Lowest Trading Costs

1. CMC Markets - 5 Stars
2. Saxo Bank - 4.5 Stars
3. IG - 4.5 Stars
4. Dukascopy - 4.5 Stars
5. GAIN Capital (FOREX.com) - 4.5 Stars
6. TD Ameritrade - 4 Stars
7. 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.

While the all-in cost to trade can be critical for many traders, it is important to look at the whole picture in terms of how a broker’s overall offering could best suit your needs.

To assess brokers, we took into consideration how much beginners, average traders, and even more seasoned traders would pay, looking at average spreads for standard forex contracts (100,000 units) as well as mini accounts (10,000 units) and micro accounts (1,000 units), where applicable. We then calculated the all-in cost by including any round-turn commission that was added to prevailing spreads.

When it comes to competitive all around pricing, CMC Markets took first place as the best broker in the commissions and fees category. With an average spread of just 0.772 pips on its EUR/USD using November 2017 data, CMC Markets offered the most competitive all-in cost to trade. Also, the broker lowered the barrier for entry into its active trader rebate program, helping to boost its ranking.

In second place was Saxo Bank. The broker revamped its commission structure with the roll-out of additional tiers for both entry-level and active traders from its Asia offices. Previously, entry level traders only had the commission-free options where spreads were wider, yet with Saxo Bank’s new volume-based structure, even entry-level traders with low volumes now enjoy competitive commissions. A 0.5 pip equivalent added to low average spreads of 0.4 pips (using spread data from February 2018), results in an all-in cost of 0.9 pips on the EUR/USD. More significant discounts are available for higher-volume traders.

Rounding out the top three on the podium in 2018 was IG. The broker averaged spreads of 0.74 pips on the EUR/USD for the 12 weeks ending February 24th 2017, and offers Forex Direct as part of its commission-based active trader offering.

Dukascopy Bank maintained its fourth-place position, with a default commission tier of $7 per round-turn ($3.5 per side) and low underlying average spreads of 0.24 pips on the EUR/USD using spread data provided by the broker for the US Session during December 2017. Dukascopy Bank’s all-in cost on the EUR/USD of 0.94 pips (0.24+ 0.7 commission) for its entry-level offering, combined with higher discounts for active traders, helped the broker again finish Best in Class.