Head to head
Exness vs Swissquote
Exness is licensed by FSCA in South Africa, CMA (Kenya) in Kenya, CMA (UAE) in the United Arab Emirates, FCA in the United Kingdom and CySEC in the European Union, and also has an offshore registration. Swissquote is licensed by FINMA in Switzerland; FCA in the United Kingdom; CySEC in the European Union; SFC in Hong Kong and DFSA in Dubai (DIFC), UAE. The licence that applies to you depends on where you live, so check which company you would contract with before comparing anything else.
Minimum deposits start at $10 at Exness and $1,000 at Swissquote (the Prime account needs $50,000). Only Exness offers negative balance protection and segregated client money.
Facts last checked: Exness on 20 October 2026, Swissquote on 20 October 2026.
Monthly cost uses the account chosen in each slot: cost per lot × your lots. Swap and other fees are extra. The lowest monthly cost is highlighted only as a fact about cost, not as a recommendation.
Broker
Comparing
ExnessSeychelles
SwissquotePrime account · Switzerland
Overview
Founded
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Headquarters
Not yet checked
Switzerland
Official websites
- exness.com
- exness.eu
- exness.uk
- exness.ke
- swissquote.com
- swissquote.ch
- swissquote.co.uk
- swissquote.eu
- swissquote.cy
Facts last checked
20 October 2026
20 October 2026
Regulation and protection
Company you would contract with
Exness (SC) Ltd
Swissquote Bank Ltd (Swissquote Bank SA)
Regulation level
Offshore registration only
Strictly regulated
Clients this company serves
Clients who sign up through exness.com (Exness assigns the company by country; it names it in the client agreement)
Swiss residents and international clients not served by a local Swissquote company
All licences held
- FSA Seychelles (Seychelles)
- FSC (BVI) (British Virgin Islands)
- FSCA (South Africa)
- CMA (Kenya) (Kenya)
- CMA (UAE) (United Arab Emirates)
- FCA (United Kingdom)
- CySEC (European Union)
- FINMA (Switzerland)
- FCA (United Kingdom)
- CySEC (European Union)
- SFC (Hong Kong)
- DFSA (Dubai (DIFC), UAE)
None
Swiss depositor protection up to CHF 100,000 (Swissquote Bank); FSCS up to £85,000 (UK); ICF up to €20,000 (Cyprus)
Costs
Your monthly cost
No accounts listed
$120$12 per lot × 10 lots
Typical GBP/USD spread
Not yet checked
1.6 pips
Typical USD/JPY spread
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Typical XAU/USD spread
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Leverage and margin
Up to 1:Unlimited on some accounts (offshore companies)
1:30 on major pairs (UK, EU); 1:100 standard at Swissquote Bank
Retail leverage by asset class
Not yet checked
- Major currency pairs (UK: 1:30
- EUR/USD and other major pairs (Swissquote Bank): 1:100 (1% margin)
- Gold (Swissquote Bank): 1:50 (2% margin)
Stop-out level
0% (stocks differ)
30%
Account
Minimum deposit (this account)
No accounts listed
$50,000
Platforms and features
Platforms
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5
- Exness Terminal
- Exness Trade app
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5
- CFXD
- TradingView
- FIX API
Markets
Currency pairs, metals, cryptocurrencies, energies, stocks and indices as CFDs
About 130 currency pairs, metals and CFDs on indices, commodities and bonds
Copy trading
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Expert advisors (automated trading)
Yes
Yes
News trading allowed
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Guaranteed stops
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Deposits and withdrawals
Deposit methods
Not yet checked
- Bank transfer
Withdrawal fee
No withdrawal fees from Exness; third-party fees may apply depending on the payment method
Not yet checked
Inactivity fee
Not yet checked
10 units of the account currency a month after 6 months without activity
Support
Customer support
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Our notes
Strengths
- Licences confirmed with the FSCA in South Africa, the CMA in Kenya and the UAE's Capital Market Authority
- Low $10 minimum deposit on the Standard account and no withdrawal fees from Exness
- Exness says client money is held in segregated accounts and retail accounts have negative balance protection
- Forex accounts held with a Swiss bank supervised by FINMA, with Swiss depositor protection up to CHF 100,000
- Subsidiaries licensed by the FCA, CySEC and Hong Kong's SFC
- Spread-only pricing with no commission on forex, and live spreads shown per account on its website
Watch out for
- Most retail clients join offshore companies (FSA Seychelles or BVI FSC), and the strictly regulated UK and Cyprus companies do not accept retail clients
- Exness also says it holds licences from the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Exness B.V., 0003LSI), the FSC of Belize (Forexite Ltd., 9110312), the FSC of Mauritius (Exness (MU) Ltd, GB20025294), the Jordan Securities Commission (Exness Limited Jordan) and an FSCA ODP authorisation for Exness (SC) Ltd. We could not confirm these on the regulators' registers on 2026-10-20.
- Leverage up to 1:Unlimited and a 0% stop-out mean a position can be closed only when your margin is gone
- High entry level: $1,000 for Standard, $10,000 for Premium and $50,000 for Prime.
- At Swissquote Bank, Swissquote warns that losses are in theory unlimited and you may have to pay in more if your balance falls below margin
- Inactivity fee of 10 a month in the account currency after only 6 months
- Says Swissquote South Africa (Pty) Ltd holds FSCA licence 43908 (advice and intermediary services); we could not confirm it on the FSCA register on 2026-10-20.
Choose at least one broker above to start comparing.
Risk warnings
The buttons to a broker’s website above the table are partner links: we may earn a commission if you open an account through them. That never changes the facts shown here. Trading leveraged products such as forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money rapidly, and most retail accounts lose money. Each broker’s own warning:
- Exness: Risk Warning: Our services relate to complex derivative instruments requiring appropriate knowledge and understanding. Their prices may fluctuate rapidly and may become valueless. Trading involves a high risk of loss, with traders likely to incur losses exceeding the potential for profits. Losses may extend up to the full amount of funds in the trading account. Under no circumstances shall Exness have any liability to any person or entity for any loss or damage in whole or part caused by, resulting from, or relating to any investing activity.
- Swissquote: Trading leveraged products on the Forex platform, such as foreign exchange, spot precious metals and Contracts for Difference (CFDs), involves significant risk of loss due to the leverage and may not be suitable for all investors. Prior to opening an account with Swissquote, consider your level of experience, investment objectives, assets, income and risk appetite. Losses are in theory unlimited and you may be required to make additional payments if your account balance falls below the required margin level and therefore you should not speculate, invest or hedge with capital you cannot afford to lose, that is borrowed or urgently needed or necessary for personal or family subsistence. Over the past 12 months, 68.22% of retail investors have either lost money when trading CFDs, experienced a total loss of their margin at the closing of their position or ended up with a negative balance after closing their position.
Open this comparison in the full tool to share a link with your own accounts and companies chosen.
Other head-to-head pages
- Admirals (Admiral Markets) vs Exness
- Admirals (Admiral Markets) vs Swissquote
- Alpari vs Exness
- Alpari vs Swissquote
- AMarkets vs Exness
- AMarkets vs Swissquote
- AvaTrade vs Exness
- AvaTrade vs Swissquote
- Axi vs Exness
- Axi vs Swissquote
- AYA Markets vs Exness
- AYA Markets vs Swissquote
- CapitalXtend vs Exness
- CapitalXtend vs Swissquote
- CG FinTech vs Exness
- CG FinTech vs Swissquote
- CMC Markets vs Exness
- CMC Markets vs Swissquote
- CPT Markets vs Exness
- CPT Markets vs Swissquote
- DeltaFX vs Exness
- DeltaFX vs Swissquote
- ePlanet Brokers vs Exness
- ePlanet Brokers vs Swissquote
- Errante vs Exness
- Errante vs Swissquote
- eToro vs Exness
- eToro vs Swissquote
- Exness vs FIBO Group
- Exness vs FP Markets
- Exness vs FXCM
- Exness vs FxPro
- Exness vs HYCM
- Exness vs IC Markets
- Exness vs IFC Markets
- Exness vs IG
- Exness vs Interactive Brokers
- Exness vs Inveslo
- Exness vs Investizo
- Exness vs ITBFX
- Exness vs LiteFinance (LiteForex)
- Exness vs Markets4you
- Exness vs OANDA
- Exness vs OneRoyal
- Exness vs Opofinance
- Exness vs Orbex
- Exness vs Pepperstone
- Exness vs Plus500
- Exness vs Saxo
- Exness vs STB Provider
- Exness vs ThinkMarkets
- Exness vs Tickmill
- Exness vs Trendo
- Exness vs Vittaverse
- Exness vs Wingo Markets
- Exness vs WM Markets
- Exness vs XChief
- Exness vs XM
- Exness vs XS.com
- FIBO Group vs Swissquote
- FP Markets vs Swissquote
- FXCM vs Swissquote
- FxPro vs Swissquote
- HYCM vs Swissquote
- IC Markets vs Swissquote
- IFC Markets vs Swissquote
- IG vs Swissquote
- Interactive Brokers vs Swissquote
- Inveslo vs Swissquote
- Investizo vs Swissquote
- ITBFX vs Swissquote
- LiteFinance (LiteForex) vs Swissquote
- Markets4you vs Swissquote
- OANDA vs Swissquote
- OneRoyal vs Swissquote
- Opofinance vs Swissquote
- Orbex vs Swissquote
- Pepperstone vs Swissquote
- Plus500 vs Swissquote
- Saxo vs Swissquote
- STB Provider vs Swissquote
- Swissquote vs ThinkMarkets
- Swissquote vs Tickmill
- Swissquote vs Trendo
- Swissquote vs Vittaverse
- Swissquote vs Wingo Markets
- Swissquote vs WM Markets
- Swissquote vs XChief
- Swissquote vs XM
- Swissquote vs XS.com
Cost per lot is the typical EUR/USD spread in busy hours × $10, plus any round-turn commission, for one standard lot. “Not yet checked” means we have not confirmed that fact yet. This page compares facts; it does not rank the brokers or recommend either. Confirm costs and licences on each broker’s site and the regulator’s public register before opening an account: see how we review brokers and check a broker yourself.
Nothing on this page is financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.