XTB vs Expert Option

XTB vs Expert Option Comparison Table 2024
XTB Expert Option
4.8
3.5

Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 935,000 clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of 5,600+ assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring day traders.

Expert Option is an offshore broker that offers a simple and intuitive trading experience through a bespoke, user-friendly platform. Short-term traders can access 100 popular assets via binary options contracts with payouts up to 95%, free educational resources, and market data available to upper-tier account holders.

78% of retail accounts lose money.
Customer Reviews
4.5
5
Bonus Offer
100% deposit bonus
Comment by Reviewer
"XTB stands out as a top choice for new day traders with the terrific xStation platform, commission-free pricing, no minimum deposit, and excellent educational tools, many of which are seamlessly integrated into the platform. " "Expert Option will suit aspiring traders who want to access the financial markets through an options broker with a very easy-to-learn bespoke platform. The user-friendly day trading platform is clear and reliable."
Pros
  • With over 5,600 instruments across forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, including CFDs, share dealing and more recently Investment Plans, XTB caters to both short-term traders and longer-term investors.
  • The xStation platform continues to impress with its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, including customizable news feeds, sentiment heatmaps, and trader calculator, reducing the learning curve for newer traders.
  • With an excellent range of educational materials, including training videos and articles integrated into the platform, XTB supports traders at all levels.
  • XTB has started offering interest on uninvested balances (up to 5% on $30K+) with lower requirements than brokers like eToro (up to 5% on $50K+).
  • Opening an XTB account is a hassle-free, entirely online process that takes just a few minutes, making the entry into day trading smooth for new traders.
  • First-class 24/5 customer support is available, including a friendly live chat with response times of under two minutes during testing.
  • XTB offers fast withdrawals with same-day payments if requested before 1 pm, ensuring day traders have quick access to their funds.
  • The broker offers an easy to use, beginner-friendly proprietary trading platform with 4 chart types and social trading features
  • The diverse range of account currencies and 20+ accepted payment methods allow for flexible funding
  • There's a decent range of educational resources, including trading strategies, webinars and platform tutorials
  • The analytical tools for higher-level accounts are a useful addition for experienced day traders
  • High payouts up to 95% are above the industry average
  • There are no deposit and withdrawal fees which is ideal for active traders
  • Minimum deposits are low, starting from $10
Cons
  • XTB does not offer a raw spread account, which is becoming increasingly common among competitors like Pepperstone, and may disappoint day traders looking for the tightest spreads.
  • The demo account expires after just four weeks, a serious limitation for traders who wish to thoroughly test the xStation platform and practice short-term strategies before committing real funds.
  • XTB discontinued support for MT4, limiting traders to its proprietary platform, xStation, potentially deterring advanced day traders familiar with the MetaTrader suite.
  • Trading fees are competitive with average spreads of around 1 pip on the EUR/USD but still trail the cheapest brokers like IC Markets, plus there's an inactivity fee after 12 months.
  • The research tools at XTB are good but could be great if they went beyond in-house features with access to leading third-party tools such as Autochartist, Trading Central and TipRanks.
  • Not being able to adjust the default leverage level of XTB products is frustrating, as manual adjustment can significantly mitigate trade risk, especially in forex and CFD trading.
  • There's a very small list of binary assets with just 100 on offer compared to 1000+ offered by some competitors
  • Expert Option isn't available in several countries, including the EU, Australia and the US
  • The SVGFSA is a weak financial regulator with limited safeguarding measures
  • Very expensive $50 dormancy fee after 3 months of no trading activity
  • The broker doesn't offer any popular leveraged products such as CFDs
Awards
  • Best Forex Broker for Beginners 2022
  • Best Customer Service 2021
  • Best Forex Broker for Low Costs 2021
  • Best Mobile App for Investing 2020
  • #1 EMEA Bloomberg spot for FX accuracy in Q2 of 2020 and Q3 of 2018
  • Best Polish Forex Broker 2019
  • Best Execution Broker 2019
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, ETFs Options, Stocks, Commodities, Forex, Crypto, Futures,
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0 $10
Trading Platforms
  • xStation
  • Expert Option Web Platform
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots $1
Regulator
FCA, CySEC, KNF, CNMV, DFSA, FSC SVGFSA
Margin Trading
Yes No
Margin Rate
4.5%
STP Account
Yes No
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
Yes No
MAM Account
No No
PAMM Account
No No
LAMM Account
No No
Demat Account
No No
AI / Machine Learning
No No
Robo Advisor
No No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes No
Market Maker
No No
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
Yes No
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android iOS & Android
App Review

Year after year XTB’s app stands out for its slick design and uncluttered interface that we love. It’s quick, responsive and packed with useful features, notably integrated sentiment data, market news, economic calendars and education. The user-friendly order panel underneath the trading chart also makes placing trades, including adding take profit and stop loss levels, really straightforward.

Expert Option has an unusual mobile trading offering in that it balances education with trading, potentially serving new traders. However, our tests reveal very basic quizzes and learning materials that barely scratch the surface of binaries. The ‘Tap Game’ is also gimmicky and does little to serve serious traders.

Android App Rating
4.1
4.2
iOS App Rating
4.7
2.5
Auto Trading
Open API ExpertBot
Copy Trading
No Yes
Copy Trading Platform
You can study and copy the positions of established VIPs to increase potential returns. Users can find master traders based on asset class and historic returns. A useful leaderboard is available to social traders.
Social Trading
No Yes
Trade Signals
Yes Only for Platinum and Exclusive accounts
VPS Hosting
No No
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
No No
Ethical Investing
Yes No
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Yes No
Inactivity Fee
$0 $50
Islamic Account
Yes No
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • HUF
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • NZD
  • INR
  • JPY
  • ZAR
  • MYR
  • IDR
  • TRY
  • SEK
  • NOK
  • DKK
  • CHF
  • HKD
  • SGD
  • RUB
  • PLN
  • CZK
  • AED
Stock Exchanges
Commodities
CFD Trading
XTB offers a huge selection of more than 2,100 CFDs spanning forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptos (location-dependant). Leverage up to 1:30 is available in the EU and UK, while global clients and pro traders can access up to 1:500. XTB stands out for its CFD trading resources and tutorials to assist traders in developing short-term trading strategies. CFD trading not offered
Leverage
1:30 (EU) 1:500 (Global) N/A
FTSE Spread
1.8 N/A
GBPUSD Spread
1.4 N/A
Oil Spread
0.03 N/A
Stocks Spread
0.2% N/A
Forex Trading
XTB provides access to 70+ currency pairs with low spreads averaging around 1 pip on majors. The xStation platform offers an intuitive environment for forex traders with an excellent charting package encompassing 30+ indicators, plus a range of order types, catering to various strategies and risk management techniques. Expert Option traders can access some of the most popular forex pairs including USD/EUR, GBP/USD and GBP/EUR using binary options contracts that payout up to 95%, well above the industry average of around 85%.
Forex App

With over 1 million downloads and a rating of 4.5*, XTB deliver a mobile trading platform that users love. Slick and reliable, the app boasts a range of extra features including advanced charts and market sentiment indicators. Download xStation by XTB here.

GBPUSD Spread
1.4 Variable
EURUSD Spread
1.0 Variable
EURGBP Spread
1.4 Variable
Assets
70+ 6
Cryptocurrency
XTB offers an excellent selection of cryptos with more than 50 digital currencies. Spreads are tight starting from 0.22% on BTC and leverage reaches 1:5. The xStation platform also provides intra-crypto pairs like ETH/BTC and DSH/BTC. With the capability to trade cryptos 24/7, XTB ensures a secure environment with transparent accounts for cryptocurrency day trading. Traders can speculate on Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) price movements using high/low binary options on a proprietary platform. These are three of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market, but the offering lacks the variety and volatility offered by less popular tokens.
Spread
0.22% $5 on any winning trades
Coins
  • ADA
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • DSH
  • EOS
  • ETH
  • IOTA
  • LTC
  • NEO
  • XRP
  • XLM
  • TRX
  • XEM
  • XLM
  • XMR
  • DOGE
  • BNB
  • LINK
  • UNI
  • DOT
  • XTZ
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • ETH
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
Binary Options
Binary options trading not offered Expert Option is a well-known binary options broker providing access to 100 assets with a $5 charge on winning trades. Payouts are competitive and users can speculate on rising or falling prices with one-click in the web-accessible platform. Binaries are aimed at ultra-short-term traders, ranging from 60 seconds to 5 minutes.
Payout
95%
Expiry Times
60 seconds - 5 minutes
Ladder Options
No No
Boundary Options
No Yes
78% of retail accounts lose money.
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