Best Forex Brokers For Beginners

Cheap Forex Platform With The Lowest Spreads = IC Markets

If you are a beginner trading wanting tight spreads and low fees, IC Markets is the cheapest online forex broker with:

• The lowest spreads of any broker
• Low commissions of $3.50 per side
• No funding or withdrawal fees
• A free demo account for trading
• Regulation in Australia (ASIC), the Seychelles (FSA) and European (CySEC)

Why IC Markets Is The Cheapest FX Broker

As well as a standard account type, the CFD broker offers an award-winning Raw Spread Account type. Similar to ECN brokers, IC Markets connect customers with top-tier liquidity sources such as banks and financial institutions, allowing retail investor accounts to access institutional grade spreads with no dealing desk (NDD) execution. Rather than wider no commission spreads, Raw Spread account holders gain access to ECN-like spreads as low as 0.0 pips. To compensate IC Markets for its brokerage services you pay flat-rate commission fees based on volume.

Commission fees incurred by Raw Spread account holders are $3.50 per 100k traded or £2.50 per 100k if the base currency set is the pound. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees charged by IC Markets with a minimum deposit of $200 required to start trading.

Since the raw spread account doesn’t markup spreads, the remaining difference between the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ price of a currency pair (like EUR/USD) is set by the market. With IC Markets, their market size and access to top-tier diverse liquidity pools help them achieve the lowest average spreads of any broker.

As shown below, IC Markets Raw Account spreads are competitive. The online broker offers the tightest spreads for major forex pairs, such as:

• GBP/USD (Great British pound vs US dollar), with spreads averaging 0.40 pips
• EUR/GBP (Euro vs Great British pound), average spread 0.40 pips
• USD/SGD (US dollar vs Singapore dollar) average spreads 0.30 pips

IC Markets ECN Broker Spreads	EUR/USDGBP/USDEUR/GBPUSD/SGDAUD/USDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDGBP/USDEUR/GBPUSD/SGDAUD/USDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDGBP/USDEUR/GBPUSD/SGDAUD/USDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDGBP/USDEUR/GBPUSD/SGDAUD/USDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDGBP/USDEUR/GBPUSD/SGDAUD/USDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD
	0.10	0.40	0.40	0.30	0.20
	0.10	0.30	0.50	1.40	0.20
	0.09	0.59	0.36	1.00	0.17
	0.20	0.50	0.40	1.50	0.20
	0.17	0.59	0.54	N/A	0.30
	0.20	0.60	0.50	10.00	0.40
	0.10	0.60	0.60	1.30	0.50
	0.30	0.50	0.50	3.00	0.50
	0.44	0.85	0.40	1.30	0.42

Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 03/03/2021

Platforms Offered By IC Markets

You can choose between MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or the cTrader trading platform. As an IC Markets customer, you can use the following trading tools to learn how to trade forex and develop trading strategies:

• A free demo account for virtual trading, allowing beginners to build confidence trading CFDs before using a live account.
• Virtual private server (VPS) access for VIP traders.
• Fast NDD order execution.
• Advanced trading tools with a suite of plug-ins to enhance MetaTrader 4 (i.e. sentiment trader and correlation trader),
• Automated trading with Expert Advisors (MT4 and MT5) and cBots (cTrader),
• Third-party copy trading software such as Myfxbook and ZuluTrade,

In addition to low spreads and an excellent range of trading platforms for beginners IC Markets is seen as a trusted broker around the world. IC Markets Australian subsidy is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission, AFSL 335692), while CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Licence No 362/18) regulates European operations.

Overall, if keeping trading costs to a minimum is your key aim when currency and CFD trading, then IC Markets is the recommended broker for you.

Full Review Of IC Markets >>Visit IC Markets >>

Pepperstone = The Best Forex Broker with MetaTrader 4

Pepperstone is a regulated broker with ASIC, FCA, CySEC, BaFin, CMA and DFSA that facilitates forex and CFD trading for traders around the world. If you are a resident of the UK or Ireland, the broker also offers spread betting services.

The top broker offers the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader trading platforms. Each platform provides ultra-tight spreads, fast execution, and great market access, yet we recommend using MT4 for the great range of trading tools Pepperstone offers on the platform.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the most popular forex trading platform worldwide. An advantage if you are a beginner forex trader is you can switch between MT4 forex brokers if needed, since most online brokers offer the platform. MT4 is hugely popular for several reasons, including the ability to copy-trade and purchase automated robots from the widest trading community currently available for retail investor accounts.

Why Pepperstone Is The Best MT4 Broker For Beginner Traders

MT4 is suitable for both beginner and experienced traders, with extensive financial instruments and automated trading tools available. You can manage the high risk of trading using various order types, develop automated trading strategies using Expert Advisors and backtest and optimise strategies using MT4’s backtesting features.

MT4 trading tools and features include:

• A customisable, user-friendly interface.
• Charting tools with 85 inbuilt indicators.
• Algorithmic trading via Expert Advisors (EAS, trading robots).
• Develop your own EAs using the MQL4 programming language.
• Download EAs from the huge MT4 community and marketplace.
• Robust backtesting tools for EAs.
• AutoChartist, an automatic market scanner to detect trading opportunities.
• Third-party account mirroring services for social trading (Myfxbook, ZuluTrade and Duplitrade).
• Limit and stop-loss order types.
• Real-time news.

As well as the comprehensive range of inbuilt trading tools, MetaTrader users can download an add-on suite of Smart Trader Tools to enhance the MT4 platform. The package includes 28 additional technical indicators and Expert Advisors, designed to automate market research, analysis and trading.

No Dealing Desk Execution

Pepperstone fills orders using 22 top-tier liquidity providers, giving traders access to some of the best spreads available to retail investor accounts. The broker executes orders with no dealing desk (NDD) and straight-through-processing (STP), with Equinix servers allowing for fast execution speeds. As shown below, Pepperstone executes orders faster than competing online brokers, ensuring you experience minimal slippage.

MT4 Education and Demo Accounts

As CFD and forex trading is complex and comes with a high risk of losing money, Pepperstone provides an excellent demo account and quality educational resources.

A comprehensive MetaTrader 4 course is available on Pepperstone’s website. The course is ideal for beginner traders as it helps you learn your way around the trading platform. You can learn about the extensive platform features, mobile trading, Expert Advisors, VPS and Smart Trader Tools with the 11-part course.

Lastly, the top forex broker offers a demo account where traders can explore the MT4 platform and test trading strategies. Pepperstone adds $50,000 of virtual funds to your demo account, with the trial available for 30 days.

View Pepperstone Review >>Visit Pepperstone >>

Best Beginner Forex Broker = ThinkMarkets

Six key reasons that deem ThinkMarkets as a top forex broker for beginner traders are:

1. $0 minimum deposit and no deposit fees.
2. Negative Balance Protection.
3. Low trading fees with spreads from 0.4 pips.
4. Forex training and 24/5 customer support.
5. Three leading trading platforms, including MT4.
6. Tier-1 regulation in the UK, Australia and SA.

1) $0 Minimum Deposit Requirement for Standard Account Type

ThinkMarkets offers two forex trading accounts. The broker designed its Standard Account type for beginner traders, with no commission fees and a $0 minimum deposit required to open an account. You pay no funding costs when using deposit methods such as wire transfer, debit card, Neteller, Skrill and credit card. In Australia, Paypal and POLi are available payment methods, while in South Africa Zotapay Africa is offered. On top of fee-free deposits, you also pay no withdrawal fees.

2) Negative Balance Trader Protection

A unique feature offered by ThinkMarkets is that all customers receive negative balance protection. This helps reduce the high risk that comes with forex and CFD trading, as you cannot lose more than you have deposited into your trading account.

If your trading account balance reaches $0, the online broker’s Negative Balance Protection policy will close all your open positions to ensure you do not end up with a negative balance. If negative balances occur because of high volatility in CFD and foreign exchange markets, the broker will pay you out any negative balance. Most forex brokers do not offer this feature, which gives you peace of mind when using the ThinkMarkets platform.

3) Low Trading Fees With No Commissions

The ThinkMarkets standard account type is a spread only account that does not charge flat-rate commission fees. This means that the forex broker makes their money primarily from the difference between the ‘ask’ and ‘sell’ price of any forex pair. The minimum spread is 0.4 pips and the average spread is 1.2 pips for commonly traded major forex pairs.

If you are an experienced trader wanting ECN-style pricing, a ThinkZero account type is available that offers tighter spreads, but you pay a flat rate commission fee. Although spreads are wider than a ThinkZero account type, standard account types are better suited if you are new to trading, as you can avoid commission fee calculations.

4) Forex Training and Customer Support

ThinkMarkets offers an online training course for beginner, intermediate and experienced traders. As well as weekly webinars and trading platform tutorials, there are also trading guides covering topics like:

• Understanding Market Trends
• Support and Resistance
• Chart Patterns
• Introduction to Candlesticks
• Building a Watch List
• MT4 Tips and Tricks
• Introduction to Price Action

Customer service is available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (weekdays) and operates from the following locations:

• London, UK
• Melbourne, Australia
• Johannesburg, South Africa

There are also local numbers for Italy and Spain.

5) A Selection of the Best Forex Trading Platforms

ThinkMarkets customers can choose from MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5) or the online broker’s proprietary trading platform, ThinkTrader.

MetaTrader 4

MT4 is the most popular trading platform worldwide and is ideal for beginner forex traders. MT4 features include:

• Ultra-fast trade execution and minimal slippage.
• AutoChartist: An automated market scanner that helps you with technical analysis.
• Automated trading: Algorithmic trading with Expert Advisors (EAs) and copy trading with Trading Signals.
• Backtesting to test and optimise Expert Advisors.
• Multiple pending order types to manage the high risk of trading.

AutoChartist is an excellent tool if you are a beginner trader, as the software automatically scans CFD and foreign exchange markets, seeking trading opportunities that those new to trading may miss. AutoChartist simplifies and automates technical analysis, allowing you to save time researching markets and conducting analysis.

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5 offers certain improvements compared to MT4 including more timeframes, technical indicators, charts and pending order types as well as improved backtesting, yet many features such as AutoChartist and the platforms social trading tools remain the same. MT5 is better suited if you want to trade share CFDs, as the platform provides access to a wider range of financial instruments, including stock markets and ETFs. Both MT4 and MT5 are available as the following trading apps:

• Desktop trading platform for Windows and Mac PCs
• Web platforms for online trading through any browser
• Tablet and mobile apps designed for iOS and Android devices

ThinkTrader

Lastly, the online broker’s proprietary trading software is well-known for its user-friendly yet advanced charting tools. To trade forex via ThinkTrader, you can choose between a desktop trading platform and trading apps compatible with both iOS and Android devices. ThinkTrader platform features include:

• Real-time market news and alerts.
• Sophisticated technical analysis tools: 100 technical indicators, 40 objects, 12 timeframes and 10 charts.
• Close all or multiple orders with one click.
• Multi-device login between desktop, tablet and mobile apps.
• Trend-risk scanner: Trading signals feature that automatically scans markets for trading opportunities.
• Pending order types including limit and stop-loss orders.
• A range of asset classes including forex, commodities, indices, shares and cryptocurrencies.

Note: FCA regulation requirements mean ThinkMarkets UKs subsidiary does not have cryptocurrency CFDs.

6) Tier 1 Regulation

As a beginner trader, you should only choose a broker that has tier 1 regulation. ThinkMarkets is overseen by three core financial authorities, with trading regulation varying between jurisdiction:

1. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia – AFSL 424700
2. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom – Licence Number 10537331
3. Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa –  FSP No 49835

ThinkMarkets is the Best Online Broker Overall for Beginner Traders

ThinkMarkets is a top CFD broker ideal for novice traders with relatively low fees, top-tier regulation, and strong trader protection policies. You can choose between three easy-to-use platforms being MT4, MT5 and the online brokers proprietary trading software, ThinkTrader. If you want to learn how to trade forex before using a live account with real money, ThinkMarkets offers a demo account.

Full ThinkMarkets Review >>Visit ThinkMarkets >>

Markets.com = Best Trading Tools for Beginners

Markets.com is a multi-regulated online broker that provides easy-to-use trading platforms with trading tools ideal for beginners.

Depending on the asset classes you wish to trade, two proprietary Markets.com platforms can be used – Marketsx and Marketsi as well as MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. In total, Markets.com provides access to thousands of CFDs derived from a diverse range of asset classes:

• 120 currency pairs
• 3313 share CFDs
• 77 ETFs
• 35 commodities
• 58 indices
• 4 bonds
• 7 cryptocurrencies
• 23 blends

Note: FCA regulation does not allow cryptocurrency trading products, clients with Markets.com UK are not able to buy and sell crypto products.

Marketsx

Marketsx is the broker’s proprietary CFD trading platform that offers a user-friendly trading environment for beginner traders. The platform comes with a selection of trading tools not offered by competing broker’s such as comprehensive sentiment tools.

There are three key types of trading tools that can be used to analyse financial market analysis:

• Sentiment Tools: Various tools are built into the platform to help you assess current market sentiment, and whether most traders are buying or selling. I.e. News Trading Sentiment or Trading Analyst Recommendations. 
• Technical Analysis Tools: To help you conduct advanced technical analysis, Marketsx has a pre-installed charting package with various indicators and oscillators. There is also a Related Instruments tool that displays the correlation between different financial instruments.
• Fundamental Analysis Tools: Includes features like advanced alerts, financial commentary and real-time news from Dow Jones, to help you keep up to date with impactful economic events.

Marketsi

Marketsi is also a CFD trading platform, yet Markets.com designed the inbuilt tools for stock market analysis and share CFD trading. The platforms easy-to-use tools will help beginner traders with creating diversified share portfolios that suit their risk tolerance, goals and desired investment period (short term, medium term or long-term investments).

Investment Strategy Builder

Marketsi key tool is the Strategy Builder where you can access pre-built strategies personalised to suit your risk tolerance and investment goals. The trading strategies are designed by experts and allow beginner traders to easily create diversified portfolios across a range of assets and industries.

A Trusted Broker for Beginners

As well as providing a great selection of beginner-friendly trading tools, Markets.com is a multi-regulated broker that is overseen by five major financial authorities. Markets.com subsidiaries and their respective regulator include:

• Europe: The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• The UK: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• South Africa: The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
• Australia: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• Global: The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (FSC)

Additionally, the broker’s parent company, Playtech, is a component of the FTSE 250 Index and listed on the London Stock Exchange and therefore adheres to strict disclosure requirements.

View Markets.com Review >>Visit Markets.com >>

Top Social Trading Platform = eToro

eToro is a pure social trading broker and platform that suits beginner traders wanting to spend as little time possible researching financial markets and developing trading strategies. eToro’s trading platform allows you to copy the strategies of experienced investors while sharing ideas via newsfeeds and connecting with traders around the globe.

Social-Copy Trading with eToro’s CopyTrader

eToro clients can copy the trading strategies of experienced traders, known as Popular Investors. To find trading strategies to copy that suit your risk tolerance and investment objectives, you can view a Popular Investors trading history, portfolio performance and location.

Social trading is a soft entry into currency trading for beginners as more experienced traders are conducting the fundamental and technical analysis for you. It can be an opportunity to learn from active traders who have vast experience in trading financial instruments.

As well as forex pairs, eToro’s Popular Investors develop trading strategies that include Stocks, Commodities, ETFs and Indices.

CopyPortfolios

Rather than copying Popular Investors, you can also invest in CopyPortfolios that include a bundle of financial instruments. Two types of portfolios are available with the broker requiring an initial minimum deposit of $5000, yet you face no ongoing portfolio management fees.

• Top Trader Portfolios: A bundle of trading strategies developed by eToro’s top-performing, highly experienced traders.
• Market Portfolios: A bundle of top-performing assets such as Share CFDs, ETFs and Commodities.

Best Demo Account For New Forex Traders = Forex.com

One of the best educational tools you can utilise as a beginner trader can use is demo accounts. Two different demo accounts are available at Forex.com, one designed for the broker’s proprietary trading platform and the other for MetaTrader 4 (MT4).

With real-time market conditions, demo users can practice trading forex and CFDs in the same environment as a live account. You can implement backtesting against historical data on both platforms, with over 80 forex pairs and metals available.

Demo accounts are available for 30 days and funded with $10,000 of virtual money. You can open one demo accounts per platform, meaning if you are unsure of which platform to try out, you can open a demo trading account on both the Forex.com proprietary trading platform and MT4.

Leading Risk Management Features = easyMarkets

EasyMarkets offers forex traders three key risk management tools to reduce the risk of CFD and forex trading. Beginner forex traders can protect their trading account balances with three key easyMarkets risk management features:

• You can manage risk with easyMarkets unique deal cancellation tool.
• You can use Guaranteed stop-loss orders to manage the high risk of trading.
• The online broker provides all traders with Negative Balance Protection.

Deal Cancellation

easyMarkets was the first forex broker to launch Deal Cancellation back in 2016. The tool allows you to cancel a trade within 60 minutes and get your money back when market prices move in an unfavourable direction.

Free Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders

All forex brokers offer basic stop-loss features to manage risk, which allows you to pre-set the amount you are willing to gain or lose on a trade. An issue of basic stop-loss orders is gapping, which can cause forex brokers to not fill your order at your requested price.

Gapping leads to slippage, which might lead to larger losses than expected. A guaranteed stop loss ensures the broker will fill your order at the price you requested. While most online broker’s charge you a fee to place GSLOs, easyMarkets offers all traders free GSLOs.

Negative Balance Protection

The forex broker enforces a negative balance protection (NBP) scheme to help you with risk management. NBP automatically activates a ‘margin call’ when you approach a zero balance to avoid you going into debt. This closes all of your active and open positions, meaning you will never end up with a trading account balance less than $0.

Although negative balances may still occur if markets are volatile and gapping occurs, easyMarkets will cover any additional losses to ensure you won’t end up in debt or with an account balance under $0.

Deal cancellation, guaranteed stop-loss orders and negative balance protection are three features ideal if you are a beginner trader.

View easyMarkets Review >>Visit easyMarkets>>

Best Access to Foreign Exchange Markets and Stock Markets = CMC Markets

CMC Markets provides access to over 9,500 financial markets and is overseen by multiple top-tier regulators around the world (FCA, IIROC, ASIC, FMA and MAS). To trade CMC’s full CFD product range, including shares, you will need to use the broker’s proprietary trading platform, Next Generation.

Next Generation

The easy-t0-use trading platform is available in a standard layout suited to beginners, or an advanced layout for experienced traders. The platform offers many inbuilt features to help you with trading and risk management when starting out.

• Comprehensive charting tools: 115 technical indicators, 70 chart patterns, plus 12 chart types.
• Automatic pattern recognition and price projection tools to find trading opportunities.
• Client sentiment data.
• A trading community with chart forums to share ideas and chart analysis.
• iOS and Android mobile apps.
• Real-time news and financial market calendar.
• Multiple order types, including guaranteed stop-loss orders.

Financial Instruments Available to Trade

• Forex CFDs: 330+ major, minor and exotic fx pairs.
• ETFs and Share CFDs: 9000+ shares from 23 different countries, including 2000 Australian stocks.
• Commodities: 100+ commodity products such as natural gas, oil, and metals.
• Treasury CFDs: 50+ treasuries such as US T-Bonds and Euro Bonds
• Index CFDs: 90+ major indices including the Germany 30, Australia 200, and UK 100.

View CMC Markets Review >>Visit CMC Markets>>

Top Automated Trading Tools for Beginner Traders = FP Markets

FP Markets is an excellent option if you want to fully automate trading, as the broker offers ultra-fast execution plus comprehensive automated trading tools on both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. With fast execution and ECN-style pricing, FP Markets you can trade knowing your orders are being executed promptly with minimal slippage.

MT4 and MT5 Expert Advisors

You can develop and run Expert Advisors (trading robots) on both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. When using MT4 you can write Expert Advisors (EAs) using the MQL4 programming language while MT5 uses MQL5. If you are new to trading, you may find writing and developing your own EAs intimidating. An easier way to implement algorithmic trading strategies is buying and downloading indicators and EAs from the large MetaTrader marketplace online.

Both trading platforms offer backtesting abilities, yet MT4 only provides single currency, single thread backtesting while MT5 offers multi-currency, multi-thread strategy testing.

Myfxbook AutoTrade for MT4

If you prefer copy trading over algorithmic trading, you can directly connect Myfxbook to your FP Markets MetaTrader 4 account. When using MT4, you can find and copy a wide range of systems, reducing the time you spend conducting analysis and trading manually.

If you are a Mac user, AvaTrade provides you direct access to 250+ financial instruments via MetaTrader 4. The MT4 Mac interface is easy-to-use and specifically designed for Apple devices to ensure efficient analysis. You can use the web trader platform with needing to download any software with the platform accessible from most browsers. Desktop, web trader and iOS iPhone/iPad trading apps are available and compatible with Mac devices.

When using AvaTrade’s MT4 Mac trading platform, you can incorporate a range of asset classes into your trading strategies, including forex, ETFs, shares, commodities and indices.

AvaTrade’s MT4 Mac Trading Platform

• Analysis tools: 3 chart types and 30 analytical tools
• Multiple order types with trailing stop-loss orders and pending orders
• One-click trading
• Automated trading with Expert Advisors (MQL4)
• Mac demo account