Best UK Forex Brokers

Forex Broker Max Leverage Min. Deposit Spread Full Reviews Trade Now
pepperstone logo
500:1
$200
From 0.0 Pips
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fxtm
1000:1
$10
From 0.1 Pips
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thinkmarkets
500:1
$0
From 0.1 Pips
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xtb logo
200:1
$0
From 0.1 Pips
Read the full review
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etoro logo
400:1
$200
From 2.0 Pips
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avatrade
400:1
$100
From 0.8 Pips
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Max Leverage: 500:1

Min. Deposit: $200

Spread: From 0.0 Pips

Full Reviews: Read the full review

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Max Leverage: 1000:1

Min. Deposit: $10

Spread: From 0.1 Pips

Full Reviews: Read the full review

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Max Leverage: 500:1

Min. Deposit: $0

Spread: From 0.1 Pips

Full Reviews: Read the full review

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Max Leverage: 200:1

Min. Deposit: $0

Spread: From 0.1 Pips

Full Reviews: Read the full review

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Max Leverage: 400:1

Min. Deposit: $200

Spread: From 2.0 Pips

Full Reviews: Read the full review

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Max Leverage: 400:1

Min. Deposit: $100

Spread: From 0.8 Pips

Full Reviews: Read the full review

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Why is Forex so popular in the UK?

As the undisputed financial capital of the world and aided by a unique time-zone advantage, the UK is hugely popular among the general trading community. The European or UK session often displays more market volatility than any other trading session. This is one of the key reasons why a large number of financial services companies, leading banks and hedge funds have established their headquarters in London. The UK is also very popular in the Forex trading industry, which sees a high volume of Forex transactions conducted during the European/UK session.

Traders located in the UK have a large selection of local Forex brokers at their disposal. Top UK Forex brokers are licensed and regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), which regulates the financial firms that provide services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets of the United Kingdom.

Although the UK has slightly more regulatory requirements and a higher tax environment than other areas of the world, Forex brokers still prefer the unique advantages they enjoy when conducting business in this jurisdiction. Even though traders from the UK can trade with any international broker, it may be beneficial to choose a local broker that operates under local law. There are, of course, other jurisdictions and regulatory bodies, such as the ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) in Australia or CySEC (the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission), but there are also many ‘weaker’ jurisdictions from which brokers operate. This does not necessarily mean that brokers from these areas are ‘bad’, but it is true that it is often much easier to be registered as a broker in these jurisdictions as they tend to have lower capital requirements, looser policies and procedures, and limited oversight and enforcement powers. It is, therefore, advisable to choose a broker regulated by the FCA or another of the EU’s watchdogs and strong regulating bodies.

Advantages of Trading with an UK FX Broker

UK Forex traders are blessed with many outstanding local online brokerage firms. Selecting a Forex broker located in the financial hub of London is a good choice due to their proximity to the London stock exchange. Brokers that offer online trading and which are not based in one of the major financial hubs often need extra infrastructure to allow for fast and secure connections with the relevant global stock exchanges. For example, the best Australian Forex brokers use a fibre optic internet connection which directly connects their servers with the respective data centres in New York or London.

A VPS service is beneficial for all traders, no matter if they are using a UK based broker or an online trading provider from another region. These VPS are offered by the top UK Forex brokers to help traders stay connected at all times and guarantee for fast trade execution.

The UK Forex brokers regulated by the FCA generally guarantee that no client funds are used for hedging or investment purposes. All clients’ funds are typically held with top-tier financial institutions such as Barclays or other reputable banks. Further, a large selection of risk management tools is available with most reliable UK CFD providers.

When it comes to trading the British pound (GBP), a major currency that is often traded against the US dollar (USD) or the Euro (EUR) among others, it makes sense to look for a UK broker because they often offer the best market spreads for GBP pairs as well as fast execution.

However, it is not only the local currency that can be traded profitably with UK Forex brokers. Many of the UK’s best Forex brokers offer an overall excellent trading environment, very competitive spreads, fast execution speeds, a large range of trading products and many other great features, such as the option to engage in copy or social trading for example. Trading Forex, CFDs or other financial products with FCA regulated UK brokers is, therefore, a good choice.

If you are interested in trading other financial instruments than just currency pairs, check for a brokers product portfolio. Most top UK Forex brokers offer additional trading products such as CFDs and spread betting on all sorts of financial instruments. We found that the best UK brokers offer a variety of asset classes and not “just” Forex. Trading shares, commodities, energies, gold, silver, platinum, etc. are all attractive, but they are also very complex instruments which should be utilised carefully.

No matter if you just want to trade the major currency pairs, or if you also want some minor and exotic pairs as well. Check the differences in spreads for the FX pairs you are looking to trade and which the various UK Forex brokers offer. You will find huge differences in spreads but also commissions. Of course, these differences translate into more or less profit for you in the end!

Almost all top UK Forex brokers, such as XTB or Forex Time, offer leading trading platforms such as MetaTrader4 (MT4) and its younger sibling MetaTrader 5 (MT5) or the cTrader platform. Some brokers have also built and utilize their very own proprietary trading platforms that are often highly intuitive, easy-to-use and feature-rich. Top Forex and CFD brokers, such as FXTM (Forextime), further offer asset (portfolio) management and copy trading to their clients. eToro, another popular UK-based broker, is one of the top social trading brokers and is utilized by many retail investors.

Both demo account and live account options are commonly available with almost all of the best UK or Europe-based online brokers. Demo accounts are an important part of a Forex broker’s offer. Especially for novice traders or those that want to start trading the Forex or other financial markets, it is crucial to test the trading environment of a broker without risking real cash. Most of the best UK Forex brokers provide demo accounts free of charge to give clients the chance to practice on the broker’s trading platform. Only a few UK brokers ask for a deposit to open a practise/demo account.

Most of the top Forex brokers in the United Kingdom allow their clients to choose between several retail investor account variants. From Standard accounts with wider spreads, over zero-spread, commission-free, ECN, Professional, or Shariah-compliant Islamic account options, traders will find plenty of choices to suit their unique needs.

Apart from all the significant aspects that have been previously highlighted, there are a few other vital factors to keep in mind. For example, depending on the type of trader you are and your account size, you may benefit from some online providers more than others. If you are new to trading Forex or other financial markets, you should consider how much money you would be able to invest comfortably. You need to keep in mind that most investors lose their money trading the markets. Many top UK Forex brokers offer low minimum deposits starting from $1. Of course, it’s good that you can deposit lower amounts, but a $1 or even $100 will typically not get you very far. You need to keep in mind that the markets fluctuate quite a bit and experienced traders acknowledge this by investing larger amounts from the get-go. Again, this needs to be taken into serious consideration, and you should never invest more money than what you are able to lose.

If you are an experienced trader looking for a professional broker and the best offer on the market, please take a look at our Cashback section as well.

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