FBS Review 2023

How we ranked fees

We ranked FBS' fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of FBS for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading the most important fees are spreads, commissions and financing rates.

We also compared FBS's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Admirals (Admiral Markets) and XM. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of FBS alternatives.

To have a clear overview of FBS, let's start with trading fees.

FBS trading fees

FBS has low stock and stock index CFD fees, but it charges average forex CFD fees. There are different cost structures for the different account types. In this review, we tested the Standard account.

We know it's hard to compare trading fees for CFD brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compared brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.

We selected popular instruments within each asset class:

• Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50
• Stock CFDs: Apple and Vodafone
• Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP

A typical trade means buying a leveraged position, holding it for one week and then selling. For volume, we chose a $2,000 position for the stock index and stock CFDs and $20,000 for the forex transactions. The leverage we used was:

• 20:1 for stock index CFDs
• 5:1 for stock CFDs
• 30:1 for forex

These catch-all benchmark fees include spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let's see the verdict for FBS fees.

Stock and stock index CFD fees

FBS has generally low CFD trading fees, which are mostly in-line with its competitors.

Forex fees

FBS forex fees are in the average segment.

Non-trading fees

FBS has low non-trading fees. There is no deposit, withdrawal, and account fee.

The broker doesn't charge an inactivity fee, which is a great plus and sets it apart from its closest competitors.

Can you open an account?

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75.2% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FBS accepts customers from all around the world with some notable exceptions, such as the United States.

What is the minimum deposit at FBS?

The required FBS minimum deposit depends on the account type you open. For Standard accounts, the minimum deposit is €/$100.

Account types

FBS provides 3 types of account for clients under CySEC, typically EU clients. These account types differ in pricing and the amount of the required initial deposit. 

*Round turn means that you open and close the position.

For clients from Australia and other non-EU countries, there are account types with different conditions. For example, the initial deposit is $/€/AUD 50 for Australian clients and the broker provides ECN accounts for clients under the Belize-regulated entity.

How to open your account

The FBS account opening process is easy and fully digital. The online application takes roughly 5 minutes and our account was approved within one business day. 

Follow these steps to open your FBS account:

1. Provide your contact information
2. Choose between the demo and the real account
3. Select the account type: Standard or Cent (Crypto account can be requested via email)
4. Select the platform and the base currency
5. Verify your identity and residency by uploading a copy of your passport or ID, and a bank statement or utility bill. 

Account base currencies

The account base currencies you can choose from are EUR and USD. Australian clients can also choose AUD as a base currency.

This selection lags behind the competition as both Admirals and XM offer more base currencies.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you don't have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Compare digital banks

Deposit fees and options

Depositing funds at FBS is free of charge. Besides bank transfer, you can use credit/debit cards or the following electronic wallets:

• Neteller
• Skrill
• Rapid
• FasaPay
• PerfectMoney and STICPAY - available for clients under the Belize-regulated entity

A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with a credit/debit card is instant.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

FBS withdrawal fees and options

FBS charges no fees for withdrawing funds. Similarly to deposits, you can use bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and electronic wallets to withdraw funds from your account.

How long does it take to withdraw money from FBS? We tested the debit card withdrawal and it took less than a day.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from FBS?

• Once logged in to your account, select 'Funding Management' in the menu
• Select 'Withdrawal'
• Choose a withdrawal option
• Fill out the form and click 'Confirm withdrawal'

FBS doesn't have its own proprietary web trading platform. Instead, it uses MetaTrader 4 and 5, a third-party platform. In this review, we tested MetaTrader 5.

The web trading platform is available in multiple languages:

Look and feel

The FBS web trading platform has great customizability. You can easily change the size and the position of the tabs.

However, the design feels outdated and some features are hard to find.

Login and security

FBS provides only a one-step login. Two-step authentication would be more secure.

Search functions

The platform's search functions work well. If you start typing, it automatically displays all relevant instruments.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop limit

To get a better understanding of these terms, read our overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT).

An additional category available only on MT5 is the Fill policy.

Alerts and notifications

You cannot set price alerts and notifications. This feature is available only on the desktop trading platform.

Portfolio and fee reports

FBS has clear portfolio and fee reports. You can find your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid under the 'History' tab.

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75.2% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FBS has its own mobile trading platform, called FBS Trader. The platform is available on both iOS and Android.

Look and feel

The FBS mobile trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed. We easily found everything we were looking for.

Login and security

FBS provides a safe two-step login for its mobile platform.

However, you can't use fingerprint or Face ID authentication, features that would make login more convenient.

Search functions

The search functions are good, you can easiliy find the instrument you would like to trade.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT)

Alerts and notifications

You cannot set alerts and notifications on the FBS mobile platform.

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75.2% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Similarly to the web trading platform, FBS offers third-party desktop trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. In this review, we tested MetaTrader 5.

The desktop trading platform is available in multiple languages:

Look and feel

The FBS web trading platform has great customizability. You can easily change the size and the position of the tabs.

Login and security

FBS provides only a one-step login. Two-step authentication would be more secure.

Search functions

The platform's search functions work well. If you start typing, it automatically displays all relevant instruments.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop limit

To get a better understanding of these terms, read our overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT).

An additional category available only on MT5 is the Fill policy.

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications in the form of mobile push and email notifications on the desktop trading platform. To set them, you have to add your email address and mobile MetaQuotes ID, by going to the 'Tools' menu and selecting 'Options'.

Portfolio and fee reports

FBS has clear portfolio and fee reports. It is easy to find your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid under the 'Account History' tab: right-click on a position, then choose 'Save as Detailed Report'.

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75.2% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FBS is a CFD broker. If you want to learn more about CFDs, read our CFD trading tips.

FBS's crypto CFD selection is great, but other CFD asset classes lag behind the competitors' product portfolio.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

You can change leverage levels at FBS, which is a great feature.

Changing the leverage is very useful if you want to lower the risk of your trade. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as preset leverage levels are high.

Trading ideas

FBS provides trading ideas on Forex TV in video format. The length of these videos is 5-10 minutes.

Fundamental data

FBS offers some fundamental data through an economic calendar. You can filter the data by different categories including stock dividends.

Charting

FBS has OK charting tools. You can use 77 technical indicators and other tools, such as trendlines, Fibonacci retracements and channels.

On the other hand, the design is outdated and some features are hard to use. For example, we had difficulty figuring out how to remove an indicator from the chart.

News feed

You can find news items both on the trading platforms and on FBS's website. The feeds are usually very short and not well-strucutred.

Other research tools you may enjoy

There is a great research tool for testing your strategy relative to automated trading. It is called Strategy Tester and you can find it by clicking on 'View' and selecting 'Strategy Tester'.

Compare research pros and cons

You can contact FBS via:

• live chat
• phone
• email

FBS has great live chat support. They are very kind, fast and we always received relevant responses. We also liked that they asked for feedback about the support.

Phone support was helpful and we received detailed answers. The agent offered to send information via email also.

Email support is quick and helpful. We sent two emails and got useful and relevant answers to each of them within a day.

Customer support is available 24/7.

Overall, the customer support at FBS is exceptionally good.

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75.2% of retail CFD accounts lose money

At FBS, you can learn in the following ways:

• Demo account
• Platform tutorial videos
• General educational videos
• Webinars
• Quality educational articles
• Forex Intensive

Forex Intensive is a free course put together by FBS experts. The course can be useful for both beginners and experienced traders.

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75.2% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Is FBS regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the International Financial Services Commission of Belize (IFSC) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

Is FBS safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• what the background of the broker is

How you are protected

FBS operates through different legal entities. This matters, because the amount of investor protection you're eligible for differs from entity to entity.

FBS provides negative balance protection. If the balance on your account goes into negative, you will be protected.

Background

FBS is based in Cyprus and was founded in 2009. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

Find your safe broker

Below you can find links to all aspects of FBS in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our FBS fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the FBS minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your FBS account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the FBS account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the FBS trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the FBS customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is FBS legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether FBS is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is FBS good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on FBS?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on FBS guide

I want to trade options, are they available at FBS?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on FBS?

What is the minimum account balance at FBS?

Check out the current account balance requirements at FBS in our What is the minimum account balance at FBS article.

Looking for commission and fees data for FBS?

We collected them in FBS commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from FBS?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on FBS.