By There are trillions of dollars being traded 24/7 in the Forex market every day. In this fast-paced market, traders make substantial profits and lose them in a flash. If you wish to try your luck, you need to sign up with a Forex broker. The best firms offer safety, best pricing, advanced trading tools, and swift order execution. Since it is a grueling task to sift through the list of reliable brokers, we have presented this article to make this easier for you.
Comparing 11 Best Forex Brokers
What should you know about Forex trading?
It involves the exchange of currency at an agreed-upon price between purchasers and sellers. When you travel to a foreign nation, you need to convert one currency to another based on the exchange rate. However, traders use foreign exchange to earn profits. Based on the trading volume, the value of certain currencies can change in a volatile fashion. This raises the risk while offering you the opportunity to win more profits.
Who is trading Forex for?
Pro traders will certainly find the expeditious nature of the Forex market favorable. Due to the high trading volume in the Forex market, there is no shortage of liquidity. The transaction costs are not so high, so you can easily get in and out of trades. Nevertheless, there is always the chance that you will suffer a loss, given the volatile nature of the market.
What is a Forex broker?
There are buyers and sellers selling different currencies, but they need a platform that facilitates the transactions. This is where brokerage firms come in. They serve as a bridge between buyers and sellers. For example, if there is a particular currency you wish to buy, you just need to visit an exchange, and they will match you up with a seller.
Who needs a Forex broker?
Regardless of your experience level, if you wish to trade in foreign exchange, you need a broker. All trades are managed on these platforms and they have the authority to facilitate transactions. Online Forex trades are conducted through trading platforms and they require you to be signed up with a brokerage firm.
How does a Forex broker work?
The job of a broker is to make trades easy for individuals. They do not let you do this for free, however. For instance, if you wish to trade Canadian Dollars for Japanese Yen, you need to purchase the CAD/JPY pair. This means you purchase Canadian Dollars in Yen. Depending on the exchange rate, you can make a profit or suffer a loss. Usually, Forex brokers earn money through the spread, which is the gap between the asking price and the bidding price.
Are Forex brokers reliable?
Not all brokerage firms are reliable. Not all of them can be relied on to protect your funds. There are a bunch of scam services that only look to siphon money off unsuspecting traders. You must ensure the firm has enough capital to keep operating. It is also necessary to make sure it has the proper licenses and that it complies with all the rules and regulations.
What to look for when choosing a Forex broker?
Here are a few factors you need to keep in mind:
Transaction cost
Regardless of your trading skill and experience, high transaction costs can prevent you from making the kind of profit you are hoping to make. Each time you conduct a trade, the broker will take a fee. It is important to know beforehand about the transaction cost. Look for a broker that is transparent about its fees.
Deposits and withdrawals
A vital characteristic of a brokerage firm is how they facilitate deposits and withdrawals. Trades in the Forex market are conducted at a rapid pace, and you don’t want any delays where money is involved. The faster you can deposit and withdraw money, the better.
Low fees
When a platform has low fees, you can conduct trades with more freedom. Novice traders might not have a whole lot of funds to conduct trades with. For them, a firm offering low fees is ideal. You should be wary of brokers that demand exorbitant fees for facilitating transactions.
Platform technology
Most individuals these days conduct their deals through Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5. Some reliable platforms also have proprietary trading platforms that have special resources to improve your trading operations. You should go for a broker that offers a platform compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. The platform should let you backtest trading strategies. For some trading techniques, a VPS feature is also necessary.
Fast trade execution
When a firm has a high execution speed, you can quickly send an order to it and receive an answer instantly. The system accepts the order and tries to match it with market makers. Based on the software quality, this might take a few milliseconds. For time-sensitive trading schemes, you need a broker offering swift execution speed.
Currency pairs
Most FX brokers support the major currency pairs on the market. However, some traders deal in exotic pairs that are only supported by selected platforms. As such, it is necessary to make sure the broker supports the currency pairs you wish to trade.
Leverage
Some merchants stake a minor margin amount to control larger positions. This is known as leverage trading. When your gains can be potentially enhanced through leverage trading, you can also suffer huge losses. Most reliable brokers offer flexible leverage and they have measures in place to shield accounts against losses.
Spreads
Some brokers, instead of a fixed fee, charge you a certain portion of the spread. By charging wider spreads, these firms make money in spite of allowing commission-free trading. This could be a fixed spread, or it may change based on the present market scenarios. With wider spreads, it is harder to make steady gains.
Customer support
Whenever you register for an online service, it is important to make sure that the service offers reliable customer support. A broker should be transparent enough to share the contact details of the support team on the official website.
Customer experience / Reviews
These days, before purchasing anything online, people check for ratings and reviews. The same is true for brokerage firms. By looking at the online reviews, you get an idea of what to expect from the service. When a service is highly rated, it tells you that it is trusted by most people.
Regulation / Regulatory bodies
When a firm is regulated by a certified authority, it can be considered reliable. These brokers must follow the financial best practices set by the authorities, which means there are fewer chances of fraud occurring. With a regulated broker, you can expect fair dispute resolution.
Best Forex Brokers Review
TechBerry
TechBerry has a stellar reputation as a top social trading broker in the financial industry. It offers a free trial to test out the automated gains and has a loss reimbursement provided by none other. There are multiple packages available to choose from that vary depending on the service fee, personal manager, and annual subscription costs.
The platform allows subscribers to earn over 10% in gains each month. This is made possible with the help of the neural algorithm that creates a winning strategy by collecting data from 100k portfolios. The data providers earn a decent income for sharing their executions.
The funds are kept secure with the help of FIDC-insured banks. They are kept within the vicinity of the top 50 regulated brokers.
TechBerry strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Beginner-friendly
- Safe and secure funds
- No risks involved
- Plan configurator to calculate your profits
- Intuitive neural trading platform
eToro
This platform has been active since 2007 and has a stellar reputation in the industry. It allows you to gain greater exposure by spending less capital. You can purchase and sell a wide range of major USD pairs and other currency crosses with up to 1:30 leverage. As a professional client, you can get up to 1:400 leverage.
When you open an account on this platform, you get as much as $100,000 in virtual money. This lets you practice your trading strategies. You can switch between demo and live trading effortlessly. The trading tools on this platform are suitable for beginners and experts alike.
One of the handiest features of this broker is copy trading. Here, you can automatically copy the trades conducted by real traders. You can also copy ready-made investment portfolios.
eToro strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Low-risk broker
- Social copy trading features
- Intuitive web platform and mobile app
- Attractive perks for higher tier members
eToro weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- Automated strategies not supported
- Research tools only available to high tier members
XM
XM is an award-winning Forex broker with over 5,000,000 clients since its inception in 2009. It is a licensed platform backed by a support team offering multilingual assistance to customers from more than 190 countries.
This firm offers tight spreads and no re-quotes. There are no hidden charges and you can enjoy leverage of up to 888:1. Those who subscribe to the VIP Education Package get access to exclusive technical indicators compatible with MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. These tools can help you make precise investment decisions. By contacting your account manager, you can get access to indicators like Ichimoku, River, and Ribbon.
XM strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Licensed by multiple regulatory bodies
- Simple account opening process
- Tight spreads offered
- Quality educational materials
XM weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- No banking licenses available
FXTM
FXTM offers low swap fees and near-zero spreads. Beginners will find this platform suitable due to its free demo account, dedicated account manager, online webinars, and tutorials. However, it also has high-end trading tools for experienced professionals. It offers tight spreads, swift trade execution, and ultimate risk protection.
You can save a lot of time and effort on FXTM by following suitable traders. With each profitable order, you can grow your portfolio while the pro traders take care of the heavy lifting. Thanks to the detailed market analysis, it is easy to make prudent decisions with this platform. It is a globally licensed and regulated platform with negative balance protection.
FXTM strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Excellent customer support
- Extremely low spreads
- Customizable workspace and charts
FXTM weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- Inactivity fees
- 2-factor authentication not available
Pepperstone
Pepperstone is arguably the best Forex broker, owing to its swift execution, 99.6% fill rate, the absence of dealing desk intervention, and tight spreads. Here, you can enjoy low spreads of 0.0 pips with no requotes and deep liquidity. This platform is regulated by the SCB and client funds are segregated in tier 1 banks. Thus, you are unlikely to lose your investments.
By signing up with Pepperstone, you can experience the power of trading platforms like cTrader, MT4, MT5, and TradingView on phone, tablet, and desktop. By using the charting tools of TradingView, you can make more informed decisions while interacting with over 30 million merchants.
Pepperstone strengths in comparison with competitors:
- More than 60 supported Forex pairs
- Large collection of educational courses and trading tools
- 24/7 customer support
- No penalty for inactivity
Pepperstone weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- Not available in the USA
PrimeXBT
PrimeXBT has its in-house, award-winning trading platforms offering CFDs on major pairs. You can also trade exotic pairs from emerging markets like Latin America and South Africa. It has a customizable layout and you can place orders directly from the charts. For more detailed analysis, you can use more than 50 technical indicators. Both buy and sell traders are executed swiftly on this platform.
With PrimeXBT, you get real-time Forex prices along with updated price charts and data feeds on major currencies like USD, JPY, and GBP. The trading platform lets you build your own strategies. You can place buy and sell trades with leverage and hedge your positions.
PrimeXBT strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Advanced charting and technical analysis tools
- High-end security for protecting users’ assets
- Covesting functionality
- Mobile, tablet and desktop platforms supported
PrimeXBT weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- No fiat deposits accepted
- Not available in some countries
CMC Markets
One of the most well-known Forex trading platforms, CMC markets lets you trade in over 330 Forex pairs. Thanks to its spread-betting platform, you can access the financial markets tax-free. The platform offers tight spreads, swift execution, and prompt customer service. By combining multiple price feeds from top-tier banks, this broker ensures you get the most accurate price.
CMC Markets is able to execute trades in a mere 0.0045 seconds, which makes it suitable for individuals using time-sensitive strategies. It has a 99.7% fill rate and there is no dealer intervention, no matter what your trading size is. Additionally, it has 12 Forex indices, so you can get exposure to multiple pairs with a single trade.
CMC Markets strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Competitive fees
- Award-winning app
- Advanced charting
CMC Markets weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- Social trading not available
IG
IG is one of the top Forex brokers in the USA, offering swift trade execution and access to over 17,000 global markets. Thanks to the in-house trading app, you can place orders on the go. Before you invest real money, you can practice your trading skills using a demo account.
IG has its own innovative trading platform that gives you an instant overview of the market prices, margin, and spread. Thanks to its wide range of limits and stops, you can efficiently mitigate risk and protect your gains. The average execution speed is 0.014 seconds, and you can even trade with APIs to execute trades from any of your IG trading accounts.
IG strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Regulated in multiple tier-1 jurisdictions
- Tablet and mobile platforms have all the features of the desktop version
- Educational tools for beginners
IG weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- Low maximum leverage
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers is easily one of the top 10 Forex trading platforms in the world. It offers tight spreads as narrow as 1/10 PIP. Here, you can enjoy deep liquidity and live price quotes from some of the world’s biggest Forex dealers. It supports more than 100 currency pairs and has professional Forex trading tools that allow you to make the right decisions.
One of the most efficient trading tools on this platform is FXTrader, where you get a fully-optimized trading interface with live stream price quotes, positions, executions, pending trades, trading volumes, and indicators. This platform has low trading commissions without any hidden markups or spreads.
Interactive Brokers strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Excellent market research tools
- International trading facilities
- Various account types
- Low margin rates
Interactive Brokers weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- Trading platform difficult to navigate for beginners
- Complex pricing plans
Swissquote
This broker offers all-in spreads with zero commissions on more than 130 currency pairs. Here, you can trade in Forex options and set strike price with one-pip accuracy, and set the maturity dates from 1 day to 1 year on 46 assets. For increasing returns on your capital, you can use the leverage of up to 1:100. Also, you can trade in micro, mini, and standard lots for all platforms.
Swissquote lets you trade in major, minor, as well as exotic pairs. It uses popular strategies like swing trading, day trading, and scalping. If you wish to brush up on your skills, you can visit the education section. You are guaranteed to get deep liquidity since the platform sources liquidity from top-tier banks as well as regional non-bank liquidity providers.
Swissquote strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Daily market analysis
- TradingView charts
- Publicly-listed company
- Advanced trading tools
Swissquote weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- High minimum deposit
- Inactivity fees applicable
Saxo Bank
This broker supports more than 200 currency pairs and routinely features in the top Forex brokers list. You can trade major pairs from 0.6 pips. Active traders enjoy lower rates and competitive entry prices. To provide the best prices for traders, Saxo Bank derives its prices from a wide range of tier 1 financial institutions, including market-makers, ECNs, and banks.
With this broker, you don’t have to worry about being stopped out early. It triggers stop orders on the opposite side of the spread. You can customize your order to attain a greater degree of control over the trading operations. Due to the absence of asymmetric slippage, you can take advantage of significant price improvements on each trade.
Saxo Bank strengths in comparison with competitors:
- Free trial option
- Advanced analytics tools
- Opportunity to invest in ready-made portfolios
Saxo Bank weaknesses in comparison with competitors:
- High minimum deposit
- Too many options for beginners
Conclusion
As you can see, even the best brokerage firms come with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages. However, after going through the above guide, you should be able to decide which one is best suited to your requirements.
Before making your final decisions, you should make a list of the things you want from your broker. If you are a beginner, it is better to choose a platform that doesn’t have too many complex features and options that can confuse you.
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