Forex Brokers Accepting US Clients

OANDA is our top choice for Americans looking for an online broker to spot trade forex. This forex brokerage excels in market research, offers robust charting and technical analysis tools, and has an award-winning mobile app. It also boasts a strong reputation due to an impressive commitment to transparency.

With seven licenses from Tier-1 regulators, OANDA is the only broker we reviewed to earn a 100/100 trust score per our methodology. Crucially, for U.S. traders, OANDA Corporation holds licenses from the National Futures Association and is registered with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

Key Strengths Of OANDA:

• Low spreads and competitive trading costs
• Wide variety of assets to trade
• 24/7 customer support by traders, for traders

OANDA Trading Accounts & Products

If you’re an American forex trader, OANDA offers you a single, straightforward account. The Spread Only Pricing account functions much like other brokers’ Standard accounts: rather than paying a commission to execute the trade and a separate fee to cover the spread, you pay a single lump sum that includes execution costs.

Beginner traders and those who play the markets casually may prefer the convenience of OANDA’s Spread-only pricing account, while those with more experience may appreciate the commission-based structure of the Core Pricing account.

• Spread Only Pricing. Variable spreads start at 0.6 pips, and traders pay no commission on round-turn trades of a standard lot.
• Core Pricing. Traders pay a commission of USD 10.00 per round-turn trade of a standard lot but enjoy tighter variable spreads that start as low as 0.1 pips.

OANDA Active Trader Rebate Programs

If you’re a professional investor or a trader comfortable working with significant sums of money, OANDA offers an attractive rebate program to reward high-volume trades.

Qualifying account holders can select between a reduction in commissions or a cash rebate ranging from USD 5.00 and USD 15.00 per million dollars traded.

OANDA limits American traders to forex only but offers a comprehensive selection of pairs to trade. The broker’s ten major currency pairs include EUR, GBP, USD, JPY, NZD, AUD and CHF. It also offers 58 minor, exotic and cross pairs for a total of 68 currency combinations for trading.

OANDA Trading Platforms

If you’re trading forex with OANDA, you have a choice between two good options when it comes to Forex trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 or OANDA Trade, the broker’s own in-house web and mobile interface.

Powered by TradingView, OANDA’s proprietary platforms have all the tools a trader might want, including performance analytics, personalized watchlists and advanced charting options. Technical traders accustomed to MetaTrader and cTrader might find themselves pleasantly surprised at how powerful OANDA’s offerings are.

For those who prefer the Meta family of trading platforms and tools, OANDA allows MetaTrader 4 users to access additional tools, including advanced indicators, mini charts, alert trading, EAs, alert trading and one-cancels-the-other orders, keyboard trading and tick trading via MetaTrader Premium.

For automated trading, OANDA offers US traders a private API, OANDA v20 REST, which allows for automated trades via the OANDA Trade platforms.

OANDA: Our Verdict

With a solid selection of currency pairs available to trade, powerful trading tools and competitive trading costs, OANDA covers all the bases for a quality trading experience, regardless of experience level, budget or preferred strategy.

Straightforward funding with no hidden costs and high-quality customer support round out the profile and earn this broker our highest endorsement.

OANDA offers a new Welcome Bonus of up to $10,000

OANDA is now offering a Welcome Bonus of up to $10,000 for all new account holders, a unique incentive to help boost your trading account. To opt into this offer you simply need to:

• • Complete an online form on OANDA’s website
  • Open an account and deposit at least $300 and maintain this for at least 60 days
  • Meet OANDA’s minimum trade volume requirements of $25,000
  • Do all the above by 30 April 2024 and receive $100

  or

  • Complete an online form on OANDA’s website
  • Open an account and deposit at least $50,000 and maintain this for at least 60 days
  • Meet OANDA’s minimum trade volume requirements of $50,000,000
  • Do all the above by 30 April 2024 and receive $10,000

View OANDA ReviewVisit OANDA

*OANDA’s Welcome Bonus of $10,000 is now available for all new account holders.

We recommend FOREX.com for its robust trading environment built around the MetaTrader 4 trading platform, sophisticated technical trading tools and advanced analytical capabilities. A solid selection of currency pairs ensures that you have ample opportunities across the foreign exchange markets, while competitive trading costs help you stay within budget.

Key Strengths:

• Powerful trading environment based on MetaTrader 4
• Sophisticated technical trading tools
• Great variety of currency pairs

FOREX.com Trading Accounts & Products

Choose wisely – your trading costs with FOREX.com depend on the type of account you choose:

• Standard account with spreads as low as 1.2 pips for EUR/USD.
• RAW Pricing account with EUR/USD spreads as low as 0.0 pips plus USD$7 in commissions each way per standard 100k lot traded (USD$14 round-turn commission).

FOREX.com requires a minimum deposit of USD 100 to open an account but makes up for it with the maximum leverage allowed for retail clients. (That’s  1:50 under CFTC rules.)

In terms of markets, you can trade more than 80 major, minor and exotic currency pairs, as well as unleveraged gold and silver.

FOREX.com Trading Platforms

In addition to the platform’s own mobile, web and desktop trading interfaces, you have the option to trade with MetaTrader 4.  If you’re interested in using Capitalise.ai for automation or NinjaTrader for futures, however, you’re better off with FOREX.com’s proprietary platform.

We recommend IG Group as a top choice for US traders due to its award-winning proprietary trading platform, competitive trading fees, speedy order execution and robust customer support.

IG has 3 platforms and useful tools for better trading

IG Markets US, which is part of global financial services provider IG Group established in 1974. While IG US has been offering financial trading services in the US since 2007, they expanded their services to include over 80 forex trading pairs for trading in 2019.

We consider IG one of the best Forex brokers for US traders based on:

• Trading costs
• Order execution
• Platform offerings and features
• Customer support service.

IG Trading Accounts & Products

Since IG Markets US operates a market maker model, its Forex trading spreads tend to be a bit wider compared to ECN and STP brokerages. Unlike an ECN or STP account, there are no commission costs you need to pay in addition to the spread.

IG Markets US traders offer competitive pricing on more than 80 major, minor and exotic currency pairs. Leverage can be up to 50:1 however most pairs will be 30:1 or 20:1.

IG Trading Platforms

The Forex brokerage offers a mix of in-house and third-party trading platforms in an attempt to suit the preferences of a wider range of traders.

IG Proprietary Trading Platform

IG offers 3 versions of their signature platform built from the ground up for the needs of clients. These versions are web-based, as a mobile app and as a tablet app.

The web-­based IG (U.S.) platform requires no download which means you can use it on any interface that allows access to a web browser. Through this platform, you can access the usual charts you will find with most trading platforms however there are a few notable features. Firstly, because they are built with HTML5, they not only run fast but can be split into up to 4 timeframes and come with unlimited indicators.

One last feature to note is that it comes with basic risk management tools such as stop loss and take profits however guaranteed stop loss and trailing stop loss are not available. This is surprising because these tools are available through this platform in other international markets IG serves.

IG US also has its own proprietary mobile apps for Android and iOS devices, which have received multiple industry awards. The Android trading app offers real-time charts, 28 technical indicators and advanced dealing options such as partial fills and points through current. US clients will be able to set price alerts and receive trading signals via email, SMS or push notification.

We recommend TD Ameritrade for its wide range of products to trade. A subsidiary of American financial services company Charles Schwab, this broker enjoys unique access to financial markets not available to other online brokers headquartered abroad. With TD Ameritrade you can go beyond forex to explore cryptocurrency, stocks, ETFs and mutual funds.

Key Strengths:

• Industry-leading educational materials;
• A mobile trading app designed particularly for beginners.
• Access to thinkorswim trading platforms on desktop, web trader, and mobile app

TD Ameritrade Trading Accounts & Products

TD Ameritrade clients will need to open a standard account to trade forex and other instruments.

This standard account model uses a dealing desk for trade execution. Spreads start at 1.0 pips, but US traders pay no commission, regardless of the size of the trade.

Regardless of which account you choose you can trade a very diverse range of products whether this be spot or actual. With some 70 forex pairs, TD Ameritrade’s US-based customers can spot-trade stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, indices and commodities.

TD Ameritrade Trading Platforms

TD Ameritrade takes a similar approach to trading platforms as account types: pick one thing and do it well. The broker offers a single, powerful platform to customers: thinkorswim, which it acquired in 2009.

Fortunately for those accustomed to the tools and features of the MetaQuotes family of platforms, thinkorswim has everything an MT4 or MT5 trader could want and more. With thinkorswim, traders have access to Level 2 depth of market data, as well as over 400 studies and 20 drawing tools. Algorithmic traders can use thinkscript for automated trading, and social traders have access to sophisticated sentiment analysis.

We recommend Interactive brokers – IB for short – particularly for professional traders based on their powerful trading tools and extensive range of order types – more than any other broker we reviewed. The complex pricing structure and absence of other platform options may make it a less-than-ideal option for beginners, however.

Because Interactive Brokers sources its pricing from over 17 FX dealers, account holders have access to spreads as tight as 0.1 pips on major currency pairs. You will, however, pay a commission on every trade, though the amount will vary based on the size of your trade. This can make managing your costs difficult, and we would’ve liked an in-built calculator or similar tool. On the other hand, the low trading costs – even with commissions – more than tip the scale.

We also enjoyed experimenting with the broker’s proprietary trading platform. Aptly named TraderWorkstation, it offers professional-grade trading conditions. We also took note of the range of order types, which includes Basket orders and One-cancels-all.

We recommend NADEX for anyone interested in trading forex options. While not, strictly speaking, a brokerage, it occupies a unique space in the US market as the only licensed platform for forex options trading available to Americans. With NADEX, you can trade binary options, knockouts and call spreads based on COMEX/NYMEX futures.

Key Strengths:

• Dedicated to binary options and other exotic derivatives
• Fully regulated and CFTC-compliant
• Easy funding and low fees.

NADEX Trading Products

Americans using NADEX have the choice to trade in binary options, call spreads and knockouts. Position limits start at 100 for knockouts and extend to 25 for Call Spreads and 2,500 for Binary options. Trading fees are set at $1 to enter or exit any contract before expiration, regardless of instrument, and $1 to settle a contract at the expiration of trading. If you’re out of the money when your binary option contract expires you’ll pay no settlement fee.

Traders accustomed to a balanced portfolio with a variety of instruments may find NADEX offering too limited. The exchange offers only 10 forex pairs, seven stock indices and three commodities.

NADEX allows customers to fund their accounts via debit card, paper check and ACH or wire transfers at no fee. Note that credit cards are not available, which means traders must have cash on hand to trade. Withdrawals are likewise inexpensive, as NADEX does not charge a fee unless customers opt for a wire transfer.

NADEX Trading Platforms

With a proprietary trading platform adapted for mobile and desktop, NADEX allows customers to access markets at any time. The trading tools, particularly charts and technical indicators may feel lightweight to professional traders. For a niche investment platform, however, they’re perfectly adequate.

NADEX does stand out for its risk management tools. Traders enjoy negative balance protection. The platform will automatically exit losing positions if the market turns against a trader, preventing catastrophic losses.

We recommend Trading.com for its dedication to the MetaTrader 5 trading platform. The successor to MetaTrader 4 offers a similarly high-quality trading experience but includes access to centralised exchanges. Trading.com is the only regulated Forex broker to offer MT5 to American traders. It also stands out for its selection of forex pairs, 24/5 customer support and competitive trading costs.

Trading.com has trading with MetaQuotes MT5 Trading Platform

For automated traders and those with an interest in centralised exchanges, a broker like Trading.com stands out for its commitment to the MetaTrader 5 platform. The successor to MetaTrader 4 provides a similarly high-quality trading environment, with several innovative features.

Key Strengths:

• Wide range of available instruments to trade
• Straightforward trading environment
• Round-the-clock, live customer support

Trading.com Trading Accounts & Products

US-based forex traders can open a T1 account with Trading.com after making a minimum deposit of USD$50 via wire or ACH transfer. Payment by credit or debit card is also an option but will incur a fee.

Trading.com acts as a market-maker for customers. While this does ensure the execution of customer trades, it also means wider spreads. Variable spreads start at 0.7 pips, however, traders pay no commission on round-turn trades of standard lots.

Trading.com offers 71 pairs total, including all major, minor and exotics, as well as RUB pairs. Leverage extends 1:50 for major pairs and 1:33 for minor pairs – the maximum allowed under US regulations.

Trading.com Trading Platforms

Trading.com is, hands down, the best broker for traders interested in exploring MT5. The newest version of the platform has many of the same features as MetaTrader 4, plus some new additions that make it an ideal platform for automated trading.

The platform has reported impressive execution speeds and offers users access to some sophisticated charting tools. Users can pen up to 100 charts at a time with 21 timeframes and 80 technical analysis tools.

We recommend eToro for anyone interested in casual day trading or social and copy trading. With a gamified approach to investing and a business strategy devoted to making trading accessible, you’ll find an impressive selection of tools for social and copy trading.

Key Strengths:

• Innovative, game-ified approach to investing
• Excellent selection of cryptocurrencies
• Supports social and copy-trading

eToro Trading Accounts & Products

eToro operates in a limited number of US states and offers only one account type to American customers: standard. Account holders will need to make a USD$10 minimum deposit to begin trading, however, accounts can be funded with a range of currencies, including crypto.

Because the broker acts as a market-maker, traders pay a ‘spread plus 1%’ fee per 100K standard lot on round-turn trades with a minimum spread of 1.0 pips. Users can trade stocks and ETFs at 0% commission, however, even for fractional shares.

US traders can access some of the most popular cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, ADA, and Dogecoin. The broker currently allows trading in 39 cryptocurrencies, as well as ETFs and stocks.

eToro Trading Platforms

US clients seeking a copy trading solution will find eToro appealing. The broker’s proprietary platform allows users to identify top-performing traders, connect with them and directly replicate their trading activities.

eToro’s CopyTrader also enables users to pause or stop the copy, to add or to remove funds whenever they wish – without the need to pay any additional management fees or other hidden costs.

Note: Unlike others on this list, eToro is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA for short.