OANDA vs XM: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between OANDA and XM This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on August 27, 2025

OANDA

XM

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Available Countries

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Yes

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

United Kingdom

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OANDA is ideal if:

Highly trusted, globally regulated – OANDA holds licenses from top-tier authorities (like CFTC, FCA, ASIC), giving you peace of mind in reliability and oversight.
Robust multi-platform flexibility – Access powerful and customizable trading environments across web, mobile, MT4, MT5, and TradingView.
Exceptional educational resources – Comprehensive learning tools, webinars, and research make OANDA especially supportive for continuous trader development.

XM is ideal if:

For flexibility seekers: Ideal if you want access to a wide range of global markets (forex, CFDs, commodities, indices, stocks, crypto) across popular platforms like MT4 and MT5.
For fair-play traders: Perfect if you value consistent execution—no requotes or rejections—and the same conditions for all clients, regardless of account size.
For support-driven users: Great for those who appreciate multilingual, round-the-clock support and educational tools (like live webinars and market insights).

OANDA isn’t ideal if:

Limited asset variety outside forex: If you're focused on trading individual stocks or ETFs, OANDA doesn’t support direct equity access in most regions, making it less suitable for equity-centric investors.
No guaranteed stops in some regions: Traders in the U.S. or U.K. won’t benefit from guaranteed stop-loss orders, which may be a concern if strict risk control matters to you.
Platform differences by location: Access to MT4, MT5, or advanced APIs varies by jurisdiction, so if you rely on specific tools or automation, check tool availability based on your region before choosing OANDA.

XM isn’t ideal if:

If you want full asset variety: XM lacks futures, physical stocks, and a broader crypto selection—so it's not the best fit if you're seeking non-CFD exposure or niche instruments.
If payment flexibility matters: No PayPal or similar e-wallet options, and withdrawing profits often requires bank transfers only.
If transparency is crucial: Being privately held, XM doesn’t publish public financial disclosures, which may concern traders looking for operational transparency.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

OANDA charges a flat crypto trading commission of around 0.25% per transaction, based on your 30-day trading volume tier; there’s no native token to offer discounts nor separate maker/taker pricing structure.

XM does not use a maker-taker pricing model for spot crypto trading; instead, it offers crypto CFDs with transparent spreads rather than volume-based fees or native-token discounts.

Futures/Derivatives

OANDA does not support crypto futures or derivatives; derivative trading (like CFDs or futures) is offered on other asset classes (e.g., forex, indices), but crypto is limited to spot trading with no funding or Rollover/Funding cost structure.

XM provides CFD-based derivatives (including forex, commodities, indices, crypto) rather than traditional futures, with no separate maker/taker fees and funding costs rolled into overnight swap rates depending on account type and position.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Exact spreads for crypto aren’t published as benchmarks like forex pairs; instead, costs are embedded into the price you see when you buy or sell, offering transparent execution without separate spread disclosures.

XM’s crypto spreads vary dynamically with market conditions, and while they aim to keep spreads competitive, specific figures for pairs like BTC/USDT or ETH/USDT are not publicly listed to ensure evergreen relevance.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

You can fund or withdraw via bank transfer, credit/debit card, or instant bank (depending on region) with no fees charged by OANDA—though your own bank or payment provider may levy conversion or processing costs, and processing times vary from instant to a few business days.

Clients can deposit and withdraw using credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets like Skrill or Neteller, typically with no internal fees and processing that ranges from instant (e-wallets) to a few business days (cards or wire).

On-chain Withdrawals

Crypto withdrawals via OANDA (partnering with Paxos/itBit) include a network fee that varies by blockchain (e.g., BTC, ETH, TRX), and while OANDA may not charge an internal fee, the dynamic network cost is passed on as part of the withdrawal.

XM does not offer on-chain crypto withdrawals—crypto exposure is available only via CFDs—so there are no network-level (like BTC, ETH, TRX) withdrawal fees.

Hidden Costs

While there are no surprise management or sign-up fees, you should note potential costs like currency conversion charges (if funding currency differs), monthly inactivity fees after a long dormancy period, or expedited KYC processing (if applicable)—though none are exorbitant.

XM imposes inactivity charges after a period without trading, and currency conversion fees may apply if your deposit or withdrawal currency differs from your account base; there are no known express-KYC charges.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

If you bought €500 worth of Bitcoin, the cost would include the 0.25% commission (approx. €1.25), the embedded execution spread in the quoted price, and a separate network fee for withdrawal—making the total cost a mix of commission, implicit price margin, and blockchain fee.

Because XM trades crypto via CFDs rather than outright purchases, a “€500 BTC buy” isn’t executed as a direct asset acquisition—costs would come from the spread and any overnight financing, with no actual crypto withdrawal involved.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

OANDA offers a small, curated selection of around 9–10 spot cryptocurrencies—such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Aave, Chainlink, Uniswap, PAX Gold, and Solana—without a full rank-by-volume list, but includes the most popular coins by market activity.

XM offers 58 crypto CFDs, covering many major and minor cryptocurrencies across USD, EUR, and GBP denominated pairs; top-volume pairs include BTC/USD, ETH/USD, XRP/USD, LTC/USD, and BCH/USD.

Product Range

OANDA supports only spot crypto trading via Paxos (no margin, perpetuals, options, crypto ETFs, staking, loans, copy trading, bots, or automatic DCA features are available).

XM provides CFDs only—no actual spot, futures/perps, options, ETFs, staking, lending, grid or DCA bots—though it does support copy trading via MQL5 alongside its usual CFD offerings.

Liquidity

While exact figures aren’t public, liquidity is robust and consistently tight due to execution via the regulated Paxos itBit exchange, particularly on BTC and ETH pairs—ensuring reliable execution and minimal slippage.

XM does not publish direct liquidity metrics like 24-hour volume or order-book depth, relying instead on its CFD pricing aligned with underlying markets via its partner liquidity providers.

Tools

The platform offers basic and advanced tools—including “Quick Buy/Sell” (a market-style limit order) and limit orders, stop orders, live alerts, in-app charting, full TradingView integration, and API/WebSocket access for automated strategies.

XM supports standard order types—including limit, stop, and OCO—offers alerts and advanced charting through MT4/MT5 platforms; it does not feature a proprietary TradingView interface or public API/WS, but use of Expert Advisors is permitted.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Crypto services are limited in some jurisdictions—spot crypto is accessible only through the mobile and TradingView platforms, and availability may vary; likewise, services like CFDs or derivatives on crypto are not offered in several regions.

XM restricts certain products in specific regions—crypto CFDs and copy-trading are unavailable to clients in the UK and EEA, and access to CFDs depends on local regulator policies.

Innovation

OANDA does not offer crypto launchpads/pools or flexible versus locked “earn” products; the focus remains firmly on straightforward spot trading, without DeFi-style or automated yield innovations.

XM does not offer launchpad, launchpool, staking pools, earn programs, or flexible-vs-locked yield products; its innovation focus remains on expanding CFD choices and platform features like copy trading.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

OANDA Crypto is operated by OANDA Coinpass Limited, a UK-registered company (Company No. 11164834) based in London, while the broader OANDA Group was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York. It operates through regulated entities across multiple regions.

XM is run by Trading Point Holdings Ltd (founded 2009), headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, and operates through specialized regional entities tailored to the EU, Australia, Middle East, and global markets.

Licenses/Registration

In the UK, OANDA Coinpass is registered with the FCA as both a Crypto-asset Exchange Provider and Custodian Wallet Provider, and other OANDA entities are regulated in major jurisdictions including the US (CFTC/NFA), EU (FCA/KNF), Canada (CIRO), Singapore (MAS), Australia (ASIC), Japan (FSA), and the BVI (FSC).

XM is regulated under CySEC (Cyprus / EU), ASIC (Australia), DFSA (Dubai), and IFSC (Belize), aligning with EU MiFID II standards but not specifically registered as a VASP under MiCA.

Custody

Crypto holdings are entrusted to the third-party custodian Paxos (via Paxos Trust Company), not held by OANDA itself; while formal proof-of-reserves or audit summaries aren’t publicly shared, assets are maintained separately in user-named Paxos accounts.

XM entrusts client funds to top-tier third-party banks in segregated accounts, and although it mentions independent audits and risk controls, it does not provide public Proof of Reserves or disclose cold-storage percentages.

Insurance & Protection Funds

No dedicated crypto insurance, fund protection, or compensatory schemes (like FSCS or SIPC) are in place; crypto assets are not covered by traditional financial protections in the event of platform or custodian insolvency.

EU-based clients via XM’s CySEC arm benefit from the Investor Compensation Fund (cap applies), and the broker enforces negative balance protection—but it does not highlight private insurance schemes.

Incident History

There appears to be no record of past hacks, major outages, wallet freezes, or official fines affecting OANDA’s crypto services—indicating a clean operational track record thus far.

XM has maintained a largely clean record with no major hacks or enforcement actions reported by tier-1 regulators, and any operational interruptions are either internal or compliance-related, with no publicized fines.

Risk Controls

Robust security measures are offered including mandatory (or strongly encouraged) two-factor authentication, internal security monitoring, a dedicated bug bounty via ethical disclosures, and Paxos-level safeguards such as withdrawal whitelisting and secure custody.

XM supports strong risk safeguards including mandatory KYC, negative balance protection, and secure execution infrastructure, though features like granular API permissions, IP whitelisting, or sub-account hierarchies are mostly available via MetaTrader plugin tools rather than a proprietary interface.

Transparency

OANDA provides detailed legal and risk documentation via its Crypto Legal pages, but public disclosures such as monthly audits, wallet addresses, or service-level SLA guarantees are not made openly accessible.

XM provides detailed legal documents, execution statistics, and quarterly summaries available to clients, but does not publish public wallet addresses, real-time monthly financials, or explicit service-level agreements.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Deposits are made via debit/credit card, wire transfer, ACH, BPay (Australia), or online banking—card deposits are almost instant (with monthly caps), while bank methods take 1–5 business days; no explicit minimums stated, and e-wallets are generally not supported for crypto accounts.

XM accepts bank wires, Visa/MasterCard, and e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, Google Pay, and Apple Pay; the minimum deposit is around $5; e-wallet/top-up deposits are instantaneous, cards take up to a few business days, and bank wires typically reflect within 1–5 business days.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

Levels & Limits

XM enforces a full KYC flow requiring identity, selfie, and proof of address before enabling deposits and withdrawals; there is no tiered access—full verification is mandatory to unlock all account functionalities.

Withdrawals

Fiat withdrawals can be made with no set caps (GBP/EUR to originating bank) though large sums undergo extra review; crypto withdrawals require 2FA and whitelisting of destination addresses, with withdrawal networks (like ERC-20) chosen depending on the coin.

XM processes withdrawals via the same channel used for deposit (e-wallet, card, or wire), with processing typically within 24 hours and final receipt depending on method (e-wallets same day, cards/wires 2–5 business days); crypto networks aren’t used since XM operates via CFDs.

Customer Support

Support runs seven days per week (roughly 7 AM–midnight GMT) via email and phone; crypto-specific FAQs and legal resources are available online for self-help.

XM provides multilingual support via live chat and email, reportedly operational 24/5 (depending on your region), with relatively fast response times and a rich repository of educational content and FAQs online.

Languages & Localization

The platform supports native Spanish (among other languages), displays fees in local currencies like €, and adapts regulatory compliance regionally—especially in the UK and EU.

XM supports Spanish-language interfaces and customer support, displays pricing in your account’s base currency (including EUR), and operates under local regulatory regimes to ensure compliance in each jurisdiction.

App Quality & Stability

The mobile app (on both Android and iOS) provides secure, responsive crypto trading—including auto-trade/DCA, advanced charting, and regular updates—though explicit crash rate or stability metrics aren’t published.

XM’s mobile and web apps—built on the tried-and-true MetaTrader frameworks—are praised for reliable performance and regular updates; while exact crash data isn’t public, user feedback indicates smooth stability and ongoing enhancements.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

OANDA delivers a clean, intuitive interface that balances simplicity with powerful tools—while there’s no explicit “Lite/Pro” mode, the mobile app is designed for both beginners and seasoned traders, offering quick buy/sell alongside advanced charting options.

XM exclusively uses MetaTrader platforms—MT4, MT5, WebTrader, and mobile apps—without separate “Lite” or “Pro” versions. MT4 offers a smooth start for beginners, while MT5 brings deeper tools, though mastering either still requires some adaptation to their interfaces.

Performance

Thanks to OANDA’s partnership with Paxos’ itBit and TradingView integration, the platform ensures fast execution and reliable uptime, even during volatile periods—though, as with any high-demand service, minor responsive delays can occur under extreme market surges.

XM leverages MetaTrader’s known reliability, delivering fast executions with minimal delays—even during busy periods. While traffic surges or market jitters can slightly slow processes, major slowdowns are rare, and KYC flows remain consistent, avoiding backlog surges during bull runs.

Education

OANDA supplements its platform with helpful learning materials, including an education portal and demo capabilities (for other asset classes), but the crypto side currently offers fewer dedicated Spanish-language guides or simulation tools.

XM provides a free demo environment with live-market simulation and unlimited practice funds. Educational resources include multilingual webinars, live trading rooms, and webinars—many available in Spanish alongside a full demo system for hands-on learning.

Community

While OANDA doesn’t run official crypto-focused forums or Discord/Telegram communities, it leverages TradingView’s vast trader base for idea sharing, and offers standard referral incentives globally across its platform.

XM fosters a growing community via its multilingual referral initiative—with cash rewards for both referrer and referee. While it lacks its own Discord or Telegram groups, it maintains active engagement through webinars, its “Refer a Friend” program, and content hubs.

Integrations

The platform shines in integration—offering seamless real-time trading via TradingView’s charts, with API access for automation; however, it does not currently support external bot marketplaces, tax tools, or integrated accounting features.

XM supports algorithmic automation via Expert Advisors within MetaTrader, but does not provide native TradingView integration, tax-report tools, or accounting dashboards—external utilities must be linked manually.

Who Each One Is Best For

OANDA is especially well-suited for traders who value a trusted, regulated environment with smooth TradingView access and dependable execution—less ideal for those seeking rich educational content in crypto or advanced automation and tax/reporting tools.

XM is perfect for traders who value platform flexibility and automation (via MT5/MT4), appreciate structured learning with multilingual education, and thrive in a regulated, straightforward CFD trading environment—without the need for fancy separate modes or built-in finance tools.