To help choose a broker, the top forex trading platforms were compared, including MetaTrader 4 (MT4). The best forex broker for each trading platform was then determined based on forex spreads, trade execution, customer service and software features such as trading apps.
Updated: 12/06/2021
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The best forex broker based on the top trading platforms in June 2021 are.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the most popular retail platform for currency trading. MetaQuotes created the trading platform in 2005 and has over 85% penetration from worldwide forex brokers. 55% of retail forex traders used the platform in 2018 based on Finance Magnates Intelligence. Based on awards, it’s considered the best forex platform.
The popularity of MetaTrader 4 is the biggest advantage as traders who become familiar with the platform can easily switch between the top forex brokers. The stability of the 15-year-old trading software is another key benefit with other MT4 features:
Features such as algorithmic and social trading also benefit from the software’s popularity with the largest copy trader community and range of bots to download (called Expert Advisors) including those below from the marketplace.
The MetaTrader 4 platform does not suit those looking to trade share CFDs. The charting package is basic and while functional, it lacks the sophistication of other software packages. Other concerns include limited technical indicators, instruments, and timeframes.
Pepperstone Demo MetaTrader 4 Trading Platform
Pepperstone is the best MetaTrader 4 forex broker based on:
Through the Razor account type, Pepperstone offers ECN broker spreads with straight-through processing (STP). With no dealing desk, spreads are set by the market and Pepperstone has the best access to tier 1 liquidity pools. The result is that across the major currency pairs the broker achieves lower average spreads than other MT4 brokers such as Forex.com and Axi.
Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 04/06/2021
Pepperstone also offers competitive MT4 commissions that are determined by the traders’ base currency. Further discounts are available on these rates for high-volume traders under the ‘active trader’ program.
The calculator below calculates forex brokerage. It highlights the savings on fees that Pepperstone offers compared to other leading MetaTrader 4 brokers factoring in commissions, published average spreads and current forex crosses.
Commission
Spread Costs
Total
Tight ECN Spreads + Low Commissions = Pepperstone MT4 Fees
Pepperstone utilises a state-of-the-art Equinix data centre in New York for MetaTrader 4. This achieves up to 10x latency reduction and a 12x improvement in trade execution speeds. Modifications within MetaTrader 4 such as ‘one-click trading’ also makes it easier to execute trades.
2020 speed testing found that Pepperstone was the fastest MT4 broker. Using Market Order Execution, the average speed was 85ms. This was using demo accounts of similar brokers who offer a MetaTrader 4 no dealing desk (NDD) setup. A faster execution speed reduces issues such as slippage, which can impact forex traders’ returns.
Pepperstone in 2020 published their own execution speeds with:
Pepperstone was founded in 2010 originally based in Australia and follows the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regulation. The broker is also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, DFSA in Dubai, BaFin in Germany, the CMA in Kenya and the SCB of the Bahamas. The broker is also in the process of receiving a financial licence in South Africa (FSCA).
When you chose a broker and start trading, signing up to a regulated broker will help you avoid any forex scams. Additionally, all client deposits and funds are segregated into ‘tier 1’ banks such as the National Australia Bank.
The minimum deposit requirement is GBP £200, AUD $200 or USD $200 depending on the base currency chosen with MT4 funding methods as shown below.
Pepperstone customer support offer details MetaTrader 4 knowledge across their call centre, live chat and e-mail. Experienced traders can also receive a dedicated account manager, and information seminars are regularly held at their UK and Australia offices. This is why they are the most awarded CFD broker when it comes to categories related to customer service, including:
Pepperstone has global regulation + award-winning customer service.
Pepperstone offers a great selection of educational resources to help you learn the ropes of MetaTrader 4 and forex trading. An 11 part MT4 trading platform tutorial is available that covers how to get started, different platform features and how to automate trading. As well as tutorials and articles, Pepperstone provides in-depth webinars and videos explaining important aspects of forex and CFD trading. For example, the Pepperstone video below explains the importance of economic calendars and the significant events that influence financial markets, such as Central Bank announcements and FOMC meetings.
Our analysis showed that Pepperstone has low average spreads and the fastest execution speeds of any MT4 forex broker. With a strong reputation, enhanced trader tools and easy funding methods, Pepperstone is the best MT4 broker. The broker also offers MetaTrader 5 and you can compare to MT4 with our Pepperstone MT4 vs MT5 guide.
View Pepperstone Review >>Visit Pepperstone >>
The overall rating is based on review by our experts
Three years after the release of MT4, the team at MetaQuotes developed MetaTrader 5 (MT5). The key reason for the new platform was to allow share CFD trading. The popularity of CFD trading and more brokers offering MT5 is why 11.5% of MetaTrader usage was MT5 in 2020 (up from 5.4% in 2019). Below shows the details of the Forex Magnates MetaQuotes study.
As stated above, unlike MT4 which focuses solely on currency trading, MetaTrader 5 offers a wider range of CFDs including share CFD trading. CFDs work by trading the price movements of underlying assets and are derivative products. The trading platform is faster than MetaTrader 4, offers more indicators and a wider range of order types. More specifically, five core features of MT5 include:
The biggest issue of MT5 is the programming language for automated trading, called MQL5. This is different from MetaTrader 4 and the MQL4 programming language, therefore you would essentially be learning new coding from scratch if you are an MT4 user. This has been a key reason for the slow adoption of MT5. The popularity issue is also a factor when it comes to purchasing EA’s (trading bots) or copy trading with a smaller marketplace compared to MT4.
IC Markets MT5 Platform Screenshot
IC Markets is recommended for MetaTrader 5 Traders with:
Comparing the top fx brokers’ average spreads in 2021, IC Markets was the clear winner as shown in the table below. This was based on each broker’s website data on their ECN account types, which we review each month. These low spreads are considered similar to what ECN brokers offer and are determined by market conditions like volatility and liquidity. IC Markets offer ECN spreads as low as 0.0 pips + commission, with commission fees being the broker earning its main source of income from commission.
MetaTrader 4 + 5 commissions are also competitive and based on the base currency chosen. While this is often determined by your location, it impacts the commission rates with AUD, EUR, JPY and GBP the best value. If you are outside of these regions, many traders will choose the USD as most forex pairs and crypto pairings are against the USD.
There are no hidden fees such as deposit or withdrawal fees including payment methods including credit cards, PayPal and even Bitcoin wallet. Individual broker reviews reflect the positive sentiment of the straightforward fee model.
Lowest Spreads + Low Commissions = IC Markets MT5 Fees
The minimum deposit requirement when opening a live MetaTrader 5 account is $200 USD. Note that financing fees apply for overnight positions held on CFD markets.
The MetaTrader 5 platform provides you access to IC Markets full product range of CFDs. This allows you to trade forex, cryptocurrency, futures, commodities, bonds and indices. Maximum leverage, competitive spreads and commissions range by the CFD traded and the subsidiary you are signed up to. The unique advantage of MT5 is the ability to trade share CFDs with the online broker offering ASX stock CFDs including BHP, NYSE stock CFDs including Walt Disney and NASDAQ CFDs including Google (Alphabet).
IC Markets have 60 forex pairs, 19 commodities and 120 share CFDs.
As of June 2021, the average MetaTrader 5 execution speed was 36.5 ms. This speed is the average order execution time from the moment the trade is executed to the moment the trade is confirmed. While some individual region may beat this number, it’s the lowest report worldwide average for this forex platform.
To achieve ultra-fast execution, IC Markets MetaTrader servers are located at the Equinix NY4 data centre. This is where 600+ buy/sell firms and other service providers are located. By having the server in this central location, IC Markets offers STP, low-latency pricing fees and no dealing desk.
The MT4 + MT5 server used by IC Markets has under 1ms latency. This applies to the largest VPS providers of nearby data centres dedicated lines or through the NY4 data centre itself.
60% of IC Markets trades are algo trades based on execution speeds.
When a traders monthly volume exceeds 15 lots, a VPN is provided free of charge.
An enhancement IC Markets offers is the ZuluTrade social trading extension. This social trading feature is used by over 100,000 traders in 192 countries and has two unique features. The first is Zulu Rank which ranks the individuals to consider copying. Factors considered when ranking range from performance, stability and exposure. The second is Zulu Guard, which provides account protection that can step in to protect your capital.
IC Markets was found to be the lowest spread forex broker on the major currency pairs combined and also charges low commissions and funding fees. The broker offers the CFD trading software with a ZuluTrade extension with a plethora of tradable instruments, including crypto and shares. The broker is well suited for Australian copy traders with ASIC regulation, and European traders can use the CySEC regulated subsidiary.
View IC Markets Review>>Visit IC Markets >>
Created by Spotware, cTrader is the third most popular forex software and is offered by a wide number of retail foreign exchange brokers. While no exact market share statistics have been published, below shows the popularity of the websites and app downloads of the three most popular platforms.
Our compare forex brokers platform chart below shows the difference of MT4 vs MT5 vs cTrader. It highlights that many consider cTrader the top forex trading platform with superior analytical and graphic objects of 65 and level II pricing. For automated trading, cTrader offers cAlgo which has a .NET framework and C# language which some programmers will be more familiar with than MLQ4 or MLQ5.
The smaller market share of cTrader vs MetaTrader means that the online community is more niche, limiting the sharing of bots and the copy trading environment. The server for Spotware is located in the UK, compared to MetaTrader, which is based in the USA and can be an issue for accessing liquidity and trade execution speeds.
Our top pick for cTrader is FxPro based on their:
FxPro uses straight-through processing (STP) technology to execute your cTrader orders anonymously with no dealing desk (NDD) intervention. This means they are not a market maker and don’t interfere with trades.
The main benefit of NDD interference is fast trade execution speeds with the majority of orders executed in 11.06 milliseconds. The result is that the quotes shown by FxPro in almost all cases are the price the order is filled with a low percentage of slippage having almost an equal positive and negative impact. Most cTrader traders are executed through the London (LD5) Equinix Data centre with servers connected to tier 1 banks through Quotix.
The resulting spreads for FxPro are not competitive for MT4 (1.58 pips) or MT5 (1.51 pips) but excellent for cTrader at just 0.37 pips. This makes them offer the best trading costs for cTrader only.
With 7,000 orders executed per second and co-location servers, traders benefit from the FxPro infrastructure.
FxPro offers spreads of 0.37 and 11.06ms execution speeds.
FxPro has two European Union regulation with FCA registration number 509956 and CYSEC licence number 078/07. They are also regulated in South Africa by the FSCA with authorisation number 45052, the middle east (Dubai) and in the Bahamas.
With so many regulated bodies, traders can choose the entity that matches where they are located or what conditions they wish to start trading under (eg balance protection, leverage).
FxPro offers 250 instruments to be traded through the cTrader platform this includes over 70 forex pairs, the futures market, spot indices across the world, over 150 stocks and global shares, spot metals and energies such from oil to gas.
FxPro also offers training courses, news and analysis and trading tools to get the most from these 2590+ instruments.
FxPro has the best infrastructure with co-location servers for cTrader. The results are fast execution speeds on average 11.06 ms, average cTrader spreads of 0.37 and a range of instruments that can be traded.
With regulation across the globe, including FSCA for South African traders, individual worldwide can choose the FxPro entity suitable for them.
Full Review Of FxPro >>Visit FxPro >>
Developed by Markets.com, MarketsX is a proprietary multi-asset trading platform, a one-stop solution for all your trading needs. The platform is part of an FTSE 250 company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The main advantage of MarketsX is the wide variety of smart trading tools including technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis tools. Our top picks for the most useful trading tools include the advance charting package, the Hedge Funds investment confidence, Insider trades which shows the smart money buying and selling activity and a stock report powered by Thomson Reuters.
The platform is equipped with 88 technical indicators and 9 different chart types, drawing tools and a customisable interface.
MarketsX has limited accessibility, as it’s only offered to clients of Markets.com. Despite being a multi-asset platform, the platform’s functionality is geared towards share dealing while the needs of forex traders are left behind.
Markets.com offers the following key features:
Markets.com trading operations are governed by regulatory bodies in Europe, Australia and South Africa. Markets.com also offers negative balance protection, meaning you’ll not have to cover any losses that are bigger than your initial investment.
There are favourable trading conditions, with spreads starting from 0.4 pips for the EUR/USD and 1 pip for the GBP/USD. Markets.com only offers the variable spread model, which is commission-free as all the trading cost is incorporated into the bid-ask spread.
Markets.com superior technological solution allows it to reduce the impact of slippage. In 2019, 71.25% of market orders had no slippage, while 2020 had an even better 81.67% of market orders had no slippage (61.51% no slippage and 21.16% positive slippage).
MarketsX is an award-winning trading platform equipped with all the tools needed to trade the market effectively. From technical analysis, fundamental and risk management tools to sentiment tools can be used to assess the current market trends across a range of financial instruments.
View Markets.com Review >>Visit Markets.com >>
Based out of the USA, NinjaTrader is an advanced charting forex software package created in 2004. Most forex traders using NinjaTrader are based in North America with the platform registered by the National Futures Association (NFA).
Most traders choose this software based on customisable charts and real-time bid/ask simultaneous data. Hundreds of trading indicators are pre-configured with drawing tools available. The tools ‘Market Analyzer’ helps traders scan changes in forex markets with the ability to build watch lists and indicator value. Alerts can be configured for currency market movements and automated strategy programs are pre-configured.
NinjaTrader is only offered by six foreign exchange brokers. The community using the software is small with only 60,000 traders in 2021. NinjaTrader has no mobile app with only a Windows desktop version available.
FXCM is the best NinjaTrader broker and also has the best mobile app through its Trading Station proprietary platform. Key features of FXCM Trading Station are:
*As per the August 2020 Price Improvement Statistics
In 2021 FXCM offers NinjaTrader 8 for forex trading and for Ireland and UK traders Spread Betting is also available. For both types of trading, the broker offers a risk-free demo account that includes full historical market data, access to third-party apps and indicators, and the ability to develop and test automated trading strategies.
It should be noted that a live account involves a high level of risk, as it involves real funds and leverage. In June 2021, 75.38% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with FXCM.
FXCM is the leading regulated broker offering both NinjaTrader and Trading Station, with the latter offering the most advanced mobile app for both iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The broker’s fees are higher for beginners, but their VIP account (active trading account) offers up to 62.4% in savings, making them a good option for high-volume traders who prefer to use their mobile device.
View FXCM Full Review >>Visit FXCM >>
Founded in 2001 and developed by IT-Finance in France, ProRealTime key strength is the technical analysis functionality. Unlike most other forex trading software, the is web-based with no downloads required. There are customisable currency market scanners and advanced charting facilities. For automated trading, the platform uses ProRealCode coding language.
As outlined above, the technical analysis functionality of ProRealTime is the key strength of the trading software. Both macro and micro currency traders can access 100+ indicators with filtering options by strike price and expiration dates. The interface has a wide variety of charts and unlimited timeframes, with the ability to place trades based on trend lines across asset classes.
The platform was not designed for mobile trading with no trading apps available. Some brokers offering ProRealTime such as Interactive Brokers, the trading platform is limited to some regions with no access for Australian and USA residents. Australian traders can only use the software in demo mode. The other issue is the fees some brokers charge from an interactive fee to real-time data access fees.
IG has 200,000 clients globally and is listed on the FTSE 250. Key features include:
There are two types of trading accounts. The first is a spread + commission account used by advanced traders looking for the lowest fees. Our analysis found that IC Markets has the lowest spreads in this category.
The second category is called a standard account and has no commissions. Our analysis shown below compares the average spreads of standard accounts and determined IG offered the lowest spreads overall.
Please note that other fees apply when trading, including financing fees for overnight positions. These financing fees will depend on the software platform chosen with IG.
IG has a $0 minimum deposit requirement and offers ProRealTime to the most forex traders around the world with tier 1 regulation. They offer the lowest standard account spreads (non-commission) and leading customer service as the world’s largest retail foreign exchange broker.
Compare Broker Spreads >>Visit IG >>
eToro specialises in social trading and copy trading with a platform specifically designed for trading CFDs. The online broker was recommended for social traders based on the platform functionality, number of copy traders online, and depth of CFD trading options.
The most obvious advantage of the eToro trading platform is that the platform is specifically designed for social trading. Unlike other platforms which require you to integrate third-party software or an add-on extension, eToro provides all the social tools you need for social trading. In this sense, eToro could be described as the Facebook of social trading, where traders can discuss all things trading with each other and get valuable feedback.
The other notable advantage of the platform is the copy trading feature. This comes in two flavours, CopyTrader and CopyPortfolio. With CopyTrader, you can follow and copy other users’ trading strategies. This is exceptionally useful for beginner traders or traders with little free time, as they can profit off the trades of other traders.
eToro provides performance analysis of other traders to help you find the traders to copy and risk management tools to help you exit trades when traders don’t perform.
While the eToro platform is user-friendly and simple to use, there is a learning curve when it comes to understanding some of eToro’s terminology and parameters. For example, eToro has created its own unique formula to calculate a user’s risk score from 1 to 10.
Traders should understand how it works as it can help you make better copy and trading decisions however it is complex to understand. The other disadvantage is eToro is a specialist social trader platform that does not as many technical indicators and graphical tools compared to specialist CFD platforms such as Next Generation by CMC Markets.
When opening an eToro trading account, a demo account is automatically created. This has $100,000 of virtual funds which traders can experiment with and practise using the platform’s full functionality. The demo account includes the research feature from eToro investors and industry experts sourced from financial institutions.
There are a variety of trading platform options from the web platform to mobile iOS app for iPad and iPhone devices. There is also an app for Android devices.
eToro has millions of traders but more importantly, it has the most traders engaged in social trading. These traders allow their trades to be copied in real-time by other traders because of a unique popular investors’ program. Below shows how this works with traders rewarded based on the size and the number of other traders copying their positions.
Other key social trading features include live newsfeeds, allowing traders to discuss strategies and share strategies.
In 2020, 47 currency pairs can be traded with eToro. Other key financial markets include 17 cryptocurrencies (including bitcoin), 145 EFTs, 13 commodities and 13 indices. The biggest financial market unique to eToro is their share trading ability to trade more stocks in most global markets as a contract for difference.
eToro is registered in Europe under CySEC (Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission) with licence 109/10 and in the UK by FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) licence 7973792 for UK traders. It also has multiple other licences such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) but is not available for US residences with no Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) licence.
eToro has over 10 million clients, which are critical for choice when copy trading. The specialist social trading platform offers most financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.
Open a demo account >>Visit eToro >>
Plus500 is a CFD provider that offers a large range of financial instruments for trading. The company offers its own proprietary trading platform, designed specifically to make monitoring and trading multiple instruments at one time as easy as possible.
Plus500 trading platform is well known for its ease of use when trading its large range of financial products. The main screen is designed to display multiple CFDs with real-time quotes and only the most necessary information through an exceptionally easy to view and organised layout. This helps users as it keeps things simple when trading, there is no need to switch screens to implement strategies or perform orders.
Our top picks for novice traders include several other brokers, but Plus500 has the best risk management tools available through the platform. This includes guaranteed stops, which are not available with most brokers.
The Plus500 trading platform has several limitations. The software does not offer algorithmic trading, meaning traders looking for trading automation may find the platform does not suit their needs. Traders looking for advanced analysis tools may also feel restricted as the Plus500 trading platform offers just 15 indicators and 10 timeframes and the level of platform customisation is limited.
The other main issue with the Plus500 trading platform is that it is proprietary with a closed ecosystem. This limits the level of customisation one can do either through creating their own custom signals with their own code, adding extensions or plug-in from 3rd part providers to increase the number of technical indicator or graphical tools available and switching platforms should you wish to change brokers in the future.
Plus500 offers the following features for novice traders:
One of the key features of the Plus500 trading platform is the risk management tools that are not often offered by other brokers. This includes guaranteed negative balance protection (NBP) ensuring you don’t lose more than your deposit. Guaranteed stop-loss orders are also available, allowing you to set a maximum potential loss for trades. Both don’t prevent the high risk of losing funds, but the trading tools reduce the high risk by allowing you to set limits on your losses.
While Plus500 is a good platform if you are new to trading, but we do not recommend the platform if you intend to use it to learn to trade. For this, we recommend their demo account as you can practice with virtual cash before using your own money to invest. Leverage instruments involve a high level of risk, so we recommend exercising caution before you trade.
Plus500 is the trading name globally but a number of subsidiaries exist worldwide from Plus500AU in Australia (AFSL 417727), Plus500UK Ltd in the United Kingdom (FRN 509909), Plus500CY in Cyprus (Licence No. 250/14) and Plus500SG for Singapore traders with License Number CMS100648-1.
Beginner forex traders should check the product disclosure statement (PDS) of the subsidiary first before trading with Plus500.
Plus500 Review >>Visit Plus500 >>
*Your capital is at risk ‘76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
eSignal is one of the oldest trading platforms on the market. The software’s point of difference is its advanced charting features, which makes it great for traders wanting technical analysis.
eSignal is designed for professional traders with a high emphasis on superior charting tools. eSignal’s price feeds from the widest range of sources, giving traders the most detailed and accurate real-time (with signature and elite subscriptions) and historical trading data to use for charts possible. With such data reliability, eSignal can distinguish itself from other platforms for its charting tools.
eSignal allows traders to view 500 symbols at one time, 100s of indicators (via the app store), access advanced drawing tools and Market Screener Plus for advanced fast scanning of markets based on criteria such as technical indicators.
eSignals is expensive with monthly subscriptions costing $54 USD for the Classic version to $359 USD for an Elite version. Furthermore, each add-on incurs an additional cost. Such costs make it unsuitable for beginner traders. To save on costs, a broker that offers eSignal as part of their package may be worth considering.
If you subscribe with the Classic plan, subscribers will only get intraday (data delayed 15 minutes) and no backtesting, no mobile access and no depth of market, for these features, traders will need Signature or Elite plans.
Forex.com perfectly integrates their price engine software to the TradingView interface, making it possible for forex traders to trade directly from TradingView charts with the following advantages:
City Index engineered its Web Trader platform to run with protective risk management features that come in the form of:
Negative balance protection is an automatic stop-loss feature that ensures clients do not lose more than the account balance and indebted to their broker. When a debit account balance occurs because of unforeseeable market events, the negative balance protection policy will restore your trading account balance to zero.
Additionally, the City Index TradingView platform is equipped with a guaranteed stop-loss order, which for an extra fee that is built into the spread warrants that your SL will be triggered at the specified price. Please note, CFDs remain complex instruments and traders show learn about the risks even with these features.
Note* The City Index GSL order ensures no slippages on the stop-loss order
Our team of experts also weighed into our proprietary scoring system the wide range of order types offered by City Index, which includes:
City Index smart trading with innovative Risk management features
City Index clients can access a plethora of smart trading tools that can help them find new trading opportunities. City Index web-based charts are powered by TradingView but are enhanced by the in-house technology built by the team of experts at this brokerage trading firm. Find out below the trading tools accessible through City Index’s TradingView platform:
City Index is rich in advanced trading tools on their Web Trader Platform.
Overall, the City Index TradingView platform has professional capabilities and trading tools that can satisfy the needs of the most sophisticated traders.
TradingView is supported by most popular browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge. You can trade on any device and operating system anywhere directly from your browser without the need to install it on your PC.
View City Index Review >>Visit City Index >>
TD-Ameritrade ThinkOrSwim (TOS) is a desktop, mobile and web compatible trading platform for ETFs, forex, futures, stocks and options. It is one of the few platforms available on Mac. The platform stands out in a crowded field of competitors because of its advanced charting features, a wealth of research tools and screening tools which are highly customisable.
The ThinkOrSwim trading platform offers the following notable features:
ThinkOrSwim also includes extensive research capabilities from TD-Ameritrade, this gives users education and news to help with trading.
ThinkOrSwim is only available in the US. ThinkOrSwim was purchased by TD-Ameritrade in 2009 and this broker only operated in the US.
The platform also has a large learning curve due to the wealth of tools available. If you are a beginner trader, you may not need 400 charting tools like ThinkOrSwim offers.
TD-Ameritrade offers 70 currency pairs to trade, all with no commission fees. Trading with spread only products keeps thing simple and straightforward as traders know in advance (via the spread) exactly what they are paying for. The broker also has no commissions when trading the following online stocks, ETFs, options and selected bonds. Futures and options on futures will incur a $2.25 fee per contract.
Similar to a demo order, this is a tool to help you practice trading with the most realistic scenarios possible. With this tool, you test new strategies, test order types without risking your own capital.
Traders buying forex and futures are signed up with the TD-Ameritrade subsidiary known as Ameritrade Futures & Forex LLC. This broker is regulated with the following authorities:
Very few other traders can be used by US traders such as Interactive Brokers (IBKR). Requirements of this regulation include:
With an extensive collection of educational features including immersive courses, online articles and web videos, webcasts, web seminars. TD Ameritrade has a commitment to giving their clients every opportunity to develop their skills when CFD trading.
Trading forex in the US (excluding Arizona or Ohio) requires a broker regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). TD Ameritrade is regulated with the CFTC and since June 2020 offers forex trading through the entity ‘TD Ameritrade Futures & Forex LLC’. The reason the broker is recommended includes the ThinkorSwim Forex platform, a wide range of currency pairs, customer support and low spreads.
View TD Ameritrade Review >>Visit TD Ameritrade >>
TradeStation is an online charting system and social network for traders to chat with each other, share ideas and trade scripts. It’s offered by a select number of brokers, including OANDA and Saxo Bank.
The major advantages of the TradeView platform are its charts and social trading features.
TradeView offers superior charting for a large range of CFDs. Traders can choose from 10 HTML5 chart types with up to 8 charts per layout and over 50 drawing tools to help analyse trends and identify opportunities. TradeStation also has a stock screener based on different metrics from over 100 search fields. A similar feature is offered by xStation offered by XTB.
TradeStation is not a true trading platform. You cannot buy and sell through it, to do this you will need a broker that integrates TradeStation into its platform. It also does not offer Level 2 data regardless if traders subscribe to a Premium subscription. While the software offers a free subscription to get so features, a paid subscription will be needed to get the best features such as a screen with multiple charts and customer services.
Oanda ranks as the best US-based forex broker offering TradeStation which they call Oanda Trade Web, Oanda Trade Desktop and Oanda Trade Mobile and Table app. Based on our experts’ in-depth analysis, Oanda is recommended for their:
Oanda offers its clients access to Autochartist, a powerful third-party tool that uses automatic chart pattern recognition software. All Oanda Trade clients can gain free of charge access to the Autochartist software. Some Autochartist features and advantages are listed below:
Make better trading decisions with indicators, overlays and tools, including AutoChartist.
Additionally, Oanda clients can have access to an economic calendar integrated directly with the TradeStation platform. If your trading relies on news activity, you can get real-time breaking news along with market commentaries from industry-leading FX experts.
The review conducted by our team of industry experts revealed that Oanda doesn’t enforce a minimum deposit policy. At Oanda, forex traders can deposit and withdraw money through 4 supported payment methods including:
Additionally, Oanda supports not only the major currencies for deposits which include USD, AUD, GBP and EUR, but it also supports minor currencies like the CAD, HKD, JPY, SGD and CHF. In total, Oanda customers can use 9 different account base currencies along with their favourite banking method.
Trade with Oanda under regulatory + risk compliance + transparent trading environment.
Oanda was found to be the best forex broker for US traders, offering the TradeStation platform powered by its advanced price technology. The fact that Oanda’s online trading services are regulated by the most trusted financial authorities in the world (NFA and CFTC) confers a high level of trust among retail FX traders. For a limited period (30 days) traders can use the TradeStation demo account to test the financial services offered by Oanda.
View OANDA Review >>
Forex brokers determine the trading platforms that traders can use. Most brokers offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4) which is the most popular forex trading platform while others such as Plus500 offer custom platforms more suited for beginners.
A trading platform should match your forex requirements, which will be one of the following.
Our MetaTrader 4 vs MetaTrader 5 analysis compares the two most popular platforms globally.
Plus500 offers the best forex trading platform for beginner traders. The platform is easy to use, has risk management features such as guaranteed stop-loss orders and easy to following forex trading guides.
Our 2021 review of Plus500 goes into detail about why this broker is best suited for novice traders.
The best forex platform is MetaTrader 4 based on the popularity of the trading software, reliability and automated trader facilities. The best forex broker offering MT4 is Pepperstone, which has some of the lowest spreads in 2021, fastest execution speeds combined with good trading customer service.
Visit Pepperstone >>
Disclaimer: If you sign with a brokers UK subsidiary (as required by UK traders) then you will not be able to trade cryptocurrency derivatives due to FCA regulations.
View the best types of trading platforms for Australian traders
Compare UK forex brokers that are FCA regulated offering the best software.
View the FSCA forex broker South Africa comparison based on trading software.
Justin Grossbard has been investing for the past 20 years and writing for the past 10. He co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014 after working with the foreign exchange trading industry for several years. He also founded a number of FinTech and digital startups including Innovate Online and SMS Comparison. Justin holds a Masters Degree and an Honours in Commerce from Monash University. He and his wife Paula live in Melbourne, Australia with his son and Siberian cat. In his spare time, he watches Australian Rules Football and invests on global markets.
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