Deriv vs Exness: mobile money, licences and two different products

This table shows only figures we can confirm for both brokers, and it drops any row that one side lacks. We can read no average EUR/USD spread for Deriv, so cost cannot be compared directly here. That gap is itself worth weighing. See also Exness vs Pepperstone for a stronger-regulated rival.

Both firms offer a demo and a swap-free option, under their own conditions. Exness lists an unlimited leverage setting on international pages, and Deriv advertises up to 1:1000, with zero-balance protection on its CFDs. Either figure is far more than a small account can safely use, so size positions with a calculator and not the maximum.

Measure	Deriv	Exness
Founded	1999	2008
Licences	FSC-BVI, CIMA, FSC-MU, VFSC, LFSA	FSA-SC, CBCS, FSC-BVI, FSC-BZ, VFSC, FSC-MU, CMA, JSC, FSCA, CySEC, FCA
Minimum deposit	USD 5	By region
Max leverage	1:1000	1:Unlimited
Platforms	MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, Deriv Trader, Deriv Bot	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Exness Trade app, Exness Terminal
Copy trading	cTrader Copy	MetaTrader 5 signals
Swap-free	Yes	Yes
Published deposit methods	Deriv P2P, Visa, Mastercard, M-Pesa, MTN, Vodafone, Airtel, Orange Money, Moov, Neteller	Debit card, Credit card, Bank wire, Crypto, Skrill, Neteller

Exness has the clear lead. Exness (KE) Limited holds CMA licence 162, and Exness ZA (PTY) Ltd holds FSP 51024, so clients in those countries get a local regulator. Deriv's companies hold licences from the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Mauritius, Vanuatu and Labuan, and none comes from those two countries.

Traders in those two markets who rank protection first should start with Exness. In Nigeria and Ghana, both brokers serve you from abroad, so the gap narrows. Exness also holds FCA authorisation under number 730729 for UK clients, which has no bearing on an African account but shows the scale of its licensing.

Deriv has the clearest published data. M-Pesa runs from USD 5 to USD 1,000 per transaction, with instant deposits and withdrawals on its table. MTN and Airtel take USD 5 to USD 150 on deposits, and Deriv P2P exchanges local currency up to USD 10,000 a day. Its table carries no country split.

Exness promotes M-Pesa on its Kenyan pages and lists cards, wires, crypto, Skrill and Neteller. It says over 98% of withdrawals run automatically, with timing set by the route. For a Ghanaian or Kenyan who keeps savings on a phone, Deriv's table is more specific. Our Kenya guide covers Safaricom's limits.

These brokers sell different things. Deriv's Derived Indices, including Volatility 75, are synthetic prices from an algorithm that run 24/7 and link to no real market. They draw weekend traders and those chasing large moves, and their built-in volatility can clear a small account quickly. News will not help you.

Exness sells conventional forex and CFDs, with 78 forex pairs, gold, indices, and about 100 stock CFDs on its Terminal. Raw Spread starts from 0 pips with up to USD 3.50 per side. A forex strategy has a logic behind it that a synthetic index lacks, so choose by what you actually plan to trade.

Deriv offers Deriv MT5, Deriv cTrader with copy trading, TradingView with over 400 indicators, Deriv Trader and Deriv Bot, which builds simple automated strategies without code. That range is wider than most offshore rivals offer. Exness offers MT4, MT5, Exness Terminal and the Exness Trade app.

Exness Terminal uses TradingView charts with 106 indicators and lets you drag stops before a trade opens, a rare feature. Its app also sizes orders from a dollar risk figure. Copy traders should note that Exness is phasing out its own service, so Deriv's cTrader copy route is the live option between these two.

Deriv vs Exness has no single winner, because the two sell different products.

Choose Exness if you live in Kenya or South Africa, trade forex and want local regulation. Choose Deriv if mobile money access or Derived Indices matter most, and keep your balance modest given the offshore licences. Some traders hold both for different purposes, with records kept apart.

Read our Deriv review and Exness review for the full detail. Test the withdrawal route with USD 10 at either one before adding more, and compare wider options in the forex broker rankings.

A USD 5 mobile money test at Deriv and a small Standard deposit at Exness would let you compare both directly.