Best Forex Brokers – Top Forex Trading Platforms Compared

If you’re looking for a forex platform that makes is super easy to trade, alongside a full range of educational tools and fundamental analysis guides, then we would suggest exploring Markets.com.

The platform has a number of regulatory licenses, including that of CySEC, the FSCA (South Africa) and ASIC in Australia. In terms of the number of currencies you can trade at the broker, Markets.com host more than 50 different pairs, across majors, minors and even exotics.

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Plus500 is one of the best trading platforms in the UK, not least because they are publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. In terms of the number of pairs available, Plus500 hosts more than 60 different forex pairs which can be traded as CFDs. Not only this, but their spreads are ultra-tight and trading fees are very competitive.

Plus500 are also an excellent choice if you like to use a trading platform that is easy to navigate. The only caveat that we should note is that the platform is not strong on educational tools. Moreover, a lack of daily fundamental analysis is also a slight negative, however in our view this is information that can be obtained independently with ease. Check out our Plus500 review to find out everything you need to know about this CFD broker.

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80.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the risk of losing money.

Even though Forex is probably the most popular asset class for technical analysis and retail trading, it is also the most regulated markets in the US Market. The tight regulation has caused for many brokers to cease offering their products to US customers, cornering the market to only a few options to choose from. 

Forex.com is number one on this list intentionally, the firm is the Forex dedicated subsidiary of the prime broker Gain Capital (one of the largest in the country). The overall package delivered by this firm is the result of decades of experience as a major broker and also the result of being backed by one of the key players in terms of active and electronic trading since the early nineties. 

One common concern that most Americans have when they inquire about Forex Trading is all the bad comments and reputation that the overall market has in Europe. The demand for currency trading has risen to fast that many regulators have failed to oversee the sector as they should, the result was the considerably large number of companies offering sketchy trading with little or no regulation at all.

Keep in mind that if are interested in trading Forex in the US, you will only find a handful of brokers to choose from. While this narrows options, it also assures you that if they are indeed regulated in the country it is very possible that you will never have to complain about their services.

Forex.com is simply a great option for anyone interested in this sector. If you are planning on beginning a forex trading career, why not do it from the hand of the very best in the game?

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London based IG have been offering financial investment products since the early 1970s. Much like in the case of Plus500, IG are also publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. This further supports their long-standing reputation as a highly credible broker.

However, although much of their user-base are located in the UK, IG are also registered by the CFTC. As such, their forex product range is fully accessible by those located in the U.S. In fact, the IG product range is one of the largest in the forex space, with more than 91 different pairs available to trade at the click of a button.

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OANDA is an online forex and CFD broker that is authorized to accept a full range of nationalities, including that of the U.S. First, launched in the mid-1990s, this makes OANDA one of the most established online forex platforms in the industry. The broker hosts more than 70 different trading pairs, with currencies covering the major, minor and exotic risk-categories.

We also like the fact that the team at OANDA are very strong on their fundamental news developments, which is streamed directly from major sources such as CNBC and Reuters. Although their forex spreads are still competitive, arguably they are slightly higher than their key market rivals.

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When it comes to their forex trading department, TD Ameritrade only offers their services to U.S. citizens. Moreover, the broker’s parent company – TD Ameritrade Holding Corp, are publicly listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. As such, the platform has a very strong following with those based in the U.S.

The broker offers more than 75 different forex pairs, which covers all major and minor pairings, alongside the more volatile exotic segment.

In terms of fees, this ultimately depends on the specific forex pair you are trading (built in to spread), and whether you opt for their commission-free or contract-based pricing structure.

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  Visit Plus500

80.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

  Visit FP Markets

  Visit Plus500

80.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Perhaps the most important factor that you need to consider when looking for a forex broker is their regulatory status. Not only do you need to ensure that they hold the required regulatory licenses, but also that they are authorized to offer their forex services to your country of residence.

On the other hand, depositing funds with a broker that does not hold any regulatory licenses should be avoided at all costs. You have to ask yourself why they are operating in a financial arena without the correct legal status. In most cases, regardless of how your trades perform, such a relationship won’t end well.

If you want to utilize leverage within your trading strategies, then take some time to understand what the broker offers. Although they might state that leverage is freely available, this might be on the proviso that you are an institutional investor. Leverage levels can also be capped based on where you are located.

If leverage is something that you want to use, you’ll also need to check what the overnight financing costs amount to. As you are essentially borrowing the money from the broker to trade more than you have in your account, this of course comes at a cost.

Understanding the fee structure of a forex broker is of utmost importance. While some brokers are very upfront as to what they charge, others are more opaque. Take the time to explore what the broker charges in terms of trading fees, commission and overnight costings.

Furthermore, some brokers claim to offer zero-commission fees. However, what they often do instead is to include their commissions within the spread. As such, although commission fees are zero per-say, you might be paying for this indirectly in the form of an unfavorable spread.

If you are an absolute beginner in the forex trading space, then it might be worth considering a broker that offers copy and/or social trading features. Not only will this expand your knowledge of forex trading, but it will also allow you to copy the trades of top-performing traders.

One thing that you need to look out for is how the results of traders are evaluated. For example, let’s say that the broker displays a trader that made  50% gains in the previous month. This might look good, however if they lost 40% in each of the three months prior, then it is misleading. All copy and social forex brokers should be transparent with how they gauge their trading statistics.

Before you register an account, check what payment methods the broker supports. You don’t want to go through the client onboarding process, only to find that you desired payment method isn’t accepted.

In the vast majority of cases, brokers will accept either a debit/credit card (such as Visa or MasterCard) and a traditional bank wire. Others will also delve into more modern payment methods such as PayPal. Don’t forget, each payment method might have different transaction fees attached to it, so also check this too.

Although the broker might hold the required regulatory licenses, you should still perform some due diligence on their overall reputation. If the general consensus from the online community is that the broker is reliable and credible, then this should act as notable sign of approval.

To further support your due diligence checks, find out when the forex broker was established, and whether they are owned by a separate parent company.

If you are a novice forex trader, then it is worth choosing a broker that offers a full range of educational tools. This might include webinars, videos and guides that contain all of the required information to begin your forex trading journey.

On top of this, you should also check whether or not the broker publishes frequent fundamental and technical analysis developments. Experienced traders rely on these information sources when they attempt to determine which way a particular currency will go in the open marketplace.

The spread between the buy and sell price can have a significant impact on your ability to make profit, especially if you are looking to scalp micro-gains. Spreads will usually differ depending on the underlying pairing, so check what’s on offer prior to opening an account.

In an ideal world, you want to choose a broker that offer super low pips, especially in the major pairings. You should expect higher spreads with minor and exotic pairings, however make sure these are not too unreasonable. Furthermore, just because a broker offers low spreads, this doesn’t mean that their overall fees are good value. They might instead charge high commission fees to profit off of your trades.

Always explore what security safeguards the broker has installed to keep your funds secure. From the perspective of the trader, this should cover two-factor authentication (2FA) and key-account notifications at an absolute minimum.

On top of this, it is also a minimum requirement that your chosen forex broker has installed SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) safeguards into their platform. In layman terms, this ensures that all of the personal information that you enter in to the broker’s website remains private, by encrypting the data.

Finally, you should also ascertain how many forex pairings the broker lists. Although the vast majority of the forex industry is dominated by major pairings such as the GBP/USD or USD/JPY, some traders like to explore other markets.

As such, not only should major pairings be readily available to trade, but also minor and exotic currencies too.