How can you compare forex brokers, and find the best one for you? In our forex broker review list, we have taken into account various ranking factors, from fees and spreads, to trading platforms, chart options and analysis – all that make a mark, and affect your success as a trader.

The “best” forex broker will often be a matter of individual choice for the forex trader. It may come down to the pair you need to trade, the platform, the currency trading using the spot market or every point or ease of use of simple needs.

Here is a list of comparison factors, some will be more important to you than others but all are worth considering. Details on all these elements for each brand can be found in individual reviews.

How to Find the Best Forex Broker

The main criteria for finding the best Forex Broker in Ukraine 2020 are these – we will expand on each area later in the article:

  • Trading Terms / Fees – This is the most important part of your global Forex broker evaluation. There is no other way. One forex broker can charge you 10 times less for the same trade than another. Be aware of “hidden” fees, such as withdrawal fees, or inactivity fees.
  • Market Protection – You need to trade with your preferred / preferred fx pair or product.
  • Accessibility and Resiliency – Beginner and small-timer forex traders need love too. You should not be forced to make a minimum deposit that you cannot afford to lose. The minimum deposit ranges from $10 to $1000 (or £/€ equivalent). It may be worth investing more for a platform that works for you, so keep an open mind.
  • Trading Platform – The forex trading platform and the tools it features are your main weapons in your personal war for profit. Choose the one that suits you. Remember many platforms are configurable, so they can be tailored to suit you. Personal preference will play a big part here, as many trading platforms offer very similar services, but look and feel very different. Is your mobile platform the priority, or a desktop web trading platform?
  • Mobile Trading Apps – Being able to trade anywhere can be important. Some mobile apps are higher than others. Basically the mobile platform will work like the web-based version.
  • Deposits and Withdrawals – You need to transfer funds to and from brokers, quickly and cheaply. The Deposit / Withdrawal method supported by the forex broker determines whether you can achieve that or not. Account funding may also require a specific payment method.
  • Reputation – People talk. It is good to hear what traders have to say about the forex brokers they have tried.
  • Rules – When push comes to shove, legal advice is the first, last and only hope to resolve any issues you may have with your forex broker. A proper regulatory framework is preventative. It aims to ensure that those problems appear in the first place.
  • Customer Support – You need someone to talk to when you have problems with your deposit, actual trading, or – God forbid – withdrawal. Competent support is a must. From opening an account, to helping with the platform, customer support can be crucial.
  • Company Background and History – Knowing your forex broker’s past exploits can give you a better picture of what it is now. Listed companies have to publish various elements of information on their balance sheets for example. You want peace of mind that your trading funds are segregated, and held safe and secure.
  • Education – It never hurts to improve your understanding of how the forex market works and how you can take advantage of the biggest opportunities. Some brokers offer extensive educational tools.
  • Account Opening / Registration – Is it an easy process to open an account? Does the customer need to be verified? These processes are not always the same and may be worth considering if opening a trading account has been problematic in the past.

Brokerage Costs

Forex broker services are not free. You pay them through spreads, commissions and rollover fees. Low trading fees are a big draw.

The fee structure varies from one forex broker to another, and also from one type of account to another. There are two basic sets of bases that are widely used.

  • Brokers only charge fees. All other fees – with the exception of the rollover rate – are included in the spread.
  • In addition to the spread, a commission is charged as well. This commission is based on the amount you trade.

 

Spread it

Of the two forex broker fee agreements, the second is arguably more transparent. That said, the commission/spread combination may not be the cheaper option in every instance.

Spreads can be fixed or changed. The spread remains constant. ECN brokers can also spread zero zero. The spread changes, depending on the asset being traded, volatility and available liquidity. Currency markets and spreads are protracted.

Daily spreads may vary only slightly among brokers, but active traders (or even hyper active traders) trade so often that small differences can add up and need to be calculated to compare trading costs. The lowest spread suits frequent traders.

Some brokers focus on fixed spreads. There are also 1 pip fixed spread forex brokers out there as well.

Forex brokers with low spreads are definitely popular. Does take commission and transfer / change into account also with such a broker.

What is the Rollover Rate?

Forex positions remain open overnight incur additional fees. This fee results from the extension of an open position at the end of the day, without settling. The transition rate results from the difference between the interest rates of the two currencies. The first pair is the base currency, while the second is the currency pair.

Forex pairs are traded

While most forex brokers offer an impressive selection of currency pairs, not all of them cover minors and exotics. Does the broker offer the market or currency pair you want to trade? If you trade major pairs (see below), then all brokers will accommodate you. If you want to trade with Thai Baht or Swedish Krone as the base currency, you need to review the list of assets and currencies that can be traded.

Majors

  • usd / euro
  • usd / gbp
  • eur / gbp
  • usd / JPY
  • eur / JPY

The Aussie dollar ans Swiss Franc, while considered a ‘small’ pair, often trades in high volume. You can read more about them here: aud / usd or usd / chf

That said, there are brokers out there who will really go out of their way to meet the needs of their traders. Some will also add exotics and international currency markets on demand. Such flexibility is clearly a major asset, positively impacting the overall quality of service.

Cryptocurrency pairs are quite today. Crypto/fiat and crypto/crypto pairs are both popular. The massive downside associated with this product makes it a viable strategy for profitable trading.

Some traders are in the forex game specifically to sell crypto volatility. Such operators obviously need a forex broker that has as many crypto pairs as possible.

 

Micro Accounts

Not everyone trades forex on a large scale. In fact, many forex traders are small timers. Such forex clients appreciate micro account forex brokers, some of which have the US Dollar as their base currency.

Some forex micro accounts do not have a set minimum deposit requirement. Cheap trading options make sense for those who want to dive deeper into real money trading, without risking their life savings.

Note however that the spreads / commissions on those micro accounts tend to be pretty bad. However, a cheaper introduction to the complex market (similar to a cfd account) – and trading to track a real demo account for a real experience of learning how to trade.

Trading Platform

A forex trading platform is more or less a trading environment tailored for online trading. They provide traders with technical analysis tools, live news feeds, multiple order types, automation, advanced charts and drawing options and more. Some may include sentiment indicators or event calendars.

MetaTrader 4 or 5

Integration with popular software packages such as Metatrader 4 or 5 (MT4 or MT5) may be important for some traders. Many brands offer automated trading or integration into related software, but if you want to rely on it, you need to be sure.

See Trade

TradingView is also a popular choice. Some forex brokers allow their traders to trade directly to the world’s top social trading networks.

Proprietary solutions are often attractive, although in some cases less than optimal. For traders who base their strategies on the use of EAs and VPS, proprietary platforms that do not support these features, are useless.

Although we are discussing strategies: not all forex brokers support strategies such as hedging, scalping and EAs.
Make sure you understand any and all restrictions in this regard, before you register.

If you want to scalp, see if your broker is a forex broker for scalping.

For those who want to trade on the go, mobile trading apps are obviously essential. While all forex brokers have apps like this these days, some mobile platforms are very simple. They lack all the features of advanced analysis and market research, and therefore, are useless.

Tools & Features

From price matching to futures prices or previous trading robots, brokers offer a variety of tools to enhance the trading experience. Again, this availability as a determining factor in opening an account will come down to the individual. Level 2 data is one such tool, where priority may be given to the brand that delivers it.

Deposits and Withdrawals

There are some big differences between the costs associated with deposits and withdrawals from one broker to another. This disparity is mostly due to internal procedures observed by different brokers.

At one particular broker, it can take as much as 5 times longer to fund an account than at another. The cost is slightly different as well.

Otherwise, the payment process largely depends on the accepted money transfer method.

It makes sense for brokers to adopt as many such methods as possible, but some are still not good.

Education

Some traders can rely on their broker to help learn to trade. From guides, classes and webinars, educational resources vary from brand to brand. Brokers however, are not always the best source for unfair trading advice. Consider checking out other resources too – like our Trade Education page!

payment method

The most common methods are bank wire, VISA and MasterCard. The majority of brokers tend to accept Skrill and Neteller as well.

Forex brokers with Paypal are much rarer. The same goes for forex brokers that accept bitcoins. We are not talking about bitcoin trading, but real deposits made in top cryptocurrencies.

The right forex broker always provides payment solutions specific to their target countries.

 

Customer feedback

Based on real user feedback, the reputation of a forex broker can best be obtained from various community review sites and forums.

You have to take this kind of feedback with a grain of salt, at least.

First of all: dissatisfied merchants are always more motivated to send feedback. They cannot possibly be unbiased.

Second: not all of these responses are correct. Also, there is no way to actually check/verify this data. Even sites like TrustPilot are shut down with fake posts or scam messages. No quality control or post verification.

That said, it’s still relevant. If there is a forex broker that has never had anything good to say, chances are it may have a problem. To the trained eye, native merchant surveys are relatively easy to spot.

The lack of community feedback is a red flag as well. People always have something to say about their forex broker or trading account. Therefore, something must be wrong if there is no information available in this regard.

Rules

Regulation should be an important consideration when trading in the forex market. Whether regulators are inside, or outside, Europe will have serious consequences for your trade. ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) has imposed strict regulations on regulated forex firms in Europe. These include the following regulators:

  • CySec (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission)
  • FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)
  • BaFin – (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht)
  • Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Switzerland)

ESMA has jurisdiction over all regulators in the EEA

Regulations include caps or limits on leverage, and vary across financial products. Forex leverage is limited to 1:30 (Or x30). Outside Europe, leverage can reach 1: 500 (x500).

Traders in Europe can apply for Professional status. This removes their regulatory protection, and allows brokers to offer higher levels of leverage (among other things).

Outside of Europe, the largest account regulators and trading brokers are:

  • SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission (US)
  • CFTC – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US)
  • CSA – Canadian Securities Administration
  • ASIC – Australian Securities and Investments Commission

This covers most of the countries outside of Europe. Forex brokers residing in India, Hong Kong, Qatar and so on may have regulations in one of the above, rather than every country they support. Some brands are regulated worldwide (some are regulated on 5 continents). Some bodies issue licenses, and others have a register of law firms.

So to reiterate, ASIC forex brokers can offer higher leverage to traders in Europe.

Offshore regulations – such as the licensing provided by Vanuatu, Belize and other island nations – are not trusts. Outside of existing dispute resolution systems, this regulatory coverage does not protect you.

Regulators like ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) generally frown on bonuses. Forex brokers that are not influenced by ESMA are able to provide you with potential additional value through promotions. The same ESMA rules are also why some brands are tasked with displaying warnings about trading CFDs that make you ”  risk losing all your money  “.

Safety

Most brands will follow regulatory demands to separate customer and company funds, and offer a certain level of user data security. Some brands may give you more confidence than others, and this is often linked to the regulator or where the brand is licensed. Good consideration. Some regulators will set higher benchmarks than others – and being registered is not the same as being regulated.

Demo Account

Try before you buy. Most reputable brokers are willing to let you view their platform risk free. Trading on a demo or simulator account is a good way to test a strategy, retest or learn the nuances of the platform. Try as many as you need to before making a choice – and remember having multiple accounts is fine (even recommended).

FX Leverage

For European forex traders this can have a big impact. Leverage Forex is closed at 1:30 by the majority of regulated brokers in Europe. Assets such as Gold, Oil or stocks are restricted separately.

In Australia however, traders can use leverage of 1:500. That makes a big difference to deposits and margin requirements. Australian brands are open to traders from all over the world, so some consumers will have a choice between regulatory protection or more freedom to trade as they wish.

Keep in mind that higher leverage increases potential losses, just as much as potential gains.

 

Company History

A proper regulatory agency will not think twice about cease and desist orders to dishonest brokers. It will also list them.

This practice creates a kind of online trail, an operational history of sorts, highlighting the past sins of the currently “reputable” forex broker.

What is interesting about this history is how little exposure it receives. Actually you have to try the archive of the regulator to happen on the relevant information.

Bonus

From cashback, to no deposit bonuses, free trades or deposit contests, brokers used to offer many promotions. Regulatory pressures have changed all that. Bonuses are now few and far between. Our directory will list them where offered, but they can rarely be the deciding factor in your forex trading choices. Also always check the terms and conditions and make sure they won’t cause you to over trade.

Additional Account Details

When comparing brokers, there are also other elements that can affect your decision. This will not affect all traders, but may be important to some.

Order Execution Type

Once you click the “Open Trade” or “Enter” button in your trading interface, you begin a rather complicated process. Your broker uses several different methods to execute your trades.

Exactly which method is used for a particular trade will be reflected in the price you pay for it. Some brokers only support certain order execution methods. For example, your broker can act as a market maker and not use an ECN for trade execution.

If you are specifically looking for this method, you need to look for an ECN forex broker.

ECNs are great for limit orders, as they match buy and sell orders automatically in the network.

Some other options that your forex broker can use are:

  • Order to the Floor. Most of it is used for stock. This type of execution is handled manually, through the actual trading floor / regional exchange. Therefore, it is very slow.
  • Orders to Third Market Makers. This type of execution involves a third party, which is a market maker. This party is the one handling the order.
  • Orders to Market Makers. This method is basically the same as above. The Market Maker handles the execution of trades. Some market makers pay brokers to send them orders. Therefore, your order may not end up with the best market maker.
  • Internationalization. When using this method, the broker matches orders from its own inventory of assets. This method of implementation is very fast.

Order execution is very important when it comes to choosing a forex broker. It also complies with regulatory requirements.

Broker Reporting

Both ESMA and the US SEC require brokers to report the quality of execution provided by their services. The survey controller aims to ensure that traders get the best execution.

MiFID II sets clear guidelines in this regard. Online forex brokers are required to submit data on their execution methods as well as execution prices on a trading basis.

This may seem boring, but it is the only way to rule out fraud. Price compared to public quote price. If a broker executes a trade at a price better than the public quote, it has some extras to explain.

If it routes a trader’s order through a less-than-optimal route, it should disclose this fact to the trader.

These examples again demonstrate the importance of a proper regulatory background.

Account Type

From cash, margin or PAMM accounts, to Bronze, Silver, Gold and VIP levels, account types can vary. The difference can be seen in cost, reduced spreads, access to Level II data, different solutions or leverage. Micro accounts may provide lower trade size limits for example.

Retail and professional accounts will be treated very differently by both brokers and regulators for example. An ECN account will give you direct access to the forex contract market. So research what you need, and what you get.

Fraud

Our reviews have filtered out scams, but if you’re considering a different brand, avoid getting caught with this check;

  • Are you ‘cold called’? Reputable firms will not call you out of the blue (This includes email, or facebook or Instagram channels)
  • Are they offering unrealistic gains? Just stop and think for a moment – ​​if they can make the money they claim, why are they calling or advertising on social media?
  • Do they offer to trade on your behalf or use their own or self-managed transactions? Don’t give someone else control of your money.

If you have doubts, go ahead. There are many legitimate brokers.

With all the comparison factors presented in our review, you can now list your best forex brokers, take each for a test drive with a demo account, and choose the best one for you. We rank brokers according to our own opinion and offer ratings in our table, but only you can give ‘5 stars’ to your favorites!

Read who won DayTrading.com’s ‘Best Forex Broker 2020’ on the Awards page.

Difference Between Broker And Market Maker?

A broker is an intermediary. The main (and often only) goal is to bring buyers and sellers together. With the corresponding order, hopefully automatically, without human intervention (STP), a broker fulfills its task. For this service, it collects a proper fee.

A market maker on the other hand, actively creates liquidity in the market. It is always buying and it is always selling, acting as a counterparty to the trader. If your forex broker acts as a market maker, it will trade against you.

The conflict of interest in this setup is obvious.

 

 

Bottom line

Hopefully, you now understand some of the methods we have used to create our forex broker ranking list.

Choosing the right broker is not an easy task, but it is important that you get it right. While we can show you the correct instructions, only you know your personal needs. Take them into account, along with our recommendations.

Forex Broker Reviews

Use this table of top forex broker reviews to compare all the FX brokers we’ve reviewed. Note that some of these forex brokers may not accept trading accounts opened from your country. If we can determine that the broker will not accept your location, it is marked in gray in the table.

Forex Broker Reviews
BROKERS DEMO DEPT. MIN MT4 BONUS
24Options Yes $250 Yes Nope
Alpari Yes From $ / £ / € 5 Yes Yes
ATFX Yes 100$/€/£ Yes Nope
Avatrade Yes $100 Yes Nope
AxiTrader Yes 0 $ / € / £ Yes Nope
Vice versa Yes £1 Yes Nope
BDSwiss Yes 100$/€/£ Nope Nope
Binary.com Yes $5 Yes Nope
Capital.com Yes £/$/€100 Nope Nope
CityIndex Yes £/$100 Yes Yes
CMC Market Yes £0 Yes Nope
Deriv.com Yes €/£/$5 Yes Nope
Easy Market Yes €100 Yes Nope
eToro Yes $200 ($50 in the US) Yes Nope
ETX Capital Yes £250 Yes Nope
Finq.com Yes $100 Yes Yes
Forex.com Yes $50 Yes Nope
Fusion Market Yes No Minimum Yes Nope
FXCM Yes £300 Yes Nope
FXPro Yes $100 Yes Nope
FXTM Yes From $10 Yes Yes
IC market Yes $200 Yes Nope
IG Group Yes £250 Yes Nope
InstaForex Yes $1 to $10 (depending on account options) Yes Nope
Interactive Brokers Yes $10000 Nope Nope
invest.com Yes £0 Yes Yes
Bad Yes $250 Yes Nope
IQ option Yes $10 Nope Nope
Just2Trade Yes £2500 Yes Nope
LCG Yes 0 $ / € / £ Yes Nope
Libertex Yes £/€10 Yes Nope
Markets.com Yes $100 Yes Nope
Nadex Yes $250 Nope Nope
NinjaTrader Yes $50 Yes Nope
NordFX Yes $10 Yes Nope
Oanda Yes $0 Yes Nope
Pepperstone Yes £200 / $200 Yes Nope
Plus500 Yes $100 Nope Yes
Saxo Bank Yes $10000 Yes Nope
Skilling.com Yes 100 £ / € / $ or 1000 NOK, SEK Nope Nope
Spreadex Nope $1 Nope Nope
TD Ameritrade Yes None Nope Yes
Trading212 Yes €/£/$100 Nope Nope
UFX Yes $100 Yes Nope
VantageFX Yes $200 Yes Yes
Videoforex Yes $250 Nope Yes
XM Yes 5$/€/£ Yes Yes
XTB Yes $250 Yes Nope
ZuluTrade Yes $1 to $300 (depending on Broker’s choice) Yes Nope