You can tell very easily whether a Forex broker is regulated, as brokers will almost always publish this information prominently on their websites, as it is good marketing to potential customers. One method many traders use to make this call is to calculate a worst-case scenario of losses and then scale that so at most, it would cause a 20% loss. Leverage is when your broker effectively lends you money to trade with, and you trade a position size bigger than the money or value (account equity) within your account. This means that if you want to access a very high level of maximum leverage, you might have to shop around and look for an offshore broker to get it. However, there is no good reason why anyone should want to use such high leverage levels, as it is extremely dangerous and likely to empty your account.
Most US brokers offer MT4 as the top choice, while also offering TradingView and MT5. While testing the broker’s trading account, I found they gave you access to a collection of trading tools specially designed for MetaTrader 5. Trading.com’s in-house analysts provide real-time research through the Research Portal tab. Here, you receive a full chart breakdown, along with professional commentary – all of which is useful for day trading. Tastyfx is my top choice for beginner forex traders thanks to its easy-to-open trading account, low spreads and solid customer support. The broker supports the best collection of trading platforms I saw in the industry.
Popular Retail Trading Platforms
- Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting, FOREX.com’s advanced charting provides many chart types, timeframes, technical indicators, and drawing tools.
- It was called the Financial Services Authority (FSA) before 2013, after which the Banking Reform Act reformed the authority.
- The trading tool provides all the tools you need to build automation – and, unlike MetaTrader 4, does not require EAs.
- Interactive Brokers is the best broker for professional traders, offering a range of sophisticated proprietary platforms, all featuring advanced trading tools to suit experienced traders.
I find these are no-frill mobile apps and not very useful for technical analysis, but ok for managing positions and opening or closing a trade. You can also trade from an ECN raw-spread account, which provides interbank pricing and spreads from 0.0 pips. However, there is a commission of 3.50 USD per lot per side when trading from MetaTrader or a 3.00 USD commission per 100,000 units of currency traded when trading from cTrader.
IG: Best Overall
Before starting his career as a writer, Kane studied at the University of Central Lancashire where he received a Masters Degree in Financial Investigation and then a Research Doctorate in Criminal Justice. Pepi is passionate about helping people to make informed decisions through high-quality, educational content. To ensure you know what this entails, we are going to walk you through the Best forex trading platform setup process is commission-free platform eToro. If you haven’t previously heard of IG and are concerned about safety – you shouldn’t be.
How Can I Tell If The Forex Broker Is Regulated?
From my personal experience, AutoChartis can help to save a lot of time identifying technical analysis events in the market and could be a good addition to your trading. These can be traded from multiple platforms, including MT4, MT5, CQG, Agena Trader, and the custom Tickmill mobile app, which beginners will find the easiest way to trade. You can copy other successful traders or attract followers to earn commissions. The different social trading levels include Explorer, Rising Star, and Mentor with benefits – such as lower commission – the more followers and money you manage. After testing 80 brokers this year, our experts have identified the 13 best options tailored to diverse trading needs. As part of this registration requirement, U.S. forex brokers must maintain membership status with the National Futures Association (NFA), which is the designated self-regulatory organization, or SRO.
What are the Best Trading Platforms for U.S. Forex Traders?
Given OANDA’s remarkable range of instruments, tight spreads, and dynamic trading tools apt for any strategy, they easily clinch the top rank among forex brokers catering to US traders. They were also named the overall Best Forex Brokers In USA for more advanced traders based on their low trading costs and advanced trading environment. To find the best forex broker for traders in the USA, we compared the full list of CFTC-regulated brokers based on forex trading platform, spreads and features.
Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). While some forex brokers may enable early-hour trading before the trading week starts, generally the market opens globally at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday — despite banks still being closed in the U.S. — as it is already Monday in the Asia Pacific, which covers major markets like Tokyo, Singapore and Australia.
Standard spreads start at 0.80 pips, while the customer support is 24/7 – two of the most impressive showings in each category. The leverage amount offered by a broker depends on your categorization as a client with them (retail or professional) and which financial regulator the broker falls under. Across all mediums, I experienced short wait times, and agents were helpful and knowledgeable. Exness was founded in 2008 and is authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC BVI, FSA Seychelles, FSC Mauritius, and CMA Kenya. You can trade more than 234 financial instruments from the MT4, MT5, and feature-rich proprietary Exness Web Terminal. Over the years we’ve conducted thousands of hours of research, crafted tens of thousands of words, spoken at the biggest global Forex expos, and developed proprietary algorithms and powerful tools.
– Best Forex Broker For U.S. Traders
Other brokers, such as OANDA, Saxo Bank and VT Markets, were considered in this review and may be featured on our other UK comparison page. This Financial Conduct Authority introduced a ban on crypto derivatives to protect retail investor accounts losing money when trading high-risk markets like crypto using CFDs. CFD Traders who qualify for a Professional trading account, however, can continue to trade crypto CFDs. I think the best way to choose is by using a demo account to access the trading platforms and play with the tools and settings on the platform. OANDA has the lowest spreads for Standard Accounts, while Pepperstone has the lowest for RAW accounts on our lowest spread forex brokers page. I found the broker only offers a Standard account with spread-only pricing, which is from 0.90 pips on EUR/USD based on the broker’s published average spreads.
- While this broker might not pack all the features found in some of the older, more expensive brokerages, the attraction lies in their tight spreads and cost-effective trading.
- Moreover, the swift execution time can be a game-changer for traders aiming for timely decisions in the fast-paced currency market.
- Remember that many academic studies show that diversification of assets (trading a wide range of assets) is a key factor in the success of trading styles and strategies.
- This ensures every performance statistic is authentic, giving you reliable data to make informed decisions about which traders to follow.
The tight spreads and above-average trading expenses stand out for those mindful of costs. Moreover, the swift execution time can be a game-changer for traders aiming for timely decisions in the fast-paced currency market. In our experience, this platform caters brilliantly to the needs of traders, ensuring they’re equipped with top-tier trading tools. Developed by MetaQuotes and released in 2005, MetaTrader is a software that provides an electronic trading platform used by retail forex traders.
My testing of the best brokers found Pepperstone to be the best broker for 2025 based on our execution speed tests, published low spreads and forex trading platform range offered. Based on the broker’s published lowest average spreads, I gave the broker the maximum score for trading fees. After creating a live account, I found that, besides MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, Swissquote offers an excellent proprietary forex trading platform called Advanced Trader.
Another criterion to consider in choosing the best broker for you is the choice of trading platforms offered. Some brokers offer only one kind of trading platform, while others might offer a choice of four or five different platforms. One thing to watch out for is that usually, where a broker offers a choice of platforms, certain assets can be traded on one of the platforms but not on the others.
All the brokers we cover offer forex trading, but they will usually offer other instruments as well. For example, the broker may allow you to open positions on ETFs, mutual funds, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and more. MetaTrader 5 (MT5) offers more timeframes and asset classes compared to MT4, making it a solid option for traders looking to branch out beyond forex into futures or commodities. Less common is the commission-based account sometimes known as a Raw account. This account uses ECN or STP processing to connect you directly to liquidity markets for the lowest spreads.
Choosing MetaTrader 4 brought a suite of perks, including access to Expert Advisors (EAs) to streamline our trading and a plethora of additional indicators. Plus, tools like TradingCentral for enhanced charting and Reuters for news updates and market insights are within reach. MetaTrader is a third-party trading platform used by many different brokers while a proprietary platform is a self-designed and executed trading platform owned by one broker.