HFM is a Cyprus and Dubai-based forex and CFD broker trading since 2010, first as HotForex and under the HFM name since 2022. We opened a live Premium account, funded it with $500, placed 50 trades, ran a withdrawal and tested three support channels across February and March 2026, then re-verified the licences and fee schedule before publishing.
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| Overall rating | 7.9/10 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 (as HotForex; rebranded May 2022) |
| Headquarters | Limassol, Cyprus, with a DIFC office in Dubai |
| Main licences | FCA 801701, CySEC 183/12, DFSA F004885, FSCA 46632, FSA Seychelles SD015 |
| Minimum deposit | $0 nominal on Premium, Cent and Zero (about $5 in practice); $100 on Pro |
| Spread from | 0.0 pips (Zero account, commission applies) |
| Maximum leverage | Up to 1:2000 offshore; 1:30 under FCA, CySEC and DFSA |
| Instruments | 1,000+ |
| Swap-free account | Every account type; carry charges may apply on some instruments |
| Retail loss rate | 70.77% of retail investor accounts lost money (HF Markets (Europe) Ltd, figure published at the time of testing) |
Pros and cons
Testing produced a broker with unusually broad regulatory coverage and a real cost problem on the account most people actually open. The rating is re-derived from our six weighted categories rather than carried across from an earlier edition; the weightings are in how we rate brokers.
Pros
| Strength | Detail |
|---|---|
| FCA and CySEC authorisation | Both active on the registers in July 2026, alongside DFSA and FSCA |
| Fast withdrawal in testing | Our $200 e-wallet withdrawal cleared four hours after the request |
| Six account types | Premium, Cent, Zero, Pro, Pro Plus, HFcopy — beginner to high-volume |
| Swap-free on every account | Most rivals restrict it to one or two account types |
| €5m client-money insurance | A group policy on top of segregation; few competitors carry one |
| Very low entry cost | About $5 opens Premium, Cent or Zero; $25 starts copy trading |
Cons
| Weakness | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premium spreads above average | 1.2 pips on EUR/USD in February 2026 vs 1.0 at Pepperstone, 1.1 at Exness |
| Escalating inactivity fee | $5 monthly from six months, $10 after a year, rising $10 each year after |
| Slow live chat | Five to 12 minutes across four attempts; XM answered in about two |
| Weak mobile app rating | 3.68 out of 5 on Google Play from roughly 8,700 reviews |
| No cTrader | MT4, MT5 and a proprietary web platform only |
| No ASIC licence | HFM does not onboard Australian residents |
The inactivity fee deserves more attention than it gets: fund a small account, step away for two years, and charges alone take a meaningful share of the balance. The larger risk is the trading itself. CFDs are leveraged products and most retail clients lose money on them — HFM’s published figure for its European entity was 70.77% when we tested.
Company information
HFM is the retail brand of HF Markets Group, founded in 2010 as HotForex and rebranded in May 2022. George Koumantaris has led the business since founding and remains majority shareholder. We re-checked ownership in July 2026: no acquisition or change of control, still privately held. The group reported more than 3.5 million clients when we tested and now publishes a figure above 4 million.
HFM runs an STP/NDD model, routing orders to external liquidity providers rather than an internal dealing desk. That reduces the structural conflict of interest, but also means volatility slippage is passed through rather than absorbed. The group operates several legal entities under different regulators, and which one you sign with decides your leverage cap, compensation cover and complaints route.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Brand | HFM (formerly HotForex) |
| Parent group | HF Markets Group |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Limassol, Cyprus; DIFC office in Dubai |
| Chief executive | George Koumantaris |
| Clients | More than 4 million (company figure, 2026) |
| Execution model | STP/NDD, no internal dealing desk |
Who this broker suits (and who it does not)
It suits traders who want a low entry cost, since roughly $5 opens a Premium, Cent or Zero account and Cent trades in cent lots while you learn position sizing at small stakes. It suits anyone needing swap-free pricing, offered here on every account type. It suits active traders willing to use Zero or Pro Plus, where pricing is competitive. And it suits people who want copy trading built in, from $25.
It does not suit Australian residents, who cannot open an account at all. It does not suit traders chasing the tightest spread on a standard commission-free account, where Pepperstone and Exness both price better. It does not suit anyone who needs cTrader. And it is a poor fit for infrequent traders, given the escalating inactivity fee — several brokers charge nothing at all for dormancy.
Licensing and regulation
We checked each licence against the public register rather than taking HFM’s word for it, during testing and again in July 2026. FCA reference 801701 remains active for HF Markets (UK) Limited, authorised since 14 December 2018; CySEC 183/12 for HF Markets (Europe) Ltd; DFSA F004885 for HF Markets (DIFC) Limited. We found no enforcement action, fine or licence restriction against any HFM entity.
| Regulator | Licensed entity | Licence | Tier | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA (United Kingdom) | HF Markets (UK) Limited | 801701 | Tier 1 | UK |
| CySEC (Cyprus) | HF Markets (Europe) Ltd | 183/12 | Tier 1 | EU and EEA |
| DFSA (Dubai) | HF Markets (DIFC) Limited | F004885 | Tier 2 | DIFC |
| FSCA (South Africa) | HF Markets (SA) (Pty) Ltd | 46632 | Tier 2 | South Africa |
| CMA (Kenya) | HFM Investments Limited | 155 | Tier 2 | Kenya |
| FSA (Seychelles) | HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd | SD015 | Offshore | International |
| FSC (Mauritius) | HF Markets Ltd | Category 1 Global Business | Offshore | International |
Which entity will you actually get?
UK residents are onboarded under the FCA entity: segregation, negative balance protection and FSCS cover to £85,000. EU and EEA residents get the CySEC entity, with MiFID II conduct rules and Investor Compensation Fund cover to €20,000. DIFC clients get the DFSA entity. All three cap leverage at 1:30 on majors.
Most other international clients are routed offshore, usually to HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd under dealer licence SD015 — where 1:2000 leverage lives and no statutory compensation scheme applies. The group also holds HF Markets (SV) Ltd in St Vincent and the Grenadines (IBC 22747), a company registration rather than an investment firm licence, so no financial regulator stands behind it. Two points our earlier edition missed: HFM holds no ASIC licence and does not accept Australian residents, and SD015 belongs to the Seychelles company, not the St Vincent one.
The FCA clone warning
One live FCA warning sits in this orbit and is easy to misread. On 30 September 2024 the FCA published an alert about an entity calling itself “HotForexMarket”, identified as a clone of HF Markets (UK) Limited, FRN 801701. A clone warning targets impersonators using a regulated firm’s identity to solicit deposits; it carries no finding against the firm copied. Anyone who paid the clone has no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS.
Verifying a firm yourself takes about three minutes. Search FRN 801701 on the FCA register, “HF Markets” on the CySEC register, and F004885 on the DFSA public register. If a site claiming to be HFM quotes a number that does not resolve, or contact details that do not match the register entry, it is not HFM.
Opening an account and verification
We registered in February 2026 and went from first form to funded account in under 24 hours. We uploaded a passport and a bank statement and the account was approved in roughly eight hours — faster than the one to three business days typical across the industry, though document quality and country of residence affect the wait.
| Document | Accepted | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of identity | Passport, national ID card, driving licence | Clear colour image |
| Proof of address | Bank statement, utility bill | Issued within the last six months |
HFM also runs a suitability questionnaire covering trading experience, income and objectives — a regulatory requirement that does not block account opening but can affect the leverage offered. Registration matches XM for speed; Exness verifies faster.
Account types
Six account types is more than most brokers offer, and the gap between cheapest and most expensive is wide enough that picking wrong is a real cost. Premium is the default and the most popular — and where HFM prices worst against its rivals.
| Account | Minimum deposit | Spread from | Commission | Maximum leverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium | $0 nominal (about $5) | 1.2 pips | None | Up to 1:2000 | Beginners, intermediates |
| Cent | $0 nominal (about $5) | 1.2 pips | None | Up to 1:2000 | Very small positions |
| Zero | $0 nominal (about $5) | 0.0 pips | $3 per lot per side | Up to 1:2000 | Active traders, scalpers |
| Pro | $100 | 0.5 pips | None | Up to 1:2000 | Advanced traders |
| Pro Plus | $250 | 0.2 pips | None | Up to 1:2000 | Professionals |
| HFcopy | $25 (follower) | 1.0 pip | None | Up to 1:400 | Copy trading |
Pro Plus is the standout. Testing it during the London session in February 2026 we saw an actual 0.2 pip EUR/USD spread with fills under 0.3 seconds and no commission. The catch is the $250 entry, fifty times the Premium minimum. Cent is a useful bridge out of demo: balances display in cents, so $10 shows as 1,000. The 1:2000 leverage applies only to offshore entities; FCA, CySEC and DFSA clients are capped at 1:30 on majors. High leverage magnifies losses as readily as gains.
Swap-free accounts
Swap-free pricing removes the overnight financing charge on positions held past the daily rollover. It matters to traders who avoid interest on religious grounds, and equally to anyone running multi-day positions who wants financing out of the cost calculation. HFM offers it on all five trading account types where several competitors restrict it to one or two. Activation is not automatic: open a standard account, then request conversion, which took one business day in our test.
The caveat is carry charges. HFM applies an administration charge on some instruments held open for a consecutive number of days. It is not interest, but it is a cost, and it is how a swap-free account stops being free on longer holds. The grace period varies by instrument and is not published in one table, so confirm it before converting. Everything else stays identical.
Fees and trading costs
We compared HFM against XM, Exness and Pepperstone through the first quarter of 2026: competitive on Zero and Pro Plus, expensive on Premium.
Spreads
Sampling EUR/USD on Premium through February 2026, we saw 1.2 to 2.5 pips: 1.2 to 1.4 during the liquid London afternoon, widening to 2.5 in the early Asian session. It also widened sharply across the daily rollover between 23:55 and 00:05 server time — normal, but worth knowing if you place orders in that window.
| Instrument | HFM (Premium) | XM (Standard) | Exness (Standard) | Pepperstone (Standard) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 1.2 pips | 1.6 pips | 1.1 pips | 1.0 pips |
| GBP/USD | 1.6 pips | 2.1 pips | 1.5 pips | 1.3 pips |
| USD/JPY | 1.8 pips | 1.6 pips | 1.1 pips | 1.1 pips |
| AUD/USD | 1.5 pips | 1.8 pips | 1.4 pips | 1.2 pips |
| USD/CHF | 1.8 pips | 2.1 pips | 1.5 pips | 1.3 pips |
| Gold (XAU/USD) | 25 pips | 35 pips | 20 pips | 18 pips |
| Oil (WTI) | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.03 |
HFM beats XM on most pairs but sits behind Exness and Pepperstone on every one except USD/JPY, where it is last of the four. On gold and oil it places third. Across several round trips a day on Premium, that gap compounds over a year.
Commissions and overnight financing
Premium, Cent, Pro, Pro Plus and HFcopy are commission-free with the cost in the spread. Zero charges $3 per lot per side on currencies ($6 round turn) and $5 per side on gold ($10 round turn), undercutting Pepperstone’s Razor and XM’s Zero at $3.50 per side. Swaps track the interest rate differential: in February 2026 a long EUR/USD position was charged and a short credited.
Deposit, withdrawal and inactivity fees
HFM charges nothing on deposits or withdrawals; our e-wallet withdrawal incurred no fee at either end. The inactivity fee is the weak point: charges begin after six consecutive months without trading at $5 a month, rise to $10 after a full year, then increase by a further $10 each additional year, so three years of neglect means $30 a month. Exness charges nothing for dormancy; XM starts sooner at 90 days but stays flatter. We re-checked this in July 2026 and it is unchanged.
Desktop platforms
HFM runs MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and a proprietary browser platform. MT4 remains the familiar option — 30 indicators, nine timeframes, full Expert Advisor support — and felt responsive, but carries only 96 share CFDs. MT5 is the better choice here: 38 indicators, 21 timeframes, depth of market, an embedded economic calendar and 846 share CFDs. The web platform needs no download and suits quick access rather than serious analysis.
The obvious absence is cTrader, which Pepperstone offers. We did not find it during testing; third-party sources now disagree on whether it exists here, so its current availability was not verified at the time of publication. If cTrader is a requirement, confirm before opening an account.
Mobile apps
We tested the Android app in February 2026. On Google Play it carried 3.68 out of 5 from roughly 8,700 reviews, below what the better broker apps manage, with more than 91,000 installs in the preceding month. The core functions work: placing trades, watching prices, handling deposits and withdrawals, and administering MT4, MT5 and HFcopy accounts from one login.
The weaknesses are real: technical analysis tooling is thinner than the standalone MT4 and MT5 apps, localisation is incomplete with some menus falling back to English, and a recurring theme in Play Store reviews is login trouble and slow screen loads. If you trade primarily from a phone, competitors do this better.
Trading tools
Instrument breadth is one of HFM’s clearer strengths — more than 1,000 instruments across nine asset classes.
| Asset class | Approximate count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Currency pairs | 53+ | Majors, minors, exotics |
| Share CFDs | 846+ on MT5 (96 on MT4) | US, European, Asian |
| Precious metals | 4 | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium |
| Energy | 5+ | WTI, Brent, natural gas |
| Indices | 22 | S&P 500, FTSE 100, DAX, Nikkei |
| Agricultural and softs | 5 | Cocoa, coffee, cotton, sugar |
| Cryptocurrencies | 7+ | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple |
| ETFs | 36+ | Broad index and sector funds |
| Bonds | 3 | US, European, Japanese government debt |
HFM offers more breadth than XM‘s roughly 1,000 instruments and less crypto depth than Exness; Pepperstone lists more than 1,200 but no ETFs. The MT4-to-MT5 gap on shares is the detail to watch — choosing MT4 out of familiarity costs you 750 equity markets. The wider toolkit covers an MT5 economic calendar plus risk and pip calculators. HFcopy publishes win rate, performance history and maximum drawdown per provider. Copying a strategy transfers the decision, not the exposure, and does not reduce the risk of loss.
Order execution
We placed 50 trades through February 2026 across major pairs and gold, split between liquid London hours and the thin early Asian session.
| Measure | Result across 50 live orders |
|---|---|
| Fill speed | Under one second on the large majority; under 0.3s on Pro Plus |
| Requotes | None |
| Orders with slippage | 8 of 50 |
| Slippage magnitude | 0.1 to 0.3 pips |
| Slippage direction | 3 in our favour, 5 against |
Zero requotes across 50 orders is a good result, consistent with the STP/NDD model. The trade-off is that slippage during sharp volatility is passed through rather than absorbed, so expect wider deviation around major data releases than these calm-conditions figures suggest. The full order set worked correctly. Execution is broadly comparable to XM and Exness; Pepperstone edges ahead on its Equinix infrastructure, though that is unlikely to matter unless you scalp at size.
Deposits
We funded with $500 by e-wallet and the balance appeared in under 10 minutes, matching what HFM advertises. Cards, e-wallets, bank transfer, cryptocurrency and local methods are supported, with availability varying by country.
| Method | Minimum | Fee from HFM | Processing time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa / Mastercard | $5 | None | Instant to 10 minutes |
| Skrill | $5 | None | Instant to 10 minutes |
| Neteller | $5 | None | Instant to 10 minutes |
| Bank transfer | $250 | None (your bank may charge) | 2 to 10 business days |
| Cryptocurrency | Varies | None | Network confirmation dependent |
The $250 bank transfer minimum stands out at fifty times the card and e-wallet minimum. PayPal and Apple Pay do not appear among the funding options.
Withdrawals
Getting money out is the test that matters most, and HFM passed it cleanly. We requested a $200 e-wallet withdrawal at 09:00 server time on a Tuesday; it was processed the same day and reached the wallet four hours later. HFM’s stated policy — requests before 10:00 server time processed same day, later ones next business day, seven days a week — matched what we saw. No withdrawal fee; minimums run $5 to $100 by method.
| Method | Minimum | Fee from HFM | Time to arrive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa / Mastercard | $5 | None | 1 to 10 business days |
| Skrill | $5 | None | Within 24 hours |
| Neteller | $5 | None | Within 24 hours |
| Bank transfer | $100 | None (your bank may charge) | 1 to 10 business days |
| Cryptocurrency | Varies | None | Within 24 hours |
Two conditions before funding. HFM operates a same-method withdrawal rule: your deposit returns by the route it came in, though profits above that can leave by any available method. And public reviews are not uniformly positive — most describe successful withdrawals, but a minority report multi-week holds, particularly on bank transfers, alongside complaints about account reviews and bonus conditions delaying access.
Customer support
We tested three channels at different times of day and week through February 2026. Support is competent but slower than the better operators.
| Channel | Availability | Measured response | Answer quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live chat | Business days | 5 to 12 minutes across 4 attempts | Good general, thin on technical detail |
| 24 hours | About 6 hours | Detailed and accurate | |
| Telephone | Business days | Not tested | Not assessed |
| Callback request | Business days | Within 24 hours | Not assessed |
Live chat is the weak link. On the longest of four attempts we waited 12 minutes for a first responder and two more for a handover, where XM answers in about two. Straightforward questions on account opening and funding were handled well, while detail on swap mechanics and spread differences drew vaguer responses. Email was better: our swap-free query came back in roughly six hours with a thorough answer.
Research and education
HFM maintains a solid, conventional offering: online courses, video tutorials, ebooks and a glossary, refreshed in early 2026, covering trading fundamentals, technical and fundamental analysis and risk management. Live webinars run in multiple languages, and daily commentary covers the main currency pairs, commodities and indices — a starting point for your own analysis, not a signal service.
On transparency HFM does the important things: licence numbers are published and independently verifiable, the fee schedule is public, the retail loss rate is disclosed. Two gaps are worth naming. The loss-rate figure is republished periodically with no visible “as at” date — third-party sources quoted between 70.51% and 71.64% while we were verifying. And swap-free carry charges are not laid out in one consolidated schedule, so costing a long hold means asking support instrument by instrument.
Fund safety and protections
HFM layers several protections, and which layers you get depends entirely on the entity holding your account.
| Protection | Detail | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Client money segregation | Separate accounts at approved banks | All entities |
| Negative balance protection | Negative balances reset to zero | All entities |
| Insurance policy | Up to €5 million, aggregate rather than per client | Group-level |
| FSCS (UK) | Up to £85,000 per client | FCA entity only |
| ICF (EU) | Up to €20,000 per client | CySEC entity only |
| Statutory compensation | None | Seychelles, Mauritius, St Vincent |
Segregation means client funds sit apart from the firm’s operating accounts and cannot pay company expenses or creditors in an insolvency. Negative balance protection means a violent move cannot leave you owing the broker beyond your balance — important precisely because 1:2000 leverage makes that mathematically possible. The €5 million insurance is unusual and worth having, but read it accurately: it is aggregate across the client base, not per account, and would spread thin under a large-scale failure. On fund safety, the entity named on your client agreement decides whether you get two of these layers or all three.
Verdict
After four weeks of live testing and a re-verification pass in July 2026, HFM reads as a well-regulated, long-established generalist with one standout asset and one structural weakness. The asset is regulatory breadth: FCA, CySEC and DFSA authorisation together is a stronger tier-one footprint than most direct competitors carry, all three confirmed active with no enforcement history. The weakness is cost on the default account — Premium’s 1.2 pip EUR/USD spread is beaten by two of its three main rivals, and the inactivity fee punishes dormancy harder the longer it runs.
Our rating of 7.9 out of 10 is re-derived from the six weighted categories we apply across our broker reviews rather than carried over. Trading costs, at 20% weight, is the category that moved most, reflecting the Premium spread gap and the escalating dormancy charge; customer support scores modestly on a chat wait of five to 12 minutes. Regulation and withdrawals hold the score up.
Practically: use Zero or Pro Plus if you are active enough to justify them, avoid leaving a dormant balance, and check which entity your client agreement names before funding. CFDs are leveraged instruments, most retail accounts lose money trading them, and no broker feature changes that. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.
Is HFM trustworthy?
Is HFM a scam?
No. HFM has operated since 2010 and holds FCA, CySEC, DFSA and FSCA licences we verified on the public registers in July 2026, finding no enforcement action against any entity. We funded a live account, traded it and withdrew successfully. That establishes the broker is real and functioning; it does not guarantee any individual experience will be problem-free, and public reviews do include withdrawal delays and account-review holds.
Has HFM been warned about by a regulator?
One, and it targets an impersonator rather than HFM. On 30 September 2024 the FCA published an alert about “HotForexMarket”, a clone firm using the identity of HF Markets (UK) Limited (FRN 801701) to solicit money. Clone warnings carry no finding against the firm copied. We found no enforcement action, fine or licence restriction against any HFM entity at the FCA, CySEC, DFSA or FSCA.
Can I actually get my money out?
In our test, yes: a $200 e-wallet withdrawal requested at 09:00 server time on a Tuesday reached the wallet four hours later with no fee. Two conditions apply — deposits return by the method used to fund, and requests after 10:00 server time roll to the next business day. Bank transfers are the slowest route and the one most often named in delay complaints.
Which HFM entity will hold my money?
UK residents get the FCA entity with FSCS cover to £85,000; EU and EEA residents the CySEC entity with ICF cover to €20,000; DIFC clients the DFSA entity. Most other international clients are routed to the Seychelles entity, or a St Vincent company holding a business registration rather than a financial licence — neither carries statutory compensation. Check your client agreement before depositing.
Does HFM accept clients from the UK and Australia?
The UK, yes — through HF Markets (UK) Limited, FCA-authorised since December 2018 and confirmed active in July 2026. Australia, no: HFM holds no ASIC licence and does not onboard Australian residents.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum deposit at HFM?
Premium, Cent and Zero carry no formal minimum and about $5 is enough to open and fund one. Pro requires $100 and Pro Plus $250. HFcopy needs $25 to follow a strategy, and $100 to $500 to become a strategy provider.
Does HFM offer swap-free accounts?
Yes, on all five trading account types. You open a standard account and request conversion through support; ours completed in one business day. Overnight swaps are removed, but carry charges can apply on some instruments held for consecutive days.
How long do HFM withdrawals take?
Our e-wallet withdrawal cleared in four hours in February 2026. As a guide, e-wallets and crypto complete within 24 hours while cards and bank transfers take one to 10 business days. Requests before 10:00 server time are processed the same day, with no withdrawal fee.
What is the maximum leverage at HFM?
Up to 1:2000 on the offshore entities, and 1:30 on major currency pairs under the FCA, CySEC or DFSA entities. Higher leverage increases the size of losses as much as gains.
Which platforms does HFM support?
MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and a proprietary web platform, plus a mobile app covering MT4, MT5 and HFcopy accounts. MT5 is the stronger choice, carrying 846 share CFDs against 96 on MT4. cTrader was not in the lineup during our testing and its current availability was not verified at the time of publication.
Does HFM charge an inactivity fee?
Yes, and it escalates. Charges start after six consecutive months without trading at $5 a month, rise to $10 after a full year, and increase by a further $10 a month for each additional year of dormancy.
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