As a trader from Pakistan, I know that finding a reliable broker is not an easy task. There are many restrictions, like a lack of local payments and assets that are compliant with Shariah (Muslim law). Many global brokers and platforms prohibit access to Pakistani residents due to unstable economic conditions. Even with all these restrictions, many Pakistanis are interested in trading forex and CFDs.
Reviewing brokers since 2011, we at FXEmpire have built a comprehensive rating system to evaluate brokers that goes into great depth and covers over 250 parameters and features of a broker. To choose the top brokers for Pakistani traders, I made sure they are available in my country and provide localized services.
I also tested the full trading experience myself: opened the live accounts, placed trades, and assessed trading conditions (spreads, commissions, slippage, regulations, etc.). One thing I put a good weight on was the range of tradable instruments and payment methods to see whether deposits and withdrawals in Pakistani Rupees (PKR) are supported.
*AvaTrade doesn’t allow CFD trading in Spain; only Futures are available.
Applying FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology, our team of experts has identified the best forex brokers in Pakistan for this year.
Now let’s explore the selected brokers.
I think Exness is really the best overall broker from every perspective and stands out as one of the top and well-established brokers. It has been around since 2008 and is based in Cyprus. It has multiple regulations (FCA (UK), CySEC, CBCS (Curacao), and FSA (Seychelles). It also provides great flexibility to trade around 300 instruments using MT4 and MT5. Exness runs its own proprietary platform, the Exness Terminal, which is where it really differentiates itself.
Regional Features:
I love how impressive the Exness platform is; it comes with an intuitive interface that enables one-click trading, customizable watchlists, and charts from TradingView. It is available on the web and mobile. The sentiment indicator on the trading ticket helps understand how many Exness clients are long or short on the market. This can be useful to help identify overbought and oversold conditions.
My live test showed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.9 (slightly better than the industry spread of 1.08) pips during London and New York sessions. Exness also provides research content, Trading Central, daily commentary, and signals.
Founded in 2007, IC Markets is considered the go-to forex broker for low spreads and fast execution. Regulated by CySEC, ASIC, FSA, CMA, and SCB, IC Markets offers ECN pricing and trade execution with NY4 data servers. It also provides ultra-low spreads, fast execution, and a zero requote policy.
Regional Features:
My live fee test showed that the spread for EUR/USD during the London and New York trading sessions averaged 0.65 pips, beating the 1.08 pips industry average for a commission-free account. You can access even lower spreads with the IC Markets Raw Spread trading account, which has a commission of USD 3.50 per lot per side, which is in line with the industry average.
Over 2,250 tradable instruments are available from the MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView platforms. The cTrader platform works well with IC Markets’ offering as it is specifically designed for high-volume, short-term traders. With IC Markets’ low spreads and ultra-fast execution, it is ideal for short-term traders. The broker also has a zero requote policy and no minimum order distance restriction. This means you can place market orders very close to the market price.
I think FP Markets is really the best broker for professional traders. It was founded in 2005 and is based in Sydney, Australia. FP Markets operates worldwide, including Pakistan. The broker offers ECN pricing and very low spreads and provides great flexibility to trade over 10,000. tradable instruments. The platform range includes (MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, Iress, and Mottai).
Regional Features:
What I really liked about FP Markets and ranked them as best for professional traders, is that it offers an excellent selection of instruments and trading platforms. I personally think TradingView suits beginners (easy to use) and features a large social trading community that shares trade ideas that are really helpful in the start.
As we know, MT4 and MT5 platforms are more suitable for experienced and advanced traders who are focused on technical analysis and algorithmic trading using Expert Advisors (EAs). It also offers cTrader, which is ideal for high-frequency, short-term traders (like scalpers). I personally prefer TradingView for its range of useful features and tools.
To get a real experience of the platform, we performed a live fee test on the Standard Account. I found that the spread for EUR/USD during the most active trading times in the London and New York sessions averaged 1.1 pips, slightly above the industry average of 1.08 pips for a commission-free account. Traders can access lower spreads starting from 0.0 pips on the Raw Account, which charges a commission of 3 USD per lot per side – this is better than the industry average of 3.50 USD.
If you are looking for the best suite of trading apps, Ava Trade is surely the best choice. Founded in 2006 and based in Dublin, AvaTrade operates in more than 150 countries and is regulated by multiple regulators, including FSCA , CBI, BVI FSC, ASIC, ADGM, JFSA, ISA, and CySEC. The broker offers an excellent range of trading platforms and apps, including MT4, MT5, AvaWebTrader, AvaTradeGO, AvaSocial, and AvaOptions.
Regional Features:
AvaTrade provides three flexible proprietary trading apps. AvaTradeGO offers clean charting, access to multiple markets, and sentiment indicators. AvaSocial, created in partnership with Pelican Trading, offers copy trading solutions. AvaOptions allows trading of options contracts on forex pairs – a product I enjoy using. No stop-loss is required when trading options, so this can be advantageous in volatile markets.
My live fee test revealed that the spread for EUR/USD during the most active trading times in the London and New York sessions averaged 0.8 pips, which is better than the industry average of 1.08 pips for a commission-free trading account.
The team of forex and CFD writers and editors at FXEmpire is composed of 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 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.
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.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.