Best Forex Trading Platforms

Why Pepperstone Is The Best MetaTrader 4 Broker

Pepperstone is the best MetaTrader 4 forex broker based on:

• Market-Leading spreads from 0.0 pips and low commissions
• The fastest MT4 execution speeds of ~30ms
• Additional MT4 platform indicators and expert advisor features
• Advanced demo account with $50,000 in virtual funds
• 150+ instruments across a range of markets
• Award-winning customer service
• Markets leading leverage up to 500:1

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the most popular forex trading platform worldwide based on ease of use, fast execution speeds and the ability to adopt algorithmic trading (expert advisors). Below goes into detail as to why Pepperstone was considered the best MT4 broker.

1) Pepperstone Low MT4 Spreads And Commissions

Pepperstone offers the lowest commissions for MetaTrader 4 which vary by the base currency chosen including per lot:

• US Dollar base currency = $3.77 USD
• Euro base currency = EUR $2.61
• Pound base currency = GBP £2.29
• Japanese Yen base currency = JPY 607

Forex traders who FX volume exceeds 100 lots are eligible for the active traders discount which is 10% off the commission rates below. For volumes between 200-500 lots the discount increases to 15% while further discounts are available for higher-volume traders

The Pepperstone Razor account type spreads are ECN broker set with straight-through processing (STP). This means that spreads are primarily set by the market with no dealing desk interface. Pepperstone is able to offer clients some of the tightest real-time spreads available in the world due to their access to tier 1 liquidity from some of the largest banks in the world.

Overall, the ECN broker spreads offered by Pepperstone combined with the low commissions (that can be further discounted for active traders) is why Pepperstone is the leader when it comes to MetaTrader 4 trading costs.

2) Pepperstone Has ~30ms MT4 Execution Speeds

In addition to the 12x execution speeds mentioned earlier a further 10x reduction in latency has been achieved through fibre optical connections to interbank servers in New York City. The company also introduced one-click foreign exchange trading not too long ago. This is an incredible feature to have in today’s volatile currency markets where every single second count; making or breaking a trade.

With Pepperstone’s best forex trading platform you can be certain that all trades are settled electronically and directly from bank servers. Unlike some of Pepperstone’s competitors, no part of the trading process is manual or involves a dealing desk. In our Pepperstone review, we found incredible pricing efficiency when trading thanks to their ECN venues and banking systems. This pricing accuracy minimises slippage and ensures retail traders are not losing precious capital unnecessarily.

3) Pepperstone Offers Global Regulation and Funding Methods

Pepperstone was founded in 2010 originally based in Australia with Australia Securities And Investment (ASIC) regulation. The broker is now also regulated in the UK with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is in the process of receiving an FSB licence in South Africa. All client deposits and funds are segregated into ‘tier 1’ banks such as the National Australia Bank.

Pepperstone has the most comprehensive range of payment methods with most offering instant funding options to start trading faster. Most funding and withdrawal methods are also free of fees. Pepperstone minimum deposit requirement is $200 or for UK residences it’s GBP £200. There are no funding requirements to open a MetaTrader 4 demo account.

4) Pepperstone Offers High Leverage Levels

Pepperstone has two regulated bodies. The first is Pepperstone Group Limited trading as Pepperstone that is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities And Investment Commission) with AFSL No 414530 and ABN 12147055703. The leverage offered is up to 500:1 for forex and commodities, 200:1 for index CFDs and 5:1 for cryptocurrencies. This is some of the highest leverage available by any broker resulting in a high level of risk when trading. Traders should consider the risk warnings before choosing the highest levels available when opening a live account. Pepperstone offers a product disclosure statement and the ability to choose lower leverage levels that may be more suitable for a trader.

The second entity is Pepperstone Limited trading as Pepperstone in the United Kingdom and regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). This entity is designed for UK traders and those based on the European Union requiring a European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) broker which Pepperstone Limited is. ESMA has set leverage restrictions for retail traders (retail investor accounts) including:

• 30:1 leverage for forex (majors)
• 20:1 leverage for forex (exotics)
• 10:1 leverage for commodities (excluding gold)
• 2:1 leverage for cryptocurrency CFDs

Traders that qualify as professional traders can receive higher leverage but there are strict requirements to achieve this status after CFD trading for some time. This level of leverage is similar to Pepperstone Group Limited. Traders should seek independent advice prior to choosing which entity they trade with.

Overall, Pepperstone offers a higher leverage level compared to most top CFD brokers in 2020. It’s critical to understand the high risk involved with trading forex with higher leverage levels.

5) Pepperstone Has Award-Winning Customer Service

Pepperstone is one of the most awarded CFD brokers when it comes to customer support with past awards including:

• Professional Traders Award – Best Client Relationship Manager Service
• Global Forex Awards – Best Forex Trading Support – Europe
• UK Forex Awards – Best Forex Trading Support
• Australia Investment Trends – #1 for Customer Service

While ASIC and FCA requirements set minimum training standards, most Pepperstone staff are actually traders with detailed knowledge of financial markets, CFDs and complex instruments. They have detailed knowledge of the MetaTrader 5 platform and features and can be contacted via the call centre, live chat or e-mail. Experienced traders can also receive a dedicated account manager and information seminars at their UK and Australia offices.

Summary Of Why Pepperstone Is The Best MetaTrader 4 Forex Broker

Pepperstone offers the most advanced MT4 trading environment from fast execution speeds, enhanced features to indicators supported with award-winner customer support. With the online broker offering one of the lowest MT4 spreads, commissions and no deposit/withdrawal fees, Pepperstone is the best choice for those looking to trade with MetaTrader 4.

Open MT4 demo account >>Visit Pepperstone >>

FXCM Offers The Best Mobile Platform

FXCM has their own Trading Station platform that features:

• A range of forex markets and forex baskets from the dollar, yen to emerging markets
• A range of asset classes including Crypto-Major baskets
• Trading tools to assist in trading decisions and automated them
• The ability to make multiple timeframe trading
• Detailed insights and knowledge section to teach how CFDs work
• The option of spread betting for UK residences
• Free demo account

Open a demo account >>Open FXCM >>

Forex Platform Guides

Australia Platform Guides

Learn about the components to consider when choosing a platform for forex trading.

Australia Currency Trading

Learn of the benefit and risks of currency trading and how brokers impact forex trading.

Share Trading Guide

View the most popular share trading software for Australian traders.

Types Of Forex Trading Platforms

What Is the most popular trading software?

The most popular forex platform is MetaTrader 4 by Metquotes. Most leading forex brokers offer this trading platform including Pepperstone, IG and CMC Markets offering fx trading on the following devices:

• Desktop + Laptops (including Mac)
• iPhone and iPad
• Android

You can view our review of Pepperstone which is the best fx broker for the MT4 platform.

What makes a good forex broker?

A good forex broker is regulated (ideally in your local market), has low brokerage (commissions, spreads, overnight holding costs) and offers a forex platform that meets your needs.

The best starting point is our forex broker shortlist which details the best brokers by category.

What is the best forex broker for beginners?

Beginner traders benefit from fx brokers that have fixed spreads, an easy to use fx trading platform, risk management tools such as guaranteed stop-loss orders and customer service training tailored for novices.

We recommend Plus500 which offers these features and offers a range of CFDs including cryptocurrency trading.

What is the best leverage when forex trading?

Leverage is determined by the forex broker chosen and your local regulator. For example, in the UK the Financial Conduct Authority sets the maximum leverage at 30:1 for retail investor accounts. Other regulators allow higher leverage in their jurisdiction such as the FSCA in South Africa. The best leverage for experienced traders who use automation can be 500:1 which is offered by IC Markets.  Beginner forex traders should consider a demo account or selecting lower leverage such as 50:1 due to the high risk involved with leverage.

What Is The Best Trading Platform For Mac Users?

MT4 Is The Best Mac Platform

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is widely considered the best forex trading platform for Mac as you can read in our full Mac review with the following features:

• No requirement for a windows emulator
• Pre-installed forex indicators
• Fast latency speed
• A plethora of order types
• Pre-installed indicators

List Of Forex Trading Platforms

View the top forex trading platforms based on popularity, usability executions speeds, features and more are displayed below. For a full list of forex trading platforms we will be making a new page in 2018.

FOREX TRADING PLATFORM	BEST FOR	PRODUCTS TRADED	PRACTICE ACCOUNT	HIGHLIGHTS
	Advanced Traders	Currencies CFDs	30 Days	MT4 is the the most popular forex worldwide trading platform with automated (EA) functionality
	Charting	Currencies CFDs	30 Days	cTrader has Click-and-drag functionality to open and close trades from graphs
	CFDs Trading	Currencies CFDs Shares Bitcoin Commodities	$20,000 virtual funds	All-in-one CFDs currency and share trading platform to access 10,000 markets
	Beginner Traders	Currencies CFDs Commodities Indices	Unlimited	DealCancellation To Undo Currency Trades within 60 minutes
	Sell-side Analysis	Currencies CFDs Indices Commodities	$50,000 virtual funds	Real Volume indicators and good till date trading feature
	Market Transparency	Currencies Indices Commodities Bonds	Unlimited	Access to CFDs and forex market sentiment and open orders/positions held by OANDA's clients

What is the best platform to trade forex?

The best platform to trade forex is MetaTrader 4 based on the number of forex brokers offering the software and the fact it’s the most used platform in the world. You can view a list of MT4 brokers that offer the platform which is further broken down by brokerage, features and customer service.

How Compare Forex Brokers Determined The Best Forex Broker

The Compare Forex broker team has compared CFD providers and their platforms for over five years. This fx platform comparison is for international CFD traders while you can also view country-specific comparisons for:

• Singapore Brokers
• South Africa Brokers
• UK Brokers

To determine the most popular forex trading platform and best forex broker a list of providers and reviews were created leading to the best forex trading platform comparison table above. Many fx brokers were reviewed but didn’t make the table including IG Markets, GO Markets, AvaTrade, FXCM, EasyForex, ThinkMarkets, AxiTrader and Forex.com. The key factors that led to these brokers not been included were the forex platform they used, spreads and leverage.

The stars above came from ten criteria that all forex traders should consider when currency trading:

1. Spreads And Fees: There are two main fees charged when forex trading. Spreads are the difference between currency pairings (the margin between the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ while commissions are a set rate charge based on the volume of funds traded. Some accounts are a mix of these while others only charge a spread. These costs add-up when currency trading so it’s important to compare these fees prior to choosing a forex broker.
2. Forex Trading Platform: There are generic forex trading platforms such as MetaTrader and cTrader which are offered by a plethora of forex brokers. These are the most popular fx trading platforms making it easy to change forex brokers with minimal disruption and share insights with other currency traders. Other fx brokers have their own platform which can have unique features to enhance online trading.
3. Advanced Trading Tools: Most forex brokers offer enhancements to existing platforms allows for improved charting, sentiment indicators, alarm managers to enhanced automated trading. These tools can provide greater insights into currency markets or make placing and closing an order easier.
4. Execution Speeds: Speed is everything when currency trading. The best forex trading platforms allow for ‘one-click’ trading but often a forex broker’s infrastructure can lead to trading delays. Delays can lead the price to be realised to differ from the price quoted known as slippage. Ensuring the forex broker has the right setup to maximise execution speeds can be critical in turbulent markets such as during rate decisions.
5. Leverage: Currency markets and CFDs traditionally move by small amounts daily. To make it worthwhile to trade currency leverage is offered by all forex brokers to amplify these movements. Higher leverage can be critical for advanced forex trading strategies and can differ from 50:1 up to 400:1 so this can be a critical variable used to determine the right forex broker. It should be noted forex traders usually can request lower leverage.
6. Risk Management Tools: Leverage explains above increases the risks of forex trading. For traders with a low-risk tolerance of those new to forex trading, it’s recommended to consider a foreign exchange broker that offers risk management tools. These can include guaranteed stops, where a maximum loss amount can be locked in. Another is minimum balance protection which guarantees a currency trader loss can’t exceed their deposit.
7. Financial Products Traded: All forex brokers offer the major currencies to be traded but there are many currency pairings (exotics) that only a limited number offer. Many online brokers also offer trading of CFDs, indices, commodities and even cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. Some even include share trading allowing traders to have an all-in-one trading solution rather than multiple brokers and platforms.
8. Customer Satisfaction: Customer service varies significantly between forex brokers. While most will have a call centre that is open 24 hours during business days, only some offer services such as live chat. A limited number also offer dedicated account manager which can be useful for those new to currency trading or those that required support for advanced trading systems.
9. Minimum Deposit: Different forex brokers have deposit requirements that can range from just $25 up to $10,000. Many online traders don’t want to deposit large quantities so this is an element that can help determine the right currency broker. Funding options can also range between brokers from Paypal, direct deposit to credit cards. Some also charge deposit and withdrawal fees which should be considered.
10. Reputation And Regulation: The sad truth about forex trading historically is there have been forex scams. These have almost always been done by overseas forex brokers that are not locally regulated and have a poor reputation. It’s worth viewing review websites such as Trust Pilot prior to selecting an online broker and making sure they are regulated by ASIC.

The best forex broker table was updated in 2020 based on the currency trading provider websites and product adjustments. Currency traders should consider the contents on this site in combination with the most up-to-date content on CFDs providers websites.