CySEC, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, is the financial regulatory body in Cyprus that licenses and oversees forex and CFD brokers. It ensures that they adhere to strict financial standards in line with European MiFID regulations, aiming to protect investors and ensure market integrity.
The commission supervises brokers’ operations, mandates segregation of client funds, and enforces compliance with financial regulations. CySEC also provides an Investor Compensation Fund to offer a safety net for investors in case a regulated firm fails, solidifying its role as a guardian of trader security and broker accountability in the financial markets.
Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FX Empire’s comprehensive methodology. Here’s how we test.
Now, let us go over the selected brokers for each category.
IC Markets is MiFID II-compliant, making it one of the most trusted derivatives brokers in the online trading industry. It was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with global offices in Limassol and elsewhere.
IC Markets’ Standard account type provides commission-free trading and floating spreads starting from 0.6 pips, which I deem quite competitive. Those looking for extra quality can open a Raw Spreads account supporting the professional and features-rich cTrader platform. This account type has a $3.0 commission per lot and raw spreads starting from 0.0 pip which is also favorable. For comparison, most of the brokers I have reviewed offer twice as big a commission on their ECN accounts.
In addition to the seamless cTrader platform, which is better fitted for seasoned traders, IC Markets incorporates the customizable MetaTrader 4&5. The two have gradually become a staple of CFD trading with their intuitive designs and practicality. However, what I dislike about MetaTrader is that it is rather cumbersome, and price action manipulation is difficult.
IC Markets also provides ultra-fast order execution in under 40 ms, which is crucial for decreasing the risk of negative slippage and allowing high-frequency trading.
Established in 2005, FP Markets’ professional-grade services are ideal for experienced traders looking for an edge. In addition to its top-tier licensing in multiple jurisdictions, I found the broker quite transparent.
The broker incorporates the renowned MetaTrader 4&5 retail platforms that offer advanced functionalities such as instant trade execution, technical analysis tools, automated trading with custom Expert Advisors, and mobile trading. Seasoned stock traders could benefit from sophisticated IRESS because of its professional design and feature-rich interface.
FP Markets has a ‘best execution policy’ and provides free VPS hosting, which I appreciated as they are both important for guaranteeing superior order execution.
I checked FP Markets’ Raw account, which has spreads starting from 0.0 pips and a $6 round-turn commission. In my estimation, FP Markets’ fees are below the industry average. This combination is particularly useful for implementing high-frequency trading strategies, such as scalping.
Capital.com is an up-and-coming forex and CFD broker founded in 2016 and headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus. It adheres to the most stringent safety requirements in the industry, and it has also opted to issue a ‘best execution policy’, ensuring the delivery of the best price quotes under prevailing market conditions. Capital.com offers over 3,000 instruments across lower-risk and higher-yield/risk markets, thus presenting traders with an opportunity to better diversify their positions.
What makes Capital.com such a great choice for trading on MetaTrader 4 is its comprehensive offering of supporting tools and features. The broker provides research materials that help traders stay on top of the latest market developments and spot viable trading opportunities. Additionally, Capital.com achieves ultra-fast order execution speeds of under 32 milliseconds, which I consider the broker’s standout feature, and provides API trading solutions.
MT4 features over 50 technical indicators and drawing tools, which can be used for basic technical analysis. Automated trading is also possible via MT4’s Expert Advisors (EAs) features.
I tested Capital.com’s trading fees by opening a CFDs Leverage trading account. It features commission-free trading and floating spreads starting from 0.6 pips. I assessed this combination to fall below the industry average.
Established in 2012 and headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, Libertex is a rapidly growing derivatives broker serving retail and professional traders. What I really appreciated about Libertex is its intuitive pricing mechanism and a choice of lower-risk securities like bonds and ETFs and higher-yield/risk assets like share CFDs and cryptocurrencies. This allows traders to better hedge their risk.
Libertex offers the well-known and popular MT4 and MT5 trading platforms and its own proprietary Libertex app. The app is available on iOS and Android and is a quick and easy trading method. The trading ticket features multiple order types, including stop, limit, and market orders. The charts offer a good range of timeframes, although they lack technical analysis indicators. I found the inbuilt trader sentiment indicators useful to understand how many Libertex traders are long and short in a market. This can help to identify overbought and oversold trading conditions.
I opened a Libertex account, which features raw spreads from 0.1 pips and a €5 round-turn commission per traded lot (100,000 units). This combination falls below the industry average and is suitable for high-frequency trading.
Now that we have outlined our top picks for each category, it is time to delve deeper and examine all the small details in a broker’s offering that traders need to consider before deciding to move forward and opening a trading account with the company.
As mentioned in the introduction, CySEC operates under ESMA’s MiFID II. What that means for retail traders is that they are entitled to certain protections mitigating their trading and non-trading risks. To understand what those protections are, consider the following:
Read more about Best regulated forex brokers.
Under MiFID II, brokers are mandated to classify their clients in two categories: as ‘retail’ or ‘professional’. Retail traders are protected by the above-mentioned safety mechanisms, whereas the same may not be applicable to professionals. They are classified as such when they have sufficient trading experience and capital to take on larger risks. I would advise against opening a pro account unless you have at least 5 years of experience trading leveraged products.
A professional trader with a CySEC-regulated broker can opt for a maximum leverage of 1:500 in order to gain bigger market exposure, whereas the maximum leverage for retail traders is capped at 1:30. Accordingly, the risks faced by professional traders are also multiplied. And since they usually trade much larger volumes compared to retail traders, professionals are excluded from the negative balance protection mechanism.
Choosing whether to be classified as a retail or professional trader essentially boils down to means, goals, aspirations on the market, and a trader’s risk aversion. Traders are ultimately responsible for deciding whether they are ready to face larger risks to make bigger profits.
Explore Best MiFID-regulated forex brokers.
A broker may have several account types, each with different pricing mechanisms. The question is, how to know which one is best fitted for your particular style of trading? I will try to answer this question by providing an example with two distinct accounts, one STP and the other ECN:
The biggest difference between STP and ECN accounts, apart from the execution model, is the pricing mechanism. Usually, STP accounts afford commission-free trading and floating spreads, whereas ECN accounts have fixed commissions and raw spreads (typically starting from 0.1 pips). At first glance, the former sounds more favorable because you only have to pay one cost – the spread – rather than two.
Read more about Best STP forex brokers and Best ECN forex brokers.
Many brokers recognize the psychological significance of this sort of thinking and seek to exploit it by raising the spreads on their STP accounts to the point where they are no longer the more competitive option. I will now demonstrate how to do a quick test for yourself to evaluate the competitiveness of a broker’s ECN and STP accounts.
Pick an instrument, say, the EURUSD. Suppose also that the spread on the pair is 0.9 pips on a broker’s STP account and 0.1 pips on its ECN account. There is also a $6 commission for trading 1 lot (100,000 units) contract. If the EURUSD pip value is $10, you can do a simple calculation to determine the value of a hypothetical position on the EURUSD executed on both account types. The formula is the value of a trade = spread x pip value + commission. When we pop in the above values, this is what we discover about our hypothetical broker:
Account Type | Spread | Commission | Net Cost |
STP | 0.9 pips | $0 | $9 |
ECN | 0.1 pips | $6 | $7 |
This is just a hypothetical example, but hopefully, it illustrates how more can be less in trading. So it’s worthwhile evaluating the costs of a broker you consider opening an account with for yourself before doing so. And if you are still uncertain, you can always check out our database of reviews to sort out the most competitive brokers.
Check out our list of Best lowest spread forex brokers.
Market liquidity, in short, relates to the ease with which brokers can execute trading orders. The more liquid the market, the smaller the discrepancy between the requested price and the price where the order gets filled. Accordingly, the risk of negative slippage is more significant in illiquid markets. That is why traders must select a broker with access to deep liquidity that can guarantee fast order execution in under 100 milliseconds.
The most common brokers operate on a No-Dealing-Desk (NDD) basis, meaning they obtain their liquidity from external providers, such as banks and large financial institutions. The most reliable brokers tend to have a large pool of liquidity providers to ensure quality order execution at most times.
To make sure you choose a broker that guarantees order execution under the most favorable market conditions at all times, look for a ‘best policy execution’ in the legal docs section of the website. This is a legal mandate and commitment by the broker to provide traders with the most favorable price feeds at all times. I have always sought to work with brokers with such a policy to decrease the likelihood of negative slippage.
Check out our guides on best gold trading brokers and best oil trading brokers.
Trading platforms are used to observe price action behavior and determine viable opportunities for entries into the market. Traders use technical indicators, drawing tools, and other features to examine various price patterns, changes in volatility, liquidity, and so on to gauge the underlying market sentiment.
The best platforms, in my experience, are also the most versatile ones. They include a wide spectrum of technical indicators, such as Fibonacci retracement levels, oscillators, trend-based and range-based indicators, and others, as well as drawing tools, such as trend lines, channels, wedges, and so on. Their design is also important. The most user-friendly platforms are the ones that afford price action to be manipulated with ease.
Traders should also consider whether their broker’s platform accommodates easy and fast order execution via one-click trading, supports algorithmic trading via Expert Advisors (EAs); and supports complex orders, like market, limit, and limit and stop orders, etc.
Check out our dedicated guide on best forex trading platforms.
Here are some popular trading platforms you could find on the market today:
MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MT4 is one of the most widely used trading platforms in the forex market. It offers a user-friendly interface, advanced charting capabilities, and a wide range of technical indicators and expert advisors (EAs). MT4 is known for its stability and is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices. Read more about best MT4 brokers.
MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MT5 is the successor to MT4 and offers additional features and improvements. It provides enhanced charting options, a built-in economic calendar, more order types, and access to other markets like stocks and commodities. Like MT4, MT5 is available on various operating systems. Read more about best MT5 brokers.
cTrader: cTrader is a popular trading platform known for its advanced order execution and transparency. It offers a customizable interface, multiple charting options, and a wide range of technical analysis tools. cTrader also provides access to a community of traders where you can share strategies and indicators. Read more about best cTrader brokers.
TradingView: Although not a dedicated trading platform, TradingView is widely used for its powerful charting capabilities and social trading features. Many forex brokers integrate TradingView charts into their platforms or offer them as a standalone option. TradingView allows you to analyze charts, create and backtest trading strategies, and engage with a community of traders. Read more about Best TradingView brokers.
NinjaTrader: NinjaTrader is a platform primarily used by futures and forex traders. It offers advanced charting, analysis tools, and strategy development capabilities. NinjaTrader provides a range of order types and integrates with various data providers. It is known for its algorithmic trading capabilities.
Read more about best NinjaTrader brokers.
Also, some brokers offer proprietary trading platforms, which are developed in-house and unique to their brokerage. These platforms are designed to provide a tailored trading experience with specific features and functionalities.
When it comes to protection, CySEC-regulated brokers offer almost the same safety mechanisms across the board because they are all made to comply with MiFID II. Hence, traders can focus more on other aspects of a broker’s offering when looking for the right partner.
Here are several things to avoid in a broker:
Scammers rely on the gullibility of traders. A commonly employed tactic by fraudsters is to promise quick and easy profits at no risk to the trader. Often, scammers would use labels that closely resemble the brands of real and legitimate companies.
To make sure you are not falling victim to such a scam, always check CySEC’s registry before funding an account with a broker. You can check if a broker’s URL matches the one listed on the website, which is a sure way of knowing you are not dealing with a clone firm.
Another thing to remember is that you must be careful where you leave your information online. Registering your details on suspicious pop-ups promising you enormous profits could result in your contact details ending up in a scammer’s dialing list. Remember, no licensed broker would make unsolicited cold calls.
The next time you get contacted out of the blue with promises of becoming the next Warren Buffet, you must remember that you are most likely speaking to a scammer. In my experience, nowhere is the “if something sounds too good to be true” saying more accurate than in the world of trading. That is why you should do your due diligence before opening an account with a broker.
FX Empire has pioneered a unique methodology for evaluating Over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives brokers worldwide. Our goal is to provide highly sophisticated content outlining the advantages and disadvantages of a broker’s service so that our readers can make informed trading decisions.
The trading industry is continuously evolving, necessitating regular updates to our methodology so that we can ensure it stays up-to-date with all the latest developments. Our team of dedicated professionals ensures that our reviews reflect all the latest changes and market trends.
We test each broker systematically by employing over 250 variables across nine categories:
Our aim is to be as objective as possible when we carry out our reviews. We check the licenses of all broker entities operating under the same trade name and the Client Agreement’s clarity to ensure the company is fully transparent. Moreover, we assess the competitiveness of a broker’s trading and non-trading fees.
We collect information by opening a live account with a broker entity and testing its services in real time. We measure the spreads, swaps, and commissions on its most popular account type and compare our findings to the industry average.
We also assess the functionality of the available platforms and supporting tools, the number and class of tradable instruments, and the reliability of the customer support. Finally, we carry out а qualitative and quantitative analysis of the research and educational materials. In all of these aspects, we look for diversity and functionality.
For this guide, we only considered brokers authorized by the Securities and Exchange Commission in Cyprus (CySEC) that have a physical presence in Cyprus, accept deposits and withdrawals in EUR, and provide customer support during the European trading session. Other parameters include a high transparency level, trading fees below the industry average, and user-friendly and feature-rich platforms.
We abide by our strict guidelines for editorial integrity based on the objective standards we have set for our reviews. You can read more about our review process here.
The team of forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire is composed of trading industry professionals and seasoned financial journalists. Our experts have been published on leading financial websites such as Investopedia and Forbes. In addition, they all have extensive trading experience.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licenced futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.