You don’t need thousands of dollars just to get started in forex. We tested over 80 brokers this year and selected those that offer a low entry barrier.
We opened and tested accounts with brokers that require minimum deposits of $50 or less. But a low deposit means nothing without protection, so we only chose tightly regulated brokers that adhere to the industry’s most important safety requirements and protect your funds.
We also placed trades on each trading platform, measured brokers’ fees (spreads, swaps, and commissions), and compared them to the industry average to make sure your starting capital isn’t instantly eaten by costs.
Given the risks of leveraged trading with a small balance, we verified that these brokers offer robust safety nets, including strict margin call and stop-out policies.
Our team of experts has identified brokers’ strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology.
Now let’s dive into the selected brokers.
Established in 1974, IG is a pioneer in the forex and CFD industry. It is an FTSE250 member and offers a massive range of 17,000 tradable instruments. With a $50 minimum deposit requirement, IG clients can access superior trading services and tools.
Key Features:
Using the IG CFD Trading account, I recorded a 0.6 pip EURUSD spread, easily beating the industry average of 1.1 pips. Plus, there are no commissions. Index spreads were also better-than-average, while commodities and Bitcoin came in closer to the benchmark or slightly worse.
Another highlight of IG is its lightning-fast execution. The broker reports average speeds of 14 milliseconds, which are well faster than the industry benchmark of 60 milliseconds. Moreover, IG supports FIX API integration on its trading platforms, allowing you to tap into its liquidity pool directly and obtain raw spreads.
Choosing a platform with IG isn’t easy because there are so many great options. The broker’s flagship web trader combines a user-friendly interface with powerful charts, as does the seamless TradingView. L2 Dealer and ProRealTrader cater to seasoned traders seeking optimized execution, while MT4 is available to traders interested in more classic setups.
Capital.com is a Cyprus-based financial derivatives broker that has been operating since 2016. It has everything a beginner may need: an easy onboarding process, comprehensive educational support, an intuitive platform, reliable customer support, and so much more. Most impressively, Capital.com offers you a choice of over 5000 assets.
Key Features:
Beginners can start with just $20 with Capital.com and take advantage of the competitive prices on its Standard account. I opened this account to check live spreads. Mytest revealed that Capital.com charges tight spreads on FX majors, energies, stocks, and indices. However, gold and Bitcoin spreads were a bit steeper.
I find the Capital.com Web Trader a convenient platform for inexperienced traders, thanks to its intuitive design and a range of essential tools. Charts are clean, fluid, and represent price action in high definition. You can also choose from a wide selection of over 150 analytical tools. The cherry on top is the integrated market research, helping you keep tabs on the latest market developments.
I also appreciated Capital.com’s deep and diverse educational content. The multiple articles, videos, and guides introduce you to various aspects of the general trading experience, including technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and risk management. Capital.com has also developed a dedicated Investmate app for learning on the go.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Australia, Pepperstone is a multi-asset forex and CFD broker. It offers you access to more than 1300 instruments that can be traded via flexible and advanced Pepperstone WebTrader, with various tools to enhance your trading experience, from MetaTrader add-ons to advanced market research tools.
Key Features:
I tested Pepperstone WebTrader and found it highly customizable, with useful features and tools. It stands out for its charting depth and workspace flexibility, but is less intuitive than some other proprietary platforms.
My testing revealed that Pepperstone offers very competitive spreads on its Standard account, which has a $0 minimum deposit. I recorded a 1-pip EUR/USD spread, and gold spreads of 14 to 18 cents were well below the 36-cent industry average. If you are looking for raw spreads, consider the Razor account, which also has no minimum deposit.
Pepperstone delights its customers with a variety of powerful tools, including the SmartTrader package of analytical tools for MetaTrader, FIX API solutions, free VPS hosting for low-latency trading, and a free TradingView subscription. Moreover, Pepperstone incorporates actionable trading signals and advanced analytics by Autochartist.
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Vantage is an Australian broker founded in 2009 that offers more than 1,000 tradable instruments. You can trade them on the proprietary Vantage Web Trading platform and the all-in-one Vantage App while on the go.
Key Features:
I downloaded the Vantage App and set up my account in minutes. The app features smooth, high-definition charts powered by TradingView, and supports copy trading. It also has integrated market analytics to help you stay on top of market-moving headlines. You can use the Vantage App to adjust your open trades, place market orders, and manage your account on the go.
Via the app, you can access over 1,000 CFD assets across forex, commodities, shares, indices, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and bonds. Vantage also offers a wide range of deposit and withdrawal options, including bank wire, credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies.
To test fee competitiveness, I opened a Standard account and recorded extremely tight spreads on BTCUSD and crude oil. The spreads on gold, Apple, Tesla shares, and the US30 were also tight during my test. However, Vantage’s forex and DAX40 spreads were closer to the industry average.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in the Comoros Islands, OCTA offers over 230 instruments across various asset classes – FX pairs, commodities, share CFDs, indices, and cryptocurrencies – at low trading fees.
Key Features:
I conducted my tests on an OctaFX MT5 account, which is available against a low deposit of $25. The account type features commission-free trading and floating spreads from 0.6 pips, which is better than the industry average. I executed a full-sized EURUSD trade with a net cost of $8. Even some ECN account types have higher costs.
What impressed me most was that OCTA no longer charges a swap fee for overnight positions – the cost is built into the spread. OCTA is, therefore, a great choice for swing traders and position traders looking to catch huge price trends that may take days or weeks to develop.
I carried out my tests on the renowned MetaTrader 5 platform. Although its design is rather rugged, MT5 is considered the trading industry’s reliable workhouse. It features multiple analytical tools, order types, and chart configurations. Traders can use it for basic technical analysis and simplified order execution.
tastyfx, formerly IG US, is a member of the IG group of entities – a major force in the trading industry, renowned for its sophisticated flagship platform. The IG company was established in 1974 and has since expanded its operations to the US.
Key Features:
I performed my tests using the Standard tastyfx account, featuring zero commissions and floating spreads from 0.8 pips. Alternatively, you can opt for the Zero+ account if you seek raw spreads. Both account types do not have a minimum deposit requirement and offer access to 86 FX pairs.
If you have a taste for user-friendly design and seamless charting, then tastyfx’s web platform will meet all your expectations. I enjoyed using it for its clean interface and fluid charting. You can freely scale price action up and down and spot viable entry levels, with all the important information at your fingertips. You can read about the cost of trade, pip value, the latest swap rates, and more.
I also found that tastyfx offers a high-quality selection of research tools, including fresh analysis published daily from the in-house team, along with Thomson Reuters news feed and Autochartist trading signals.
OANDA is a financial derivatives broker founded in 1996. With no minimum deposit requirement, I chose OANDA Web Platform as the best option for trading forex and crypto in the US. You can access 68 major and cross FX pairs, as well as 8 cryptocurrency pairs via the Paxos service.
Key Features:
I confirmed that OANDA is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). It keeps client funds segregated but does not guarantee negative balance protection. Considering all these factors, I found OANDA very safe to trade with.
OANDA offers two account types: Standard and Elite. Even though you can start with as little as you want, the broker incentivises you to stay active and trade high volumes by paying out rebates. The more you trade, the more you earn. I also discovered that OANDA’s spreads are generally competitive, though its 1.4-pip EURUSD spread exceeded the industry average.
Another highlight of OANDA is its robust trading platform. The OANDA Web platform is a powerful trading station equipped with a variety of analytical tools and chart configurations. It features more than 100 technical indicators, 50 drawing tools, 9 timeframes, and 11 chart types. I consider it a great fit for day traders and chart artists because of its high-definition charts, powered by the seamless TradingView.
A minimum deposit requirement refers to the minimum amount a broker may ask you to deposit into your account before you can start trading. Though some traders may see it as an obstacle in their path to trading glory, there is actually a purpose to it.
Trading with CFDs entails high risk, as even a small change in the underlying price can result in considerable profits or losses to your account. Accordingly, your broker may require you to set aside a certain amount of capital to ensure you remain liquid. However, even with this precaution, there is no guarantee of success.
☝️ Interesting Fact: About 10 years ago, the average deposit requirement for most brokers was around $500. However, now the threshold averages around $100.
On the other hand, some brokers may leave it to their clients to assess the underlying risks themselves, because having low or no minimum deposit requirements may attract more clients. That is why you should be extremely cautious when deciding how much to start trading with.
Read more about Best regulated forex brokers.
The leverage, also known as the multiplier, is your most significant determinant of success in trading. It means that even a small change in the price can result in significant profits or losses. A leverage of 1:100 means you will generate 100 times the profit or loss on a single pip movement. With a leverage of 1:1000, that would be a 1-to-1000 increase, and so on.
The amount you generate (or lose) from a single pip movement in the underlying price also depends on the size of your position. That is called pip value. Suppose, for example, that you open a standard lot (100,000 units) on the EURUSD. For such a contract, your pip value is $10.
All brokers have a ‘free margin’ requirement (the amount of free equity you are required to always have) to make sure your overall balance is not threatened. The free margin is the equity you have that is not tied down to the margin used to sustain your open trades.
For instance, if you plan to trade 1 lot on the EURUSD with a bid-ask spread of 1.0 pips, you would have to pay $10 just to open such a trade (1.0 pip spread x $10 pip value for 1 lot). And if your account balance is just $100, then your free margin would be $90. But since the pip value is $10, it would take just a 9-pip move in the EURUSD against your position for you to lose your free margin.
If this were to happen, you would receive a margin call to either deposit additional funds or to close out your position. And if you choose to do neither and the market continues to move against you, an automatic stop-out may be triggered.
Starting with such small amounts only makes sense when trading with mini or micro lots. Where a standard lot has 100,000 units, a mini lot has 10,000 units, and a micro lot has only 1,000 units. Accordingly, the pip value is $10 for a standard lot, $1 for a mini lot, and $0.1 for a micro lot.
Learn more about Best Cent account and Best Micro accounts.
Check out our dedicated guide on Best forex trading platforms.
Discover our list of Best brokers with low spreads.
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.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.