One of the main rules of money management in Forex lies in taking the broadness of the spread into account when executing trades. Low spreads in Forex means a shorter time before a trade becomes profitable. It is especially relevant to those who belong to scalpers because disregarding the size of the spread will have a detrimental effect on the performance of a trader who wants to move in and out of the market as quickly as possible. That is why we have compiled the list of the best Forex brokers with low spreads, signing up with which will increase the chances of having a great (and profitable) trading experience on Forex.
FXTM
After reviewing dozens of Forex brokers, we can say with confidence that Forex Time (FXTM) belongs in the group of the most reliable and trustworthy foreign currency trading intermediaries that have been consistently offering low spreads across multiple currency pairs.
FXTM is being advertised as the trading platform where users can count on getting spreads as low as 0.1 when trading currencies. And while this offer is totally viable, the newcomer has to know that this minuscule spread is offered only to those who are willing to register either the ECN MT4 or the ECN MT5 accounts, the main advantage of which is that they give access to a considerably deeper market pricing, which then translates to more advantageous trading conditions.
However, if you intend to go with the Standard MT4 account, don’t expect to get spreads lower than 1.3 pips, which still can be considered as one of the tightest floating spreads on the market for such an account type. And if you don’t want to devote even an average sum to Forex trading, there is always the Cent account that allows for deposits from $10, but, obviously, don’t expect to get any decent spreads there, unless you intend to trade very calm markets. Not to mention that you can forget about scalping when trading from these lower-tier accounts.
Therefore, if you intend to scalp the foreign currency markets and want to be sure of having one of the most competitive spreads among top Forex brokers, then opt for the ECN accounts, which are ECN, ECN Zero, and FXTM Pro. The basic ECN account will provide for the promised 0.1 pip spread, as well as no requotes on market execution, the option to hedge, and rather low trading commissions that usually start from $4 per certain volume of traded currencies.
But it’s the FXTM Pro Account where you can enjoy the lowest spreads the Forex broker can offer - perfect for scalping - that start from 0 pips. These are the floating spreads, of course, so expect them to change rather dramatically during unusual market conditions. But on the ordinary trading day, rest assured that all those frequent scalps won’t lead to the gradual meltdown of the trading account. Finally, the FXTM Pro account also provides for the institutional-level spreads to users whose balance is greater than $25,000 at any given time. But should the balance fall below that sum, the spread scheme would be changed to that offered to retail traders.
Just a quick reminder that FXTM was established in 2011 by Exinity Limited and accepted the regulation by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, being licensed as an investment dealer. The platform offers the leverage of up to 1:1000, easy access to the full array of Forex pairs through MT4 and MT5, and a broad choice of trading instruments.
FxPro
Are you looking for an opportunity to trade with the Forex broker that has been around for more than fifteen years and now serves traders from all around the world, offering deep liquidity and very low spreads? Then look no further than FxPro, one of the best Forex brokers with low spreads; it was recognized repeatedly as the most trusted broker in the United Kingdom. FxPro was established in 2006 by FXPro UK Limited, the financial services company whose brokerage activities are regulated by FCA. Its two subsidiaries: FxPro Financial Services and FxPro Global Markets are regulated by CySEC and the SCB, respectively. Besides, this broker acts as the registered international trade supplier that cooperates with the Department for International Trade of the UK, which speaks volumes of the reputation of the given Forex broker.
But let’s get to the meat of the review, the spreads, which are, no doubt, one of the most competitive among other brokers of that caliber. Here you can find not only the Forex trading accounts that provide for floating spreads but also the ones that have fixed spreads on as many as seven major Forex pairs.
What’s also interesting about FxPro accounts is that the users who purchase any MT4 or MT5 account would be exempt from having to pay the commission, though the spreads on any given trading instrument would be charged.
There is also the account type called cTrader, acquiring which will allow you to trade foreign currencies with spreads that can go down to zero on most high-volume Forex pairs. But keep in mind that while the spreads on cTrader are much tighter, the trader would have to pay a commission for each trade executed on that platform. The mentioned fixed spreads are available on Metatrader 4 accounts. There is also the FxPro account where the trading cost for all instruments also boils down to covering the low spreads. Add to that the fact that FxPro utilizes a unique execution engine that is different from STP and ECN in terms that it provides for better transparency and better trade execution at under 11 milliseconds. All in all, FxPro is the Forex broker that is not only about the low spread trading - the company also offers unique trading solutions and an interesting variety of account types.
OctaFX
OctaFX, without a doubt, belongs to a cohort of reputable Forex brokers that offers the most competitive spreads, among other useful solutions, that make the trader’s life easier. This broker emerged on traders’ radars in 2011 as an up-and-coming provider of Metatrader 4 platform. Over the years, OctaFX developed into the globally recognized broker that received many accolades from well-known Forex magazines. For instance, OctaFX was named the Best ECN Broker of 2020 by World Finance and the Best Cryptocurrency Broker of 2020. We won’t be delving into all programs and trading tools that OctaFX has in store for traders - let’s just say that it’s close to being the broadest choice among Forex brokers featured in this review.
This particular platform offers three different account types. The first one is OctaFX MT4 for novice and casual traders who don’t want to be overwhelmed by sophisticated tools. The users of MT4 can opt for the floating spreads that start at 0.4 pips or the fixed spreads from 2 pips.
Please note that the fixed spread can be applied only to a limited range of Forex markets - twelve to be precise, including EUR/USD, USD/CHF, GBP/JPY. However, there is a direct warning that the fixed spread can go higher than 2 pips in case the market suffers from low liquidity or increased volatility.
OctaFX MT5 is the second account type that is suitable for advanced Forex traders. The MT5 account provides only for floating spreads that can go as low as 0.2 pips, which is a good deal, considering that the users of both Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 are relieved from having to pay the commission as the broker only charges the markup. The last account is devised for the cTrader platform, which is recommended for seasoned traders. Here users get the floating spread from 0.4 pips, plus they have to pay the commission. The upside here is that there is no markup on either the commission or the spread. For some reason, OctaFX cTrader has no CFD trading and cryptocurrency trading options, though all accounts provide for scalping, which is basically why we need low spreads.
HotForex
HotForex is the broker that was founded in 2010 by the HF Market Group that is incorporated in St. Vincent & Grenadine and run by the CEO George Koumantaris. During the past decade, the broker won more than 45 industry awards and mustered a user base of over 2,5 million active accounts. The parent company has six subsidiaries that operate in different jurisdictions and are subject to regulation from FCA, FSC, FSCA, and other regulatory bodies, which comes to show that HotForex is the legit broker through and through.
When registering the account with HotForex, the trader will be offered the choice of as many as six account types: Micro, Premium, Zero Spread, Auto, PAMM (which is the premium type), and HFCopy.
Our first point of interest is, of course, the Zero Spread account that promises low commissions and tight spreads even for the trades as small as 0.01 lots and as high as 60 lots per position. As the name suggests, the spreads here start from zero pips and increase slightly, depending on the market conditions. This account grants decent leverage of 1:500, with the minimal initial deposit of $200, which is something that any nascent Forex trader should afford. The commissions here are rather modest, starting from $0.03 per side.
The remaining five accounts offer the spreads that begin at 1 pip, which is something of the industry-average. There is also a special option called the VIP Spreads with price quotes to five decimal places and spreads on the most popular currency pairs that rarely exceed 1 pip: the current spread on EUR/USD is 0.1 pips, EUR/GBP - 0.4 pips, and USD/CHF at 0.8 pips. For your information, the highest spread can be found in the USD/RUB pair - it amounts to 81 pips, surely not the lowest spread on Forex. But other than that, HotForex is definitely the broker that allows for the cheapest Forex trading, especially on the Zero Spread account.
XM
XM is one of the oldest Forex brokers on this list since it was founded back in 2009 and became among the first to introduce the no-requotes policy and a significantly faster market execution system. It took the company four years to earn the first prestigious award, but since that time, XM has never left the ranks of the top Forex brokers with state-of-the-art trading platforms and low spreads. Right now, XM offers sixteen feature-packed trading platforms and enjoys a client base that exceeds 3.5 million traders. This broker is regulated by CySEC, ASIC, and IFSC.
XM’s algorithm for getting one of the lowest spreads among Forex brokers includes getting the adequate 4-digit quoting prices from liquidity providers, adding a fraction (the 5th digit), and putting the rates through the electronic pricing engine that updates the currency prices three times per second, which is quite impressive.
Like most brokers on our list, XM lets traders choose between floating and fixed spreads. But beware that if you opt for fixed spreads, you will have to pay an insurance premium, which might be a turn-off for those who seek the cheapest trading conditions. On the other hand, XM doesn’t impose any trading restrictions on accounts with fixed spreads when some market-moving news is being released, which is something that most brokers do, effectively rendering the trader’s insurance useless.
The broker lets you choose between four account types: Standard, Micro, Ultra Low Standard, and Ultra Low Micro. The first two accounts offer the spreads that start at 1 pips across all major pairs, whereas the XM Ultra Low users can trade with the spreads as low as 0.6 pips, though in reality, the spreads can go down to 0.00007 on such actively traded markets as GBP/USD. Compare that with the spread in the same market, but when traded from the Standard account - 0.002 pips, the difference is evident. All in all, the presence of the Ultra Low account, which is tailor-made for scalping, is what makes XM stand out from the crowd of other Forex brokers with low spreads.
NordFX
NordFX is a more modest Forex broker, compared to those reviewed above, in terms of its confirmed user base of 1,5 million traders, especially considering that it was launched in 2008. Nevertheless, starting from 2010, NordFX received multiple awards, mainly from Academy Masterforex-V and IAFT. In 2020, it was awarded the World Most Reliable Broker and the Best Cryptocurrency Broker, along with a lot of positive feedback from retail traders. But let’s leave the perks of NordFx for later and drill into the subject that interests us the most - spreads.
NordFx offers three account types with different spread options.
The basic account is called Fix; it provides for the minimal deposit of only $10 and the spread that starts from 2 pips, a scheme that is common among other brokers featured on this list - only most of them label this account type as Micro. The Fix account has the lowest quote precision of 4 digits among the three, which hampers the pricing accuracy, but here the trader won’t be charged the commission and also given access to the 1:1000 leverage, which is the highest among most NordFX’s peers. You might do some scalping on the Fix account, but that is definitely not the best option since NordFX has the Zero account where the spread starts from 0 pips and the price precision goes up to 5 digits.
However, with Zero, you would have to cover the trading commission that amounts to 0.0035% per trade for each side of the deal, which translates to $35 per each $10,000 traded, a standard fee that is applied by many Forex brokers. Through this account, traders also get access to interbank liquidity and 33 foreign currency pairs, compared to 28 pairs available through the Fix account. So, if you have been looking for the best Forex broker for scalping with high leverage, NordFX should be your primary choice.
Lastly, there is the Pro account that takes the best of both worlds as it offers the spread that starts at 0.9 pips, which is only 0.1 pip lower than the industry average but adds to that the absence of commission and the 5-digit quote precision, and you get probably the best setup for scalping under the cheapest trading conditions.
Vantage FX
Vantage FX is the Forex broker of Australian origin that began its operations in 2009 as the brainchild of the team of experienced traders and financiers. And even though Vantage FX isn’t the biggest name on the block, it has proven to be a versatile, and most importantly, a reliable Forex broker that offers low spreads that start from 0 pips. The broker is said to be driving most of its liquidity from the National Australia Bank (NAB) while being regulated by the corresponding financial authority of Australia. Its head office is located in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
Last year, Vantage FX won two prestigious awards, the first one being the Financial Trading Services Provider of the Year, and the second one naming it the Best MT4/MT5 Broker and the Lowest Trading Costs, an award that interests us the most since the affordable trading cost is usually achieved through low spreads.
To Vantage FX’s credit, this broker is capable of providing institutional-grade liquidity to all major markets that presumably comes from the biggest banking institutions in the world, not only the NAB. Add to that the relatively high leverage of 1:500, tight spreads, and low access barrier of $200, and you get the Forex trading solution that provides retail traders with the tools similar to those used by hedge funds and large institutional players. What’s also great about Vantage FX is that it lets traders monitor the spreads straight from the trading panel, which is great for the transparency of the overall process. The choice of account types doesn’t exceed the standard three, namely Standard (the STP account), Raw, and Pro (both ECN accounts).
The former and the latter accounts provide for the lowest spreads in business that start from 0 pips in the EUR/USD market. The spreads on other popular currency pairs are considerably higher: 0.5 pips in the GBP/USD market and 0.4 pips in the USD/JPY pair. The spreads that are offered via the Standard account start from 1.4 pips in EUR/USD, and higher in other pairs, which makes it unsuitable for professional scalping. Please note that the commission charges per 0.01 lots and 1 lot apply to all ECN account types, starting from $0.04 per round turn for the Australian Dollar (AUD) pairs.
Pepperstone
Pepperstone is another Australian Forex broker that prides itself in being able to offer the most competitive spreads, along with more than 150 trading instruments and three trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader, all of which are stuffed with features and made available across multiple devices. Another unique trait of Pepperstone is that it allows traders to exercise complete control over their accounts without any interference on the side of the broker. Add to that the lighting-quick execution of orders that usually take anywhere from 30 milliseconds to 60 milliseconds, depending on the location of the server through which the trade is carried out, and you have a perfect Forex broker for both novice and experienced traders.
Like any respectable broker, Pepperstone receives the quotes with 5 decimals to them directly from liquidity providers, without referring to any intermediaries or dealing desks, thus allowing the spreads to be lowered to 0 pips. The tightness of the spread depends on the choice of the trading account. There are two account types: Standard and Razor, which are divided into the Minimum Spread and the Average Spread.
The lowest possible spreads can be acquired by registering the Razor Minimum Spread account - 0 pips across fourteen major currency markets is probably the sweetest deal even among the established brokers. The spread on the same pairs but on the Razor Average account starts at 0.09 pips in EUR/USD and goes up to 0.6 pips in other pairs. The spread that is offered with the Standard account is the usual 1 pip or more, whereas the Average type sees the spreads increasing to 1.2 pips and higher. Should you decide to trade the minor or even exotic Forex pairs, expect the spreads to go up to 92 pips.
ROInvesting
ROInvesting is a relatively young Forex broker that appeared on the horizon in 2017 and quickly gained popularity as one of the brokers that offer the best spreads and attracts thousands of scalpers from across the world. It is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and provides means for trading across 10,000 markets, including major and exotic foreign currencies. It appears that ROInvesting has had a breakthrough last year in terms of customer service and the quality of offered products since it received multiple awards, including the Best CFD Broker of the Year and the Best Mobile Application.
Traders can choose from three different account types: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, all of which offer variable spreads for all Forex markets, measured in points. For instance, the spread in the EUR/USD market moves from 28 points on the Silver account down to 18 points on Platinum.
The highest spread among major markets is registered in the NZD/JPY pair, ranging from 85 points (Silver) to 47 points (Platinum). The spread in the exotic markets like EUR/DKK or USD/MXN start from 1000 points, which is quite high. To summarize, ROInvesting provides the best and the cheapest trading opportunities to those who specialize in scalping major Forex markets, while those who prefer exotic markets should look elsewhere.
Grand Capital
Grand Capital is the oldest Forex broker on the list as it was founded in 2006, and since then has expanded its operation to 190 countries and acquired more than 750,000 regular traders, the majority of which comes from African and Asian countries, as well as Russia. Needless to say that over the years, the broker has been showered with awards, the most notable of which being the Best Trading Technology of 2016.
Interestingly enough, the traders’ funds are protected by an innovative blockchain solution called Serenity Escrow. Traders can choose between three trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and broker's proprietary platform called GrandTrade. The variety of account types is another thing that makes Grand Capital one of the best brokers for Forex trading. You can opt for the Micro account with the spread that starts at 1 pip and provides a minimum deposit of $10 and the absence of commission.
The Standard and Swap Free accounts also allow for trading with the spreads from 1 pip, though the commission on Swap Fee is quite steep, $4 to $10 on Forex. The most lucrative spreads from 0.4 pips can be found on MT5, ECN Prime, and Crypto accounts, all of which charge the commission up to $10 or 0.5%.
