Forex.com Review

We look at some of the key features of Forex.com including trading accounts, spreads, trading platforms, CFDs, customer service, funding, and regulation to assess if forex.com is a broker you should consider.Forex-com-Review-Snippet-Image

🗺️ RegulationUK, USA, Canada, Cayman Islands
💰 Trading FeesDealing Desk, STP, DMA
📊 Trading PlatformsMT4, MT5, Forex.com
💰 Min Deposit$1000
💰 Funding Fee$0
🛍️ InstrumentsForex, CFDs, Crypto
💳 Credit CardYes

Forex.com is part of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed Gain Capital brand who also owns City Index. Traders in Australia will notice that Forex.com has been consolidated into City Index. Australian traders wanting to trade with a Gain Capital brand should read our City Index review as this review does not cover City Index Australia.

Traders from the UK, Europe and Singapore may also be interested in City Index as the broker is also regulated in those countries and facilitates forex trading for retail investor accounts. Forex.com like City Index is regulated by FCA so is relevant for traders from the UK and Europe and also the USA, Canada and Hong Kong as they have appropriate regulation for those regions.

Forex.com – Accounts And Competitive Spreads

Forex.com offers a total of 4 different trading account types with tight average spreads. These accounts are the Standard account, Commission account, ECN account and STP Pro account. The range of options means there is a trading account to suit most types of clients. Whether you are looking for spreads with no commissions, ECN pricing or rock bottom costs, there is an account that will suit your needs.

Forex.com Trading Accounts Summary

The differences between each account can quickly be summarised as the following:

  • Standard Account (dealing desk) – Available for all, no commissions, minimum deposit and trading size is $1000
  • Commission Account (dealing desk) – Not available in Canada, Cost = Spread + commission of $5 (per 100k), minimum deposit and trading size of $1000
  • DMA Account (no dealing desk) – Only available in the UK and Europe, Costs = No spread costs (tiered commission only), no Cryptocurrencies, a minimum deposit of $25,000 and trading size of $100,000
  • STP Pro Account (no dealing desk)- Same as DMA account but for US clients.

Unless you are a high volume trader, you’re likely to only consider the standard or commission account. The DMA and STP accounts have the lowest potential trading costs, but the high deposit and volume trading requirements will make them unsuitable for most retail traders.

 Standard AccountCommission AccountDMA Market Access AccountSTP Pro Account
Region AvailableInternationalUK And EuropeInternationalUSA
Trading modelMarket MakerMarket MakerSTP and DMASTP and DMA
LeverageUK/Europe: 30:1 Majors, 20:1 Minors (Retail)/400:1 Pro
Canada: 33:1
USA: 50:1		UK/Europe: 30:1 Majors, 20:1 Minors (Retail)/400:1 (Pro)
Canada: 33:1
USA: 50:1		UK/Europe: 30:1 Majors, 20:1 Minors (Retail)/400:1 (Pro)
Canada: 33:1
USA: 50:1
Minimum Trade Size$1,000$1,000$100,000$100,000
CommissionN/A$5 per 100k<$100m: $6 round turn
$100-250m: $4
$250-500m: $3.5
$500-1B: $3.0
$1B-2B: $2.5
$2B: $2.0		<$100m: $6 round turn
$100-250m: $4
$250-500m: $3.5
$500-1B: $3.0
$1B-2B: $2.5
$2B: $2.0
Recommended Minimum Balance$1,000$1,000$25,000$25,000
PricingSpreadsSpread plus CommissionCommission onlyCommission Only
Forex Markets80+ FX pairs plus spot gold & silver80+ FX pairs plus spot gold & silver58 FX pairs plus spot spot gold & silver60 currency pairs
spot gold & silver
Cryptocurrency MarketsBitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin & RippleBitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin & Ripple✘✘
Indices12+ commodities12+ commodities✘✘
Rebates Available$9 per million FX traded in monthly volume$9 per million FX traded in monthly volume✘✘
Inactivity Fee$15 per month if inactive for 12 months$15 per month if inactive for 12 months$15 per month if inactive for 12 months$15 per month if inactive for 12 months
Forex.com Trading Platforms
- Desktop
- Web
- Mobile/Tablet		✔✔Yes (Mobile - Top of book only)Yes (Web/Mobile - Top of book only)
MetaTrader Trading Platforms✔✔✘✘
MetaTrader 5✔✔✘✘


Leverage when trading CFDs will vary by region with 30:1 available for retail traders in the UK and Europe and 33:1 in Canada and 50:1 in the USA. Professional traders in the UK can trade with 400:1.

Like with the performance scorecard, the broker is transparent with their spreads with the broker showing live spreads for all currency pairs on their website so traders always know how each currency is performing, a sign the broker is confident their spreads will meet client expectations.

Standard Account

Regardless of where clients are located, all clients have access to a Standard account. This is a dealing desk/market marker style account with no commission, this means trading fees are included in the spreads.

Spreads with the Standard account are some of the most competitive on the market for this type of account. Spreads start for EURUSD can be as low as 0.8 pips and is typically around 1.3 pips.

Forex.com Standard Spread Account compares
1.30 2.00 2.40 2.10 2.80
0.70 1.30 1.40 2.20 1.80
0.80 1.70 2.30 1.80 2.60
1.80 3.10 3.80 4.20 2.50
1.10 1.40 1.30 1.40 1.50
1.10 1.40 1.50 1.50 1.40
1.20 1.60 1.40 1.40 1.40
1.20 1.40 1.20 1.40 1.30
1.20 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.60

Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 05/01/2021

 

Compare All Spreads >>

 

This type of account is great for beginners traders as it has no commissions, which mean a cost structure that is easily understood. Traders have the added bonus of cash rebates of up to 15% provided, the account has a minimum $10,000 at opening or 25M traded in a calendar month.

To trade open a Standard account, traders will need a minimum of $1000. This account is available with both Forex.com Advanced Trading Platforms and MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms.

Commission Account

The commission account is available to all traders except those from Canada. As with the standard account, this trading account uses dealing desk execution however has a different cost structure. This account is for traders who want tight spreads and flat rate commissions. Spreads start from 0.2 pips of EURUSD and have a flat rate commission of $5 per 100k.

Traders with this account can receive up to 15% in cash rebates provided, the account has a minimum $10,000 at opening or 25M in a calendar month.

Forex.com Active Trader

This account has a minimum deposit of $1000. This account is not available with MetaTrader platforms.

DMA Access Account and STP Pro account

The DMA and STP accounts are essentially the same account. The DMA account uses Direct Market Access (DMA) plus Straight Through Processing (STP) trading execution. This account is available to all Forex.com clients outside the USA, the STP Pro account is only available to Forex.com clients in the US.

Trading with DMA and STP accounts is unusual as traders are not charged through the spread. Trading costs are exclusively done through commissions. These accounts use tiered commissioned which means the more that is traded, the less one pays through commissions.

Forex.com commission

While a commission-only account may appear to be the best value, a minimum deposit of $25,000 is needed and each trade must be a minimum $100,000 meaning the account are best for professional traders.

This account also has a few notable limitations. These are:

  • Forex.com web and mobile platform use only top of book trading.
  • It is not available on MetaTrader platforms.
  • A smaller range of currency pairs available compared to other accounts

Account Funding

When setting up your trading account, the base currency and funding options available to forex traders depends on the subsidiary you are registered with. All deposit and withdrawal methods incur no fees charged by Forex.com, but processing times and initial deposits vary.

For example, if you are based in the UK, you can choose from 3 base currencies being the United States Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR) and Great British Pound (GBP). Two deposit and withdrawal methods are available:

  • Credit Card/Debit Card (Visa) – $100 initial deposit and processed immediately.
  • Wire/Bank Transfer – No minimum deposit and processed within 1-2 business days.

If you are trading with the broker’s European CySEC regulated branch, you can choose from the following funding methods and account base currency options:

  • Credit and Debit Card (Visa, MasterCard and Maestro) – £100 minimum deposit and processed within 24 hours. USD, EUR, JPY, CAD, AUD, CHF and GBP available.
  • PayPal – £100 minimum transaction, up to 2 business days to be processed and EUR, USD and GBP available.
  • Bank Account Transfer – No initial deposit requirements, processed within 1-2 business days and accepted currencies include USD, CAD, EUR, AUD, CHF, JPY and GBP.

Our Rating

The overall rating is based on review by our experts

6.67
Spreads
7 / 10
Leverage
8 / 10
Trading Platform
6 / 10
Risk Management
6 / 10
Range of Markets
6 / 10
Customer Service
7 / 10

Forex.com – Performance Transparency

Pricing means nothing without quality trade executions. We strive to deliver the best price and execute your trades as quickly as possible. We prove that to you with our Execution Scorecard.

Forex.com is one of the best brokers in terms of price and performance transparency. To show clients they are delivering on their promises when it comes to execution quality and spreads Forex.com has a regularly updated trade execution scorecard and spreads table.  Forex.com was the first broker to offer a trade execution scorecard and have been doing so since 2011.

Trade Execution

Forex.com Fills Trades in less than 1 secon 99.80% of the time with speed of 0.04sec

Fast execution is the time you make your order to the time your order is executed by the broker or liquidity provider. Fast execution or low latency means:

  • Less slippage – Forex.com uses market order for execution.  Prices in the forex market are constantly changing, and lags will occur between the time you place your order and data is received by the liquidity provider. This is known as slippage. Fast execution while not eliminating slippage, greatly reduces its occurrence. Forex.com has an execution speed of 0.04ms and completes your order in under 1 second 99.80% of the time.
  • Fewer rejections – Low latency reduces changes of orders being rejected because the amount set by the broker has been exceeded.

Performance improvements

Forex.com Limit Order Success

Forex.com has designed the execution process to ensure you always get the best available price. Market order uses the best available price when slippage occurs, Forex.com has a filter to improve the likelihood prices work in the trader’s favour.

Speed of fills

99.99% Orders Fills Successful with Forex.com

Fast execution improves the chances your order will be filled.

Note: these stats are based on Forex.com trading platforms, not MT4.

Forex Price TransparencyPrice Transparency

The forex market is a decentralised market and prone to price discrepancies. However, Forex.com has a wide network of liquidity providers (30 tier-one LPs) that quote their FX prices into the broker’s price engine. This ensures fair, transparent and more robust pricing for all market participants.

FOREX.com’s STP Pro Account is designed to offer greater visibility into the bid and ask prices and the trading volume for each price level. For example, the STP Pro dealing ticket gives you access to an aggregated Depth of Market (DOM) with several price levels deep into the order book.

Forex.com – Range Of Trading Platforms

Forex.com offers 2 families of trading platforms, this is their proprietary Forex.com suite of trading platforms and the mainstream MetaTrader 4 trading platform. Both platforms are available for desktop, mobile and web and are flexible enough to cover the needs to needs of all types of traders, from beginner to advanced and desktop to those on the go. The right platform for you will depend on your forex trading needs.

The choice of platforms on offer can be brokers town into the following options

  • Forex.com Desktop – Advanced Trading Platform
  • Forex.com Mobile
  • Forex.com Web
  • MetaTrader 4
  • MetaTrader 4 Web
  • MetaTrader 4 Mobile

Forex.com Platform Trading Platforms

Forex.com’s proprietary trading platform has 3 versions available with each version designed for the needs of different types of traders.

If you are a beginner forex trader, the broker offers educational materials online to help you learn the basics. Examples of resources include trading platform webinars and tutorials explaining how to manage risk and volatility in markets.

Forex.com Desktop – Advanced Trading Platform

Advanced Trading Platform as the name suggests is Forex.com’s most sophisticated trading platform. It is built with serious forex and CFD traders in mind who require superior analytical tools and features for greater in-depth insights than is needed from the average trader. Its strengths lie in its customizability and range of order types. Among these features, you will find:

  • 80 Technical indicators
  • Over 100 pre-defined indicator plus the ability to create your own
  • 15 timeframes
  • Customisable drawing tools
  • Development studio which supports over 100 customisable templates (using C#, .NET, Visual Basic) to identify trading entry and exit points
  • Drag and drop customisable watch list to define your trading preferences
  • Research tools with an economic calendar online plus news feeds

Wide range of risk management tools, including:

  • Large choice of order types (market, limit, stop, trailing, contingent  orders, one-cancels-the-other) to manage your risk
  • Guaranteed stop-loss order and trailing stops
  • Partial closing
  • Hedging

As this is an advanced trading platform, some traders may find the platform not to be exceptionally user friendly as it is cluttered with too much information.

Forex.com Advanced Trading Platform

Forex.com WebTrader

While Advanced Trading Platform is designed to offer the most advanced tools, Web Trader is optimised for speed and performance when trading through the web-browser. The web trading platform is a nice platform to look at and use. With this platform, traders will have access to the following:

  • Smart trade ticket to set orders based on profit and loss, price or pips.
  • Over 50 drawing tools on multiple chart types
  • 70 technical indicators
  • 10+ time intervals
  • Trading directly from charts with click and drag
  • Market, limit, stop-loss trailing stop and One cancel the other order types.

Forex.com Web Trading Platform

Forex.com – Mobile

The Forex.com mobile app is available through Google Play for Android and App Store for Apple. The app offers a complete trading experience with a user-friendly interface and great searchability so you can find the instruments you need with ease. With this App you can find:

  • User-Friend designed mobile app
  • Market, limit, stop, stop trailing and one cancels the other order types
  • Customisable navigation barn dashboard and watchlists
  • Choice of light and dark themes
  • Account funding via App

While the broker’s proprietary platform for mobile trading, Forex.com Mobile, is a great trading app for iOS and Android devices, it can be a little slow to load at times and does not offer time limits like Good till cancelled or end of the day.

Forex.com Mobile Trading Platform

Advanced Charting

To help get the most from your trading with Forex.com, the broker offer advanced charting analysis tools from TradingView, AutoChartist, and Recognia. Forex.com is one of the few brokers that has TradingView integrated directly into its platforms and is one feature that makes the broker stand out from other brokers. With TradingView traders get:

  • Over 10 chart types
  • 14 timeframes
  • Over 60 technical indicators
  • Chart templates that can be saved for future use
 Forex.com Trading PlatformsMetaTrader 4
MarketsForex Pairs: 84
Shares CFD: 220+
Indices: 17
Metals: 10
Commodities: 11		Forex Pairs :84
Shares CFD:
Indices: 17
Metals: 10
Commodities: 7
Trade ExecutionInstant (fixed spreads) or Market (variable spreads)
Market
Order types1. Market
2. Limit
3. Stop
4. Guaranteed Stop Loss (not on web trader)
5. One Cancels Other (OCO)
6. If then OCO
7. Trailing Stops (not on web trader)		1. Market
2. Limit
3. Stop
4. One Cancels Other (OCO)
Features1. Fully customizable
2. 1-click trading
3. Custom watchlists*
4. Indicator Builder (not on web trader)
5. Development Studio*
6. Price alerts (not on web trader)
7. Open API, Algo (not on web trader)
8. Hedging		1. No 3rd party bridge
2. Real-time updates, no auto sync
3. 1-click trading
EA optimized
4. Customer watchlists
5. Advanced order types
6. Hedging

MetaTrader 4

FOREX.com’s suite of trading platforms also includes the most popular trading platform MetaTrader 4 (MT4). The MT4 platform is a great fit for the global forex exchange market. Besides the easy-to-use interface, Forex.com powers the MetaTrader 4 trading platform with unique tools for market analysis.

MT4 Trading PlatformForex.com clients will gain a competitive advantage through the following integrated tools:

  • Dedicated support straight through the MT4 platform
  • Fully integrated Reuters News
  • Autochartist – trade ideas
  • In-house research
  • Trading Central technical analysis
  • Account management tools exclusive to Forex.com clients
  • Free Apps powered by FX Blue

You can download and install MetaTrader 4 for Windows PC and MAC OS X. Before you install MetaTrader 4 make sure your operating system meets the system requirements. At Forex.com you can also benefit from a reliable MT4 mobile solution. Forex.com mobile app is supported across all devices, including Android, iPhone or iPad.

MT4 Expert Advisors EAs

Additionally, the MetaTrader 4 software is enhanced to support Experts Advisors (EAs) for automated trading. The MetaTrader Expert Advisors come with the following advantages:

  • Flexibility to run your trading strategy 24/6 without any interruptions
  • Free VPS hosting capabilities
  • Real-time tick-by-tick analysis
  • Over 20 built-in EAs
  • One-on-one VIP support

To be eligible for a free EA hosting on a dedicated server, clients need to generate at least 500,000 in notional trade volume.

Forex.com – CFDs

The CFDs offered by Forex vary depending on which country you are trading due to regulatory restrictions. While you won’t find unique options like bonds, ETFs, Interest Rates CFD, the range among the financial products available is quite comprehensive.

CFDs Offered by Forex.com

Europe

Traders in Europe get access to over 4500 markets.  One unique feature is the ability to pair Bitcoin with USDM AUD, EUR, GBP currencies.

 RangeLeverage/MarginSpreads/CostComments
Indices210.50% - 1%Most under 2 pointsFixed spreads
China 50 - variable spreads
Shares4500 (8 markets)5%US Share 1.8 commission
UK shares 0.08% shares
EU shares 0.08%
Commodities113% to 11%VariesFixed or variable
Metals50.5% - 1%0.45 to 1.4 spread
Cryptocurrencies5 (8 combinations)25%Bitcoin USD from 35
Bitcoin Pound from 45
Bitcoin Euro from 55
Bitcoin AUD from 55
Bitcoil Cash from 2
Ethereum from 1.2
Litcoin from 0.5
Ripple from 0.6		1. Go long with increments of 0.1
2. Bitcoin trade in USA, GBP, AUD, Euro

One unique feature is the ability to pair Bitcoin with USD, AUD, EUR, GBP currencies and the ability to buy and sell fractional Bitcoin with 0.1 lots. Forex.com claim to offer the best Cryptocurrency costs on the market.

Disclaimer: Due to recent changes in FCA regulation, UK brokers are no longer able to offer cryptocurrencies. If you want to trade crypto CFDs, you will be required to sign up to the broker’s globally regulated subsidary based in the Cayman Islands.

Forex.com Crypto

Canada

Forex.com offers Canadian traders access to 300 different markets. Unfortunately, cryptocurrency trading is not available for Canadian and US traders.

 RangeLeverage/MarginSpreads/CostComments
Indices1814% - 15%Most under 2 pointsFixed spreads
China 50 - variable spreads
Shares220 (4 markets)20% - 50%US Share 1.8 commission
UK shares 0.08% shares
EU shares 0.08%
Commodities11 Futures
5 Spot		Futures -5% to 44%
Spot - 8% - 11%		VariesFixed or variable
Metals5015% - 28%0.45 to 1.4 spread

USA

CFD options for USD traders are much more limited with only gold, silver and futures through the ‘Small Exchange’, a unique product offered by very few brokers.

Forex.com Small Options

Forex.com – Customer Service

The broker is very dedicated to helping its clients succeed in FX trading and offers very good customer support. One can contact the support staff 24 hours a day between 10 am Sunday to 5 pm Friday through numerous channels like telephone, live chat, fax or email. Apart from English, the broker offers assistance in numerous languages, including:

  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Arabic
  • Spanish
  • Japanese

All the trade-related queries are addressed within the next 24 hours from the time request has been made.

Forex.com is especially committed to ensuring your Forex.com journey is as smooth as possible, so have a range of resources to support you through when trading.  These include:

  • Glossaries
  • FAQ
  • Integrated support into the trading platform such as tutorials, market analysis

Forex.com Support

All the trade-related queries are addressed within the next 24 hours from the time request has been made. The broker has a quality educational support centre which aims at making its traders knowledgeable by offering numerous articles and other information on Forex trading.

Education –

Forex.com offers a self-study course through its learning centre that is quite comprehensive. Delivered mostly though online web content forex students can choose from a range of topics including:

  • ‘Trading Concepts’
  • ‘Managing Risk’
  • ‘Technical Analysis’
  • ‘Trading Strategies’
  • ‘Fundamental Analysis’
  • ‘Forex.com Platform Tutorials’
  • ‘MetaTrader Platforms Tutorials’

Topics are designed for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

Forex.com Education

Forex.com Regulation

Forex.com is regulated by several tier-1 regulators, allowing them to offer services in multiple markets. Use of a regulator, especially a tier-1 regulator assures clients that the broker is meeting their obligations to protect clients’ funds and dealings in the regulators country.

Regulator requirements mean the broker has defined processes in the following basic areas:

  • Business continuity planning
  • Disaster recovery planning
  • Data and trading security
  • Anti-monetary laundry (AML)
  • Customer complains

United Kingdom

Traders from the UK and Europe can sign up to Forex.com UK entity (GAIN Capital UK Limited). Gain Capital UK Limited is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who have granted the broker the following licence number – FCA register Number #113942.

The USA

Forex.com is one of the few brokers that offer forex trading to US clients. Since 2004 the broker has been recognised as a futures commission merchant (FCM) and retail foreign exchange dealer (RFED) by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association under the NFA licence #0339826.

CFDs are not permitted for trading in the US.

Canada

In Canada, Forex.com operates with the trading name GAIN Capital – FOREX.com Canada Limited. It is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)

Countries Outside Europe, Canada And The USA

Countries outside for Europe, Canada, the USA are regulated by Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) with the trading name GAIN Global Markets Inc and CIMA licence number 25033 except for Japan where Forex.com is regulated by the Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Forex.com was previously regulated by the Australia Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia, but Forex.com was candidates with City Index.

Forex.com For Traders In The United Kingdom

  • Forex.com is the trading name of GAIN Capital UK Limited UK, which operated with business registration number 1761813. Forex.com is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with Register Number 113942.

Gain Capital registered address is Devon House, 58 St Katharine’s Way, London, E1W 1JP.

The FCA has tight leverage for retail traders and requires brokers to offer negative balance protection and 50% maintenance margin to all retail traders. This is a recognition that retail traders may be vulnerable when trading with leverage to excessive losses. Professional traders, however, are better positioned to handle margin trading and FCA recognising this by making allowances for professional traders to access higher leverage margins. Professional traders will, however, lose negative balance protection.

Leverage – Retail and Professional traders

 Max. Retail LeverageMax. Professional LeverageMax. Professional Leverage - MetaTrader
Forex - Majors1:301:4001:400
Forex - Minors1:201:4001:400
Cryptocurrency1:21:20N/A
Indices1:201:4001:200
Commodities - Silver1:201:2001:400
Commodities - Other
1:101:2001:400
Shares CFD1:51:33N/A

To qualify for a professional account, the following criteria need to be satisfied.

Forex.com Professional Account eligibility

Forex.com FAQs

Each financial jurisdiction enforces difference investor protection policies and forex regulation. Forex.com is overseen by multiple  regulators, therefore your level of investor protection varies between subsidiaries. If you are looking for strong risk management tools like negative balance protection and insurance compensation schemes, Forex.com’s FCA regulated branch is recommended.

All traders except those signed up to the US Forex.com branch can trade Contracts for Difference. CFDs for difference are not available to Forex.com’s US traders.

Forex.com is regulated by multiple financial authorities around the globe that require broker’s to follow strict forex trading rules, including the FCA in the UK and the CFTC in the US.

Forex.com Conclusion

Forex.com is a well-regarded forex broker that is regulated by multiple tier-1 regulators. Forex.com offers a choice of user-friendly trading platforms with the bonus of integrated charting tools and MetaTrader 4, which is highly suggested if you are planning to be serious about trading which means they have a suitable trading platform for all types of traders needs. In addition to trading platforms.

Forex.com offers a range of trading account types, transparency with its trading execution, performance and spreads, and a wealth of educational material. All these means Forex.com offers trading, which will keep both beginner and advanced traders satisfied.

About the author: Justin Grossbard

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.