Online forex and crypto brokers primarily charge a spread as the trading fee. The spread is basically the difference between the buying price and the selling price charged by a broker. The lower the spreads on a broker, the cheaper the trading fees on that broker. Understandably, traders are always looking for forex brokers with the lowest spreads in the market.
In this review, we will look at forex brokers’ spread comparison to see which broker stands out. We will also look at other trading conditions offered by the brokers.
Exness
Exness was founded in 2008 and is regulated and licensed by the FCA, CySEC, and the FSCA. Exness provides some of the best trading conditions in the world.
The company offers some of the lowest spreads in the market. For example, the spreads can go as low as 0.6 pips on the EURUSD currency pair. The average spread on major currency pairs ranges from 1.0 to 2.0 pips. These are some of the lowest spreads in the market.
Furthermore, Exness also offers two zero-spread accounts based on commissions.
The company supports a wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods, and the e-wallet payments are processed instantly, making Exness one of the top instant withdrawal forex brokers.
Exness provides its traders with a wide range of instruments, including CFDs in Forex, Metals, Cryptocurrencies, Energies, Indices, and Stocks. Also, Exness offers quick execution of orders on all its trading platforms, including the Exness Trader, the MetaTrader 4, and the MetaTrader 5.
These platforms are also very intuitive fitting both experienced and beginner traders.
eToro
eToro offers clients an in-house built trading platform that is easy to use, with fast execution times. This platform also comes with the CopyTrader technology that allows clients to copy the orders of top-performing traders on the platform.
eToro offers some of the tightest spreads in the market. Typical spreads on eToro can start from 1 pip for major currency pairs like the EURUSD pair.
There are no commissions involved in trading stocks on eToro. However, CFD positions that stay open overnight incur a small fee relative to the value of the position.
Nonetheless, the spreads on this platform are industry standard and fairly low.
eToro was established in Israel in 2007 and is licensed by several reputable organizations, including FCA in the UK, the CySEC in Cyprus, the ASIC in Australia, and the FINRA and SEC in the US.
Such a collection of regulatory licenses always gives a company a good name in the market. This is probably why eToro has over 30 million users worldwide.
AvaTrade
AvaTrade was founded in 2006 and is licensed and regulated in Europe by the CySEC, South Africa by the FSCA, and Australia by the ASIC. AvaTrade allows clients to trade CFDs in forex, commodities, stocks, ETFs, bonds, indices, and cryptocurrency. They do this through three main platforms MT4, MT5, and AvaTradeGo.
AvaTrade also provides clients with the DupliTrade platform for clients who want to copy the trading strategies of other successful traders. The platform also provides Autochartist and Zulutrade that further support traders in trading.
Furthermore, AvaTrade features variable spreads on its website. Popular trading instruments have the lowest spreads due to high trading volumes. For example, the spreads for major currency pairs can go as low as 0.9 pips.
Yet, traders should stay updated on the spread movement on AvaTrade before investing.
FP Markets
FP Markets was established in 2005, and it is licensed and regulated by the ASIC and the CySEC, two of the best regulators in the market. According to an FP Markets Review, the broker has also been licensed in South Africa by the FSCA, which gave FP Markets the FSCA license this year, making it an option to consider in South Africa and other African countries.
FP Markets offers over 10,000 tradeable assets, including forex and CFDs in shares, metals, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, and ETFs. FP Markets provides five trading software to its traders. These include Iress, MT4, MT5, WebTrader, and the FP Markets trading app.
The spreads on FP Markets are competitive and reasonably low and depend on the account a client is using.
The spreads on the standard account can go as low as 1.3 pips for major currency pairs. Clients looking to trade with ultra-low spreads can use the Raw ECN account with spreads starting from 0.0 pips. Other applicable fees include overnight swap fees and commissions on the Raw ECN account.
Forex.com
Forex.com has been in business since 2001 and has regulations from the FCA, the NFA, the CySEC, and the IIROC. This is a strong regulatory status as it has licenses from some of the most reputable regulators in the market.
Nonetheless, regulations alone are not enough, and due diligence is needed.
Forex.com has a wide variety of tradable assets, including 80+ forex pairs, gold and silver, and futures and futures options markets. The trading platforms available are industry standard, with Forex.com’s own platform available alongside MT4 and MT5.
The new users are met with an education section and a demo account that lasts 30 days to practice.
Speaking of accounts, there are three main trading accounts on Forex.com with different spreads and commissions. These include the standard account, the commission account, and the STP Pro account.
The standard account does not require clients to pay a commission when trading. The only charges involved are the spreads. Luckily, the spreads on this account are competitively low, starting at 1 pip for major currency pairs.
On the other hand, the Commission and STP Pro accounts require clients to pay a commission when trading. However, the spreads on these accounts are very low, starting at 0.2 pips for the commission account and 0.1 for the STP Pro account.
XTB
XTB is regulated by the FCA, the CySEC, the KNF, and the IFSC. Investors on XTB can trade 48 different currency pairs on XTB. They can also trade indices, commodities, and CFDs on stocks, cryptos, and ETFs. Clients can trade with these instruments on two major platforms provided by XTB. The platforms are easy to use and have fast execution speeds. These platforms include the xStation 5 and the xStation Mobile.
The spreads on XTB depend on the account you are using. For example, the spread on the standard account is floating, starting from 0.9 pips. On the Pro account, the spreads start from 0 pips and are variable depending on the market movement.
OANDA
OANDA is licensed by the NFA and CFTC in the US, the FCA in the UK, the ASIC in Australia, and the IIROC in Canada. That’s even more relevant as the US, the UK, and Australia have some of the best financial regulatory commissions in the world today.
OANDA has a variety of tradable assets from different markets. There are over 71 currency pairs, 11 different commodities, and 7 different indices. Such a selection of trading instruments allows clients to diversify their portfolios and spread their investment risk across various markets.
Luckily, the spreads on OANDA are not excessive. They are fairly low, starting from 1 pip for major currency pairs.
The only other charge that applies on OANDA is an overnight financing charge for positions open at 5 pm Eastern Time. This makes OANDA one of the best brokers in the market today.
Moreover, it provides great trading platforms to its clients, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and the fxTrade app.
Libertex
Libertex is one of the oldest forex brokers, having been in business since 1997. It is regulated by the CySEC, one of the best regulators. Some of the trading instruments investors can trade on Libertex include CFDs on forex, stocks, metals, oil and gas, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
This is a great place for investors to diversify their accounts. However, traders should know the risks involved in trading CFDs. Over 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Libertex offers three great trading platforms: Libertex Trader, MT4, and MT5. It also promises some of the lowest spreads in the industry.
The spreads on this website can go as low as 1.0 pips for major currency pairs. However, they can go even lower, starting from 0.0 pips for professional clients. These are also the people with access to trading without leverage.
XM
XM provides a variety of trading assets, including Forex and CFDs on Stocks, Commodities, Precious Metals, Energies, and Equity Indices. Clients at XM can choose between three platforms, MT4, MT5, and the XM trading app.
There are four main account types to choose from on XM. These include the Micro Account, Standard Account, Ultra-Low Account, and Share Account.
The spreads on XM are industry standard and competitive. The standard account has spreads as low as 1.0 pips for major currency pairs. In contrast, the spreads can go as low as 0.6 pips on the XM Ultra Low account.
XM is under the strict regulation of three main organizations, including the FCA, the CySEC, and the ASIC. This means that the company can operate in most countries within the EU without any problems. Regulations are crucial to protect investors in financial markets. However, they are not enough. Companies still need to demonstrate they can follow the rule of law.
IQ Option
IQ Option was founded in 2013 and is managed and owned by IQOption LLC. The company is regulated by CySEC, which means it can offer its services to most countries within the EU.
The trading instruments available to clients for trading include CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, and forex.
IQ Option spreads are fairly tight. They can go as low as 1.0 pips for major currency pairs.
However, this value is variable depending on market conditions and trading volume. Generally, the most popular trading instruments and currency pairs have the lowest spreads. Thus, investors should keep a keen eye on the spreads before investing.
The IQ Option trading platform offers its clients a fast, clear, and modern solution. The trading platform can stand alone as the only tool for your analysis, as it features all the things a trader needs to have at hand. This is sufficient for both novice and seasoned traders.
Pepperstone
Pepperstone also provides competitive spreads to traders. The spreads on the platform for major currency pairs range from 0 pips to 1.59 pips, depending on the account type. There are also commissions charged depending on the trading platform a trader uses. Such spreads are attractive to all kinds of traders.
Pepperstone is a regulated broker with regulations in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, Germany, and Australia. In the UK, the company is regulated by the FCA, in Germany by BaFIN, and in Australia by the ASIC.
Pepperstone allows clients to trade a variety of assets, including forex, indices, equities, cryptos, energy & commodities, and more. They do this mostly on three trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader.
Final thoughts
It is essential to consider the spreads on the broker of your choice as this is the primary charge investors pay for trading with a forex broker.
In this review, we looked at the spreads offered by some of the best forex brokers, offering some of the lowest and tightest spreads in the market today.
However, we focused on more than just the spreads. We also looked at other features of the brokers, including their regulatory status. We believe these are key features that must be addressed when doing your due diligence.
Nonetheless, there are many other reputable brokers with low spreads that did not make it to this list. As such, this is not an exhaustive list. While you choose your low-spread forex broker, we encourage you to do your research and pick the broker that best suits your trading needs.
