StockPair VS. AnyOption – The Battle Of The Proprietary Platforms
Last time we’ve had a grueling battle for the Championship Title of Binary Options and today a new contender will emerge, trying to claim the glory. Two old timers – StockPair and AnyOption – will duke it out in a clash of titans and we will see who deserves the chance to get a title shot. They have 2 things in common: both have proprietary platforms (built in-house) and both rock a Blue theme on their website… blue, like the sea, it offers a sense of calmness… ENOUGH! I want to see blood!!!
Let’s Meet The Contestants: The Next Title Challenger Emerges
In the Blue corner: One of the oldest brokers on the roster, AnyOption is “fighting” since 2008 and is “trained” (read owned and operated) by Ouroboros Derivatives Trading Ltd, a Cypriot investment firm regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), license number 187/12. Overall a solid firm, with tons of experience and a sense of innovation; a worthy opponent for any of the big brokers out there.
In the Blue corner (yea, they are both Blue): One of my personal favorites (but don’t worry, I will keep it professional and impartial), StockPair. They are fighting since 2010 under the tutelage of Nextrade Worldwide Ltd, a company regulated by the CySEC with license No. 229/14. A fine example of professionalism and innovative spirit, StockPair is the first brokerage to introduce Pair Options, a style of trading that was adopted by many others afterwards.
Round One! Brand Power
Both our contestants are recognizable brands in the Binary Options industry. Any trader who has been in this business for even a short while has surely heard of both brokers. They are evenly matched in this category, no known partnerships or sponsorships for any of them, so we have to turn to numbers and statistics for a detailed comparison: both reach about 400K users per month but the balance is slightly tilted towards StockPair (374K for AnyOption and 403K for StockPair, according to similarweb.com). AnyOption is stronger in Turkey and Spain, StockPair in France and Italy. Round one is nothing spectacular, as each fighter blocks what the other one is throwing his way. 1-1.
Round Two! Public Image
The stalemate continues because both have good reputations, both are considered reliable and trustworthy brokerages; no major fines have been handed out for any of them and no major scam reports surfaced. But… out of the blue, just when the round was about to finish, StockPair slips and rips AnyOption with a huge elbow to the temple (yea, that’s legal because it’s an MMA match). The elbow is a low rating on ForexPeaceArmy.com of just 1.5/5 for AnyOption (see it here). StockPair on the other hand, has a 3/5 rating when the match is taking place and on top of that, apparently AnyOption is spamming FPA forums (this was in February 2013) so StockPair clearly wins the round. 2-1 Stockpair.
Round Three! Platform Technology
Both contestants have decided to build their own trading platform from the ground up and both have done a great job, resulting in 2 of the most reliable and easy to use trading venues in the binary options industry. However, I consider that information is better laid out on the StockPair platform and charts are a bit better. Anyway, the difference is not substantial and as an advantage for AnyOption, they offer more types of options, such as Up/Down, Option+, Binary 0-100 Options, One Touch, Bubbles, while StockPair has a limited toolbox of Up/Down, Pairs and KIKO. Overall it’s a close round but the judges might just give it to AnyOption. 2-2.
Round Four! Innovation and Usability
This is where it gets interesting: both contenders do their best to stand out of the crowd and try to innovate a lot. StockPair recently introduced KIKO (Knock In – Knock Out) options: here the user doesn’t need to choose an expiry because there is no expiry. Yea, you’ve read that right – binary options without expiry. Two predefined levels are given (one above and one below current price) and the trader has to decide which one will be hit first, without any time restriction: if price stays inside the 2 levels for a week or a year, your option doesn’t expire. On the other hand, AnyOption has a secret weapon of their own: Bubbles. Here’s how it works: on the chart you have a bubble which you can move around and make it bigger or smaller. If at expiry, price ends up inside your bubble, you win the trade; the smaller the bubble, the more you can win (because you need to be more accurate with your prediction) and the bigger the bubble, the less you can win (but the probability is higher). At first I thought that StockPair will easily win the round with their KIKO options but after seeing AnyOption’s Bubbles, I am not so sure so I guess I will leave that in the hands of the judges: You. 2-2.
Round Five! Clients’ Opinion
This is where blood starts to spill. All is well until the wrath of the public hits and right now they are booing hard. The one booed is AnyOption! Unfortunately for them, this could be the deciding factor because, as I’ve mentioned earlier, they have a very low score on ForexPeaceArmy.com and that score is based on the users’ opinions. People complain about getting locked out of their accounts after making some profitable trades and getting a bad service in general. However, the newest comments I could find were from 2013. Nothing after that. I wonder why. StockPair has a good reputation overall, but they have their fair share of complaints – who doesn’t after all. So how does the match end? Well, it’s been close, both contestants were ready for a fight and now they head bruised and battered to their corners, awaiting the judges decision. No Knock Out today, but a slight advantage for Stockpair. 3-2 StockPair.
The Judges’ Scorecards – Stockpair Wins by Judge’s Decision!
We have a split decision with the first judge giving it to AnyOption and the other two to StockPair. Although it’s been a close fight, a new contender emerges, but he is too weak to take on the big dogs 24Option and Banc de Binary… at least for the time being. StockPair has shown innovative spirit over time and a professional approach but I guess the deciding factor was the clients’ positive opinion about them. What do you think? Do you agree with our decision, or think that AnyOption should have won the bout? Let us know in the comments section and stay tuned for the next fight. We may just see the first KO.
