Top forex brokers compared

About Top forex brokers compared

This ranking covers 140 forex brokers and weighs three things in order: the cost of trading, the safety of the money and the way the account works. Most brokers in this category deal commission-free, so the headline is thin and the differences sit in the details: the minimum deposit, the account and inactivity fees, the spread, and the deposit and withdrawal terms. Across the data, the median minimum deposit is €22.58, the median account fee is €0 and the median inactivity fee is €4.38, so a no-fee account is the norm and tells you little on its own. Protection schemes vary more than prices do, with some members under the EU scheme and others under the UK scheme at different caps. Retail loss percentages, as each broker publishes them, run from 40.3% to 88%, which is the plainest reminder on the list. The trade-off a reader weighs is a cheap entry against a well known name with a named scheme behind it.

How we picked

Each broker is scored on three weighted measures. Trust carries the most weight at 40%, cost follows at 35%, and the offer, meaning markets, platforms and features, at 25%. Trust reads the regulatory status, the legal entity behind the account and the investor compensation scheme named by the broker. Cost reads the minimum deposit, the account fee, the inactivity fee, the spread or per-lot charge and any deposit or withdrawal fee. Offer reads the market list, the platforms and features such as a demo account or a mobile app. Figures come from broker documents, regulator and investor compensation listings, app store listings and independent reviews, and each is recorded with the source it came from. Retail loss percentages are taken as published by the broker rather than recomputed, and where a broker states more than one protection scheme all of them are kept. Partner brokers are listed first in rank order, followed by the remaining scored members, and a partner label marks a commercial relationship rather than a judgement on the brand.

Our top picks

1. 1. ActivTrades

   ActivTrades appears ninth in this ranking for platform choice rather than headline cost. It runs ActivTrader, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView, covers forex, stocks, ETFs, CFDs, crypto and bonds, and offers a demo account and a mobile app. Founded in 2001, it publishes a retail loss percentage of 84%, above the category median of 72.13% and among the higher figures gathered in this ranking. Totality, the last member here, lists a wider market set including options and futures, and prices by contract with stock trades at $1.

   • Minimum deposit: $0
   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0

   Pros

   • Stock trade fee sits at $0 for share dealing under commission free
   • Minimum deposit sits at $0, below eToro at $50
   • Funding terms read Free deposits and withdrawals for deposits and withdrawals
   • Platform access spans ActivTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 with added tools via crypto, demo account and fractional shares

   Cons

   • Retail accounts that lose money sit at 84%, above the CFD median at 72.05%
   • Currency conversion on funding costs 0.5% for balances held in other currencies
   • Cash interest sits at 3.3%, which limits appeal for cash heavy portfolios

2. 2. XTB

   XTB earns fourth in this ranking through the clearest running cost in the middle group. The account fee is €0, the minimum deposit is €0, and the forex charge is 0.5% per lot on a model listed as commission-free and low-fees. Deposits are free and withdrawals are free above a set threshold. Regulated by CySEC, the FCA and KNF, with investor compensation of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000, it supports email, chat and phone, the widest reach in this ranking, and caps retail leverage at 1:30. Against that, an inactivity fee of €10 applies. Octa, next, charges none and quotes an euro dollar spread of 0.9%.

   • Minimum deposit: €0
   • Stock trade fee: €0
   • Account fee: €0

   Pros

   • Account fee of €0 on the standard account, and stock trades cost €0.
   • Minimum deposit of €0, so the account opens without a funding floor.
   • Regulated by CySEC, the FCA and KNF across Cyprus, the UK and Poland.
   • Free deposits, with withdrawals free above the stated threshold on Free deposits; free withdrawals above 100 EUR/USD.
   • Markets span stocks, ETFs, forex, CFDs and crypto on xStation 5 and xStation Mobile.

   Cons

   • An inactivity fee of €10 applies, unlike eToro, which has no such charge.
   • Forex and CFD trading is not cost free: fx trading costs 0.5%.
   • CFDs carry a high proportion of losing retail accounts, and XTB's own figure is 77%.
   • Leverage reaches 1:30 on retail accounts, so losses can build faster than on an unleveraged account.

3. 4. eToro

   eToro holds second place in this ranking on reach rather than on a low headline charge. The account fee is $0 and stock trades cost $0, and the market list runs from forex and CFDs to stocks, ETFs, crypto and futures. It is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and SIPC, with investor compensation of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000, is aimed at beginners, and offers an ISA alongside copy trading and fractional shares. Founded in 2007 with its base in Cyprus, it gives you the widest market list so far. Vantage, next in this ranking, keeps a low-fees model and adds metals, but publishes a far higher retail loss percentage of 74% to 89%.

   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0
   • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, Forex, and 3 more

   Pros

   • No commission on share dealing: stock trade fees are $0
   • No account fee on the standard dealing account: $0
   • Regulated in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, and a SIPC member in the US
   • One account spans stocks, etfs and forex
   • Fractional shares and a demo account let you start small and practise before committing money

   Cons

   • A separate management fee of 0% applies to the managed portfolio service, so headline dealing costs are not the whole bill
   • Support runs on help centre only, so there is no stated phone or live chat route for account problems
   • The same commission-free model at XTB comes with a stated stock trade fee of €0, so commission alone does not separate the two

What to look for

Entry cost

The median minimum deposit across the brokers here is €22.58, and the lower quartile is €0. A small entry makes it easy to fund a real account and learn a platform, but it says nothing about what the account costs to hold.

Account and inactivity fees

The median account fee is €0 and the median inactivity fee is €4.38, with the upper quartile of inactivity charges at €10. This is where a dormant balance quietly leaks, so it deserves a look before the spread does.

Regulator and compensation scheme

Licensing is the one item that cannot be traded against price. 79 of 140 brands in this ranking are licensed, and the scheme named on your own account terms sets the cap you can claim if the firm fails.

Retail loss percentage

The figures published by these brokers run from 40.3% to 88%, with a median of 72.13%. A broker near the top of that range is telling you that most accounts at that firm lose money.

Support channels

A help centre is the most common channel, on 71% of the brands here, ahead of email at 44.9% and phone at 46.4%. A stuck withdrawal is a conversation, so check what is on offer before you need it.

What you can trade

Forex is on every list here, while stocks sit on 79.3% and crypto on 64.3%. A wider list does not lower the cost of a single currency trade, so treat the extras as a separate decision rather than a reason to switch.

Frequently asked questions

Top forex brokers compared by country

• Canada
• France
• Germany
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV