OANDA Review
Is OANDA one of the best Forex Brokers? We conducted an in-depth review to find out the answer and bring it to you! Recently has been included by Engine Forex among the NFA Regulated Brokers.
OANDA is one of the largest and oldest online brokers and has been in the currency business since its launch in 1996. They are also the authoritative source for currency data for leading companies, including tax authorities, accounting firms, and financial institutions.
Headquartered in New York City, USA. They have numerous subsidiaries set in strategic positions around the globe. Their Australian office is located in Sydney. OANDA introduced its first own Forex trading platform in the year 2001 and has since won numerous awards with it. Their clients are corporations, financial institutions, investment/money managers and individual traders.
OANDA pride themselves as being ‘a different kind of broker’ that is ‘founded on the premise that Forex and CFD trading should be accessible to all traders and based on fair and transparent business practices.
- Trading Platform: MetaTrader, Oanda
- Head Office: New York
- Founded: 1996
- Reviews: 4.8 - 13 Reviews Trust Pilot
- Leverage: 100:1
- Execution Servers: LD5, NY4
- Broker Type: Market Maker
- Negative Protection: No
- Trading Options: Forex, CFDs
Our Rating: 7.5
Trading Conditions
| Max Leverage: | 100:1 |
| Platform: |   |
| Min Deposit: | $0 |
| Spread: | From 1 Pips |
| Cuts out Dealing Desk: | No |
Methods of deposit and offers
| Deposit / Withdraw: |        |
| Welcome offer: | n/a |
| Rebates Engine Forex: | Coming soon! |
SECURITY AT OANDA
OANDA Australia Pty Ltd is licensed in Australia by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
As a group, OANDA further holds licenses and is regulated in various other countries, such as the US (CFTC), Canada (IIROC), the UK (FCA), Europe and Asia-Pacific (Singapore; CMS).
According to OANDA’s values, they keep customer funds in accounts at top tier banks, and it is their policy to only withdraw customer funds as a direct result of their trading-related activities or withdrawal requests.
As a group, OANDA holds licenses and is regulated in various other countries, such as Australia (ASIC), the US (CFTC), Canada (IIROC), Europe (FCA) and Asia-Pacific (Singapore; CMS).
Spreads Comparison
CHARGES AND MARGINS AT OANDA
OANDA doesn’t charge any extra commissions on trades – the spreads are the costs to trade.
OANDA offers variable spreads, usually starting from 1 pip on certain Forex pairs with margin requirements of 1-5%.
Spreads on stock indices are also variable and can already start below the 1 pip mark. Margin requirements from 1-5% apply.
The same counts for commodities CFD spreads which commonly can start at 0.5 pip and minimum margin requirements per contract from 1%.
Bonds and metals usually require larger spreads with OANDA and their margin requirements range between 1 and 5%. All live spreads can be viewed here: https://www.oanda.com/forex-trading/markets/live
TECHNOLOGY
OANDA clients have the choice between two different trading platforms: OANDA’s own proprietary platform, currently ‘v20 Trading Engine’, which is available as desktop, web browser and as mobile apps versions and the popular MetaTrader 4.
Their own award-winning software is packed with professional tools and features which allows users to gain access to OANDA’s competitive spreads and excellent execution speeds. From advanced charting and drawing options, to OANDA’s ‘Technical Analysis’ technology, this platform can benefit traders at any level.
Not every feature is available for all platform versions, but especially on desktop this platform is jam-packed with tools and special features.
Advanced traders have the option to develop their own automated trading strategies on Forex, metals, CFDs, commodities and indices and implement them into their trading practices. OANDA’s developer portal allows for accessing a myriad of resources, code samples and documentation that help getting started.
OANDA’s MetaTrader 4 version has all classic features that MT4 users enjoy, but it can additionally be linked to OANDA’s proprietary plugin tool ‘Technical Analysis’. It includes intraday market scanning, automatic chart pattern recognition and pattern quality indicators, automated alerts for specific patterns, as well as the option for executing trades directly within the interface. Access to EA (Expert Advisor) programs is also available when MT4 is running on a client’s computer and it is connected to OANDA’s servers.
Their own award-winning software is packed with professional tools and features which allows users to gain access to OANDA’s competitive spreads and excellent execution speeds. From advanced charting and drawing options, to OANDA’s ‘Technical Analysis’ technology, this platform can benefit traders at any level.
Execution of Speed Comparison
AN OVERVIEW OF OANDA's CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CLIENTS
OANDA serves both institutional and private clients all over the globe and offers multi-award-winning customer support 24/6 through Live Chat as well as an online help and FAQ section but you may also contact them via phone hotline or email.
Clients can choose between 2 different account types upon sign-up: a ‘Demo’ or ‘Live’ account. From there one can select various trading platform options such as Web Trading, Desktop Trading and Mobile Trading Apps, which are all OANDA’s own proprietary platforms, plus the industry favourite MetaTrader 4. One befit of OANDA is that there are no differences in trading sizes, minimum deposits (OANDA doesn’t have any minimum deposit requirement), etc. that need to be considered when choosing from these platforms.
One unique feature of OANDA client account options is that the customer can choose to open a primary account using 1 out of 9 different account currencies but additionally being able to create up to 19 sub-accounts, therefore having the option to open multi-currency accounts with OANDA.
Further, apart from a large selection of currency pairs (90+) and commodities (8) OANDA also offers a decent range of indices (14) from around the globe to choose from, including the Australian S&P 200 Index, UK FTSE 100 Index, US E-mini S&P 500 and US Wall Street 30 Indexes.
The option to trade a selection of international bonds and common metals is also given.
FOREX AND OTHER TRADING OPTIONS AT OANDA
OANDA offers trading options of 90+ Currency Pairs, 4 Metals, 8 Commodities 14 Index CFDs in addition to 6 international Bonds.
Traders can choose to trade on the above mentioned options including some of the world’s top markets such as the Australian S&P 200, UK FTSE 100, US E-mini S&P 500, US Wall Street 30, Germany 30 and Hong Kong 50 Indexes.
OANDA Australia offers leverage up to 100:1 (other, usually lower, maximum leverage levels apply to OANDA Asia Pacific, USA and Canada apply), 9 different funding currencies and low spreads commonly starting from 1 pip for Forex and 0.5 pips for other modalities such as Commodities. Clients can start trading with minimum no deposit requirement.
SPECIAL FEATURES OF OANDA
Globally regulated through various authorities assuring maximum security and integrity.
Excellent options for both retail and business trading needs.
Option to create multi-currency accounts in any of 9 available account currencies by opening one primary and up to 19 sub-accounts.
Top-notch technology including OANDA’s own proprietary trading platforms for Web, Desktop and as Apps.
OANDA MetaTrader 4 that supports for EAs (Expert Advisors), including those that require hedging capabilities.
Advanced charting with leading edge indicators and drawing tools, plus automatic pattern recognition through OANDA Technical Analysis.
OANDA ALgo Lab which allows clients to code, backtest and deploy their very own Forex and CFD trading strategies directly from the web browser.
OANDA gives the option to create multi-currency accounts in any of 9 available account currencies by opening one primary and up to 19 sub-accounts.
Max Leverage Comparison
OUR CONCLUSION
OANDA is one of the largest and oldest online brokers and has been in the currency business since its launch in 1996. Trade execution and the overall trading environment are at a world-class level, however, spreads, max. leverage and the limited options of tradable instruments (no cryptocurrency trading at this point of time either) have to be considered.
For clients focussing on Forex trading, OANDA is an excellent choice, offering a large variety (90+) of currency pairs.