8 Best Forex Brokers in the UK 2023

There is a difference in the tax treatment of CFD/spot market trading and spread betting. Those with a total income below £50,000 pay a 10% tax, the rest 20%, unless HMRC deems trading-related income to be taxable under personal or corporate tax rates. UK retail clients trading in spread betting accounts are generally not required to pay taxes, which is why it has become the dominant form of currency trading in the UK, offered by all UK brokers.

Remember to make the most of all forex-related educational resources, as they can help you avoid massive losses while making the most of your investment. Whatever option you prefer, it’s best to take your time before making huge forex investments. Don’t be in too much of a hurry since forex requires a lot of patience, perseverance, and strategy. In addition to a glossary, a good broker should have a dedicated page for client education. There’s always something new to learn with forex, regardless of your experience level. Perhaps even more impressive than its access (direct) to global exchanges, IBKR integrates modern tech into its operations.

When trading on exchange FX, you can also trade FX options – to do so you need a futures broker (not a CFD broker). FX futures are set in lot sizes and deliverable at a certain date in the future. So the price will be slightly different from the underlying mid-market because the futures price is based on the cost of carry (determined by the prevailing currency interest rates). The only way to eliminate slippage is to trade with guaranteed stop losses, however, they usually have a cost attached to them and are not as flexible as a standard stop-loss order.

#8 Best forex broker

Forex brokers presented here have offices in the United Kingdom (London or elsewhere) and may offer local contact information and support. Additionally, UK Forex brokers are often able to provide the security of being under regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which includes participation in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This feature makes the UK-based FX brokers attractive even to the citizens of other countries. FX companies based in the United Kingdom also normally offer possibility of spread betting in addition to traditional spot Forex trading. So it’s crucial to verify your broker’s registration number on the FCA website register. When researching forex brokers, you might come across extremely high leverage ratios – but be aware, using excessive leverage puts you at risk to enormous losses, which could cripple your trading strategy.

London also became the center for these exchanges and remains the largest center today. Nearly 37% or $1.5 trillion in volume are transacted daily in forex securities out of London, compared to 18% in New York and 6% in Tokyo. Forex trading platforms make money charge clients by either widening the spread or charging commission after you trade. When choosing a forex broker, there are several key points london forex brokers to look out for, but most importantly, you need to choose a broker that’s the right fit for you. One that matches your trading knowledge, abilities and finances, and other requirements. For example, new traders are unlikely to benefit from opening an account with a broker that’s aimed at experienced algorithmic traders, and those traders won’t thrive in an environment designed for beginners.

CMC Markets spreads on major currencies

To trade an individual forex pair, the platform “workspace” gives a good overview with quick access to news, analysis, and integrated trading signals (from Autochartists and PIA). The market data page also gives some good indicators of IG client sentiment, how much a forex pair has been traded within the last hour and month, what excepted price ranges are and what volatility has been like. You can trade forex as either a spread bet or CFD in the UK, and on the platform forex pairs are grouped by, major, minor, exotic and emerging crosses, which is rankable by the popularity of an FX pair. For instance, trading with FCA-regulated brokers allows traders to be eligible for a hefty compensation of up to 85,000 EUR under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. XTB is the best online trading platform UK; it is a foreign currency brokerage firm with approximately 20 years of expertise, primarily serving clients in the European Union & providing them with top trading conditions. While not the only consideration, spreads matter because they affect the profitability of trades.

• For example, a trader based in the UK, trading on the USD/AUD currency pair, for instance, will know that New York trading hours only start at 12pm UK time, while Australia’s trading day only begins at 9pm at night.
• Yet due to the global scale of the market there is no singular overseeing authority and so, regulations vary greatly between jurisdictions.
• For forex traders, who want manual execution, the cTrader forex trading platform offers good functionality where you can trade directly from the charts, as well as drag and drop stops and limits.
• The first thing you need to figure out is what kind of forex trader you want to be, your trading needs (like are you going to trade a lot or just a little?), and your trading goals.
• Social trading where you can copy other forex traders trades and the ability to set your own leverage.
• For this reason, regulation is critical to keep the integrity and security of the market, and to protect consumers.

We do not present any investment advice or guarantees for the accuracy and reliability of the information. The UK is an internationally renowned financial hub and economic powerhouse, a long-standing trusted home to many European businesses. It boasts one of the biggest concentrations of Forex Brokers in the world today.

FOREX.com customer support team is quick to reply and can be reached through phone and live chat from 10 a.m ET Sunday to 5 p.m ET Friday. There is also limited customer support on social media and a chatbot that can answer basic questions, in addition to an FAQ’s page. With copy trading, you simply ‘copy’ the activity of the best traders throughout the UK — and the world.

But one, of the key benefits of Spreadex’s forex trading platform, is customer service. They have experienced dealers, that you can quickly get through on the phone, or via the platform’s chat functionality, plus voice brokerage. The ability to trade forex over the phone is something that few brokers offer nowadays, so it’s good to know that you still can, if you need to.

How to choose a forex broker

Whether that’s through a website Q&A section or suite videos on YouTube or a help desk. If you find that the broker isn’t able to explain things to you clearly and concisely, then https://trading-market.org/ maybe they are not right for you. Trading with smaller deposits is popular among new traders who are reluctant or unable to commit a large amount of capital to FX trading.

Our live tests showed that IG’s trading fees are very competitive overall and better than the industry average. Available trading instruments include all the major asset classes including forex, stocks, indices, commodities, bonds, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Our hands-on tests of the trading platform showed it to be easy to access, simple to use, and packed with lots of tools and additional features such as guaranteed stop-loss orders. Traders have a choice between two account types – a standard STP account, and a Razor account. The standard account offers all of Pepperstone’s standard features and access to all of their platforms, while the Razor account is more suited to experienced traders – it has higher commissions but offers lower spreads.

The UK government took proactive measures to create a safe, secure environment for online traders. By introducing regulations on Forex and CFD brokers they guarded investors against potential volatility while encouraging them to confidently partake in high-risk ventures. The Marketsx trading tools menu features a range of tools that crunch big data from leading analysts, hedge funds, and commentators to give traders better insight into the market. Each tool has integrated buy and sell buttons so traders can act instantly upon the information presented.

Featured Brokers

FOREX.com also offers a lot of educational material, including video tutorials and detailed courses. The brokerage’s in-house team of researchers produces daily written content, and traders can also access third-party research. Founded in the U.K in 1983, City Index offers access to forex, CFD, and spread betting. The brokerage is regulated by three tier-1 regulators and is the recipient of numerous awards in the UK. To help you choose, consider the trading platform, spread fees, other assets (such as trading CFDs and Bitcoin), and the research tools and support available.

An example is the SmartRouting software that helps you search for the best firm stock combinations. Make sure to use these services responsibly to avoid attracting heavy debt. Our customer service has won many regional and international awards for being there when you need us, 24/5. “At FXCM, we’ve been serving our clients for over 20 years. In that time, the world of Forex trading has changed a lot.” At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions. Most brokers do not charge for opening or closing an account, but an inactivity fee is standard.

But don’t worry; we have researched and evaluated the services and features offered by different Forex brokers in the UK to provide you with a list of the best options available. For this ranking of the best forex trading platforms to trade USDJPY we have ranked by which forex broker has the cheapest trading costs. For this ranking of the best forex trading platforms to trade GBPUSD we have ranked by which forex broker has the cheapest trading costs. For this ranking of the best forex trading platforms to trade EURUSD we have ranked by which forex broker has the cheapest trading costs.

The UK, with the FCA as the regulator in charge of the industry, became the primary financial sector destination after 2002, when the passage of unfavorable legislation forced an exodus out of the U.S.A. CMC Markets has its own web platform and mobile app available in many languages, which are highly customisable to fit your needs. Make this the first thing you do as it will give you guidance on the brokers reputation and status. With the current unemployment rate of 3.5%, at 5.8 million persons, set to soar in the next few months, experts are predicting the same, if not worse economic effects than the financial crisis of 2008. IG is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). In addition to this, FOREX.com charges no withdrawal fees – however, if you have less than $10,000 in your account are inactive for more than 12 months, you will be subject to a minor $15 inactivity fee.

In the table below, we have set out some examples of tradable pairs and crosses but there are many more combinations available. However, margin FX brokers do not make prices in all FX pairs and crosses largely due to liquidity constraints and the cost of dealing, or the width spreads in the less liquid offerings. In our forex platform reviews, we always highlight what a platform does to help traders perform. For example, IG has trading signals from Autochartist, City Index has SMART Signals and CMC Markets provides information on what their profitable clients are trading so you can see where the “smart money” is going. Please also note that trading forex on leverage is not suitable for complete beginners. For a limited risk way to speculate on currencies you might want to consider purchasing an ETF that tracks a currency pair.

While the trades themselves aren’t monitored, brokers that are FCA-regulated provide an extra margin of safety because their business practices are monitored. Fee are competitive with low trading fees, $10 monthly maintenance fee for inactive accounts and no deposit or withdrawal fees. With 3 account types and reasonable minimum balances, you can also trade stocks, ETFs, OTC Swiss derivatives, structured products, bonds and even themed products. There are over 45 FX pairs, 15 indices, 15 commodities markets, over 135 CFD options and a wide range of research tools.

This is alongside a wide range of trading tools, excellent education, and world-class market research materials. Negative balance protection is provided to all clients, and all funds are kept in segregated accounts. Our multi-asset trading platform LCG Trader, offers a reliable trading experience across financial markets with access to a comprehensive range of market data and analysis to help plan your online trading strategies.