A Complete Guide How to Find the Best Forex Broker
Finding the best forex broker depends on what you need.
As you already know, trading in forex involves a lot more than just buying and selling the currency. This explains why there are so many unlicensed or fraudulent brokers out there. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to find one that fits your needs and requirements. There are, in fact, a lot of good agencies that really care about helping their customers. The only challenge is sifting through all the chaff to find these gems.
Reliability and Regulation
Reliability
When choosing an online trading platform, you should always look at the reliability of the broker. A reliable Forex broker will have a good reputation in the industry, have been around for several years, and have an impeccable track record of delivering on their promises. The best way to evaluate reliability is by reading reviews from other traders who have used this particular broker in the past.
Regulation
The other factor that is important when choosing a forex broker is regulation. There are two types of regulators that regulate Forex brokers: onshore regulators and offshore regulators. Onshore regulators are those who regulate brokers based in their own countries, such as Japan, Australia, or New Zealand, whereas offshore regulators do not have any geographical limitations for regulating brokers based anywhere in the world, such as CySEC (the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission), FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority), ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission), etc.
Trading Costs
The trading costs of a forex broker are an important factor to consider when choosing a broker. This is because the cost of trading is usually directly related to the size of your trades, meaning that if you trade more frequently or in larger volumes, your trading costs will be higher.
The trading costs are expressed as a percentage of the amount traded and are calculated by taking into account the spread between two currencies and any other fees that may be applied by the broker. The spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of a currency pair, so it will always be greater than zero.
Platforms and Tools
The first thing you need to know about platforms is that they’re not all created equal. Some brokers use proprietary platforms, while others rely on third-party solutions. If you have any particular preferences as far as the type of platform you want to use, make sure to check this out before signing up for an account.
The second thing to consider is what tools and features are available on the platform itself. Most brokers offer basic features like stop-loss orders and margin trading, but some provide more advanced tools that can help improve your trading experience. These include alerts for price movements, news feeds from top news sources, real-time charts, and analysis tools that show how specific currencies are performing in relation to each other over time (known as “technical analysis”).
Demo Account
A demo account is a great way to test out a forex broker. It’s an online demo account of a real-life trading platform that you can use to practice your trading skills without risking any money.
A demo account is a virtual trading platform that lets you trade with fake money. You can open and close trades, learn how to use the platform’s features, test out strategies and indicators, and see what works for you. If you want to test out the system before you commit real money, this is a great way to do that!
Demo accounts are free to use, but because some brokers offer more features than others, it’s best to check out all the available options before making your final decision.
Customer Service
You can find a lot of useful information about your broker’s customer service on their website. You should look for links to the contact form, telephone number, email address, and live chat.
It is important to note that not all brokers have their own contact forms, and some of them may redirect you to a generic email address. If this is the case, don’t worry! You can still reach them via email or phone call.
The best way to find out how good their customer service is is by reading reviews online. You can also ask other traders about their experiences with the broker’s customer service team.
Commission and Fees
Commissions and fees are important, but they’re not the only thing you should consider when choosing a forex broker. Different brokers charge different rates for their services, so it’s important to find one that’s right for your needs.
Commission: The commission is what you pay when you trade with your forex broker. Typically, this amount is a percentage of the amount of currency you trade (for example, 1% of $1,000). Some brokers charge per transaction, while others charge monthly or yearly fees instead.
Fees: Fees vary widely among forex brokers and include commissions, spreads (the difference between buy and sell prices), rollovers (when an open position is closed at a profit or loss), margin interest rates, and overnight funding costs.
The Deposit and Withdrawal Options
It’s important to look at the deposit and withdrawal options when you’re choosing a forex broker. There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is that it will affect your ability to use the account. You may want to move your money quickly into or out of your account, or you may want to make multiple deposits or withdrawals over time.
Some brokers offer different types of accounts that have different deposit and withdrawal options. For example, some may allow you to make a deposit using a credit card, while others don’t allow them at all. Some brokers will let you set up an automatic transfer between two accounts so that you don’t have to manually transfer money every time you want to move it around. These all come down to personal preference when choosing which broker is right for you!
Leverage and Margin
Leverage and margin are two common terms that you’ll hear when it comes to forex trading. They’re both used to describe the amount of money you can borrow from your broker in order to purchase more currency than you have on hand.
If you use leverage, your broker will lend you money so that you can buy more currency than you actually have in your account. You pay interest on this loan, which is usually calculated as a percentage of the amount borrowed. The higher the leverage, the more expensive it becomes for you to trade. So if you trade with 100:1 leverage, for example, and buy $10,000 worth of currency, an additional $9,000 of funds will be borrowed from your broker and added to your account balance. This increased amount is known as the “margin.”
Margin enables traders to take on larger positions than they would otherwise be able to afford by borrowing money from their brokers. However, since margin increases risk exposure by increasing potential losses if prices move against them quickly or sharply (known as negative price action), some traders prefer not to use it at all, while others only do so in small amounts over time until they become comfortable using leverage effectively without risking too much money at once.
To conclude, finding the best forex broker takes some effort, even if it seems like an easy task at first.
This article went through all the main steps when it comes to picking your best forex broker. The fundamentals are quite important, and they will provide a solid foundation for building a profitable trading strategy. It is critical to remember that mileage may vary during the process of locating the best platform provider. There may be some adjustments necessary, but the above steps should help you deliver the best results.
IC Markets & Tickmill
BROKER: | REVIEW: | ADVANTAGES: | FREE ACCOUNT: |
---|---|---|---|
1. IC Markets |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
|
2. Tickmill |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
Pepperstone & Capital.com
BROKER: | REVIEW: | ADVANTAGES: | FREE ACCOUNT: |
1. PEPPERSTONE |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
|
2. Capital.com |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
Top FX & HFM
BROKER: | REVIEW: | ADVANTAGES: | FREE ACCOUNT: |
1. TOP FX |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
|
2.HFM |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
AMarkets & FXTM
BROKER: | REVIEW: | ADVANTAGES: | FREE ACCOUNT: |
1. AMARKETS |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
|
2.FXTM |
(5 / 5) ➔ Read the review |
# Spreads from 0.0 pips # No commissions # Best platform for beginners # No hidden fees # More than 6,000 markets |
wdt_ID | # | Broker | Website | Forex Broker | Year | Regulation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Open an Account | FBS | 2.009 | IFSC, CySEC, ASIC, FSCA | |
2 | 2 | Open an Account | EXNESS | 2.008 | CySEC, FCA | |
3 | 3 | Open an Account | OCTA FX | 2.008 | SVG | |
4 | 4 | Open an Account | INSTA FOREX | 2.007 | VI FSC, CySec | |
5 | 5 | Open an Account | FX OPEN | 2.008 | CySEC, FCA | |
6 | 6 | Open an Account | AXI | 2.008 | CySEC, FCA | |
7 | 7 | Open an Account | FX PRIMUS | 2.008 | CySEC, FCA | |
8 | 8 | Open an Account | HFM | 2.010 | CySEC, FSC, FSB, FCA, BaFin, DFSA | |
9 | 9 | Open an Account | FXTM | 2.011 | CySEC, FCA, IFSC | |
10 | 10 | Open an Account | JUST FOREX | 2.012 | IFSC | |
11 | 11 | Open an Account | CAPITAL.COM | 2.016 | FCA, FSA, ASIC, and CySec | |
12 | 12 | Open an Account | TASTY WORKS | 2.017 | CySEC, FCA | |
13 | 13 | Open an Account | MOOMOO | 2.018 | FINRA & SEC, SFC, MAS, ASIC | |
14 | 14 | Open an Account | AVATRADE | 2.006 | MiFiD, CBI, FSA, ASIC, SFB, BVI, ADGM, FSRA, CySEC | |
15 | 15 | Open an Account | EASY MARKETS | 2.001 | CySEC, MiFID, ASIC | |
16 | 16 | Open an Account | EIGHT CAP | 2.009 | ASIC, VFSC | |
17 | 17 | Open an Account | FP MARKETS | 2.007 | CySEC, ASIC, FSA | |
18 | 18 | Open an Account | HYCM | 1.977 | CySEC, FCA, MiFID, DFSA, SFC | |
19 | 19 | Open an Account | ICMARKETS | 2.007 | CySEC, ASIC, FSA | |
20 | 20 | Open an Account | IRON FX | 2.010 | FCA, ASIC, FSCA, CySEC | |
21 | 21 | Open an Account | LITE FINANCE | 2.007 | CySEC | |
22 | 22 | Open an Account | REVOLUT | 2.015 | CySEC | |
23 | 23 | Open an Account | IG | 1.974 | ASIC, JFSA, MAS, FINMA, FCA, FMA, CFTC | |
24 | 24 | Open an Account | MONETA MARKETS | 2.009 | ASIC, FCA | |
25 | 25 | Open an Account | AMARKETS | 2.007 | The Financial Commission | |
26 | 26 | Open an Account | PEPPERSTONE | 2.010 | CYSEC, BAFIN, CMA, SCB, DFSA, ASIC, FCA | |
27 | 27 | Open an Account | PLUS 500 | 2.008 | CySEC, ASIC, FMA, FSCA | |
28 | 28 | Open an Account | TICKMILL | 2.014 | FCA UK, CySEC, FSA Seychelles | |
29 | 29 | Open an Account | TMGM | 2.013 | ASIC, FMA | |
30 | 30 | Open an Account | TOP FX | 2.010 | FCA | |
31 | 31 | Open an Account | TRADE NATION | 2.014 | FCA | |
32 | 32 | Open an Account | TRADE 360 | 2.013 | CySEC | |
33 | 33 | Open an Account | VANTAGE | 2.009 | CIMA, SIBL | |
34 | 34 | Open an Account | VT MARKETS | 2.015 | ASIC, CIMA | |
35 | 35 | Open an Account | XM | 2.009 | ASIC, CySEC, IFSC | |
# | Broker | Website | Forex Broker | Year | Regulation |