The global foreign exchange (forex) market is the largest and most actively traded financial market in the world. Both beginners and experienced traders seeking out a solid forex broker would be wise to investigate the trading experience, the breadth and depth of product offerings (currencies, contract for differences (CFDs), indexes, commodities, spread betting, cryptocurrencies, etc.), fees (including spreads and commissions), trading platform(s) (web-based, downloadable software, mobile, charting, and third-party platforms), customer support, trading education and research, and trustworthiness.
We research and reviewed dozens of forex brokers to help you decide which broker is right for your needs.
The global foreign exchange market (forex) is volatile. It's important to use caution when entering the forex market and make sure you have a solid understanding of the currencies, derivatives, commodities, cryptocurrencies, spreads, and other offerings in which you wish to trade.
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CMC Markets (CMC), founded in , is a well-established, publicly traded, and highly regarded U.K. forex broker that has successfully adapted to the ever-changing online brokerage landscape. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol CMCX. Like many forex brokers, CMC does not accept U.S. traders.
CMC Markets is for all types of traders, from the novice retail trader looking to dip their toes into the online trading of forex, CFDs, and spread betting, to the experienced veteran seeking exposure to a broad array of products. The firm's fees are competitive within the industry.
Extensive range of offerings
Regulated by FCA (U.K.)
Emphasis on education and customer service
Industry-leading research amenities
Offers protection for client accounts
Does not accept U.S. clients
Differences between Next Generation and MT4
High CFD spreads for certain indices
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London Capital Group (LCG), founded in , has continued to keep pace in the highly competitive online brokerage space. The company rebranded in with the launch of LCG Trader. This coupled with the ubiquitous MT4 (downloadable) platform and a functional mobile application, comprises LCG's online consumer offerings. LCG provides access to a broad selection of CFDs and spread betting instruments across several different asset classes. Like most others on this list, LCG does not accept U.S. traders.
As one of the major U.K.-based forex brokers, LCG offers a wide range of asset classes and a seamless trading experience. The firm's fees are competitive within the industry and it ranks high on our list for customer service. With these positive attributes along with its apparent focus on functional simplicity, LCG is well-suited to beginning traders. Although you don't have to be a beginner to benefit from its offerings, LCG is hard to beat if you are just starting out.
Emphasis on customer service
Regulated by FCA (U.K.)
Offers protection for client accounts
Does not accept U.S. clients
Differences between LCG trader and MT4
No back-testing or automated trading capabilities
Denmark's Saxo Bank Group (Saxo Bank), founded in , classifies itself as "a leading Fintech specialist that connects people to investment opportunities in global capital markets." The company launched as one of the first online trading platforms in Saxo Bank has operated in the United Kingdom since through its subsidiary Saxo Capital Markets U.K. Ltd (SCML) and, like many forex brokers, it doesn't accept U.S. traders.
Saxo Capital Markets is for the advanced trader. It offers a broad variety of brokerage services geared towards sophisticated active traders, investors, professionals, and institutions. Smaller account holders may be disappointed by higher account minimums, a variety of fees, and fewer customer support options. Tiered accounts offer lower trading costs and added benefits as equity grows, but the majority of retail traders will have a tough time reaching the higher customer tiers.
Extensive range of offerings
Regulated by FCA (U.K.)
Forex-specific research
Superior user interface
Offers protection for client accounts
Lack of emphasis on customer service
Confusing instrument fee structures
Does not accept U.S. clients
No MT4
Founded in as Poland's first leveraged foreign exchange brokerage house, X-Trade morphed into X-Trade Brokers in to comply with new Polish regulations. The company went public in , listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol XTB, and it was rebranded as XTB Online Trading (XTB) in The firm does not accept U.S. traders.
XTB is a solid choice for traders who want to minimize their costs, whether it be the inherent cost of placing a trade (bid/ask spread) or not having to be burdened with extraneous costs, such as wire fees. XTB offers maximum leverage of up to for non-U.K. accounts while U.K. accounts get up to leverage. The firm places an emphasis on customer support and offers relevant educational tools and research amenities that would be well-suited to a novice trader.
Low FX spreads
Regulated by FCA (U.K.)
Offers protection for client accounts
Emphasis on customer service
Does not accept U.S. clients
Non-FX spread costs are high
IG Group (IG), founded in by Stuart Wheeler as the world’s first spread betting firm, is part of IG Group Holdings plc, a publicly traded (LSE: IGG) conglomerate. Unlike most brokers on this list, IG does accept U.S. forex traders, which has been the case since early when the company re-entered the U.S. market.
Globally, IG is for anyone wanting to trade CFDs. In the U.S., it's for clients who want to trade the foreign exchange markets. It's as simple as that. To deliver on this successfully, IG has adopted the time-honored adage, "go big or go home" because it can. Low spread costs, an emphasis on customer service and education, actionable research, and functional user interfaces make this broker well-suited to compete in the online forex broker market.
Extensive range of offerings
Accepts U.S. clients
Regulated by FCA (U.K.) and CFTC, NFA (U.S.)
Emphasis on education and research
Offers protection for U.K./E.U. client accounts
No copy trading or back-testing integration on IG platform
High share-CFD fees
Since opening its doors in , Australia-based Pepperstone Group has emerged as a top-tier player in the online brokerage landscape, building a highly competitive and full-featured trading portal that focuses on forex, shares, indices, metals, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
Pepperstone offers uncomplicated access to the markets, which allows clients to focus on the complicated task of successfully trading the markets. Pepperstone is ideally suited to traders who want a manageable range of low-cost offerings, multiple choices of user interfaces and account types, and efficient customer support.
Low FX spreads
Regulated by FCA (U.K.)
Offers protection for U.K. client accounts
Range of platform offerings
Does not accept U.S. clients
Limited account protection for non-U.K./E.U. clients
No guaranteed stop loss
Choosing the right forex broker is important. Investors should seek out a broker that offers reasonable fees, a user-friendly interface, exceptional customer service, and a breadth of offerings. CMC Market is our top pick, but your needs may be better-suited by another forex broker on our list.
Forex (or FX) trading entails trading currencies, contract for differences (CFDs), indexes, commodities, spread betting, cryptocurrencies, and more on the global foreign exchange market, the largest and most liquid asset market in the world.
In the forex markets, currencies trade against each other as exchange rate pairs. The EUR/USD would be a currency pair for trading the euro against the U.S. dollar, for example.
The forex markets exist as spot markets, as well as derivatives markets, offering forwards, futures, options, and currency swaps.
Investors trade in the forex markets as a hedge against international currency and interest rate risk, as a means to speculate on geopolitical events, and to diversify their portfolios, among other reasons.
Forex trading can be complicated, but it's certainly possible for beginning investors to diversify their portfolios by trading currencies and other forex assets. It would be wise to exercise caution and take the time to educate yourself on the assets in which you wish to trade. There's a wealth of education and research resources available through a number of forex trading platforms, so take the time to avail yourself of this information.
First and foremost, do your research. Beginning investors should avail themselves of the wealth of research and educational resources available through trading platforms and sites like Investopedia.
Next, compare forex brokers, choose one that suits your trading needs, and open an account.
Then you'll want to build out your strategy for trading in the forex markets.
Finally, open, monitor, and close your first position. And you've successfully become a forex trader.
You can start with as little as $ in most cases, but it's important to note that forex trades are made in standard lots of , units of currency. This may require you to invest more than $
The range of products offered by forex brokers varies, and you'll want to choose a broker that provides a wider range of tradeable offerings, including currency pairs, indexes, commodities, shares, and cryptocurrencies, among others.
We research and reviewed more than a dozen forex brokers based on the breadth of products offered; fees, including spreads and commissions; the ease-of-use of the platform; training and educational resources; customer support; regulatory safeguards; trustworthiness; and more. All of these factors were weighted based on their importance to users.
Investopedia is dedicated to providing traders and investors with unbiased, comprehensive reviews and ratings of online brokers. Our reviews are the result of several months of evaluating all aspects of an online broker’s platform, including the trading experience, the quality of trade executions, the products available on their platforms, costs and fees, security, the mobile experience and customer service. We established a rating scale based on our criteria, collecting thousands of data points that we weighed into our star scoring system.
In addition, every broker we surveyed was asked to fill out a comprehensive survey about all aspects of their platform that we used in our testing.
Our team of industry experts conducted our reviews and developed this best-in-industry methodology for ranking online platforms for users at all levels. Click here to read our full methodology.
Results for the eunic-brussels.eu Annual Awards are unbiased and determined by our own independent research; Broker Awards are bestowed based on demonstrated excellence in categories considered important to investors, traders, and consumers.
After gathering and validating thousands of data points across + important variables, poring over our collected quantitative data, and factoring in the qualitative observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers, we are proud to announce the top three forex brokers of
Company | Overall Rating | Minimum Deposit | Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | Visit Site |
IG | £ | info |
Regulated and trusted across the globe, IG offers traders the ultimate package of excellent trading and research tools, industry-leading education, comprehensive market research, and an extensive list of tradeable products. This fantastic all-round experience makes IG the best overall broker in
Company | Overall Rating | Minimum Deposit | Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | Visit Site |
Interactive Brokers | $0 | info |
Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. It delivers competitive fees and high-quality research and education, as well as a modern, institutional-grade trading platform suite.
Company | Overall Rating | Minimum Deposit | Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | Visit Site |
Saxo Bank | $0 | info |
Saxo Bank has recently lowered the minimum deposit requirement for its entry-level Classic account to $0, making it easier for a wider range of traders to access its excellent trading platforms, phenomenal research, and 70,+ tradeable instruments.
We've conducted thorough testing of the best trading platforms offered by dozens of the top forex brokers in the industry. Of the 60+ brokers that we've evaluated, we've selected our top picks for brokers that provide the best trading platform experience and listed them below (click on the broker's name if you want to read our full-length broker review):
A forex broker is a company that is licensed (or considered exempt) by a national regulator to grant you — as a retail or professional client — the ability to buy or sell foreign currencies, by way of an online trading platform or over the phone (known in the industry as voice broking). A forex broker may offer you the underlying currency, or a non-deliverable spot contract or derivative such as a contract for difference (CFD) depending on any relevant country-specific regulatory restrictions. It's important to only use brokers that are properly regulated to reduce your risk of being scammed.
Yes, to trade forex you'll need to use a forex broker. You'll need to open an account and deposit enough collateral (margin) to enable you to place orders with your broker to buy or sell forex.
The forex broker's job is to execute your orders — either internally by acting as the principal to your trade (market maker execution) or by sending your orders to another market, thus acting as your agent (agency execution).
Your broker should be regulated and properly licensed in your country of residence (or in a major financial center). We’ve included a few important questions that are worth asking to help determine if your forex broker is trustworthy:
securityFind a trustworthy broker:
eunic-brussels.eu’s proprietary Trust Score ranks forex brokers based on their reliability and overall trust. We evaluate and track dozens international regulatory agencies; click here to learn more about Trust Score.
The specific amount of money you’ll need for trading forex will depend on multiple factors, such as your personal financial situation, your trading goals, and your tolerance (or appetite) for risk.
Beginner forex traders might start trading forex with as little as $, while it’s not uncommon for professional day traders to have six or even seven-figure trading accounts. If you are a beginner, you’ll first need to determine if forex trading is suitable for you. Check out our guide to trading forex for beginners here.
The next step will be deciding on your trading budget. This is especially important given the risks involved in trading forex from a margin account. Forex brokers typically offer a range of contract sizes so you can fine-tune the size of your trade – which will determine how much risk you are taking for a given profit target.
A micro account with a low margin requirement would make it possible to trade forex and test a trading strategy with as little as $ of risk capital. In this case, your potential risk will be limited – but so will your potential rewards. Trading forex with a small amount of risk capital can let you test a new investment methodology, or allow beginner traders who are new to forex trading to learn by trial and error without “breaking the bank.”
Regardless of your trading budget, you'll need to choose a dependable method for depositing and withdrawing funds for your live trading account. PayPal has grown in popularity as a way to fund forex trading accounts, due to its extensive international presence and wide range of supported currencies. Head over to our guide to the best PayPal forex brokers to learn more about using PayPal to fund your account, and to see our list of the best forex brokers that accept PayPal.
percent Pro tip:
For most beginners, trading forex with an amount of capital that you can afford to lose can be a great way to learn with less risk, and can be of value if you focus on the percentage returns rather than their dollar value.
IG took first place for our Annual Awards as the best overall forex broker, with available currency pairs and the ability to trade CFDs and forex options, traders have plenty of choices. IG holds nearly a dozen regulatory licenses (and holds the distinction of being the only forex broker regulated in both Switzerland and the U.S.); simply put, IG is one of the most trusted brokers in the industry.
IC Markets is the largest forex broker by trading volume, with over $ billion in forex trading volume in the third quarter of alone, according to data compiled by Finance Magnates. IC Markets is also well-known as an excellent option for algorithmic traders due to its great pricing and execution. Check out our full-length review of IC Markets, and algo traders (or traders who want to learn about HFT systems) can check out our popular guide to high-frequency trading.
expand What does it mean to be the biggest forex broker?
What can be considered the largest forex broker may vary depending on the time period used to measure size. Important factors to consider when gauging the size of a forex broker are the assets under management, number of clients, and market capitalization (valuation for public companies).
Here are the top 10 brokers by forex and CFD trading volume according to data compiled by Finance Magnates during the third quarter of (data excludes Japan due to the abnormally high trading volumes known to come from Japanese brokers):
CMC Market's Next Generation platform comes with a massive selection of nearly 10, tradeable instruments. It delivers a terrific user experience, as well as advanced tools, comprehensive market research, and an excellent mobile app. Hands down, the CMC Markets Next Generation trading platform is a market leader that will impress even the pickiest of traders. The new Dynamic Trading tool allows you to place multiple trades simultaneously, which was a nice innovation by CMC Markets this year.
smartphone Mobile forex trading
If you're a fan of mobile platforms – or trading forex on the go – see our picks for best forex trading apps here.
What do you value most in a forex broker? Maybe you want to trade forex on the go. You might be looking for the most cost-effective forex brokers. Or maybe you are a beginner forex trader who is just getting started.
With a wide range of forex brokers comes a wide variety of features and specialties. To help you find the best forex broker for what you’re looking for, we’ve listed our top picks for some of the most sought-after features in the forex industry.
Saxo Bank offers the most tradeable CFDs in the industry, with a staggering 60,+ tradeable symbols available. CFDs, or "contracts for difference," enable traders to speculate whether the price of a stock, forex pair, market index, or commodity will go up or down without taking ownership of the underlying asset. If you’d like to learn more about how CFDs work (and to see our picks for the best CFD trading platforms), check out our full-length guide to the Best CFD Brokers and Trading Platforms.
Alongside nearly 10, CFDs, CMC Markets offers the most tradeable currency pairs, with pairs that can be quoted both ways (i.e. EUR/USD or USD/EUR), which comes to a total of pairs.
As a highly-trusted and regulated global brand, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) provides everything professional traders might need, from advanced trading tools and platform features to competitive pricing across a wide variety of markets, as well as connectivity to over global exchanges. In addition to competitive spreads and low commission-based pricing for forex, Interactive Brokers provides more third-party research than any other broker.
Interactive Brokers continues to innovate its platform offering, such as with its new Impact app for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, alongside the related Impact dashboard available in its Trader Workstation (TWS) desktop and WebTrader platforms.
Professional client status: In today's highly regulated forex world, traders who want to maximize their margin leverage must apply and obtain ESMA's professional client status with their broker. Traders designated as Professionals in the EU do not receive negative balance protection and other consumer safety mechanisms such as eligibility for compensation schemes in the event of a broker's insolvency.
biotech Methodology:
To determine the best forex brokers for professional traders, we broke down each broker's active trading program, and compared all available rebates, tiers, and all-in costs. Trading platforms were then tested for the quality and availability of advanced trading tools frequently used by professionals.
Here are three of the most important factors to keep in mind when choosing an online broker for forex trading.
compare_arrowsCompare and choose:
Not sure how to go about choosing a forex broker? Check out our Forex Broker Compare Tool to compare dozens of the biggest forex brokers in the industry and analyze their top tools and features. Our Compare Tool is fed by data gathered by our expert researchers for our forex broker reviews, so you can feel confident you have the most up-to-date information at your fingertips.
It’s important to make sure that your forex broker is well-trusted and properly regulated in order to avoid forex scams. To see an intuitive, comprehensive list of highly regarded regulatory agencies, check out our Trust Score page. Also, be sure to check out our in-depth reviews of forex brokers – we detail the regulatory status of each individual forex broker across the international forex landscape.
We’ve also put together a step-by-step guide to help you determine if your forex broker is well-regulated:
Now that you've seen our picks for the best forex brokers, check out the eunic-brussels.eu Overall Rankings. We've evaluated over 60 forex brokers, using a testing methodology that's based on + data-driven variables and thousands of data points. Check out our full-length, in-depth forex broker reviews.
No matter what market you trade, you can only access the financial markets through a broker. They connect forex retail market participants with to liquidity providers.
For that purpose, there are two types of brokers: A Book broker and B Book broker. Most brokers use a mix of both models, but its essential to know how each works and what that means for you as a trader.
Let’s get to it.
An A-Book broker operates on whats called a no dealing desk model. This means that when you place an order to trade a currency pair, say GBP/USD, the broker sends your order to a liquidity provider, like a bank. This liquidity provider matches your trade with an opposite side trade.
The A-Book process is synonymous with a traditional brokerage role. A facilitator of transactions, sort of. They offer you a direct and reliable connection to the global forex market through STP (Straight Through Processing) or ECN (Electronic Communication Network) accounts.
ECN accounts route your orders directly to the interbank market, where the orders get filled. An STP account, on the other hand, often has more than one liquidity provider. These liquidity providers can be other the interbank market, STP brokers, or even ECN brokers.
Usually, the A Book broker does this with fairly competitive bid-ask spreads.
These are some of the advantages of A-Book Brokers:
Here are some of the disadvantages of the A-Book Model:
A-Book forex brokers make their profits via a small mark up on the spread/commission that you directly pay when placing trading orders. Assume the spread from the liquidity provider is 3 pips, your A Book broker may list it on their platform as 4 pips, guaranteeing them a 1 pip profit. Therefore, the more you trade, the more they will make.
They obviously want your trading account to be active – they don’t care if you are winning or losing; all they want is that your trading volume will be as high.
Think of a real estate broker or a stockbroker. They source the deal and, in return, earn a commission. It’s the same with A-Book brokers.
When placing a trade via a B-Book broker, they fill your trade in house. Forget the bank. You’re now buying directly from the supplier. So, a B-Book forex broker can be best described as a market maker who is responsible for always providing execution and paying the differences (losses or profits) to their clients.
Heres what a B-Book execution looks like:
Some people will say that this execution model generates conflicts between the client and the broker. However, there are some advantages to trading via B-Book brokers. This includes very competitive spreads (sometimes as low as zero), fast execution, and the ability to get an execution on all instruments (including exotic currency pairs).
By betting against you.
Yes, really.
In the B-Book model, brokers make money when traders lose. They provide the prices, bear the market risks, and manage trades using their capital. Thats why theyre called market maker brokers or dealing desk brokers. They balance their books by hoping that losing trades will cover the winning trades they must pay out.
May sound crazy, but thats how the inner workings of the brokerage industry operate.
What B-Book brokers have going for them is that they can offer better trade execution prices because they can immediately fill orders, which can be seen as beneficial to the trader.
Here are some advantages of B-Book Brokers:
These are some of the drawbacks of using B-Book models:
As a trader, its not about labeling one model as good and the other as bad, but rather understanding which model aligns with your trading strategy. Its about focusing on the price and execution quality you receive from your broker.
Some traders are uncomfortable with the idea of a broker benefiting from their losses, and its understandable. You know, the broker may start getting some unscrupulous ideas.
However, this is part of the Forex trading ecosystem, and both broker models can coexist with your strategy as long as you are informed and choose the broker that fits your trading needs the best.
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GBE brokers is a fully licensed and regulated CFD broker that has assembled a young and professional team with significant banking and financial market experience. The right to a fair and direct communication with clients, employees and partners is part of our understanding of honesty and transparency
With our experience, competence and focus on the needs of our traders, we continuously improve our processes, the scope of our services and our product portfolios. Our vision to make online trading more accessible to private individuals has already been successfully implemented and GBE brokers is now one of the strongest CFD providers in Germany.
Never before has it been more important for private traders to have an experienced and trustworthy broker at their side who understands the needs and concerns of their clients and implements them accordingly. With our strong German branch in the port of Hamburg, we have a common gateway to the world. Due to the Hanseatic background, the protection of our online traders is very important to us. Our customers are offered this security by the regulatory authorities CySEC and BaFin. We concentrate especially on German-speaking private clients as well as institutional clients with an international focus who want to trade Forex and CFDs with us. Our experienced management team, the clear ownership structure and many operational units are firmly in German hands.
You can be sure that a personal support person with a great deal of profound expert knowledge will be at your side so that you can trade confidently with us.
Forex trading is an exciting and profitable venture for many people. However, with the vast number of forex brokers available, it can be challenging to identify a reputable one. A B book broker is one type of forex broker that can be difficult to identify. In this article, we will take a closer look at what a B book broker is and how to identify one.
A B book broker is a type of forex broker that operates on a dealer model. This means that the broker takes on the risk of trades made by their clients instead of passing the risk onto a liquidity provider. The broker will typically hedge their risk by taking the opposite position to that of their clients. For example, if a client buys EUR/USD, the broker will sell EUR/USD. This allows the broker to profit from the spread and the commission charged on each trade.
B book brokers are also known as market makers. This is because they create a market for their clients by providing liquidity. They do this by taking the opposite side of their clients trade. As a result, B book brokers are often accused of trading against their clients.
There are several risks associated with using a B book broker. These risks include conflicts of interest, lack of transparency, and potentially higher trading costs.
B book brokers have a conflict of interest as they take on the risk of their clients trades. This means that they may be motivated to trade against their clients to maximize their profits. This can lead to biased advice and recommendations that do not necessarily benefit the client.
B book brokers are not required to disclose how they operate their business. This means that clients may not be aware of the risks associated with trading with a B book broker. This lack of transparency can lead to mistrust and suspicion between the broker and their clients.
B book brokers make their money from the spread and commissions charged on each trade. As a result, their trading costs may be higher than those of other brokers. This is because they need to cover their hedging costs and other expenses associated with operating a market-making business.
Identifying a B book broker can be challenging, but there are some signs to look out for. These include:
B book brokers typically do not offer ECN/STP accounts. This is because they operate a dealer model and take on the risk of their clients trades. ECN/STP accounts allow clients to trade directly with liquidity providers, which is not possible with a B book broker.
B book brokers typically charge higher spreads and commissions than other brokers. This is because they need to cover their hedging costs and other expenses associated with operating a market-making business.
B book brokers typically do not offer negative balance protection. This means that clients can lose more than their account balance if their trades go against them. This can lead to significant losses and financial ruin.
B book brokers typically do not disclose how they operate their business. This can lead to mistrust and suspicion between the broker and their clients.
Identifying a B book broker can be a challenge, but it is essential to do so to avoid the risks associated with trading with one. Look out for signs such as lack of ECN/STP accounts, high spreads and commissions, no negative balance protection, and lack of transparency. By being vigilant and doing your research, you can avoid the risks associated with trading with a B book broker and find a reputable forex broker that meets your trading needs.
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