Intro and winners
Find below the strengths of the best forex brokers available in the United Kingdom, updated for 2024:
- Saxo Bank is the best forex broker in the United Kingdom in 2024 - Massive number of currency pairs. Low withdrawal fee. High-quality charting.
- Fusion Markets - One of the lowest commissions on the market. Wide range of currencies. Low withdrawal fee.
- Global Prime - Low forex fees. Easy and fast account opening. Free deposit and withdrawal.
- IC Markets - Low FX commission and tight spreads. Wide range of currencies. Low withdrawal fee.
- Pepperstone - Low FX commission and tight spreads. Low withdrawal fee. excellent account opening.
- Tickmill - Low FX commission and tight spread. Rich selection of currency pairs. Low withdrawal fee.
- VT Markets - Low trading fees. Easy and fast account opening. Great email and live chat support.
- CMC Markets - Immense number of currency pairs. Low withdrawal fee. FX spreads are competitive.
- FP Markets - Decent currency pair selection. Great mobile trading platform. Outstanding education tools.
- Vantage - Great variety of deposit/withdrawal options. No inactivity fee. Leverage can be set manually.
- Intro and winners
- Overview of the best forex brokers in the United Kingdom
- Fee comparison of the best UK forex brokers
- Non-trading fees at the best UK online forex brokers
- Currency pair selection offered by the top online UK forex brokers
- How does forex trading work?
- Forex broker fees in the UK
- Saxo Bank
- Fusion Markets
- Global Prime
- IC Markets
- Pepperstone
- Tickmill
- VT Markets
- CMC Markets
- FP Markets
- Vantage
- Didn't find the best broker for you?
- How did BrokerChooser select the best FX brokers in the UK?
- FAQ
Overview of the best forex brokers in the United Kingdom
Here is our score sheet including the minimum deposit you need to make at the top forex brokers in the UK:
Broker | FX commission per lot | Minimum deposit |
---|---|---|
Saxo Bank | No commission is charged | $0 |
Fusion Markets | $2.25 commission per lot per trade | $0 |
Global Prime | $3.50 commission per lot per trade | $0 |
IC Markets | $3.50 commission per lot per trade | $200 |
Pepperstone | $3.50 commission per lot per trade | $0 |
Tickmill | $2.00 commission per lot per trade | $100 |
VT Markets | $3.00 commission per lot per trade | $200 |
CMC Markets | No commission is charged | $0 |
FP Markets | $3.00 commission per lot per trade | $50 |
Vantage | $3.00 commission per lot per trade | $50 |
Popularity of the best forex brokers in the United Kingdom
Interested in what others think? Here's how many people chose these brokers at BrokerChooser in the last 6 months.
Fee comparison of the best UK forex brokers
See the spreads charged by these online brokers for the most popular currency pairs.
Broker | EURUSD spread | GBPUSD spread |
---|---|---|
Saxo Bank | 0.8 | 1.2 |
Fusion Markets | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Global Prime | 0.1 | 0.2 |
IC Markets | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Pepperstone | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Tickmill | 0.2 | 0.3 |
VT Markets | 0.2 | 0.2 |
CMC Markets | 0.7 | 0.9 |
FP Markets | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Vantage | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Non-trading fees at the best UK online forex brokers
Broker | Withdrawal fee | Inactivity fee |
---|---|---|
Saxo Bank | $0 | |
Fusion Markets | $0 | |
Global Prime | $0 | |
IC Markets | $0 | |
Pepperstone | $0 | |
Tickmill | $0 | |
VT Markets | $0 | |
CMC Markets | $0 | |
FP Markets | $0 | |
Vantage | $0 |
Currency pair selection offered by the top online UK forex brokers
Broker | Currency pairs (#) | Stock index CFDs (#) |
---|---|---|
Saxo Bank | 190 | 20 |
Fusion Markets | 90 | 15 |
Global Prime | 56 | 18 |
IC Markets | 75 | 25 |
Pepperstone | 100 | 23 |
Tickmill | 62 | 32 |
VT Markets | 48 | 15 |
CMC Markets | 338 | 88 |
FP Markets | 63 | 15 |
Vantage | 49 | 25 |
Brokers
Currency
How does forex trading work?
People exchange the currency of one nation into another for practical purposes, such as trade, business or tourism. Forex (short for foreign exchange) trading is a different endeavour. When you engage in forex trading, you buy one currency and sell another simultaneously for speculative purposes in the hope of making a financial gain.
Forex is one of the most popular financial instruments to trade for profit, due to the fact that the forex market is open around the clock on trading days, there is high liquidity and volatility, which creates ample trading opportunities. The forex market is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily turnover of about $7.5 trillion.
Currencies are traded in pairs . For instance, GBP/USD stands for the pound-dollar exchange rate. When you trade this pair, you sell one currency and buy the other. The first is the base currency and the second is the quote currency. The exchange rate tells you how many units of the quote currency you need to buy one unit of the base currency.
You can make money on the changes in the exchange rate, which is the relative value of the two currencies. When the exchange rate goes up, the base currency strengthens against the quote currency, when it goes down, it weakens. You can also profit from the exchange rate difference between two currencies, depending on your trading product.
Forex providers are plugged into the network of computers that make up the forex market, and they give you exchange rates based on that market. Forex trading can be conducted through derivative products, such as contracts for difference (CFDs) and spread betting, or directly, by carrying out spot forex transactions. When selecting your forex broker, make sure you understand the product you are going to trade in detail.
Forex broker fees in the UK
Forex brokers can charge commissions, spreads and financing fees.
When it comes to commissions, there are two different fee structures forex brokers normally use:
- All currency trading fees are included in the spread except the financing rate. Basically, think of it as the broker giving you a wider spread than it gets from the forex market.
- You get the market spread, but you pay a commission based on the traded amount. This model is usually used by ECN brokers.
The second version is more transparent, but this doesn't always mean it's more expensive.
When you trade forex on leverage and hold your position overnight, a fee will be charged. This is called the financing cost. Financing costs change daily, and can add up if you hold your positions for a longer period.
If you don't know how forex trading works, take a look at our forex education articles.
And now, let's see the top forex brokers in the UK in detail one by one, starting with the winner, Saxo Bank.
Recommended for investors and traders looking for a great trading platform and solid research
Saxo Bank snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $0 |
Mobile app score | 5.0 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 190 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of Saxo Bank services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex traders looking for low fees and a chance to use the MetaTrader 4 platform
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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Fusion Markets snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $0 |
Mobile app score | 3.3 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 90 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Fasapay, Jeton Wallet, Perfect Money, Online Naira, Doku |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of Fusion Markets services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex and CFD traders who are familiar with the MetaTrader trading platforms
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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Global Prime snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $0 |
Mobile app score | 3.3 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 56 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, GATE8, DragonPay, VNPay, PromptPay, Bpay, POLi, AstroPay, Interac, PayID, Perfect Money, XPay, Rapyd, BinancePay, Jeton, Mifinity, FasaPay, Pagsmile |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of Global Prime services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex and CFD traders who value easy account opening and free deposit/withdrawal options
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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money
IC Markets snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $200 |
Mobile app score | 3.3 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 75 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Visa Direct, SafeCharge, Transact365, eCommPay, CardPay, Bpay, FasaPay, Poli, RapidPay, Klarna |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of IC Markets services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex traders looking for great account opening and customer service
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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Pepperstone snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $0 |
Mobile app score | 3.3 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 100 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, POLi, BPay, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Union Pay, MPESA+FaceID |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of Pepperstone services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex traders looking for low fees who are familiar with the MetaTrader 4 platform
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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Tickmill snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $100 |
Mobile app score | 3.3 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 62 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Neteller, Skrill, dotpay, Paysafecard, Sofort, Rapid by Skrill, PayPal |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of Tickmill services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex traders familiar with the MetaTrader trading platforms
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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
VT Markets snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $200 |
Mobile app score | 4.1 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 48 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Neteller, Skrill, Fasapay, UnionPay, Perfect Money, Alipay |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of VT Markets services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex and CFD traders looking for an advanced trading platform with many research tools
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69% of retail CFD accounts lose money
CMC Markets snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $0 |
Mobile app score | 5.0 stars |
Inactivity fee | Yes |
Currency pairs | 338 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of CMC Markets services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex and CFD traders familiar with the MetaTrader and IRESS trading platforms
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73.85% of retail CFD accounts lose money
FP Markets snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $50 |
Mobile app score | 3.3 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 63 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Neteller, Skrill, China Union Pay, BPay, PoliPay, Fasapay, Ngang Luong, PayTrust, PayPal, Interac, Dragonpay |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of FP Markets services, check out our review for 2024 |
Recommended for forex and CFD traders familiar with the MetaTrader trading platforms
Visit broker
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Vantage snapshot | |
---|---|
Minimum deposit | $50 |
Mobile app score | 3.8 stars |
Inactivity fee | No |
Currency pairs | 49 |
Deposit methods | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Apple Pay/Google Pay, SticPay, Fasapay, Bitwallet, Astropay, Perfect Money, Advcash, Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Tether) |
Withdrawal fee | $0 |
Read review | For a detailed analysis of Vantage services, check out our review for 2024 |
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How did BrokerChooser select the best FX brokers in the UK?
- We checked whether the broker is regulated by a trusted regulator,
- Compared fees (including spreads, withdrawal fee, commission),
- Compared the number of currency pairs,
- Checked order routing and research,
- Opened an account and tested the platform (charting, features, usability, customer service).
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BrokerChooser evaluates 9 key areas for all brokers including fees, safety, ease of account opening, education, and trading platforms. We check more than 600 criteria for each broker and finetune our methodology every year based on our own and our users' experiences. We have more than 100 brokers reviewed on our site and our team of analysts examines more than 60,000 data points overall.
FAQ
Is forex trading legal in the UK?
Forex trading is legal in the UK. It’s regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, the country’s financial services watchdog. Before a broker can accept UK forex and CFD traders as clients, they must be authorized by the FCA.
The FCA has strict rules for firms offering forex through CFDs and CFD-like products. The rules are aimed at protecting retail customers’ funds and eliminating scammers.
There are restrictions on the amount of leverage the firms can offer traders, a compulsory negative balance protection, meaning that account balances cannot go below zero and other rules, such as a ban on giving incentives to retail traders to increase their trading activity.
You can look up if your broker is registered with the FCA by entering the registration number of the broker in question (you will find it at the bottom of the broker's website) on the FCA website.
Are my funds safe with forex brokers in the UK?
In 2019, the FCA introduced measures to protect retail investors, including negative balance protection.
The measures mean that you cannot lose more funds than you have on your account. The funds in the account mean funds specifically dedicated to the restricted speculative investments, which includes cash in the account and any unrealized net profits from open positions. However, it does not include funds and other assets in your account that are not dedicated to trading in the restricted speculative investments.
What taxes do I have to pay in the UK as a forex trader?
The taxation of forex trading in the UK is complex. If you are a speculator/gambler (i.e. you trade sporadically and have other source(s) of income), the gains from your forex trades will not be taxed. If you are an investor (i.e. forex trading is your main source of income), you are liable to taxation on the basis of either income, capital gains or corporate tax. We recommend you consult a tax advisor for detailed guidance.
Spread betting is free from the capital gains tax. If you trade forex CFDs, you will be liable to pay a capital gains tax after your profits.
Can I trade with a UK forex broker if I live in the EU?
After Brexit, the UK's exit from the EU, it is not a given that UK forex brokers can take on European clients. UK forex brokers that are also regulated in the EU can accept you as an EU client through their European entity, provided they have one. If you reside in Europe, your broker will need to be regulated by a national regulator from an EU member country.