easyMarkets review

Our rating

easyMarkets scores 8.6 out of 10 on our table. That figure is an average of six things we assess, and it hides the shape of the broker: its strongest area is regulation at 9.5, its weakest is education at 8.0. Whether that gap matters depends entirely on which of the six you were going to use.

In its favour: fixed spreads, robust risk management tools. Against it: limited advanced trading features.

Regulation and safety9.5/10

easyMarkets lists its authorisations as CySEC (079/07); ASIC (AFSL 246566); Seychelles FSA (SD056); BVI FSC (SIBA/L/20/1135); FSCA (54018). That is a mixed structure, and the mix is the point: it holds at least one tier-one licence alongside offshore entities, and which one takes your account depends on where you live rather than on which you would prefer.

The licence that matters to you is the one held by the entity that opens your account, and at a multi-entity broker that is decided by your country of residence. Its registration can be checked directly on the CySEC register, licence 079/07. It is a two-minute check and it is the only way to confirm that the firm taking your deposit is the firm named on the website.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own funds, with regulated banking institutions - so that if the business fails, client balances are not part of what its creditors can reach. Negative balance protection applies, so a gap through your stop cannot leave you owing the broker money.

On compensation: ICF up to €20,000 for eligible CySEC clients. That covers the broker failing, not your trades losing money - the two are frequently confused and only one of them is insured.

easyMarkets does not accept clients from United States, Israel, Iran, North Korea and other restricted/sanctioned jurisdictions. Restriction lists move, so confirm your own country before you spend time on an application.

What it costs to trade8.5/10

easyMarkets advertises spreads from 0.6 pips. There is no separate commission on its standard pricing, so the whole of the broker's charge sits inside that spread - one number to think about, and no arithmetic at the end of the month. Put the two together and a EUR/USD round turn works out at 0.6 pips, which is the figure worth comparing against other brokers.

An advertised minimum is the best price a broker has ever quoted, not the price you will get. On our record its measured average on EUR/USD is 0.6 pips, and 0.8 pips on GBP/USD. Unusually, fixed on Web/App and MT4; variable on MT5 - which means the cost of the trade is known before you place it, including through news events when variable spreads widen most.

Positions held overnight accrue a swap, and swap-free accounts are available for clients who need them.

Leave the account dormant and it costs you: $25/month after 12 months inactivity. That is the charge most often missed when comparing brokers, and it matters disproportionately if you trade seasonally or infrequently.

Platforms and tools8.8/10

easyMarkets runs easyMarkets Web/App, TradingView, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5. Both MetaTrader versions are available, which matters more than it sounds: an expert advisor written for MT4 will not run on MT5, so a trader arriving with existing software needs the specific version it was written for. TradingView integration means you can analyse and execute in the same window rather than charting in one tool and trading in another.

Automation is supported: yes, through MT4/MT5. There is no public retail API, so automation has to go through the platform rather than around it. Copy trading is available through yes, through third-party/platform integrations, which is the alternative to writing rules yourself.

Charting runs to 100+ through TradingView. Additional tools include TradingView, dealCancellation, Freeze Rate, easyTrade, Guaranteed Stop Loss. On mobile: both proprietary and third-party.

Markets, leverage and execution8.5/10

easyMarkets covers Forex, Commodities, Metals, Indices, Shares, Cryptocurrencies, Vanilla Options. That comes to 200+ instruments in total. On the currency side specifically it lists 65 pairs. Breadth is worth less than depth in the markets you actually trade - a hundred instruments priced well beats a thousand you will never open.

Leverage is capped at 1:30, which is the retail limit under tier-one regulation - a protection rather than a restriction. Our record for this broker reads "1:30 retail", and the difference between those figures is the entity you are onboarded to rather than anything you can choose. Whatever the headline, the number that governs your position is the margin requirement on the specific instrument - it is always lower on shares and crypto than on major currency pairs.

Execution is market maker, meaning the broker is the counterparty to your trade rather than routing it to an external venue. It is a legitimate and very common model, and it is worth knowing which one you are dealing with. Measured speed is under 1 second. Its servers sit in global data-centre infrastructure, which is what determines latency more than any software choice.

Order types available: market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit, guaranteed stop-loss, easyTrade. Stops and limits are table stakes; what separates platforms is whether the ones you rely on are there and how quickly they can be modified once a position is open.

Accounts

Account types run to standard, VIP, MT4, MT5, Islamic, Demo. The minimum deposit is $25. The smallest position it will take is 0.05 lots / 5,000 units on EUR/USD, which is what actually governs how precisely you can size risk on a small account.

A demo account is available, which is the cheapest way to find out whether the platform suits you. Swap-free Islamic accounts are offered. Professional classification is available for clients who qualify, which lifts leverage caps and lowers the protections that come with retail status - a trade rather than an upgrade. Opening takes minutes.

Accounts can be denominated in 18 base currencies. Funding in the currency you trade removes a conversion charge from every position, which is a small saving repeated indefinitely.

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposits can be made by Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Fasapay, Sticpay, Bitwallet, local bank transfer and regional methods. They clear in instant for cards, Neteller and Skrill.

Withdrawals go out by visa/Mastercard, bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill and supported local/e-wallet methods. Expect typically within 24 hours for cards/e-wallets. The minimum withdrawal is $10. Check the withdrawal routes rather than the deposit ones. They are frequently not the same list, anti-money-laundering rules usually require funds to return the way they came, and the difference only becomes apparent at the point you want your money back.

Local payment methods include PIX; UPI; local bank transfer; Internet Banking; BPAY; PayID; Fasapay; Sticpay; Bitwallet and other regional methods - which matters more than it looks if you are outside the broker's home market, since an international wire is slow and expensive compared with a domestic transfer.

Support and education8.3/10

Support runs 24/5, which covers the trading week but not the weekend - relevant if you hold positions through it, and particularly if you trade crypto. You can reach them by live chat, email, phone, personal account manager/dealing room. Live chat typically answers in under 2 minutes. Support is offered in multilingual.

Its education is substantial - Trading School, videos, one-on-one training, seminars, articles, tutorials and learning centre - which is the difference between a broker that will teach you and one that will simply take the deposit. Research output covers daily market analysis, trading ideas, market news and technical/fundamental commentary.

The company behind the brand

The company behind the brand is Easy Forex Trading Ltd, registered as HE 203997. It operates from Limassol, Cyprus. It has been trading since 2001, which puts roughly 25 years and several market cycles behind it - including conditions that removed a good number of its contemporaries.

It is independently owned rather than part of a larger group. It is privately held, so its finances are not published the way a listed group's are. Headcount is in the 201-500 range.

You may also see it under easyMarkets; Easy Forex; easy-forex. Brands and legal entities rarely map one to one in this industry, and the name on the website is not always the name on the client agreement.