Find the Best Forex Broker for You

You cannot take opening an account and making a deposit with a Forex broker lightly. You are investing some of your money into a brokerage firm in hopes to receive the tools you need to start trading smoothly. The more you choose to deposit, the more careful you have to be with terms and conditions of the broker and the feature it actually provides the clients with. Usually everything is peachy until you need to make a withdrawal!

While reviewing a broker, we pay close attention to the reputation of the brokerage, the general satisfaction of traders you have experience with them, the quality of the regulatory bodies who control the broker's financial transactions and possible mischief.

Secondly, once the reputation has been established, you want to figure out whether a broker gives value for money to its customers in return for the services it provides. This is calculated based on various factors such as the cost of trading, in spreads, commissions, overnight swap rates and other incidental fees. Obviously the more money you deposit, the more you can expect from your broker in return.

After determining the trading conditions and reputation of the firm, our Forex broker reviews focus on each broker and summarize what is offered in terms of trading such as maximum leverage offered, spread and commissions such as fixed or floating, various options in trading platforms and payment methods. Extra things we do mention in the reviews are educational materials, marketing analysis and various bonuses and promotions.

Trading Conditions

A reputable Forex broker must give stable liquidity and smooth execution. This is necessary because you want to have top trading conditions where the slippage is cut to minimum. Spreads can widen during certain time of the day and we do not expect any online broker to be able to provide narrow spreads, for example, just before a major news announcement. However, entering and exiting trades should be easy, without any platform bugs and freezes.

Market Coverage

One of the important question you want to figure out for yourself is which instruments you want to trade. If you are only interested in the major Forex currency pairs - things are easy as pie, since all brokers offer major pairs. What happens when you seek less common commodity? Then you have to seek an online broker that actually offers those. You should keep in mind that the cost of trading exotics is higher than the cost of trading Forex. Also, you might consider opening accounts with two different brokers, as you could find that there is not one perfect solution but there might be two.

Accessibility and Affordability

Some brokers run under regulatory bodies that do not allow residents or citizens of certain countries to open accounts, such as USA. Meaning that you might not even be able to open an account with the broker of your choice.

Minimum deposit requirement also plays important part in the trading game. There are many brokers here requiring a minimum deposit of only $10, and in some cases, just $1 is enough to get started.

Trading Platform

While 10 years ago the only option for trading currency was MetaTrader 4 in its original disguise, today there are countless options for user-friendly, yet efficient trading platforms, which provide flexible and easy access to the financial markets.

Today you can easily find web-based or desktop platforms with quick and easy access to forex market from any computers with an internet connection. Moreover, you can also benefit from mobile trading suitable for trading on the go.

Free Demo Account and Education Resources

Brokers that do not offer sufficient amount of practice time, in my opinion, are not trustworthy. Why should a new trader hurry and open a real account while there is so much learning and practice needed?  

Good forex broker needs to provide free basic trading courses and demo account to practice with enough virtual money and for at least 1 month period (in some cases, demo account is available for unlimited amount of time and that is, of course, the best option of them all). There is no need to rush. Practice makes perfect especially in online investment.

Some brokers go beyond and provide useful guides, tutorials, video explanations and even webinars with professional traders. All of these are great indicators how good your broker really is.

Daily Technical and Fundamental Market Review

One of the important services all professional brokers should offer is fundamental and technical analysis with complete breakdown of major currency pairs, innovative charting tools, economic calendar, technical indicators, current market sentiment, latest economic headlines, news feeds and in some cases even other traders’ activity statistics. Since forex trading is a dynamic investment, time and information is gold!

Advanced Trading Tools

From streaming rates, wide range of currency pairs to choose from, different kind of assets, to high leverage options, single click executions and extensive order types – your forex broker needs to have it all to ensure your success.

The basic order types should include Market Orders, Stop Orders, Entry Orders and Limit Orders.

Some of the advanced orders can have At Market and Market Range, Complex OCO orders, Simple OCO orders and others.

Charts are extremely important for the analysis of the market, therefore your broker must have flexible, readable and accurate charting software with advanced charting tools such as Fibonacci lines and Gann Fanns, and popular pre-loaded indicators. 

Various Expert Advisors

Today you can use expert advisors with most of trading platforms. If you see that your broker doesn’t allow you to use EA, maybe it is time to look for another one. The use of expert advisors should be limitless and unconditional. 

Competitive Spreads on Majors and No Extra Fees

Low spreads on major currency pairs is a must. When I say low, anything higher than 3 pips for EUR/USD is a rip off.

You shouldn’t be charged extra for deposits, withdrawals, trading, rollover or margin calls. The only profit that brokers should be making is from the difference between buy and sell price.

Security of Funds and Personal Information

Your trading account and activity needs to be secured by SSL encryption across the website. The broker also needs to go an extra mile and test their website and trading platform for malicious attacks and fraud. 

Professional Customer Support

You are entitled to receive both technical support and trading guidelines via email, phone and live chat. Brokers that do not provide professional live chat services will definitely lose its place in the competitive environment.  

Various Forex Payment Methods

Deposits and withdrawals should be processed in a fast and simple manner. A broker should also over a selection of payment methods to suit all types of traders. There is no reason why you should be waiting weeks for wire transfer. Today a broker is expected to accept alternative payment methods such as Paypal and Skrill to allow the fastest possible processing times. 

Social Trading Features

Today it is all about socializing and your trading experience should not be an exemption. With millions of traders around the world, social trading is becoming a must. In order to achieve higher profits, today you can follow and copy the activity of successful traders. One of the brokers that offer this innovative feature is eToro. With more than 500,000 registered users, you can copy and share your experience with others and build truly impressive online portfolio. 

Multiple Forex Trading Platforms

No matter which company you choose to trade with and register for, you should always open a demo trading account first and try the platform and the Broker out. This types of practice accounts give you plenty of chance to get to feel the features of the trading platforms and test each Broker individually.

When you don't risk anything while practice trading, you are comfortable to check out the options and settings of each Forex trading platform and truly analyze whether this is the right Forex Broker for you without making any trading mistakes that cost real money.

When you are ready to switch to real account, you will know everything there is about the trading platform of your choice and you will feel comfortable using it and switch to real money Forex trading mode where real profits can be made.

Most brokerages reward the new comers and first time real money deposits with all types of sign up bonus. You can see the recent offers in our featured Forex Brokerage sites comparison tables. The promotions vary from Broker to Broker, so take your time and check out our Top 10 Forex sites for best bonuses and competitions you don't want to miss out.

The success of your currency trading career depends largely on your selection of forex broker. Ever since online trading became one of the most desired investment opportunities, the competition among forex brokers have tripled.

That being said, the expectations among traders have increased as well and in order to keep customers happy, brokers go far and beyond providing not just a gateway to the markets, but also secure, stimulating and dynamic trading environment. 

Who is a broker in Forex?

Forex brokers are firms that provide traders with access to a platform that allows them to buy and sell foreign currencies. Transactions in this market are always between a pair of two different currencies, so forex traders either buy or sell the particular pair they want to trade.

Do I need a broker for Forex?

It is possible for someone to start Forex trading without a broker, and it is because Forex is simply a currency exchange process. You can easily convert Euros to USD with the help of an appropriate bank. It is easier, however, to find a reputable online forex broker to be able to trade from anywhere you are.

How much do forex brokers charge?

With a relative fee, a broker may charge $1 per $100,000 of a currency pairing that is bought or sold. If a trader buys $1,000,000 EURUSD, the broker receives $10 as a commission. If a trader buys $10,000,000 the broker receives $100 as a commission.

How many forex traders are there in the world?

According to to the latest analysis by brokers of the world it is said that there are more than 10 million forex traders online or 1 out of 750 people. Forex market daily floats with more than 5.5 Trillion+ US Dollar $ On weekdays.

Is MetaTrader 4 a broker?

No, MT4 is not a broker. MetaTrader 4, also known as MT4, is an electronic trading platform widely used by online retail foreign exchange speculative traders. It was developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2005. The software is licensed to foreign exchange brokers who provide the software to their clients.

How do Forex brokers cheat traders?

ECN/STP brokers can cheat to make more money. Stop Loss Hunting: Stop loss hunting is a very effective way that market maker brokers use to make the traders lose money. Markups. ECN/STP brokers should only transfer the orders to the liquidity providers (banks). Slippage. Re-quoting. Swap. Leverage.

Are forex brokers honest?

There are quite a number of good honest Forex brokers to choose from. The best Forex brokers at present are listed above in the rating table. We also suggest top brokerages to trade cryptos with.

When you seek a company to sign up with, you want to find the one that gives you everything you need for successful online Fore trading experience. You are welcome to go over our wide list of Fore Brokers compare and read rating and Reviews to choose the right firm for your trading requirements.

Regulation should be an important consideration if trading on the forex market. Whether the regulator is inside, or outside, of Europe is going to have serious consequences on your trading. ESMA (the European Securities and Markets Authority) have imposed strict rules on forex firms regulated in Europe. This includes the following regulators:

CySec (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission)

FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) BaFin – (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht)

Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Switzerland)

ESMA have jurisdiction over all regulators within the EEA

The rules include caps or limits on leverage, and varies on financial products. Forex leverage is capped at 1:30 (Or x30). Outside of Europe, leverage can reach 1:500 (x500).

Outside of Europe, the largest regulators of trading accounts and brokers are:

SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission (US)

CFTC – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US)

CSA – Canadian Securities Administration

ASIC – Australian Securities and Investments Commission

These cover the bulk of countries outside Europe. Forex brokers catering for India, Hong Kong, Qatar etc are likely to have regulation in one of the above, rather than every country they support. Some brands are regulated across the globe (one is even regulated in 5 continents). Some bodies issue licenses, and others have a register of legal firms.

Offshore regulation – such as licensing provided by Vanuatu, Belize and other island nations – is not trust-inspiring. Beyond a nominally available dispute-resolution system, such regulatory coverage offers you no protections.

Among various of options you can find here on the site the Best Brokers listed are fully licensed with at least one recognized authority, meaning that you can trade Forex comfortably and enjoy the security of fully regulated environment. All Brokers listed that are regulated have high standards to meet, therefore are the most reliable for any type of trading demands you might have.

Take your time and browse throughout this website. Our list of brokerages are constantly updated with new Brokers, recent updates, Forex related press releases and news, fraud warnings and more. This is an ultimate resource and complete guide for every curious Forex trading mind!