Best High Leverage Forex Brokers of 2023

List of Top High-Leverage Forex Brokers and Platforms

Best brokers for US traders

• Plus500 – Best Overall in the US*
  $100 minimum deposit. Leverage of over 1:400 in Euro FX Futures. Auto-liquidation mechanism in adverse market conditions. Low margin requirements.

Best brokers for international traders

• RoboForex – Best Overall
  Leverage up to 1:2000. MT4, MT5, and R Stocks Trader. Multilayered protection. Variety of account types. Low minimum deposit. Comprehensive educational content.
• FXGT.com – Best for Cryptocurrency Trading
  Leverage up to 1:1000. 9 DeFI tokens and NFTs, 33 cryptocurrencies, and 9 synthetic cryptos. Deposits and withdrawals in crypto. Array of accounts. MQL5 trading signals. VPS hosting.
• Exness – Best for Professional Traders
  Leverage up to 1:2000. Access to deep liquidity. Very fast order execution. Low spreads and $0 commissions. MT4, MT5, proprietary platform. Analytical tools. VPS hosting.
• FXTM – Best Low Spreads
  Leverage up to 1:2000. Raw spreads and low fixed commissions. MT4, MT5, proprietary mobile app. MT4 Indicators, VPS hosting, Professional designation with greater leverage.

Where can you find the highest leverage in forex trading?

In Europe, retail traders face a 1:30 leverage cap to mitigate risk, while offshore brokers can offer riskier leverage up to 1:2000, often with weaker safeguards. Professional traders in Europe can access up to 1:500 leverage, though without features like negative balance protection. To be designated as a professional, a trader must show significant trading experience, consistent high-volume trading (1 lot or more), and the ability to comfortably invest large sums.

This article will delve into the best brokers for high-leverage trading, highlight the pros and cons of our top picks, and discuss risk management measures each broker offers, all while demonstrating how to effectively utilize high leverage in your trading strategy.

How Did FX Empire Choose the Best High Leverage Forex Brokers?

• Leverage. We only selected brokers that afford leverage for retail traders of at least 1:1000, so that they can implement high-volatility strategies.
• Regulation. Since high leverage is needed for highly speculative trading, we only considered brokers that are regulated and adhere to industry standards.
• Competitive pricing. We measured spreads and commissions and compared them to the industry average to ensure our picks for each category afford competitive pricing.
• Available platforms. We checked the usability of brokers’ platforms and made sure they are practical and user-friendly.
• Risk management tools. We considered whether a broker has negative balance protection and assessed its margin call and stop-out levels to confirm traders have the tools for managing their market exposure.
• Diverse account types. We selected brokers that offer diverse account types with varied pricing and execution mechanisms serving different types of traders.
• Range of markets. We only considered brokers that offer a range of instruments from major asset classes, such as FX pairs, commodities, CFD shares, and indices.
• Scope of supporting content. We verified whether a broker provides comprehensive research content, such as a nuanced overview of current market developments, including where the market is headed and why.

Our team of experts has identified brokers’ strengths and weaknesses using FX Empire’s comprehensive methodology. Here’s how we test.

Now let’s dive into the selected brokers.

Our Methodology

Here at FX Empire, we have pioneered a unique methodology for evaluating forex and CFD brokers worldwide. Understanding traders’ goals and needs, our aim is to provide a comprehensive picture of a broker’s pros and cons so that our readers can make informed decisions and choose the best partner for their trading journey.

Our team of dedicated professionals is working continuously to improve our review system and keep it up-to-date with current market trends. We systematically conduct hands-on tests of each broker by employing over 250 variables across nine categories:

• Trust
• Fees
• Account Types
• Tradable Instruments
• Platforms and Tools
• Deposits and Withdrawals
• Customer Support
• Research
• Education

We strive to be as objective as possible, which is why our rigorous examinations are devoid of any personal bias as much as possible. We review the licenses of all the subsidiaries of a broker and check the fine print in the Client Agreement. The reliability of a broker is further determined based on the website’s regulations, fees, and general transparency.

We collect essential 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 test the functionality of the available trading platforms, the number and types of tradable instruments, the reliability of customer support, and the quality of the research and educational materials.

For this article, we only considered high-scored brokers that offer high maximum leverage (at least 1:1000) to retail and professional traders. We looked for essential safety mechanisms, such as negative balance protection, segregation of client funds, and a compensation scheme. Additionally, we took into consideration brokers’ margin policies and stop-out levels, which are important for managing the risks from your market exposure. Considering various traders’ needs and levels of experience, we broke down our picks into different categories.

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.

Meet Our Writers

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.

How to Choose a Forex Broker With High Leverage?

Now it is time to outline the specific considerations traders need to make when looking for a trustworthy partner.

How to find a safe broker?

In order to make sure you are dealing with a trustworthy partner, you need to make sure that the broker entity you choose is tightly regulated and complies with all industry safety requirements.

I have broken down the most important safety mechanisms to look for in a broker below:

• Segregation of client funds. Brokers must keep their clients’ funds in separate bank accounts from the ones used for their corporate capital. This is crucial for mitigating the risk of accounting errors.
• Negative balance protection. Negative balance protection means that a trader’s losses cannot exceed their account balance. This protection is indispensable when trading high-risk instruments, such as Contracts for Difference (CFDs).
• Limited market exposure. Beginners are especially susceptible to the risk of adverse price fluctuations, which is why the maximum leverage for retail traders is recommended to be at 1:30. Anything beyond that can be too risky for inexperienced traders.
• Compensation scheme. Depending on the jurisdiction where a broker is situated, a compensation scheme may also protect its clients against the company’s credit risk and liabilities. For instance, brokers regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) participate in the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). In the unlikely event of the company becoming insolvent, traders can be compensated by up to 20,000 EUR. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) – under The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom – protects traders by up to 85,000 GBP.

Generally, offshore regulators offer higher leverage but weaker overall protections. In contrast, top-tier regulators seek to limit the maximum market exposure afforded to traders via leverage by capping it.

Read more about Best regulated forex brokers.

How to verify if a broker is regulated?

• Check the Broker’s Website: Legitimate, regulated brokers typically display their license number and the name of their regulator on their website, often in the footer or “About Us” section.
• Visit the Regulator’s Website: Every country’s financial regulator has a website where they list all the brokers they regulate. Search for the broker’s name to see if they’re listed.
• Contact the Regulator: If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, you can directly contact the regulator with the broker’s name and any other identifying information you have.
• Check for Memberships: Regulated brokers often belong to compensation schemes or organizations that protect clients’ funds. Check if the broker mentions such memberships on their website.

Check out our guides on Best CySEC-regulated forex brokers and Best ASIC-regulated forex brokers.

How to check if a broker’s fees are competitive?

A broker may have several account types, each with different pricing mechanisms and tailored to a particular style of trading. Below, I provide an example of STP and ECN accounts.

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:

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.

Read more about Best lowest spread forex brokers.

How to choose a trading platform?

A trading platform is your window into the market. It allows you to observe price action behavior and study potential opportunities for placing orders. Technical traders use a platform’s array of indicators, drawing tools, and other features to examine various price patterns, changes in volatility, liquidity, and so on in order to gauge the most favorable times to enter or exit the market.

The best platforms 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, etc. They are also the ones that allow you to easily scale price action up and down.

In addition to these components, when looking for a suitable platform, you must also look for efficiency. Ask yourself: Does the platform facilitate easy and rapid order placement through one-click trading? Does it support algorithmic trading via Expert Advisors (EAs)? Can it handle market, limit, and stop orders? These factors, and more, contribute to a platform’s overall effectiveness.

Check out our dedicated guide on Best forex trading platforms.

The two most popular retail platforms in the industry are MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Over the years, the two have become the benchmark for simplicity and reliability. The two entries in the popular franchise have a decent range of technical indicators and drawing tools and afford multi-timeframe analysis.

However, despite MetaTrader’s easy learning curve, its rugged design becomes apparent when contrasted against newer and sleeker platforms. In my estimation, MetaTrader could be a good choice for newbies wanting to learn the ropes, but to take your trading to take it to the next level, you may need something more sophisticated.

The answer of some brokers is to develop their proprietary platforms. The advantage of most such platforms is their convenience. The ability to search for instruments by asset class, scale price action up and down with ease, or execute complex box orders are benefits you cannot find in MetaTrader. To summarise, the question of choosing the best platform for you is one of simplicity vs practicality.

Read more about best MT4 brokers and best MT5 brokers.

What are the dangers of using high leverage?

• Amplified Losses: Leverage can increase the size of potential profits, but it also magnifies the potential losses. A slight fluctuation in the market can lead to substantial losses when high leverage is involved.
• Margin Call Risk: If your investment moves in the wrong direction, you could lose your entire initial deposit (margin) and be required to deposit additional funds to maintain your position.
• Overtrading: High leverage can encourage overtrading. Because of the small initial deposit requirement, traders might be tempted to open larger positions or more trades than they would with their own capital alone, increasing the risk.
• Fast Market Action: Markets can sometimes move very quickly, and high leverage can mean that these rapid changes have a more significant impact on your account.
• Risk of Account Blowup: With high leverage, there’s a higher risk of losing all of the capital in your trading account within a very short time, particularly if the market is very volatile.
• Negative Balance: If the market moves against your position, you may end up owing more than you initially invested, leading to a negative balance.

What to Avoid When Choosing a Forex Broker?

Here is a quick rundown of what to avoid when choosing a broker offering high leverage:

• Unregulated brokers. Trading with an unregulated broker exposes you to a higher risk of fraud or unethical business practices, as they are not bound by any regulatory standards or rules. Additionally, in case of any disputes or if the broker goes bankrupt, there might be no legal recourse or compensation schemes available to recover your funds.
• Brokers without access to deep liquidity. High-leverage trading requires precision. And brokers with poor liquidity run higher risks of causing negative slippage.
• Brokers with stop-out levels above 50%.
• STP accounts with floating spreads from 1.8 pips or above.
• ECN accounts with round-turn commissions above $7.

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