A few years into my trading career, when I started trading Forex, I immediately discovered MT4 as it dominated that market. It became so widely available that almost all Forex traders fell into it. But it didn’t take long for me to discover its limitations, and I remember the first time trying cTrader (it was actually to test it for another site). cTrader felt like a breath of fresh air. Anyone who’s used cTrader and MetaTrader will know how much cleaner and more intuitive cTrader is compared to MetaTrader. But apart from that user experience, I can trust cTrader more because brokers can’t manipulate the pricing through it. If I pair that feature with a non-dealing-desk broker, it gives me much more confidence, especially in an over-the-counter market like Forex.
But cTrader is still only a platform connected to a broker, which means my experience will only be as good as the broker behind it. cTrader is not available as widely as MT4 or MT5, so choosing a broker is a more selective process.
In this review, I want to run through what I think are the best brokers with cTrader and my reasons why.
Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology.
Now let’s go through the selected brokers.
Founded in 2007, IC Markets is an Australian-headquartered broker with Tier 1 regulation under Australia’s ASIC. It also holds Tier 1 regulation in Europe (through Cyprus’s CySEC), and another license in the Seychelles (FSA) for other international clients. (The regulation that applies to you will generally depend on your residence. For example, Australian residents will automatically fall under ASIC. This will also affect the maximum leverage you can access.)
cTrader Features:
IC Markets’ cTrader Raw Spread account uses London’s LD5 IBX Equinix Data Center. This enables its server to achieve a latency under 1 ms to major VPS providers. This is an ideal structure for any kind of trading, but particularly automated trading and scalping.
I like that IC Markets can aggregate prices from up to 25 liquidity providers (most brokers do not rely on that many). This keeps spreads low (which start at 0.0 pips) and helps with every aspect of execution, especially during fast-moving markets, for example, during major economic releases.
IC Markets’ YouTube channel has tutorials on the cTrader platform.
Founded in 2005, FP Markets is an Australian-headquartered broker, with Tier 1 regulation under Australia’s ASIC. It also holds Tier 1 regulation in Europe (through Cyprus’s CySEC), and it has other regulatory licenses in South Africa (FSCA), Kenya (CMA), Mauritius (FSCM), St. Vincent & the Grenadines (FSA), and Seychelles (FSA).
cTrader Features:
cTrader is available at the offshore entity of FP Markets, which offers 1:500 leverage. Clients can use cTrader on both Standard and Raw trading accounts at FP Markets. Trading costs are competitive: in my live test on their Standard Account, I saw spreads of $14 on gold and $0.04 on crude oil. The Raw account has spreads starting at 0.0 pips and commissions of $3 USD per lot, per side.
FP Markets delivers trade execution from an Equinix NY4 facility server cluster. This enables low-latency execution, which is ideal for any kind of trading, particularly automated trading and scalping. FP Markets further supports these trading styles with free VPS hosting.
FP Markets does a better job of offering a wide range of instruments than most brokers. It includes instruments such as soft commodities, ETFs, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.Â
FP Markets YouTube channel has educational material on cTrader, including a brief tutorial plus a more in-depth guide.
I consider FxPro to be one of the most established brokers in the world, solely based on its financial metrics: $120 million dollars in company capital, 17 million client accounts, 300 employees and 12 liquidity providers.
Founded in 1999, FxPro has several Tier 1 regulatory licenses, including regulation with the UK’s FCA, in Europe with Cyprus’s CySEC. It holds additional licenses in the Bahamas (SCB license) and Seychelles (FSA license). I like the fact that FxPro goes a step further by naming the banks holding its clients’ funds and its external auditors on its website. It uses only the largest banks in several regions and one of the world’s most well-known auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
cTrader Features:
In my live tests, I recorded spreads as low as 1.9 pips in GBPJPY and 25 cents in spot gold. I could have gotten even tighter spreads using their VIP account.
FxPro offers Forex, indices, CFDs on shares, futures (CFDs, not direct futures contracts), metals, energy, and cryptocurrencies. In total, it offers 2,100 instruments, which is larger than average.
It is a non-dealing desk broker, and it has a highly respectable execution time of under 11 ms.
FxPro is a solid choice for most traders. It’s clearly well-established, has plenty of trading instruments, and has fantastic execution speed. But what makes it special is the ultra-low spreads I found.
Founded in 2019, Errante holds licenses in Europe (through Cyprus’ CySEC) and Seychelles (with the country’s FSA), and gives clients access to spot Forex and CFDs on commodities, indices, stocks, and cryptocurrencies.
Its cTrader clients can select from three account types, giving this broker one of the widest ranges of account types specifically for cTrader. Errante also stood out for its tight spreads and fast deposit and withdrawal processing times.
cTrader Features:
The Standard, Premium, and VIP accounts at Errante have progressively tighter spreads. In my tests using a Standard Account, I measured spreads as low as 6 cents in Apple share CFDs (AAPL). All account types allow micro-lot trading, making it easy for clients to take small position sizes and risks regardless of the account type they choose.
The EU entity offers leverage of up to 1:30 (the regulatory max for EU brokers), while traders at the offshore entity can access leverage of up to 1:500.Â
Errante provides a detailed 26-page PDF guide to using cTrader to help clients make the most out of the platform.
The forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire bring together seasoned trading professionals and experienced financial journalists. Many of our experts have been featured in leading publications such as Investopedia and Forbes, and all of them combine strong industry credentials with hands-on trading experience.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later, Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licensed futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later, Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licensed futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Christopher Lewis is an experienced trader and technical analyst specializing on currencies, indices, and commodities. He also has been working as a proprietary trader for institutional accounts. Chris has been an FXEmpire analyst since the site's early days and shares his trading insights on his own blog, The Trader Guy. His sharp, practical understanding of the trading industry means he knows forex and CFD brokers inside-out, so you can trust his guidance on how they work and which one to choose.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.