The Lowest Spread Forex Brokers in Canada have spreads that start from 0.0 pips for the EUR/USD currency pair. In this review, we look at the best spread brokers for standard ECN and fixed spread trading accounts for Canadian traders.
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Our list of the best forex brokers with low spreads is:
| Broker | Our Rating | Regulation | Standard EUR/USD Spread |
Standard GBP/USD Spread |
Standard AUD/USD Spread |
Raw EUR/USD Spread |
Raw GBP/USD Spread |
Raw AUD/USD Spread |
Commissions (USD Base) |
MetaTrader 4 | MetaTrader 5 | cTrader | Execution Speed | Minimum Deposit | Currency Pairs | Crypto CFDs | Retail Leverage | Prof. Leverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8.83 |
FCA, CIRO, ASIC FSC-BVI, NFA, CFTC MAS, JFSA, KNF |
1.4 | - | - | - | - |
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|
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120ms | $0 | 69+ | - | 50:1 | - |
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8.33 |
FMA, VFSC ASIC |
1.0 | 1.32 | 1.11 | 0.10 | 0.42 | 0.21 | $3.50 |
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94ms | $100 | 60+ | 12+ | 30:1 | 200:1 |
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7.0 | CIRO, FCA, NFA, CFTC, MAS, JFSA, CIMA | 1.30 | - | - | - | $6.00 |
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30 ms (May 2023) | $100 | 80+ | - | 33:1 | 33:1 |
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7.17 |
ASIC, FCA MAS, CIRO |
1.12 | 1.30 | 1.64 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 | $2.50 |
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138ms | $0 | 339+ | - | 30:1 | 500:1 |
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7.93 |
ASIC, FCA FSCA, CIRO |
1.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.22 | 0.80 | 0.40 | $3.00 |
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150ms | $300 | 39+ | - | 30:1 |
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8.33 |
CIRO, FSCA ADGM, CBI |
0.90 | - | - | - | - |
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|
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160ms | $100 | 37+ | - | 33:1 | 33:1 |
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To keep your trading costs low, it’s important to choose a broker that offers low spreads. The forex brokers with the lowest spreads generally offer ECN pricing with STP execution and no dealing desk, meaning spreads will often start as low as 0.0 pips. In this review, we have outlined the lowest spread forex brokers for Canadian traders.
OANDA’s standard account has no commissions in addition to the spread
OANDA is one of the best Canadian Forex brokers with over 25 years of experience in the brokerage industry. With three different platforms to choose from, spreads from just 1.2 pips and they offer a wide selection of services to suit any trader, we think OANDA is a worthy choice for best broker for spread-only trading. .
Trading Accounts And Spreads
OANDA offers a choice of two trading accounts. Both accounts are much the same except that the Premium account has a $25,000 minimum deposit and a few extra features such as faster updates of share prices, priority access to the queue for trade orders and a dedicated relationship manager. Most traders will find the Standard account is suitable for their needs.
Trading Platforms
OANDA has a range of excellent platforms for you to use that all have different benefits depending on your style of trading and experience level. These platforms include the popular MetaTrader 4, OANDA Trade, charting from Trading View, and OANDA API for automated strategies. We have gone into more detail about some of these platforms below.
OANDA Trade
OANDA Trade is the flagship platform for the broker, having won multiple awards for being the world’s best retail foreign exchange platform. Using a powerful core technology, various trading tools, and analysis options it is a popular choice for traders. Some features of this platform include:
TMGM Allows You to Trade with 1:500 Leverage
If you are an experienced trader and want exposure to higher leverage, then TMGM is your go-to broker. They give you access to 1:500 leverage, and as a nice bonus, they have low spreads. TMGM also provides MetaTrader 4 access and a solid range of trading products. If you are a scalper, combining all of these benefits gives you an excellent trading environment for fast, leveraged trades with low trading costs.
Key Strengths
TMGM has trading accounts with low spreads
Like most brokers, TMGM offers two trading accounts. The first is the Classic account which is a spread-only account. With the Classic account, you do not pay commissions when trading. The spread covers all of the trading fees. These spreads are relatively low too, where you can trade EURUSD from one pip. You should choose the Classic trading account to access high leverage and low spreads without paying commissions.
Otherwise, you should choose the EDGE account with spreads from 0.0 pips, but they charge a low commission of CAD $9 round-turn per 100k trade. Our team at CompareForexMarkets tested how long they keep the EDGE account spreads at 0.0 pips throughout the day on average. We found that TMGM does a great job in offering the advertised minimum spread of 0.0 pips for 97.53% of the time. So you can take advantage of the tight spreads and low commission.
Both accounts are executed through TMGM’s ECN model, which connects you to 10+ top-tier liquidity providers to provide you with the best prices.
TMGM does provide a third account, which is only for the stock market. It provides access to several exchanges through the IRESS ViewPort trading platform. This is an institutional-grade platform just for stocks. You should choose this account if you prefer to trade stocks but want access to TMGMs with low trading costs.
TMGM offers High Leverage
Trading with high leverage is difficult in most countries, especially in Canada, where the max is 1:50 imposed by the CIRO. The only way to trade with high leverage as a Canadian is by either being an elected professional trader or opening a trading account with a broker outside of the CIRO jurisdiction. TMGM gives you access to higher leverage by being regulated by VFSC. The VFSC allows TMGM to accept Canadian traders and provide high leverage.
Fast Execution Speeds on MetaTrader 4
Ross Collins, our Chief Technology Researcher, tested 20 brokers to see which broker provided the fastest execution speeds. In the tests, we found that TMGM produced an execution speed of 94ms on their limit orders. This placed TMGM in the top five for execution speeds.
Our Verdict on TMGM
Overall, TMGM provides an excellent trading service. We recommend TMGM as the best broker for the highest leverage with low spreads because they accept Canadian traders who can benefit from the 1:500 leverage, low spreads from one pip, and fast execution speeds.
FOREX.com RAW Pricing account has ECN-like spreads
The RAW Pricing account with Forex.com is one of the few commission-based accounts in Canada that use a RAW pricing model. This type of account is popular with experienced traders since the overall cost is lower than spread-only trading accounts. To complement this, forex.com offers two different platforms for you to choose from, including their proprietary platform, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.
Account Types
FOREX.com gives you the option of two different account types to pick from, Spreads with the Standard account are from 0.8 pips for the EUR/USD but average around 1.0 pips. The RAW Pricing account spreads are tighter being from 0 pips with a commission cost of $14 round turn (7.00 each way) for each $100,000 lot you trade.
Active Trader Program
If you trade at least 50 million each month, you can apply to join Forex.com active trader program and receive cash rebates each month of up to 15%.
Trading Products
FOREX.com allows you to choose between a CAD and USD Trading account. Having a USD account means higher leverage. This, however, can change depending on CIRO directives. Besides Forex, Stocks, Indices and Metals, you can also trade commodities as spot or futures.
Education Center
FOREX.com offers a range of different forex courses from trading concepts to technical analysis. Their goal is to make you a better trader so you can make the most informed decisions. We have gone into more detail about these features below.
Friedberg Direct Powered by FXCM has discounts for Active Traders
Technically known as Friedberg Direct, powered by FXCM technology since this subsidiary is a partnership between Friedberg Direct (which is part of the Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd) and FXCM. Friedberg Direct provides the services and holds the CIRO license and FXCM trading infrastructure.
FXCM has some of the best spreads out of all the brokers on this list because of its pricing model, which they call FXCM enhanced execution. This model achieves low spreads as it uses elements of STP and ECN trading execution to source prices directly from a large pool of liquidity providers with Jefferies Financial Group providing the prime brokerage services.
Trading Account And Commissions
FXCM only has one trading account, which makes signing up very simple as you don’t need to decide between a no commission or no dealing desk style account. To open an account, you will need to have at least $50 as a minimum deposit if you are a retail trader, which will be fine for most traders. Traders wanting a higher level of customer service may choose the active trader account, which requires a minimum deposit of $25,000.
Since the FXCM trading account uses a no dealing desk model, you will need to pay a commission-free for each trade. Trading with minor and exotic pairs comes with higher commission costs than major pairs.
Trading Spreads
FXCM’s enhanced execution or no dealing desk model allows FXCM to have some of the lowest spreads of all CIRO-regulated brokers. Each month, the CompareForexBrokers.com team collects the average spreads brokers publish on their website and Friedberg Direct powered by FXCM technology compares well with other CIRO-regulated brokers (however not strongly with offshore brokers).
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Commission Spreads
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0.60 | 0.60 | 0.30 | 0.70 | 0.40 |
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0.23 | 0.20 | 0.06 | 0.42 | 0.27 |
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0.60 | 0.66 | 0.23 | 0.90 | 0.65 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
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0.50 | 0.60 | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
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0.30 | N/A | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.20 | 0.83 | 0.44 | 0.40 | 0.42 |
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0.24 | N/A | 0.17 | 0.54 | 0.30 |
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0.30 | 0.70 | 0.20 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.30 | 1.10 | 0.10 | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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n/a | 0.30 | n/a | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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0.77 | 1.41 | 0.44 | 1.13 | 1.23 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
Trading Platforms
FXCM offers two different platforms for you to trade their low spreads with. The first is their proprietary platform called Trading Station that is used for trading forex and CFDs. The other platform is MetaTrader 4, which has been widely considered the ‘gold standard for trading platforms that brokers must have.
Trading Station
This is the flagship platform FXCM offers, and it comes with an array of useful features to help you trade profitably. It is available in multiple formats, including web trading, mobile application, and desktop application. We have listed some benefits of the platform below.
MetaTrader 4
This is the world’s most popular trading platform created by MetaQuotes, originally designed for the forex market. It now can trade a multitude of different instruments using FXCM’s trading technology. We have listed some benefits below.
Advanced ordering—set your stop-loss and take-profit levels while opening a new trade and partially close positions for more control over the markets
Trade-in micro-lot size of 0.01 ($1000 lots) for better risk management of your positions and smaller speculation trades
As a web application or a mobile application compatible with Android and IOS devices
Trading Products
FXCM has one of the better ranges of markets compared to other CFD brokers on this list. With all the commodities, index funds, and treasury bonds, there is no commission per trade placed, meaning there are only the spread costs.
*Your capital is at risk ‘67% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
Friedberg Direct Powered By AvaTrade has spreads that are fixed
Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology is a partnership between the CIRO-regulated Friedberg Direct and global forex trading broker AvaTrade. As a trader, you sign up with Friedberg Direct while AvaTrade provides the clearing house for your trades.
Trading Accounts And Spreads
Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology is unique compared to the other brokerages on this list because they offer fixed spreads when forex trading rather than floating spreads (also called variable spreads). This is a good option if you are a beginner trader since spreads are predictable, which means you are unlikely to experience major surprises because of changes in prices.
Since these spreads are fixed, the broker is taking on greater risk, which means spreads are wider than other types of trading accounts, but there is no commission, as they have already factored this into the spread costs. Spreads with Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade compare well with standard accounts which use variable spreads but are similar since both have no commission costs.
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Fixed Spreads
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0.90 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 1.10 | 1.50 |
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0.70 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 1.20 | 1.30 |
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1.94 | 1.83 | 2.11 | 2.36 | 2.05 |
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1.60 | 1.60 | 1.70 | 1.90 | 2.10 |
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1.50 | 1.80 | 2.00 | 1.80 | 2.00 |
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3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 |
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4.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 5.00 |
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2.01 | 1.86 | 2.31 | 2.52 | 2.22 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
Only one trading account is available with Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology, however, you will need to choose between a CAD or USD base which will affect the minimum deposit and leverage available.
Trading Products
Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology offers most of the standard trading products you can find with most brokers in Canada. The most interesting feature is their FX Options trading, which few brokers offer. AvaTrade even has an app platform to allow you to take full advantage of options trading capabilities.
Trading Platforms
Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology gives you the option of using 4 different trading platforms. First, there are the web and Mac trading platforms accessible through any browser. The next platforms are the MetaTrader applications MT4 & MT5 as a more popular option. The final platform is a specialist option trading platform for more advanced traders looking for derivatives.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 is the upgraded version of MetaTrader 4 that was designed in 2010 as a multi-asset platform and has quickly become one of the most popular platforms. It also includes a range of new features, as listed below.
AvaOptions
AvaOptions is designed for more advanced traders looking to trade a more complex derivative than a CFD. Whether you are hedging a position or trading for profit, this platform has something to benefit you. We have listed some benefits below.
Education Center
Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology has a fairly substantial education center for newer traders or experienced traders looking to pick up a new strategy. An added benefit of trading with Friedberg Direct Powered by AvaTrade Technology is the availability of copy trading, which is well-suited for beginner traders. We have listed some of these resources available below.
CMC Markets FX Active account has discounts on commissions
CMC Markets is one of the best forex brokers specializing in CFDs on the market, offering over 9,500 instruments. Some of these markets include Forex, Commodities, Shares, Indices, and more. There is the option of using either their award-winning next-generation platform or the world-renowned MetaTrader 4 platform.
Trading Accounts And Spreads
CMC Markets has made trading the financial markets simply by only offering one account type. They don’t charge any commission on any of their trades either, as they have been built into the spreads already.
Trading Products
As we mentioned above, CMC Markets has one of the widest ranges of markets for you to choose from. We have gone into more detail about their full range of markets below.
Trading Platforms
CMC Markets has one of the best range of markets with multiple award-winning platforms to choose from. The first is their next-generation platform that has won multiple awards and provides an in-depth market analysis for any experienced trader. The second option is the more popular MetaTrader 4 platform, originally designed for forex traders that are widely used by most brokers worldwide.
Next-Generation Platform
Winning the 2017 award for one of the top forex broker trading platforms for charting by the Canadian society of technical analysis. Besides a wealth of charting and technical analysis tools that far exceed many other trading platforms, CMC Markets Next Generation Platform includes Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders (GSLO) as a risk management tool.
The functionality of this platform means it has many unique features. We have listed some below.
MetaTrader 4
While this is the more well-known platform CMC Markets offers, it can only access a limited range of markets, including currencies, commodities, and indices. Despite this, there are many features that are not included with the next-generation platform that the MetaTrader 4 has.
This comparison focused on finding Canadian traders the lowest spread broker. Other subsets of traders though may be looking for other features from leverage, execution speed to customer service. We suggest navigation to the homepage of our Canadian forex broker comparison and then selecting the right table for your needs.
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