Not all low-cost brokers actually keep costs down once you factor in all of the miscellaneous fees, spreads, commissions, and account requirements. Some of the brokers out there will advertise tight spreads, but hide costs in the commissions, while others will cut costs, and therefore, value, in order to be “cheap.” I looked through our database of brokers who have undergone a 250-point rating system to find ones that match both value and quality at the same time.
The minimum threshold was having the total cost for a standard EUR/USD of 100,000 to stay below $10 in trading costs, including spreads and commissions. I also put emphasis on brokers being accessible, with opening minimums under $200, and finally, favored those who offered ECN or Raw spreads for traders.
*AvaTrade doesn’t allow CFD trading in Spain; only Futures are available.
Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology.
Now, let’s dive into the selected brokers.
Fusion Markets is an Australian broker that was founded in 2017 and is best known for its low costs and list of platforms offered. Fusion Markets offers more than 250 assets for trading in the forex, commodities, stock, indices, and crypto markets.
Key Features:
Fusion Markets Standard account has commission-free trading and floating spreads, which start out at 0.0 pips. The spreads are tight across the range of assets offered, with particular standouts like oil with its $0.01 spread, and Bitcoin with a $17 spread.
There are multiple platforms to choose from, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, Fusion+ Copy Trading, and DupliTrade, with DupliTrade and Fusion+ offering copy trading.
Fusion provides free VPS hosting for low-latency trading and automated trading abilities. Fusion also offers trading signals from Trading Central.
IC Markets offers maximum value while having ultra-low spreads and trading fees. The broker was founded in Australia and opened in 2007. IC Markets offers more than 7,300 trading instruments in all major asset classes.
Key Features:
Using a Raw cTrader account for my tests, I found IC Markets offers spreads as low as 0.0 pips, with a $6 per round turn commission per lot. IC Markets also offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, and TradingView. The spreads in the Standard accounts are low as well, with the average spread being 0.1 pips in the EUR/USD pair during New York trading.
Not only was the spread good, but the execution speed was as well, with trades averaging just under 40 milliseconds, which helps keep any slippage to a minimum. The broker offers a wide range of forex, commodities, indices, metals, bonds, and crypto for trading.
FP Markets has been around since 2005 and has been known for low spreads for some time. The broker offers MT4, MT5, cTrader, WebTrader, and TradingView for traders to use. Access to spreads as low as 0.0 pips keeps this an excellent choice for those looking to save on costs, something that will be paramount for professionals, as they look to bring the cost of doing business down.
Key Features:
FP Markets has over 10,000 instruments for trading, making it an excellent choice for professionals, as they have the ability to trade the world. This includes stocks, forex, bonds, crypto, ETFs, metals, and indices. The Raw spread account offers $6 round turn commissions on a standard lot, with spreads being as low as 0.0 pips.
Another one of the major factors for traders to choose this broker is the huge resource section for traders to learn about the markets, read analysis, and more. While the education is good, professionals will like the analysis from pros to get a read of what is going on in the markets.
AvaTrade was founded in 2006 and has a wide range of trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, WebTrader, AvaSocial, AvaOptions, and AvaTradeGO. AvaTrade offers over 1,250 tradable instruments, all with no commissions.
Key Features:
The broker’s proprietary Ava Web Trader is a highly customizable and easily operated platform to navigate the financial markets. It has 80 technical indicators, as well as all of the drawing tools you would expect. There are 3 chart types, and it is easy to jump from one timeframe to another. There are several order types available as well.
I tested AvaTrade with a Standard account, offering commission-free trading and floating spreads, starting at 0.9 pips. The overall spreads on share CFDs were a strong point, as well as the forex markets. The spreads are average on indices, but higher than many others when it comes to crypto.
Moneta Markets hails from Dubai and was opened in 2019. It has over 1,000 instruments for trading, including forex, commodities, stocks, indices, crypto, ETFs, and bonds. The Ultra ECN account offers some of the best costs I have seen in the industry.
Key Features:
I used the Moneta Markets Prime ECN account for my testing, which features raw spreads from 0.0 pips and a $6 round turn commission per lot. This allows for high-volume trading with lower costs, and in fact, the account allows for lower trading fees in general, across all asset classes.
The PRO Trader platform offers 105 technical indicators, 59 drawing tools, 16 chart types, and more. The broker offers free VPS hosting to funded accounts that have a balance over $500 and make trades that achieve a notional value of 5 lots per month allowing for super-fast trading, be it manual or algorithmic trading.
FXCC is based out of Cyprus, and was opened in 2010. It offers over 1000 instruments for trading in forex, indices, commodities, and crypto. The broker has an excellent educational material selection, and offers high-quality research on its site.
Key Features:
FXCC has a large selection of educational materials, including e-books geared towards new traders, including all of the pertinent trading concepts and terms. Learning how to develop a sustainable trading plan, practice trading, and develop proper mentality all are touched on, and more. Daily trading signals, that rely on technical analysis, are offered as well.
Platforms include MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, allowing for beginners to benefit from one of the most intuitive platforms available, and even add Expert Advisors, custom indicators, and all of the other features that make this ecosystem so loved. Also offered is free VPS hosting, allowing algorithmic trading as well.
I tested the ECN XL account which features raw spreads from 0.1 pips, and a minimum deposit of only $100. FXCC generally has low spreads on forex and indices, average spreads on commodities, and higher spreads on cryptocurrencies.
The forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire bring together seasoned trading professionals and experienced financial journalists. Many of our experts have been featured in leading publications such as Investopedia and Forbes, and all of them combine strong industry credentials with hands-on 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 licensed 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.
Christopher Lewis is an experienced trader and technical analyst specializing on currencies, indices, and commodities. He also has been working as a proprietary trader for institutional accounts. Chris has been an FXEmpire analyst since the site's early days and shares his trading insights on his own blog, The Trader Guy. His sharp, practical understanding of the trading industry means he knows forex and CFD brokers inside-out, so you can trust his guidance on how they work and which one to choose.
As a Senior Content Editor at FXEmpire, Ola has revised and fact-checked over 200 broker reviews and guides. Her profound understanding of financial markets has been crucial in developing the proprietary rating system.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.