Author: Eduardo Montero
Algorithmic trading has become a very popular investment option. Algorithmic trading systems (Expert Advisors) are used to execute most of the trades in the Forex currency market today.
What are the best brokers for algorithmic trading?
In this comparison table we present only the most reliable brokers on the market, with a high level of experience, which enjoy a good reputation and the trust of thousands of clients around the world and which are regulated by top-level supervisory bodies. All of them allow unrestricted algorithmic trading:
| Broker | Key Features | Offer |
|---|---|---|
 Go to Pepperstone | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, Pepperstone is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://pepperstone.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, ASIC, BaFin, DFSA, SCB, CMA Min Deposit: 200 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + cTrader + Trading View Type of Execution: STP / NDD Available Instruments: More than 1200. Specialised in Forex, also offers CFDs on indices, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs and currency indices. | Low spreads and ultra-fast execution. (*) Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. |
 Go to XM | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, XM is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.xm.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, ASIC, FSC Min Deposit: 5 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: More than 1000: Wide range of Forex currency pairs. Also commodities, precious metals, indices and stocks. | $30 no deposit bonus and deposit bonus up to $5,000. (*) Bonuses not available for clients of the XM Group's European regulated entity. Check conditions on the broker's website. |
 Go to IC Markets | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, IC Markets is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.icmarkets.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, ASIC, FSA Min Deposit: 200 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + cTrader Type of Execution: ECN Available Instruments: More than 2250: More than 60 Forex currency pairs. Also offers commodities, indices, stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies and futures. | |
 Go to Axi | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, Axi is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.axi.com/ Regulated by: FCA, ASIC, DFSA, FSA Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 Type of Execution: STP / ECN Available Instruments: More than 130 instruments: Forex, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. | |
 Go to FP Markets | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, FP Markets is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.fpmarkets.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, ASIC Min Deposit: 100 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + IRESS + cTrader Type of Execution: ECN Available Instruments: More than 10,000 tradable instruments: Forex, CFDs, indices, stocks, commodities, metals, cryptocurrencies and bonds. | |
 Go to RoboForex | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, RoboForex is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://roboforex.com/ Regulated by: FSC Min Deposit: 100 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + cTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: STP / ECN Available Instruments: Over 12,000: Forex, stock indices, ETFs, commodities, cryptocurrencies and stocks (over 8400 in R Stocks Trader account). | First and subsequent deposit bonus up to $50,000. (*) Bonus not available for European clients. Check conditions on the broker's website. |
 Go to Exness | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, EXNESS is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.exness.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, FSC, FSCA, FSCA, FSC, SDL, CBCS Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 Type of Execution: Market Maker / ECN Available Instruments: Over 250 instruments including more than 100 Forex pairs, commodities, energies, stocks, indices and cryptocurrencies. | |
 Go to FBS | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, FBS is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.fbs.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, FSC Min Deposit: 1 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: STP / ECN Available Instruments: Over 180 assets: Forex currencies, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, energies and equities. | $140 no deposit bonus (to trade for 40 days) and 100% deposit bonus doubling your deposit. (*) Bonuses are not available for European clients. See conditions on the FBS broker's website. |
 Go to AvaTrade | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, AvaTrade is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.avatrade.com Regulated by: Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, BVI, FSA, FSCA Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: More than 200. Major, minor and exotic Forex pairs, cryptocurrencies and CFDs on indices, commodities and stocks. | |
 Go to OANDA | Algorithmic Trading: Yes, OANDA is suitable for algorithmic trading.Website: https://www.oanda.com/ Regulated by: FCA, ASIC, NFA, BVI FSC, IIROC Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 Type of Execution: Non Dealing Desk Available Instruments: More than 120: Forex, indices, metals, stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies. |
These systems consist of a set of rules programmed by the trader. They define when trades should be opened and closed, and what capital to invest in each asset. Instead of being executed manually, orders are executed automatically.
Algorithmic trading has many advantages. Algorithmic trading eliminates psychological pressure and does not require traders to be always connected to receive entry and exit signals from the markets. Trades are executed by a computer, so we can place trades at any time of the day (24/7), as long as market conditions are met.
Algorithmic trading is ultimately about eliminating psychological and human factors. These are the aspects that can have the most negative influence on the quality of trading.
A‘Trading Robot‘ is software that includes all the trading signals necessary to trade. This software must be tested to determine the appropriate parameters. Backtesting (testing with historical data) is an essential part of creating automated trading systems. Orders are then executed according to the programming code without trader intervention.
Many brokers offer virtual private servers (VPS) that allow us to trade on our trading platform from the broker’s data centre instead of running the platform on our computer. This reduces execution time and ensures that the server runs uninterrupted.
MetaTrader 4 (View brokers with MT4) is the most popular platform for using algorithmic trading systems. It allows use with an Expert Advisor (also known as EA). This is an automated trading script that can be used on this platform. The flexibility of MetaTrader 4 and the ease of programming Expert Advisors makes it easy to use this type of trading. MetaTrader 5 (View MT5 brokers) supports algorithmic trading with Expert Advisors. EAs can be programmed from scratch on both platforms and tested with historical data to confirm their functionality. EAs can also be incorporated into the trading platform by other traders. Expert Advisors created for one platform cannot be used on the other.
There are 2 features that are common to most brokers for algorithmic trading: One is order execution (these are usually brokers with ECN or STP execution, the fastest, acting only as intermediaries, with no money desk and no counterparty to their clients’ orders). The other characteristic is that they tend to be brokers with lower spreads than other brokers with their own platforms, generally market makers, which apply restrictions to this style of trading and other strategies such as scalping, hedging, etc.
I hope that the list of brokers for algorithmic trading has been useful for you and that you can find the one that best suits your preferences.
This post is also available in Spanish: brokers para trading automatico
Author: Eduardo Montero
Welcome to Mundo-Forex.com: I'm Eduardo Montero, I work professionally in IT. I started trading in the financial markets (mainly Forex) more than 10 years ago. I'm the author of the articles on this website and of many others published on other websites specialised in stock market investment and finance in general. Learn more about me here: About the author.