What makes a top forex broker?
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To help you find the best forex brokers in 2022, we went ahead and did the research for you. First, we selected quality online brokers, then we checked and compared fees, currency pairs, charting tools, platforms – practically everything. And now, without further ado…
Our top 5 picks for the best forex brokers in 2022:
- Saxo Bank is our winner, the best forex broker in 2022. Great trading platform. Outstanding research. Broad product portfolio.
- Fusion Markets takes second place. Low trading and non-trading fees. Fast and easy account opening. Great customer service.
- CMC Markets rounds out the top three. Low forex fees. Great web and mobile platforms. Advanced research and educational tools.
- Interactive Brokers is ranked fourth. Low trading fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- Capital.com completes the list at number five. Low forex CFD fees and commission-free real stocks. Great account opening experience. Excellent email and chat support.
If you’re interested in more forex brokers, read 40+ forex broker reviews.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
What makes a good forex broker? First of all, fair forex fees and low withdrawal fees. They should also offer many currency pairs and a great platform with advanced charting. All of these are easy to list, but hard to figure out. To get an accurate view, we test brokers based on almost 500 criteria, using real accounts and real money.
If you are a beginner, be careful with forex trading. Forex products are complex and very risky, thus not suitable for everyone. You can easily lose all your invested money. If you don’t have a clue how forex trading works, start with our forex trading 101 articles.
For a tailored recommendation, check out our broker finder tool. Answer 4 simple questions and get a list of the most relevant brokers.
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#1 Best forex broker
Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank, a Danish investment bank founded in 1992, provides online trading and investment services. The company is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the Danish Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Saxo Bank is a global service provider and as such it operates a number of separate legal entities in different regions of the world. The services offered by the various entities may differ slightly, especially with respect to fees and product portfolios. In this review, we tested Saxo Markets UK.
Being regulated by top-tier financial authorities, having a long track record and a banking background are all good signs for Saxo Bank’s safety.
HEADS UP: Recent issues with account opening – Saxo Bank seems to have a delay in sending you a crucial URL needed to start your account opening. For more info, see Saxo Bank account opening issues in the review’s ‘Account opening’ chapter. Don’t want to wait to open an account? Check out some Saxo Bank alternatives.
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#1 Saxo Bank
Fees
Saxo Bank has low fees when it comes to buying and selling currency pairs.
To have a clear picture of forex fees, we calculated a forex benchmark fee for major currency pairs. This catch-all benchmark includes commissions, spreads and financing costs for all brokers.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
All spreads, commissions and financing rate for opening a position, holding for a week and closing.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
#1 Saxo Bank
Markets and products
Saxo Bank gives access to 190 currency pairs.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
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#1 Saxo Bank
Desktop trading platform
Saxo Bank’s desktop trading platform is one of the best on the market. It is well designed, easy to use and offers great customizability.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • User-friendly | • None |
| •Clear fee report | |
| • Good customizability (for charts, workspace) |
Best forex brokers – Saxo Bank trading platform
Saxo Bank has great charting tools and you can use 50 technical indicators.
Best forex brokers – Saxo Bank charting
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#2 Best forex broker
Fusion Markets
Fusion Markets is an Australian discount forex broker founded in 2010. It is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC).
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74-89% 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.
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#2 Fusion Markets
Fees
Fusion Markets has low fees when it comes to buying and selling currency pairs.
To have a clear picture of forex fees, we calculated a forex benchmark fee for major currency pairs. This catch-all benchmark includes commissions, spreads and financing costs for all brokers.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
All spreads, commissions and financing rate for opening a position, holding for a week and closing.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
#2 Fusion Markets
Markets and products
Fusion Markets gives access to 89 currency pairs.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#2 Fusion Markets
Desktop trading platform
In design and functionality, Fusion Markets’s MetaTrader 4 desktop platform is almost the same as the web trading platform. A major difference is that you can set price alerts here.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Clear fee report | • No two-step (safer) login |
| •Good customizability (for charts, workspace) | • Poor design |
| • Price alerts |
Best forex brokers – Fusion Markets trading platform
Fusion Markets has average charting tools and you can use 31 technical indicators.
Best forex brokers – Fusion Markets charting
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#3 Best forex broker
CMC Markets
CMC Markets is a global CFD and forex broker, founded in 1989. It is regulated by several authorities globally, including the top-tier UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company is also listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Having a long track record, being listed on a stock exchange and being regulated by top-tier authorities are great signs for CMC Markets’ reliability.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% 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.
76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#3 CMC Markets
Fees
CMC Markets has low fees when it comes to buying and selling currency pairs.
To have a clear picture of forex fees, we calculated a forex benchmark fee for major currency pairs. This catch-all benchmark includes commissions, spreads and financing costs for all brokers.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
All spreads, commissions and financing rate for opening a position, holding for a week and closing
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
#3 CMC Markets
Markets and products
CMC Markets gives access to 338 currency pairs.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#3 CMC Markets
Desktop trading platform
CMC Markets doesn’t have its own desktop platform, leaving you with MetaTrader 4 as your only option. In design and functionality, MT4 is way behind CMC’s web platform.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Clear fee report | • No two-step (safer) login |
| •Good customizability (for charts, workspace) | • Poor design |
| • Price alerts |
Best forex brokers – CMC Markets trading platform
CMC Markets has great charting tools and you can use 86 technical indicators.
Best forex brokers – CMC Markets charting
76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#4 Best forex broker
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers, one of the biggest US-based discount brokers, was founded in 1977. The broker is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including top-tier ones like the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Given that the broker has licenses from multiple top-tier regulators, Interactive Brokers is considered safe. The fact that it has a long track record and publicly disclosed financials while being listed on a stock exchange all point to IB being a safe service provider.
Interactive Brokers recently launched a new app for global stock trading: read our review of IBKR GlobalTrader.
In addition, Interactive Brokers also has an app you can use for ESG investing: read our review of IMPACT by Interactive Brokers.
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#4 Interactive Brokers
Fees
Interactive Brokers has average fees when it comes to buying and selling currency pairs.
To have a clear picture of forex fees, we calculated a forex benchmark fee for major currency pairs. This catch-all benchmark includes commissions, spreads and financing costs for all brokers.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
All spreads, commissions and financing rate for opening a position, holding for a week and closing.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
Best forex brokers – CMC Markets charting
#4 Interactive Brokers
Markets and products
Interactive Brokers gives access to 105 currency pairs.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
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#4 Interactive Brokers
Desktop trading platform
IB’s desktop platform, TWS comes with great customizability and advanced order execution, but it’s not user-friendly and caters more to advanced traders.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Clear fee report | • Not user-friendly |
| • Good customizability (for charts, workspace) | • Complexity might be overwhelming |
| • Good variety of order types |
Best forex brokers – Interactive Brokers trading platform
Interactive Brokers has great charting tools and you can use 127 technical indicators.
Best forex brokers – Interactive Brokers charting
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#5 Best forex broker
Capital.com
Capital.com is a global CFD broker founded in 2016. It has offices located in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Australia, Seychelles and Gibraltar where each is authorized and regulated locally respectively by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA).
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83.45% 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.
83.45% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#5 Capital.com
Fees
Capital.com has low fees when it comes to buying and selling currency pairs.
To have a clear picture of forex fees, we calculated a forex benchmark fee for major currency pairs. This catch-all benchmark includes commissions, spreads and financing costs for all brokers.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
All spreads, commissions and financing rate for opening a position, holding for a week and closing.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
#5 Capital.com
Markets and products
Capital.com gives access to 138 currency pairs.
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
83.45% of retail CFD accounts lose money
#5 Capital.com
Desktop trading platform
Capital.com’s desktop trading platform is provided by MetaTrader. It’s customizable and supports price alerts, but it lacks a two-step login, the design is outdated, and it’s not available in the UK.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Clear fee report | • No two-step (safer) login |
| • Good customizability (for charts, workspace) | •Poor design |
| • Price alerts |
Best forex brokers – Capital.com trading platform
Capital.com has great charting tools and you can use 85 technical indicators.
Best forex brokers – Capital.com charting
83.45% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Best forex brokers
What makes a top forex broker?
Trading forex has become really popular over the last decade. Looking at important criteria like fees will help you find the best forex broker for you.
How We Evaluate the Best Forex Brokers
We assess online brokers using an extensive methodology that covers nearly 500 individual criteria. Each broker is tested through a live account funded with real money, ensuring our evaluations reflect actual trading conditions rather than theoretical assumptions.
When identifying the best forex brokers, the primary factor to examine is forex trading fees. Spreads, commissions, and overall transaction costs directly impact profitability, especially for active traders.
However, trading fees are not the only cost to consider. You should also review:
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Withdrawal fees – Some brokers charge for transferring funds out of your account, which can affect your net returns.
-
Available currency pairs – A broader selection gives traders more diversification opportunities and flexibility in strategy.
-
Trading platforms – A high-quality desktop and mobile platform is essential for smooth execution and market access.
-
Charting and analysis tools – Advanced charting capabilities, technical indicators, and drawing tools can significantly enhance trading performance.
Choosing a forex broker is not just about low spreads — it’s about the overall trading experience, transparency of fees, platform reliability, and access to the markets you want to trade.
Best forex brokers
Forex broker fees
Fees, fees, fees. We bet this is always on your mind when you’re on the hunt for the best forex broker. But this can be a complicated issue. Let’s see how we dealt with it.
It’s not easy to compare forex broker fees, but we are here to help. Generally, forex brokers can charge commissions, spreads and financing fees.
For commissions, there are two approaches forex brokers can use:
- All trading fees are included in the spread except the financing rate. Basically, think of it as the broker giving you a wider spread than it gets from the market.
- You get the market spread, but you pay a commission based on the traded amount. This model is usually used by ECN brokers.
The second version is more transparent, but this doesn’t mean that the first method cannot be cheaper.
When you trade forex on leverage and hold your position overnight, a fee will be charged. This fee is called the financing cost. Financing costs change daily and can make up a significant part of your overall costs if you hold your positions for a longer period.
To make your life easier, we calculated what your overall fee would be if you took a $20,000 position, held it for a week and then closed it. We used 30:1 leverage, the maximum available leverage for major currency pairs at many brokers.
Best stock brokers
Bottom line
You saw the details, now let’s zoom out. Here are the top forex brokers in 2022:
| Saxo Bank | Fusion Markets | CMC Markets | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| GBPUSD spread | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| AUDUSD spread | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| EURCHF spread | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| EURGBP spread | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
Saxo Bank is our winner, the best forex broker in 2022. Great trading platform. Outstanding research. Broad product portfolio.
All of these brokers are great choices, but watch out, as forex trading can be risky. If you know enough and are good to go, pick your favourite and take the next step in your trading journey. Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Still unsure? Use our broker finder tool and find the best broker for you.
Best stock brokers
FAQ
Which are the top forex brokers in the world?
The top 5 forex brokers in the world in 2022:
- Saxo Bank – low forex fees and great trading platforms.
- Fusion Markets – low forex fees and a superb selection of currency pairs.
- CMC Markets – low forex CFD fees and an excellent account opening experience.
- Interactive Brokers – low forex fees and diverse research tools.
- Capital.com – no inactivity fee and rock-solid background.
How to find the best forex brokers?
The key aspects to consider when choosing a forex brokers is safety and access. Makes sure you always select a broker that is licensed or overseen by a top-tier regulator, such as the SEC in the US, the FCA in the UK or BaFin Germany. As a next step, check to see if the broker accepts clients from your country of residence.
Save yourself hours of research and check out our broker finder tool and find the best broker for you.