Australian Forex traders should look for brokers offering trading platforms with tight spreads, low fees, and a range of analysis tools.
View the best trading platforms offered by Forex brokers below.
The best forex trading platforms for Australian traders based on critical categories are:
Pepperstone – Best Overall Australian Forex Broker
IC Markets – Lowest Spread Forex Broker In Australia
CMC Markets – Good Share and Forex Trading Platform
EasyMarkets – Best Forex Platform For Beginners
FP Markets – Good For Automated Trading
ThinkMarkets – Best Proprietary Trading Apps
IG Markets – Top Range-Of-Markets CFD Platform
eToro – Best Social Trading Network
We based this list above on the global best forex trading software comparison, which found MetaTrader 4 to be the best overall forex platform.
Pepperstone is Melbourne based forex broker that follows financial regulation set by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
To trade forex and CFDs, the Australian broker offers either MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or cTrader. As a retail trader, you can choose between two account types that provide different spread and commission fee structures:
When trading forex and CFDs with Pepperstone, CompareForexBrokers recommends using MetaTrader 4 and a Razor Account type.
The Razor account is compatible with all the trading platform offered Pepperstone. It is ideal if you want to execute scalping, day trading or algorithmic trading strategies as Razor Account holders gain access to a trading environment similar to ECN accounts (Electronic Clearing Network).
ECN-like accounts allow for your orders to be routed directly to markets with straight-through-processing (STP), bypassing broker dealing desks. This means that you will never wake up to find one of your orders filled at a price other than what you expected.
Fx spreads are ultra-tight when compared to other brokers offering access to forex markets. For major currency pairs like the EUR/GBP, Pepperstone spreads average 0.35 pips, while brokers like FXCM and Tradersway offer spreads over twice as wide averaging 0.76-0.80 pips. As shown below, Pepperstone spreads are the tightest compared to competing brokers across all major forex markets.
Commission Spreads | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0.16 | 0.27 | 0.35 | 0.28 | 1.07 |
 | 0.44 | 0.42 | 0.40 | 0.83 | 1.30 |
 | 0.50 | 0.70 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 2.50 |
 | 0.40 | 1.03 | 0.90 | 1.16 | 1.65 |
 | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.60 | N/A |
 | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.60 | 3.10 |
 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.60 | 0.50 | N/A |
Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 05/01/2021
As you are trading institutional grade spreads, you pay a flat rate commission fee per side of each trade. Razor account commission fees and overall trading costs are very competitive compared to other fx brokers, but differ between trading platforms:
Regardless of whether you choose a Razor or Standard account, you will gain access to tight spreads while benefiting from the following features:
MetaTrader 4 is one of the most popular trading platforms for retail traders. The desktop platform, web trader and mobile apps come with a myriad of inbuilt features to enhance your trading experience, ranging from automated trading features to advanced technical analysis tools.
As a Pepperstone customer, you can trade CFDs derived from 5 different asset classes on MetaTrader 4. While the broker does offer share CFD trading, this is only available on MetaTrader 5 as it’s a multi-asset trading platform, unlike MT4.
MetaTrader 4 gives you access to a user-friendly interface that includes a range of inbuilt analysis tools. You can utilise MT4’s AutoChartist software to assist with developing complex trading strategies. AutoChartist offers a market scanner, risk calculator with backtesting, volatility analysis tools, market reports and a range of technical indicators.
If you want to automate trading with algorithmic strategies, you can write and execute Expert Advisors (EAs, aka trading robots) using the platform’s programming language (MQL4).
If you want additional Expert Advisor and analysis tools, you can download Pepperstone’s Smart Trader Tools from the broker’s website. The suite of 28 EAs and technical indicators helps you develop sophisticated trading strategies and manage the high-risk of forex trading. Pepperstone is also leading in our review of the best forex signals providers.
Traders with Pepperstone will appreciate the security and investor protection provided through ASIC regulation. ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, requires brokers to follow stringent financial regulation to ensure Australian traders’ can access fair and competitive forex markets.
At current ASIC allows Australian brokers to offer leverage of 500:1 and investor protection policies such as negative balance protection is not compulsory. But, from March onwards, ASIC regulated forex brokers will be required to provide negative balance protection, close-out margins, and enforce leverage caps of 30:1 for forex derivatives. This moves ASIC regulation more in line with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), a major regulator for mainland Europe.
Disclaimer
Recently, the FCA banned retail traders from trading crypto financial products in the UK. As Pepperstone is also regulated by the FCA in the UK, it is important that Australian traders sign up to Pepperstone’s Australian subsidiary that offers access to cryptocurrency markets.
View Pepperstone Review >>Visit Pepperstone >>
IC Markets an Australian based CFD broker offering ultra-competitive forex spreads while charging low trading and account fees.
The regulated broker holds an AFSL (Australian Financial Services License) issued by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and is seen as one of the best brokers for currency trading in Aussie.
The table below shows the minimum and average spreads for different currencies against the Australian Dollar. If ideal market conditions occur, you can trade fx financial instruments with spreads as low as 0.0 pips, with few brokers able to compete with IC Markets institutional-grade pricing.
The ECN-style spreads are because of the broker’s top-tier liquidity providers and no dealing desk (NDD) execution. To ensure you can access the tightest spreads possible, the regulated broker sources prices from 25 different financial institutions including major European, American and Australian banks.
| IC Markets Spreads | Raw Acc. Minimum Spread | Raw Acc. Average Spread |
|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| AUD/USD | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| AUD/NZD | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| EUR/AUD | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| AUD/SGD | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| GBP/AUD | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| AUD/JPY | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Commission fees vary between trading platforms. If you sign up to a Raw Spread Account, you will incur a commission fee of $3.50 (per lot/per side) when using MetaTrader 4, while those trading on cTrader will pay a commission fee of $3.0 per USD 100,000 traded.
As well as low spreads and low commission fees, most of the time you will pay no deposit or withdrawal fees when managing your IC Markets trading account. Traders’ face no fees when withdrawing funds via credit/debit card and domestic bank wire, but the broker charges a processing fee of AUD $20 for international bank wire transfers. When depositing funds into trading accounts, you have a range of payment methods available as shown below.
| Australian Dollar (AUD) Funding Methods | Processing Time | Accepted Currencies |
|---|---|---|
| Credit and Debit Card | Instant | AUD, USD, JPY, EUR, NZD, SGD, GBP, CAD |
| PayPal | Instant | AUD, USD, JPY, EUR, NZD, SGD, GBP, CAD, HKD, CHF |
| Neteller | Instant | AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, SGD, JPY |
| Neteller VIP | Instant | AUD, GBP, EUR, CAD, SGB, JPY |
| Skrill | Instant | AUD, USD, JPY, EUR, SGD, GBP |
| POLi | Instant | AUD |
| Wire Transfer | 2-5 Working Days | AUD, USD, JPY, EUR, NZD, SGD, GBP, CAD, CHF |
| Bpay | 24-48 Hours | AUD |
It is easy to start trading with IC Markets, signing up is efficient and the broker requires a low initial deposit of $200. Once registered, you can access low spreads a range of CFD foreign exchange markets, ranging from cryptocurrencies to indices, commodities, stocks, bonds and futures.
CMC Markets is a London based, market maker forex broker but operates globally within various financial jurisdictions. The companies Sydney hub caters to the unique requirements of Australia’s retail forex market and traders and offers over 330 currency pairs among other CFDs.
CMC offers tight ECN-like spreads on more than just major currency pairs such as EUR/USD, with the ability to trade exotic Asian-Pacific fx pairs at competitive spreads too. As well as an extensive selection of forex pairs, you can buy and sell CFDs derived from an impressive range of financial instruments.
As a CMC Markets clients,’ you can execute trades using their proprietary web-based platform, Next Generation or MetaTrader 4. If you want access to the broker’s full CFD product range, you will need to use Next Generation, as MT4 only provides market access to forex, indices and commodities.
The Next Generation platform has a wide range of inbuilt features to help you develop risk management and trading strategies, such as pattern recognition, watch lists, guaranteed stop-loss orders, Reuters news and an economic calendar.
As mentioned in our CMC Markets Australia review, when using the broker’s proprietary trading platform, you can access your trading account via a web trader platform or mobile apps compatible with iOS and Android devices. If you are using MT4, a desktop and web trader platform are available, along with trading apps available for iOS and Android devices.
EasyMarkets is a well-established Australian forex and CFD provider that holds an AFSL issued by ASIC. If you are a beginner trader and want an easy introduction to forex trading, easyMarkets is a great option with a user-friendly proprietary trading platform and easy-to-use risk management tools.
The web trading platform offers a much simpler interface than MetaTrader 4, providing an intuitive yet versatile platform if you want to gain experience. When using the broker’s proprietary web trader platform, you gain access to a range of fx pairs with a simple pricing structure.
Fixed spreads on forex are inclusive of commission charges, while account management costs are low with no deposit or withdrawal fees. Minimum deposit requirements are low with as little as $100 needed to open a trading account. Additionally, easyMarkets prides itself in transparency, with information such as Product Disclosure Statements (PDS) and FAQs clearly displayed on the broker’s website.
Tools available on the web trading platform that are useful for traders new to foreign exchange markets include:
The different Contract for Difference (CFD) products you can trade on the easyMarkets web trading platform include:
If you want to sign up to easyMarket but the proprietary platform lacks the advanced tools you require, you can download MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform. The easyMarkets MT4 platform provides access to the same product range as the broker’s proprietary platform, with a wider selection of order types and advanced risk management features.
FP Markets is an Australian forex broker regulated by ASIC in Australia and CySEC in Europe. When trading with FP Markets, you gain access to over 10,000 CFDs derived from forex, commodity, index, shares and cryptocurrency asset classes.
When signing up to FP Markets, you can choose between a no commission Standard account or a Raw, ECN-like account that charges a flat rate commission fee but offers tighter spreads. Regardless of account type, you can conduct analysis and place orders using IRESS (the broker’s proprietary platform), MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5), depending on the tools and market access a trader requires. MT4 and MT5 are available as tablet and mobile trading apps as well as web trader and desktop platforms.
To utilise FP Markets extensive range of automated trading features, you should use either MT4 or MT5. Two types of automated trading are possible on MT4 and MT5, with both social-copy and algorithmic trading tools provided. You can develop trading robots (algorithms) using MetaTrader’s Expert Advisors, or copy the trades of more experienced traders using Myfxbook AutoTrade’s account mirroring service.
Expert Advisors (trading robots) enable you to develop algorithmic trading strategies using the MQL4 or MQL5 programming languages. Expert Advisors (EAs) fully automate CFD and forex trading, allowing you to save time monitoring markets and entering/exiting individual trades. MT4 and MT5 offer backtesting facilities to assess and optimise algorithmic trading strategies against historical data. You can only backtest a single currency at a time on MT4 while MT5 offers multi-currency backtesting.
If you are a beginner trader and do not want to write your own Expert Advisors, then there is the option to download EAs and indicators from the MetaTrader marketplace. As MT4 and MT5 are popular trading platforms preferred by many retail investor accounts around the world, you gain access to a vast trading community where you can share trading strategies and ideas with other retail traders.
Myfxbook AutoTrade
AutoTrade is a third-party account mirroring service that allows FP Markets customers to automate their trading strategies via copy-trading services. To find systems to copy, you can search for systems that suit your trading objectives by assessing different experienced traders’ history, results and risk profile. The copy trading provider also connects customers to the Myfxbook community, where you can discuss ideas and learn from seasoned investors.
To enjoy Myfxbook AutoTrade’s features for free on FP Markets MT4 and MT5 platforms, you must have been a Myfxbook customer for at least 3 months, executed a minimum of 100 trades and have at least $1,000 in your trading account.
ThinkMarkets is an ASIC, FCA and FSCA regulated broker offering a fully functional proprietary mobile trading app called ThinkTrader. Both the iOS and Android trading apps provide a great range of tools to help you with comprehensive analysis while placing orders on the go.
Although ThinkMarkets offers an ECN-style account type (ThinkZero) with ultra-tight spreads, only a standard account type is available when using the broker’s proprietary platform. Unlike the commission fees charged to ThinkZero traders, Standard account holders pay no commission fees when trading forex with spreads as low as 0.4 pips along with other competitively priced CFDs.
The ThinkTrader mobile and tablet apps offer the following trading tools and features:
The trading app is well-reviewed on Apples App Store, with over 15,000 5 star reviews. You can use ThinkTraders mobile app along with the online broker’s tablet trading apps or the proprietary desktop trading platform, all from one trading account. ThinkMarkets also is a negative balance protection forex broker, ensuring traders can’t lose more than there deposit.
Founded in 1974, IG Markets is a well-respected broker offering an extensive range of CFDs. If you want a diversified portfolio consisting of different asset classes, IG is an excellent option with 6 cryptocurrency CFDs, 68 currency pairs, 10,000+ shares and over 100 indices.
To start trading with IG Markets, you will need to choose either the broker’s proprietary platform, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or L2 Dealer, a Direct Market Access (DMA) platform.
IG’s proprietary web-based platform suits both novice and experienced traders. You can utilise a range of useful features such as analysis tools, fast execution, and automated trading features to assist with the ins and outs of forex trading.
The L2 Dealer platform aims to provide experienced traders’ Direct Market Access to share and forex markets. Deep liquidity, full market depth and order books allow you to access competitive prices in a professional trading environment. When trading forex with DMA, prices come directly from major financial institutions rather than trading the brokers’ spreads. Commission fees vary depending on the trade size.
Many retail traders are loyal to MetaTrader 4 because of the automated trading features like AutoChartist and Expert Advisors (EAs). Similar to Pepperstone’s Smart Trader Tools, IG offers 12 MT4 add-ons such as Sentiment Trader and Market Manager to supplement the platforms in-built charts and indicators.
As well as webtrader and desktop platforms, IG Markets clients’ can place orders and conduct analysis via trading apps. Purposefully designed apps are available for Apple devices (iOS iPhone/iPad) and Android mobiles and tablets.
eToro is a popular option if you want to focus on copy trading using a pure social trading platform. With over 13 million traders, the broker hosts the largest social trading network worldwide. As well as oversight from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia, eToro is regulated by US and European financial authorities and seen as a trusted broker by many forex traders.
eToro customers can use the broker’s proprietary social trading platform to copy the trading strategies of experienced traders (known as Popular Investors). The account mirroring service allows you to search for Popular Investors to copy based on their past performance, location and risk profile.
The eToro social trading platform is incredibly user friendly and will give you market access to multiple asset classes. Over 2,000 forex and CFD products are available to trade, including shares and cryptocurrency. Other eToro platform features include:
As well as copying Popular Investors trading strategies that involve a single financial instrument, eToro offers a portfolio management service called CopyPortfolios. This allows you to invest in a bundle of instruments and asset classes or a portfolio of the broker’s top-performing investors.
There are various brokers that offer MetaTrader 4. Broker’s will offer different CFDs and trading tools, for example Pepperstone provides free Smart Trader Tools, while others add-on social trading tools.
The Top 8 MT5 Forex Brokers in Australia offer low spreads, a good selection of CFDs with cryptos and shares, as well as add-on tools to enhance trading conditions.
Overall, our review found IC Markets to be the best MT5 broker.
Thanks to no dealing desk intervention with low spreads, ultra-fast execution speeds and technical analysis tools, we found FxPro to be the best ASIC regulated broker with cTrader.
To compare FxPro’s cTrader offering to other top forex brokers, click here.
Australian forex traders have a selection of online trading platforms to choose from. Below we discuss some of the best trading platform options available to Australian forex traders and the best brokers that offer them.
The two most popular online trading platforms offered to retail investors in Australia are the MetaQuotes platforms MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Both trading platforms offer an excellent trading experience, providing a range of technical analysis and risk management tools to assist with forex and CFD trading. Both MetaQuotes trading platforms offer the popular Expert Advisors (EAs) which allow you to develop algorithms and apply automated trading strategies.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the gold standard used by most retail forex traders in Australia and around the globe. Since its release in 2005, MT4 hosts one of the largest online forex communities. Australians using MetaTrader 4 can access forums and gain answers to nearly any trading queries.
MetaQuotes developed MetaTrader 5 to cater to the demand for share trading, as stock trading faces restrictions on MT4. Although not as popular as MT4, MT5 will continue to grow in popularity due to its more diverse market access with a greater offering of trading tools such as more timeframes, metrics, charting features and order types.
Trading forex in Australia has unique but not insurmountable challenges. The best trading platform for Australian forex brokers making a living in the southern hemisphere, far removed from the big financial centres of London and New York, no more difficult than any other aspect of daily life. In an increasingly connected 24/7 world, you can trade forex on a level playing ground in real-time with anyone in the world.
Australian traders seeking to capture profits from online trading currencies in foreign exchange currency markets (forex) face the issue that the times of peak currency market activity are out of sync with Australian time zones. Whilst the Forex market trades 24 hours per day for 5-1/2 days per week, there are many hours when price activity is quiet because of a lack of trader participation.
There are four predominant forex sessions throughout one trading day that are each based on the time in a major financial hub. Those sessions and locations are Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York, with each different session overlapping to a certain degree. By far, the most critical session in which to take part in is the tail end of the London Market and the beginning of the New York market. The four-hour period when those two sessions overlap is when the vast majority of trading activity, even activity related to the Australian and New Zealand dollars, takes place in terms of currency pair price movements.
For someone living in the Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) zone, those prime hours when the London and New York Forex sessions overlap are 11:00 PM to 3 AM. Given that you would prefer to be sleeping during those hours, choosing the best trading platform for Australian traders requires various order types and algorithmic trading functions.
No, you do not have to forego sleep to participate in the forex markets. Rather, you can use special order types to set up your trades in advance, go to bed, get yourself a good night’s sleep, and then have a look in the morning when you get up to see how your online trading strategies panned out. Strange as it may sound, trading in this fashion is less stressful, because price analysis, trade entries, exits and maximum acceptable risk are outside times of peak price activity, meaning your emotions will not get the better of you.
Using “Limit” and “Stop” orders on your forex trading platform can help you plan and automate your trades. You will be much more objective without watching trades go in your favour or against you, tick by excruciating tick. Likewise, you can determine logical entry and exit points as well as control your exposure to risk. To new traders, this discovery is a welcome revelation. To those with some experience, it is a solid reality. A good trading platform for Australian traders will take the effect of time zones into account and offer tools to compensate for this.
The best trading platform Australia option should also factor in brokerage fees. There are two main brokerage fees:
The spread is more applicable to forex trading with the difference between the buy and sell (bid/ask) price being the compensation to forex brokers facilitating trading. ECN-like forex trading accounts charge a round trip, flat rate commission fee, where you pay a fixed commission per trade, or more often, by the quantity traded. Commissions are more straightforward than spreads to calculate brokerage fees, hence why experienced traders often opt for these online trading accounts.
For Australian investors requiring an online share trading platform, IG Markets and easyMarkets offer both forex and share trading on their primary trading platforms. Another firm that offers a forex/share trading hybrid is CMC Markets. Alternatively, forex brokers such as Pepperstone, offer CFD share trading on MetaTrader 5.
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