Advertiser disclosure: we have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers, and no click to a broker is paid. If that changes, this notice changes first. How we make money
Licence numbers as brokers publish them · check each one on the register
Forex brokers compared entity by entity
A forex broker brand is a group of companies, and the one that opens your account sets your leverage cap, your protection against a negative balance and where you can complain. We list each company in our data with its regulator and licence number, and rank brands from their published spreads, platforms and account terms. We have not opened live accounts yet, so every score is marked preliminary.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
The ranking below sorts every broker in our data by one preliminary score. It combines four criteria we can check from published sources: costs, platforms, regulation and accounts. Research and support, 20% of the rubric, stay unscored until we test them on live accounts, and each themed list further down uses its own rule. Read first:our methodologyhow we make moneyhow regulation differs by country
Ranked by a preliminary score from published data, not by commission. Advertiser disclosure
Why this order: the overall preliminary score across costs, platforms, regulation and accounts, built from each broker’s published terms; your country page narrows the list to companies that accept you. Ranked from our data on 20 brokers, updated 19 Oct 2026. How we rank
Ranked by preliminary score · 19 Oct 2026
Your country decides which company opens your account, and with it your leverage cap and protections.
Depends on entity: up to 1:30 (retail, per Pepperstone support FAQ) (FCA)
Funding methods
Debit card, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bank transfer
StandardRawSpread bettingProfessional5 of 8 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #1Tier 1 companies in the UK, Cyprus, Germany, Australia and Dubai, and MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView. Its lowest EUR/USD price is on the Razor account, which adds a commission per lot.
Depends on entity: up to 50:1 implied (margin from 2% on EUR/USD, retail) (CFTC / NFA)up to 30:1 (major forex pairs, retail; margin 3.33%) (FCA)up to 1:30 (retail, per account comparison table on EU site) (KNF)up to up to 20:1 (retail) (MAS)up to 25x implied (individual FX margin at least 4% of transaction amount) (JFSA)
Funding methods
Debit card, Credit card, Bank transfer (Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS, SWIFT, SEPA)
StandardRawProfessional4 of 8 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #2Tier 1 companies in the US, UK, Poland, Australia, Canada, Singapore and Japan, and no minimum deposit on its UK standard account. No cTrader.
Depends on entity: up to 1:30 (ASIC)up to 1:30 (retail, all account types) (CySEC)up to 1:5000 (MetaTrader accounts), 1:1000 (cTrader); described as dynamic (FSA Seychelles)up to 1:200 (SCB)
Funding methods
Credit/debit card, Bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, BPAY, FasaPay, POLi
StandardRawIslamicProfessional3 of 4 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #3MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, but no UK company; outside the EEA and Australia most clients are onboarded by its Seychelles or Bahamas entity.
0.0 pips (RAW ECN (inferred: unlabeled block), 17 Feb 2026)
Platforms
MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary
Max retail leverage
Depends on entity: up to 30:1 (major currency pairs, retail); lower for other instruments (FCA)up to up to 30:1 (retail clients) (ASIC)up to 100:1 to 500:1 (global help center, all account types; certain products fixed) (VFSC)
Funding methods
Debit card, Credit card, Bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, E-wallets, Alternative payment methods
StandardRawECNIslamicCopyCentSpread bettingProfessional2 of 6 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #4FCA and ASIC companies, and its UK site states insurance above the FSCS limit. Third-party warnings about its Vanuatu entity are not yet verified.
Depends on entity: up to Up to 1:30 (Trade.MT5 / Zero.MT5, retail) (CySEC)
Funding methods
Bank transfer, Visa/Mastercard, Klarna, Skrill, Brite
StandardRawIslamicProfessional3 of 5 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #9the lowest published standard-account EUR/USD spread in our data; its UK company’s leverage and loss protection are not stated on the pages we used.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
14X
XM
Main entity: Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd · 9 entities in total
Depends on entity: up to 30:1 (depending on instrument, retail) (FCA)up to 30:1 (major currency pairs, retail) (CySEC, ASIC)up to 30:1 default for major currency pairs (as stated on fxcm.com/za open-account page) (FSCA)up to 1000:1 (accounts with equity < $10,000; 400:1 for $10k-50k; 100:1 above $50k; MT4 < $10k max 400:1) (Unregulated)
Funding methods
Debit/credit card (Visa, Mastercard; Discover in UK), Bank wire, PayPal (UK, AU), Google Pay, Apple Pay (UK, AU), Open Banking (UK), Skrill, NETELLER, Rapid Transfer (UK), China Online Payment (markets), Crypto (markets)
StandardRawSpread bettingProfessional4 of 6 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Depends on entity: up to 1:30 (major FX CFDs, retail: ESMA-style minimum initial margin 3.33%; 5% other pairs) (FCA)up to Leverage limits per CBI CFD rules (Aug 2019) for retail; ESMA minimum margin 3.33% major FX (1:30) per CFD margin page (Central Bank of Ireland)
Funding methods
Bank wire, ACH (US), Direct ACH (US), Check (US), Online Bill Pay (US), Wise balance transfer, USDC stablecoin (USD)
Standard6 of 9 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Depends on entity: up to 1:400 (CMA Kenya)up to 1:Unlimited if eligible (equity < 5,000 USD); 1:2000 by default; 1:1000 / 1:500 at higher equity (FSA Seychelles, CBCS, BVI FSC)
Funding methods
Bank card (Visa, Mastercard, 3D Secure), Prepaid cards (not US-issued), Local and global payment methods (region-dependent, listed only in Personal Area)
StandardRawIslamicDemoCent3 of 10 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
A desk ranking from published data, with its gaps shown.
Who writes it
The Low Spread Brokers team writes and checks every page; brokers do not see pages before publication and do not edit them. All lists read from one broker file, so a spread or licence number is the same on every page.
We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers, and no click to a broker is paid. If that changes, the site will say so first; partner status is not an input to any score, whose formulas use spreads, platforms, licences and account terms only.
What we don’t do
No bonuses or sign-up offers. No offshore leverage presented as a feature. No claim that we tested an account we have not opened. No personal investment advice.
Each country page has its own ranking: only brokers with a company that accepts residents, ordered by a rule chosen for that country’s regulator, leverage caps and protections.
Country rules (compensation, complaints body, leverage caps) come from our country reference, which is not yet re-verified against each regulator; the regulator’s own text prevails.
At a glance · all countries
Forex broker comparison table
What the table shows
Published minimum deposit, the lowest published EUR/USD spread with its account and check date, platforms, account types and retail leverage by company, from each broker’s own pages.
How to use this table
Sort by score, spread or minimum deposit. Deposits stay in the broker’s own currency, so compare them only within one currency.
50:1 implied (margin from 2% on EUR/USD, retail) (CFTC / NFA) · 30:1 (major forex pairs, retail; margin 3.33%) (FCA) · 1:30 (retail, per account comparison table on EU site) (KNF) · up to 20:1 (retail) (MAS) · 25x implied (individual FX margin at least 4% of transaction amount) (JFSA)
0.0 pipsRAW ECN (inferred: unlabeled block) · 17 Feb 2026
MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary
Standard, Raw, ECN, Islamic, Copy, Cent, Spread betting, Professional
30:1 (major currency pairs, retail); lower for other instruments (FCA) · up to 30:1 (retail clients) (ASIC) · 100:1 to 500:1 (global help center, all account types; certain products fixed) (VFSC)
Spreads as each broker publishes them, latest check 19 Oct 2026. Minimum deposits are shown in the broker’s own currency and are not converted.
Highest score in our data
First on the overall score in October 2026
Pepperstone publishes Tier 1 licence numbers from 5 regulators and quotes EUR/USD from 0.0 pips on its Razor account (checked 19 Oct 2026). The trade-off: that price is on the Razor account, which charges a commission per lot on top; the Standard account has no commission and a wider spread.
Every ranking shows the company behind each broker and the loss rate that company publishes.
How regulation differs by country
A broker brand is not one company. It runs several licensed companies, and the country you live in decides which one opens your account, and with it your leverage, your protections and where you can complain. We show each company with the licence number the broker publishes, and we never present offshore leverage as a feature.
Offshoree.g. FSA Seychelles, SCB Bahamas: light supervision, usually no compensation scheme
One brand, several companies
Pepperstone, for example, lists companies supervised by the FCA, CySEC, BaFin, ASIC and the DFSA, plus one in the Bahamas. Your country of residence, not the website you land on, decides which one you sign with.
A licence number you can check
Every company has a number on its regulator’s public register: FCA FRN, ASIC AFSL, CySEC licence, FSCA FSP. We list the number the broker publishes; checking it on the register takes two minutes.
Leverage caps, negative balance protection and compensation schemes come from the regulator of your company, not from the brand.
Offshore companies are labelled
IC Markets’ Seychelles company lists leverage up to 1:5000 on MetaTrader. We name such companies and their regulator, and their leverage never adds to a score.
Regulators by tier
Tier = our classification of how much a regulator protects retail clients. Country pages hold the local detail.
Up to 1:30 on major FX pairs, lower on riskier assets.
Negative balance protection
You cannot lose more than the money in your account.
50% margin close-out
Under FCA, ESMA and ASIC rules, positions are closed once equity falls to half the margin they need.
Segregated client money
Your money is held apart from the firm’s own.
A compensation scheme
FSCS up to £85,000 in the UK; ICF up to €20,000 in Cyprus.
An ombudsman or complaints body
Independent review after the firm’s own process.
Opting up to professional status removes these protections.
No bonuses on this site
In the UK, every promotion to retail CFD clients must carry the standard risk warning with the provider’s own share of losing accounts (FCA PS19/18).
We show no bonuses anywhere, under any company.
Spot a clone
Clone firms copy real broker names and licence numbers. Check the licence number on the regulator’s own register, the website address and the regulator’s warning list before you deposit.
Country rules from our reference file, not yet re-verified against each regulator; the regulator’s own text prevails.
Start with the question that rules out the most brokers.
1
Which regulator, and which company will hold your account?
Find the company that accepts residents of your country and check its licence number on the regulator’s register. For a UK trader this step alone removes Exness, whose FCA company serves business clients only, and IC Markets, which has no UK company.
A standard account puts the whole cost in the spread. A raw account quotes from 0.0 pips plus a commission per lot: at $3.50 per side, that is 0.7 pips per round-turn lot on EUR/USD, so compare both totals on the pair you trade.
Scores come from published data, not from sponsorship and not yet from live-account tests.
1Collect companiesEach company in the group, its regulator, licence number and the countries it serves, from the broker’s pages and registers where they opened.
2Record costsEUR/USD spreads and commissions as the broker publishes them, with the date of each check.
3Score four criteriaCosts, platforms, regulation and accounts, each from a fixed formula on the methodology page.
4Leave the rest unscoredResearch and support wait for live-account tests; a missing cost figure counts as neutral in the total.
5Rank per pageEach list filters by one fact and sorts by one criterion, written under its heading.
Rubric weights (research and support not yet scored)
Costs · 25%
Regulation & safety · 25%
Platforms · 15%
Accounts & funding · 15%
Research & education · 10%
Support · 10%
20brokers scored
6criteria in the rubric
19 Oct 2026latest data check
What does not affect a score
Partner status and advertising. We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers.
Published spreads behind the scores
Checked
Quote
Spread
19 Oct 2026
EUR/USD, Razor account, Pepperstone
0.1 pips
19 Oct 2026
EUR/USD, Spread-only (OANDA Europe Limited, UK) account, OANDA
0.6 pips
19 Oct 2026
EUR/USD, Raw Spread (Global) account, IC Markets
0.1 pips
Methodology v1 · scores stay marked preliminary until live-account tests
The ratings are written and checked by the Low Spread Brokers team, not by named individuals. Every figure in our broker data carries its source page and check date.
We compare forex and CFD brokers from their published terms and from regulator registers, record the date and source of every figure, and say so where a figure is missing.
Low Spread Brokers is not a broker, is not licensed by any financial regulator and does not give personal investment advice.
At the moment it does not earn from brokers: we have no affiliate or advertising agreements, and the buttons lead to the brokers’ official websites without paid links. If that changes, the How we make money page and the labels on broker buttons will be updated first. Partner status is not an input to any score.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
2Why is the order different on every page?
Each list answers a different question, such as beginners, low spreads or one country, so each is filtered and sorted by its own rule. The rule is written under the list heading, together with the number of brokers and the date of the data.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
3What does a forex broker licence cover, and why does the company matter?
A licence covers one company, not the whole brand. Pepperstone, for example, lists companies from the FCA in the UK to the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, and the one that accepts residents of your country decides your leverage cap, negative balance protection and compensation scheme.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
4How do I check a broker’s licence number?
Find the licence number of the company in the broker’s website footer and search it on the regulator’s own register, such as the FCA Register or the CySEC register. Confirm that the firm name, website address and permissions match. The numbers on this site are as the brokers publish them; we have not yet matched each one on its register.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
5Are there zero-spread forex brokers?
Several brokers publish EUR/USD “from 0.0 pips”, but only on raw accounts that add a commission per lot, such as Pepperstone Razor or Tickmill Raw. At $3.50 per side the commission alone equals 0.7 pips per round-turn lot, so compare spread plus commission.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
6Can I lose more than my deposit?
Retail clients of Tier 1 regulated companies have negative balance protection, so losses stop at the money in the account; offshore companies may not offer it. You can still lose all the money you deposit, and leverage multiplies losses.
Broker data checked 19 Oct 2026
7Do I pay tax on trading profits?
It depends on where you live and on the product: some countries tax spread bets and CFDs differently. Check your tax authority’s guidance or ask a qualified tax adviser.