Comparison of Best Forex Trading Platforms UK

 

6 Best Forex Trading Platforms UK for 2024

Forex trading platforms are a dime a dozen. We have gathered for you the best of them in the UK.

1. Pepperstone – Best Forex Trading Platform for MT4
2. eToro – Social and Copy Trading Platform
3. FXCM – Forex Broker with Multiple Platforms
4. FxPro – Forex Broker with Low fees on cTrader Platform
5. City Index – Best Forex Trading Platforms for Beginners
6. CMC Markets – Good MetaTrader platform for Forex

Now a brief description of all the above listed best Forex Trading Platforms in the UK.

#1 Pepperstone – Best Forex Trading Platform for MT4

Regulation: They have been authorized to operate in the UK since 05/08/2015. Their FCA reference number is 648312. We consider Pepperstone low risk.

Trading Fees: On their Razor Account, Pepperstone offers GBP/USD, EUR/USD, and EUR/GBP with average spreads of 0.40 pips, 0.10 pips, and 0.40 pips respectively. You are also charged a £2.50 commission for MT4 and MT5 platforms per side of 100,000 units traded (£5 for a round turn). cTrader commissions are fixed at $6/lot Round turn while TradingView commissions are fixed at $7 for a round turn. Their fees on Nasdaq and Gold are shown in the table below

Available platforms: Pepperstone offers MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView and cTrader platforms. The three platforms are available on the desktop and the web. They are also available as mobile apps on the Apple app store and Google play store. In addition, there is also TradingView with advanced technical and drawing tools.

Pepperstone also offer Social Trading. They have a trading platform for that as well. It is called DupliTrade.

Funding/withdrawals: Pepperstone supports four deposit/withdrawal methods. You can use your Visa credit/debit card, Mastercard credit/debit card, bank transfer, and PayPal. Deposits reflect in your account immediately for card transactions and PayPal.

Bank transfer deposits take up to three business days. Withdrawals take 1-3 business days before they reflect in your bank account.

Customer support: We spoke with Pepperstone’s live chat agents and had a holding time of two minutes before a response. The email response was okay, arriving after two hours. Overall customer support is good.

Find out more about the broker on our detailed Pepperstone Review..

#2 eToro – Social and Copy Trading Platform

Regulation: eToro FCA reference number is 583263. eToro is considered a safe platform for trading CFD because they are regulated.

Trading Fees: eToro offer both EUR/USD at 1 pip, GBP/USD at 2 pips while EUR/GBP is offered at 1.5 pips. There is no commission.

You can find the fees for Gold and Nasdaq below:

Available platforms: eToro offer their own proprietary trading platform. It is also available as a mobile app on the app store and Google play store. eToro is known for social or copy trading. So they have a good trading platform for it. The name of the platform is CopyTrader.

You can read our review of the UK’s best copy trading platforms for more on this.

Funding/withdrawal: You can deposit/withdraw your funds using a credit card, PayPal, and bank wire transfer. The shortest way to deposit is PayPal because transactions are completed in 2 business days. Bank transfers and credit card transactions take up to 10 business days.

Customer support: eToro’s live chat is only available to active clients. You cannot connect to their live chat if you are not a customer. We were able to test their live chat and got a response after five minutes. You can also reach eToro via email. We got no response when we reached them through email. The customer support experience is moderately good.

If you are interested in knowing more about their trading conditions, read our eToro Review..

#3 FXCM – Forex Broker with Multiple Platforms

Regulation: FXCM is regulated with the FCA as Forex Capital Markets Limited. Their license number is 217689.

Trading fees: The spread for GBP/USD, EUR/USD, and EUR/GBP are 4 pips, 2pips, and 3 pips respectively. FXCM do not charge commissions.

Available Platforms: FXCM has multiple trading platforms compared to other brokers. Metatrader 4, NinjaTrader, Tradingview, and Trading Station.

Funding/withdrawals: You can deposit and withdraw funds via credit/debit card, Skrill, Neteller, and bank transfer.
Customer Support: We contacted FXCM through email and WhatsApp. The experience was good with instant responses on WhatsApp. FXCM responded to our mail after an hour.

We’ve compiled detailed info on the broker on our FXCM Review..

#4 FxPro – Forex Broker with Low fees on cTrader Platform

Regulation: FxPro are regulated with the FCA as FXPRO UK Limited. Their reference number is 509956. FxPro has been authorised in the UK since 10/09/2010 and they are considered low risk

Trading Fees: FxPro offers a spread of 2 pips for GBP/USD and EUR/USD. For EUR/GBP, the spread is 1 pip. The spread on FxPro is floating and changes daily. It also depends on the trading platform you are using. You do not pay any commission on MT4 and MT5 trading platforms.

FxPro’s fees for Gold and Nasdaq is shown below:

Available Platforms: FxPro supports MT4, MT5, and cTrader trading platforms. They also offer their FxPro trading platform. All four are available as mobile apps (iOS and Google Play) and web traders. Only MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms are available on desktops.

Funding/withdrawal: With FxPro, you can deposit/withdraw funds through bank transfer, broker-to-broker, and credit/debit cards. Credit/debit card deposits usually take 10 minutes. Bank transfer and broker-to-broker depend on the banks involved.

All withdrawals can take up to 1 working day.

Customer Support: We received a response via their live chat feature in one minute. We also tested their email support and received a response after four minutes. Overall support experience was good.

Read the FxPro Review. by our team to see other features of the FxPro platform.

#5 City Index – Best Forex Trading Platforms for Beginners

Regulation: City Index is regulated with the FCA as StoneX Financial Limited and their FCA reference number is 446717. You can trade safely with City Index.

Trading Fees: The spread for GBP/USD, EUR/USD, and EUR/GBP start from 1.1 pips. 0.7 pips, and 1.1 pips respectively. You pay no commission for trading these pairs. The table below shows City Index’s trading fees for Gold and Nasdaq:

Funding/withdrawals: City Index support three payment methods. You can deposit/withdraw your funds through credit/debit cards, bank transfers, or PayPal. Credit/debit card transactions take 3-5 working days. Bank transfer takes up to 1-2 working days. Funding and withdrawing via PayPal can take up to 2 working days.

Customer Support: We found an extensive FAQs section. You can find commonly asked questions there. We also tested the menu-based live chat feature. We received quick responses with no holding time.

Read our City Index Review. for detailed info on the broker’s offering.

More on Forex Trading Platforms

A forex trading platform begins with regulated brokerage companies. These companies have a system of accepting traders and connecting them to the forex market. A Trading platform is a major way forex brokers let traders access the markets.

Once you are registered and your trading account is activated, you can then use the trading platforms to trade forex. Trading platforms are broadly divided into two — third-party platforms and proprietary platforms. The former is developed by other companies for forex brokers. Examples of third-party platforms include MT4/MT5 (from MetaQuotes) and cTrader (from Spotware Systems).

On the other hand, proprietary platforms are developed by brokerage companies. They are designed and built by brokerage companies. eToro, FxPro, and City Index are examples of brokers with their own platforms. Some brokers support both types of trading platforms. However, there are a few brokers like XTB who only support their proprietary platforms.

What is the Difference Between Dealing Desk and Non-Dealing Desk Platforms

Forex trading platforms can be divided into dealing desk and non-dealing desk (NDD) platforms. Dealing desk platforms are market makers. They take the opposite sides of your trades. In simple terms, when you buy a currency pair, they are selling it to you and vice-versa.

Most dealing desk brokers usually have an in-house price book so they set the price of trading instruments. Because of this, there’s likely to be a conflict of interest where the broker stands to benefit from your trades. This does not mean dealing desk brokers should be avoided. You can review their legal documents to see how they deal with conflicts of interest.

NDD brokers, on the other hand, do not take opposite sides of your trades. They have no dealing desk and in-house price book. an NDD broker could be an ECN or STP broker. ECN brokers give direct market access. They connect you directly to buyers and sellers in their market.
STP brokers connect you to buyers/sellers through their liquidity pools which could be banks or other financial institutions.

How to Choose the Best Forex Trading Platform

We considered some criteria when assessing forex trading platforms. To know if a forex trading platform is the best for you, there are certain things you must check and verify. Here is what you check and how you go about it.

Is the forex trading platform regulated?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates forex trading platforms in the UK. Do not trade with unregulated forex trading platforms. You could lose all of your money to fraud.

Registering with FCA regulated broker would offer you protection as an investor in case the regulated broker goes out of business. Your funds are protected for up to £85,000. This protection is under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

You will be able to get your money back. Some forex brokers give release this money without charges while some might subtract you an administration fee. Pepperstone is an example of such a broker as shown below:

How do you know if a broker is regulated with the FCA?

Step 1) Go to the broker’s website and scroll down to the footer. You will find their regulations clearly stated. Here is a picture from Pepperstone’s website.

You can see the regulation statement is clear with their registration number as 648312. Should you stop here? No.

Step 2) You have to go further to verify the information on the broker’s website. You have to check if it is the same on the FCA website. Go to https://register.fca.org.uk/s/. Scroll down until you arrive at the area shown below.

Step 3) Select firms and enter the company’s name or registration number. For Pepperstone, it is 648312. Click on search. Your search result should look like this:

The registration number on the two websites match. Once you can confirm this, you know a forex trading platform is regulated and safe.

Furthermore, on regulation, some forex trading platforms only have temporary permission to operate in the UK. This is because they are licensed in another European Economic Area (EEA).

Finally, you should be wary of clone firms. They structure their names to be similar to regulated fore trading platforms. They are fake. Ensure you use your forex broker’s official websites only. Here is a screenshot of firms that tried to clone FxPro as an example.

They are not authorized and are marked as clones. As a trader, always makes sure you do your due diligence on any forex trading platforms. Never assume.

In addition, check the website that is authorized. Never open an account on a website that is not authorized. You can check this as well. Just click on Pepperstone in your FCA search result and scroll down. You will see a section that shows Pepperstone’s authorised website

You can read our review of the UK’s best FCA regulated brokers for more.

Is there more than one account?

Forex trading platforms usually have more than one account. You should consider this factor because it helps you with pricing flexibility. Usually, forex brokers will have a standard trading account. This account will have high average spreads with zero commissions per standard lot.

The other account(s) have a low typical spread but you are charged a round-turn commission on your trades. Because account types affect the structure of trading fees, it is better you go for a trading platform with at least two accounts.

In addition, account types might also affect your minimum deposit. A forex broker may have an account with no fixed minimum deposit. This allows you to trade with little money. However, some accounts do have a specific minimum deposit. Do you see why you have to consider a platform with multiple accounts?

Here is an overview of FxPro trading accounts for example.

FxPro have several account types, based on the trading platform. You can see from the image that the trading conditions in the accounts are different. Spreads, available instruments for trading, commissions, etc all vary per account.

Do you see why you need to compare trading accounts? If your broker offers more than a single trading account, you have to compare them to choose the best trading conditions.

Are overall fees low?

Your overall fees as a trader is a combination of trading and non-trading fees. Trading fees include spreads, commissions, and overnight charges. Non-trading fees include inactivity, deposit/withdrawal, or currency conversion charges.

It is important to know if the overall fees are low or high. Overall fees affect your profit or loss cumulatively so make sure to check them out. They are usually found under the forex broker’s fees or pricing. Here is a screenshot of how to check pepperstone’s fees:

Click on pricing and select the information you want. Here is a picture showing their spread for some currency pairs.

Their commissions look like this:

If you want to save your time, you can speak to the forex broker’s customer support via email or live chat.

Since we are discussing trading platforms, you should know that some trading fees can differ based on trading platforms. For example, Pepperstone charges a £4.50 round-turn commission (per standard lot) on MetaTrader. On cTrader, the round-turn commission is $6 (per standard lot).

FxPro also have different spreads for CFDs based on their trading platforms. This is why it is important to check the overall fees relative to the platforms supported by your broker

Is their platform multi-device?

MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms are prominent with traders. You want to make sure your chosen forex trading platform supports them. They should also be available on multiple devices.

This is important because all devices do not give you the same experience. Mobile apps allow you to monitor your trades on the go. Desktop versions give you a detailed and concise view that is lacking on mobile apps.

Forex trading platforms usually state their platforms and the device or devices they are available on. All you need to do is go to their website and click on platforms or trading platforms.

Here is a screenshot of City Index’s MetaTrader 4 platform. You can see how it is available on multiple devices and functional on different operating systems.

If you prefer other trading platforms apart from MT4 or MT5, you can check if your broker supports other platforms. Examples of such platforms are TradingView, DupliTrade, NinjaTrade, and cTrader. This list is not exhaustive as there are many platforms out there. Just make sure you learn about any platform so you choose so you can maximize it.

FXCM is an example of forex broker’s with MetaTrader and other third-party trading platforms.

Is the CFD range wide?

Forex trading platforms tend to have different number of CFDs. Several factors are responsible for this but that is not our focus here. The crucial matter is that your trading platform must have enough CFDs that allows you to be flexible.

There should be a good number of currency pairs since they are the most traded CFD class. However, there could be times when there are no trading opportunities on your favorite currency pairs. This is where other CFD classes like shares, ETFs, commodities, and gold comes in.

A wide market range ensures you have opportunities across different CFD classes. Here is an example of currency pairs available on FxPro.

Can you see how good the range is? There are major, minor, and exotic currency pairs. This is an example of the ideal trading condition you should look out for.

Is it easy to withdraw funds?

You should be able to withdraw your money easily at any time. What you need to check are the withdrawal methods, how instant they are processed, and when the money shows in your account. You can find this by going to the funding and withdrawal section.

For FxPro as an example, click on pricing, then on funding in the dropdown.

On the funding page, you will find their withdrawal methods and how long they take. It looks like the picture below.

Furthermore, you can see from the image that FxPro does not charge extra fees for funding/withdrawal. Most brokers do not. However, your bank or other payment providers may charge a commission on your transactions.

Is customer support quick?

To know if the customer support is quick, you have to test it yourself. This way, you get a first-hand experience. You can use the live chat feature or send an email. You can grade the speed of the customer support this way. A local phone number could also be helpful. If your broker has one, you can give them a call and see how quickly they respond.

Finally, you can enquire if your broker receives clients in their UK office. Some brokers do not so it is essential you confirm this. If they do, then it is possible they offer customer service there.

Does the platform have key features?

When choosing a forex trading platform, there are some key features you want to look for that will make trading smoother and efficient. First, check if the platform has customisable charting tools. You will want the ability to personalise your charts with different indicators, and timelines.

If they have chart types like candlestick or Renko, even better. From experience, advanced tools like Fibonacci retracements and moving averages help you make technical analysis.

Another thing to look out for is Fast order execution, this is important as it helps you avoid slippage, and having various order types—like market, limit, and stop orders—gives you more control over your trades. A good platform will typically also offer research tools, such as an economic calendar to track key events as well as fundamental analysis for market news and company reports.

If you are serious about strategy, make sure to choose a platform that allows you to backtest your trades using historical data. Finally, if you are interested in social trading, then choose a platform with copy trading features that let you follow and replicate successful traders’ moves.

Do they have comprehensive educational resources?

Starting a successful forex trading journey often depends on having the right knowledge. A good trading platform should offer the tools and resources you need to learn the ropes, improve your skills, and experience. So, make sure to choose a trading platform with comprehensive educational resources such as:

Tutorials and Guides: A good platform should break down forex trading concepts in a way that’s easy to understand, especially for beginners; and

Webinars and Seminars: Live webinars and seminars hosted by experienced traders or analysts can provide real-time insights and strategies. Good trading platforms usually host these sessions and they are great for learning from the pros and staying up-to-date with market trends.

How to Start with the Best Forex Trading Platforms in the UK

In this section, we will be showing you how to open a trading account with the best forex trading platforms in Australia. There are quite a number of them so we will be using one of them as an example (Pepperstone).

1) The first step is to go to their homepage. Pepperstone’s website for the UK is www.pepperstone.com/en-gb. On the homepage, click on ‘join now’

2) Select an account type, provide your full name, date of birth and email address. Next, create a password to register. Then click on ‘Continue’

3)Choose whether you want to setup a live account or a demo account and choose your preferred trading platform and account type then click Continue.

4) Answer questions about your employment, income source, and experience level.

5) Provide your contact address and indicate your nationality, then click ‘Continue’.

6) Declare that you agree to the terms and then upload verification documents to activate your account.

7) After your account is activated, you will be redirected to your dashboard and you can deposit funds, trade, and withdraw funds.

FAQs on Best Forex Trading Platforms UK