Forex Brokers Lowest Trading Costs
- Open a TDA FX brokerage account!
- CMC Markets – 5 Stars
- Saxo Bank – 4.5 Stars
- IG – 4.5 Stars
- Dukascopy – 4.5 Stars
- GAIN Capital (FOREX.com) – 4.5 Stars
- TD Ameritrade – 4 Stars
- City Index – 4 Stars
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), and variable spreads may widen or narrow (vary) at different rates across brokers.
Furthermore, execution policies vary across firms in terms of how orders are handled (slippage/rejections), even when all else is equal. Brokers may be acting as market makers (dealers) to execute your trades and/or may be acting as agents for execution (relying on other dealers to execute). Forex spreads may include a round-turn commission.
Forex trading, which involves exchanging one currency for another on the foreign exchange market, isn’t for the faint of heart or the inexperienced. No investment is without risk, but forex tips the risk meter further with its rapid trading pace and high leverage, which means investors can quickly lose more than their initial investments. Of course, that means you can also profit at the same speed, which — combined with liquidity — is what attracts investors to currency trading.
When selecting your forex broker, you should consider trading platforms and tools, the number of currency pairs offered, leverage maximums, customer service and, of course, costs. But comparing costs is tricky in forex trading: While some brokers charge a commission, many advertise no commissions, earning money in the bid-ask spread — the difference between the price a broker or dealer is paying for the currency (the bid) and the price at which a broker or dealer is selling a currency (the ask). Brokers essentially roll their fees into that spread, widening it and pocketing the excess.
That’s just one reason why the search for the best forex broker is a complex one. Another is that there are a variety of brokers out there, many of them unregulated or only regulated in countries outside of the U.S. For our list of best currency trading brokers, we considered only those that are regulated by the National Futures Association and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
If you’re aware of the risks here and still prepared to dive in, here are NerdWallet’s top picks for the best brokers for forex trading. (Thinking you want to dive out instead? Trading stocks might be more your speed — here are the best brokers for that.)
One suggestion: All of these brokers offer free demo accounts so you can test the market with virtual dollars. Dip a toe in with some play money before you dive in with your own cash.