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Forex brokers, also known as retail brokers, or currency trading brokers, are the persons who buys and sells a particular asset for a commission. As glorified financial asset salesman, the forex broker has done a lot of good for the people wanting to get into forex trading. Back in the day brokers were intermediaries who found a role in equities, commodities, derivatives and even insurance and real estate markets. Their main tool was a telephone, which their customers could use to contact them and put in orders. Then, came the internet. Allowing clients to access their accounts and make trades through electronic web-based platforms, and applications. This led to many changes in the financial market, as we can clearly see the importance and dominance internet carries on the world of trading today.
Traditionally foreign exchange was only for the large clients, such as but not limited to, banks, multinational corporations and other big money companies like import/exporters, who used the foreign exchange to curb their currency risks.
Best Forex Brokers
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#1 XM
not acceptedXM offers a strong selection of currency pairs with no re-quotes or hidden charges, while spreads have come down over the years, now starting from 0.8 pips on the EUR/USD in the commission-free account.
🛡 RegulatorsASIC, CySEC, DFSA, IFSC# Assets55+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, TradingCentral🪙 Minimum Deposit$5💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Stocks, Commodities, Indices, Thematic Indices, Precious Metals, Energies💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, JPY🫴 Bonus Offer$30 No Deposit Bonus When You Register A Real Accountnot accepted. -
#2 Vantage
not acceptedVantage offers 55+ currency pairs - above the industry average, so experienced traders can explore plenty of opportunities. Vantage's deep liquidity pool provides forex spreads from 0.0 pips in the ECN account, lower than many alternatives. There are also no commissions, deposit fees or hidden charges.
🛡 RegulatorsFCA, ASIC, FSCA, VFSC# Assets55+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, TradingView, DupliTrade🪙 Minimum Deposit$50💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, HKD, SGD, PLN🫴 Bonus Offer50% Welcome Deposit Bonus, earn redeemable rewards in the Vantage Rewards schemenot accepted. -
#3 IC Markets
not acceptedIC Markets maintains its commitment to providing exceptionally tight 0.0-pip forex spreads on major currency pairs such as EUR/USD. This makes it an excellent option if you are seeking superior execution, with an average of 35 milliseconds. Additionally, if you are a high-volume trader, you can benefit from rebates of up to $2.50 per forex lot.
🛡 RegulatorsASIC, CySEC, FSA, CMA# Assets75🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, TradingCentral, DupliTrade🪙 Minimum Deposit$200💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Bonds, Futures, Crypto💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, SGD🫴 Bonus Offer-not accepted. -
#4 AvaTrade
not acceptedAvaTrade delivers 50+ currency pairs with tight spreads from 0.9 pips and zero commissions. Trade majors, minrs, and exotics 24/5 on leading forex platforms, notably MT4, with sophisticated charting tools and forex education to sharpen your edge, including a dedicated guide to 'Currency Trading'.
🛡 RegulatorsASIC, CySEC, FSCA, ISA, CBI, FSA, FSRA, BVI, ADGM, CIRO, AFM# Assets50+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, AlgoTrader, TradingCentral, DupliTrade🪙 Minimum Deposit💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds, Crypto, Spread Betting, Futures💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD🫴 Bonus Offer-not accepted. -
#5 FOREX.com
not acceptedFOREX.com continues to uphold its stature as a premier FX broker, offering over 80 currency pairs and boasting some of the most competitive fees in the industry. With EUR/USD spreads dipping as low as 0.0 and $5 commission per $100k, it stands out. Moreover, its SMART Signals help to identify price behaviors across numerous major currency markets.
🛡 RegulatorsNFA, CFTC, CIRO, FCA, CYSEC, ASIC, SFC, FSA, MAS, CIMA# Assets80+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, eSignal, TradingView, AutoChartist, TradingCentral🪙 Minimum Deposit$100💹 InstrumentsCFD, Forex, Stocks, Crypto, Futures, Options, Commodities💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, CHF, PLN🫴 Bonus Offer-not accepted. -
#6 Pepperstone
not acceptedPepperstone offers ultra-competitive forex spreads averaging 0.12 pips on EUR/USD in the Razor account, accompanied by a diverse portfolio comprising 100+ currency pairs - an extensive selection surpassing most competitors. Additionally, Pepperstone distinguishes itself by offering three currency indices (USDX, EURX, JPYX), not commonly found among alternative platforms. Pepperstone has now won our annual 'Best Forex Broker' award twice.
🛡 RegulatorsFCA, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, CMA, BaFin, SCB# Assets100+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, AutoChartist, DupliTrade🪙 Minimum Deposit$0💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto, Spread Betting💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, SGD🫴 Bonus Offer-not accepted.CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. -
#7 Eightcap
not acceptedEightcap offers 50+ currency pairs in line with the industry average but trailing category leaders like CMC Markets with its 300+ currency pairs. However, Eightcap stands out with institutional-level spreads from 0.0 pips on major pairs like the EUR/USD, alongside low $3.50/side commissions. The broker also offers rich forex data to inform trading decisions, including key fundamentals, bullish/bearish indicators and a calendar that tracks key events in the foreign exchange market.
🛡 RegulatorsASIC, FCA, CySEC, SCB# Assets50+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5, TradingView🪙 Minimum Deposit💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, SGD🫴 Bonus Offer-not accepted. -
#8 PrimeXBT
not acceptedPrimeXBT offers forex trading on over 50 majors, minors and exotics with margin opportunities and zero commissions. The forex platform is fast, reliable and feature-rich based on our latest tests with 3 charts, 10 timeframes, and 91 technical studies - ideal for active trading strategies.
🛡 RegulatorsNone# Assets45+🛠 PlatformsProprietary🪙 Minimum Deposit$0💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Cryptos, Forex, Indices, Commodities, Futures💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP🫴 Bonus Offer$100 Deposit Bonusnot accepted. -
#9 IQ Option
not acceptedIQ Option offers CFD trading on 24 forex assets, including major pairs and some minors. EU traders can access a maximum of 1:30 leverage in line with local regulations. The broker offers commission-free trades but spreads are on the high side so the brand does not excel in this area.
🛡 RegulatorsNone# Assets60+🛠 PlatformsProprietary🪙 Minimum Deposit$10💹 InstrumentsCFD, Forex, Crypto, Stocks, Digital Options💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, ZAR🫴 Bonus Offer-not accepted.RISK WARNING: YOUR CAPITAL MIGHT BE AT RISK -
#10 FXCC
not acceptedFXCC's key selling point is its forex trading conditions. ECN spreads come in as low as 0.0 pips during peak trading hours, while it supports a wider range of currency pairs than the majority of rivals with over 70 forex assets. Additionally, you have access to MT4, which was built specifically for forex trading and excels for its charting tools.
🛡 RegulatorsCySEC# Assets70+🛠 PlatformsMT4, MT5🪙 Minimum Deposit$0💹 InstrumentsCFDs, Forex, Indices, Commodities, Crypto💲 CurrenciesUSD, EUR, GBP🫴 Bonus Offer100% First Deposit Bonus Up To $2000not accepted.
If you did not find a suitable forex broker in the list above you can visit ForexBrokersOnline.com to read reviews of a lot more forex trading platforms.
Retail Brokers

As we said before forex brokers are also called retail brokers, and this is because of Retail Forex, which is a forex that is traded through dealers, most commonly by smaller, solo investors. This form of forex trading became popular in late 1990s, proportionally rising with internet-based financial trading. The good people who started working in retail forex, saw the opportunity to break with the norm of working only with large-scale businesses or financial institutions, and instead bring in the little guys, the regular joes of trading into the forex trading world.
Retail forex brokers allow traders to setup their accounts and trade online through internet-based trading platforms. Most of the time the trading is done through the spot currency market. What makes forex trading so appealing to the individual traders, is the fact that you can trade with margin accounts. This allows traders to multiply their investment on a margin of 10:1, and trade at 10 times their investment, and decuple their winnings. While this is most definitely a huge advantage it does carry the risk of losing ten times your investment and then owing the difference.
Forex Broker Services
Forex brokerages are usually the dealers, providing the investors with the trade they are looking for and taking the opposite side of a trade to provide liquidity for traders. Most brokers, as in rest of the finance world, make their money on small fees added to the bid/ask spread. Circa the year 2000, retail brokers started offering a different service of offering online accounts to private investors, streaming the prices from Electronic Broking Services(EBS) systems, and major banks. This allowed the individual traders to take part in the interdealer market through the bundling up of individual traders’ investments and trading them at better bid/ask spreads and with better opportunities for their clients.
Two forms of trading offered to forex traders are known as “dealing-desk” and “no dealing-desk”. “Dealing-desk” trading refers to the format where the broker acts as the dealer and pays a little higher fee to use the expertise and aid of a broker. While “no dealing-desk” model allowed traders to have direct access to the interdealer market, in return for a fee for this service.
On top of helping you get in and trade in the forex world, forex brokers also aid traders by providing information, news and research, asset pricing charting, advice, programs to help train the trader, and professionally managed accounts which does the work for the trader.
This article was last updated on: May 11, 2025