Exness vs Axi — which broker is better?

Pros

• Raw Spread account prices majors at 0.0 pips for up to USD 3.50 per lot per side, and the Zero account starts from USD 0.20 per side on 30 headline instruments
• Automated withdrawals process 24/7 and are typically instant back to the original method, with no Exness-side fee in either direction
• No inactivity fee at all — a dormant balance is not eroded, unlike at most competitors
• Standard account opens from around USD 10 with no commission and typical EUR/USD spreads of 0.8–1.0 pips
• Exness Terminal is a real in-house web platform on a TradingView chart engine, not a MetaTrader skin, and the mobile app includes drag-to-modify stops and a built-in risk calculator
• Publishes audited group financial statements — unusual transparency for an offshore-licensed broker
• 24/7 support across roughly fifteen languages with fast first-response times

Cons

• The retail entity is Exness (SC) Ltd under the Seychelles FSA (SD025) — a tier-3 licence with no investor compensation scheme behind it
• The FCA (730729) and CySEC (178/12) licences cover institutional and professional business only; EEA and UK retail clients are not onboarded, which rules Exness out for most German, Austrian and Swiss-resident readers
• Narrow product range: roughly 240 symbols on the web terminal with no ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded options or futures
• Copy trading is being phased out and is no longer taking new users, removing a feature many clients originally signed up for
• The proprietary terminal still lacks OCO orders, trailing stops and depth of market — you have to fall back to MetaTrader 5 for those
• Leverage marketed as unlimited is a real risk amplifier for inexperienced traders, and the Seychelles entity carries none of the ESMA-style guardrails

Pros

• Pro account at USD 4.50 round turn per standard lot on 0.0-pip spreads, available from a USD 100 minimum rather than a five-figure balance
• Proprietary Axi Trading Platform covers 650+ markets with TradingView charting built in and true web-to-mobile position sync
• Three distinct crypto routes — CFDs to 200:1, perpetual futures on around 150 coins, and spot crypto you actually own
• Eleven account base currencies including CHF, PLN, HKD, JPY and SGD, which removes a conversion step for non-euro clients
• 24/7 support in 17 languages across live chat, phone, email and WhatsApp — better coverage than most brokers this size
• Axi Select funded-trader programme is free to join, with six stages from USD 5,000 to USD 1,000,000 and profit splits rising to 80%
• Long operating history since 2007 with tier-1 ASIC and FCA licences alongside a DFSA licence in the DIFC
• Copy trading via a dedicated app where copiers control their own sizing and risk rather than buying into a managed pool

Cons

• Most international clients are booked with AxiTrader LLC in St Vincent and the Grenadines — no prudential supervision, no compensation scheme, and The Financial Commission rather than a regulator as escalation
• We found no EEA-licensed Axi entity in its published legal documentation, so EU residents are contracting offshore by default
• An inactivity fee applies after 12 months of dormancy but the amount is disclosed only in the Product Schedule, never on the public fees page
• Leverage up to 1000:1 on the offshore entity, and 200:1 on crypto CFDs, is a retail-harm profile rather than a genuine benefit
• No real shares, no ETF units you can own, no bonds, no funds and no listed options — the equity and ETF range is CFD-only
• No German Abgeltungsteuer or Austrian KESt withholding, and Axi's own UK disclosures show 66–72% of retail accounts losing money