Compare Forex Brokers side by side

How do HFM and eToro 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 FX Scouts Kenya, 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 eToro, 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 eToro 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 eToro holds three Tier 1 and no Tier 2 licences, and HFM holds two Tier 1 and no Tier 2 licences.

 

Is eToro financially regulated?

Yes eToro was founded in 2006 and is regulated by ASIC, CySEC, FCA and FSA-Seychelles.

 

Is HFM financially regulated?

Yes HFM was founded in 2010 and is regulated by CMA, CySEC, FCA and FSCA.

 

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

Does HFM or eToro 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 eToro and HFM have the same trading costs. 

 

Does HFM or eToro 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 eToro 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 eToro and HFM 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 HFM offers a greater range and depth of instruments to trade than eToro. HFM offers 53 Forex pairs to trade and eToro offers 49 Forex pairs to trade.

And what about Cryptocurrencies?

In this case, eToro offers 76 cryptocurrencies while HFM offers 40 cryptocurrencies. So if you want to trade cryptocurrencies, we advise trading with eToro.

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 eToro charges a withdrawal fee and HFM does not. Overall, HFM has better deposit and withdrawal processes than eToro. 

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 eToro. Both eToro and HFM 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 eToro and that both eToro and HFM offer frequent webinars.

 

Our overall Verdict on HFM

HFM (formerly known as HotForex) is a well-known international broker with a strong presence in Kenya. It has local CMA regulations and local customer support, and unlike many other international brokers, it offers KES trading accounts. It also offers fast and free deposits and withdrawals from a range of local banks. 

HFM offers four standard accounts and one specialised copy trading account. Three of its standard accounts have no minimum deposit requirements and very competitive trading fees. We were also pleased with the large range of tradable assets, including 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 100 USD – well above the required minimum deposit.

Our overall Verdict on eToro

eToro is a world-famous multi-regulated CFD broker offering clients a unique experience trading Forex, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs and indices. While eToro's main attraction is a bespoke crowd trading platform built to encourage clients to follow expert traders or select market strategies, their trader community is continually let down by inadequate disinterested customer support and tortuously long response times.

Upon sign up, eToro's clients become part of a massive community of traders all following expert traders or professional traders contributing to their social trading platform. Although traders can make trades independent of the community, the popular CopyTrader tool allows clients to copy individual trader's strategies automatically. Similarly, the CopyPortfolios tool allows traders to invest in a single market strategy that includes multiple assets assembled into a single investment vehicle.

For the most part, the trading conditions at eToro align with other market makers with a unique platform offering, but in contrast, eToro has numerous non-trading fees on both deposits and withdrawals. All in all, a trader who is looking for a traditional trading environment eToro won't find a fit. Still, for those looking for a strong copy trading platform, eToro wrote the book on copy trading and still stands out as the leader.

Which broker has the highest overall rating?

HFM has an overall rating of 4.53 and eToro has an overall rating of 3.68. For more detail please read our reviews of HFM and eToro.