Most Trusted Forex Brokers

We think Pepperstone use of seven regulators, including four Tier 1 authorities like ASIC and the FCA plus long term presence (since 2010) instills trust.

Notably, the broker delivers fast execution speeds, averaging 77 ms in our tests, and have low average spreads (0.1 pips for the Razor account). Along with MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView platforms Pepperstone has a compelling blend of trust, speed, and cost-effectiveness which led to our high 98/100 review score.

We rated Pepperstone as the most trusted forex broker overall based on the broker’s four tier-1 regulations (Australia, UK, Germany and Cyprus) in addition to combining competitive published (and tested) standard account spreads, fast execution speeds and award-winning customer service.

Top Multi-Regulated Forex Broker Overall

As an Australian broker, Pepperstone holds financial services licences from multiple major financial authorities around the world, including four tier-1 jurisdictions in the UK (FCA), Australia (ASIC), Germany (BaFin) and Cyprus (CySEC) (as shown below).
This allows the broker to operate in various locations and accept customers from around the world and why we scored it 81/100 for trust.

Leverage Differentials and Investor Protections

Because trading with leverage involves magnifying both your potential gains and losses, thus increasing the already high risk of trading forex and CFDs, different regulators restrict maximum leverage you can trade with.

Thus, depending on which of the seven Pepperstone subsidiaries you register with, you will be able to trade with different amounts of leverage and receive different investor protections. As such, to make it easier for you, we have summarised the different regulation restrictions below.

To summarise, you’ll obtain the most investor protections with the tier-1 regulators in Australia, Europe and the UK but higher leverage limits in the tier-2 and tier-3 jurisdictions.

Low Commission-Free Spreads

A great option for beginner traders, standard account types offer a simple pricing structure with commission-free forex trading. While spreads are wider than commission accounts, there are no additional commission fees on top of the spread, removing the need to calculate commission costs as you are trading.

From our spreads analysis below, Pepperstone offers some of the tightest spreads across the board, with minimum spreads starting from 1.0 pips for standard account holders.

For major currency pairs like the EUR/USD, Pepperstone clients can access no-commission spreads averaging 1.16 pips, while other FX brokers like Forex.com offer 1.30 pips. Again, for the EUR/GBP currency pair, Pepperstone offers 1.35 pips when Tradersway promotes an average spread of 2.50 pips.

No-Commission Spreads	EUR/USDUSD/CADAUD/JPYEUR/GBPEUR/JPYAUD/USDGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDUSD/CADAUD/JPYEUR/GBPEUR/JPYAUD/USDGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDUSD/CADAUD/JPYEUR/GBPEUR/JPYAUD/USDGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDUSD/CADAUD/JPYEUR/GBPEUR/JPYAUD/USDGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDUSD/CADAUD/JPYEUR/GBPEUR/JPYAUD/USDGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD
	1.10	1.50	1.60	1.40	2.00
	1.32	1.73	3.19	1.37	1.87
	1.20	1.20	2.70	1.50	1.70
	1.40	2.60	4.90	2.50	2.60
	1.20	2.60	2.30	1.50	2.80
	2.00	2.05	1.54	1.71	2.13

Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 12/01/2024

Award-winning Customer Service

Pepperstone offers award-winning customer support (winning overall client satisfaction in 2022), which we can confirm when we opened a demo account with the broker.

In addition to offering excellent 24/7 customer support coverage across live chat, email and phone, we found the customer service providers had a top-notch knowledge base and a very useful account manager was provided which guided us throughout the whole account opening process.

Pepperstone ReviewVisit Pepperstone

Established in 2007 and regulated by ASIC and CySEC and having reliable, low spreads, we think IC Markets has earned a spot on our most trusted broker list and a rating of 84/100.

With an average RAW spread on EUR/USD at 0.02 pips—significantly lower than the industry average of 0.22 pips—in our opinion IC Markets stands out. We also liked that you can trade with MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView.

While IC Markets is only regulated by four regulators (including tier-1 regulators, ASIC and CySEC), we rated the forex broker highly for its low RAW spreads. Additionally, having a great selection of top trading platforms and a large range of products sees IC Markets as a trustworthy broker to our eyes.

Lowest RAW Spreads

While IC Markets the broker offers two main retail investor account types, it is the broker’s low RAW spreads that really impressed us.

From our testing, comparing 20 top brokers’ RAW account spreads using the 6 major USD-backed currency pairs (including EUR/USD), IC Markets averaged spreads of 0.32 pips which put it third on our list overall. By comparison, the tested average was 0.50 pips proving how low IC Markets spreads were.

The fact that IC Markets’ ECN-Pricing means your orders will be executed with no dealing desk (NDD) interference which allows for transparency as the spreads a broker is offering are sourced from multiple external liquidity providers.
This adds another layer of trust for IC Markets when compared to market makers that set their own bid-ask prices (spreads) and fill orders using internal liquidity sources.

Trusted Range of Trading Platforms

As an IC Markets forex trader, you have a choice of four trusted mainstream trading platforms – MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), cTrader and TradingView. Depending on the platform you choose, a different selection of trading tools and CFDs will be available.

The account type you sign up to also determines the trading platforms you can access. You are restricted to MetaTrader platforms as a standard account holder, while RAW accounts are available with MT4, MT5 or cTrader.

All platforms have their merits. MT4 and MT5 are the most trusted forex trading platforms because of their long-standing reputations, advanced analysis tools, large forex community, and automated trading features.

Meanwhile, cTrader provides an institutional-grade trading environment with high-speed order execution and level 2 depth of market (DoM) pricing streamed directly from multiple liquidity providers.

And TradingView is one of the most powerful charting platforms out there, with over 100 technical indicators to choose from.

It is the broker’s MT4 advanced trading tools add-on, however, that stood out to us. We appreciated

Large Range of Markets

When trading CFDs with IC Markets, we appreciated the large range of +1600 financial markets available, including 61 forex and 1600 share CFDs, alongside a smaller selection of indices, commodities, bonds and crypto products.

The financial markets you can access depend on the trading platform you are using. MT4 and cTrader were predominantly designed for retail foreign exchange market trading, compared to MT5, which is a multi-asset platform where share trading is permitted.

We say Fusion Markets is one of the most cost-effective brokers not just for spreads but commissions too and they are regulated by ASIC for added trust.

Our research reveals the broker’s commission is only $2.25 per lot, significantly below the industry average of $3.48. The RAW account boasts exceptionally low spreads, averaging 0.22 pips on EUR/USD, surpassing the industry average of 0.49 pips.

Platforms to trade with include the popular MT4, MT5 and cTrader.

Fusion Markets is a top ASIC-regulated forex broker in Australia, that is also overseen by the VFSC in Vanuatu and FSA in Seychelles. From our analysis, the broker also charges commission fees of AUD $2.25 per side per 100,000 traded, which is significantly lower commission fees compared to other top brokers.

Lowest Commission Fees

From our extensive analysis, Fusion Markets ZERO account charges ultra-competitive commission fees when compared to other top brokers.

While most brokers charge AUD $3.50 per side per 100k traded, Fusion Markets charge only $2.25 per side in commissions. As shown below, regardless of your accounts currency, you will pay nearly half of what competing brokers charge.

As well as low fees, we found that the ZERO account averaged spreads of 0.22 pips (compared to our tested average of 0.50 pips) which reduces your trading costs further against other forex brokers.

On top of low trading fees, the broker also charges no account management penalties such as inactivity, deposit or withdrawal fees. Likewise, Fusion Markets enforces no minimum deposit requirements, meaning you can open a trading account with as little as $0.

Fastest Execution Speeds

To further reduce your trading costs, Fusion Markets offers the fastest execution speeds of any trusted broker on this list, and the 2nd fastest overall. When we tested limit and market orders using the broker’s MT4 platform, Fusion Markets average speeds of 79ms for limit orders and 77ms for market orders.

Only BlackBull Markets could obtain faster limit order speeds of 72ms, while Fusion Markets’ market order speed was the fastest we tested.

Fast execution speeds greatly reduce your latency while trading, impacting your slippage (I.E. execution costs while trading) which adds to Fusion Markets appeal as a low-cost, trusted broker.

IG Group has the most extensive range of trading products we’ve seen, with over 17,000+ markets ranging from forex to indices. The broker is regulated by 13 authorities, including five Tier-1 regulators like CySEC, FCA, and ASIC – the most regulated broker we’ve reviewed.

The broker has decent average spreads at 1.13 on EUR/USD with no commission on trades. We were impressed by the range of trading features IG Group offers for its low fees, scoring them 81/100 in our reviews.

Established in 1974, IG is one of the oldest and most highly trusted forex brokers with over 45 years of industry experience. From our analysis, IG has the largest selection of +17,000 CFDs, derived from a range of asset classes including forex, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, shares, bonds, interest rates, options and ETFs.

Large and Established Broker

Signing up to a reputable broker will help you avoid scams and reduce the high risk of trading CFDs by providing various investor protections (depending on where you live). Worldwide, IG is seen as a well-respected and global broker with 12 regulated subsidiaries (including 8 tier-1 jurisdictions).

As shown below, SEGREGATING CLIENT FUNDS from IG’s operating capital is a standard investor protection policy offered by the broker. In the unlikely event IG was to become insolvent, deposit compensation schemes are only available for European traders, including those from Switzerland and the UK.

If you are based in the UK, the US or Europe (excluding Switzerland), you will also receive NEGATIVE BALANCE PROTECTION (NBP). This form of investor protection means you cannot lose more than you have deposited into your trading account, eliminating the risk of ending up in debt to IG.

Largest Range of Trading Products

From our trading experience with IG Group, the broker offers the largest range of trading products we’ve seen, providing over +17,000 financial instruments to try your hand at. These products are spread across a diverse range of asset classes including 80 forex pairs, 12,000 share CFDs and 130 indices.

We were also impressed at the complex derivatives you could trade, from over 7000 options to 6000 ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds).

You can even trade physical shares via the broker’s own dedicated L2 Dealer share trading platform, where DMA (direct market access) is available.

Licenced by ASIC and CYSEC, FP Markets has been in operation nearly 20 years. Our research found the broker offers low average RAW spreads, starting at 0.1 pips on major pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY—considerably tighter than competitors.

Our tests done by Ross Collins also found FP Markets is good for scalpers due to its fast execution speeds, averaging 99 ms for market orders. Trading can be done using MT4, MT5, cTrader or TradingView trading platforms.

FP Markets is an ECN-Pricing forex broker that is overseen by multiple financial authorities. We think FP Markets is a great option for scalpers as the broker offers ultra-tight spreads while following the regulation set by top-tier financial authorities.

Investor Protection with FP Markets

As with multi-regulated competing brokers, each FP Markets branch offers different levels of investor protection. ASIC and the FSA require client funds to be kept in segregated accounts, separating client and company funds. But, in Europe, CySEC provides more protection with an investor compensation scheme and the requirement of negative balance protection policies.

Transparent Spreads and Low Fees

You will be able to access ultra tight spreads while paying low fees regardless of where you live and the FP Markets subsidiary you sign up to.

The broker offers two different trading account types and pricing structures. Both accounts require a minimum deposit of AUD $100 to start trading and can be used with either MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5.

As a no dealing desk (NDD) broker with ECN-pricing and execution, FP Markets offers a transparent pricing structure.

From our published spreads analysis, FP Markets backs up this claim with low average spreads of 0.22 pips for the 5 most traded currency pairs, which include popular pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/USD.

This puts the broker in the top 5 of 40 broker spreads that we analysed. For reference, the industry average was 0.44 pips for the same forex pairs.

Along with ultra-tight spreads, we proved FP Markets had fast market execution speeds of 96ms (from our testing, anything under 100ms was rare), meaning you can enjoy low latency execution and minimal slippage when trading.

All this to say that the combined transparent spreads and low fees is perfect for scalpers who need speed and low spreads to profit off small price changes in a short time period.

We think eToro stands out with its CopyTrader platform as it allows easy replication of trades from experienced investors—an invaluable resource for beginners.

With low average spreads, starting from 1 pip on EUR/USD, eToro proves more cost-effective from other copy trade platforms that have added markups for copy trading.

eToro is Regulated by six authorities, including FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, eToro’s trustworthy regulation, innovative social trading tools, and competitive spreads make it a top choice for a social trading platform.

As well as being highly regulated in 7 jurisdictions, including 3 tier-1 regulators, eToro combines the largest, most trusted social trading platform in the world with a simplistic trading experience and a good range of products.

Largest, Most Trusted Social Trading Community

Don’t just take it from us, eToro is one of the world’s largest social trading platforms and communities with over 30 million traders from over 140 countries. The broker provides account mirroring services via its CopyTrader features, allowing you to copy the trading strategies of more experienced eToro clients.

To find trading strategies to copy, you can view traders’ stats and compare their trading history and risk profiles. As well as copy trading, you can communicate with other members of the forex community with the ability to share ideas and learn from one another.

Similarly to other social networks, eToro’s proprietary trading platform has a newsfeed feature where you can keep up to date with others’ strategies and the latest market news.

As well as social and copy trading, we also like the simplicity of CFD trading on eToro’s platform.

XTB is a top broker that provides decent research and education resources for free while being regulated by CySEC and the FCA, two of the top regulators in the world. What impressed us was the extensive catalogue of educational resources available, covering everything from basic market terminology to trading strategies.

Interestingly, the broker has low average spreads from 0.9 pips on EUR/USD, one of the lowest we’ve seen.

XTB is an award-winning CFD brokerage offering impressive access to over 2000 financial markets and an excellent proprietary platform, xStation. We consider the broker trustworthy and one of the best due its oversight from four major European financial authorities (including two offshore regulators) as well as its excellent research and education resources.

Top Research and Education Resources

From our trading experience with the broker, XTB offers an excellent variety of top research and extensive educational resources.

These included videos, written content, FAQs, tutorials, financial market education and over 200 lessons via its Trading Academy.

We were particularly impressed with the integrated videos in broker’s xStation mobile app, including webinar-style educational content, with multiple videos that are over an hour long.

To us, this shows a dedication in keeping its clients well-informed and educated in whatever stage of the trading journey you are.

Large Range of CFDS for Online Trading

We rate XTB as one of the top CFD brokers because you can access thousands of CFDs derived from six major asset classes: forex (71 pairs), shares (+1700), indices (33), commodities (27), cryptocurrencies (+10) and ETFs (390).

You can even trade over 2800 real stocks from 16 major exchanges around the world via the broker’s xStation platform. Two aspects we appreciated of XTB’s share trading is the free access to real-time quotes plus offering zero-commissions for monthly turnover under 100,000 EUR.

Our extensive tests awarded OANDA a perfect score of 100/100 in the Trust category, which is a testament to its long-standing operation since 1996 (one of the oldest brokers). The broker is regulated by several major authorities across many jurisdictions, particularly the NFA/CFTC, MAS, CIRO, FCA, and ASIC.

With OANDA, you are trading with a broker that has stood the test of time and regulatory scrutiny.

With a perfect score of 100, we rated OANDA as the most trusted forex broker based on its longstanding reputation (established in 1996) and regulation in 9 different jurisdictions, including 5 tier-1 regulators.

Long-standing Reputation and Regulatory History

Established in 1996, OANDA has a long-standing reputation and regulatory history, with the broker regulated in 9 jurisdictions, including 7 tier-1 regulators. This includes regulations in the U.S. by both the CFTC (Commodities Futures Trading Commission) and the NFA (National Futures Association), which are hard to come by.

As such, we believe this established reputation ensures protection of your funds and peace of mind, as there are many less reputable online brokers out there.