 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, HFM 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 FP Markets charges a withdrawal fee and HFM does not. Overall, HFM has better deposit and withdrawal processes than FP Markets.
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.
FP Markets and HFM both have very good educational support. Both FP Markets and HFM offer educational support for more experienced traders.Access to frequent and high-quality market research and analysis is crucial.
We found that FP Markets offers better research analysis than HFM and that both FP Markets and HFM offer frequent webinars.
Updated June 2026
FP Markets is a well-regulated Forex broker with two low-cost, low minimum deposit accounts, and a range of excellent trading tools. We were also impressed with how easy the FP Markets Trading App was to use and the quality of FP Markets' customer service.
In terms of fees, FP Markets has an “ECN pricing” model, which it claims provides “extremely competitive” costs. Unfortunately, we found that the fees on its MT4 and MT5 trading accounts were higher than most of its ECN competitors. But FP Markets does make it easy for beginners to get started, with 100 AUD minimum deposits and unlimited demo accounts.
Updated June 2026
HFM (formerly known as HotForex) is a well-known international broker with a strong presence in South Africa. It has local FSCA regulation and local customer support, and unlike many other international brokers, it offers ZAR trading accounts. It also offers fast and free deposits and withdrawals from local banks in South African rand.
HFM offers five standard accounts and one specialised copy trading account, but the standout is the Cent Account, with a 0 ZAR minimum deposit and competitive trading costs. We were also pleased to find that HFM has reintroduced cryptocurrency trading, no doubt because of crypto's popularity in SA. This is alongside an excellent range of trading instruments, including shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and a wide range of other international stocks.
HFM supports the MT4 and MT5 platforms in addition to its own mobile HFM App, which allows clients to trade from charts and make deposits and withdrawals. It also has several excellent trading tools to assist traders further, including Autochartist.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of FP Markets and HFM.
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Broker | Overall Rating Our overall rating evaluates brokers on platform quality, fees, service, regulation, and instruments. Higher scores reflect better performance and reliability. | Official Site Click to visit the broker’s official website for more information and to open an account. | FSCA Regulated Indicates whether the broker is regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa, ensuring compliance with local financial laws and offering trader protection. | FSP number The FSCA licence number for the broker’s South African Financial Services Provider entity. Use it to verify local authorisation. | Onboarding Entity The legal company that holds your account after signup. It may be different from the broker’s brand name or local FSCA-licensed entity. | ZAR Account | Licenced by Displays the financial regulators licensing the broker, shown by national flags, ensuring compliance with financial standards for safer trading. | Best For This category highlights a broker's strongest feature based on trading conditions, platform experience, regulation, and user feedback. | Min. Deposit The smallest amount needed to open a live account with this broker. The real amount you need may be higher depending on the account type, base currency, and payment method. | Cost of Trading Total trading cost at the time of last update, for 1 lot of EUR/USD using the account with the lowest minimum deposit. Includes spread and commission. | Typical Withdrawal Broker-level withdrawal time field, typically shown in days where available. | Compare Select two brokers using the checkboxes to compare their features, fees, platforms, and more side by side. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Yes | 50926 | FP Markets (Pty) Ltd, South Africa | No | | Best for ECN Trading | USD 100 | USD 6 | Next Business Day | |||
 | Yes | 45984 | AvaTrade Markets Ltd, BVI | Yes |      | Best for Beginners | ZAR 1900 | USD 9 | Two Plus Business Days | |||
 | No | Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited | No |  | Best for Algorithmic Trading | USD 0 | USD 10 | Same Day | ||||
 | Yes | 51024 | Exness SC Ltd, Seychelles | Yes |   | Best Overall Broker | USD 3 | USD 7 | Two Plus Business Days | |||
 | No | 49970 | XTB International Limited, Belize | No |   | Most user-friendly proprietary platform | USD 0 | USD 7 | Next Business Day | |||
| No | 49977 | XM Global Limited, Belize | Yes | | Best for Educational Resources | USD 5 | USD 6 | Next Business Day | |||
 | No | IC Markets Ltd, Bahamas or Raw Trading Ltd, Seychelles | No |  | Best for Scalping | USD 200 | USD 8 | Same Day | ||||
 | Yes | 41393 | IG International Limited. Bermuda | Yes |      | Best for Professional Traders | USD 0 | USD 6 | Same Day | |||
 | Yes | 51008 | ACY Securities SA Pty Ltd, South Africa | No |  | Best for Trading Tools | USD 50 | USD 10 | Next Business Day | |||
 | Yes | 49464 | Tickmill Seychelles Ltd. | Yes | | Best for Low Spreads | USD 100 | USD 6 | Next Business Day |
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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.
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