Best Forex Trading Platforms of 2023

Exness was founded in 2008 and is authorized and regulated globally including FCA, CySEC, and FSCA. The broker provides access to a wide range of asset classes that can be traded on the propriety Exness Terminal platform, as well as the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

As an experienced trader, I appreciated the ability to access both the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms, which offer extensive chart customization options and advanced algorithmic trading capabilities. However, beginner traders may find the Exness web terminal and trading app much easier to get started with.

I found the Exness Terminal to offer a great trading experience. The powered by TradingView charts are easy to use and interact with. There are more than 50 drawing tools and 100 indicators to choose from with a range of different chart types to trade from making it a great option for beginner traders.

The Exness mobile trading app provides 24/7 in-app assistance. This is very useful as, in my experience, being able to access customer support at any time makes for a much more seamless trading experience with a broker.

Exness offers a commission-free standard account and two commission-based professional accounts. After opening a standard account, I discovered that the average spread for EUR/USD was 0.9 pips, which is lower than the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

Founded in 2009, Vantage is authorized and regulated by ASIC and the CIMA. It provides the ability to trade on 200+ CFDs on a wide range of platforms that can be connected to top copy trading services.

From my research, I found that you access the Vantage Copy Trading service directly from the mobile trading app which is great to have everything available from just one app and not separated into many different ones. You can copy other successful traders or attract followers to earn commissions. The different social trading levels include Explorer, Rising Star, and Mentor with benefits – such as lower commission – the more followers and money you manage.

For more advanced traders, the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms will offer more features and customizations. You can also connect these platforms to third-party social trading and copy trading platforms such as ZuluTrade, as well as Myfxbook, and DupliTrade for a more robust copy trading solution.

Vantage offers three different types of accounts – The Standard STP Account, Raw ECN Account, and Pro ECN Account – suitable for all types of traders interested in copy trading. During our live fee test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York session averaged 1.3 pips which is around the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

Founded in 2019, TMGM is regulated by ASIC, FMA New Zealand, FSC Mauritius and the VFSC/ The broker offers over 12,000 tradable instruments, including forex, CFDs, stocks, commodities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies from MetaTrader 4 and the IRESS trading platforms.

There are two different account types to trade forex on: the Edge and Classic account. The Classic account is a commission-free trading account with spreads starting from 1.0 pip, while the Edge account is commission based at $7 per round turn with spreads from 0.0 pips.

From our live test on the Standard account, I found that the live spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York sessions averaged 0.9 pips which is better than the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free account.

The MT4 platform is the go-to for forex traders and provides a wide range of indicators, chart types, and timeframes. You can also access the MetaTrader Marketplace for customized indicators and algorithmic trading strategies.

For stock traders, you can access the IRESS account which provides access to the IRESS trading platform. This is an advanced stock trading platform that provides DMA (direct market access) to 15,000 global shares. This means you can trade directly with the exchange or TMGM’s liquidity providers.

I found that the MT4 mobile trading app is the easiest and fastest way to trade for beginners to trade forex but offers limited technical analysis options. The desktop version of the platform, while offering more features, does have a learning curve. However, there are a lot of educational materials available to learn about the platform.

You can also access third-party tools such as Trading Central and HUBx. Trading Central provides a daily newsletter with emerging trading opportunities and market research as well as a Featured Ideas and Market Buzz sections. HUBx is a bespoke platform that helps fund managers trade client capital like the MT4 MAM or PAMM account technology.

FXCM is a UK-based forex trading broker founded in 1999 and regulated by the FCA, ASIC, CySEC, and FSCA. It gives access to over 250 financial CFD instruments including forex pairs, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.

If you’re looking for a top forex trading platform with a wide range of useful trading tools then FXCM could be for you. I found that FXCM offers an outstanding range of trading platforms which includes its own feature-rich Trading Station, as well as MT4, TradingView PRO, ZuluTrade, Capitalise AI, and specialty platforms such as QuantConnect, MotiveWave, AgenaTrader, Sierra Chart, and Neuroshell.

Having traded with FXCM myself, I enjoyed the FXCM Trading Station web platform. It is simple to use but has a lot of advanced features like pip calculations in the order ticket and great trading tools which they call ‘apps’ (some are free and some require payment). Trading Station is available for web, desktop, and mobile and offers over 50 technical indicators and tools for advanced charting. The trading platform also offers an automated trading feature that allows users to develop and test their trading strategies with a VPS.

For a more robust trading experience, the FXCM Trading Station desktop version comes with additional features such as real volume and trader sentiment indicators. Advanced traders may enjoy the additional specialty trading tools such as Capitalise AI which allows you to perform code-free strategy automation by just typing in your trading idea and rules (it’s free for FXCM users).

If you are a beginner trader, you will most likely enjoy the FXCM TradingView PRO package. This allows you to trade directly from the popular social network, web-based platform TradingView. Having used this myself, it is a great platform for beginner and advanced traders with ease of access, social trading ideas, and market scanners. You can also trade live from TradingView with an FXCM account.

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

Established in 2001, ActivTrades has become one of the top London-based brokers offering services globally. You can trade on more than 1,100 financial instruments covering forex, indices, stocks, and commodities from the MT4, MT5, ActivTrader, and TradingView platforms.

From testing ActivTrades services I was particularly impressed with the range of platforms available to trade on. The longest-standing and go-to forex platform is MetaTrader (MT4) which comes pre-loaded with a wide range of technical trading indicators and timeframes to trade from. There is also a wide range of order types that include market, limit, stop, and trailing stop orders. With ActivTrades, you can access the MT4 platform via a desktop platform (PC or Mac), web browser, or mobile trading app.

I found that the desktop platform offers the most robust experience as it allows you to access the MetaTrader 4 marketplace and download customized trading indicators and algorithmic trading strategies. For beginner traders, the mobile trading app is the easiest and fastest way to take a trade in a particular market but doesn’t offer as many analytical features as the desktop or web version.

I should also mention that the MT4 web version has undergone this year. It is now much similar to the web platforms of newer fintech companies such as TradingView. The updated MT4 web version comes with dark/light themes, and the ability to easily search symbols and add them to the chart with the click of a button.

The drawing tools options are now twice as big as they were and are laid out on the left side column making them far easier to access and use. Another new addition is the small flags on the bottom of the chart informing you have a high-impact news announcement being released from a particular country – effectively it is an inbuilt economic calendar which is a great addition.

During the live ActivTrades’ fee test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York session averaged 1.25 pips which is around the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

Swissquote was established in 1996 and is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). It is a leading Swiss bank that provides a range of trading, investing, robo-advisory, and banking solutions.

After creating a live account, I found that, besides MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, Swissquote offers an excellent proprietary forex trading platform called Advanced Trader. It provides 50+ charting tools and 80+ technical indicators with charts powered by the popular TradingView platform.

Advanced Trader gives access to a wide range of tailorable solutions such as customizing your layout by using its drag-and-drop feature. One aspect I particularly liked was the ability to link multiple charts together, allowing for the simultaneous viewing of the same instrument across different timeframes on a single screen. This feature is not available in MetaTrader.

Among third-party tools that I found useful is AutoChartist which provides automated technical analysis ideas. While some brokers provide this feature as a plugin to MT4, Swissquote allows you to access it directly through a web page, enabling you to trade on their web-based Advanced Trader platform as well.

During our live fee test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York session averaged 2.05 pips which is much higher than the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

FxPro was founded in 2006 and is regulated by the FCA, CySEC, FSCA, and SCB. It offers traders the opportunity to trade various asset classes including forex, stocks, indices, futures, and commodities from the MT4, MT5, cTrader, and the broker’s own proprietary FxPro Edge platform.

In our live test, I found that you can trade on more than 2,100 financial instruments: 70+ currency pairs including majors, minors, exotics, and emerging; 18 index CFDs; 30 cryptos CFDs, 7 commodity CFDs; and 2,000+ stock CFDs.

When testing the broker’s trading platforms, I assessed the FxPro Edge platform to be the most user-friendly and convenient option for beginners. Its web-based nature made it easily accessible, and it offered a wide range of customizable features. These included one-click trading, six chart types, 15 time frames, 53 technical indicators, and 13 drawing tools.

One feature that is basic, but very much appreciated, is the price level and executed order notifications by e-mail. I also found that you can access several useful third-party tools and add-ons, including AutoChartist, TradingCentral, and VPS services.

During our live fee test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York session averaged 1.11 pips which is around the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

FP Markets is an Australian forex broker founded in 2005 and is regulated by ASIC, CySEC, and the FSCA with one unregulated entity based in St.Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). It provides the ability to trade on currencies, commodities, indices, ETFs, stocks, futures, and cryptos.

After comparing FP Markets' platforms with competitors, I found that the broker provides an excellent offering for professional traders. With FP Markets, you can trade hundreds of CFDs from the MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms, as well as access DMA (direct market access) for global shares from the IRESS trading platform.

I enjoy using the MetaTrader 5 trading platform as it offers one-click trading, 38 technical indicators, 24 drawing tools, 21 timeframes, and a range of different chart types. You can also access customized trading indicators and algorithmic trading expert advisors.

On top of this, professional traders can access the MT4 with a multi-account manager (MAM) account to trade investors’ capital through sub-accounts. This is a great piece of technology to seamlessly manage the funds of your clients. Another solution, is the FP Markets copy trading and social trading products that allow you to replicate the trades of experienced traders or to provide your trades to be copied.

Like myself, professional traders may also enjoy access to third-party tools offered by FP Markets which include AutoChartist, Trading Central, and an MT4/MT5 upgrade of additional indicators. I particularly like the mini-terminal indicator as it helps to execute trades and perform risk management calculations all from the chart in just a few clicks and is worthwhile testing.

During our live fees test, I found the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York trading session averaged 1.1 pips which is around the industry average of 1.0 pips for a commission-free trading account.

IC Markets is a forex and CFD broker that was founded in 2007 in Sydney, Australia. The broker is regulated by financial institutions such as ASIC, CySEC, and the Seychelles FSA, among others.

You can trade with a wide range of asset classes including forex, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and stocks. In total, there are 1,700+ financial CFD instruments available to trade on from three different trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and cTrader.

During our live test, I found that the IC Markets cTrader platform offered the best fees and also had an easy-to-use interface with over 70 different technical indicators, live market analysis, and multiple advanced order types. With the IC Markets cTrader platform, you can access spreads from 0.0 pips and pay a commission of $3.00 per lot, per side which is much better than the industry average of $3.50 per lot, per side.

I enjoyed the fact the broker provides access to AutoChartist for MetaTrader. This third-party plugin offers automated global market analysis including price forecasts, volatility warnings, and real-time alerts. From my personal experience, AutoChartis can help to save a lot of time identifying technical analysis events in the market and could be a good addition to your trading.

In my live fee test, I found the spread on IC Markets from the MT4 platform to average 0.6 pips during the London and New York session which is much better than the industry average of 1.0 pips on a commission-free trading account. It makes IC Markets a top choice to consider.

The UK-based forex and CFD broker Tickmill was founded in 2014 and is regulated by multiple financial institutions, including the FCA, CySEC, and the Seychelles FSA and provides extensive education and research materials for beginner traders.

The broker offers over 250+ tradable instruments, such as forex, indices, commodities, and bonds from multiple trading platforms including MT4, MT5, TradingView, CQG, Agena Trader and the custom Tickmill mobile app which beginners will find the easiest way to trade.

I personally love to use TradingView and Tickmill is one of just a handful of brokers that allows you to trade directly from the TradingView web-based platform. It is a great platform for beginners as it requires very little knowledge to get started and has a big social community to support your trading.

During our live fee test, I found the spread on EUR/USD averaged 1.6 pips during the London and New York session which is higher than the industry average of 1.0 pips. However, since this is a commission-free trading account, it is an ideal choice for beginners to begin their trading journey. With most fees included in the spread, you can focus on analyzing the market without worrying about additional charges.

I was particularly impressed by Tickmill’s educational resources. This includes access to the Tickmill Education Hub which has articles, video tutorials, eBooks, courses, and multiple live webinars a week covering a wide range of trading topics to help improve your knowledge and trading performance.

IronFX was founded in 2010 and is regulated by the FCA, CySEC, and FSCA with one unregulated entity based in Bermuda. On top of 32 cryptocurrency pairs, you can also trade 84 forex pairs, 7 currency futures, 31 commodities, 149 stocks, and 33 indices.

After opening a live account, I found that you can access cryptocurrency pairs such as BTC/USD, ETH/USD, DOGE/JPY, and ETH/GBP. There is a wide range of major coins and altcoins that can be traded against different fiat currencies such as the USD, JPY, and GBP.

I also found that you can trade from a variety of trading platforms with IronFX which include MT4 and the IronFX web trader and mobile trading app. The MT4 platform does have a learning curve but provides the most amount of features such as customized indicators and algorithmic trading capabilities.

For beginner traders, the IronFX platform will be the easiest to get started with and the fastest to trade from. You can trade cryptocurrencies from all of the trading platforms but the desktop version provides the most robust experience for traders.

The broker also offers the IronFX AutoTrade platform for copy trading. It is a mobile trading app in which you choose and copy the best-performing traders. You can also access the IronFX copy trading feature from the IronFX TradeCopier web platform where you can either copy other traders or become a strategy provider.

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

BDSwiss was established in 2012 and operates under two entities, regulated by either the FSA Seychelles or FSC Mauritius financial authorities. The broker offers 51 forex pairs and a range of other instruments including indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies from MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 plus their own BDSwiss Mobile App and BDSwiss WebTrader.

From our live test of the broker’s trading platforms, I found the broker’s own BDSwiss Web Trader trading platform includes several features that make them excellent for traders. First of all, it was easy to use and navigate with a clean and user-friendly interface and access to over 50 technical indicators.

Another major plus point I enjoyed was the fact the BDSwiss platform is fully synced to the MT4 platform. This means you can seamlessly trade your account from a variety of different platforms which is unique. The BDSwiss MT4 and MT5 platforms allow for algorithmic trading and the possibility to use the AutoChartist plugin for automated technical analysis ideas.

The BDSwiss Web Trader platform also features the exclusive Trends Analysis tool which was developed in partnership with AutoChartist. I enjoyed this feature as you can discover emerging trends, technical analysis patterns, and projected trends live on the chart from the web platform and trade the suggestion with just one click – a great option for beginner and advanced traders.

During the course of our live fee test, I found the BDSwiss spread for EUR/USD averaged 1.55 pips during the London and New York session which is higher than the industry average of 1.0 pips. Consider that we conducted the test on a commission-free trading account where most of the fees are included in the spread.