Regulated Forex Brokers USA Comparison

Forex.com – Best For Beginner Traders

Forex.com is a subsidiary of Gain Capital Group, a leader in online trading listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Forex.com holds licenses from multiple jurisdictions across 4 continents, not just within the USA. This includes FCA, ASIC, FSA, and IIROC. Like all US regulated brokers, Forex.com is a trusted resource for traders operating there. Within the US, this Forex broker is registered as:

• Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
• A member of the National Futures Association (NFA ID 0339826)

Beginner traders are welcome to start working with one of the oldest Forex brokers in the US due to excellent features such as:

• Educational section (webinar, trading guides, glossary, and an interactive quiz)
• 30-day free demo account (on the downside, after your demo account expires, you can’t extend the availability)
• A low minimum deposit of USD 50 (Forex.com recommends a minimum deposit of USD 2,500)
• An award-winning global research team available to provide you access to market insights and trading ideas
• Free live trading sessions
• Dedicated customer support available via phone, live chat, email and SMS

Additionally, Forex.com has equipped its trading platforms with the right risk management tool to help beginner traders better cope with exchange losses. The Webtrader platform has an easy-to-use interface powered by TradingView.

Forex.com Learning Center

Forex.com learning centre is designed to equip all levels of US traders with the right knowledge to survive in the Forex market. The resources offered through the educational centre are available for:

• Beginner traders
• Intermediate traders
• Advanced traders

Note* US FX traders unsure about their trading skill level can take up on the Forex.com Quiz and get resources that fit their level of knowledge.

Additionally, US residents can benefit from a dedicated market strategist with a one-on-one relationship. The market specialist can do live demonstrations of the financial services offered by Forex.com, teach traders how to use both technical and fundamental analysis, and provide ongoing support until the user is fully satisfied with the training.

Summary of Forex.com Findings

Overall, Forex.com offers financial products and services that cater primarily to beginners who are just starting out. Traders can access to over 80 currency pairs with average spreads of 1.2 pips and $5 commissions on EUR/USD. You can open a live trading account with Forex.com in less than 5 minutes.

Note* Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are not available to US residents.

TD Ameritrade – Customer Support

TD Ameritrade is a multi-asset broker that ranks in our top US FX brokers list due to their outstanding customer support. In addition, their Thinkorswim proprietary trading platform, 80 currency pairs along with cryptocurrency pairs, and competitive spreads cement their credibility in the industry. With over 40 years of providing trading services, TD Ameritrade is one of the largest broker-dealer firms in the US. It is regulated by tier-one agencies:

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supervises the brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade
• Member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
• Member of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
• Registered with the National Futures Association (NFA ID: 0477394)
• Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK

Note* To put it into numbers, TD Ameritrade manages over 11 million trading accounts holding more than USD 1 trillion in assets and processes 500,000 orders on a daily basis. TD Ameritrade is part of the big four brokerage trading firms that include Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, and E*TRADE.

Direct Market Access (DMA) to Spot Forex Market

At TD Ameritrade, US traders have direct market access to a wide variety of financial instruments, including:

• FX trades on 78 major and minor currency pairs
• Stockbroker services with zero commissions on US exchange-listed stocks
• ETF trading on over +2,300 ETFs, all commission-free
• Futures trading with over 70 contracts (including Bitcoin futures)
• +13,000 mutual funds
• Options trading
• Cryptocurrencies via ErisX (US residents can trade cryptocurrency spot contracts)
• And many more

While CFDs are forbidden on US soil, the wide range of financial instruments offered by TD Ameritrade gives US traders the opportunity to speculate and invest directly in the underlying product. TD Ameritrade doesn’t charge data or platform fees. Only options trading comes with a small fee of USD 0.65 per contract. US-based traders can also expect trading forex with EUR/USD average spread of 1.065 pips (according to data compiled from Oct ’18-January ’19).

Comparing Spreads with other USA Forex Brokers

Thinkorswim Trading Platform

TD Ameritrade offers a professional-grade terminal called Thinkorswim. US investors who hold a live trading account with TD Ameritrade can trade for free on this multi-asset platform. The award-winning Thinkorswim comes with the following advantageous features:

• Access to over 400 technical indicators
• Designed for algorithmic trading via thinkScript
• Integrated newsfeeds from your favorite CNBC hosts and TD Ameritrade media affiliates
• Market Monitor gives a visual layout of the entire market via Heatmaps and graphics
• Thinkorswim Mobile Apps (in App Store and Google play)
• Economic data helps you stay on top of the forex market
• Custom alerts keep US traders updated with the latest price changes

Note* On the downside, TD Ameritrade doesn’t offer the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Active FX traders that rely on the MT4 platform can opt for ATC Brokers.

Summary of TD Ameritrade Findings

Overall, TD Ameritrade is geared more towards professional traders. However, US retail traders can also benefit from the multi-asset Thinkorswim platform, which is rich in technical tools. TD Ameritrade offers a dedicated demo trading platform called paperMoney, where US based traders can test any trading strategy using live FX quotes.

Oanda  – No Minimum Deposit

Oanda is a leading global market maker that ranks in our top US FX brokers list for their no minimum deposit policy. Oanda offers two account types (Standard account and Premium account) that give US FX traders the following advantages:

• Access to quotes on 70 currency pairs with no dealer intervention
• 4 trading platforms (Oanda Trade web-based, desktop, mobile apps, and MT4)
• Powerful technical analysis tools powered by Autochartist
• Integrated economic announcements with Oanda Trade platform
• Third-party software (MotiveWave and Dow Jones FX Select)
• Risk management orders
• Transparent pricing models

Note* At Oanda, US residents can fund their live accounts via debit card (MasterCard, Visa or Discover), bank transfer, check (USD) and automated clearing house (ACH). On the other hand, withdrawing funds can only be done via debit card and bank wire transfer.

Our team of industry experts has assessed and hand-checked for accuracy these primary advantages that Oanda can bring to the table.

US Forex Brokers with Spread-only Pricing Model

Our review process took into consideration the spread cost built into the bid and ask prices to gauge the fees associated with making a trade. We have found that Oanda’s market maker model offers two types of FX pricing options:

• Spread-only pricing (comprised of variable spreads)
• Core pricing plus commission trading

Oanda spread-only model offers average spreads of 1.4 pips on EUR/USD and USD/JPY compared to 0.4 pips average spread on EUR/USD respectively and 0.3 pips on USD/JPY for the core pricing model. While the core pricing model offers reduced spreads, it has an additional commission of $5 per side for each 100,000 unit traded (or $10 round-turn commission).

See below, a full comparison of the variable spreads and core spreads on Oanda’s most popular currency pairs.

Oanda’s price engine technology connects to an exclusive liquidity pool formed by tier-1 global banks. At Oanda US, the price you see on the feed is the price at which your order gets filled. There are no re-quotes.

Summary of Oanda Findings

With over 23 years of experience in the foreign exchange market, Oanda is a well-respected brokerage among its peers. Oanda provides access to the FX market under the umbrella of the following regulatory authorities:

• Registered as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
• Registered as a Forex Dealer Member (FDM) of the National Futures Association (NFA ID 0325821)
• Additional global tier-one forex regulatory bodies (FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MAS and FSA)

Oanda customers have a wide range of supported funding currencies at their disposal including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, HKD, JPY, SGD and CHF.

ATC Brokers – MetaTrader 4 (MT4) Trading Platform

ATC Brokers operates as an agency model (ECN and STP models) and ranks in our list as the best MT4 broker in the US. ATC Brokers provides financial services in the form of Forex trading under the supervision of both CFTC and NFA. The regulatory framework protects US clients from bad trading practices and offers the safety of funds.

ATC Brokers blends the benefits that come with ECN and STP brokers into a hybrid model. The enhanced trading experienced by the non-dealing desk execution model gives US traders the following advantages:

• Fair FX market environment with no conflict of interest
• Access to FX trading and metal trading on 38 currency pairs and 2 metals (Gold and Silver)
• Narrowed spreads on the major currency pairs
• Upgraded MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform
• No restrictions for trading (scalping is allowed)
• STP order aggregation buy and sell prices derived from multiple liquidity providers

Note* While ATC Brokers offers a core pricing model, in addition to the spread, it also charges a substantial commission of $10 per every 100,000 units traded.

The trading software solution built in-house by the ATC Brokers experts has propelled this FX trading provider on top of our best MT4 brokers in the USA. Below, our industry experts have further outlined the innovative technological solution offered by ATC Brokers.

Best MetaTrader 4 Platform for US Traders

In addition to offering the popular MT4 platform (desktop and mobile), ATC Brokers have combined the advantages of this technology with a new range of trading tools and features and introduced the MT Pro trading platform. This optimized version of the MT4 offers US residents the following advantages:

• Depth of Market (DOM) with multiple layers of market depth
• One-click execution – trading directly from the FX price ladder
• Direct button to close and reverse all open trades
• Customizable trading orders
• PnL equity curve
• Sophisticated tools to analyze user performance (Winners vs. Losses, Time Analysis, Etc.)

Summary of ATC Brokers Findings

Overall, ATC Brokers offer superior trading conditions through the MT Pro software technology. Trading can be conducted via both platforms (MT4 and MT Pro) at your discretion, with raw spreads as low as 0.3 pips on EUR/USD respectively and 0.4 pips on USD/JPY. US retail traders can request their demo account login details (30 days availability) after submitting an online form request. Take note, the live trading account requires a minimum deposit of USD 3,000.