Best Trading Platform Australia
The brokers with best trading platforms for Australian traders in 2019 are.
- Pepperstone -Best Overall
- IC Markets – Lowest Spreads And Fees
- CMC Markets – Best CFD and Share Trading
- EasyMarkets – Best Beginner Trading Platform
- Interactive Brokers – Most Advanced Charting
- ANZ eTrade – Most Sophisticated Share Trading
- IG Markets – Best Range-Of-Markets Platform
To compare the forex broker that offer the best trading platforms a forex broker platform comparison table table was created. Below further looks at the leading platforms offered by brokers based on popularity, features and more.
Best Forex Trading Platform for Australian Traders
There are actually more than a few good platforms for Australian traders. Here are just a few among the top online online trading platforms at which you will want to have a look.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5
These two versions of the most popular online trading platform in the world both make excellent choices as a trading platform for Australian traders. MetaTrader 4, in particular, has a large online community of Australian traders. This community offers a wealth of information to Australian traders dealing with every conceivable trading subject that is of a universal nature, but more importantly, tactics, strategies and adaptations more specific to the AEST zone that eliminate the necessity of your figuring out all of the intricacies on your own. Many experienced Australian traders have made 
MetaTrader the preferred platform for Australian traders, with Expert Advisors (EAs) that supply algorithms and automated trading strategies that enable objective decision-making and also allow you to get your sleep.
Many traders have access to MetaTrader 4 and 5, even when they do the bulk of their online trading on other platforms. It is almost viewed as the trading equivalent of the computer operating system.
Pepperstone Razor Account
Razor is not exactly a trading platform. Rather, it is an account type offered by a Melbourne based Forex broker with a team of veteran Forex managers that understands thoroughly the unique position you are in as a Forex trader in Australia. For new traders and those with varying degrees of experience, Pepperstone offers security based on its compliance with stringent requirements put in place by Australian regulatory agencies.
The Razor account type can be used with MetaTrader trading platforms and another highly popular, and one of the best Forex trading platforms for Aussie traders, cTrader. One of the primary benefits the Razor account offers is that it is an Electronic Clearing Network account, meaning that trades are routed straight to the markets, bypassing broker dealing desks, meaning that you will never wake up to find one of your orders filled at a price other than what you expected. Another key benefit is the ability for you to determine the amount of leverage you want to employ, which is a great way for traders to manage risk exposure.
CMC Markets
Currency Management Corporation (CMC Markets) is based in London, but it has a hub in Sydney that caters to Australian traders’ unique requirements. Part of their appeal is that they offer 330 currency pairs. Those pairs have tight spreads, so you as an Australian trader do not have the concern of paying high prices to trade some of the more exotic Asian-Pacific currencies. Their proprietary Forex trading platform is called Next Generation.
As a platform for Australian traders, one of the things you will most enjoy is the ability to trade over the web with any internet-enabled device. Your busy life of work, kids and so on can limit the amount of time you can spend in front of the computer, but with Next Generation, you can keep an eye on your trades and the currency markets. With Apple and Android device specific apps, or the mobile-friendly version of Next Generation, you can take advantage of any gaps you find in your daily routine to stay in the flow of the currency markets.
Why Forex Is So Popular For Australian Investors
fOne of the factors Australian traders seeking to capture profits from online trading currencies in foreign exchange currency markets (Forex) is that the times of peak currency market activity are out of sync with Australian time zones. Whilst it is entirely true that the Forex market trades 24 hours per day for 5-1/2 days per week, there are many hours when price activity is quiet due to a lack of trader participation.
There are four predominant Forex sessions during the trading day, based on the time in major cities with large financial market operations. Those sessions are based on Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. These sessions overlap to a certain degree. By far, the most critical session in which to participate 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 movement.
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 ascends in significance, because very little of the trading being done will be actively managed.
Taking Advantage of Forex Orders Based on AEST
No, you do not have to forego sleep in order to participate in the Forex markets. Rather, you will 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 can be made outside times of peak price activity without your emotions getting the better of you.
Using “Limit” and “Stop” orders on your Forex trading platform, you can coolly plan your trades. You will be much more objective without watching trades go in your favour or against you, tick by excruciating tick, and you will be able to 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 degree of 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 take best advantage.
Share Trading Options With These Platforms
The best trading platform Australia options include share trading. For example, IG Markets and easyMarkets offers share trading on their primary trading platform that also offers forex trading. Another firm that offers a forex/share trading hybrid is CMC Markets. Other forex brokers like Pepperstone offering CFD share trading on the top platforms such as MetaTrader 4.
Brokerage Fees When Online Trading
The best trading platform Australia option should also factor in brokerage fees. While brokerage fees are set by the forex broker, often the brokers account will be set by the platform chosen leading to variable brokerage fees. Generally, there are two main brokerage fees:
- Spreads
- Commission
The spread is more applicable to forex trading with the difference between buy and ask price been the brokerage fee taken by the forex broker. The commission is often associated with share trading or ECN forex trading accounts. Here a set commission is set per trade or more often, by the quantity traded. Commissions are more straightforward than spreads to calculate brokerage fees which is why experienced traders often opt for these online trading accounts.
Best Trading Platform Australia Conclusion
Trading Forex in Australia has unique, but not insurmountable challenges. The best trading platform Australia forex brokers makes 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 with anyone in the world.