What is the best forex trading platform? Find out our top picks of the best places to trade forex, including the best forex trading platform for beginners.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.Between 51%-76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Forex trading involves exchanging one currency for another in an attempt to make a profit from the change in price of a currency against another in what’s known as a currency pair. This can be quite difficult to pull off consistently, but it’s a popular form of trading because it can be done around the world, around the clock, and it’s a market in constant motion.
If you’re looking for the best forex trading platform for currency trading, we’ve dug into the details of some of the top options available here in the UK to bring you our top picks. Whether you’re looking for a forex trading platform with the lowest spreads, advanced charting and tools, or simply the best forex trading platform for beginners – we’ve got you covered.
Finder’s best forex trading platforms in the UK for 2024
Best for beginners: eToro
Best mobile forex trading platform: XTB
Best for currency pairs: Saxo
Best desktop forex trading platform: IG
Best for simplicity: Trading 212
Best for low spreads and commissions: Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
Why it’s the best for beginners: For an easy-to-use platform and unique features like mirroring traders with CopyTrader.
eToro is our best forex trading platform for beginners because unlike some platforms, it’s a straightforward forex platform to navigate and use. Along with providing a virtual account to practise trades without risking real money, eToro also has some excellent features for beginner forex traders like the ability to copy trades of more experienced investors with CopyTrader.
It also has other social features like News Feed to help you learn from other traders and investors. It also has resources like the eToro Academy to help you learn to trade
Pros
Commission-free stock trading
Over 5,500+ stocks from 20 exchanges
Fractional shares
Social features like CopyTrading and News Feed
Free to open an account
Invest from just $10
Lots of learning resources including a demo account
Ability to use GBP and USD
Cons
$5 withdrawal fee
You can't invest in an ISA
An emphasis on trading over long-term investing
Some of the trading fees are complex for certain assets like crypto
Why it’s the best for a mobile forex trading platform: For its fast, well-designed xStation app built for smartphone trading.
XTB’s mobile trading platform, xStation, is extremely popular amongst forex traders for its speed, ease of use, and analysis features like custom charts, real-time forex analytics and risk management tools. XTB’s mobile forex trading platform, xStation is fully optimised and natively-designed for smartphones and you can even get a feel for it by practising using virtual funds in the demo account.
Limited time offer: Zero commission on 100 US stocks for new customers. T&Cs apply.
Capital at Risk.
Why it’s the best for currency pairs: For giving traders access to over 180 currency pairs across majors, minors, and exotic currencies.
Along with an extensive choice of over 180 global currency pairs for forex trading, Saxo offers an excellent trading interface with either SaxoTraderGo or SaxoTraderPRO. It’s better suited for more experienced FX traders because of the in-depth charting and analysis tools available, which even includes the option to use third-party tools and software to elevate your trading strategies.
Pros
Great range of overseas markets
Lots of charts and research tools
Plenty of educational resources
No minimum deposit
Invest in an ISA or a pension
Cons
Complicated fee structure
Expensive for smaller trades
Not an ideal platform for beginners
Emphasis on trading over investing
Platform fees
0.12% per year
Price per trade
£3
Frequent trader rate
N/A
Foreign exchange fee
0.25%
Min. initial deposit
£0
Fractional shares
FCA regulated
Price per trade
£3
Min. initial deposit
£0
Offer
Limited time offer: Zero commission on 100 US stocks for new customers. T&Cs apply.
Get 0% commission on US shares. Offer ends 22 November 2024. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Capital at Risk.
Why it’s the best desktop forex trading platform: For providing a desktop platform with advanced charting tools and customisable workspaces.
IG offers one of the most robust forex trading platforms in the UK and its desktop platform has a whole suite of technical indicators and analysis tools like ProRealTime to appeal to seasoned forex traders. With powerful analytics, fast executions, and loads of market insight resources at your fingertips - IG’s desktop platform is best suited to those looking for high performance and flexibility for forex trading.
Pros
Great learning resources and a demo account
Massive choice of over 13,000 investments including ready-made portfolios
Fee discounts for active investors
Over 5,000 UK and international ETFs
Cons
Only cheap when investing regularly
Choice of options, tools, and markets might overwhelm newbies
Quarterly platform fee of £24 if you make less than 3 trades per quarter
Platform fees
£8 per month
Price per trade
From £8
Frequent trader rate
From £0
Foreign exchange fee
0.5%
Min. initial deposit
£0
Fractional shares
FCA regulated
Price per trade
From £8
Min. initial deposit
£0
Offer
Get 0% commission on US shares. Offer ends 22 November 2024. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Get free fractional shares worth up to £100 when you sign up with Finder's link. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Capital at Risk.
Why it’s the best simple forex trading platform: For a desktop and mobile app that’s easy to grasp and trade with.
Along with providing an excellent platform for investors, Trading 212 does a great job of catering towards traders too. The name gives it away but this provider started out as a trading platform, including the ability to trade a variety of currency pairs. If you’re just getting started or looking to keep things simple, Trading 212’s platform is easy to navigate if you’re looking to trade forex and the inclusion of a demo account means you don’t have to dive in with real money. It also supports 13 global currencies so you can save on conversion fees by making the most of its multi-currency account.
Pros
No platform fee to open and hold an account
0% commissions
Fractional US and UK shares
Low FX fee of 0.15%
Free stocks and share ISA
Over 13,000 investments
Interest paid on cash balances
Market-leading cash ISA
AutoInvest feature
Practice mode to get the hang of the platform
Cons
No pension
The tutorial for the practice mode isn’t very in-depth
Limited learning and research tools
Withdrawing funds takes up to 3 business days
Platform fees
£0
Price per trade
0%
Frequent trader rate
£0
Foreign exchange fee
0.15%
Min. initial deposit
£1
Fractional shares
FCA regulated
Price per trade
0%
Min. initial deposit
£1
Offer
Get free fractional shares worth up to £100 when you sign up with Finder's link. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Why it’s the best for low spreads and commissions: For minimal commissions and some of the lowest spreads available for UK forex traders.
Interactive Brokers offers an excellent range of forex trading platforms like IBKR GlobalTrader, IBKR Desktop/Mobile and Trader Workstation (TWS). This is to cater for beginners all the way up to experienced and professional forex traders. Interactive Brokers offers low, transparent commissions with no mark-ups, tight spreads (as narrow as 1/10 PIP) and deep liquidity by combining quotation streams from 17 of the world’s largest FX dealers. dive in with real money. It also supports 13 global currencies so you can save on conversion fees by making the most of its multi-currency account.
Pros
Low fees
Demo account available
Lots of trading tools and learning resources
Huge range of access to investments and global markets
Typically, when choosing the best trading platform for forex, investors need to think about a few factors when searching for the right platform, here are some of the key things to consider:
Leverage and margin. If you’re a beginner, you’ll want limited access to margin and leverage, but experienced investors will want these levers to pull.
Commission and trading fees. Forex platforms don’t usually charge commission for trades, but check for other fees like currency conversion and overnight funding fees.
Spreads. If the spreads are quite wide (the difference between the buy and sell prices), this will reduce any profits for successful trades.
Minimum trade size. If you only want to start trading with a small amount, you’ll want to check if the forex trading platform supports smaller deposits and trades.
Choice of currency pairs. All the best forex trading platforms will have the major pairs, but only some will have minor or exotic pairs.
What's a currency pair?
A currency pair is two currencies placed together for a trade. By trading a pair, the investor is predicting that one will be worth more after a given period. The two currencies are referred to as the base currency and the counter currency.
When trading a pair, you buy the one that you think will go up in value and sell the one you think will decrease against the other. When closing the position, you’ll do the opposite. You can use various trading order types to help automate your forex trading.
What are the best forex pairs to trade?
The best forex pair to trade really depends on the current economic climate. Currencies are constantly changing value based on a huge range of things, such as how much tourism a country has, current interest rates, the country’s political position and trade flows. This means that the best one to trade is changing all the time – try keeping an eye on current affairs to try to get a grasp on what impact certain events might have on a currency and choose which pairs to trade based on your findings.
Is forex trading free?
It can often seem that forex trading is free as a lot of forex trading platforms tend to offer their services commission free, but there’s a cost built into the price of the currencies that you’ll pay when you make a trade, known as the spread. The spread is the difference between the “buy” and “sell” prices, so once you’ve opened and closed a position, you’ll have paid the difference between them in fees. The spread is measured in “pips”. Spreads will vary across forex brokers and can depend on market volatility, liquidity and the volume of trades taking place at any given time.
A pip is the smallest movement that an exchange rate can make. It stands for “percentage in point”. As most currency pairs are priced to 4 decimal places, 1 pip is equal to one-hundredth of 1%. This is equal to 1 basis point. For example, if the GBP/EUR exchange rate moved from 1.1510 to 1.1511, it moved by 1 pip. To work out the spread, you minus the sell price from the buy price. Next steps
If you’ve chosen the best forex trading platform for you, you can go ahead and click through to the site to check out the platform. When signing up, make sure you have some ID handy, as well as your bank details and national insurance (NI) number. If you still don’t think you’ve found the one for you, we have a guide where you can learn more about forex trading.
Bottom line
The best forex trading platform for you to use will depend on your level of experience and how you plan to trade currencies. Each forex broker will have unique benefits and drawbacks, some are better for beginner traders and others more suitable if you’ve got some experience.
Be careful because forex trading can be volatile and if you start trading using margin or leverage, you’re going to be increasing your level of risk and market exposure. When looking for the best forex trading platform, key things to compare will be the spreads, commissions or fees, number and types of currency pairs, access to leverage, and what it’s like to use each platform. Most forex brokers will let you test the platform for free with a demo or virtual account, so that’s a useful option, especially for beginners.
Frequently asked questions
Unfortunately, there’s no overall best platform for forex trading. The key is to find the right platform that suits your level of experience and trading strategy.
For example, if you’re a beginner forex trader, you’ll likely need a brokerage with a much simpler interface compared to an experienced forex trader who’ll want an array of tools and charts at hand.
Overall, we think eToro is the best forex trading platform for beginners because it’s straightforward to use the platform and there’s excellent features like CopyTrader which lets you copy the trades of more experienced forex traders.
Another platform suitable for beginners is Trading 212, however, most of the best forex trading platforms we’ve mentioned here offer demo accounts and have plenty of learning resources for beginners.
There’s no single best broker because each brokerage has its own pros and cons. It’s better to think about how you plan to trade, your trading experience, and your budget – then narrow down your options to find the best forex broker for your goals and strategy.
There’s no single best broker because each brokerage has its own pros and cons. It’s better to think about how you plan to trade, your trading experience, and your budget – then narrow down your options to find the best forex broker for your goals and strategy.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
George is a deputy editor at Finder. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, Online Mortgage Advisor, Wealth, and Compare Forex Brokers. He's focused on making personal finance and investing engaging for everyone. To do this he draws from previous work and his Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA), sharing what he’s learnt. When he’s not geeking out about money, you’ll find him playing sports and staying active. See full bio
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