Foreign exchange, also known as forex, is a global market for buying and selling currency pairs. The forex market is one of the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world, allowing traders to exchange global currencies 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.
However, with so many options for forex brokers, choosing the right forex trading platform for your needs is not easy. To help you decide, we've reviewed dozens of forex brokers on a variety of factors including assets, regulations, trading platforms, user reviews, and fees.
8 Best Forex Brokers 2022
- XTB:
Best forex broker overall - IG: Best for US traders
- Etoro: Best for cryptocurrency trading
- Plus500: Best for forex CFD trading
- Forex.com: Best customer service
- Interactive Brokers: The most advanced graphics tool
- CMC Markets: Best for spread betting
- Saxo Bank: The best choice of FX pairs
- #1. XTB: The Best Forex Broker Overall
XTB online trading
As one of the largest forex brokers in the world, XTB has an outstanding reputation for providing a best-in-class trading experience. Around since 2002, they are veterans in the field, though not necessarily the most senior (IG might get that distinction).
However, with almost two decades of experience, XTB has developed superior technology which they are constantly adapting and improving, earning them a place on our list of the best forex brokers. After becoming a foreign exchange brokerage house in Poland, they quickly grew and now have thirteen offices across Europe.
With XTB, you can trade on more than 2,100 global markets and gain access to a broad asset class with over 4,000 instruments. This includes forex currency pairs, stock and CFD ETFs, stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. For forex, you can trade 48 different currency pairs. Currency pairs are also among the most popular, such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/GBP.
Trading Platform Overview
XTB offers xStation 5 and xStation 5 mobile along with MT4. xStation 5 is XTB's proprietary trading application, and is comparable in design and functionality to MetaTrader4. However, it lacks the ability to create custom indicators, which is a basic feature in MT4 and a staple in currency trading.
Forex traders also have access to a demo account which gives you $100,000 in free-to-play currency and 200:1 leverage. The trial of the demo broker's trading platform is limited to four weeks, so make sure you are ready to start forex trading before signing up for the trial.
The platform has everything you'd expect to see at an online forex broker, including comprehensive charts and trading tools, a powerful trading calculator, and real-time currency market sentiment information.
Main feature
There's a lot to like with XTB, a leading forex broker, including some must-have features:
Access to thousands of instruments: With very few exceptions, you can trade whatever your heart desires. Active traders tend to value a wide range of options.
Negative balance protection: Trading in the foreign exchange market can be stressful, but you can rest easy knowing that your losses will never exceed the funds available in your account.
Competitive spreads: XTB offers low spreads and competitive prices for online trading, starting from 0.1 pips. There are different spreads for standard and pro accounts, with pro accounts offering lower spreads.
No minimum deposit: You don't need a giant bankroll (or any bankroll) to get started. This applies to both forex and CFD traders.
World-class customer support: With customer support available in multiple languages, everyone can access qualified help. Plus, support is available 24 hours a day, five days a week, so you can get help whenever the forex market is open.
XTB is also a regulated forex broker, with your funds held in separate, segregated bank accounts. Furthermore, in the event of a security breach, XTB has an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London that will reimburse you up to £1 million (or your local currency) to help keep you intact.
And finally, XTB is under the umbrella of the most trusted supervisory authority. This list includes FCA, KNF, IFSC, and CySec.
#2. IG: Best for US Traders
IG
IG is our pick for the best forex broker overall. IG offers an extensive list of markets to trade, competitive pricing, trading signals, and industry-leading education.
with various
Spread Betting: Speculating on future market price movements without having to buy the underlying asset.
CFDs: Trade the difference in market price between opening your contract and closing it.
Turbo24s: Take control of your leverage and limit your risk as you trade unique securities on the spot.
Vanilla Options: This is a traditional call and put option that is best suited for advanced traders. Choose your expiry, strike price and premium to control leverage when buying.
Note: U.S. traders only have access to forex pairs, with spreads starting from 0.8 pips on EUR/USD and USD/JPY.
Trading Platforms
Web Platform
The IG web trading platform was created to offer traders a fast, clear and smart way to trade spot forex via a web browser. Web platform features include:
- Easily open, close and edit positions with just a few clicks.
- Choose between light or dark theme platforms and customize your workspace to your needs.
- Customizable smart settings that remember your position size and stop value.
- View the same market on multiple time frames simultaneously with separate charts.
- Apply various indicators and images without sacrificing speed.
Mobile Trading App
IG offers a variety of mobile trading apps that allow you to trade forex from any iPhone or Android device. The IG mobile trading app offers full trading functionality with various technical indicators, customizable alerts and advanced trading options.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 is a third-party trading platform that offers access to a variety of tools and features to help you customize your trading experience. You can use this tool to help build your own trading algorithm, which can help automate your trades.
When you trade forex on MetaTrader 4 with IG, you will have access to over 50 FX pairs. You can go long or short with spreads starting from 0.8 pips. MetaTrader 4 also comes with 18 free add-ons and indicators that you can use, as well as thousands more available for purchase.
Main feature
IG has a comprehensive feature set that includes something for everyone, placing it at the top of our list of the best forex brokers. Our favorite features include:
Simplified design: The web trading platform design is bright, clean and easy to use. At a glance, you can see the market price, spread and margin for your preferred trading pair. If you're just starting out, the handy information tab will guide you on trade sizes, minimum stop distances, and more.
Advanced trading charts and tools: IG offers some of the most intuitive currency trading charts in the industry, built on flexible HTML5 technology. You can view multiple time frames on a single trading chart, create customizable indicators, and trade directly from the chart.
Knowledge base: The life of a forex and CFD trader can be lonely, and if you are a beginner in the foreign exchange market, it can also be very tiring. IG has an active trader community active on Twitter, where you can find valuable guidance. There's also a curated Reuters feed, and the IG team regularly publish detailed analyzes to help you learn about and build your knowledge base.
In addition, IG has a built-in TV channel where you can watch advanced traders share their knowledge live three times a day, five days a week. Become proficient in charting, trading and more, just by following along.
Alerts: IG trade alerts are free, customizable notifications that are sent to you whenever your specifications are triggered. Most traders use it when an economic event occurs, a target price is reached, or technical conditions change. Trading alerts are sent to you via email, SMS or push notifications, allowing you to react instantly.
Signals: With IG, you can get real-time trading signals with actionable “buy” and “sell” suggestions. These signals are based on technical or fundamental analysis. These trading signals include entry and exit points, support and resistance levels, and confidence levels in the signal.
However, it is important to note that IG does not create the signal itself. Instead, they come from two third-party providers, Autochartist and Signal Centre.
Customization: Any forex platform worth their salt will give you the option to customize the appearance to suit your preferences.