We tested the trading account opening process of 20 forex brokers to find out which brokers have the easiest account opening. Measures we factored included time to open and steps to open. Read on to see our test results.
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Opening an account with a Forex Broker should be a straightforward, smooth experience. To find the brokers with the best account opening experiences, CompareForexBrokers opened live accounts with 16 top Forex brokers. We first opened demo accounts, and then upgraded to live standard accounts.
Based on our 2024 testing we concluded that these brokers had the best account opening experiences:
The brokers we chose
This table summarises our test results. We used a multi-factor model to assign a score out of 15 to each broker.
| Row Labels | Score (out of 15) |
|---|---|
| Pepperstone | 15 |
| OANDA | 14 |
| Fusion Markets | 13 |
| EightCap | 12 |
| Axi | 12 |
| FP Markets | 12 |
| TMGM | 11 |
| Blackbull Markets | 10 |
| Go Markets | 9 |
| IG Markets | 9 |
| IC Markets | 8 |
| Admiral Markets | 8 |
| CMC Markets | 8 |
| FXPro | 8 |
| CityIndex | 8 |
| FXCM | 7 |
The best experience we had simply asked us for some standard personal information, proof of ID and residence, a few trading knowledge questions, and then immediately provisioned us with MT4 login credentials for live trading. Experiences with other brokers took many days, and involved us communicating with online chat, phone support and account managers.
At compareforexbrokers.com, we believe the right approach to opening an account with a new forex broker is to start with a demo account. This allows you to get to know the broker, hopefully getting some nice emails from an account manager, and allows you to back-test any automations you might want to use. With a demo account, you can do all this in a safe environment where you can’t lose any money.
We opened demo accounts at all the brokers we tested. After we had successfully installed all our testing Expert Advisors (EAs), indicators and scripts, we upgraded to live accounts.
As our testing is based in Australia, we wanted to open AUD accounts, with a standard leverage of 1:30. We wanted MT4 trading accounts set up, so we could do our testing with the most popular trading platform.
The factors we recorded and engineered into our scoring model were:
Each factor was scored out of 15, and we then converted those scores to an overall score out of 15.
Pepperstone (15 out of 15)
✔ Very helpful account manager assigned
OANDA (14 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
✔ Straightforward account opening process
🗶 A few errors were encountered received during the process
OANDA Review for US traders and OANDA Review for Canadian traders
Fusion Markets (13 out of 15)
✔ Completely smooth process, immediate account creation
✔ Completely smooth process
✔ Very helpful account manager assigned
🗶 It took a couple of hours for the account to be approved an opened
Axi (12 out of 15)
✔ Immediate account opening
✔ Account manager assigned
🗶 The client portal is not available for demo users
🗶 Requires a W-8 BEN. No other broker required that
Eightcap (12 out of 15)
✔ Immediate account opening
✔ Account manager assigned
🗶 Required e a Tax File Number
🗶 Asked if there were any financial hardships, addiction, age-impaired, job loss or mental health issues (spurious information)
FP Markets (12 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
✔ Account opened within a couple of hours
🗶 Demo users do not have access to the client portal
🗶 Received unexpected errors during the process
TMGM (11 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
✔ Account opened within the same day
✔ Has leverage options from 1:1 to 1:30
🗶 Account types (Edge, Classic and Standard) are not well explained
🗶 ID verification is via a separate document upload process
BlackBull Markets (10 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
🗶 Very slow website
🗶 Has leverages from 1:1 to 1:500 (elevated risk)
🗶 Standard 1:30 leverage is not offered
GO Markets (9 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
🗶 Account opening took several days
🗶 Error messages received during the process
🗶 Email to the account manager was required to complete the process
IG (9 out of 15)
✔ Account opened immediately
🗶 No account manager assigned
🗶 MT4 account must be added separately
🗶 Did not require any proof of ID or residency
IC Markets (8 out of 15)
✔ MT4 credentials smoothly delivered
🗶 No account manager assigned
🗶 Unexpected errors received during the process
🗶 Asked for my mother’s maiden name. No other broker required that
Admiral Markets (8 out of 15)
✔ Account Manager assigned
🗶 Created an MT5 account by default. MT4 accounts are opened via “Advanced Settings”
🗶 Required Tax File Number
🗶 The account finally opened after several days
CMC Markets (8 out of 15)
✔ Account Manager assigned
🗶 The knowledge test is much harder than for other brokers and is not limited to Forex
🗶 Account types were not well explained
🗶 Required spurious personal information
FX Pro (8 out of 15)
✔ Account opened immediately
🗶 No account manager assigned
🗶 Automatically created a live MT4 account when you open your demo account
🗶 ID document upload is only activated by changing the MT4 password
City Index (8 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
🗶 WebTrader account is created by default
🗶 MT4 account required intervention from an account manager
🗶 Multiple touchpoints (help desk, account manager) are required to open the account
🗶 The account opening process took days
FXCM (7 out of 15)
✔ Account manager assigned
🗶 WebTrader account is created by default
🗶 Multiple touchpoints (help desk, account manager) are required to open the account
🗶 Took 3 days to get an MT4 account
🗶 Received unexpected errors during the process
Here’s a quick view of our pipeline of testing:
Depending on the broker, you don’t necessarily need any cash to open an account. However, you will need to use some cash to commence trading, this is why most brokers recommend at least $200 to open an account. Ultimately, in Margin Trading you will need enough to cover the margin requirements to open a trading position, the more leverage you use, the more you will need.
We have a page on what is margin in forex trading to learn more.
Before opening an account you should consider any risks associated with using leveraged instruments for trading. CFDs are risky instruments so only trade what you can afford to lose. You also should consider what kind of trader you are and your appetite for risk, what products you wish to trade and what trading platforms the broker offers. Ultimately you want to be sure the broker offers what you require. You may also wish to check the broker accepts your method of funding and that the broker is regulated in your jurisdiction.
Depending on the forex broker, you can choose between a standard account with no commission and a commission based account which is sometimes (albeit usually inaccurately) called the Best ECN Forex Brokers account. ECN accounts have tighter spread so and most of the time cost less than a standard account.
