Best Forex Brokers for 2020

The ForexBrokers. com annual forex broker review four years running is the most cited in the industry. With over 50,000 words of research across the site, we spend hundreds of hours testing forex brokers each year. Are you looking to speculate that the Euro EUR currency will go up in value against the US Dollar USD . If so, you will want to trade or spread bet the EUR USD currency pair. The forex market is the largest and most liquid market in the world, representing every global currency with trading conducted 24 hours a day, five days a week. To trade forex, you need an online broker. Trading with a trusted forex broker is crucial for success in international currency markets. As a currency trader or investor, you may have specific needs related to which platform, tool, or research requirements you have. Understanding your investment style can help determine which fx broker will be best for you. Each year, our team here at ForexBrokers. com spends five months testing the biggest names in foreign exchange and assembles a guide to the Best Forex Brokers for forex and CFDs trading. Here are our findings for 2020. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 69-78 of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Best Forex Brokers. 

Here s a breakdown of some of the Best Forex Brokers in the world. IG – Best Overall Saxo Bank – Best VIP client experience CMC Markets – Best web platform, most currency pairs Dukascopy – Well-rounded offering TD Ameritrade FX – Excellent trading platform, US only City Index – Excellent all around offering FOREX. com – Great platforms and pricing XTB – Best customer service, great platform FXCM – Well-rounded offering. Best Overall – Visit Site. Regulated and trusted across the globe, IG offers traders an extensive list of tradeable products, excellent trading and research tools, industry-leading education, and competitive rates. This fantastic all-round experience makes IG the best overall broker in 2020. 76 of retail CFD accounts lose money. Read full review. Best VIP client experience – Visit Site. For traders that can afford the USD 10,000 minimum deposit GBP 500 for the UK , Saxo Bank offers competitive pricing, excellent trading platforms, brilliant research, reliable customer service, and over 40,000 instruments to trade. 72 of retail CFD accounts lose money. Read full review. Best web platform, most currency pairs. Through its offices regulated in major global financial centers, CMC Markets offers traders a wide range of financial products with excellent pricing and its Next Generation trading platform, which is packed with innovative trading tools and charting. Read full review. Well-rounded offering. Thanks to its JForex platform suite, Dukascopy provides forex traders industry-leading trading tools and market research, which includes our favorite mobile app for 2020. Drawbacks include terrible customer service and a narrow offering of tradeable markets. Read full review. Excellent trading platform, US only. 

With nearly 80 currency pairs to trade alongside a plethora of trading tools and research, TD Ameritrade s thinkorswim platform provides US-based forex traders a winning experience. Read full review. Excellent all around offering – Visit Site. Beyond its extensive range of products, multi-asset traders confidently choose City Index for competitive spreads, great platform options, premium research tools, and reliable customer service, all under the backing of GAIN Capital, which is one of the largest retail brokers globally. 71 of retail CFD accounts lose money. Read full review. Great platforms and pricing – Visit Site. com delivers an excellent trading experience for forex and CFD traders across the globe. With competitive pricing, full-feature trading platforms, comprehensive market research, and a robust mobile app, FOREX. com caters to traders of all experience levels. 69 of retail CFD accounts lose money. Read full review. Best customer service, great platform – Visit Site. As a trusted multi-asset broker regulated in several major financial centers, XTB provides a well-rounded, competitive offering. Highlights include outstanding customer service and the xStation 5 trading platform, which delivers a great experience. 77 of retail CFD accounts lose money. Read full review. 

Well-rounded offering. While its range of tradeable markets is narrow and pricing is just average for everyday trading, FXCM caters to multiple trader types. High-volume traders, algorithmic traders, and, overall, traders that appreciate robust trading tools alongside quality market research will find FXCM to be a good fit. Read full review. Best Forex Brokers for Low Costs. Forex trading costs are not easy to break down. Reasons why trading costs can be impacted bid ask spreads can vary across venues because forex is decentralized , forex spreads may be either fixed or variable floating . Also, variable spreads may widen or narrow vary at different rates across brokers. Furthermore, execution policies vary across firms in terms of how orders are processed slippage rejections , even when all else is equal. Brokers may be acting as market makers dealers to execute your trades or acting as agents for execution relying on other dealers to do so for them . Forex spreads may include a round-turn commission. Also, not all brokers publish their average spread data, and for those who do not all brokers record their average spread over the same time-frames, making it difficult to make an accurate comparison. To assess brokers, we take into consideration how much beginners, average traders, and even more seasoned traders would pay, looking at average spreads for standard forex contracts 100,000 units as well as mini accounts 10,000 units and micro accounts 1,000 units , where applicable. We then calculate the all-in cost by including any round-turn commission that is added to prevailing spreads. When it comes to competitive all-round pricing, Saxo Bank took first place as the best broker in the Commissions and Fees category. Saxo Bank offers the most competitive all-in cost to trade, considering there are no added commissions or fees.

 For example, Saxo Bank s average spread was just 0. 6 pips on the EUR USD pair for the 30 days ending October 10th, 2019. It s worth noting Saxo Bank does also offer a commissions-based pricing model available for traders, which includes discounts for high-volume traders, and pricing can vary by region. In second place is IG. From October 28th through November 22nd, average spreads at IG for the EUR USD stood at 0. While many other brokers may advertise lower pricing, factors we took into consideration include the maximum trade size and overall position size that IG allows, which helped the firm place among the best in this category. While the all-in cost to trade can be critical for many traders, it is essential to look at the whole picture in terms of how a broker s overall offering could best suit your needs. What are the average spreads for the account types offered. How will differences in margin requirements or execution type available affect my forex trading volumes and related trading costs. These are just two questions that can help traders compare key differences between offerings. Best Forex Trading Platforms. Forex trading platforms are the modern gateway to investing in international currency markets. Regardless of your trading style or preferred multi-asset instrument, the platform technology you use affects nearly every aspect of your trading experience. From accessing research to analyzing news events, performing technical analysis on charts, and efficiently placing trades, using a proper forex trading platform makes a difference. Over the past decade, forex trading platform technology has continued to evolve steadily across devices, with a shift from desktop to web, and then to mobile. From among the 30 forex brokers we tested this year, it was clear that the best forex platforms continued to innovate. All in all, the best forex trading platforms provide customers a robust, feature-rich, seamless experience across all devices. IG is our number one recommendation for traders that desire an excellent platform experience. From technical analysis on charts to integrated trading signals, streaming news, and premium research, IG has done an excellent job making everything on its platform compact and easily customizable for traders. Alongside a light-mode and dark-mode option, users can also create multiple workspaces, and content is cleanly categorized across asset classes and market sectors. No question, in 2020, IG s platform set the bar for the industry. Saxo Bank took second place thanks to its highly refined SaxoTraderGO platform and its new SaxoTraderPRO platform, which is available for desktop, web, and mobile. 

Saxo Bank is also our top choice in the Ease of Use category, as it has nearly perfected the user-interface design in a highly-efficient platform. Highlights include excellent charting, which fully syncs across devices and includes integrated pattern-recognition with trading signals. Whether trading spot forex or options on FX, Saxo Bank enables traders to access 40,000 markets and offers a complete package. Selecting the best forex platform for you will depend on a myriad of factors. First, do you prefer a web-based environment or desktop download. Next, consider how important tools such as charting or automated trading are to you. Available order types and other unique tools and advanced features are also items to keep in mind. Narrow down your top picks, then try each platform out through a demo account to finalize your choice. Best International Offering. Foreign exchange markets are open 24 hours a day, five days a week. Having the ability to react quickly to geopolitical and economic news events through one universal platform, in real-time, is vital. Financial markets, including forex and more recently even cryptocurrencies, are highly interconnected. In the early 2000s, brokers used to concentrate on offering just one asset class, for example, forex, to their customers. Today, trading platforms are no longer just for trading forex or CFDs; instead, multi-asset offerings are now industry standards among all the most significant online brokers. That said, the range of products and markets you can trade still varies considerably across firms. When it comes to the best international offering, IG maintained its first-place podium position year-over-year, thanks to offering over 17,000 tradable instruments, including 93 forex pairs. IG also invokes trust, thanks to its slew of global regulatory licenses, which includes licenses from top-tier jurisdictions such as the US, UK, and Switzerland. In addition to forex and CFDs, IG also provides access to global stock exchanges through its share dealing account offering. US-headquartered Interactive Brokers IBKR took second place, boasting a wide range of top-tier regulatory licenses. Best suited to professional traders, Interactive Brokers provides traders access to 7,400 CFDs, 105 forex pairs, a list global exchange-traded products, US-traded bitcoin futures, and much more. Overall, Interactive Brokers IBKR offers traders access to 120 market centers across 31 difference countries. 

Best Forex Research. To trade profitably, thorough research content and tools to find and analyze investment opportunities is crucial. Beyond news headlines and an economic calendar, leading forex brokers combine third-party content with in-house research, including fundamental news and technical analysis. Within the trading platform, research tools are directly integrated. Research tools include daily or weekly market recaps and analysis, live trading rooms, integrated pattern-recognition tools for news events and charts, screeners, heat maps, and sentiment indicators. IG took the first place position for research, with a broad range of tools available through its web platform and numerous in-house analysts and third-party content. Highlights include its exclusive streaming video, IG TV, along with a vast array of daily blog updates and detailed posts from a team of global analysts. Additionally, IG s DailyFx site continues to be a leader for retail traders seeking educational and research material. Saxo Bank came in the second place position as the best broker for forex research in 2020. While many brokers struggle to organize research for their customers, Saxo Bank does a fantastic job centralizing the research across its platform suite and offering content that is rich with insights. For example, with its podcast series, Saxo Bank incorporates commentary from its top market analyst and makes audio recordings available on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. When choosing a forex broker for its FX research, remember that quality is just as important as quantity. 

The Best Forex Brokers provide a great blend of in-house market analysis as well as tier-1 quality third-party research. Best Forex Trading Apps. While nearly all forex brokers have offered mobile apps for years, the difference in quality between a great app and a mediocre app is vast. To determine the Best Forex Brokers for mobile trading in 2020, we focused on identifying mobile experiences that were bug-free, cleanly designed, and provided a wide range of features. Additionally, we looked for brokers who have been able to create a seamless experience between their mobile apps and their desktop and web-based platforms. Dukascopy Bank again held its first-place position year-over-year, as its JForex Trader app enables traders to run algorithms straight from their smartphones, which is an industry first. The JForex Trader app comes with numerous research and pattern recognition features. The app also includes an impressive array of charting capabilities, complex order types, and other advanced offerings, such as depth of book, all packed into a clean user design. Saxo Bank maintained second place with its SaxoTrader GO mobile app. SaxoTrader GO is highly responsive and provides traders a unified experience with its web-based platform, offering unique features such as syncing trend lines, indicators, and watch lists. Also, the broker s native integration of trading signals and pattern recognition, powered by Auto Chartist, is automatically synced with its web platform. Best Customer Service. When using a forex broker, a single customer service experience is not enough to assess the all-round quality and scope of service. Instead, multiple interactions with a broker s customer support staff should be conducted to determine an overall rating of customer service. Here at ForexBrokers. com, we follow the rigorous testing approach used by our sister site, StockBrokers. com, the most respected in the industry when it comes to trusted US stockbroker reviews. For the 22 international forex brokers included in our customer service assessment, we conducted institutional-grade phone testing with the help of UK-based customer experience research group Customerwise. Over the course of six weeks, 330 phone tests were conducted across the UK Note brokers who do not offer any UK-based phone support were excluded from testing . In the final ranking for best customer service, XTB ended up first followed by ETX Capital, FXCM, Pepperstone, and LCG in fifth. View the full rankings. Best for Day Trading Professional Client Status . 

When it comes to active trading or day trading, not all forex brokers offerings are created equal. The trading requirements and resulting commission spread discounts a forex trader is entitled to can vary considerably across forex brokers. Also, in today s highly regulated forex world, traders who want to maximize their margin leverage must apply and obtain ESMA s professional client status with their broker. Traders designated as Professionals in the EU do not receive negative balance protection and other consumer safety mechanisms such as eligibility for compensation schemes in the event of their broker s insolvency. Therefore, choosing a well-capitalized and trustworthy firm is especially crucial for professional forex day traders. Here are our top picks for 2020. For traders who can afford the high minimum deposit, Saxo Bank is our top choice for professional traders in 2020. In addition to commission-free pricing with average spreads of 0. 6 pips on the EUR USD for the 30 days ending October 10th, 2019 , Saxo Bank also offers a commission-based plan tied to volume, as part of its active trader offering. Saxo Bank won our award, Best VIP Account Offering, thanks to the numerous perks offered to those who deposit at least USD 1m. Finally, it is also worth noting that Saxo Bank offers some of the lowest financing rates in the industry when it comes to the cost-of-carry for traders that hold forex and CFDs overnight. Our second-place finisher for professionals is IG. Beyond IG s already competitive base pricing, IG s Forex Direct pricing provides Direct Market Access DMA , reducing trading costs even further. Trading costs aside, IG is also an attractive option for high-volume traders thanks to the broker s ability to execute large orders alongside providing a robust offering of complex order types. If you re considering an active trader program or professional trader status in the EU, take attention to the details of what each broker offers. 

How much do you plan to trade over each calendar month, on average. How will the available margin rates at each broker affect your trade sizes and overall volumes. How sensitive is your trading strategy to spread commission rates. Finally, other factors that can play a crucial role in your overall experience are the execution method, order types, trading platforms, and other such preferences. 2020 Overall Ranking. Here s the Overall rankings for the 30 online brokers who participated in our 2020 Broker Review, sorted by Overall ranking. How do I choose a forex broker. Here are three of the most important factors to keep in mind when choosing an online broker for forex trading. First, make sure your broker is properly regulated. The safety of your deposit is always the top priority. Next, compare the trading platforms, tools, and investment research provided by each broker. Finally, read forex broker reviews to compare pricing and product offerings e. , number of forex pairs and CFDs available to trade . How do I know if my forex broker is regulated. It is crucial to use a well-known, properly regulated broker to avoid forex scams. To check if your forex broker is regulated, first identify the register number from the disclosure text at the bottom of the broker s homepage. Next, look up the firm on the regulator s website to validate the register number. If the broker is not regulated in your country, do more research. To help traders, we track, rate, and rank forex brokers across over 20 international regulators. What s the difference between a dealing-desk and an agency broker. If a forex broker is operating as a dealer, also known as dealing-desk, they will be on the other side of their client s trades. If a forex broker is not on the other side of their client s trades, they will be acting as an agent agency broker by routing the trade on to another dealer. There are also hybrid-desks, which may operate as a dealing-desk and agency. Lastly, matched-principals are dealers who immediately hedge their trades to remove any potential conflict of interest. How do I calculate forex trading costs. For forex and CFDs trading, the all-in cost to complete open or close each trade consists of the spread, plus any round-turn commissions. There may also be overnight financing charges, known as carrying costs, which can be either a net debit loss or a net credit refund . To keep trading costs low, focus on trading the major forex pairs such as the EUR USD, which offer the most liquidity, and thus the tightest spreads. How important is research and education. Trading forex is risky and not easy. Even seasoned forex traders allocate time to learning new lessons and concepts. 

The disparity between currency brokers that provide thorough, high-quality education and those who do not is vast. Research tools for scanning, analyzing, and conducting technical and fundamental analysis will vary from broker to broker. Bottom line compare your forex broker to make sure you are using the best overall platform. For our 2020 Forex Broker Review we assessed, rated, and ranked 30 international forex brokers. Each broker was graded on 105 different variables and, in total, over 50,000 words of research were produced. While encouraged, broker participation was optional. Each broker had the opportunity to complete an in-depth data profile and provide executive time live in person or over the web for an annual update meeting. All data submitted by brokers is hand-checked for accuracy. Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than 1 each year, providing site visitors quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test. Forex Risk Disclaimer. There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. About the author Steven Hatzakis Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative. Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involve a high degree of risk. 

All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. All data was obtained from a published web site as of 01 20 2020 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. The ForexBrokers. com staff is constantly working with its online broker representatives to obtain the latest data. If you believe any data listed above is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page. The names, products, services, branding logos, and other trademarks or images featured or cited within this Website www. com are the property of their respective owners and the owners retain all legal rights therein. These trademark holders are not affiliated with ForexBrokers. com and the use or display of names, trademarks or service marks of another is not a representation that the other is affiliated with, sponsors, or endorses ForexBrokers. com or any of its reviews, products, or services. com declares no affiliation, sponsorship, nor any partnership with any trademark holders unless otherwise stated. Advertiser Disclosure ForexBrokers. com helps investors across the globe by spending over 1,000 hours each year testing and researching online brokers. How do we make money. Our partners compensate us through paid advertising. While partners may pay to provide offers or be featured, e. exclusive offers, they cannot pay to alter our recommendations, advice, ratings, or any other content throughout the site. Furthermore, our content and research teams do not participate in any advertising planning nor are they permitted access to advertising campaign data. Here is a list of our partners. Disclaimer It is our organization s primary mission to provide reviews, commentary, and analysis that are unbiased and objective. While ForexBrokers. com has some data verified by industry participants, it can vary from time to time. Operating as an online business, this site may be compensated through third party advertisers. Our receipt of such compensation shall not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by ForexBrokers. com, nor shall it bias our reviews, analysis, and opinions. Please see our General Disclaimers for more information. 2020 Reink Media Group LLC. All rights reserved.