FXTM accounts explained
Which one suits you?
* Information provided does not constitute investment advice or a personal recommendation. Trading is risky.
Choosing a trading account should be the simple part. It's easy to read the list as a ladder, with the larger deposits at the top, and that isn't how it works. Micro, Rewards Plus, Rewards, Advantage and Advantage Premier all reach the same instruments on the same platform, so what separates them is what each trade costs you and how much of that cost comes back. Here's what those differences are, and how to weigh them against the way you trade.
Key takeaways
No matter which currency account you choose, you get access to the same instruments on the same platform. What differs is the cost of each trade and what you get back.
The account tiers aren't ranked from best to worst. Rewards Plus has a lower entry cost than Rewards, but a higher spread per trade.
Which side of that split fits you better depends on how often you trade, not on how skilled you are.
Micro has the widest starting spread of the group, and it does not offer a swap free option at all.
Advantage trades the spread for a fixed commission per lot, along with tighter margin thresholds.
Same trade, same second, different cost
Here's a hypothetical example. Two traders open one lot of EURUSD at 11:02, at the same second, using the same price feed and the same platform. One holds a Rewards account, the other a Rewards Plus account. Both close the trade an hour later at the same price, yet the cost each pays leaves one further behind than the other.
The difference comes down to the spread, which is the gap between the price you can buy at and the price you can sell at. Rewards spreads start from 0.9 pips, while Rewards Plus spreads start from 1.5 pips. On a standard one lot EURUSD trade, that 0.6 pip difference is worth about $6.
Thinking of forex account types as a ladder that goes from beginner to advanced can lead you to the wrong choice. Rewards Plus costs more to trade on, yet it is cheaper to open, with a minimum deposit starting from $100, compared with $200 for Rewards. So there is no simple step up from basic to advanced here.
What you have instead is a choice between two different account types, and which one suits you depends more on how often you trade than on how experienced you are.
What accounts does FXTM offer?
Today at FXTM, traders have the choice of 5 accounts, with an additional demo account option where you can practice trading risk-free.
Micro
Rewards Plus
Rewards
Advantage
Advantage Stocks
None
Access to all Rewards features
- Up to 3X Reward Points for every trade
- Deposit bonuses
- Birthday bonus
- Point Boosts
- Exclusive competitions
- Up to 2X Reward Points for every trade
- Deposit bonuses
- Birthday bonus
- Point Boosts
- Standard Reward Points for every trade
- Deposit bonuses
- Birthday bonus
None
MT4
MT4 and MT5
MT4 and MT5
MT4 and MT5
MT5
30 USD/EUR
110 AED
100 USD/EUR/GBP
350 AED
137,000 NGN
200 USD/EUR/GBP
700 AED
274,000 NGN
500 USD/EUR/GBP
1,800 AED
685,000 NGN
200 USD
USC (US cents)
EUC (EU cents)
AEC (Dirham cents – UAE only)
USD
EUR
GBP
AED (UAE only)
NGN (Nigeria only)
USD
EUR
GBP
AED (UAE only)
NGN (Nigeria only)
USD
EUR
GBP
AED (UAE only)
NGN (Nigeria only)
USD
From 1.7 pips
From 1.5 pips
From 0.9 pips
From 0 pips
From 4 cents
None
None
None
- Forex: $3.5 per lot ($7 round turn)
- Metals: $25 per million notional
- Indices and Commodities: $35 per million notional
- Cryptocurrencies: 0.03% of the notional value
- Stock CFDs: $0.02 per side / lot traded
- UAE Stock CFDs: 0.04% of the notional value
- ETF CFDs: $0.01 per side / lot traded
- Crosses CFDs: $35 per million notional
None
Up to 1:1000 (floating)
Up to 1:5000 (floating)
Up to 1:5000 (floating)
Up to 1:3000 (floating)
1:1
50%
50%
50%
80%
None
20%
20%
20%
50%
None
Limited number of:
Forex, Metals, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies
Forex, Metals, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Futures,
Crosses, US/HK/UAE Stocks (MT5 only), ETFs (MT5 only)
Forex, Metals, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Futures,
Crosses, US/HK/UAE Stocks (MT5 only), ETFs (MT5 only)
Forex, Metals, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Futures,
Crosses, US/HK/UAE Stocks (MT5 only), ETFs (MT5 only)
US Stocks (Cash equities only)
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Note: Our Reward multiplier varies by account and instrument. Log in to the platform to see the exact value in the Tier Point calculator.
Every account reaches the same markets
Start by letting go of the idea that a trading account is a tier. Across Micro, Rewards Plus, Rewards, Advantage, and Advantage Premier, the instruments are the same. The platform is the same. The execution is the same. Depositing more does not unlock better currency pairs.
Advantage Stocks is the one exception. It comes with a different set of instruments and different rules, both of which are covered further down.
For currency accounts, the differences mostly come down to two things: how much you pay to open and close a position, and how much of that cost comes back to you afterward.
So the question is not which trading account type is best, because none of them is automatically better than the others. The real question is which one costs you less, based on the way you actually trade.
The four things that actually differ
Four factors explain most of the difference. Once you understand them, the account types become much easier to compare. Every figure below is a published starting value, and the current values for your region are available in our contract specifications.
Spread and commission, the two ways you pay
You have already come across the spread. It is measured in pips, which are very small changes in price. On a pair like EURUSD, one pip is usually the fourth decimal place.
The spread is built into the trade price rather than charged as a separate fee, so you pay it without ever seeing it as a separate line item. Spreads are quoted from a starting level, and they can widen when markets become more volatile.
Commission works differently. It is a visible fee, usually charged in dollars per lot traded. A lot is the standard contract size used to measure a forex position.
Micro, Rewards Plus, and Rewards do not charge commission, so the spread is your whole cost when you open and close a position. Advantage and Advantage Premier use much tighter spreads and charge a commission instead. Neither model is better by default. Which one works out cheaper depends on how often you trade.
Cashback, the way some of it comes back
Some accounts return part of your trading costs to you as cashback. Rewards Plus pays cashback at four times the standard rate, Rewards pays twice the standard rate, and Advantage pays the standard rate. Micro and Advantage Premier do not offer cashback at all.
That figure needs to be read alongside the spread. A higher cashback rate on a wider spread does not automatically work out cheaper than a lower cashback rate on a narrower one.
What it costs to open
Minimum deposits start from $30 for Micro and go up to $500 for Advantage. The two accounts at the center of this comparison sit in between, with Rewards Plus starting from $100 and Rewards from $200. Advantage Premier also starts from $200.
A higher minimum deposit can give you access to narrower spreads, but it does not automatically mean a better account. Whether it also makes trading cheaper is a separate question, especially since Advantage charges a commission as well.
The accounts page shows every account and its figures side by side. This page is here to explain what those numbers mean before you compare them.
Margin call and stop out
If losses reduce your available margin far enough, two levels become important. The margin call level acts as a warning. The stop out level is the point where open positions can start to close automatically, whether you are watching the account or not.
On Micro, Rewards Plus, and Rewards, those levels are 50% and 20%. On Advantage and Advantage Premier, they are 80% and 50%.
Both numbers matter. The 50/20 accounts give a losing position more room before positions start to close, and the tradeoff is that more of your balance may already be gone by the time that happens. The 80/50 accounts can reach stop out sooner, which may leave more of the original balance in place.
So the same setting creates a tradeoff between more room and closing out sooner. Neither level is automatically better.
Micro: the smallest way in
What a trade costs here
Micro starts from $30, or 3,000 cents, which is simply that same $30 shown in cent account units. Spreads start from 1.7 pips. There is no commission and no cashback, so the spread is your whole cost when you open and close a position, with nothing coming back to you afterward. Positions held overnight may also incur swap charges, and there is no way to avoid those on Micro.
That 1.7 pip starting spread is wider than on Rewards Plus or Rewards. What Micro gives you in return is the lowest minimum deposit of all the accounts covered here. That is where it stands out most.
Micro
Start small. Build confidence.
From 1.7 pips
None
Up to 1:1000 (floating)
The swap-free gap
If you hold a position overnight, an adjustment called swap may be applied. It reflects the interest rate difference between the two currencies in the trade. In most cases, swap is a charge, though in some cases it can be a credit.
For some traders, swap is not only a question of cost. For religious reasons, they may be able to use only a swap free trading account.
Micro does not offer a swap free option.
That is one of the clearest reasons to look beyond Micro. Both Rewards Plus and Rewards offer a swap free option, and Rewards Plus is the cheaper of the two to open, starting from $100.
The fork: Rewards Plus or Rewards
These two accounts are not simply one step up from the other. They are two different answers to the same question, and they lean in opposite directions.
Rewards Plus
Trade more. Earn more.
From 1.5 pips
No commission
Up to 1:5000 (floating)
Cheaper to open, wider to trade
Rewards Plus starts from $100, with spreads from 1.5 pips and cashback at four times the standard rate. Each trade costs a little more in spread than it would on Rewards, but a larger share of that cost comes back to you afterward.
Cheaper to trade, more to open
Rewards starts from $200, with spreads from 0.9 pips and cashback at twice the standard rate. That 0.9 pip starting spread is tighter than on Micro or Rewards Plus, and that is what the higher minimum deposit gives you. Less cashback comes back to you afterward, but you paid less in spread to begin with. A swap free option is available on Rewards, just as it is on Rewards Plus.
Rewards
More markets. More opportunities.
From 0.9 pips
None
Up to 1:5000 (floating)
Which side your volume puts you on
Try not to choose based on the minimum deposit alone. The $100 difference at the start is paid once. The spread difference applies to every lot you trade after that, and cashback can offset part of those ongoing costs.
Which account works out cheaper for you, and whether that changes as your trading volume increases, comes down to total cost.
Raw spread plus a fixed charge per lot
Advantage starts from $500 and offers spreads starting from 0.0 pips, with a commission of $3.50 per lot each way (once when you open, once when you close). Cashback is paid at the standard rate, and margin call and stop out levels are set at 80% and 50%.
This is the classic choice between a standard account and a raw spread account, and it is about visibility as much as cost. On the other accounts, most of your trading costs sit inside the spread. With Advantage, part of that cost appears separately, as a commission you can see clearly.
Who it suits, and who it does not
Advantage tends to suit frequent trading. The commission is fixed per lot, while spreads can still move with market conditions. For traders placing a high number of trades, the tighter starting spread and the clearer cost structure can make the account easier to evaluate.
It is less of a fit for occasional trading, mainly because of the $500 minimum deposit. That is more capital to commit before placing a first trade, and cashback is paid at the standard rate rather than at the higher rates available on Rewards Plus or Rewards.
The specialist accounts
Advantage Premier offers spreads starting from 0.0 pips, with a commission of $3.00 per lot each way. It uses the same 80% margin call and 50% stop out levels as Advantage, but it does not offer cashback. So the commission is lower than on Advantage, though there is nothing coming back afterward to offset the cost. Which of the two works out cheaper depends on your total cost of trading once both are counted. Availability is also limited and varies by region.
Advantage Stocks is different from the currency accounts. It starts from $200, with spreads from 2 cents, and it offers no leverage and no margin call. Because the instruments and the trading conditions are different, it follows a different set of rules.
Edge is a specialist account, and it runs on FXTM's own platform rather than MetaTrader, so choosing the account also means choosing the platform. It works in your browser and on mobile with nothing to download, starts from $50, and offers spreads from 0.9 pips with no commission. Margin call and stop out are set at 80% and 50%, and cashback is paid at twice the standard rate. Two things are worth checking before you choose it: Edge does not offer a swap free option, and it does not support automated trading. Availability is also narrower than on the MetaTrader accounts, and it varies by region.
Practice is the demo account. It comes with $1,000 in virtual funds and is opened as a Rewards Plus demo on the MT5 platform. It is useful for learning how the platform works and where to find everything, though it will not show you how trading costs and risk feel when real money is involved.
What is available where you are
Not every account is available in every market. Regulations vary from region to region, and so does the range of accounts you can open. That is why no table on this page can tell you exactly which options are open to you.
Your current account options are listed here, filtered for your region and updated with the latest figures. Check that page before making a decision.
The bottom line
Start by estimating how many lots you expect to trade each month, rather than starting with how much you can deposit. Your trading volume is what matters most when you compare the ongoing cost of each account.