How do HFM and InstaForex stack up against each other?

The Radar Chart below highlights how the brokers stack up against each other across various metrics. The highest score a broker can receive in each area is 5.

At FxScouts, we help traders find the broker that suits their trading needs. In many cases, the best way to achieve this is to compare brokers side-by-side.

To compare HFM and InstaForex, we used the same factors we use when reviewing brokers: The trust and regulation of the broker, the trading platform, the costs and trading conditions, and the level of education and market analysis available at the broker.

Does HFM or InstaForex have a better trust and regulation rating?

Trust and regulation are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a Forex broker. Trust in the Forex trading business is almost entirely founded upon regulation. We spend many hours evaluating the safety of each broker by delving into their fine print and confirming each one of their regulatory licences on the online registers. The more top-tier authorities a broker is regulated by, the higher its trust rating.

In our comparison, we found that HFM holds one Tier 1 and two Tier 2 licences, and InstaForex holds no Tier 1 and no Tier 2 licences.

 

Is HFM financially regulated?

Yes HFM was founded in 2010 and is regulated by CySEC, DFSA, FCA, FSC, FSCA and FSA-Seychelles.

 

Is InstaForex financially regulated?

Yes InstaForex was founded in 2007 and is regulated by B.V.I FSC and FSA-St-Vincent.

 

Based on these findings, HFM earned a higher trust rating than InstaForex.

Does HFM or InstaForex have lower costs?

Another important aspect we consider when comparing brokers is the cost of trading. When evaluating trading costs, we always consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and the ongoing trading costs, including the spreads and commissions. When calculating trading costs, we measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit. The cost includes both the spread and any commission charged. 

Not all brokers publish their trading costs, so we often open accounts and trade on their platforms to verify the spreads and commissions. Based on our reviews, we found that HFM has overall lower trading costs than InstaForex. 

 

Does HFM or InstaForex offer a better choice of trading platforms?

Traders want Forex brokers to offer them a choice of trading platforms, so we give brokers who offer multiple platforms higher ratings. Trading platforms we consider include MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader and proprietary mobile and web-based platforms. 

In this case, HFM offers support for and InstaForex offers support for . 

Do the brokers offer copy trading?

Copy trading is a great option for beginner traders who can’t trade full-time or lack experience with Forex trading. In this case both HFM and InstaForex offer copy trading.

 

Which broker offers a better choice of trading instruments?

A variety of CFD instruments – and a large range of CFDs for each instrument category allow traders more opportunities for profitable trading. The best brokers will have thousands of CFDs to trade, covering all these instrument categories. We found that InstaForex offers a greater range and depth of instruments to trade than HFM. InstaForex offers 110 Forex pairs to trade and HFM offers 53 Forex pairs to trade.

And what about Cryptocurrencies?

In this case, HFM offers 40 cryptocurrencies while InstaForex offers 12 cryptocurrencies. So if you want to trade cryptocurrencies, we advise trading with HFM.

Which broker offers better deposit and withdrawal processes?

Although brokers may have reasonable trading fees, many traders are caught out by the high non-trading fees charged by some brokers, including deposits and withdrawals. Traders want to be able to deposit and withdraw funds quickly and cheaply. Most brokers have multiple funding methods with zero fees for making deposits, but some brokers make it more expensive and take longer to process withdrawals. 

We rate brokers more highly that process withdrawals within 24 hours by multiple withdrawal methods and without charging processing fees. We found that InstaForex charges a withdrawal fee and HFM does not. Overall, HFM has better deposit and withdrawal processes than InstaForex. 

Which broker offers better educational support?

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. 

HFM has better educational support than InstaForex. Both HFM and InstaForex offer educational support for more experienced traders.

 

Which broker offers better market analysis materials?

To successfully predict the price movements of an instrument, traders will need access to frequent market research and analysis. We find that research and market analysis are always better when they are produced in-house and updated frequently. Third-party resources don’t show the same expertise in trading ideas, so we place a strong emphasis on frequent in-house updates. Some brokers also often offer interactive webinars where traders can learn from experts in the field. 

We found that HFM offers better research analysis than InstaForex and that both HFM and InstaForex offer frequent webinars.

 

Our overall Verdict on HFM

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 in South African Rands from a range of local banks, including FNB, ABSA, Nedbank, and Standard Bank, among others. 

HFM offers four standard accounts and one specialised copy trading account.  Three of its three standard accounts have no minimum deposit requirements and have extremely competitive trading fees. We were also pleased to find that HFM has recently reintroduced cryptocurrency trading, no doubt because of the popularity of the asset. This is alongside an excellent range of trading instruments, including shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and over 950 other international stocks.

HFM supports the MT4 and MT5 platforms in addition to its own mobile HF App, which allows clients to trade from charts and make deposits and withdrawals. It also has several excellent trading tools to assist traders further. Unfortunately, access to tools such as Autochartist, which other brokers offer as a free service, requires an account balance of 1500 ZAR – well above the minimum deposit.

Our overall Verdict on InstaForex

Note: Due to numerous complaints about the broker and its lack of regulatory oversight, we do NOT recommend InstaForex. If you are looking for a good broker, look at our HFM or Avatrade reviews instead. 

InstaForex offers four live instant execution accounts, all with a minimum deposit of 1 USD. Spreads are fixed at 3 pips (EUR/USD) on its commission-free accounts and 0 pips (EUR/USD) on its commission-based accounts in exchange for a commission of 30 USD (round turn) per lot traded.  These trading costs are significantly higher than other brokers but don't vary with trade volume or market volatility.  

Both the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms are available, alongside two of InstaForex’s web-based platforms. It also offers numerous trading tools, including VPS hosting services, various copy trading applications, and several technical analysis tools. 

Other drawbacks are that the educational materials are poorly presented and lack depth, making it a poor choice for beginner traders.  We also found that its withdrawal times are exceedingly slow, and many traders complain about how difficult it is to withdraw their funds. 

Which broker has the highest overall rating?

HFM has an overall rating of 4.43 and InstaForex has an overall rating of 2.92. For more detail please read our reviews of HFM and InstaForex.