Best MT5 Forex Broker 2022 Comparison

Pepperstone Has Superior MLQ5 Execution Speeds

Automated trading with the MLQ5 code requires a broker offering the fastest Market Order execution speed. The comparison below shows that Pepperstone is the MT5 forex broker with the fastest execution speeds, ensuring traders get the price quotes and avoid slippage.

Pepperstone processes most orders in ~30ms* through its superior infrastructure. This includes the use of Equinix servers in New York near liquidity pools. This state-of-the-art facility has the most powerful infrastructure and access to leading financial institution servers, providing superior trading conditions to most other MT5 forex brokers.

The superior trading speeds mixed with strong customer service are why the Investment Trends award from actual traders included the:

• Overall Client Satisfaction
• Best Platform Features
• Platform Reliability
• Speed Of Fund Withdrawals

Pepperstone also has won a plethora of awards for customer support and its market depth is unmatched by any competitor globally. The broker is based in Australia but also has FCA regulation in the UK and DFSA regulation in Dubai. Other forex trading platforms offered by Pepperstone include MetaTrader 4 (using MQL4) and cTrader.

Review Of Pepperstone >>Visit Pepperstone >>

IC Markets Is The Lowest Spread MetaTrader 5 Broker

Below compares the average spreads of the best forex brokers offering ECN style trading accounts with low spreads and commissions. This spread comparison is updated monthly based on the broker’s published spread reports.

IC Markets Raw Account Spreads	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPGBP/USDUSD/SGDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPGBP/USDUSD/SGDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPGBP/USDUSD/SGDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPGBP/USDUSD/SGDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPGBP/USDUSD/SGDAUD/JPYEUR/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CAD
	0.02	0.17	0.27	0.23	0.85
	0.17	0.24	0.40	0.59	1.38
	0.20	0.40	0.70	0.70	2.40
	0.20	0.20	0.40	0.50	1.50
	0.44	0.42	0.40	0.85	1.30
	0.17	0.30	0.54	0.59	N/A
	0.20	0.40	0.50	0.60	10.00
	0.10	0.50	0.60	0.60	1.30
	n/a	0.50	0.60	0.20	3.10
	0.43	1.22	1.09	1.00	1.93

Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/10/2022

On average, IC Markets has the lowest spreads from their RAW Spread Account. The table does highlight that for some crosses other brokers may have lower spreads such as Pepperstone or IC Markets which should be considered.

How Does IC Markets Achieve Low Spreads?

The Raw Spread account works as an ECN broker allowing Straight-Through-Processing (STP) of orders with no dealer intervention. Advanced traders will only choose ECN accounts with Direct Market Access (DMA) to minimize brokerage and achieve optimal execution speeds. IC Markets also has the best access to liquidity pools, including financial institutions. With over 25 liquidity providers, ultra-fast order execution, and no dealing desk intervention, IC Markets clients’ offers one of the most competitive trading environments for retail investors.

IC Market MetaTrader 5 Commissions

When trading forex on MetaTrader 5 (MT5) via IC Markets Raw Account, there is no markup on the institutional-grade spreads. Rather than including commission in the spread, clients’ pay a flat-rate commission fee. For MT5 users’, commission fees are $7 per lot round-turn in Australian and US Dollars.

The forex brokerage calculator above shows that IC Market’s low commissions make it more competitive for some base currencies (e.g. AUD) compared to others such as EUR. This is why you should determine what base currency you will select when commencing with the forex trading platform before finalizing the best broker for your needs. Commissions are the same for individuals who select MetaTrader 4, while cTrader has a different fee structure.

Other Fees To Consider

IC Markets charges no deposit or withdrawal fees with a minimum deposit requirement of $200. Only a $20 fee may be passed on from the bank for international transfers.

Overnight financing fees apply for any positions kept open until the next trading day. Swap Rates depend on multiple factors, including the currency pair being traded, whether a trader is long or short and interest rate differentials. IC Markets clients’ should note that swap rates (excluding the Islamic accounts, which are swap-free) are 3x the standard rate on Wednesday nights. When using MT5, swap rates are converted to the base currency of the Raw Spread account, simplifying fee calculations.

Why IC Markets Is Recommended Based On Spreads

Clients trading with IC Markets via MetaTrader 5 (or MetaTrader 4) gain access to institutional grade spreads averaging 0.1 pips (EUR/USD) while paying low trading and account fees. For this reason, many scalpers, Expert Advisors, and day traders prefer trading on MT5 with IC Markets. The broker offers the ZuluTrade add-on for social trading. IC Markets is regulated with:

• ASIC (Australia) With AFSL 335692
• CySEC (Cyprus) With Licence No 362/18
• Seychelles With Company Number 8419879-2

FxPro Offers The Most Currency Pairs

With access to over 70 major, minor and exotic currency markets, FxPro offers an impressive range of FX pairs to trade. While many forex brokers only provide frequently traded major forex pairs to choose from,  FxPro offers exotic currencies such as the Russian Ruble, Norwegian Krone, Polish Zloty and Turkish Lira against major currencies such as the US dollar and Euro.

When trading forex with FxPro, commission fees are included in the spread, with no additional commission charges on top of the spread.

Although the commission is included in forex spreads for MT5, additional trading fees may apply. The online broker provides calculators on their website to forecast fees such as swap rates.

In addition to the wide range of forex pairs, FxPro clients can trade over 173 Commodity, Stock and Index CFDs.

View FxPro Review >>Visit FxPro >>

*Your capital is at risk ‘84.72% of retail CFD accounts lose money’

Admiral Markets Excel At Cryptocurrencies

Admiral Markets offer an extensive range of cryptocurrency when compared to other online brokers. Only IC Markets offers a slightly wider range of digital currencies. The table below outlines a side-by-side comparison between the two brokers.

Please note that under Admiral Markets UK Ltd there are restrictions for crypto trading due to the recent regulatory ban on crypto assets by the FCA. This means that all retail clients that have a country of residence in the UK will not be offered cryptocurrencies. However, if you’re not living in the UK, then you can open an account under Admiral Markets Cyprus Ltd – for EU traders, or under Admiral Markets Pty Ltd – for Australian traders. Then, with your retail account, you’ll be able to trade cryptocurrencies.

When trading with Admiral Markets, 11 different Crypto CFDs are available to choose from, all vs the USD or Euro. This means that you’ll have access to a total of 22 crypto pairs. By comparison, IC Markets only offers 10 Crypto CFDs, available vs the US dollar.

Crypto CFD Spreads

Cryptocurrency CFD spreads are shown in the above table and are similar between the two brokers. Admiral Markets spreads on the most popular Crypto, Bitcoin, are more competitive than IC Markets with a minimum of 2.02 compared to IC Markets 5.00.

IC Markets charges no commission fees on top of cryptocurrency spreads. As traders’ are buying and selling Crypto CFDs and not the underlying asset, clients can go long or short and leverage their positions up to 5:1. Likewise, Admiral Markets allows traders to trade Crypto CFDs on 5:1 leverage.

View Admiral Markets Review >>Visit Admiral Markets >>

XM Requires The Lowest Minimum Deposit

Traders’ using XM are required to make an initial minimum deposit of as little as USD $5. No deposit or withdrawal fees are charged, regardless of the funding method.

Funding methods

XM clients’ can deposit and withdraw funds via:

• Visa and Mastercard
• Wire Transfer (minimum $60)
• Local Bank Transfer
• NETELLER, Skrill and Perfect Money
• Western Union and MoneyGram
• Cryptocurrency Deposit

Any currency can be deposited, with XM automatically converting the funds into the base currency of the traders’ account. Base currencies available include EUR, USD, CHF, GBP, JPY, RUB, PLB, HUF and AUD.

View XM Review >>Visit XM >>

FXTM Is The Ideal Beginner Forex Broker

There are five retail investor accounts including three ECN accounts for beginner forex traders to choose from. All these retail investor accounts offer the MT5 trading platform. As shown below, two of these accounts offer the highest leverage of any forex broker at up to 2000:1.

FXTM also has a copy trading facility with FXTM Invest. If a beginner trader doesn’t feel confident making their own trades, through copy trading they can select another strategy manager and duplicate their trades. This will make the individual shadow the trader’s profit or losses as trades are made.

FXTM (ForexTime) is Regulated with CySEC in Cyprus with the licence 185/12, FSCA in South Africa with FSP No 46614, FCA in the UK with number 600475 and FSC in Mauritius with number C113012295.

View FXTM Review >>Visit FXTM >>

AvaTrade Has The Lowest Fixed Rate Spreads

Very few MT5 brokers offer fixed spreads, with AvaTrade being one exception. Not only that, but their fixed spreads are the lowest of any foreign exchange broker (across all forex platforms). AvaTrade is able to keep a low fixed spread year-round due to its relationship with multiple tier-one liquidity providers. The main reason why AvaTrade is able to offer competitive spreads is due to its market maker pricing model.

With AvaTrade’s transparent pricing model, the average EUR/USD spread is 0.9 pips and 1.10 pips for AUD/USD. Below shows the latest fixed spreads across the lowest fee providers.

Fixed Spreads	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYGBP/USDAUD/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CADUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYGBP/USDAUD/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CADUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYGBP/USDAUD/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CADUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYGBP/USDAUD/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CADUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYGBP/USDAUD/JPYUSD/JPYUSD/CADUSD/SGD
	0.90	1.10	1.50	1.80	1.50
	0.70	1.20	1.50	1.80	1.30
	1.38	1.77	1.81	1.81	1.98
	1.60	1.90	1.70	2.40	2.10
	1.50	1.80	2.00	2.00	2.00
	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
	4.00	4.00	3.00	5.00	5.00
	3.00	4.00	4.00	6.00	4.00

Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/10/2022

The fixed spreads are offered on over 1,250 financial instruments spread across 8 different asset classes including forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, bonds and more. The main advantage of the fixed spread model is that you know upfront the total cost of your trades. No additional commission will be charged on your trade, as AvaTrade is mainly compensated through the bid-ask spread.

AvaTrade is a regulated broker in multiple jurisdictions worldwide, including Australia’s ASIC, Canada’s IIROC and Japan’s FSA. AvaTrade welcomes all types of traders as it caters to the needs of both beginner traders and more experienced traders.

Markets.com offers the Best MT5 Trading Tools

Markets.com offers an exceptional range of exclusive trading tools to use with their MetaTrader 5 technological solution. At Markets.com, clients can access over 2,200 CFD instruments spread across 8 different asset classes, 14 leading-edge trading tools and actionable trade signals.

MT5 Trading Tools

The premium tools offered by Markets.com can let you discover new trading opportunities by studying hidden price behaviours. MT5 trading tools are divided into three sections:

1. Sentiment tools (Bloggers Opinions, Hedge Funds Investment Confidence, Insider Trades, Real-Time Signals, Trading Analyst Recommendations, Trends In Trading)
2. Technical tools (Related Instruments, Advanced Charting tools package)
3. Fundamental tools (Financial Commentary, Advanced Alerts, Thomson Reuters Stock Report)

With the 6 different sentiment tools, you can get a real-time view of the buying and selling activity that goes in the market. The Hedge Funds Confidence tool is probably one of the unique tools in this category as it can help you feel the market pulse. This tool shows you the intention of smart money.

Additionally, the Signals tool can help you take your trading to the next level via actionable trading ideas. The signals are generated by combining 5 pattern recognition tools. The signals will include the name of the market, the direction of the trade (long or short) along the tools used to generate the trade recommendation.

XRay Live Stream Service

Traders can get real-time market news and analysis XRay – a powerful streaming service. The XRay live news stream is hosted by UK leading financial experts who cover a broad range of topics from trading strategies to the latest news that has the potential to impact the foreign exchange rates.

Subscribers can also ask questions and Markets.com experts will answer your inquiries live.

In addition to forex trading, Markets.com’s clients can also access a huge selection of stocks from around the world and benefit from 3 months’ free commissions when you open a live trading account.

View Market.com–all-tables Review >>Visit Markets.com >>

*Your capital is at risk ‘70% of retail CFD accounts lose money’