There are six broker groups listed here and they meet our selection criteria. This page lists each group’s global company. That company is regulated in its own country and offers more leverage than one licensed in the European Union, the United Kingdom or Australia. If you live in the EU or the UK, a group usually places you with its local company. When the company that opens your account is that local company, the figures here do not apply and its regulator’s caps apply. The offshore brokers page shows the terms each global company states for itself. Higher leverage means the same price move has a bigger effect. A gain grows and a loss grows too. Keep reading if that’s what you’re after. For more protection at lower leverage, look instead at brokers with an EU licence or brokers authorised in the UK. You’ll find the same groups there at their local companies.
Broker comparison at a glance
The broker comparison below lists each group’s global company. Four things shape how you read the tables.
- Headline figures, not every assetThe tables show the highest leverage each broker offers. Forex and gold usually get it, and shares and crypto almost always have a lower limit.
- Nothing here goes above 500:1Brokers elsewhere advertise much higher figures. Whether you ever get them depends on the conditions attached.
- Your company sets your limitThe company that takes you on sets your maximum. For retail clients, a UK, EU or Australian company must follow its regulator’s caps. Those caps are often far below these tables.
- Leverage cuts both waysOn the same price move, a loss grows just as a gain grows when you use higher leverage.
Leverage, and what really limits it
Each broker’s highest leverage is shown in the table below. The main forex pairs and gold usually receive that maximum. Many other assets have their own limit, usually a lower one, and shares and cryptocurrency almost always do too. None of them reaches the very high figures some brokers advertise elsewhere, and why nothing here goes that high is explained further down.
The company within a group that takes you on determines your maximum leverage. That’s settled when you sign up, and where you live is only part of it. If you live in Europe, the United Kingdom or Australia and sign up through the group’s local site, you might be taken on by the company licensed there. That company has to follow its regulator’s limits and may offer far less than the table shows (brokers with an EU licence). Signing up another way may place you with the global company instead (offshore brokers).
The pages on leverage and margin and maximum leverage explain what the figure covers and what really limits it. Margin is the deposit your broker holds back while a trade is open. Leverage works both ways, making a loss bigger on the same price move, just as it makes a gain bigger.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | Countries | Highest retail leverage | Tier table | Tiers apply across | Notice before a change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital.com | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | 200:1 | No exposure tiers | NP | NP |
 CMC Markets | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | 200:1 | Published, with figures | Each position | Three business days where possible |
 Eightcap | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | 500:1 | No exposure tiers | NP | None promised |
 IG | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | 200:1 | Published, with figures | Each instrument | NP |
 Pepperstone | Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | 200:1 | No exposure tiers | NP | None promised |
 XTB | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | 500:1 | Published, with figures | The whole account | Given after the change |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
The law caps your leverage on major currency pairs if the group’s local company takes you on instead, whatever this table says. That cap applies to retail clients when the company that opens your account is regulated in the European Union, the United Kingdom or Australia. No such cap binds the global companies, and the maximum leverage page sets it out in full. The companies above differ in whether you can find out how leverage behaves before you deposit. A tier table is the list of how leverage falls as a trade gets bigger. A company that publishes one shows you where the margin rate steps up. Where a company publishes nothing, you find out on an open trade.
Why nothing here goes above 500:1
Every leverage figure here is the highest rate that broker offers, and none of them goes above 500:1. Other brokers advertise 1,000:1, 2,000:1 and even 5,000:1. Those numbers are real. Each comes with conditions attached, though. The bigger the number, the more conditions there are, and the more likely it is that one of them applies to you.
- High leverage may only stay in place while your account stays small. Once your balance climbs past a few thousand dollars, the rate can fall on its own.
- High leverage often needs a request. Your account starts lower, and the broker can say no.
- High leverage may cover only some markets. Those markets are usually the main currency pairs, and shares and cryptocurrency almost always get far lower.
- High leverage may cover only small trades. On a larger size, the extra part gets charged at a lower rate.
- High leverage may be switched off when prices tend to move most: around news, over weekends and near the end of the trading day.
- A high rate comes with a level at which your broker closes your trade for you, and that level isn’t always published.
- The conditions on a high rate are usually written away from the figure itself, on another page or inside a PDF.
Brokers don’t always spell out what sets these limits in motion, so a figure like 2,000:1 is the best case. The rate you trade at may be lower, and the bigger the number, the higher the chance that something cuts it before you get there.
Lower figures can be cut too. A broker can reduce leverage on a 500:1, 200:1 or even a 100:1 account. The reason is usually different: the broker has decided you’re using the account in a way its terms don’t allow. Client agreements call this abusive trading. For example, they mention opening two trades that cancel each other out shortly before a scheduled leverage cut, so that the higher rate is kept afterwards. The broker decides what counts as abusive, not a regulator, so it pays to read that part of the agreement before it matters.
Platforms
Platforms vary from one broker to the next more than almost anything else on this page. A platform is the software you trade on, and every broker lists its own clearly, so checking them is simple. The table follows three of the most commonly available ones: MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 and TradingView.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | Countries | MT4 | MT5 | TradingView |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital.com | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CMC Markets | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Yes | Yes | Yes, trading from its charts |
| Eightcap | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Yes | Yes | Yes, trading from its charts |
| IG | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Yes | Yes | Yes, trading from its charts |
| Pepperstone | Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Yes | Yes | Yes, trading from its charts |
| XTB | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | No, though an older help page, from February 2026, says clients in the Middle East and North Africa can still have MT4 | No | NP |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Local payment rails
Local payment rails are the ways people in a country normally pay online, such as Pix in Brazil, as the payment rails page defines them. The table shows which brokers name each one on their own pages. Each row lists the countries where that rail is local. n/a means the broker doesn’t serve a country on that row. No means the broker doesn’t take the rail there. "Not named" means it serves the country but its pages don’t mention the rail, and that doesn’t mean the broker refuses it.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Rail | Countries | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEPA Instant Credit Transfer | Germany, France | NP | Yes | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Open banking (PSD2 payment initiation) | Germany, France | NP | Yes | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Wero | Germany, France | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Klarna Pay Now | Germany | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| SEPA Instant Credit Transfer | Spain | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named |
| Open banking (PSD2 payment initiation) | Spain | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named |
| Bizum | Spain | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named |
| MyBank | Spain | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named |
| SEPA Instant Credit Transfer | Italy, Portugal | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Open banking (PSD2 payment initiation) | Italy, Portugal | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| MyBank | Italy, Portugal | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Bancomat Pay | Italy | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Open banking (PSD2 payment initiation) | Poland | NP | Yes | Not named | n/a | Not named | Not named |
| Express Elixir | Poland | NP | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named | Not named |
| BLIK | Poland | NP | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named | Not named |
| Przelewy24 | Poland | NP | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named | Not named |
| PayU | Poland | NP | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named | Not named |
| Tpay | Poland | NP | Not named | Not named | n/a | Not named | Not named |
| MB WAY | Portugal | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Multibanco | Portugal | NP | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Faster Payments | United Kingdom | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Open banking | United Kingdom | Not named | Yes | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Pay by Bank | United Kingdom | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| PayID | Australia | NP | Yes | NP | Yes | Yes | n/a |
| BPAY | Australia | NP | Not named | Yes | Yes | Yes | n/a |
| Transferencia inmediata | Argentina | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| Pix | Brazil | Not named | Not named | Yes | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| Webpay | Chile | Yes | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| PSE | Colombia | Yes | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| Bre-B | Colombia | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| SPEI | Mexico | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| Yape | Peru | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| Plin | Peru | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| BI-FAST | Indonesia | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| QRIS | Indonesia | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | n/a |
| DuitNow | Malaysia | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| FPX | Malaysia | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| InstaPay | Philippines | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| PESONet | Philippines | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| PromptPay / Thai banking | Thailand | Not named | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| NAPAS 247 | Vietnam | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| VietQR | Vietnam | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named | Not named |
These figures were checked between 27 September 2026 and 16 October 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Funding terms at the global company
The funding terms in this table are the global company’s own. They cover card deposits, the minimum deposit, deposit and withdrawal fees, how long a withdrawal takes and which currencies your account can hold. Most terms stay the same whichever country you live in. Where one varies, the cell names the countries it applies to. Each term is shown as the broker states it. Bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill and Neteller information comes from each broker’s own funding page. "Not named" means that page doesn’t mention the method, and that isn’t the same as the broker refusing it. Because a broker can alter these terms, including its minimum deposit, at its own discretion, always double-check them on the broker’s own website before you deposit.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Attribute | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card deposits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal | Not named | Not named | Yes | Not named | Yes | Not named |
| Skrill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not named | Yes | Yes, in Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam |
| Neteller | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not named | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum deposit | 10 in the account’s base currency by card or Apple Pay, €50 or the equivalent in the account’s base currency by wire | NP | $100 | $50 by card, none by bank transfer | 10, currency not stated, or the equivalent in the account’s base currency | None |
| Deposit and withdrawal fees | No deposit or withdrawal fees | No deposit or withdrawal fees from CMC Markets. Your card issuer or payment provider may charge a fee | No internal deposit or withdrawal fee | No fee by debit card, 1 % by Visa credit card and 0.5 % by Mastercard credit card, and your own bank may charge for a wire | At the global company, no deposit fee and $20 for an international bank withdrawal | Free deposits by card and bank transfer, Skrill 2 %, Neteller 1 %, withdrawals free above $50 and a $30 fee below $50 |
| Withdrawal time | Usually handled within 24 hours, up to 5 business days to reach a card or bank account | NP | 1–5 business days | NP | Up to 1 working day, cards and wallets | The company’s global page: same or next business day in its text, next business day in its table. Its Thai page: same day if asked before 14:00, otherwise 2 to 3 business days |
| Base currencies | USD, EUR, GBP | NP | AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, NZD, SGD, USD | NP | USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, CHF, JPY, NZD, SGD, HKD | USD |
These figures were checked between 27 September 2026 and 16 October 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Crypto payments
Crypto deposits depend on the company, not the country. A group can take a crypto deposit at its global company and can refuse the same deposit at its European one. The offshore brokers page explains which company takes you on. NP (not published) means the broker’s pages don’t name that coin on that network. The last row lists the countries a broker’s own page excludes.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Coin and network | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crypto deposits | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| USDT (TRC20) | NP | NP | Yes | NP | Yes | NP |
| USDT (ERC20) | NP | NP | Yes | NP | Yes | NP |
| USDC | NP | Yes | NP | NP | NP | NP |
| BTC | NP | NP | Yes | NP | NP | NP |
| Countries its page excludes | Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines | NP | Australia, Turkey, Italy, Kazakhstan | NP | NP | NP |
These figures were checked between 10 September 2026 and 30 September 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
What you can trade
Four tables set out what you can trade at each broker. They show the leverage you get on the most common forex pairs, the largest cryptocurrencies, the main commodities and the most featured shares.
Reading the tables by asset class paints this picture. For forex, Eightcap and XTB share the top leverage here, 500:1 on all eight pairs. On crypto CFDs, Capital.com and Eightcap both offer the highest on every coin at 20:1, and Pepperstone equals that on BTC.
On gold, Eightcap and XTB share the highest, 500:1. On the two crude oils, Eightcap offers the highest, also 500:1. On silver and copper, Capital.com, CMC Markets and Eightcap share the highest, 100:1. On natural gas, Capital.com offers the highest, also 100:1. On shares, Capital.com and Pepperstone offer the highest, 20:1 on all seven. CMC Markets offers 20:1 on five. Each of these is a reading of one table. None is a verdict on the broker. Higher leverage makes a gain bigger on the same price move, just as it makes a loss bigger.
Forex pairs
Forex pairs make up the largest share of what every broker here offers. A pair is one currency priced in another, so EUR/USD is the price of one euro in US dollars. The most common pairs are EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CAD and USD/CHF, along with the euro crosses EUR/GBP and EUR/JPY. These are the most-traded freely floating pairs by turnover in the BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey (2022 survey). The table shows the leverage each broker allows on them (forex trading).
The leverage you see for a pair is either the account maximum or a lower pair limit the broker has set. The first row shows the maximum. When the number is lower, it’s marked as a pair limit. Every figure belongs to the group’s global company. If the broker’s own pages don’t publish a figure for that company, the cell shows NP. Conditions that can reduce these numbers appear under why nothing here goes higher.
| Instrument | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account maximum | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| EUR/USD | 100:1 (pair limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| USD/JPY | 100:1 (pair limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| GBP/USD | 100:1 (pair limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| AUD/USD | 100:1 (pair limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| USD/CAD | 100:1 (pair limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| USD/CHF | 100:1 (pair limit) | 100:1 (pair limit) | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| EUR/GBP | 100:1 (pair limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| EUR/JPY | 100:1 (pair limit) | 142:1 (pair limit) | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
These figures were checked between 14 September 2026 and 27 September 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Crypto pairs
Crypto pairs here cover the eight biggest cryptocurrencies by total market value, all priced in US dollars: BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, BNB, DOGE, ADA and LTC. No survey shows which crypto CFDs retail traders use most. Size stands in as the measure instead. A CFD is a contract that pays out the difference between the price when you open and when you close, letting you trade without owning the coin. Stablecoins are excluded because a coin pegged to the dollar has nothing to trade against it (crypto CFDs).
Crypto leverage is set coin by coin far more often than forex leverage, so most cells include a pair limit that’s below the account maximum. Every figure refers to the group’s global company, and when the broker’s own pages don’t list a value for that company, the cell reads NP (shares and crypto CFDs).
Key NP not published by the provider · Offered, NP the broker lists this instrument but does not publish its leverage
| Instrument | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account maximum | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| BTC/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) |
| ETH/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | Offered, NP | 5:1 (pair limit) |
| XRP/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | Offered, NP | 5:1 (pair limit) |
| SOL/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | NP | Offered, NP | 4:1 (pair limit) |
| BNB/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | NP | Offered, NP | 4:1 (pair limit) |
| DOGE/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | NP | Offered, NP | 4:1 (pair limit) |
| ADA/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | NP | Offered, NP | 4:1 (pair limit) |
| LTC/USD | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | 20:1 (pair limit) | 10:1 (pair limit) | Offered, NP | 5:1 (pair limit) |
These figures were checked between 14 September 2026 and 27 September 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Commodities
Gold and silver, along with four other commodities, make up the six here with the deepest markets, where the most buying and selling takes place. In London, gold and silver trade against the US dollar, while the remaining four are the benchmark contracts for WTI crude, Brent crude, natural gas and copper. Most of these are quoted as a single price in dollars, not as a pair, so each is shown by name.
Most brokers set commodity leverage for each instrument individually, and it usually stays below the account maximum, with gold nearest to that limit. Every number shown relates to the group’s global company. The cell reads NP if the broker’s own pages give no figure for that company or showed figures for a different one (commodities trading).
| Instrument | Capital.com | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone | XTB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account maximum | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| Gold (XAU/USD) | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 200:1 | 500:1 | 200:1 | 200:1 | 500:1 |
| Silver (XAG/USD) | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 10:1 (instrument limit) | 67:1 (instrument limit) |
| WTI crude oil | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 20:1 (instrument limit) | 500:1 | 67:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 67:1 (instrument limit) |
| Brent crude oil | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 20:1 (instrument limit) | 500:1 | 67:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 67:1 (instrument limit) |
| Natural gas | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 16:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 33:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 67:1 (instrument limit) |
| Copper | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 100:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 50:1 (instrument limit) | 67:1 (instrument limit) |
These figures were checked between 26 September 2026 and 30 September 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
What this comparison cannot tell you
Execution quality is how well a broker fills your orders. A comparison like this can’t tell you anything about it, because the reports that once made it checkable no longer exist. Published loss rates don’t settle it either. Each broker reports its own loss rates, on its own clients, and nobody audits them. The rates vary as much between one firm’s own companies as they do between different firms. Every figure here is a fact about what a broker publishes or offers, and none of them is a prediction.
Of everything a trade costs you, leverage is only one part. The spread, the gap between the buy and sell price, is often wider around news and outside busy hours. Holding a trade overnight usually costs a fee called a swap or overnight financing. On some days that fee is charged three times to cover the weekend. Some account types charge a commission on each trade. You can also face fees for converting your money into another currency, for leaving an account unused and for depositing or withdrawing.
Brokers often adjust these trading costs, some of them daily, so this page doesn’t print them. The funding fees in the table above change less often, but they can change too. Before you trade, check the costs and fees on the broker’s own website, or ask the support team to confirm them for your account (costs and fees).
Broker comparison questions people ask
Broker comparison questions mostly ask for a single winner. The answers below reflect what the tables on this page show and name no winner.
Which is the best forex broker?
No forex broker is called the best here, and no CFD broker is either, because this site’s comparison doesn’t rank. People look for the "best forex broker" or the "best CFD broker", but the honest answer depends on where you live and what you trade. The tables list six brokers alphabetically and let you compare their leverage, platforms, payment methods, funding terms and markets.
Eightcap and XTB have the highest leverage in the forex table, at 500:1 for all eight pairs. This figure comes from one table alone and isn’t a verdict on either broker. The choosing a provider page sets out the checks that matter more than any single number.
Which forex broker has the lowest spreads?
The lowest spread is something this comparison doesn’t name, because brokers change their spreads often and the tables here don’t print them. Each broker’s profile page shows whether the broker publishes an average spread and how that average was measured. The page also shows the spread on each main forex pair, where the broker gives them.
The profiles are Capital.com, CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG, Pepperstone and XTB. Because a spread is only one cost and some account types add a commission on top, add the two together before you compare (costs and fees).
Which brokers here are regulated?
Every broker here is a group of several regulated companies, and the one that takes you on decides which rules protect you. Each group’s global company is what you see in the tables on this page. These global companies are regulated in their own countries and appear on their regulators’ published lists, though the licence numbers they quote can’t be matched there (offshore brokers).
Most of the same groups also run a company authorised in the United Kingdom, another licensed in Australia and a third with an EU licence. A regulated forex broker is a company, not a brand, so look up the name in your contract (is trading safe).
Which brokers offer MT4, MT5 or TradingView?
Capital.com, CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG and Pepperstone offer both MT4 and MT5 at their global companies. XTB, the sixth global company in the platforms table, offers neither.
Capital.com provides TradingView. You can trade from TradingView’s charts with CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG and Pepperstone. XTB doesn’t publish whether it connects to TradingView. A group’s UK, EU or Australian company can offer a different set of platforms, and each broker’s own page says which (MetaTrader 4 and 5).
Risk warning
Choosing well doesn’t make the product safe
Picking a broker with care removes the risk of being cheated, but it doesn’t remove the risk of the product itself (is trading safe). In 2018 the EU’s markets regulator ESMA published what national regulators had found: between 74 % and 89 % of retail accounts lost money on CFDs (press release, 27 March 2018). Those figures came from firms authorised in the EU, not frauds. The loss rates the brokers on this page publish for their own clients fall in or below that range, and none is above it.
Check the risk disclosure before opening any account, and look at the choosing a provider page for the checks that matter more than any table.
Sources
The original documents this page cites, in the order they first appear.
- Bank for International Settlements, BIS
- Triennial Central Bank Survey of foreign exchange and OTC derivatives markets in 2022, Bank for International Settlements, 2022-10-27
- European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA
- ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors, ESMA, 2018-03-27