FBS vs FXTM: Honest 2026 Comparison

Affiliate disclosure: this article contains partner links. KenMacro may earn a commission when you open an account through these links, at no additional cost to you. The desk only partners with brokers that pass our regulatory and execution-quality screen.

FBS and FXTM both target the emerging-market mass-market retail archetype but with different trade-offs. FBS carries CySEC, ASIC, FSCA, FSC Belize oversight, founded 2009, with $1 cent account minimum, advertised 1:3000 offshore leverage tier, deep emerging-market client base. FXTM runs FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC Mauritius, founded 2011, with fca and cysec oversight, deep emerging-market presence in africa and asia, low minimum on micro standard. For the emerging-market mass-market retail archetype, FXTM is the cleaner fit.

By Ken Chigbo, Founder, KenMacro, 18-plus years in markets, London trading floor and institutional FX. The framework runs daily inside the MACRO MASTERY desk.

At a glance

Variable	FBS	FXTM
Founded	2009	2011
Regulation	CySEC, ASIC, FSCA, FSC Belize	FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC Mauritius
Min deposit / fee	$1 (Cent), $5 (Standard), $100 (ECN)	$10 (Micro Standard), $200 (Advantage)
EUR/USD spread	1.0 pip typical (Standard, Cent), 0.6 pips average (ECN)	1.5 pips typical (Standard), 0.0 pips raw (Advantage)
Commission	Standard, Cent zero, ECN $6 round-turn	Standard zero, Advantage tiered commission from $0.40 to $2.00 per side per lot
Max leverage	1:30 CySEC, ASIC retail, up to 1:3000 FSC Belize offshore	1:30 FCA, CySEC retail, up to 1:1000 FSC Mauritius offshore
Platforms	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, FBS Trader mobile app, FBS CopyTrade	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, FXTM mobile app, FXTM Trader
Payment / payouts	Bank wire, debit and credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, crypto, local APMs across Asia, Africa, Latin America. Free on most methods.	Bank wire, debit and credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, local APMs in Africa and Asia. Free on most methods.
Trustpilot 2026	3.9 / 5	4.0 / 5
Key strength	$1 Cent account minimum, advertised 1:3000 offshore leverage tier, deep emerging-market client base	FCA and CySEC oversight, deep emerging-market presence in Africa and Asia, low minimum on Micro Standard

Regulation and trust

FBS carries FBS Markets Inc is regulated by the FSC Belize under licence 000102/437. Tradestone Ltd is regulated by CySEC under licence 331/17. Mitsuwa Corporation Ltd holds ASIC AFSL 426359. Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd is FSCA-regulated FSP 50885. Founded 2009, headquartered in Belize with offices across Asia. Reported over 27 million clients across 150-plus countries. FXTM runs ForexTime UK Ltd is FCA-authorised under firm reference 777911. ForexTime Limited is regulated by CySEC under licence 185/12. ForexTime Mauritius Ltd is regulated by the FSC Mauritius under GB20025835. Exinity ZA (Pty) Ltd is FSCA-regulated FSP 46614. FXTM is part of the Exinity Group, founded 2011, headquartered in Cyprus. Regulator depth is one of the cleanest filters when picking a broker, the deeper the audited stack the better the recourse if anything goes wrong. Neither broker is in the partner stack the desk runs daily. PU Prime is the partner alternative the desk routes to: comparable cent-account architecture and offshore-leverage tier under ASIC primary oversight, plus the bundled MACRO MASTERY desk overlay.

FBS, the regulator footprint runs FBS Markets Inc is regulated by the FSC Belize under licence 000102/437. Tradestone Ltd is regulated by CySEC under licence 331/17. Mitsuwa Corporation Ltd holds ASIC AFSL 426359. Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd is FSCA-regulated FSP 50885. Founded 2009, headquartered in Belize with offices across Asia. Reported over 27 million clients across 150-plus countries.

FXTM, by contrast, operates under ForexTime UK Ltd is FCA-authorised under firm reference 777911. ForexTime Limited is regulated by CySEC under licence 185/12. ForexTime Mauritius Ltd is regulated by the FSC Mauritius under GB20025835. Exinity ZA (Pty) Ltd is FSCA-regulated FSP 46614. FXTM is part of the Exinity Group, founded 2011, headquartered in Cyprus.

Spreads and commission

On the headline raw account tier, FBS posts 1.0 pip typical (standard, cent), 0.6 pips average (ecn) on EUR/USD with standard, cent zero, ecn $6 round-turn. FXTM posts 1.5 pips typical (standard), 0.0 pips raw (advantage) with standard zero, advantage tiered commission from $0.40 to $2.00 per side per lot. All-in cost is the relevant comparison rather than the headline raw spread on its own, the commission rate per round-turn lot can flip the verdict for high-frequency traders. On the emerging-market mass-market retail archetype, FXTM edges the cost stack.

On the headline raw account tier, FBS posts 1.0 pip typical (standard, cent), 0.6 pips average (ecn) on EUR/USD with standard, cent zero, ecn $6 round-turn. FXTM posts 1.5 pips typical (standard), 0.0 pips raw (advantage) with standard zero, advantage tiered commission from $0.40 to $2.00 per side per lot. Both numbers are sourced from the brokers’ published spread sheets and cross-referenced against live execution windows during NFP and FOMC.

Platforms

FBS’s platform stack runs metatrader 4, metatrader 5, fbs trader mobile app, fbs copytrade. FXTM covers metatrader 4, metatrader 5, fxtm mobile app, fxtm trader. Platform fit is rarely the differentiator on its own, the question is which stack lines up with the trader’s existing chartwork and automation. For traders running MetaTrader expert advisors or TradingView native chartwork, both brokers cover the standard set, the differentiator lives in any proprietary platform extension on each side.

FBS’s platform stack covers metatrader 4, metatrader 5, fbs trader mobile app, fbs copytrade, while FXTM runs metatrader 4, metatrader 5, fxtm mobile app, fxtm trader. Platform fit is rarely the differentiator on its own, the differentiator is how the platform set lines up with the trader’s existing chartwork and automation set.

Payments and withdrawals

FBS: Bank wire, debit and credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, crypto, local APMs across Asia, Africa, Latin America. Free on most methods. FXTM: Bank wire, debit and credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, local APMs in Africa and Asia. Free on most methods. Withdrawal infrastructure is a quiet but high-impact layer. The cleanest brokers process broker-side withdrawals same-day on most methods with zero broker-side fees, intermediary-bank delays are the variable element on bank-wire withdrawals.

FBS: Bank wire, debit and credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, crypto, local APMs across Asia, Africa, Latin America. Free on most methods.

FXTM: Bank wire, debit and credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, local APMs in Africa and Asia. Free on most methods.

Who should pick FBS

Who should pick FXTM

The desk’s verdict

The MACRO MASTERY angle

Broker selection is one piece of the framework. Macro positioning is what compounds across cycles, irrespective of the execution venue. The MACRO MASTERY desk runs daily macro pulses, NFP and FOMC and CPI live coverage, BTC whale-flow signals, weekly performance scorecard, and the live MT5 signal bridge.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, FBS or FXTM?

For the emerging-market mass-market retail archetype: FXTM, on fca and cysec oversight, deep emerging-market presence in africa and asia, low minimum on micro standard. Both are credible options inside their respective regulator stacks.

Is FBS safer than FXTM?

FBS runs CySEC, ASIC, FSCA, FSC Belize. FXTM runs FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC Mauritius. Both segregate client funds per regulator rules. The deeper the audited stack the cleaner the recourse if anything goes wrong, CySEC plus FSC Belize vs FCA plus CySEC is the differentiator on this pair.

Are FBS spreads tighter than FXTM?

FBS posts 1.0 pip typical (standard, cent), 0.6 pips average (ecn) with standard, cent zero, ecn $6 round-turn. FXTM posts 1.5 pips typical (standard), 0.0 pips raw (advantage) with standard zero, advantage tiered commission from $0.40 to $2.00 per side per lot. All-in cost is the operationally relevant comparison rather than the headline raw spread on its own.

Which has lower minimum deposit, FBS or FXTM?

FBS: $1 (Cent), $5 (Standard), $100 (ECN). FXTM: $10 (Micro Standard), $200 (Advantage). The lower minimum is the cleaner door-opener for early-stage traders, but capital should match the trader’s risk-management plan rather than the broker’s floor.

Which has the bundled MACRO MASTERY desk overlay?

Neither broker is in the partner stack the desk runs. PU Prime is the partner alternative the desk routes to: comparable cent-account architecture and offshore-leverage tier under ASIC primary oversight, plus the bundled MACRO MASTERY desk overlay.

Can I run both FBS and FXTM accounts?

Yes. Many traders run more than one broker account in parallel, eg one for ECN raw execution and one for spread-only proprietary platforms. Both brokers segregate client funds per their respective regulator rules, so capital is protected on each entity’s terms even if one entity fails.

Related reading

• Best forex brokers 2026, the institutional verdict
• How to choose a forex broker, the desk’s framework
• Vantage vs Blueberry vs Star Trader, three-way verdict

Educational analysis only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Manage risk against your own portfolio. CFD and margin trading carry significant risk of loss. Verify current FBS and FXTM terms against each official documentation before opening an account.

Sources cross-referenced for this FBS vs FXTM comparison: https://fbs.com/about-fbs, https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/cypriot/74091/, https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/fbs.com, https://www.forextime.com/about-us/regulation, https://register.fca.org.uk/, https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/forextime.com, Trustpilot aggregations 2026.