Best forex brokers 2023 with regulations, pricing and popularity.
Are you looking for 2023's best forex brokers? You are on the right page. To find the best forex brokers in 2023 we assessed and ranked over 35 brokers, for its spreads, client money safety and popularity. We've checked and compared regulations, pricing (spreads+commissions+deposit/withdrawal fees) and the popularity rating of each broker given by its verified customers*.
*data supplied from FXverify.com - forex broker reviews by verified customers with a real trading account
Key Takeaways
- IC Markets - Best for trading costs. Low spreads. Reduced server latency. Free deposit/withdrawals.
- Tickmill - Best for automated trading. Super-fast withdrawals. Efficient customer support.
- XM - Best for range of financial instruments. Original loyalty points scheme. Fast deposits and withdrawals.
- Axi - Best for regulations. Competitive trading costs. Great range of trading platforms.
- Exness - Best for beginners. Multiple account types, in 61 base currencies. Instant, automated withdrawals.
Best Forex Brokers of 2023
- #1 - IC Markets
- IC Markets Licenses & Regulations
- IC Markets Spreads and Commissions
- IC Markets Verified Customers Reviews
- #2 - Tickmill
- Tickmill Licenses & Regulations
- Tickmill Spreads and Commissions
- Tickmill Verified Customers Reviews
- #3 - XM
- XM Licenses & Regulations
- XM Spreads and Commissions
- XM Verified Customers Reviews
- #4 - Axi
- Axi Licenses & Regulations
- Axi Spreads and Commissions
- Axi Verified Customers Reviews
- #5 - Exness
- Exness Licenses & Regulations
- Exness Spreads and Commissions
- Exness Verified Customers Reviews
Best Forex Brokers 2023 Comparison Table
 |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | |||||
| User rating* | |||||
| Regulations | Australia, Europe, Seychelles | Europe, South Africa, Seychelles, Malaysia | Europe, Australia, UAE, Belize | UK, UAE, Australia, St. Vincent & Grenadines | Mauritius, South Africa, Seychelles, BVI |
| Max leverage | 500:1 | 500:1 | 500:1 | 500:1 | Unlimited (subject to account balance) |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Forex trading | 60 pairs | 62 pairs | 55+ pairs | 60+ pairs | 80 pairs |
| Crypto trading | 10 pairs |  | | ;5 pairs | 15 pairs |
| Precious metals trading | 5 pairs | 2 pairs | 2 pairs | 3 pairs | 7 pairs; |
| Stocks trading | 120+ | | 1000+ | 50+ | 70+ |
*User rating data supplied by FxVerify verified forex broker reviews by real customers.
Client Money Protection
What makes a forex broker a good one? Competitive trading fees? Bonuses and promotions? Fast withdrawals? Yes, all these variables are important when choosing the best broker. But, the most important factor, in our view, is how safe retail client's money is with a forex broker.
Very much like when opening a bank account, you want to make sure that your broker of choice keeps your money safe. Don’t you? So, before we start reviewing our top 5 forex brokers in 2023, we will have a quick look at the key safety features offered by these brokers, including money segregation, deposit insurance and negative balance protection.
On the previous table, we compared brokers regarding the implementation of these safety mechanisms. To make this review as helpful as possible, we will now explain the definition of each protection mechanism and each term.
Deposit insurance - A regulatory insurance scheme overseen by a financial regulator designed to compensate clients for their deposits in the event the broker becomes insolvent.
Money segregation - A much lesser protection than the above, yet still pertinent. Money segregation requires brokers to keep client deposits separate from the company's operating capital, in a separete bank account. A broker must typically track and report on client deposit values daily. The broker is not supposed to spend client deposits.
Negative balance protection - Protects traders from incurring a negative balance and owing money to the broker.
Let's check out now our top 5 forex brokers for 2023:
#1 - IC Markets
With a global presence, IC Markets is a CFDs broker providing trading solutions for active day traders, scalpers and beginners. This Australian-based broker offers its customers a good choice of trading platforms, competitive trading costs, low latency connectivity and superior liquidity. IC Markets customer support is available in 14 languages, operational 24 hours/ 7 days a week, via live chat, email and contact form.
Trading with IC Markets can be done via the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, both available as desktop terminals, and complemented with the mobile versions for Android and iOS. Investors can also choose to trade with the more advanced cTrader, available for traders opening a cTrader Raw Spread account.
IC Markets Licenses & Regulations
| Entity Name | Licenses & Regulation | Client Money Protection | Deposit Compensation Scheme | Negative Balance Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Trading Ltd (SC) | Seychelles FSA License |  segregated client money | | |
| International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (AU) | Australia ASIC License | |||
| IC Markets (EU) Ltd | Cyprus CySEC License | up to €20,000 |
IC Markets Spreads and Commissions
| Pricing/ Account | Standard | Raw Spread | cTrader Raw Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread EUR/USD | from 1.0 pip | from 0.0 pip | from 0.0 pip |
| Commissions (1 lot) | | from 7 USD | from 6 USD |
| Minimum Deposit | from 200 USD | from 200 USD | from 200 USD |
IC Markets allows you to open a trading account in several deposit currencies; AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD, HKD and the client’s funds are deposited in the National Australian Bank (NAB) and Westpac Banking Corporation.
You can credit your trading account using several funding methods; Bank Wire, Broker to Broker, China Union Pay, Credit Card, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill (Moneybookers), Webmoney. And in case you need to ask them anything, they offer a 24-hour friendly customer helpline service in several languages; Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese and Czech.
Our overall rating for IC Markets is a superb 5 out of 5.
IC Markets Verified Customers Reviews
What do IC Markets customer’s think and say about it's services and products? We will use the data gathered from FXverify.com, to crosscheck the pros and cons of this broker.
IC Markets, currently, has over 500 reviews from verified customers, with an overall user rating of 4.8 out of a maximum of 5.
IC Markets' negative reviews
The main complaints were regarding “deposit using Bitcoin”, one customer having “difficulty to log in”, another one complaining about “delayed slippage”, one mentioning “fake spikes on chart” and one “experiencing slower withdrawal process”.
Ic Markets' positive reviews
It would be impossible to register here all the positive reviews from IC Markets happy customers. Still, we drilled down the feedback from their verified traders and this broker gets top marks regarding customer services and support, “available 24/7”, “very friendly and professional”, “able to resolve almost any situation”.
On top of that, we found traders praising their “fast and secure deposit and withdrawals” available options, but really, the main consensus amongst the IC Markets traders is their pricing competitiveness, with “unbeatable trading costs”, “very low spreads” and “fast execution times”.
To try out this broker or to open a dedicated cashback trading account visit the IC Markets broker website.
#2 - Tickmill
Established in 2014, Tickmill is a fast-expanding broker striving to offer a great trading experience with low market spreads – from 0.0 pip on the Pro and VIP accounts – and no-requotes. Using STP and DMA execution models, with absolute transparency and with the latest in trading technology, Tickmill is also known within the trading community for its ultra-fast execution speeds. The broker provides one of the industry’s fastest execution times – 0.20s on average, and with no requotes.
Tickmill is also a very popular CFDs broker with traders for the excellent execution speeds on both trading platforms. Trading can be done via the Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5, with both platforms available for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android. With Tickmill, investors can also trade instantly with the Web Trader, a browser-based platform that requires no installation whatsoever, and that replicates the same UI of the MetaTrader platforms.
Tickmill Licenses & Regulations
| Entity Name | Licenses & Regulation | Client Money Protection | Deposit Compensation Scheme | Negative Balance Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tickmill Ltd (SC) | Seychelles FSA License | segregated client money | | |
| Tickmill UK Ltd (UK) | UK FCA License | up to £85,000 | ||
| Tickmill Europe Ltd (EU) | Cyprus CySEC License | up to €20,000 |
Tickmill Spreads and Commissions
| Pricing/ Account | Classic | Pro | VIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread EUR/USD | from 1.6 pip | from 0.0 pip | from 0.0 pip |
| Commissions (1 lot) | | from 4 USD | from 2 USD |
| Minimum Deposit | from 100 USD | from 100 USD | from 50,000 USD |
Tickmill allows you to open a trading account in several deposit currencies; EUR, GBP, PLN, USD and the client’s funds are deposited in the Barclays Bank, UBS, HSBC, MCB Bank, PPF Banka AS, AS Expobank.
You can credit your trading account using several funding methods; Bank Wire, China Union Pay, Credit Card, FasaPay, Neteller, QIWI Wallet, Skrill (Moneybookers), Webmoney, SticPay, NganLuong.vn. Their customer support team are available around the clock, able to answer your questions in several languages; Arabic, Chinese, English, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese.
Our overall rating for Tickmill is an outstanding 5 out of 5.
Tickmill Verified Customers Reviews
Introductions were done, let’s dive into what their customer’s say about them. Again, we will use the data gathered from FXverify.com to examine the pros and cons of this broker.
Tickmill gathered over 150 customers reviews with an overall user rating of 4.8 out of a maximum of 5. Curiously, Tickmill receive vbery little to no negative ratings, so we had to dig deep to find out what were the negative points for this broker.
Tickmill's negative reviews
On the verified Tickmill customers the main aspects some traders were not so happy about we found that the “execution speed is a bit slow”, one customer referring the lack of “no detailed forex news on MT4, just headlines”, a trader from Bangladesh not so happy about the “time to verify” his trading account and a trader from Canada reporting that “the overnight fee is too expensive”.
Tickmill's positive reviews
On the positive side, a crushing majority voted 5 out of 5 for Tickmill. The majority of the verified traders were happy about the “spreads and fees are low, and rebates high”, also about the fact that “they offer good regulation”, and quite a few positive comments about the withdrawals described as “easy and quite fast”, “deposit made in seconds, and the withdrawal is a working day”. Top marks as well for their “quick” and “excellent customer support”.
We also found a few traders recommending Tickmill for high-speed trading and automated trading with EAs, as slippage was quite limited and they have an excellent runtime. To conclude the customer’s reviews, we found traders praising their “fast deposit and withdrawals” times, but the main consensus with Tickmill traders is their low cost of trading with “very low spreads and commissions” together with “great rebates” being offered.
To try out this broker or to open a dedicated cashback trading account visit the Tickmill broker website.
#3 - XM
Established in 2009, Trading Point Group, through its XM brand, is a fast-expanding broker, with over 5,000,000 clients from more than 190 countries.
The broker strives to offer a great trading experience with a good range of trading instruments at low market spreads – from 0.0 pip for the EUR/USD, USD/JPY and GBP/USD on the XM Zero account – and no requotes. XM is also known within the trading community for its great promotions and the famous no deposit bonus – currently available only for customers registering a live account with the Belize FSC-regulated entity.
XM Licenses & Regulations
| Entity Name | Licenses & Regulation | Client Money Protection | Deposit Compensation Scheme | Negative Balance Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XM Global Limited (International) | Belize FSC license | segregated client money | | |
| Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd (AU) | Australia ASIC license | |||
| Trading Point MENA Limited (UAE) | Dubai DFSA license | |||
| Trading Point of Financial Instruments Limited (EU) | Cyprus CySEC license | up to €20,000 |
XM Spreads and Commissions
| Pricing/ Account | Micro | Standard | XM Ultra Low | XM Zero | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spread EUR/USD | from 1.6 pip | from 1.6 pip | from 0.6 pip | from 0.1 pip | N/A |
| Commissions (1 lot) | | from 7 USD | - variable | ||
| Minimum Deposit | from 5 USD | from 10,000 USD | |||
With headquarters in Australia, Belize and Cyprus, XM allows you to open a trading account in several deposit currencies; AUD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HUF, JPY, PLN, RUB, SGD, USD, ZAR and the client’s funds are deposited with Investment Grade Banks.
You can credit your trading account using several funding methods; Cards, Bank Wire, Neteller, Skrill (Moneybookers). Their customer support team are available 24-hours a day and can answer your questions in the following native languages; Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Czech.
Our overall rating for XM is a top 4.8 out of 5.
XM Verified Customers Reviews
Now let’s take a closer look at what XM customer’s say about this broker and its services. We will again resource to the data with the verified customer reviews from FXverify.com to examine the pros and cons of XM forex broker.
XM has currently over 160 verified customers reviews with an overall user rating of 4.4 out of a maximum score of 5. Of these 160 reviews, we found only four with a negative rating, which represents a low rate of unsatisfied customers. Let’s analyse these reviews in more detail.
XM's negative reviews
The four negative reviews for XM centred on the same and only aspect; the spread. Other than that, we couldn’t find anything relatively negative that could impact the integrity of this broker.
XM's positive reviews
Regarding the positive aspects, the vast majority of the verified traders’ reviews, 84, had a positive opinion of this broker, even with some traders recommending it. So, out of the 84 positive reviews, we can highlight what traders like about XM; “fast deposit and withdrawal”, “the loyalty scheme is the best thing”, “excellent execution times”. But it seems XM scores top marks for their very friendly and “excellent customer support” service.
To also note that a few traders were recommending XM for high-speed trading, pointing at the “fast execution of trades”. And quite a few other traders were very pleased and happy with the maximum leverage (still) allowed by XM, that can be in some cases a unique 1:888, although we are not quite sure of that, as it seems that the official XM website is allowing, at least for European clients, maximum leverage of 1:30.
To try out this broker or to open a dedicated cashback trading account visit the XM broker website.
#4 - Axi
Established in 2007, and with headquarters in Australia, Axi (formerly AxiTrader) was founded by traders and based on a simple concept, to be the online broker that everyone would want to trade with. Axi offers CFDs trading solutions for active day traders, scalpers but also beginners. Axi offers its customers a good choice of trading platforms, including a proprietary platform – AxiOne – and access to the PsyQuation analytics platform coupled with competitive trading costs. Axi’s customer support is available in 14 languages, operational 24 hours/ 5 days a week, via live chat, email and contact form.
Trading with Axi can be done with the Metatrader 4 platform, available on web trader version, desktop terminal, and complemented with the mobile versions for Android and iOS. Investors can also choose to trade with the more advanced AxiOne, Axi’s proprietary platform, available for desktop and mobile.
Axi Licenses & Regulations
| Entity Name | Licenses & Regulation | Client Money Protection | Deposit Compensation Scheme | Negative Balance Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AxiTrader Limited (SVG) | N/A | segregated client money | | |
| AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd (AU) | Australia ASIC License | | ||
| AxiCorp Limited (UK) | UK FCA License | up to £85,000 | ||
| AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd (DIFC branch) | Dubai DFSA License | | |
Axi Spreads and Commissions
| Pricing/ Account | Standard | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Spread EUR/USD | from 1.0 pip | from 0.0 pip |
| Commissions (1 lot) | | from 7 USD |
| Minimum Deposit | from 0 USD | from 0 USD |
Axi offers trading via Metatrader 4 and their proprietary platform AxiOne. Axi also offers free access to PsyQuation. On the minus side, the overall cost of trading with an Axi Standard Account could be improved to match the trading costs of other top brokers with more competitive spreads. On the plus side, the availability of the AxiOne trading platform (and the free access to the PsyQuation platform) is something unique that could be a decisive factor to satisfy more tech-savvy potential customers.
You can credit your trading account using several funding methods; Bank Wire, Broker to Broker, Cards, China Union Pay, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill (Moneybookers), FasaPay. Their customer support team are available around the clock and able to answer your questions in the following native languages; Arabic, Bahasa (Indonesian), Chinese, English, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese.
Our overall rating for Axi is a great 4.6 out of 5.
Axi Verified Customers Reviews
Presentations are done, let’s see what we can find on FXverify.com verified customer reviews and what traders have to say about this forex broker and its services.
Axi has currently 31 verified customers reviews with an average user rating of 4.3 out of a maximum possible score of 5. Of these 31 verified customer reviews, we found only 3 less positive, representing a 9.6% rate of unsatisfied customers. Let’s check out what they say in more detail.
Axi's negative reviews
The 3 negative reviews for Axi are about the "high slippage"another trader mentions a "bad withdraw system" and one complains about the broker increasing the "swap rate during December holidays without any notice".
Axi's positive reviews
On the plus side, we counted 28 verified traders giving this broker a score of 4 and 5 out 5, respectively, with traders being happy that the broker has “good regulations”, happy with the “fast deposits and withdrawals”, also good reviews about the variety of tradable assets and wide range of funding options, including “Skrill, Neteller and PayPal”. We also found traders happy with the customer support service and the fact that Axi has "some nice unique features like psyquation".
To try out this broker or to open a dedicated cashback trading account visit the Axi broker website.
#5 - Exness
Exness Licenses & Regulations
| Entity Name | Licenses & Regulation | Client Money Protection | Deposit Compensation Scheme | Negative Balance Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exness (SC) Ltd | Seychelles FSA License | segregated client money | | |
| Venico Capital Limited | BVI FSC License | |||
| Tortelo Limited | Mauritius FSC License | |||
| Vlerizo (Pty) Ltd | South Africa FSCA License |
Exness Spreads and Commissions
| Pricing/ Account | Standard | Raw Spread | Pro | Zero |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spread EUR/USD | from 0.3 pip | from 0.0 pip | from 0.6 pip | from 0.0 pip |
| Commissions (1 lot) | | up to 7 USD | | from 7 USD |
| Minimum Deposit | depends on payment system | from 200 USD | from 200 USD | from 200 USD |
Exness allows you to open a trading account in several deposit currencies; AED, AUD, ARS, AZN, BDT, BHD, BND, BRL, BYR, CAD, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CZK, DKK, DZD, EUR, GEL, GBP, GHS, HKD, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, JOD, JPY, KES, KRW, KWD, KZT, LBP, LKR, MAD, MXN, MYR, NGN, NOK, NZD, OMR, PHP, PKR, PLN, QAR, RON, RUR, SAR, SEK, SGD, SYP, THB, TND, TRY, TWD, UGX, USD, UAH, UZS, VND and ZAR (restrictions may apply).
On top of that, Exness maximum leverage is Unlimited:1, but subject to the account equity: If the account equity ranges USD 0 - 999 USD, the maximum leverage is Unlimited:1. For account with an equity ranging between 0 - 4,999 USD, the maximum leverage is 2000:1, for accounts with a balance between 5,000 - 29,999 USD is 1000:1 and for accouns with an equity of 30,000 USD or more is 500:1.
You can credit your trading account using several funding methods; Bank Wire, Bitcoin, CashU, Credit Card, Neteller, Perfect Money, Skrill (Moneybookers), Webmoney. Exness customer support team is available at any time and able to help you in the following native languages; Arabic, Chinese, English, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese.
Our overall rating for Exness is an excellent 4.0 out of 5.
Exness Verified Customers Reviews
Time to see what we can find on FXverify.com verified customer reviews and what traders have to say about this forex broker and its services.
Exness has currently 36 verified customers reviews with a total user rating of 4.8 out of a maximum score of 5. Of these 36 verified customer reviews, the lowest rating we've found is 4 out of 5. It seems every Exness customer is pleased with this broker and it's services.
Exness' negative reviews
The current non-existence of negative reviews for Exness' products and services is proof that this broker is stepping-up on its offerings to overcome its competitors and trying to become a key provider of forex trading services.
The only negative comments (not reviews) we found for Exness was “they don't provide ECN account” and “the spread is thin, although sometimes stretchy”.
Exness' positive reviews
Regarding the positive reviews, with 36 verified traders rating this broker 4 and 5 stars, mostly mentioned the “fast payment deposit and withdrawal”, the excellent and "convenient external transfers" system and “particularly impressed by their automated withdrawal". More positive mentions for the “fast trade execution” and the “excellent customer service”.
Also, some traders mentioned that Exness is the "best forex broker for cent account” while some others liked the fact that “can trade bitcoin in Sunday”. Still, the main chatter about this broker seems to be the lightening speed at which they process withdrawals to traders e-wallets, like Skrill, Neteller or Perfectmoney. Really good news for traders that want to withdraw their profits as quickly as possible.
To try out this broker or to open a dedicated cashback trading account visit the Exness broker website.
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