What is more profitable: Forex or the stock market?

You've decided to become a trader, but you're faced with the question of what and where is most profitable to trade, as you want to maximize your initial capital. Furthermore, the complexity of the work and the risk of losing your money are also significant factors.

Currently, there are two main options available to the average trader: Forex trading or stock trading.

Regarding trading instruments such as metals, precious metals, options, and futures, they can be accessed through virtually any dealing center , using a standard trader terminal or a web platform on the dealing center's website. Some dealing centers also offer the ability to trade stocks, but this is a more limited option than on a stock exchange.

Let's conduct a comparative analysis of trading on these two exchanges.

1. Trading complexity – both cases utilize technical and fundamental analysis, although the latter has a greater impact on the stock market, as stock prices are much more sensitive to news. Other than this, there are no significant differences; technical indicators and various scripts can be used in both cases.

2. Earnings – Forex trading definitely offers higher earnings, due to leverage, or more precisely, its size. Brokers who act as intermediaries in stock transactions rarely provide their clients with leverage greater than 1:100. Meanwhile, in the forex market, leverage of 1:500 is considered the norm. This opens up new income prospects, especially for scalpers.

3. Working hours – the stock market (for example, the MICEX) operates during strictly designated hours, usually during workdays, so you won't be able to trade in the evening after work. Meanwhile, the forex market operates 24 hours a day, making this option suitable even for those with full-time jobs.

4. Trading instruments – on forex, they are more versatile and liquid, which affects the speed of trade execution, as well as the size of the spread.

5. Trading amount – most stock brokers do not work with amounts less than $1,000, while in forex, there are so-called cent brokers that allow you to start trading with just a few dollars and also execute trades using mini-lots.

In summary, it's clear that forex trading is more suitable for beginners due to lower initial deposit requirements and more flexible trading conditions.