Best Forex Brokers 2021
Below is ranking of what we think are the best forex brokers overall.
- Pepperstone – Awarded as the “Top Forex Broker Overall“
- XM – Best MT4/MT5 Forex Broker
- XTB – Best CFD Broker
- Forex.com – Best for US Traders
- eToro – Best Social Trading Platform in the World
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| Broker’s Name | Trust Score | Minimum deposit | Trading Platforms | Reviews | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79.3% retail CFD accounts lose. | 98% | $150 | MT4; MT5; Webtrader; cTrader; | ||
| 75% retail CFD accounts lose. | 96% | $200 | CopyTrader™; eToroX wallet; | ||
| 73.57% retail CFD accounts lose. | 95% | $5 | MT4; MT5; | ||
| 79% retail CFD accounts lose. | 90% | $100 | MT4; MT5; AvaGO; AvaOPTIONS; | ||
| 73.57% retail CFD accounts lose. | 90% | $50 | MT4; HF Copy; |
Best Forex Brokers for Forex Trading
Pepperstone – Best Overall and Best for Range of Offerings
XM – Best for Trading Experience
XTB – Best for Beginners
How to Choose a Forex Broker
What are the best forex brokers ?
The answer is there isn’t one which is the best for everyone but if you take into consideration the points below when choosing one, you will find the best forex trading company that will accomodate to your trading style.
Let us save you lot of time searching and headache! We did the research for you, you will thank us later for!
1) Regulation & License
Despite the regulation, there are still many crooks in this business, which can cost you lot of money!
If you trade with a regulated broker, you will gain protection in terms of the safety of your money and the broker will have guidelines on the way your account is dealt with to ensure you get the best service and you can contact the regulatory to settle any disputes you may have.
For example, if you are European Union resident, then you should know that any reputable company that operates on European union market should be licensed at least by Cyprus Cysec regulatory or by the FCA UK.
Besides Cysec, the NFA in the USA and the registered by the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom are widely seen as the most serious forex companies in the world, although there are now many others, as regulation spreads to more areas of the world. Another well respected regulatory body is the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (asic.gov.au), we can say that are one of the most reliable companies and usually offer the lowest spreads on the market and the fastest trade execution times, this is mainly due to the fact that Australian retail fx market is extremely competitive.
Always aim to choose a regulated forex company, so for example if you live in South Africa then you definitely want to choose one of the which are regulated by an FSCA regulatory agency. In case you are residing in Dubai, then go with the that is DFSA regulated.
KEY TAKEAWAY:
” There is no need to deal with an unregulated forex trading companies so please don’t even consider them! “
2) Customer Support
Find out what kind of support your potential broker provides.
- Do they hide behind anonymous mailboxes or have a real support center in your mother tongue that you speak?
- Is their support center located in the same time zone as you,is it somewhere in Europe or on the opposite side of the globe ?
- Do they have a customer support telephone line where they can be contacted for technical problems? Do they provide online chat support?
- Will you be assigned a personal advisor to whom you can contact with trading questions at any time?
For example, eToro provides based on our experience really high quality customer support in 24 languages, including free online forex training.
Read here our comprehensive and probably the most complete eToro review including video tutorials.
3) Negative Balance Protection
In case you posses losing trading positions in your fx trading account, this protects your whole forex trading account against negative balance. It protects you as a retail trader on a per account basis. Meaning, your account will not go into debt, which could potentially happen to many inexperienced traders. Since the forex market can become very volatile in a matter of minutes, the NBT allows you to better manage volatility without having to worry about going into debt!
However you can relax in case you signed up through any of the recommended forex trading companies on this website because ….
As of 1st August 2018 the negative balance protection is mandatory for all retail trading accounts for forex companies that are regulated by the European regulators like Cysec or British FCA!
4) Your Previous Experience and Trading Style
First of all, you should think about your trading style and choose a platform accordingly:
- Are you a complete newbie in Forex?
- Will you trade the most popular currency pair of EURUSD or exotic currencies?
- Do you have large capital or do you require a mini / micro account?
- Do you use mobile phone for trading?
- Do you depend on forex signals?
- Are you going to scalp the market?
- In case you are about to start trading you will most probably need an Islamic Account which provides you interest free trading.
5) Broker’s Financial Standing
How much capital does the forex company have behind it – in other words – how strong is its balance sheet? You should take this into consideration when choosing a broker and also the length of the time they have been in business. A broker with a strong balance sheet which has been in business for many years is probably going to be a good broker to deposit your money with. You should always deposit your hard earned cash with a financially strong brokerage only.
6) Forex Trading Platforms – Get The Most Out Of Your Trading
The forex trading platform is also a consideration in terms of its smoothness of operation, reliability, number of currency pairs offered and other extras such as news and technical charting tools. You can easily find out how good the trading platform is by simply opening a demo account and seeing if you like the services.
〉〉 Webtrader and iOs Android Trading Apps
Almost each forex broker is now offering its own Webtrader platform and mobile app for trading. These platforms are containing very basic trading functions and basic charting possibilities. On the other hand, it runs under almost any internet browser and requires no download and installing. The only thing you literally needs is a PC/Mac with Internet connection or smartphone with installed App.
If you are really serious about trading forex, then you should definitely look for fx broker that is allowing you to trade with Metatrader. MetaTrader is a standard industry platform and is the most well known and most commonly used and offers security, reliability and a number of analytical features and most brokers will allow you to use it.
Metatrader 4 is used mostly by forex traders, while 5 includes besides fx also ETF, commodities Social trading (copytrading feature)
While many traders want to trade themselves there are many who want to get help and there has recently been a huge rise in social fx trading.
There are many social trading platforms and the concept is simple – you can follow other traders in the network and copy their trades and hopefully make money following their trading signals.
Traders online have been swapping ideas and trades in forums, blogs and social networks for a long time and the idea of following successful traders in a trading network is a logical progression and the growth of this segment of the trading industry is huge and the number of traders participating and the dollars amounts transacted are staggering – let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
Etoro social network is huge with over 2 million traders using it. These platforms are two of the biggest but the idea of following other traders is growing at a rapid rate and new platforms are coming online all the time. For example they allow traders to safely.
Most forex brokerages claim their forex trading platform is the best but in terms of the top platforms there is not to much between them and which you like will come down to the services you specifically require as a trader.
TIP: The best way to find out how good a platform is you should try it on a practice account!
7) Maximum Leverage
The leverage brokers offer vary but they all give you more leverage than you really need and 500:1 leverage is not an advantage! Most experienced Forex traders only trade with leverage of 10:1 and all the top brokers, will give you this level of leverage. For example in Asia there are some even offer 888:1 maximum leverage. On the other hand, in Brazil usually offer between 300:1 to 400:1 as this is the most frequently required leverage on Brasilian retail fx market. the maximum leverage to only 25:1 due to regulatory requirements.
However the ESMA (European Security Markets Authority) has announced the restrictions on leverage that affects all retail traders residing in European Union. As of 1st August of this year no retail forex trader from EU will have more leverage than 30:1 for major currency pairs and 20:1 for
8) Price Quotes and Pip Spreads
〉〉 PIP Spread
Most of the top trusted forex companies will give you tight pip spreads on all the majors, although there may be more variance on the cross currency pairs. If you are day trader, pip spreads need to be tight, if you are a long term trend follower where a pip a trade will not impact on profitability. You can also check out the quotes offered and price feed but most of the brokers we recommend on this site will have excellent quotes and tight pip spreads.
〉〉 SWAPs
Sometimes you will have to pay so called SWAPs overnight fees for keeping the trade open overnight. The cost will depend on the interest rates etc and varies by currency pair and the type of trade whether you go LONG or SHORT. If you are of islamic faith, you can get SWAP free islamic account! Many of the offer that option.
〉〉 Other fees
Some companies charge you account inactivity fees, or withdrawal fees (usually around $20-$50 per withdrawal up to a certain threshold).
9) Forex Demo Account
Always check whether they will allow you to open a forex demo account where you can check how their platform works and get to know it. It is important to know when their demo is valid, some companies only provide a demo platform for a fixed period, that is, the platform is automatically deactivated for example after 30 days. Some companies will allow you to trade on your demo account indefinitely, and you can start trading sharply just when you feel that you know the platform perfectly.
10) Minimum Deposit
The minimum deposit will vary between online currency brokers some take a $100 dollars minimum and some will be thousands and you need to pick a broker in line with your amount of risk capital. Bigger accounts can of course offer you tighter pip spreads than smaller ones but generally, the difference is not too big and both large and small traders can find a company which will give them a competitive service.
11) Deposits and Withdrawals of Cash & Support
Check the deposit and withdrawal features and how quick and easy it is to top up your trading account and also support in terms of operation of your trading account and its best its 24 hour support which all the big forex brokerages do.
12) Forex Bonus
Many brokerages offer a forex bonus in relation to your deposit but be careful with these because, many have conditions attached to them which mean you have to make a certain number of trades in a set period to qualify for the bonus and many we have seen, make the amount of trading signals you have to transact so big, you are unlikely to make any money! If you are a serious trader, who offers the best trading bonus on your deposit, should not be a major consideration, however in case you are interested we encourage you to check and XM offers.
13) Market Maker or ECN/STP ?
According to a lot of traders, market makers steal your money but if they are regulated this is not the case, the trader is normally just upset he lost. Market makers, don’t have to steal a clients money because they work on the odds that 90% of traders lose money over time so there profits are good over the long term.are another level of brokerages who utilize electronic communication network which can guarantee almost interbank rates and tight spreads.
Market makers can offer great spreads and services which are as good as a broker who offsets so if the market maker is regulated and you like them, by all means trade with them.
14) News, Research and Trading Signals
There are many brokerages who set themselves up as FX brokers for beginners and try to tempt traders to deal with them by offering dealer support, research and even trading signals and systems to give the trader trades – DO NOT take this into consideration when choosing a platform!
The research is generally terrible and reflects the herd and companies who give you trades, are unlikely to make you money, as they have a conflict of interest – they make money when you trade or lose. The trading systems and signals are the same as a broker assisted account only automated and will not make you any money either. So help in the form of trading currency pairs from a broker is a complete waste of time.
In Conclusion…
If you follow the above tips for choosing the best forex platform, you will find one which can give you a window to global currency markets and allow you, to apply your strategy in the world’s most exciting investment – trading global currencies for profit!
RISK WARNING: CFD instruments involve a significant risk of loss to your capital. Between 64-87% of retail CFD accounts lose money. It is not suitable for everyone. You are strongly advised to trade with money that you can afford to loose.
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