Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of HFM vs Questrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Comparing online brokers HFM and Questrade: Questrade (founded 2000) is the older firm, while HFM started in 2010. Neither company is publicly traded or operates as a bank. Both earn a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 85/99, which falls in the “trusted” 80–89 range (90–99 highly trusted; 70–79 average risk; 60–69 high risk; below 59 not trusted).
Regulation and licenses show key differences. HFM holds 2 Tier-1 licenses (viewed as highly trusted by ForexBrokers.com) and 3 Tier-2 licenses (trusted), giving it a wider regulatory footprint across top and mid-tier authorities. Questrade holds 1 Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses. While both score the same on trust, HFM carries more licenses, whereas Questrade has a leaner setup.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2000 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
When comparing commissions and fees, HFM comes out ahead of Questrade in overall value. HFM’s trading costs are slightly above the industry average, with a typical spread of 1.2 pips on its standard account and an effective spread of 0.7 pips on its Zero account after commission. HFM is rated 4 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #29 out of 36 brokers.
Questrade Global uses a spread-only pricing model, so its costs are built into the bid-ask spread instead of a separate trading commission. While Questrade says spreads can start as low as 0.8 pips under normal market conditions, real-world average spreads for major pairs were closer to 2.1 to 2.5 pips, which can make trading more expensive. For CFDs, Questrade also adds a $9.95 USD trading fee per unit, which can raise the total cost significantly. Questrade is rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and ranks #34 out of 36 brokers for commissions and fees.
In simple terms, HFM appears to offer lower trading costs than Questrade for many traders, especially when comparing forex pricing. Questrade may be easier to understand because its fees are embedded in the spread, but that spread can be wider, and CFD trading can become costly quickly. If keeping commissions and fees low is your priority, HFM has the stronger score and ranking of the two.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.8 | 0.8 or higher |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.1 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
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When it comes to range of investments, Questrade offers a wider selection than HFM. Questrade lists 675 tradeable symbols and 110 forex pairs, compared with HFM’s 344 symbols and 38 forex pairs. Both brokers offer forex trading, but neither provides access to exchange-traded securities on U.S. or international stock exchanges, and neither lets clients buy actual, delivered cryptocurrency.
There are a few differences worth noting. HFM supports copy trading and offers cryptocurrency CFDs, while Questrade does not. Still, Questrade comes out ahead overall in this category, with a 5-star Range of Investments rating and a ForexBrokers.com rank of #12 out of 36, versus HFM’s 4-star rating and #29 ranking.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 344 | 675 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 38 | 110 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | No |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
HFM and Questrade both give traders a solid mix of platform choices, including free demo accounts, a proprietary platform, desktop downloads for Windows, and browser-based trading. Each also lets you place trades directly from a chart, which can make it easier to act quickly while watching price moves. In ForexBrokers.com’s Trading Platforms and Tools category, both brokers are rated 4 out of 5 stars, so they are on fairly even ground overall.
Where HFM pulls ahead is in platform variety and trading extras. HFM offers both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, plus copy trading, while Questrade does not support MT4, MT5, or copy trading. That makes HFM the better pick for traders who want access to popular third-party platforms or want to follow other traders’ strategies. Questrade still holds its own with a higher ForexBrokers.com category rank, coming in at #29 of 36 compared with HFM at #34 of 36.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 38 | 64 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
HFM and Questrade both offer iPhone and Android trading apps, along with stock or forex price alerts, trendline drawing, and auto-saving chart drawings. Where Questrade stands out is watchlist symbol syncing, which lets changes made in the mobile app update with the online account and vice versa. HFM does not offer this feature. For charting tools in the mobile app, HFM includes 5 technical studies, while Questrade offers 64, giving Questrade a much wider set of chart analysis options for active traders.
In terms of mobile trading app ratings, HFM is rated 4 out of 5 stars, compared with Questrade at 3.5 stars. However, ForexBrokers.com ranks Questrade higher overall in the Mobile Trading Apps category, placing it #29 out of 36 brokers, while HFM is ranked #33. If you want more charting tools and watchlist syncing, Questrade has the edge, but HFM still offers a solid mobile trading app experience with the core features most traders need.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 5 | 64 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing HFM vs Questrade for market research, HFM has the edge in several key areas. HFM offers daily market commentary, forex news from top sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, a sentiment tool, Acuity Trading research tools such as Signal Centre, and an economic calendar for tracking global events. It also includes Autochartist for technical and fundamental analysis. Questrade also supports Autochartist and adds Trading Central and TipRanks, but it does not offer daily market commentary, top-tier forex news, a sentiment tool, Acuity Trading tools, or an economic calendar.
Overall, HFM is rated 4 out of 5 stars for Research and ranks #18 out of 36 brokers in the ForexBrokers.com research category, while Questrade is rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and ranks #35. If you want a broker with more built-in market news, commentary, and planning tools, HFM may be the stronger choice; if you prefer Trading Central and TipRanks, Questrade may be a better fit.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | Yes |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to learning support for beginners, HFM gives new traders more to work with than Questrade. HFM offers forex and CFDs education with 10 or more learning pieces, plus monthly client webinars and at least 10 beginner trading videos. It also has 10 or more advanced videos, which can help as a trader grows. Questrade, by contrast, does not meet the same level of forex or CFDs education, does not offer monthly educational webinars, and does not provide the same depth of beginner or advanced video content.
Based on ForexBrokers.com ratings, HFM scores 4 stars for Education, while Questrade scores 3.5 stars. In the overall Education ranking out of 36 brokers, Questrade sits slightly ahead at #28, with HFM at #29. Even so, for beginners who want more hands-on learning materials, HFM appears to offer the more useful education setup.
| Feature |
HFM
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that HFM is better than Questrade. HFM finished with an overall rank of #27, while Questrade finished with an overall rank of #29.
HFM (HF Markets) is a global broker best known for its MetaTrader offering, solid research tools, and proprietary copy trading platform, alongside a broad selection of forex pairs and CFDs.
| Feature |
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Questrade
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| Trust Score | 85 | 85 |
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Comparing online brokers HFM and Questrade for cryptocurrency trading: neither offers the purchase of actual (delivered) crypto, but HFM lets you trade cryptocurrency CFDs, whereas Questrade does not.
HFM vs Questrade deposit and withdrawal methods: neither supports ACH/SEPA or PayPal, both accept bank wire transfers, only HFM offers Skrill (Questrade does not), and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either broker.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | HFM | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | Questrade Review |
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| Regulation | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 85 | 85 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2000 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 3 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No |
| Investments | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 344 | 675 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 38 | 110 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | No | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.8 | 0.8 or higher | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | No |
| Funding | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 38 | 64 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 5 | 64 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | Yes | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Education | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | HFM | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | HFM Review | Questrade Review |
| Overall | HFM | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | HFM Review | Questrade Review |
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