Founded in 2011, OCTA is a global multi-asset CFD broker. As stated on their website, over 21 million trading accounts have been opened across 180 countries with OCTA.
The broker offers a selection of 230 CFDs across major asset classes, along with access to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and its proprietary OctaTrader. In my view, OCTA’s tight spreads, extensive research and educational materials, and diverse payment options truly reflect its innovative approach and dedication to meeting client needs.
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OCTA has competitive spreads in some instruments such as EUR/USD and impressive research written by in-house analysts. Third-party tools such as AutoChartist are also available. Moreover, OCTA is a crypto-friendly broker – traders can choose from 34 CFDs on cryptocurrencies and make deposits and withdrawals in crypto.
With demo accounts, the ability to trade in micro-lots, copy trading, and strong educational resources, I rate OCTA as a suitable broker for beginners. Experienced traders can take advantage of the advanced features in the MetaTrader platform, such as automated trading. There is also the possibility of earning extra money as a Master Trader within the copy trading platform.
We performed our tests with a live account, using the MetaTrader 5 and OctaTrader platforms, opened with the OctaFX Saint Lucia entity (Octa Markets Inc.). Some features and services may vary depending on where you reside.
☑️ Regulations | MISA (Comoros), CySEC (Cyprus), FSCA (South Africa) |
🗺 Supported Languages | English, Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, German |
💰 Products | Currencies, Stocks, Crypto, Indices, Commodities |
💵 Min Deposit | $25 |
💹 Max Leverage | 1:1000 (MISA), 1:30 (CySEC), 1:1000 (FSCA) |
🖥 Trading Desk Type | ECN, STP |
📊 Trading Platforms | MT5, MT4, Octatrader |
💳 Deposit Options | FasaPay, Cryptocurrencies, Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Credit Card, Ngan Luong, Visa |
💳 Withdrawal Options | Wire Transfer, Cryptocurrencies, Neteller, Skrill, Visa |
🤴 Demo Account | Yes |
🗓 Foundation Year | 2011 |
🌎 Headquarters Country | Comoros |
The trust score came in low, largely because the Octa Markets Inc. entity is unregulated. However, the European entity of OCTA is regulated by the top-tier Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). According to the broker’s website, clients have negative balance protection, and client funds are segregated from the company’s operating funds. I rated the level of transparency at OCTA as mixed.
This section will cover how the different entities of OCTA are regulated and how this impacts you as a trader. We rate regulators on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 reflecting the highest level of trust.
Different regulators provide different levels of protection. For example, OCTA clients in the European Union benefit from the oversight of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). CySEC requires that clients have negative balance protection, which means they cannot lose more than their deposit.
In addition, when trading with a broker authorized by CySEC, client funds are protected by the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). ICF protects client accounts for up to €20,000 if a firm becomes insolvent. A trader working with a broker entity regulated offshore would not necessarily have these benefits.
The table below lists the protections and benefits by entity, regulator, and region.
Entity | Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd | Octa Markets Inc. | Octa Markets ltd. | Orinoco Capital (Pty) Ltd. |
Country/Region | European Union | Global | Global | South Africa |
Regulation | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission | Registered, regulated, and governed by the law of Saint Lucia | Mwali International Services Authority | Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) |
Segregated Funds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Negative Balance Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Compensation Scheme | ICF Up to €20,000 | No | No | No |
Maximum Leverage | 1:30 | 1:1000 | 1:1000 | 1:1000 |
Regulatory requirements are subject to change. We gathered the data listed above in June 2023.
In our tests for the Trust category, we also cover factors relating to stability and financial strength. Here, we focus on how long the broker has been in business, what is the company size, and how transparent the broker overall.
Launched in 2011, OCTA has a substantial operating history. According to the company’s LinkedIn page, the Saint Vincent and Grenadines-based broker has over 51-200 employees, reflecting a medium-sized brokerage firm.
The EU entity of OCTA clearly states its regulatory status in the website’s footer. The offshore entity also references its corporate registration number with the Saint Lucia authorities at the bottom of each page. However, there is room for improvement in terms of being clear about the unregulated status of the offshore entity.
Trading costs such as spreads are clearly explained on the Spreads and Conditions page. To read the fine print, traders can find the Customer Agreement in the footer of the website. The About Us page does a good job of sharing the company’s mission and history through a series of milestones over the years. Overall, I rate OCTA as having a mixed level of transparency.
OCTA excelled in the category of fees, with tight spreads in CFDs on forex and shares. It also bucks the industry trend by not charging swaps or inactivity fees. For both trading accounts (OctaFX MT4 and OctaFX MT5), all fees are reflected in the spread – there are no additional commissions charged.
I tested the spreads at OCTA across different assets using the MetaTrader 5 platform at 8:00 a.m. GMT and 4:00 p.m. GMT on 19 June 2023.
Measuring spreads at different times of the day allows for greater perspective: 8:00 a.m. GMT is the London open when there is high liquidity in the forex market. 4:00 p.m. GMT is during the New York trading session.
Instrument | Spread AM | Spread PM |
EUR/USD | 1 Pip | 0.8 Pip |
GBP/JPY | 1.4 Pips | 1.2 |
Gold | 23 Pips | 22 Pips |
Light Crude Oil | 7 Pips | 8 Pips |
Apple | n/a | 18 cents |
Tesla | n/a | 27 cents |
Dow 30 | 4 Pips | 4 Pips |
Dax 40 | 2 Pips | 2 Pips |
Bitcoin | $14.67 | $16.35 |
OCTA does not currently charge swap fees – the charge for holding leveraged positions overnight.
OCTA does not charge an inactivity or account maintenance fee.
I rated fees at OCTA as competitive for the following reasons:
OCTA offers the popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms across desktop, web, and mobile. These platforms provide robust charting and a wide range of order types and enable automated trading. The web-based OctaTrader platform is a beginner-friendly and convenient alternative.
In the hands-on testing process, I used MetaTrader 5 for desktops, which includes advanced functions such as copy trading and automated trading.
MetaTrader 5 is available in 52 languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese. The platform provides popular features such as
MetaTrader also delivers when it comes to the range of available order types. The platform offers the following order types:
Charting features are robust. MetaTrader 5 offers:
MetaTrader is also popular due to its copy trading and automated trading features.
The MetaTrader 5 desktop platform is one of the most feature-rich and popular trading platforms. However, it may present a steep learning curve for beginners.
The MetaTrader 5 Web Platform (Web Trader) is a slightly stripped-down version of the desktop platform. It allows you to trade without any additional software, only an internet connection is required. The Web Platform allows users to trade directly from any browser and operating system.
Popular features include
Copy and automated trading are only available on the MT5 desktop platform.
OCTA offers the MetaTrader 5 mobile app for mobile trading, which is available for Android and iOS. The app offers popular features such as alerts, 1-click trading, and trading from the chart.
The MetaTrader 5 mobile app also provides many order types, including pending and stop orders. However, trailing stop-loss orders are only available from the desktop. To change the language of the MT5 app, you must change the language for your entire phone. As with the desktop and web platforms, the interface is not highly intuitive, but the MT5 app offers an above-average range of features.
OCTA offers both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. MT5 provides a greater number of technical indicators, timeframes, and graphical objects. It also has additional features such as an economic calendar. The table below highlights the main differences.
Feature | MetaTrader 4 | MetaTrader 5 |
Technical Indicators | 30 | 38 |
Charting Time Frames | 9 | 21 |
Analytical Objects | 31 | 44 |
Pending Order Types | 4 | 6 |
Platform Languages | 39 | 52 |
Economic Calendar | No | Yes |
Strategy Tester | Single-threaded strategy tester | Multi-threaded strategy tester* |
*The multi-threaded strategy tester in MT5 allows traders to backtest a trading strategy on multiple financial instruments simultaneously.
The web-based OctaTrader platform is well-designed and intuitive. Popular features such as 1-click trading, alerts, and watchlists are available. Traders can access all basic order types (market, limit, stop loss) via the platform.
Robust charting is provided by TradingView, featuring 11 time frames, 11 chart types, and over 100 technical indicators. Various drawing tools, from trend lines to Fibonacci retracements, are also available.
OctaTrader can be used in the following languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Portuguese, Thai, Deutsch, Bengali, Vietnamese, and Turkish.
OctaFX copy trading enables clients to automatically copy experienced traders, and piggyback on their expertise in the markets. Traders can browse and select the ‘Master Traders’ they want to follow by looking at statistics such as:
By pressing ‘set up copying’, the orders of the Master Trader will be copied automatically. Traders have complete control over the process and can stop copying anytime. OCTA clients with an MT4 account can also elect to become Master Traders. They can then trade as usual and earn additional income whenever others choose to copy them.
OCTA offers a variety of trading instruments, including CFDs on all the major asset classes— forex, commodities, indices, shares, and cryptocurrencies. OCTA has a strong selection of CFDs on cryptocurrencies, numbering 30 in total. The range of available CFDs on indices is also better than average.
CFDs (Contracts for Differences) are financial derivative products that allow traders to speculate in various markets without owning the underlying assets. I rated the range of tradable instruments at OCTA as slightly better than average. Here are the major categories of tradable assets available at OCTA:
In the tables below, you can see a selection highlighting the variety of instruments available at OCTA:
Forex Major | Forex Minor |
USD/CHF | GBP/USD | USD/JPY | EUR/NZD | GBP/JPY | EUR/CAD |
Metals | Energy |
Silver | Gold | Natural Gas | WTI Crude Oil | Brent Crude Oil |
Shares | Indices |
Amazon | Starbucks | Adidas | SPX500 | AUS200 | NAS100 |
Crypto |
Bitcoin | Polkadot | Cosmos | Dogecoin | Binance | Solana | Ethereum |
Available leverage differs according to the asset class, with the most leverage available with CFDs on forex and the least with CFDs on shares.
The figures below reflect the available leverage at the offshore entity of OCTA.
Asset Class | Maximum Available Leverage |
Forex | 1:1000 |
Metals | 1:400 |
Energies | 1:400 |
Indices | 1:400 |
Cryptocurrencies | 1:200 |
Shares | 1:20 |
OCTA provides 24/7 customer support via live chat and email. Phone support is not currently available. In my tests, I received speedy responses—the same day for email and a wait of just a few seconds for live chat. The agents were helpful and attentive. Despite the lack of phone support, I rate OCTA as average in this category.
OCTA’s customer support is available in 28 languages, including English, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Portuguese, Thai, Deutsch, Bengali, Vietnamese, and Turkish.
Over a week-long testing period, I probed customer support with dozens of inquiries, ranging from available tools to fees and questions relating to the security of client accounts. I was surprised at how fast the responses were, and the agents went the extra mile to provide the information I sought.
OCTA clients can make deposits and withdrawals via bank wire, credit card, digital wallet, and cryptocurrency. Available methods vary depending on where you reside. No fees are charged for deposits or withdrawals. Processing times range from instant to a few hours, which is better than average for the industry.
In the tables below I break down the fees and processing times for each deposit and withdrawal method.
Deposit Method | Fees | Processing Time |
Local Bank Wire | $0 | 1-3 hours |
Instant Bank Transfer | $0 | Instant |
Visa | $0 | 1-5 minutes |
Neteller | $0 | Instant |
Skrill | $0 | Instant |
Bitcoin | $0 | 3-30 minutes |
Dogecoin | $0 | 3-30 minutes |
Ethereum (ERC20) | $0 | 3-30 minutes |
Litecoin | $0 | 3-30 minutes |
Tether (ERC20) | $0 | 3-30 minutes |
Tether (TRC20) | $0 | 3-30 minutes |
Withdrawal Method | Fees | Processing Time |
Local Bank Wire | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 1 hour to transfer the funds |
Visa | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 1 hour to transfer the funds |
Skrill | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 5 minutes to transfer the funds |
Neteller | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 5 minutes to transfer the funds |
Bitcoin | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 30 minutes to transfer the funds |
Dogecoin | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 30 minutes to transfer the funds |
Ethereum (ERC20) | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 30 minutes to transfer the funds |
Litecoin | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 30 minutes to transfer the funds |
Tether (ERC20) | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 30 minutes to transfer the funds |
Tether (TRC20) | $0 | 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal and up to 30 minutes to transfer the funds |
The account opening process at OCTA is fully digital and can be completed within minutes via the company website. The broker offers three main account types; OctaFX MT4, OctaFX MT5, and OctaTrader. The score for this category was weighed down because only one base currency is available (USD) and there is no option for a raw spreads account.
To open an account at the Octa Markets Inc. entity, follow the next steps:
OCTA offers three main account types: OctaTrader, MetaTrader 4, and MetaTrader 5.
Account | MT4 | MT5 | OctaTrader |
Spread | Floating, starting at 0.6 pips | Floating, starting at 0.6 pips | Floating, starting at 0.6 pips |
Recommended Deposit | 25 USD | 25 USD | 25 USD |
Available Instruments | 35 currency pairs + gold and silver + 3 energies + 6 indices + 34 cryptocurrencies | 52 currency pairs + gold and silver + 3 energies + 10 indices + 34 cryptocurrencies + 150 stocks | 80 Instruments: 35 currency pairs + gold and silver + 3 energies + 10 indices + 30 cryptocurrencies |
Available Leverage | 1:1000 for currencies (1:200 for ZARJPY) 1:400 for metals 1:400 for energies 1:400 for indices 1:200 for cryptocurrencies | 1:1000 for currencies (1:200 for ZARJPY) 1:400 for metals 1:400 for energies 1:400 for indices 1:200 for cryptocurrencies 1:40 for stocks | Forex 110500 (ZARJPY 1:200) Metals 1:400 Energies 1:400 Indices 1:400 Crypto 1:200 |
Minimum Volume | 0.01 lot | 0.01 lot | 0.01 lot |
Maximum Volume | 200 lots | 500 lots | 50 lots |
Deposit Currencies | USD or EUR | USD or EUR | USD |
Demo accounts are especially important for beginners as they allow them to practice their strategies and get comfortable with the trading platform without risking real money. OCTA offers demo accounts for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.
The demo account features live quotes and simulates live market conditions in assets such as forex and CFDs on commodities, indices, and stocks. Once users have gotten up to speed on a demo account, they can easily switch to a live version.
OCTA offers a swap-free Islamic account that adheres to the principles of Sharia law.
One of the reasons that traders are attracted to the forex and CFD markets is the high degree of available leverage. Leverage is the use of borrowed funds to increase the size of your trading positions beyond what would be possible using only the cash in your account.
The maximum leverage at the global entity of OCTA is 1:1000. This means that with an account of $1,000, you can control up to $500,000 worth of positions in the market. Leverage is often described as a ‘double-edged sword’ as it can hurt you as much as it helps you. Traders must remember that it can amplify both their profits and their losses.
OCTA is an STP/ECN broker. Client orders received by OCTA are offset by banks and liquidity providers. NDD (No Dealing Desk) brokers such as OCTA act as intermediaries between the trader and the real market and receive a defined and transparent commission for it.
OCTA takes clients from the majority of countries globally. However, clients not accepted from American Samoa, Belarus, Cyprus, Guam, Kazakhstan, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Russia, Ukraine, United States Virgin Islands, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, and the Marshall Islands.
OCTA excels in research, offering regularly updated commentary written by in-house analysts and trading ideas. In addition, clients can utilize research from third-party provider AutoChartist. I rate OCTA as better than the industry average in this category.
Daily and weekly forecasts in the Market Insights section preview the key economic data ahead and highlight the major market movers. The reports cover significant support and resistance levels and technical signals from indicators such as MACD and Parabolic SAR. The research section also includes specific trading ideas, target prices, and key price levels to watch.
The OCTA website features a robust economic calendar, including the time, date, country, actual figure, forecast figure, previous figure, and anticipated market impact of a given economic release.
The AutoChartist plugin for MetaTrader is available to clients with $1,000 or more in their accounts. The Autochartist plugin for MetaTrader provides real-time trading signals to your terminal, shows chart patterns and trends online, and allows you to receive daily Market Reports via email.
OCTA provides a solid range of educational materials, including articles, videos, webinars, and a video course. Content is updated frequently and is accessible to all levels of traders. A broad range of topics from technical analysis to trading strategies and platform tutorials are covered. With a perfect score in this category, OCTA has gone above and beyond to educate its clients.
The education section on the OCTA website is well thought out, clearly presented, and made for different levels of traders – beginners, intermediate, and experienced. Webinars play an important role and take place daily. Material includes live trading sessions, workshops, and trading strategy-themed presentations.
In article format, OCTA provides dozens of detailed guides on subjects ranging from how to use moving averages to setting up the Autochartist Metatrader plugin. An 11-lesson course on forex basics is available in video format and makes a good primer for new traders. OCTA also provides platform tutorial videos, which cover getting started with MetaTrader, using your personal account area, and how to copy trade.
One thing that stood out to me about this broker during my review was the ease of use. The OctaTrader platform is intuitive, well designed, and has popular features like alerts and 1-click trading. There are no swap fees, inactivity fees, or fees for deposits and withdrawals. Three account types cater to traders with different levels of experience.
Spreads are competitive, especially in forex and shares. OCTA has also gone above and beyond with its education materials which include live webinars and carefully crafted courses. Customer service is highly responsive, with one drawback being that there is no phone support. OCTA also made a significant step forward since my last review by adding 150 CFDs on shares from 16 global stock exchanges.
This broker has many qualities suited to beginners but can also cater to experienced traders with the advanced features of MetaTrader. The global entity is unregulated, and this means clients benefit from fewer account protections. However, OCTA states that it provides clients with segregated accounts and negative balance protection. A welcome addition would be third-party account insurance (such as a policy from Lloyds of London), as seen at some other popular offshore brokers. Overall, I rate OCTA as an innovative broker with a client-centric focus.
Headquarters Country | Comoros |
Foundation Year | 2011 |
Regulations | MISA (Comoros), CySEC (Cyprus), FSCA (South Africa) |
Publicly Traded | No |
Number Of Employees | 100 |
Trading Desk Type | ECN, STP |
Trading Platforms | MT5, MT4, Octatrader |
Restricted Countries | Samoa, Belarus, Cyprus, Guam, United States, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, American Samoa |
Supported Languages | English, Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, German |
Min Deposit | $25 |
Max Leverage | 1:1000 (MISA), 1:30 (CySEC), 1:1000 (FSCA) |
Deposit Options | FasaPay, Cryptocurrencies, Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Credit Card, Ngan Luong, Visa |
Withdrawal Options | Wire Transfer, Cryptocurrencies, Neteller, Skrill, Visa |
Time to Withdrawal | 2 |
Time to Open an Account | 5 |
Crypto | Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Dash, Zcash, TRON, Cardano, IOTA, Polkadot, Binance Coin, Chainlink, Uniswap, Solana, Decentraland |
Products | Currencies, Stocks, Crypto, Indices, Commodities |
Demo Account | Yes |
OCO Orders | No |
Offers Hedging | Yes |
Automated Trading | Yes |
API Trading | No |
Guaranteed Stop Loss | Yes |
Guaranteed Limit Orders | Yes |
Guaranteed Fills / Liquidity | No |
Economic calendar | Yes |
Trading From Chart | Yes |
One-Click Trading | Yes |
Expert Advisor | Yes |
Social Trading | Yes |
Autochartist | Yes |
Trading Signals | Yes |
Platform Languages | Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese, English, Spanish, German, Malaysian, Urdu, Indonesian |
24 Hours Support | Yes |
Support During Weekends | Yes |
Live Chat | Yes |
Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
Webinars | Yes |
Deposit Fee | No |
Withdrawal Fee | No |
Inactivity Fee | No |
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licenced futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
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