Introduction
So… you’ve got your trading tools and indicators on lock, studied the best patterns, and know support/resistance like the back of your hand. Now there’s only one thing left.
If you’ve traded forex for any period, you’ll know that it isn’t possible without a broker (well, for the average person). Brokers have lowered the barrier to entry, particularly for beginners. They act as a friendly access point between clients and the bank-dominated world of FX.
Yet, as a newbie, you’ll quickly realize there seems to be an endless number of brokers. This, of course, can lead you down a rabbit hole of options. Well, worry not, as we have narrowed your search to the 5 best forex brokers for beginners.
What are forex trading brokers?
Before looking at the best brokers for beginners, it helps to understand their purpose and role. The point of brokering is acting as a middleman between a buyer and a seller for a commission. Therefore, forex brokers are financial services companies offering trading access to the FX market.
The latter consists of the interbank market, a network of big commercial banks exchanging foreign currencies. Of course, the other side has us, retail traders, and the broker in between.
Forex online brokers will usually fetch prices from the interbank market, which they can send back to clients. Yet, in some instances, the broker creates their own in-house market dealing with traders.
Regardless, each order will have a mark-up or trading fee known as a spread, usually not more than a few pips. The second way good forex brokers make money is through swaps or interest for holding positions overnight.
Getting started with a broker is simple. After confirming your personal information, you must deposit a specific minimum as your margin. This feature concerns leverage, allowing you to open far greater positions than your account normally handles.
Yet, as a double-edged sword, you must understand the risks involved. This is why all the best forex brokers for beginners provide a practice or demo account. Here, you trade with virtual funds (instead of real money) to fine-tune your strategy and get familiar with the platform.
Criteria for choosing the best forex trading brokers
Here are the key factors when searching for the best forex brokers for beginners.
Regulation
A decentralized instrument like FX needs to be regulated to decrease the chances of scams and other financial malpractice. So, any of the best forex brokers for beginners must be licensed in your country.
Alternatively, you can still trade with them if they are regulated by these top-tier regulators (but not limited to):
- CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission)
- ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)
- CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
Decent trading costs
The best forex brokers for beginners should only levy spreads (sometimes additionally commission with certain accounts) and swaps. Generally, these are reasonable across the board. But do compare when it comes to exotic pairs. Also, watch out for inactivity, deposit/withdrawal and other miscellaneous fees.
Range of markets
Needless to say, people are trading more than FX. Other popular markets include crypto, precious metals, options, stocks, indices, commodities, etc. Make sure your broker offers as many of these as possible.
Available payment options
Some traders prefer the old-school method of bank wire, while newer ones like crypto. Regardless, the best forex brokers for beginners cater to various flexible payment options. Also, these should be free.
Customer support
The best forex brokers have a responsive live chat to answer the majority of queries. Alternatively, you should be able to contact your broker via phone, email or, in some cases, through instant messengers.
Best forex brokers for beginners in 2023 | Top 5 options
Let’s now briefly review the best brokers for forex beginners by looking at their main features and pros/cons.
IC Markets
Features:
- MT4, MT5, cTrader trading platforms
- 60 forex pairs
- 3 account types
- 1:500 maximum leverage (may be lower in some regions)
- $3.5 per lot/side commission (for zero spread account)
- $200 minimum deposit
- USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, CAD base account currencies
IC Markets makes it to our list of the best brokers to trade forex for several reasons. The company was formed in 2007 as International Capital Markets in Australia. Numerous studies by different publications indicate that IC Markets ranks among the top brokers for processing the most volume.
The brand handles tens of billions of dollars daily. Among other things, it allows the broker to provide tight spreads. Yet, for a further reduction, you can also use their zero spread account, perfect for scalpers and day traders. It’s also a handy feature for trading with robots or automated systems.
With IC Markets, you can trade on the familiar MT4/MT5 or choose the more sophisticated cTrader platform. Here, you can speculate in FX, stocks, commodities, bonds, crypto and indices, resulting in over 2200 individual instruments.
These are some of the many qualities making IC Markets among the best forex brokers for beginners.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Processes some of the highest trading volume worldwide – Many funding choices available – No inactivity charge applies – Numerous account base currencies provided | – No negative balance protection – Higher minimum deposit for beginners |
XM
Features:
- MT4, MT5 trading platforms
- 55 forex pairs
- 3 account types
- 1:888 maximum leverage (may be lower in some regions)
- $3 per lot commission (for zero spread account)
- $5 minimum deposit
- USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF, AUD, HUF, PLN, SGD, ZAR base account currencies
XM is a subsidiary of the Trading Point Group, initially formed in 2009. It now has offices in Cyprus (HQ) and Greece, with regulatory licenses from Cyprus, Belize, Australia and Dubai.
The first reason XM is amid the best forex brokers for beginners is their low starting balance of $5. You can trade on their Micro (or cent) account with this figure, trading lot sizes from 1000 units (instead of the standard 100 000).
This means you can risk smaller amounts, making XM among the cheapest forex brokers. Furthermore, XM offers trading in several non-FX markets: equities, metals, commodities, energies, and indices.
Lastly, depending on your region, you can fund your account in 10 currencies (USD, EUR, and JPY for the Zero account).
| Pros | Cons |
| – $5 minimum deposit – Offers cent and zero spread account – Several base account denominations available – Wide range of payment options provided | – Inactivity fee applies |
IG
Features:
- MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer + proprietary platforms
- 80+ forex pairs
- 1 account type
- 1:222 maximum leverage (may be lower in some regions)
- $0 minimum deposit (for bank transfers); $250 for card and PayPal
- USD, EUR, GBP base account currencies
IG has cemented its place as one of the best forex and spread betting brokers in the world. It is among the oldest, having started in 1974. The multi-licensed company is now a publicly-listed entity on the LSE and forms part of the FTSE 250 index.
So, what makes IG different from the rest? Firstly, it’s among the best forex brokers in USA for beginners as it’s one of the few legally allowed to operate there.
With IG, you can trade over 18 000 instruments, covering everything from forex, stocks, and crypto to even interest rates and knock-outs. You can use MT4, ProRealTime or IG’s proprietary charting software across multiple operating systems.
‘Professional’ clients with higher equity can use a special trading platform called L2 Dealer, where you trade forex and stocks with direct market access.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Publicly-traded company – Accepts US traders – Multiple charting platforms – Offers excellent educational content through DailyFX – No minimum deposit (for bank transfers) – Offers a broad selection of instruments | – Inactivity fee applies – Limited funding options |
Exness
Features:
- MT4, MT5 trading platforms
- 107 forex pairs
- 5 account types
- Unlimited leverage (may be lower in some regions)
- $0.2 to $3.50 per lot/side commission (for zero spread account)
- $200 minimum deposit ($500 on some accounts)
- 45 base account currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, etc.
Exness’ monthly trading volume across all their CFDs in 2021 and 2022 reached several trillion dollars. This is a testament to being one of the best FX brokers, catering to every skill level, from newbies to pros.
It has many benefits to place it amid the best forex brokers for beginners. Firstly, like XM, they provide a cent account. This is perfect when starting since you can trade much smaller lot sizes to get your feet wet.
If you’re forex-crazy, there are 107 different FX pairs to sink your teeth in. Alternatively, you can also speculate in metals, shares, indices, digital currencies, metals and energies.
Another outstanding feature not found with many forex brokers online is having unlimited leverage. Yet, this is better suited for experienced traders due to the substantial risk involved.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Offers unlimited leverage – Multiple account types available – Expansive selection of forex pairs – Massive choice of base account currencies | – Higher minimum deposit for beginners – Unlimited leverage may not be suitable for newbies |
Tickmill
Features:
- MT4, MT5, TradingViewtrading platforms
- 62 forex pairs
- 3 account types
- 1:500 maximum leverage (may be lower in some regions)
- $2 per lot/side commission (for zero spread account)
- $100 minimum deposit
- USD, EUR, GBP base account currencies
Since starting in 2014, Tickmill has over half a million clients and 200 employees globally. Similar to XM, they are one of the top forex brokers with low minimum deposit. You can trade from $100 on their zero spread and standard accounts, speculating in FX, indices, metals, bonds, stocks, and crypto.
Another reason Tickmill is among the best forex brokers for beginners is their $30 welcome bonus (not available in all regions). This is a long-running promotion for new clients to test the platform’s overall interface and conditions.
Also, Tickmill is among the few forex online brokers supported on TradingView. This is a more sophisticated charting software compared to the old-school MT4 and MT5. However, Tickmill also does offer trading on either of these MetaTrader platforms.
| Pros | Cons |
| – $30 welcome account – Affordable minimum deposit – Regulated in multiple regions – Allows users to open accounts on TradingView – Many funding options available | – Limited range of markets available |
Conclusion
We are now at the end of our top forex brokers list for beginners. Choosing a broker to use in the long run is usually something to worry about before live trading. By this time, you should have already mastered your strategy.
Once you have, the tips and options we’ve offered here should help on your journey to consistent success in the markets.
