Author: Eduardo Montero
Spread or differential between the ask and bid prices of currency pairs is one of the most important factors in Forex trading. This is because it is the commission that online brokers typically pay for trading in foreign markets.
CFD and Forex trading are both subject to a commission. This is usually charged as a percentage of each trade. A broker who offers low spreads is crucial for traders who trade in Forex and CFD trading. This is especially important for those who need to open and close many positions quickly, such as daytraders or scalpers. Spreads that are lower can make a trading strategy profitable or not. Learn more: A list of scalping brokers.
ECN brokers (Electronic Communication Network) offer the lowest spreads. They connect directly with major global liquidity providers. ECN brokers (Electronic Communication Network) are able to access the lowest spreads according to market conditions. They usually receive a commission per transaction. Spreads can be affected by market liquidity and market conditions.
The spreads shown in the table are indicative only and may not reflect current broker conditions.
| Broker | Key Features | Offer |
|---|---|---|
 Go to XTB | Spreads: Spreads from 0.1 pips.Website: https://www.xtb.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CNMV, FSC Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker / STP Available Instruments: Over 2100: Forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. | Excellent customer support. (*) 77% of retail investors lose money when trading CFDs with this broker. |
 Go to Pepperstone | Spreads: From 0 pips on Razor accounts (with commission) and from 0.6 pips on Standard accounts.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 | Spreads: From 0.6 pips on Ultra Low Micro and Ultra Low Standard accounts and from 0 pips (with commission) on XM Zero account.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 or Australian regulated entity. Check conditions on the broker's website. |
 Go to IC Markets | Spreads: From 0 pips on Raw Spread accounts (with commission) and from 0.6 pips on Standard accounts.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 | Spreads: From 0.4 pips on Standard accounts and from 0 pips on Pro accounts (with commission).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 IQ Option | Spreads: Variable spreads from 0.9 pips.Website: https://iqoption.com/ Regulated by: -- Min Deposit: 50 € / $ Trading Platforms: Own Platform + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: Over 250 CFDs: Forex currencies, stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities and ETFs. | |
 Go to FP Markets | Spreads: From 1 pip on Standard accounts and from 0 pips on Raw accounts (with commission).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 | Spreads: Average spreads from 1.4 pips on Cent and Standard accounts and from 0.1 pips for ECN accounts (with commission).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 | Spreads: Spreads from 0.3 pips on Standard accounts and from 0.1 pips on Pro accounts (with commission).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 | Spreads: Spreads from 0.5 pips on Standard accounts, from 1 pip on Cent accounts, fixed spreads from 3 pips on Micro accounts, from 0 pips on ECN accounts (with commission) and fixed 0 pips on Zeros Spread accounts (with commission).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 650 assets: Forex currencies, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, energies and equities. | 100% deposit bonus doubling your deposit. (*) Bonuses are not available for European clients. See conditions on the FBS broker's website. |
 Go to AvaTrade | Spreads: Fixed spread of 0.9 pips on EUR/USD.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 Plus500 | Spreads: Variable Spreads. Please refer to the Plus500 website.Website: https://www.plus500.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, ASIC, FSA, DFSA, FSCA Min Deposit: 100 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: Over 2,000 CFDs: indices, currencies, commodities, cryptocurrencies, stocks, options and ETFs. | Free demo account with no time limit. (*) CFD Service. Your capital is at risk. |
 Go to eToro | Spreads: From 1 pipWebsite: https://www.etoro.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, ASIC Min Deposit: 200 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: Over 3500: Large number of stocks (over 3100) and cryptocurrencies (over 75). Also commodities, currencies, indices and ETFs. | World leader in social trading. (*) Warning: 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money. |
 Go to OANDA | Spreads: Spreads from 1 pip.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. |
The broker used to reward more professional or experienced investors with lower spreads. With the rise of new brokers and increased competition among them the deposit requirements to access low spreads have become lower. Brokers don’t tend to make any distinction for clients with more capital to trade with. Online brokers offer a wide range of trading accounts for different investor profiles. However, the spreads that are the most attractive to clients will always be the best. Brokers that offer higher spreads tend to have higher deposits and more experienced traders. Each type of account has its own characteristics and requirements. This is primarily a segmentation strategy.
Market Maker brokers, on the other hand, are counterparties to clients’ trades and offer higher spreads than ECNs. However, these spreads are typically fixed. Spreads like these may be more beneficial for certain types and investment strategies.
No matter what your trading style is (fixed or variable spreads), it’s important to find an online broker with low spreads. This contrasts with other services and factors like reliability of your funds. The table below shows what we consider the top Forex brokers. You can also compare their spreads for the EUR/USD pair so you can identify the ones with the lowest spreads.
If you want to test how spreads impact your trading, a good way is to open a demo account first instead of starting on a live account. Here is a comparison table of brokers with free demo accounts.
This post is also available in Spanish: brokers spreads, German: broker spreads, Malay: spread rendah malaysia, Thai: Thai
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.