10 Best Forex Trading Platforms For Beginners [2024] (2024)

Written byJustin Grossbard

Edited bySean A'Hearn

Fact Checked byDavid Levy

What Changed?

Each month we update average spreads data published by the brokers the retail brokers lose %

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OANDA is a forex and CFD broker regulated by various top-tier financial market regulators including MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore), ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, UK).

The top forex broker offers MetaTrader 4 as a trading platform option, with a range of charting and trading tools accessible, especially if you want to develop automated trading strategies.

Trading Accounts

When we traded Forex and CFDs with OANDA, we had the option to choose between a Standard Account and a Premium VIP Account. Interestingly, the Forex spreads remained consistent across both account types, but those with a VIP account benefit from personalised customer support. Opening an OANDA trading account was simple without any initial minimum deposit.

After signing up with OANDA, we gained access to financial markets covering forex, indices, metals, commodities and bonds. Below, we show the financial instruments that include the Singapore Dollar along with OANDA’s EUR/USD spreads as of 21 Nov 2020.

While currency trading is OANDA’s main focus, you also gain access to global markets with the broker offering:

• 71 Forex Pairs
• 31 Commodity CFDs
• 16 stock index CFDs
• 6 Bond CFDs

OANDA And MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

The online broker offers MetaTrader 4 as a trading platform option, available on desktop and mobile. The same goes for their proprietary OANDA Trade (web trader). The MT4 mobile trading app impressed us with its comprehensive technical analysis tools, including 9 chart types, 11 drawing tools, 32 overlay indicators and 50 technical tools on both the iOS and Android apps.

As OANDA customers, we had the flexibility to automate our trades through MetaTrader 4’s Expert Advisor (EA) algorithmic trading features. While developing EAs from scratch using the MQL4 programming language may be challenging for beginner traders, we found that EAs can be readily purchased or even obtained for free from the MetaTrader marketplace. As one of the most popular forex trading platforms, the MT4 marketplace is huge and offers a diverse range of technical indicators and EAs.

We appreciated the established trading community within MT4 and its large marketplace for sourcing trading tools. It was an excellent space for us to exchange ideas and gain insights about financial markets and forex trading from seasoned MT4 users.

Apart from the inbuilt tools and a marketplace online, we could access a suite of proprietary add-ons comprising technical analysis tools compatible with MT4. The package includes easy-to-use market scanning, pattern recognition, chart trading and automated alert tools. There is also the opportunity to choose the MT5 platform recently offered by the broker.

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Plus500 is a CFD provider that offers its proprietary trading software as a web trader platform or mobile app. You can trade a wide range of financial instruments as a Plus500 client, gaining access to over 2,000 shares, cryptocurrency, options, indices, commodity, and forex markets.

As a market maker broker, we traded spreads with the broker setting its own bid-ask prices and filling orders using its own internal liquidity. Plus500 spreads are wider than ECN brokers; however, have no commission costs on top of the spread. Overall, there are minimal trading fees and account management costs, as we paid no fees when depositing funds and no commission fees when we opened or closed a trade.

Mobile Trading Apps

Whether we were using a mobile or tablet device, Plus500’s easy-to-use proprietary trading app well suited the beginner traders in our team. Their mobile trading app is compatible with the following devices:

• iOS trading app for iPhones and iPads (App Store 3.9 stars)
• Android devices (Google Play 4 stars)
• Windows mobile app
• Smartwatches

Mobile App Risk Management Features for Beginners

Plus500 offers excellent risk management features with top-tier regulation and guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLOs). As forex and CFDs are complex instruments that come with a high risk of losing money, we believe strong risk management tools are vital for beginner traders. To add further transparency regarding financial reporting and regulation, the CFD provider is listed on the London Stock Exchange and overseen by seven different tier-one financial authorities:

• FCA (Financial Conduct Authority UK)
• CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission)
• ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission)
• FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa)
• MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore)
• ISA (Israel Securities Authority)
• FMA (Financial Markets Authority, NZ)

When we signed up with a highly regulated CFD provider, we felt reassured that our funds were protected and appreciated the negative balance protection available in certain locations. To manage risks, we utilised both basic and premium pending order types. The GSLOs allowed us to pay a premium to secure a guarantee from Plus500 that our order would be executed at our specified price, regardless of gapping. As well as order types, risk management features on the Plus500 mobile trading app include traders’ sentiment, market and price alerts, plus an economic calendar.

We’ve used Pepperstone in several of our tests, and it often comes out on top.The top broker offers the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader trading platforms. Each platform provides ultra-tight spreads, fast execution, and great market access, yet we recommend using MT4 for the great range of trading tools Pepperstone offers on the platform.

Pepperstone is a regulated broker with ASIC, FCA, CySEC, BaFin, CMA, and DFSA that facilitates forex and CFD trading for traders around the world.

When we explored MetaTrader 4 (MT4), we quickly realised why it’s the top choice for forex trading globally. A significant perk for those starting in forex trading is the flexibility to switch between MT4 forex brokers when required, given that most online brokers provide this platform. Our experience highlighted MT4’s popularity stemming from multiple features, notably the power to copy-trade and acquire automated bots from the most comprehensive trading community currently available for retail investor accounts.

Why Pepperstone Is The Best MT4 Broker For Beginner Traders

We found MT4 a suitable platform for both beginners and experienced traders, with extensive financial instruments and automated trading tools available. Through MT4, we managed the inherent risks of trading using various order types, created automated trading strategies with Expert Advisors, and conducted thorough backtesting and optimisation of strategies using the platform’s backtesting functionalities.

MT4 trading tools and features include:

• A customisable, user-friendly interface.
• Charting tools with 85 inbuilt indicators.
• Algorithmic trading via Expert Advisors (EAS, trading robots).
• Develop your own EAs using the MQL4 programming language.
• Download EAs from the huge MT4 community and marketplace.
• Robust backtesting tools for EAs.
• AutoChartist automatic market scanner to detect trading opportunities.
• Third-party account mirroring services (Myfxbook, ZuluTrade, and DupliTrade).
• Limit and stop-loss order types.
• Real-time news.

Besides the comprehensive range of inbuilt trading tools, MetaTrader users can download an add-on suite of Smart Trader Tools to enhance the MT4 platform. The package includes 28 additional technical indicators and Expert Advisors designed to automate market research, analysis, and trading.

No Dealing Desk Execution

We learned that Pepperstone fills orders using 22 top-tier liquidity providers, giving us access to some of the best spreads available to retail investor accounts. The broker executes orders with no dealing desk (NDD) and straight-through-processing (STP), with Equinix servers allowing for fast execution speeds. As shown below, Pepperstone executes orders faster than other online brokers we’ve looked into, guaranteeing that we face minimal slippage.

MT4 Education and Demo Accounts

As CFD and forex trading are complex and come with a high risk of losing money, we liked how Pepperstone provides an excellent demo account and quality educational resources.

Pepperstone’s website has a thorough MetaTrader 4 course that we found beneficial. The beginner traders stated it helped them familiarise themselves with the trading platform. Plus, we gained insights into the platform’s extensive features, mobile trading, Expert Advisors, VPS, and Smart Trader Tools through the 11-part course.

Lastly, Pepperstone provides a demo account enabling traders like us to familiarise ourselves with the MT4 platform and test trading strategies. We were pleased to see an addition of $50,000 in virtual funds to our demo account, with the trial available for 30 days.

We have six key reasons why we deem ThinkMarkets a top forex broker for beginner traders:

1. $0 minimum deposit and no deposit fees
2. Negative Balance Protection
3. Low trading fees with spreads from 0.4 pips
4. Forex training and 24/5 customer support
5. Three leading trading platforms, including MT4
6. Tier-1 regulation in the UK, Australia and SA

$0 Minimum Deposit Requirement for Standard Account Type

ThinkMarkets offers two forex trading accounts. The broker designed its Standard Account type for beginner traders, with no commission fees and a $0 minimum deposit required to open an account. We paid no funding costs when using deposit methods such as wire transfer, debit card, Neteller, Skrill, and credit card. On top of fee-free deposits, there were no withdrawal fees.

Negative Balance Trader Protection

When we began using ThinkMarkets, one standout feature we appreciated was that all their customers were granted negative balance protection. This helps reduce the high risk that comes with forex and CFD trading since you can’t lose more than what’s been deposited in your trading account.

If our trading account balance hit $0, ThinkMarkets’ Negative Balance Protection policy promptly closed all our active trades. This ensured we never faced a negative balance. If negative balances occur because of high volatility in CFD and foreign exchange markets, the broker will pay you out any negative balance. It’s worth noting that only a few forex brokers provide this safety net, making our experience with ThinkMarkets much more secure.

Low Trading Fees With No Commissions

Our experience with the ThinkMarkets standard account highlighted its spread-only nature without flat-rate commission fees. This meant that ThinkMarkets primarily profits from the difference between the ‘ask’ and ‘sell’ price of any forex pair. The minimum spread is 0.4 pips, and the average spread is 1.2 pips for commonly traded major forex pairs. We’d recommend the standard account, especially for newcomers in trading, to avoid commission fee calculations.

Forex Training and Customer Support

ThinkMarkets offers an online training course for beginner, intermediate, and experienced traders. We also benefitted from weekly webinars and trading platform tutorials. Trading guides were available, covering topics like:

• Understanding Market Trends
• Support and Resistance
• Chart Patterns
• Introduction to Candlesticks
• Building a WatchList
• MT4 Tips and Tricks
• Introduction to Price Action

Customer service is available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (weekdays), and operates from the following locations:

• London, UK
• Melbourne, Australia
• Johannesburg, South Africa

There are also local numbers for Italy and Spain.

A Selection of the Best Forex Trading Platforms

Our options spanned MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and the online broker’s proprietary trading platform, ThinkTrader.

ThinkTrader

We experimented with their proprietary trading software, renowned for its intuitive yet advanced charting capabilities. The options for forex trading via ThinkTrader were a desktop platform and mobile apps for both iOS and Android. ThinkTrader platform features are comprehensive and user-friendly. ThinkTrader platform features include:

• Real-time market news and alerts.
• Sophisticated technical analysis tools: 100 technical indicators, 40 objects, 12 timeframes and 10 charts.
• Close all or multiple orders with one click.
• Multi-device login between desktop, tablet, and mobile apps.
• Trend-risk scanner: Trading signals feature that automatically scans markets for trading opportunities.
• Pending order types include limit and stop-loss orders.
• A range of asset classes, including forex, commodities, indices, shares and cryptocurrencies.

Tier-1 Regulation

As a beginner trader, you should choose a broker that has tier-1 regulation. ThinkMarkets is overseen by three core financial authorities, with trading regulations varying between jurisdictions:

1. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia – AFSL 424700
2. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom – License Number 10537331
3. Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa – FSP No 49835

In summary, our journey with ThinkMarkets highlighted it as an exemplary CFD broker, particularly suited for beginners. With its reasonable fees, premier regulation, and stringent trader protection measures, our trading experience was enhanced. We had a choice of three user-friendly platforms: MT4, MT5, and ThinkTrader. If you want to learn how to trade forex before using a live account with real money, ThinkMarkets offers a demo account.

IC Markets Provides ECN Pricing And Low Spreads

If you are a beginner trading wanting ECN pricing, then IC Markets is a good choice because of the following:

• Competitive spreads
• Commissions of $3.50 per side
• No funding or withdrawal fees
• A free demo account for trading
• Regulation in Australia (ASIC), Seychelles (FSA) and Europe (CySEC)

Why IC Markets Is The Cheapest FX Broker

One of the brokers that caught our attention was IC Markets, primarily because they’re cost-effective. Besides the standard account type, the CFD broker offers an award-winning Raw Spread Account. Like ECN brokers, IC Markets links clients directly to esteemed liquidity sources like banks and other financial establishments. This direct connection enables retail investor accounts to tap into institutional-level spreads using ano dealing desk (NDD) execution. Instead of the conventional wider no-commission spreads, we were delighted to discover that with the Raw Spread account, we could tap into ECN-style spreads plunging to as low as 0.0 pips. IC Markets charges flat-rate commission fees for their brokerage services, calibrated on trade volume.

In our experience, the commission for Raw Spread account users was $3.50 for every 100k traded or £2.50 for the same amount when we set the base currency to pound. Another benefit? IC Markets doesn’t impose deposit or withdrawal fees. We began our trading journey with a minimum deposit of just $200.

We noticed the absence of markup spreads in the raw spread account. This means the remaining price difference between the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ of forex pairs, such as EUR/USD, is market-determined. With IC Markets, their market size and access to top-tier diverse liquidity pools help them achieve the lowest average spreads of any broker.

As shown below, IC Markets Raw Account spreads are competitive. The online broker offers the tightest spreads for major forex pairs, such as:

• GBP/USD (Great British pound vs US dollar), with spreads averaging 0.40 pips
• EUR/GBP (Euro vs Great British pound), average spread 0.40 pips
• USD/SGD (US dollar vs Singapore dollar) average spreads 0.30 pips

Platforms Offered By IC Markets

Our trading platform options with IC Markets were MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader. As we ventured further, IC Markets presented immensely useful trading tools:

• Free demo accounts for virtual trading, allowing beginners to build confidence trading CFDs before using a live account
• Virtual private server (VPS) access for VIP traders
• Fast NDD order execution
• Advanced trading tools with a suite of plug-ins to enhance MetaTrader 4 (I.e. sentiment trader and correlation trader)
• Automated trading with Expert Advisors (MT4 and MT5) and cBots (cTrader)
• Third-party Best Copy Trading Brokers such as Myfxbook and ZuluTrade

With IC Markets, we weren’t just getting low spreads and diverse platform options. Their global reputation and trustworthiness were evident. IC Markets Australian subsidy is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission, AFSL 335692), while CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, License No 362/18) regulates European operations.

In conclusion, for those like us who prioritise minimised trading costs in their forex and CFD trading ventures, we recommend IC Markets as your broker.

We’ve found eToro to be a standout social trading broker and platform that suits beginner traders who want to spend as little time researching financial markets and developing trading strategies. Through eToro’s platform, we had the opportunity to copy the strategies of experienced investors while sharing ideas via newsfeeds and connecting with traders around the globe.

Social-Copy Trading with eToro’s CopyTrader

At eToro, we could easily copy the trading strategies of experienced traders, known as Popular Investors. It allowed us to view a Popular Investor’s trading history, portfolio performance, and location to find trading strategies to replicate that suit our risk tolerance and investment objectives.

For the beginners in our team, social trading provided a smoother entry into currency trading. Why? Because seasoned traders handle the fundamental and technical analysis on our behalf. It’s also a great chance to absorb knowledge from active traders with vast experience trading financial instruments.

Apart from forex pairs, we observed that eToro’s Popular Investors develop trading strategies that include Stocks, Commodities, ETFs, and Indices.

CopyPortfolios

On top of copying Popular Investors, we also had the choice to invest in CopyPortfolios, which include a bundle of financial instruments. eToro presents two distinct portfolio types, requiring an initial deposit of $5000. What’s even better? There are no ongoing portfolio management fees.

• Top Trader Portfolios: A bundle of trading strategies developed by eToro’s top-performing, highly experienced traders.
• Market Portfolios: A bundle of top-performing assets such as Share CFDs, ETFs and Commodities.

Demo accounts are one of the most valuable educational tools we found beneficial as beginner traders. Forex.com provides two demo accounts: one tailored for their proprietary trading platform and another for MetaTrader 4 (MT4).

Experiencing real-time market conditions, we could practice trading forex and CFDs in the same setting as a live account. We conducted backtesting against historical data on both platforms, having access to over 80 forex pairs and metals.

Demo accounts are available for 30 days and funded with $10,000 virtual money. You can open one demo account per platform, meaning if you are still determining which platform to try, you can open a demo trading account on both the Forex.com proprietary trading platform and MT4.

You can view our top forex demo account review or visit the Forex.com site below.

easyMarkets offers forex traders four unique risk management tools to reduce the risk of CFD and forex trading. Beginner forex traders can protect their trading account balances with three key easyMarkets risk management features:

• You can manage risk with easyMarkets’ unique deal cancellation tool
• Freeze rate so you don’t lose the spread you want
• You can use Guaranteed stop-loss orders to manage the high risk of trading
• Fixed spreads so there is no slippage

Deal Cancellation

easyMarkets was the first forex broker to launch Deal Cancellation back in 2016. The tool allows you to cancel a trade within 60 minutes and get your money back should market prices move in an unfavourable direction.

Freeze Rate

Unique to easyMarkets, Freeze Rate allows you to freeze the price you see quoted for some time so it doesn’t change while you execute your trade. With Forex being so volatile, these extra few seconds help ensure you don’t miss out on your desired price.

Fixed Spreads

Most broker spreads are variable, which means you can experience slippage as prices can change during the execution of your trade. easyMarkets spreads are fixed, which means the spread will not change. To get fixed spreads, you need to use MT4 or the easyMarkets trading platform; MT5 has variable spreads that can result in slippage.

Free Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders

All forex brokers offer basic stop-loss features to manage risk, which allows you to pre-set the amount you are willing to gain or lose on a trade. As discussed above, spreads are fixed with easyMarkets, which means the broker can guarantee your stop-loss orders.

Deal cancellation, freeze rate, fixed spreads, and guaranteed stop-loss orders are four features that will help you if you are a beginner trader.

CMC Markets provides access to over 9,500 financial markets and is overseen by multiple top-tier regulators worldwide (FCA, IIROC, ASIC, FMA, and MAS). You must use the broker’s proprietary trading platform, Next Generation, to trade CMC’s full CFD product range, including shares.

Next Generation

The easy-to-use trading platform is available in a standard layout for beginners or an advanced format for experienced traders. The platform offers many inbuilt features to help you with trading and risk management when starting.

• Comprehensive charting tools include 115 technical indicators, 70 chart patterns, and 12 chart types
• Automatic pattern recognition and price projection tools to find trading opportunities
• Client sentiment data
• A trading community with chat forums to share ideas and chart analysis
• iOS and Android mobile apps
• Real-time news and financial market calendar
• Multiple order types, including guaranteed stop-loss orders

Financial Instruments Available to Trade

• Forex CFDs: 330+ major, minor, and exotic FX pairs
• ETFs and Share CFDs: 9000+ shares from 23 different countries, including 2000 Australian stocks
• Commodities: 100+ commodity products such as natural gas, oil, and metals
• Treasury CFDs: 50+ treasuries such as US T-Bonds and Euro Bonds
• Index CFDs: 90+ major indices including Germany 30, Australia 200, and UK 100

If you are a Mac user, AvaTrade provides you direct access to 250+ financial instruments via MetaTrader 4. The MT4 Mac interface is easy-to-use and specifically designed for Apple devices to ensure efficient analysis. You can use the web trader platform without needing to download any software with the platform accessible from most browsers. Desktop, web trader, and iOS iPhone/iPad trading apps are available and compatible with Mac devices.

AvaTrade’s MT4 Mac trading platform can incorporate a range of asset classes into your trading strategies, including forex, ETFs, shares, commodities, and indices.

AvaTrade’s MT4 Mac Trading Platform

• Analysis tools: 3 chart types and 30 analytical tools
• Multiple order types with trailing stop-loss orders and pending orders
• One-click trading
• Automated trading with Expert Advisors (MQL4)
• Mac demo account