13 Best Forex Brokers for 2024

If you’re interested in trading with a well-established, high-quality broker, then you should consider Exness. Founded in 2008, Exness is authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC BVI, FSA Seychelles, FSC Mauritius, and CMA Kenya. You can trade more than 234 financial instruments from the MT4, MT5, and feature-rich proprietary Exness Web Terminal.

Key Features:

• Regulators: the UK FCA (1:30 leverage), CySEC (1:30 leverage), the FSCA South Africa (1:500 leverage), the FSC BVI (1:1000 leverage), the FSA Seychelles (1:500 leverage), the FSC Mauritius (1:500 leverage) and the CMA Kenya (1:2000 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 0.9 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and Exness Terminal.
• Unique features: Excellent in-platform research and education academy and trading signals from Trading Central.

During our live fee test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York trading session averaged 0.9 pips. This is better than the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

While Exness does not provide services to retail clients in the UK or Europe, I found that international traders can open an account with Exness’s international entities, which provide access to higher leverage – in some cases up to 1:2000. This means you can open a position that is 2,000 times bigger than the capital you put up.

In my experience, this can lead to bigger profits, as well as bigger losses. Fortunately, I found there are some excellent tools in the proprietary Exness Terminal platform to help with risk management, such as the built-in sentiment indicator, which shows the percentage of traders who are long and short in a market.

I was impressed with the content in the Exness Academy as there are a variety of short video lessons and articles covering the basics of margin and leverage trading and technical analysis, which will be useful for beginner traders. You can also access trading signals from the Exness Terminal, provided by Trading Central.

With access to high leverage, multiple trading platforms, and a range of high-quality research tools, Exness is the best overall forex broker to consider this year.

If you’re a professional trader looking for an ECN broker offering interbank market spreads, then FXTM could be an option. Founded in 2011, FXTM is authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, CySEC, FSCA and the FSC Mauritius. Professionals can access commission-free ECN accounts from advanced trading platforms and become a strategy manager on its copy trading platform.

Key Features:

• Regulators: UK FCA (1:30 leverage), CySEC (1:30 leverage), FSCA (1:30 leverage), and the FSC Mauritius (1:1000).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 2.0 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and FXTM mobile app.
• Unique features: Trading signals three times daily from Acuity Signal Centre.

During our live fee test, the average spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York sessions was 2.0 pips on the commission-free Advantage Account. Professional traders might prefer the Advantage Plus Account, which offers spreads starting at 0.1 pips directly from the interbank market.

Although the Plus Account has more competitive spreads, it includes a commission of $2.50 per lot per side, still lower than the industry average of $3.50, making it an attractive option for high-frequency and active professional traders.

The FXTM Invest portal, the broker’s copy trading service, allows professionals to become strategy managers and earn extra income from followers. Managers can receive up to a 30% profit share on profitable trades from each investor following their strategy.

If you’re looking for a forex broker that provides an excellent range of cryptocurrencies and specific crypto trading tools, then Eightcap could be an option for you. Authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, ASIC, CySEC, and the SCB, Eightcap enables you to trade 100+ crypto CFDs that cover all the major coins and altcoins. Additionally, you can access the Crypto Crusher dashboard for daily trade ideas.

Key Features:

• Regulators: CySEC (1:30 leverage), UK FCA (1:30 leverage), SCB (1:20 leverage), ASIC (1:2 leverage), unregulated entity (1:500 leverage).
• Average spread for BTC/USD: 12 USD with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and TradingView.
• Unique features: Excellent third-party trading tools include Capitalise.ai and Crypto Crusher

During our live test, I found that while Eightcap is authorized and regulated by most of the world’s top financial regulators, you can only access crypto CFDs through the ASIC and SCB-regulated entities. Due to regulatory restrictions, the ASIC entity offers a maximum of 1:2 leverage, while the SCB entity offers a maximum of 1:20 leverage.

Most Tier-1 regulators, such as CySEC and the UK FCA, only allow a maximum of 1:30 leverage for retail clients trading forex, so the 1:20 leverage from the SCB entity is very good. The spread for trading BTC/USD also seems very competitive compared to other brokers.

Eightcap uses a third-party provider TradeProofer to showcase its spreads compared to other brokers. I discovered that the spread for BTC/USD was around 12 USD, which is significantly better than that of some other brokers that had spreads of 30 USD and, in some cases, as high as 84 USD.

Where I feel Eightcap really shines is through access to the Crypto Crusher dashboard. This provides real-time, daily crypto trading ideas, market analysis, and research all from one dashboard. On top of this, you can trade cryptos directly from the popular TradingView web platform, making Eightcap a top choice for crypto traders.

If you prioritize ultra-low fees, raw interbank spreads, zero commissions, and zero requotes, then you should seriously consider IC Markets. Founded in 2007, IC Markets is authorized and regulated by CySEC, ASIC, the SCB, and the FSA Seychelles and is considered the ‘go-to’ forex broker for high-frequency, high-volume forex traders seeking ultra-low fees.

Key Features:

• Regulators: CySEC (1:30 leverage), ASIC (1:30 leverage), the SCB (1:500 leverage), and the FSA Seychelles (1:500 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 0.65 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and cTrader.
• Unique features: ECN trading accounts with zero requotes, low latency execution, and no minimum order distance restriction.

During our live fee test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York trading session averaged 0.65 pips on the commission-free Standard Account. This is much better than the industry average of 1.0 pips on a commission-free account.

You can also trade from an ECN raw-spread account which provides interbank pricing and spreads from 0.0 pips. However, there is a commission of 3.50 USD per lot per side when trading from MetaTrader or a 3.00 USD commission per 100,000 units of currency traded when trading from cTrader.

The commissions for the raw account using these platforms are in line with the industry average. I was particularly impressed with IC Markets’ policy of having no minimum order distance restriction. This means you can place orders at prices that are very close to the current market price – a unique feature among brokers.

As IC Markets is geared to high-frequency, algorithmic currency traders, it offers a low latency fiber optic connection to the Equinix NY4 server which provides execution speeds of less than 40ms and zero requotes on price fills, making it a top choice for serious forex traders.

OCTA provides an extensive range of research and educational materials useful for beginner traders who are just starting out. Founded in 2011, one entity is authorized and regulated by CySEC, and one entity is not regulated. Beginner traders can access a free demo trading account and a commission-free trading account to trade 80+ financial instruments.

Key Features:

• Regulators: CySEC (1:30 leverage), unregulated entity based in St. Lucia (1:500 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 0.90 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, Octa Web Platform.
• Unique features: Extensive range of webinars, platform guides, videos, articles, and market insights.

In my experience, one of the best tools a beginner trader can use is a demo trading account. This enables you to trade in a risk-free environment and is an excellent way to gain experience in using a trading platform and become more comfortable with a trading strategy.

Not only does OCTA provide a free demo trading account, but there is a wide range of useful educational materials. This includes video and article-based platform guides to using MT4 and MT5. While these are the ‘go-to’ platforms for forex traders, they do have a learning curve, so it’s well worth going through the guides. Alternatively, beginners can use the Octa Web Platform, which will be easier to get started with.

While there is a wide range of short educational articles covering different topics of trading the financial markets, most beginner traders may find more value from the regular live webinar sessions. These webinars are hosted by different speakers and cover live trading sessions, news trading sessions, forex basic lessons, practical workshops for beginners, and much more.

If you’re looking for one of the most powerful, proprietary forex trading platforms developed by a broker, then Swissquote could be for you. Founded in 1996, Swissquote is authorized and regulated by Switzerland’s FINMA, the UK FCA, DFSA, SFC, MFSA, MAS, CSSF and CySEC providing access to its Advanced Trader platform to trade on more than 3 million investment products using exceptional charting capabilities and automatic real-time pattern detection.

Key Features:

• Regulators: FINMA (1:100 leverage), the UK FCA (1:30 leverage), DFSA (1:30 leverage), SFC (1:20 leverage), MFSA (1:30 leverage), MAS (1:20 leverage), CSSF (1:30 leverage) and CySEC (1:30 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 2.0 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and Advanced Trader.
• Unique features: Trading Central and Autochartist plugins.

After opening an account with Swissquote, I was impressed with the broker’s proprietary Advanced Trader platform. Having used nearly all of the trading platforms in the world over my 15-year trading career, I enjoyed how simple the Advanced Trader platform was but also all of the extra tools that are easy to access and very useful.

For example, the platform has an in-built real-time, automatic pattern recognition detector. This means you can easily identify candlesticks and chart patterns using AI technology. The layout of the platform is fully customizable and can be adjusted by using a drag-and-drop method. By saving the layout, I found it provides quick access to the different layouts I like to have for forex trading and stock trading.

During our live test, I discovered more than 50 charting tools and more than 80 technical analysis indicators, with all the most common indicators ready to use. I also discovered there are a range of order types that are not available on other platforms and some that are new to me.

This includes an IF-DONE order type, which is a two-step order where the second step can’t be executed until the first step is completed. I also found you can use OCO orders which can be useful in trading breakouts. This type of order combines a stop order with a limit order. Whichever one is executed first, the other order is immediately canceled.

With all the different features available in the platform, it is certainly worthwhile testing for yourself. One thing to bear in mind is that access to the full range of the 3 million investment products is only available with the entities regulated by FINMA, CSSF, and the DFSA.

If you like to trade and manage positions from a powerful mobile trading app, then you should consider the FP Markets. Founded in 2005, the broker is authorized and regulated by CySEC, FSCA, and ASIC, with one entity unregulated based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The FP Markets forex trading app allows you to trade on more than 70+ currency pairs and access hundreds of shares, commodities, indices, and cryptos.

Key Features:

• Regulators: ASIC (1:30 leverage), CySEC (1:30 leverage), FSCA (1:500 leverage), with one unregulated entity based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1:500 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 1.1 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, and FP Markets’ proprietary mobile app.
• Unique features: ECN pricing from MT4, MT5, and FP Markets’ mobile apps.

During our live test, I found that you can trade via the MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS devices. I find these are no-frill mobile apps and not very useful for technical analysis, but ok for managing positions and opening or closing a trade.

However, I was impressed with the FP Markets mobile app. You can download it on iOS and Android devices, and just need your account number and password to log in. Opening an account and accessing this app was surprisingly easy. You open and manage accounts from the FP Markets client portal area, which can also be accessed from the mobile app.

From the app, you can trade on a wide range of currency pairs, including majors, minors, exotics, and emerging market currencies. I was surprised you are able to trade currencies such as the Colombian Peso and Ugandan Shilling which I have not seen other forex brokers offer.

Another feature I was impressed with was the charting functionality. Clean and simple to use, I found you can access 1-month, 1-week, 1-day, 4-hours, 1-hour, 30-minute, 15-minute, 5-minute, and 1-minute charts on candlesticks, hollow candlesticks, Heikin Ashi, OHLC, HLC, line, area, dots, histogram, columns, and line and dots charts – a much wider selection than the industry average.

There are over 50 indicators available in the mobile app covering all the most well-known ones, such as Bollinger Bands and MACD, and other newer ones, such as the Stochastic Relative Strength Index. While there are no drawing tools in the app, it still provides a lot of features not found in other forex brokers’ trading apps and is well worth trying out.

If you’re looking to capitalise on the power of the world’s go-to forex platform MetaTrader 4, then BDSwiss could be an option for you. Founded in 2012, the broker is authorized and regulated by the FSC Mauritius and FSA Seychelles, providing access to more than 250 tradable instruments from the MT4 platform with additional plugins from Trading Central and Autochartist.

Key Features:

• Regulators: the FSC Mauritius (1:500 leverage) and FSA Seychelles (1:500 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 1.4 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4 and MT5.
• Unique features: Fully synchronized platforms between MT4, BDSwiss mobile app, and web trader platform.

The MetaTrader 4 platform is considered to be the go-to forex trading platform. With BDSwiss, you can trade more than 250+ financial instruments from the MT4 desktop, web or mobile device and have all of your trading activity fully synchronized between platforms.

While there is a learning curve to MT4, you can access more than 80+ inbuilt technical trading indicators, 30+ drawing tools, multiple chart and order types and algorithmic trading capabilities. One reason MT4 is the go-to forex trading platform is due to the number of additional plugins that you can use with it.

For example, during our live test, I found that BDSwiss offers Trading Central and Autochartist plugins. Trading Central provides a range of cutting-edge research tools, such as its own analyst views and trading ideas and technical analysis insights.

Having used Autochartist myself, I enjoy how it finds real-time technical analysis patterns across a wide range of markets and timeframes. I find it is an excellent way to speed up the research process. BDSwiss has also partnered with Autochartist to create the BDSwiss Trends Analysis tool to help spot some of the biggest trends in the market, and is certainly a tool worth exploring yourself.

If you’re looking for the best research tools to aid in your trading decisions, then look no further than Tickmill. Founded in 2014, Tickmill has entities authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, CySEC, FSCA and the Labuan FSA. You can access research tools such as Autochartist, Signal Centre, Acuity Trading, a Market Sentiment dashboard and the Tickmill Traders Club.

Key Features:

• Regulators: the UK FCA (1:30 leverage), CySEC (1:30 leverage), the FSCA South Africa (1:500 leverage), the FSA Seychelles (1:500 leverage) and the Labuan FSA (1:500 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 1.6 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and Tickmill mobile app.
• Unique features: Excellent range of research tools from AutoChartist, Signal Centre, Acuity Trading, Tickmill Traders Club and the Market Sentiment dashboard.

In my experience, having the ability to access a wide range of research tools can help to execute high-probability trades. As a trader, you want to research a market from all angles to avoid making trading decisions based on what you want to see or want to happen. This is where Tickmill really shines.

During our live test, I found that Tickmill offers an excellent and diverse range of research tools. One of my favourite research tools from Tickmill is its Market Sentiment dashboard which provides multi-asset news and sentiment visualization on more than 80,000 instruments. You can view the sentiment of an instrument on a daily or hourly basis and adjust the confidence levels on predicted sentiment levels.

Another interesting research tool provided by Tickmill is access to Signal Centre, which can be used as a plugin directly from the MT4 or MT5 trading platforms. Powered by Acuity, the tool provides market insights from an FCA-regulated signal provider across all asset classes. The signals include entry, stop loss and take profit levels and a detailed analysis of the trade idea, which I also think is an excellent learning tool for beginner traders looking to build their confidence.

Founded in 2001, ActivTrades is regulated by multiple authorities around the world and offers enhanced insurance to protect funds up to £1,000,000. ActivTrades offers competitive and low minimum commission, over 1,055 global share CFDs, and a range of trading platforms, including MT4, MT5, TradingView, and proprietary ActivTrader.

Key Features:

• Regulators: FCA (1:30), SCB (1:400), CMVN (1:30), CSSF (1:30) and CVM (1:400).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 0.95 pip with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, ActivTrader.
• Unique features: Fractional shares.

ActivTrades offers an excellent range of share CFDs from the U.S., Europe, the UK, Asia, South America, and other regions. In our live fee test, I found the spread for Apple averaged 0.04 points during the New York open which is better than the industry average.

When trading U.S. share CFDs, a commission of $0.02 per share applies, with a minimum $1 commission charge. The commission aligns with the industry average, but the minimum commission charge is much better than other brokers.

The broker also offers fractional shares. This allows you to purchase 1/10th of a share and is useful to trade stocks with a high share price benefitting those with small accounts. With a good range of trading platforms, ActivTrades is a top broker to consider.

If you’re trying to find the best account to suit your trading needs, then the range of IronFX’s seven different accounts may be an interesting option for you. Founded in 2010, IronFX has entities authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, CySEC, the FSCA and one entity that is unregulated based in Bermuda.

Key Features:

• Regulators: the UK FCA (1:30 leverage), CySEC (1:30 leverage), the FSCA South Africa (1:500 leverage), and an unregulated entity based in Bermuda (1:1000 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 1.0 pip with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4 and IronFX Web Trader App.
• Unique features: 7 different account types covering the floating spread, fixed spread, and STP/ECN accounts.

During our live test, I found that IronFX provides access to seven different types of trading accounts. They categorize the accounts by the execution method. A fixed spread account means that the spread (the difference between the buy price and the sell price) is always the same. Floating spreads mean that the spreads are based on the underlying market. An STP/ECN account means that price quotes are sourced from the interbank market and are sent straight through to the market.

There are also some other differences regarding each of the account types, which include different leverage, base currencies, and fees. I have provided a brief summary of some of the accounts below:

Standard Account:

• Leverage up to 1:1000
• Commission: Zero
• Spreads: Floating from 1.6 pips / Fixed to 2.0 pips

Live Zero Fixed Spread Account:

• Leverage up to 1:500
• Commission: From $13.50 per lot, per side
• Spreads: Fixed to 0 pips

No Commission STP/ECN Account:

• Leverage up to 1:500
• Commission: Zero
• Spreads: From 0.9 pips

Zero Spread STP/ECN Account:

• Leverage up to 1:500
• Commission: From $10 per lot
• Spreads: From 0.0 pips

As you can see from a summary of four of the seven accounts offered by IronFX, there is a wide variety of differences. Many traders prefer to trade via an STP or ECN execution method, as your trades are sent directly to the market without any broker intervention.

I have found a good way to identify the best type of trading account is to use a demo trading account and test each one to see which one suits your own trading needs the most.

If you are based in the US and are looking for an industry-leading forex broker, then IG US could be the broker for you. Established in 1974, IG launched its US forex trading service in 2019 and is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).

Key Features:

• Regulators: CFTC (1:50 leverage), NFA (1:50 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 0.9 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: MT4 and the IG Trading Platform.
• Unique features: Cashback for high-volume traders with $50 million notional volume a month.

Forex traders from the US can trade on an excellent range of forex pairs with IG. This includes 80+ major, minor, Australasian, Scandinavian, exotic, and emerging market currencies. One of the best features for US traders is the ability to trade currency pairs up to 1:50 leverage.

This means that to trade currency pairs such as EUR/USD, you only need to put up 2% of the total trade size as collateral. This size of leverage is even better than what IG offers its European clients, which is around 3.33%. Furthermore, I found that US traders can access spread rebates.

If you trade $50 million or more in notional monthly volume, you can access a 5% spread cashback rebate which is the equivalent of $5 per million (USD) traded. This rebate can be withdrawn or used in the trading account to open new trades.

On top of competitive spreads and zero commission, IG offers its own proprietary IG Trading Platform. From my own experience, it is an excellent platform that is simple to use but has customizable layouts, more than 140 technical indicators and drawing tools, and five different chart options, including candlesticks, OHLC, Heikin-Ashi, line, and mountain charts.

Fintech giant Plus500 has recently expanded into the United States to offer futures trading via its state-of-the-art WebTrader platform. US clients can access futures contracts on forex, indices, commodities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.

Key Features:

• Regulators: CFTC (1:50 leverage), NFA (1:50 leverage).
• Average spread for EUR/USD: 0.8 pips with zero commission.
• Trading platforms: Plus500’s WebTrader and Plus500 mobile app.
• Unique features: Standard, mini, and micro futures contracts.

Plus500 US makes it simple for new traders to get started in futures trading with a low minimum deposit and its intuitive platform. WebTrader has a range of popular features, including watchlists, trading from the chart, and access to live chat support from within the platform. The design and UX are outstanding and really place it in a class of its own. I especially liked the ease with which you can flip between demo and live trading.

Traders can benefit from excellent educational materials covering the futures market in both text and video format via the Futures Trading Academy. Easy-to-digest materials help new traders orient themselves in the world of futures trading.

My hands-on tests showed that Plus500 US offers highly competitive trading commissions and minimal account-related fees. In addition to low costs, trading futures via Plus500 US has several important advantages: access to high leverage, ease of going short, and the ability to day trade with a relatively small account balance.