Reviews are one of the main sources of information about forex brokers nowadays. Considering just how hard it is to get detailed facts about a company, many traders just don’t commit the extra effort to find out more about the company from the company itself. This is where forex broker reviews come into place. Websites like ours dedicate most of their time to contacting and interviewing forex broker representatives, gathering answers to common questions, and objectively rating their performance.
Below you will find a list of all the companies we have reviewed and rated according to their performance. We will also let you know exactly what methods we use to rate these companies and why some are better than others.
AvaTrade
Minimum deposit
100 USD
Licences
ASIC , FSC, FSCA, FSA, FFAJ, FSRA
Maximum leverage
400:1
Platforms
MT4, MT5
HotForex
Minimum deposit
5 USD
Licences
FCA, FSA, DFSA, FSCA
Maximum leverage
1:1000
Platforms
MT5, MT4, WebTrader
Plus500
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FMA, MAS
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
WebTrader
Exness
Minimum deposit
$10
Licences
FSA
Maximum leverage
Unlimited
Platforms
MT4, MT5
RoboForex
Minimum deposit
10 USD/EUR
Licences
IFSC
Maximum leverage
1:2000
Platforms
MT4, MT5, R Trader
IQ Option
Minimum deposit
$10
Licences
CySEC, FSA
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
Web
OspreyFX
Minimum deposit
10 USD
Licences
N/A
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
MT4, WebTrader
T1Markets
Minimum deposit
$250
Licences
CySEC
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
WebTrader
Milton Prime
Minimum deposit
$300
Licences
CySEC, FSA
Maximum leverage
1:1000
Platforms
MT4
Forex.com
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
NFA, CFTC, FCA, FSA, IIROC and CIMA
Maximum leverage
1:50
Platforms
WebTrader, MT4, MT5
Tradeeu.com
Minimum deposit
€100
Licences
CySEC
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
MetaTrader 5
AMarkets
Minimum deposit
$/€ 100
Licences
FSA
Maximum leverage
1:1000
Platforms
MT4
Axiory
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
IFSC
Maximum leverage
1:777
Platforms
MT4, cTrader
Capixal
Minimum deposit
20 USD
Licences
CySEC
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
MT4, Mobile App, WebTrader
FXOpen
Minimum deposit
1 USD
Licences
ASIC, FCA
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
MT5, MT4, WebTrader, TickTrader
Tickmill
Minimum deposit
100 USD
Licences
CySEC, FSA, FCA, FSCA, Labuan FSA
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
MT4, WebTrader
CMTrading
Minimum deposit
250 USD
Licences
FSCA
Maximum leverage
1:200
Platforms
MT4, WebTrader, Copykat
PipFarm
Minimum deposit
125 USD
Licences
Not needed
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
cTrader
Brokereo
Minimum deposit
$250
Licences
CySEC
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
WebTrader/Mobile Trader
INGOT Brokers
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
SVGFSA, ASIC
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
MT4, MT5
Oinvest
Minimum deposit
$250
Licences
FSC
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
MT4, WebTrader
Gifx Prime
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
MFSA, VFSC, BVIFSC
Maximum leverage
1:400
Platforms
MT4
Blueberry Markets
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
ASIC, SCB
Maximum leverage
1:500
Platforms
MT4, MT5, Webtrader
Capital Street FX
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
FSC
Maximum leverage
1:3500
Platforms
WebTrader
AccuIndex
Minimum deposit
$250
Licences
CySEC, FSC (Mauritius)
Maximum leverage
1:400
Platforms
MT5
How we rate brokers
You can find detailed explanation of the points we focus on when reviewing new and old forex brokers.
Regulation & license
The very first step a forex broker reviewer needs to take is checking the company’s license, registration, regulation, and various other legal documents. The reason why this is the first step is that it usually dictates how the review is going to unfold from here. If the broker has a license, then the reviewer is free to continue the review, but if it doesn’t then the reviewer can stop right there and label the company untrustworthy.
The reason why regulation is so important can be found within the law itself. A license binds the company to adhere to local laws that are designed to protect the customer. This can include the following:
- Negative balance protection
- Customer remuneration
- Compliance with all AML and Privacy Policy guidelines
- Protection against fraud
A government license provides all of the above to its citizens in order to ensure a legitimate, safe, and accessible environment for everybody.
Available instruments
The next thing on the list of our forex broker review is always the financial instruments available with the company. The reason why we need to know about this is due to the following steps in the review. The financial instruments tell us what we could expect from the company. What kind of commissions or fees would be appropriate compared to what assets can be traded here?
For example, if the broker offers CFD trading, then seeing commissions is not disastrous, but if there is the only FX, then spread is the only kind of “fee” there needs to be.
Spreads and commissions
A spread is a primary way that forex brokers make money nowadays. Spread is the difference between the bid and ask price of the currency pair. The tighter the spread, the better the company (or at least in this regard). Usually, it’s common to see very tight spread of around 1 pip for major currency pairs such as EUR/USD, while exotic currency pairs like NZD/USD would most likely have much larger ones due to their better potential of profit but higher risk.
Commissions or fees are quite rare with forex brokers but very common with CFD options. The reason being is the nature of the trade itself. A CFD trade has a deadline, while an FX trade can be left open indefinitely (with relative fees). Plus, there’s no such thing as a spread with CFDs, no matter what they are traded on, so the brokers usually set commissions, which are percentages of the trade itself.
Moral of the story, FX=spreads (the tighter the better), CFD=commissions (the lower the better).
Account types
Now let’s talk about account types. This part of a forex broker review is very important because it helps us understand how beginner-friendly a company is.
Usually, we expect at least 3 account options for the traders. These would be divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of FX. The more knowledge you have the more advanced account you can choose, which then comes with its own perks and tools.
Beginner account types mostly come with educational material to help the trader learn more, so we try to focus on that part specifically. Basically here’s the rating system:
- If the beginner account has no free education, then it’s a big disadvantage.
- If the advanced account does not come with exclusive perks, then it’s not worth paying extra for.
- If the intermediate account is too expensive, then it does not provide the needed value.
Usually, we try to look at the minimum deposits here as well. The following minimums are acceptable, but higher deposits can also be OK if the provided value is sufficient:
- Beginner deposit – $50-$150
- Intermediate deposit – $150-$300
- Advanced deposit – $300-$5000
Deposits & Withdrawals
Once all of the regulation and “expense” topics have been covered, it’s time to take a look at the deposits and withdrawals. These are the most important parts for many experienced traders as they want to know just how quickly and efficiently they can get their hands on their well-deserved profits.
In most cases, we focus more on the withdrawals as the deposits are usually instant. With withdrawals though, we are looking for fast and efficient ways to cash out the profits. If the only available options are Wire Transfer or Bank Transfer, then that’s a big disadvantage for traders, especially if they’re withdrawing large sums.
We believe that a large variety of payment options are beneficial for both the broker and the trader, so we don’t see any reason why companies would not deliberately do this.
Software
Software is not necessarily the most crucial part of a Forex broker review. We are well aware that the two largest available software providers don’t condone having both of them available on one company’s platform. So, for example, if a broker features MT4 or MT5, it’s very unlikely that they will feature cTrader as well.
However, the primary way we rate software is its accessibility on different devices. So, if a broker offers us either cTrader or MT4, we expect that it is accessible through smartphones and tablets. If the broker does not support this option, then there are quite a lot of questions to be asked. Plus it’s quite hard for full-time traders to leave their stations and still have access to the markets.
Why are forex broker reviews important?
There are quite a few reasons why forex broker reviews are an important commodity in today’s market. The first reason is a lack of forums or public platforms online where different traders can discuss the legitimacy and quality of brokers they’ve traded with. Forex broker reviews provide an objective view of a company’s features and allow traders to participate in the discussion where they can agree or disagree with the reviewer’s findings.
Another reason is the time and effort it takes to review a broker. Most people don’t have this time nor the resources to conduct extensive research, while reviewers have all the time on their hands. This helps us with digging for the truth no matter how long it may take and not be satisfied with a dishonest and vague answer.
We believe that reviews have the potential to be one of the best sources of information about forex brokers and other financial companies due to the expertise involved. All of the reviewers on our website particularly are ex or current forex traders, meaning that they know exactly what other traders may like or dislike.
