Best forex brokers

What each of the top ten is good at

One line each, expanded into a full profile further down.

1. IC Markets - Raw spreads from 0.0 pips. Competitive commissions. MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView.
2. TabTrade - Tight FX pricing. Fast execution from Equinix LD5. Up to 1:1000 leverage.
3. Eightcap - Raw spreads from 0.0 pips. MT4, MT5 and TradingView. Fast execution.
4. FxPro - 70+ pairs. Raw spread accounts. MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView.
5. XM - $5 minimum deposit. Competitive pricing. MT4 and MT5.
6. Markets.com - Broad currency selection. Proprietary platform plus MetaTrader. Commission-free.
7. AvaTrade - Strong regulation. Commission-free forex. Excellent platform choice.

What separates one forex broker from another?

Spreads and commissions, execution, the pairs on offer, the platform, and the regulator behind the entity holding your money. The cheapest broker is not automatically the best one, and the fastest is not either.

The pricing splits two ways. Raw and ECN-style accounts quote spreads from 0.0 pips and charge a commission per lot on top. Standard accounts charge no commission and build the broker's margin into a wider spread. Six of the ten here run the first model, four the second, and which is cheaper for you depends entirely on how much you trade.

Pricing and pairs

Pricing and pairs

Broker	FX pairs	Spread from	Commission	All-in EUR/USD	Min. trade
IC Markets9.5	61	0.0 pips	$3.50 per side / $7 round turn (Raw Spread MetaTrader)	Approx. 0.8 pips	0.01 lots
TabTrade9.3	81	0.0 pips	$3.50 per side / $7 round turn (Edge)	Approx. 0.73 pips	0.01 lots
Eightcap9.2	40+	0.0 pips	$3.50 per side / $7 round turn, Raw	Approx. 0.76 pips	0.01 lots
FxPro9.1	70+	0.0 pips	$3.50 per side / $7 round turn	Approx. 1.13 pips	0.01 lots
XM9.1	55+	0.8 pips	$0 on Standard and Ultra Low accounts	Approx. 0.8 pips	0.01 lots
Markets.com9.0	50+	0.6 pips	$0	0.6 pips	0.01 lots
AvaTrade8.9	50+	0.9 pips	$0	0.9 pips	0.01 lots

From our broker records. The all-in figure is our estimate of a EUR/USD round turn on each broker's cheapest standard account, spread and commission together.

The all-in column is the one that answers the question. Six brokers here advertise spreads from 0.0 pips - IC Markets, TabTrade, FxPro, Admirals, Eightcap and, on selected accounts, XM - and once their commission is counted they are not the same price at all.

The order it produces is not the order the headline suggests. eToro, which charges no commission and advertises no zero, comes out cheapest of the ten at about 0.5 pips all in. Plus500 and Markets.com follow at 0.6. Admirals is the cheapest of the raw-account brokers at about 0.7, then TabTrade at 0.73 and Eightcap at 0.76. FxPro, which advertises 0.0 pips as loudly as anyone, is the most expensive here at about 1.13 once its $7 round turn is included.

That is not an argument against raw accounts. It is an argument for adding the commission before comparing, and for checking the spread you are actually quoted at the hour you actually trade rather than the minimum a broker can point to.

How many currency pairs do you actually need?

TabTrade lists 81 forex instruments, Admirals more than 80, FxPro more than 70 and IC Markets 61. At the other end, Eightcap lists more than 40. All ten cover every major pair.

The raw count matters less than it looks. Most forex volume sits in a handful of majors and a few crosses, and a broker with 40 pairs priced well beats one with 90 where the eighty-first is quoted at six pips. The count starts to matter when your strategy needs a specific cross or an emerging-market currency.

Majors, minors and exotics

Majors carry the deepest liquidity and the tightest spreads. Minors are wider but still liquid. Exotics can be several times wider again, and they gap further when news lands - so the EUR/USD pricing a broker advertises tells you very little about what USD/TRY will cost you.

Which trading platform?

Platform matters more in forex than in most markets, because so much of the trading is automated, charted heavily, or both. MetaTrader 4 and 5 remain the default, cTrader is the serious alternative, and TradingView has become a genuine execution venue rather than only a charting tool.

Platforms

Platforms

Broker	MT4	MT5	cTrader	TradingView	Own platform	All platforms
IC Markets9.5	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView
TabTrade9.3	No	Yes	No	No	No	MetaTrader 5
Eightcap9.2	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, TradeLocker
FxPro9.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, FxPro Trading Platform
XM9.1	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, XM App
Markets.com9.0	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Markets.com Web Platform, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5
AvaTrade8.9	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, AvaTrade WebTrader, AvaTrade App, AvaOptions

IC Markets and FxPro have the broadest conventional choice here, both running MetaTrader 4 and 5 alongside cTrader and TradingView. Eightcap pairs MetaTrader with TradingView and TradeLocker.

TabTrade goes the other way and runs MetaTrader 5 alone. Plus500 and eToro run neither MetaTrader nor cTrader: everything happens inside their own platforms, which is simpler to start on and a dead end if you later want Expert Advisors.

MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5?

MT4 survives on its library. Two decades of Expert Advisors and indicators are written in MQL4 and will not run on MT5, so a trader with existing software has a real reason to stay.

Starting from nothing, MT5 is the better platform on every axis that is not backwards compatibility.

How fast is execution, and when does it matter?

The price on screen when you press the button is not always the price you get. The gap is slippage, and it grows with latency, thin liquidity and fast markets.

For most traders it is a rounding error. For scalpers, for anyone running an Expert Advisor, and for anyone trading the minute a central bank speaks, it is the difference between a strategy that works on paper and one that works.

Execution and automation

Execution and automation

Broker	Execution model	Typical speed	Servers	Expert Advisors	API	Copy trading
IC Markets9.5	Market execution	Approx. 35ms on forex	Equinix NY4, New York; Equinix LD5, London	Yes	Yes	Yes
TabTrade9.3	Market execution / ECN-style institutional execution	Under 30ms	Equinix LD5, London	Yes	Yes	Yes
Eightcap9.2	Market execution / STP-style CFD execution	Approx. 30ms	Equinix data-centre infrastructure, including New York and London	Yes	Yes	Yes
FxPro9.1	No dealing desk intervention / market execution	Under 8ms	Equinix LD4, London	Yes	Yes	Yes
XM9.1	Market maker / principal	99% of orders executed in under 1 second	London and global data-centre infrastructure	Yes	No	Yes
Markets.com9.0	Market maker	Under 1 second	Global data-centre infrastructure	Yes	No	No
AvaTrade8.9	Market maker	Instant execution, typically under 1 second	Global data-centre infrastructure	Yes	Yes	Yes

From our broker records. Brokers measure execution differently and publish under favourable conditions, so treat these as an order of magnitude rather than a stopwatch.

The spread is wider than the marketing suggests. FxPro records under 8 milliseconds from Equinix LD4, the fastest here. TabTrade and Eightcap both sit around 30ms, TabTrade from Equinix LD5 and Eightcap across Equinix infrastructure including New York and London. IC Markets averages about 35ms on forex, with MetaTrader at Equinix NY4 and cTrader in London.

Admirals, by contrast, averages around 150 milliseconds on our record - roughly twenty times FxPro's figure. For a swing trader that is invisible. For a scalper it is disqualifying, and it is the sort of thing that never appears in a broker's own comparison table.

The market-maker brokers - AvaTrade, Markets.com, Plus500, eToro - publish sub-second rather than sub-50-millisecond figures, which is a different order of precision and tells you something about who they are built for.

Automation follows the same split. Every MetaTrader broker here supports Expert Advisors; Plus500 supports none, and eToro replaces them with copy trading rather than code.

How much leverage can you actually get?

Less than the headline numbers, almost certainly. Retail clients in Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union are capped at 1:30 on major currency pairs by their regulators, and nine of these ten brokers hold licences that apply that cap to their retail clients.

Higher figures - 1:500, 1:1000 - come from international entities, and whether you can be onboarded to one depends on where you live rather than on what the broker advertises. TabTrade is the exception on our record: regulated in Mauritius, it offers up to 1:1000 outright.

The number is also less important than it is made to sound. Leverage sets the maximum position your margin can carry; it does not oblige you to use it. A trader with 1:1000 available who sizes positions as though they had 1:30 has exactly the same risk as one who only had 1:30 - and considerably more rope.

What margin a position needs

Read the bottom row across and the risk becomes obvious. At 1:1000, $100 of margin carries a full standard lot - and a 100-pip move against you is roughly $1,000, which is ten times the margin that opened it.

Swaps and the fees that are not trading fees

Hold a position past the broker's rollover and you pay or receive a swap, set by the interest rate difference between the two currencies and the broker's own adjustment. It is irrelevant to a day trader and compounding to anyone holding for weeks. Every broker here charges it, and every one offers swap-free arrangements in some form for clients who need them.

Then there are the charges that have nothing to do with trading at all: inactivity, currency conversion and withdrawal terms.

Non-trading fees

Non-trading fees

Broker	Inactivity fee	Currency conversion	Min. withdrawal	Withdrawal time
IC Markets9.5	None on Global; EU: 10 account-currency units/month after 6 months inactivity	Conversion at applicable exchange rate/charges; no fixed percentage published	No minimum	Same-day processing before cutoff; cards typically 3-5 business days; international wire up to 14 days
TabTrade9.3	No inactivity fee	Conversion rate may include a currency conversion fee	No minimum	Typically 1 business day processing; cards 1-3 business days; Skrill/Neteller 1-2 business days; bank transfer 2-5 business days
Eightcap9.2	10 units of base currency/month after 3 months inactivity	Conversion rate/fee applies where currencies differ	$50 for bank transfer, BPAY, Skrill and Neteller; no minimum for cards/PayPal	1 business day for Skrill/Neteller; 1-5 business days for cards, PayPal and bank transfer
FxPro9.1	Not on record	Currency conversion applies where funding/account currencies differ	No minimum	Processed 24/5; typically within 1 business day, plus payment-provider processing time
XM9.1	$10/month after 90 days inactivity	Not on record	$5	Instant/same-day processing where automatically approved; bank wire and cards typically 2-5 business days
Markets.com9.0	$10/month after 3 months inactivity	0.6%	$5 Skrill/Neteller; $10 cards; $100 wire transfer	Typically 2-7 business days depending on method
AvaTrade8.9	$50 after 3 consecutive months inactivity; $100 administration fee after 12 months where permitted	Currency conversion spread/markup applies where account and instrument currencies differ	$100	AvaTrade processing within 24 business hours; arrival depends on payment method

From our broker records. Banks, card issuers and payment providers can charge on top of anything the broker does or does not charge.

TabTrade charges no inactivity fee at all. IC Markets charges none on its Global entity but 10 units of account currency a month after six months in the EU, and Eightcap has a similar arrangement - both worth knowing, because both are commonly listed as charging nothing.

At the other end, AvaTrade charges $50 after three consecutive dormant months plus a $100 administration fee after twelve, which is the steepest here by a distance.

Can I trust these brokers?

The group holds licences from the FCA, ASIC, CySEC, the Central Bank of Ireland, Japan's FSA and others. But a group's licences are not your licences: what protects you is the specific legal entity your account is opened with, which is named in the account-opening documents and decided by where you live.

That single fact determines your leverage cap, whether negative balance protection applies, whether client money is segregated under a regime worth the name, and whether any compensation scheme stands behind the firm. Two clients of the same broker in different countries can have materially different protection.

Two entries here deserve a closer look. Markets.com holds CySEC and FSCA licences with a Saint Vincent registration used elsewhere, so the entity question matters more than at the multi-licence groups. And TabTrade launched in 2026 under a single Mauritius licence, with no statutory compensation scheme and, on our record, without negative balance protection - the only broker in this ten where that is true.

Trust metrics

Trust metrics

Broker	Regulators	Founded	Client money segregated	Negative balance protection	Compensation scheme
IC Markets9.5	ASICCySECFSA (Seychelles)+2	2007	Yes	Yes	ICF up to €20,000 for eligible EU clients; Raw Trading Ltd insolvency insurance up to US$1,000,000
TabTrade9.3	FSC (Mauritius)	2026	Yes	No	No statutory investor compensation scheme
Eightcap9.2	ASICFCACySEC+3	2009	Yes	Yes	FSCS up to £85,000 for eligible UK clients; ICF up to €20,000 for eligible EU clients
FxPro9.1	FCACySECFSCA (South Africa)+2	1999	Yes	Yes	FSCS up to £85,000 for eligible UK clients; ICF up to €20,000 for eligible CySEC clients
XM9.1	CySECASICDFSA (DIFC)+2	2009	Yes	Yes	ICF up to €20,000 for eligible CySEC clients
Markets.com9.0	CySECFSCA (South Africa)	2008	Yes	Yes	Investor Compensation Fund up to €20,000 for eligible CySEC clients
AvaTrade8.9	Central Bank of IrelandASICFSA (Japan)+7	2006	Yes	Yes	Irish Investor Compensation Scheme for eligible EU clients; no compensation scheme under several international entities

From our broker records. Negative balance protection and compensation schemes depend on the entity you are onboarded to and your client classification.

The top 7, one by one

#1

IC Markets

9.5/10

Recommended for active traders, scalpers and anyone running automated strategies.

Overall rating

9.5 / 10

Costs rating

9.8 / 10

Minimum deposit

$200

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.0 pips

Commission

$3.50 per side / $7 round turn (Raw Spread MetaTrader)

All-in cost, EUR/USD

Approx. 0.8 pips

Maximum leverage

1:30

Platforms

MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView

Demo account

Yes, expires after 30 days of inactivity

Copy trading

IC Social; cTrader Copy; ZuluTrade; Myfxbook AutoTrade; Signal Start

Support

24/7

Founded

2007

Regulation

ASICCySECFSA (Seychelles)SCB (Bahamas)+1

IC Markets is the highest-rated broker on our table and forex is its core business: 61 currency pairs, raw pricing from 0.0 pips, and a $3.50 per side commission that works out at about 0.8 pips all in on EUR/USD.

Its platform range is the joint-broadest here - MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView - which matters because it means you can bring an existing MQL4 Expert Advisor, a cBot or a TradingView strategy without changing broker.

Execution averages about 35 milliseconds on forex, with MetaTrader servers at Equinix NY4 in New York and cTrader infrastructure in London. That, plus low-latency VPS support and a FIX API, is what makes it the default recommendation for algorithmic trading.

One detail usually reported wrongly: it charges no inactivity fee on its Global entity, but EU clients pay 10 units of account currency a month after six dormant months.

Open an account with IC MarketsRead our full IC Markets review

#2

TabTrade

9.3/10

Recommended for traders who want institutional pricing and the highest leverage on this list.

Overall rating

9.3 / 10

Costs rating

9.8 / 10

Minimum deposit

$0

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.0 pips

Commission

$3.50 per side / $7 round turn (Edge)

All-in cost, EUR/USD

Approx. 0.73 pips

Maximum leverage

1:1000

Platforms

MetaTrader 5

Demo account

Yes

Copy trading

Yes, TabTrade Social

Support

24/7

Founded

2026

Regulation

FSC (Mauritius)

TabTrade lists 81 forex instruments, more than any other broker in this top ten, and prices them tightly: its Edge account averages around 0.04 pips on the majors with a $3.50 per side commission, about 0.73 pips all in.

Execution averages under 30 milliseconds from MetaTrader 5 hosted at Equinix LD5 in London, and it is the only broker here whose record shows leverage up to 1:1000 outright rather than through an entity you may not qualify for.

It also scores higher for customer support than any broker we rate, runs it 24/7, and asks no minimum deposit on the Standard account.

The counterweight is the firm rather than the pricing. TabTrade launched in 2026, so there is no track record, and it operates under a single Mauritius licence with no statutory compensation scheme and, on our record, no negative balance protection. On a leveraged product that last point is not a technicality.

Open an account with TabTradeRead our full TabTrade review

#3

Eightcap

9.2/10

Recommended for active traders who want raw pricing and TradingView in the same account.

Overall rating

9.2 / 10

Costs rating

8.9 / 10

Minimum deposit

$100

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.0 pips

Commission

$3.50 per side / $7 round turn, Raw

All-in cost, EUR/USD

Approx. 0.76 pips

Maximum leverage

1:30

Platforms

MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, TradeLocker

Demo account

Yes

Copy trading

Yes, through supported third-party integrations

Support

24/5

Founded

2009

Regulation

ASICFCACySECSCB (Bahamas)+2

Eightcap's Raw account quotes from 0.0 pips with $3.50 per side, about 0.76 pips all in, and its execution averages around 30 milliseconds across Equinix infrastructure in New York and London - among the fastest here, and quicker than the roughly 48ms the broker is often credited with.

Its distinguishing feature is the platform mix: MetaTrader 4 and 5 alongside TradingView and TradeLocker. Analysing a chart and placing the trade in the same window is a real workflow gain for anyone trading technically.

It lists 40+ currency pairs, the smallest count on this page, which is the honest trade for the pricing and execution. Expert Advisors, an institutional API and third-party copy trading are all supported.

Founded in 2009 and regulated by ASIC, the FCA, CySEC and the Bahamas SCB. Note that it does charge an inactivity fee after a dormant period, despite being widely listed as charging none.

Open an account with EightcapRead our full Eightcap review

#4

FxPro

9.1/10

Recommended for traders who want the fastest execution here and every major platform.

Overall rating

9.1 / 10

Costs rating

9.1 / 10

Minimum deposit

$0

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.0 pips

Commission

$3.50 per side / $7 round turn

All-in cost, EUR/USD

Approx. 1.13 pips

Maximum leverage

1:30

Platforms

MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, FxPro Trading Platform

Demo account

Yes, 180-day lifespan

Copy trading

Yes, cTrader Copy

Support

24/5

Founded

1999

Regulation

FCACySECFSCA (South Africa)SCB (Bahamas)+1

FxPro records execution under 8 milliseconds from Equinix LD4 - the fastest figure on this page by a factor of four, and the strongest single argument for the account.

It has been trading since 1999, which makes it the oldest firm here, offers more than 70 currency pairs, and runs MetaTrader 4 and 5, cTrader, TradingView and its own platform with cTrader Copy for copying and a FIX API for connecting.

There is no minimum deposit on the Standard account.

The cost is the catch, and it is worth stating plainly: spreads start at 0.0 pips, but with $7 per round turn the all-in cost on EUR/USD works out around 1.13 pips - the most expensive of the ten. You are paying for execution and platform breadth rather than for cheapness.

Open an account with FxProRead our full FxPro review

#5

XM

9.1/10

Recommended for traders who want to start small on MetaTrader without committing capital.

Overall rating

9.1 / 10

Costs rating

9.4 / 10

Minimum deposit

$5

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.8 pips

Commission

$0 on Standard and Ultra Low accounts

All-in cost, EUR/USD

Approx. 0.8 pips

Maximum leverage

1:30

Platforms

MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, XM App

Demo account

Yes

Copy trading

Yes, XM Copy Trading

Support

24/7

Founded

2009

Regulation

CySECASICDFSA (DIFC)FSC (Belize)+1

XM opens an account for $5, the lowest non-zero entry here, and covers 55+ currency pairs across majors, minors and exotics on MetaTrader 4 and 5.

Its Standard and Ultra Low accounts charge no commission, with EUR/USD from 0.8 pips - about 0.8 pips all in, which puts it mid-table on cost and makes it simple to reason about.

Support runs 24/7 and copy trading is available, though there is no public retail API, so this is a broker for MetaTrader automation rather than custom connectivity.

Two things to know: it charges $10 a month after 90 days of inactivity, the shortest dormancy window here, and its widely quoted 0.0-pip spreads apply to specific accounts rather than the Standard pricing most clients open on.

Open an account with XMRead our full XM review

#6

Markets.com

9.0/10

Recommended for traders who want forex through a simple platform of the broker's own.

Overall rating

9.0 / 10

Costs rating

8.8 / 10

Minimum deposit

$100

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.6 pips

Commission

$0

All-in cost, EUR/USD

0.6 pips

Maximum leverage

1:30

Platforms

Markets.com Web Platform, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5

Demo account

Yes

Copy trading

No

Support

24/5

Founded

2008

Regulation

CySECFSCA (South Africa)

Markets.com prices forex through the spread alone - from 0.6 pips on EUR/USD with no commission, which is about 0.6 pips all in and among the cheapest here without any arithmetic.

It pairs its own web platform with MetaTrader 4 and 5, so you can start somewhere simplified and move without changing broker. Expert Advisors run through MetaTrader; there is no retail API and no copy trading.

Execution is market-maker and sub-second rather than sub-50-millisecond, which places it with the discretionary brokers rather than the scalping ones.

Before funding, check the entity. It holds CySEC and FSCA licences with a Saint Vincent registration used for other regions, so which one you are onboarded to matters more here than at groups holding a dozen. It also charges 0.6% on currency conversion and $10 a month after three dormant months.

Open an account with Markets.comRead our full Markets.com review

#7

AvaTrade

8.9/10

Recommended for traders who want commission-free pricing and a real choice of platforms.

Overall rating

8.9 / 10

Costs rating

8.8 / 10

Minimum deposit

$100

Minimum trade

0.01 lots

Spread from

0.9 pips

Commission

$0

All-in cost, EUR/USD

0.9 pips

Maximum leverage

1:30

Platforms

MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, AvaTrade WebTrader, AvaTrade App, AvaOptions

Demo account

Yes, unlimited

Copy trading

AvaSocial; DupliTrade

Support

Monday-Friday, 05:00-21:00 GMT for English support

Founded

2006

Regulation

Central Bank of IrelandASICFSA (Japan)FSRA (ADGM)+6

AvaTrade charges no separate forex commission: its margin sits in the spread, which starts around 0.9 pips on EUR/USD. That is wider than the raw accounts here and, once their commission is added, roughly comparable - with the advantage that there is only one number to think about.

Platform choice is the widest on the list: MetaTrader 4 and 5, its own WebTrader and app, and AvaOptions, which gives eligible clients vanilla FX options rather than only spot-style CFDs. That last one is genuinely unusual among retail forex brokers.

Founded in 2006, it holds licences in Ireland, Australia, Japan, South Africa and elsewhere - the broadest spread of serious regulation of any broker here.

Execution is market-maker rather than raw, typically under a second rather than under 50 milliseconds, so this is a broker for discretionary trading rather than scalping. And check the inactivity terms: $50 after three consecutive dormant months, plus $100 after twelve.

Open an account with AvaTradeRead our full AvaTrade review

How we chose these brokers

This list is every broker we rate that offers currency trading, in overall rating order. That rating is built from six areas - regulation, costs, platforms, markets, support and education - and for forex specifically we weigh:

• The spread, and the commission, added together rather than compared separately
• What a EUR/USD round turn actually costs on the cheapest standard account
• Currency pairs available, and whether the majors are priced properly
• Execution model, measured speed and where the servers physically sit
• Whether raw or ECN-style pricing is available at all
• MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView support
• Expert Advisors, API access and copy trading
• Overnight swap terms, and swap-free availability
• Minimum trade size, because position sizing is risk management
• The regulator, the entity you are onboarded to, and client-money protection

The broker with the most currency pairs is not the winner, and neither is the one advertising the smallest number. What matters is the cost and the fill on the handful of pairs you actually trade.