Looking for the top broker in Dubai? Based on our hands-on analysis, we’ve identified 7 best options tailored to various trading needs. Practical tips from our experts are included.
With over 3 million residents, Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Tax benefits, modern infrastructure, and world-class amenities have made Dubai a magnet for traders. It is a leading luxury travel destination, and several major trading industry conferences take place in the city, such as Forex Expo Dubai and Forex Traders Summit Dubai.
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) are key regulatory bodies that oversee forex and CFD brokers in Dubai and the broader UAE, ensuring the integrity and stability of the financial markets in their respective jurisdictions. The Central Bank of the UAE also plays a role in overseeing Forex activities in the country as a whole, as well as setting standards and regulations for the financial industry in the UAE. In
We carefully considered the needs of traders in Dubai and focused on the points that benefit this group the most.
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’s go through the selected brokers.
Sydney, Australia-based FP Markets was founded in 2005 and has entities regulated by top-tier CySEC and ASIC. With over 800 instruments across stocks, indices, forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, traders can work with an exciting range of markets.
Regional Features:
FP markets’ clients can expect rock-bottom trading costs. Two main accounts are available: the commission-free Standard Account and the commission-based Raw Account with tighter spreads. In my active tests using the Standard Account, I experienced very competitive spreads – for example, as low as 14 pips in spot gold (XAU/USD).
The broker gives access to the markets via MT4/5, WebTrader, IRESS, and the proprietary FP Markets mobile app. The FP Markets mobile app is intuitive, and provides full account access, standard order types, charting with technical indicators, top-tier liquidity, and easy access to customer support.
Deposits and withdrawals are processed fast, and FP Markets does not apply any charges, even via bank wire. 24/7 customer support is available in Arabic, and clients can access swap-free Islamic accounts. My evaluation showed FP Markets to be an all-around winner, equally suitable for novice traders taking their first steps and experienced professionals looking for an edge in the market.
Founded in 2009, FBS is a beginner-friendly broker offering a broad range of CFD markets and competitive fees. The Limassol, Cyprus-based broker is in over 150 countries and serves over 17 million active clients. FBS is regulated by several top-tier agencies across the globe, including ASIC and CySEC.
Regional Features:
FBS provides a range of account types, accessible via MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and the FBS Trader app. For a risk-free trading experience with virtual funds, beginners should consider using a demo account. Also, newbies can mitigate risk through a cent account, which displays the balance in cents, and permits trading orders as low as 0.01 in volume.
I tested FBS’ proprietary trading app, which has a well-designed, intuitive, and minimalistic interface. FBS went the extra mile with its educational offerings, which I rated as better than average for the industry. New traders can immerse themselves in a five-week long ‘forex intensive’ course, and come out of it with a solid foundation to work with.
Founded in 2009, Vantage is an award-winning multi-asset broker headquartered in Sydney, Australia. A significant player in CFD brokerage, Vantage has over 50,000 active clients worldwide, trading forex, commodities, indices, shares, and cryptocurrencies. Entities are regulated by the top-tier ASIC and the offshore CIMA, the company undergoes regular audits, and all client funds are held in a segregated trust account.
Regional Features:
My hands-on tests revealed that Vantage has better than average CFD spreads across forex, commodities, shares, and indices. For example, I experienced spreads of 26 pips in gold and 1 pip in the Dow 30.
The Arabic version of the website (vantagemarkets.com/ar/) allows UAE residents to easily navigate the site in their native language. 24/7 support in Arabic is available via live chat, phone, and email.
Founded in 2011, ADSS offers trading in CFDs on forex, indices, commodities, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. The Abu Dhabi-based broker has invested heavily in multi-asset trading technology with its advanced proprietary platform. ADSS has won numerous industry awards, including Best Forex Broker Middle East at the Forex Expo Dubai 2022.
Regional Features:
In my live tests, I recorded spreads as low as 4 pips in WTI crude oil and 5 cents in Apple (Classic Account). Even tighter spreads are available via the Elite and Elite+ account types. Traders can access a broad range of assets, including CFDs on shares. Instruments rarely found at other brokers, such as Saudi Arabian shares, are available. ADSS is the only broker in the UAE that uses UAEPGS (the transfer payment gateway from the Central Bank of the UAE), which means that deposits and withdrawals are processed lightning fast.
Professional traders can take advantage of the MetaTrader 4 platform, with its impressive charting capabilities, a wide range of order types, and automated trading capability. Autochartist provides clients with trade set-ups and alerts when chart patterns have formed. The Emirati broker also offers personalized support – a significant benefit for serious traders.
Established in 2011, FXTM is a forex and CFD broker headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus. Top-tier authorities, including the UK FCA and CySEC, regulate its various entities. A global CFD broker, FXTM has offices in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America and has served 4 million clients across 180 countries.
Regional Features:
FXTM offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 for desktop, web, and mobile. For trading on the go, clients can also use the proprietary FXTM Trader mobile app. The MetaTrader platform has advanced functionality, including advanced order types and automated trading. When exploring the tools offered by FXTM, I discovered that a selection of useful custom MT4 indicators is available to clients. Custom indicators such as their Pivot SR Levels are downloadable from the FXTM website and can help give traders an edge in their analysis.
MetaTrader is an advanced platform that can take time to master, and FXTM helps address this with dedicated account representatives on hand to answer questions. The broker provides robust educational materials that include detailed MetaTrader platform tutorials.
AvaTrade was founded in 2006, making it an early mover in the forex and CFD industry. The Dublin-based broker has grown tremendously since then and now provides services to 400,000 traders globally. With a broad network of regulatory compliance across several international agencies, such as ASIC and CySEC, it stands as a highly trusted player in the global trading landscape.
Regional Features:
I was particularly impressed by the broad range of copy trading platforms available to AvaTrade clients. The MetaTrader-compatible DupliTrade platform allows traders to automatically copy more experienced traders’ strategies in-real time. The popular ZuluTrade platform enables clients to copy top-performing traders from different brokers. Meanwhile, AvaSocial allows clients to copy and learn from traders within the AvaTrade community.
AvaTrade provides a great range of trading accounts and platforms to trade on over 1,250 instruments covering forex, stocks, indices, commodities, cryptos, and FX options. Clients can select from various accounts suitable for beginner and advanced traders, including CFD, Islamic, and Options Accounts.
In selecting the best forex brokers for Dubai residents, we used the results of our advanced proprietary methodology. All of the brokers listed were among the leaders in our tests.
FXEmpire has been reviewing brokers since 2010 and has pioneered the in-depth evaluation of CFD brokers. Our process has taken years to refine and involved hundreds of reviews. We’ve gone to a granular level—with over 250 data points in our analysis of each broker—so you can feel confident selecting the right platform. To provide the most comprehensive view, we break down the brokers into nine categories: trust, fees, platform and tools, tradable instruments, customer service, deposit and withdrawal, account types, research, and education.
In our broker reviews, we explain complex areas like regulatory status, so you can easily understand the safety of your funds and other benefits. All our winning brokers listed above have at least one entity licensed by a top-tier regulator.
We gather data through live testing, research, detailed questionnaires, and in-person broker demonstrations. An account is opened with each broker, focusing primarily on the services of one entity and testing using the most standard account type and platform. We conduct live tests of spreads and measure overnight swap fees and account-related costs.
Our side-by-side analysis reveals whether a broker is competitive compared to its rivals. Trading platforms take time to master, but we have already done the legwork for you, and our evaluations highlight their essential features and usability.
FX Empire abides by strict guidelines for editorial integrity. We base our scoring on objective criteria and mostly measurable data, so individual preferences or biases cannot sway our reviews. The review process is independent and follows a strict protocol. In addition, we carefully check and recheck facts, as broker reviews are continually updated. Learn more about our methodology here.
For this guide, we sought out brokers regulated by DFSA and SCA or other top-tier authorities that hold a license to provide financial services in Dubai. We also thoroughly reviewed trust factors that go beyond regulation, including the transparency and stability of each broker.
We ensured the availability of a swap-free Islamic account and prioritized brokers who provide UAE dirham (AED) as a base currency. We favored brokers offering an Arabic version of their website and customer service in Arabic and also checked if the companies have offices in Dubai. In addition, we scrutinized the competitiveness of each broker’s trading fees to ensure value for traders and tested each broker’s trading platform to identify the most user-friendly and feature-rich options on the market.
The team of forex and CFD writers and editors at FX Empire comprises trading industry professionals and seasoned financial journalists. Our writers 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.
Consider the following questions when searching for a suitable broker to work with in Dubai.
Take into account the regulatory status of the broker. Forex brokers regulated by top-tier financial authorities must undergo audits, meet capital requirements, and provide segregated accounts and negative balance protection.
The UAE SCA requires brokers to segregate company and client funds and to provide negative balance protection. The UAE DFSA upholds high ethical standards by not allowing brokers to accept credit cards for funding trading accounts and by ensuring that all marketing and educational material is not misleading. A compensation fund is sometimes available in the event of broker insolvency.
You can search the regulator’s website to confirm the broker’s status and check for any disciplinary action. The broker’s size and operating history are also worth considering. You can usually find these on the company’s LinkedIn page.
Read more about Best regulated forex brokers.
An intuitive, easy-to-navigate platform will allow you to launch into the trading world with minimal hitches. The most user-friendly platforms are typically browser-based platforms created by the broker. Look for easy-to-implement features such as watchlists, trading from the chart, search, news, and a customizable interface.
Here are our picks of best forex trading platforms.
The MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms have advanced features like backtesting, automated trading, and a wide range of order types – but are less user-friendly. Also, check on the availability of a good, broker-designed (proprietary) mobile app.
The popular MetaTrader platform is available in Arabic, making it easier to navigate for non-English speakers in Dubai.
Read more about Best MetaTrader 4 brokers and Best MetaTrader 5 brokers.
Working with a broker that keeps costs such as the spread to a minimum can make the difference between profit and loss at the end of the day. For example, a spread of 1 pip or less in EUR/USD is competitive and makes it much less expensive to enter and exit positions in the market.
This low cost of entering trades is a crucial point for day traders. Inactivity fees and fees for withdrawing funds are other areas to keep an eye on when considering a broker. Traders in Dubai can select from the world’s most competitive brokers in terms of fees, such as FP Markets, which offers better-than-average spreads.
Check out our guide on Best lowest spread forex brokers.
Dubai residents also have the opportunity to trade on Islamic, or swap-free accounts that are designed to align with the principles of Islamic finance, particularly the prohibition of interest (‘Riba’).
In regular forex accounts, traders are typically charged or credited with swap fees (or interest) for positions held overnight. However, in Islamic forex accounts, swap fees are not applicable due to the prohibition of interest.
Instead, Islamic accounts commonly employ other types of fees. One such fee is the administration or financing fee, which is a fixed fee charged on trades held overnight. There may be a grace period where these fees are not applied, but it varies between brokers.
Additionally, Islamic accounts may charge slightly wider spreads to compensate for the absence of swap fees. A spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of a currency pair or other trading instrument.
Read more about best Islamic (swap free) forex accounts.
The minimum deposit to trade live can vary from less than $100 to more considerable sums of over $1000.
Typically forex accounts are denominated in a currency like USD, EUR, GBP, or JPY. This currency (the base currency) shows your account balance. Some brokers offer AED as a base currency, making it a more familiar reference point for residents of the UAE.
DFSA-regulated brokers can offer leverage of up to 1:30. SCA-regulated brokers can offer 1:500. If you decide to work with a UK (FCA) or EU (CySEC) based broker, the maximum is 1:30. While most offshore brokers offer 1:500 leverage or even higher in some cases.
Leverage is one of the most appealing features of CFD trading and can work in your favor when used wisely. Beware of using excessive leverage, even if it is tempting. It’s an enthralling feeling to control a large position in the market. But when markets are moving fast, and you hold a highly leveraged position, there is a high risk of losing money. Accounts can get wiped out in seconds.
Check out our guide on Best high leverage forex brokers.
As a forex trader in Dubai, it’s convenient to have customer support in your native language of Arabic, which is offered by some but not all brokers. Check the hours of availability, for example, whether help is on hand 24/7 or only during business hours. Chat support is the most convenient, so look for an easy-to-access chat window built into the broker platform. In the case of a platform outage, it is also helpful to be able to contact support via phone.
A common scam in the forex and CFD industry involves vendors offering a trading strategy that guarantees an outlandishly high return in little time. These may involve automated trading using bots or a signal service sharing trades via chat or social media. Nobody can guarantee returns with certainty, and it is more likely that such strategies will lose money. When assessing strategy or signal providers, you should look for a live track record audited by a third party, but remember that past performance does not guarantee future results.
Traders should also be highly cautious about opening an account with an unregulated offshore broker. Such brokers may offer a straightforward account opening process, bonuses, and high leverage levels, but client funds are not protected. Meanwhile, brokers regulated by top-tier authorities must undergo regular audits and are held accountable for misconduct. Traders can also benefit from having their funds held in segregated accounts, negative balance protection, and a compensation fund in event of broker insolvency.
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.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.