Lowest Spread Forex Brokers in the UAE

Pepperstone has the lowest spread of any DFSA regulated forex broker in UAE including:

• 0.1 EUR/USD average spread
• 02 EUR/GBP average spread
• 0.2 GBP/USD average spread
• 0.1 USD/AUD average spread

The broker offers all the forex trading platform options including MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView with the fastest execution rates of any measured broker in the UAE. Finally, the broker offers a wide range of tradable instruments from forex, indices, commodities to crypto CFDs.

Pepperstone offers three main account types with the Razor having the lowest spreads. While the standard account has no commissions, the spreads are marked up and in our comparison with other UAE brokers we found they were not great value. The Razor spreads (ECN account) on the other hand had some of the lowest spread not just in the UAE but worldwide. There is also an Islamic Account (swap-free) which may be more suitable to certain traders in the region.

The ThinkMarkets standard account (no commission trading) has the lowest spreads in UAE including:

• 1.1 EUR/USD average spread
• 1.1 EUR/GBP average spread
• 1.2 GBP/USD average spread
• 1.0 USD/AUD average spread

These spreads are considerably higher than an ECN account but there is no commission charged. While the overall brokerage is still higher, many beginner forex traders in the UAE prefer trading with no commission as it’s easier to calculate brokerage when trading. ThinkMarkets also MT4, MT5 and TradingView and a wide range of markets to trade in.

The ThinkMarkets standard account is what we recommend. While their Think Zero account has lower spreads (plus a commission), their are other brokers like Pepperstone that are more competitive in the category based on brokerage. Instead, it’s the standard account where ThinkMarkets offers the best spread relative to other UAE brokers. Note that these spreads are variable. While we calculate brokerage based on the average spread for each currency pair, these spread will be lower during peak periods when their is the highest liquidity in the market and the highest when volume is thin or if there is a high market turbulence.

Capital.com is the only locally regulated broker that offers retail traders up to 300:1 leverage. This is because the broker is regulated by the SCA (Securities and Commodities Authority) which has lower restrictions on margin compared to the DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority).  This may be required for certain types of trading and with some forex pair spread being super competitive such as 0.6 for the EUR/USD the broker has a sweet spot for high leverage, low spread trading.

We like three main features of Interactive Brokers. Firstly, the broker offer stockbroking (unlike the other providers in this list) with the ability to invest in shares locally or internationally. The second feature is their commission rate which is $2.00USD per 100,000 units traded. This is the lowest of any ECN account. Finally, their currency conversion fees are the lowest of any broker worldwide. If your planning on trading overseas markets this can lead to significant savings with some broker overseas currency rates being quite poor.

Plus500 is known for their propriety trading platform which makes it easy to start trading. Their SWAP free account is their specialty with reasonable fees (note their standard account fees were one of the worse). The broker also has strong local customer support and a low $100 minimum deposit requirement.

Like Interactive Brokers, Tickmill has the lowest commission rates of any UAE forex broker depending on the base currency with either £2.00 or €2.00 per lot offered. Of the 43 ECN accounts we compared, Tickmill average spreads were the 4th lowest showing the low brokerage they can offer UAE traders. They offer either MT4 or MT5 as their forex trading platform options

XM offers a lot more than just forex trading with CFDs available on Crypto, Shares, Commodities to Indices. While the broker does have higher fees than the brokers listed above it’s easy to open an account with a minimum deposit of just $5 and the availability of a Micro account. The broker also supports AED-denominated funding and local bank transfers, reducing conversion fees and making deposits easier for UAE residents. The broker trades in the UAE as Trading Point MENA Limited.

eToro is the only broker on the list that isn’t regulated in the UAE. Instead the broker has regulation with ADGM which can onboard UAE trader. The reason we added this broker to the list was because it’s one of the most popular forex brokers in Dubai and has the best facilities for copy trading (and social trading). Their propriety trading platform has been built around copy trading) making it easy to compare other traders and then shadow their future trades.