A solid online forex broker can help you get started as a retail forex trader. Your broker will serve as your primary access point for the foreign exchange (forex) market, so it’s important to make sure it offers the services and currency pairs you require, as well as dealing spreads competitive enough for your trading strategy.
Ready to start trading forex? Learn more about which forex brokers are best for beginners.
Quick Look: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners
- Best for U.S. Traders: FOREX.com
- Best for Trading Experience: Pepperstone
- Best for Educational Resources: AvaTrade
- Best for Copy Trading: eToro
- Best for Ease-of-Use: Plus500
- Best for CFD Trading: IG Markets
Best Forex Brokers for Beginners
Since your online forex broker will likely be your main interface with the forex market, make sure you choose wisely.
Your ideal choice for a forex broker should be well-regulated in its local jurisdiction, accept clients from your country, have tight dealing spreads and a sufficient variety of currency pairs and other assets to suit your trading needs.
1. Best for U.S. Traders: FOREX.com
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
The products and services available to you at FOREX.com will depend on your location and on which of its regulated entities holds your account
FOREX.com ranks No. 1 as our choice for the best forex broker for U.S.-based traders. The broker is strictly regulated by the NFA and CFTC, while its subsidiaries are overseen by 6 other major regulators around the world.
You need just $100 to open a trading account that allows you to start taking positions in 80 currency pairs. All traders can use FOREX.com’s proprietary Advanced Trading Platform along with the MetaTrader suite that includes a mobile trading option.
Pros
- Available for U.S. and international forex traders
- Low fees
- 90+ currency pairs
- High quality educational resources
- Easy to navigate platform
- MetaTrader 4 and 5 are available to U.S. traders
Cons
- Can't buy or sell other securities such as stocks and bonds
- Inactivity fees
2. Best for Trading Experience: Pepperstone
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pepperstone is a well-established Australian forex broker known for its competitive spreads and reliable trading platform. The platform offers strong regulation and the option to use a range of items to make trading simpler.
Pepperstone offers the ability to use MT4, MT5, cTrader, Web Trading Platforms and Mobile App. Leverage options up to 30:1 for retail clients and up to 500:1 for professional clients. Traders will also be able to trade over 60 currency pairs and can open an account with no minimum deposit required.
Pros
- Wide range of tools that can help beginners
- Beginners can use demo accounts to practice
- No minimum deposit
- Algo trading options
- API trading options
Cons
- Educational resources offered are comparable to industry average
- No interactive courses, progress tracking or educational quizzes.
3. Best for a Educational Resources: AvaTrade
AvaTrade is a forex trading platform that offers various features and tools for traders of all levels. The platform is recognized for its user-friendly interface and intuitive design, making it simple for beginners to navigate and execute trades. They also are one of the best brokers for access to top notch educational resources.
AvaTrade operates under 7 regulations in 6 continents, including Europe, Australia, Japan, British Virgin Islands, UAE, and South Africa. The platform offers a wide range of assets, leading platforms, and favorable trading conditions, including leverage of up to 400:1.
Pros
- Wide range of tradable assets, including forex, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies
- Ability to analyze the market and execute trades efficiently
- Competitive spreads and low fees
- Educational resources
- Winner of Best in Class for Educational Resources
Cons
- Limited account types
- Inactivity fees
4. Best for Copy Trading: eToro
CFD trading is not available to U.S. users. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Copy trading involves selecting an experienced trader whose trades you copy automatically in your own account. eToro specializes in social trading accessed via its CopyTrader tool and offers an excellent social trading network. This trading option seems ideal for beginners since you can sit back and let expert traders with a proven track record direct the trades in your account.
eToro provides excellent educational resources beginners will find useful, and its highly intuitive trading platforms and apps can be quickly picked up by a trading novice.
It’s registered as a Money Services Business with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), instead of as an online broker regulated by the National Futures Association (NFA) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The company also submits to regulation in the U.K., Australia and Cyprus.
Pros
- Sizable number of investors to copy
- Extensive range of markets to trade
- User-friendly platforms and app
- Over 5,000 instruments from a wide range of asset classes
Cons
- Stops and limits are mandatory on trades
- High fees for non trading
- eToro does not support the popular MT4/5 platforms from MetaQuotes
5. Best for Ease-of-Use: Plus500
Plus500 is a top choice for beginners due to its user-friendly platform that is easy to navigate and understand, making it ideal for those who are new to trading in the forex market. Plus500 offers a demo account option so you can practice trading with virtual money before risking your own capital.
The broker has a wide range of educational resources and tools available for beginners, including tutorials, guides, and market analysis, to help you learn the basics of forex trading and make informed decisions. Plus500 has a low minimum deposit requirement and provides a variety of trading options, including forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks, futures and indices.
Pros
- Low minimum deposit
- User friendly platform
- Regulated by reputable financial authorities such as the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC
- Competitive spreads and fees
Cons
- Only offers CFDs, shares and futures
- Educational resources continue to grow but still trail behind other brokers
6. Best for CFD Trading: IG Markets
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
IG Markets is a top contract for differences (CFD) broker overseen by the CFTC and NFA, so it can accept U.S.-based clients. It’s also strictly regulated in the U.K. by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
IG Markets lets clients trade CFDs on over 17,000 different assets, including 80 forex currency pairs, as well as equities, commodities, indices, bonds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and short-term interest rates. The broker requires a minimum deposit of $250 to get started and allows U.S. clients to use a maximum leverage ratio of 50:1.
Like any good online forex broker, IG Markets keeps clients’ money in accounts segregated from its own. IG Markets has a proprietary trading platform and also supports MT4 and ProRealTime. It lets clients automate their trading via its application programming interface (API).
Pros
- Excellent trading platforms and tools
- Over 19,000 tradable instruments
- Great educational tools
Cons
- Limited product range on MT4
- Slow customer service responses
What is a Forex Broker?
Retail forex brokers are financial institutions that act as an intermediary between individual trader clients and the forex market. These forex brokers have an online presence in the form of an official website, and they target smaller traders who wish to operate in the forex market on a margin basis.
Online forex brokers generally allow traders to execute forex deals largely using their supported electronic trading platforms. In addition to offering their own proprietary trading software, many online forex brokers support popular 3rd party forex trading platforms like MetaTrader 4 and 5 (MT4/5) from MetaQuotes.
Some forex brokers also offer very useful educational information for beginners you can use to increase your knowledge about trading. They might also provide access to expert forex market analysis and financial news feeds to help you make better trading decisions.
Start Trading Forex with the Best Forex Brokers for Beginners
If you want to get started trading forex today, select a well-regulated online broker and visit its website to begin the process of opening a margin account. You should expect to fill out an online form and provide proof of your identity and address.
As a beginner, you’ll probably also want to open a demo account funded with virtual money so you can practice using your chosen broker’s trading platform. You can also use a demo account to test your trading strategy in a real-time trading environment before implementing it in a live account.
Keep in mind that forex trading involves a significant risk of loss, so only fund your live trading account with risk capital that you can afford to lose in its entirety.
Beginner forex traders should consider webinars for forex trades and using a forex trading platform such as MT5 when choosing a forex trading broker. Trading costs, forex fees and inactivity fees are important factors to consider when selecting a broker for retail investor accounts. Spread betting is also a viable option for novice traders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I trade forex with $10?
Yes, some online forex brokers will accept clients with a very low minimum deposit like $10 or even less.
What is a PIP?
An acronym for “percentage in point”, a pip is the traditional smallest change in a currency pair’s exchange rate. For most currency pairs, a movement of 1 pip is a 0.0001 change.
Can I trade forex without a broker?
Yes, you can trade in the over the counter (OTC) forex market with major financial institutions using credit lines if you are a high net worth individual or corporation, and you can even perform rudimentary forex trading via local cambios. If you’re a retail trader with a modest amount of risk capital to use as margin, you’ll need an online forex broker to trade currency pairs through.
Get a Forex Pro on Your Side
FOREX.com, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), lets you trade a wide range of forex markets with low pricing and fast, quality execution on every trade.
You can also tap into:
- EUR/USD as low as 0.2 with fixed $5 commissions per 100,000
- Powerful, purpose-built currency trading platforms
- Monthly cash rebates of up to $9 per million dollars traded with FOREX.com’s Active Trader Program
Learn more about FOREX.com’s low pricing and how you can get started trading with FOREX.com.