8 Best Forex Brokers for Professional Traders: 2026 Edition

Founded in 2008, right on the cusp of the financial crisis and having to weather that storm, by Peter Valov, who was only 23 years old at the time, Exness has grown to be a leader in the CFD industry. Exness has more Forex pairs and more add-on tools than most of the industry, yet without sacrificing regulation and execution speed.

Exness has Tier 1 regulation under the UK’s FCA and in Europe through Cyprus’s CySEC. It also holds regulatory licenses in Jordan (FSC), Kenya (CMA), South Africa (FSCA), Seychelles (FSA), Curaçao (CBCS), and BVI (FSC).

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: FCA and CySEC (1:30), Jordan JSC (1:100), Kenya CMA (1:400), South Africa FSCA (1:2000), Seychelles FSA, Curaçao CBCS, and BVI FSC
• Tradable Instruments: Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Cryptocurrencies
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, Exness Terminal
• Speed of Execution: Instant via Pro account
• Professional Add-Ons: Trading Central, VPS, FXStreet News, Copy Trading

Exness covers Forex, commodities, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies (all through CFD contracts). They have over 100 Forex pairs, much higher than the industry average, and that list contains over 60 exotic pairs. They offer accounts with spreads and no commission, and accounts with spreads from 0.0 pips plus commission ($7 round turn on their Raw Spread account).

They offer VPS hosting, either at a cost or free for minimum account balances of $1,000 and a specified monthly trading volume.

Keep in mind that Excness is not always purely a non-dealing-desk broker, depending on the account type. For some account types, it uses STP/ECN-style routing, and on other account types, it acts as a principal.

They offer clients access to Trading Central and FXStreet, which, combined, give analytical tools, trading signals, and real-time news feeds. These are features I would use for my trading, but I can imagine that for those who want them, it’s great to have them integrated into the broker’s services, especially the news feeds.

FxPro is an established brand in the trading industry with its dedicated raw spread account and an extensive list of supporting tools and services. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in London, the broker offers 2100+ tradable instruments across different markets and maintains superior execution performance.

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: FCA (1:30), CySEC (1:30), FSCA (1:30), SCB (1:200), FSA (1:200)
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro Trader
• Tradable Instruments: Currencies, Commodities, Share CFDs, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Futures
• Speed of Execution: < 11 ms
• Professional Add-Ons: VPS, Trading Central

In my research of FxPro, I learned that the broker achieves an average order execution speed of around 11 milliseconds, which is among the best performances in the industry. Additionally, the broker claims that 84% of client orders are filled at the requested price or better.

In addition, I found FxPro’s Raw account quite affordable and accommodating the various needs of different kinds of traders. The account type features a $500 minimum deposit requirement, a $7 round-turn commission per traded lot (100,000 units), and raw spreads starting from 0.0 pips.

I performed my live testing on the highly versatile FxPro Web Trader, which features advanced charting and multiple analytical tools. The platform is user-friendly and features high-definition charts, allowing for seamless price action examination.

Founded in 2005, FP Markets is another 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).

FP Markets offers more trading platforms than most of its competitors, along with a good number of add-ons, such as Trading Central and Autochartist. In Forex, FP Markets gives access to 70 Forex pairs, a reasonable number.

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: ASIC (1:30), CySEC (1:30), FSCA (1:500), Unregulated SVG entity (1:500)
• Tradable Instruments: Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, Iress, Mottai
• Speed of Execution: < 40 ms
• Professional Add-Ons: Trading Central, Autochartist, VPS, Myfxbook, Copy Trading

I tested EURUSD during the London and New York sessions (the most active sessions for Forex), and the spread averaged 1.1 pips, which is around the industry average of 1.0 pips without commissions. In FP Markets Raw ECN account, traders can access lower spreads from 0.0 pips plus 3 USD commission per lot per side, which is better than the industry average of 3.50 USD.

The Iress and Mottai trading models, which most retail traders don’t know exist, are geared towards professional traders and asset managers. They offer much more advanced technical features, such as built-in heat maps for stocks, customizable hotkeys, and split-screen views for multiple charts. With these platforms available, plus the addition of cTrader, FP Markets is much more a professional’s choice.

Founded in 2006, AvaTrade has Tier 1 regulation in multiple jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC), Europe (through Cyprus’s CySEC), Ireland (CBI), and Japan (JFSA). It also has further licenses in South Africa (FSCA), Israel (ISA), Abu Dhabi (FSRA), and the British Virgin Islands (FSC). 

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: EU, UK and ASIC (all max at 1:30); commodities are from 1:10 to 1:200
• Tradable Instruments: Forex (60 Forex pairs), Cryptocurrencies, Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Bonds, Commodities
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, MT4 Mac, Webtrader; AvaTrade Mobile
• Professional add-ons: Ava Options, AvaSocial, DupliTrade
• Speed of Execution: Instant (internal market maker)

AvaTrade is a true 100% manual market-maker/dealing desk execution model, i.e., it fills trades internally rather than directly with external liquidity providers. That gives them the advantage of being able to control spreads and fills much more tightly, especially during fast-moving markets, and orders get filled instantly in-house because there’s no lag of external routing.

It has a reasonable suite of platforms, with MT4/MT5 being standard, especially for Forex traders, and their proprietary Webtrader and AvaTrade Mobile.

AvaTrade has a reasonable number of markets that most traders would want to access, and overall, I like AvaTrade’s controlled environment, knowing I will get reliable spreads because of its market-maker model.

Founded in 2007, IC Markets has established itself as the go-to forex broker for high-volume, high-frequency professional traders. IC Markets offers a deep pool of liquidity and ECN pricing, along with extremely low fees. With an excellent range of ECN trading accounts, low fees, and top trading platforms, IC Markets is a good broker to consider for professional traders.

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: ASIC (1:30), CySEC (1:30), FSA Seychelles (1:1000)
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader
• Tradable Instruments: Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities
• Speed of Execution: < 40 ms
• Professional Add-Ons: VPS, MT4 Tools, ZuluTrade, IC Social

Having traded with IC Markets myself, I have been impressed with the quality of trade execution and speed. The broker provides access to institutional-grade liquidity with a low latency fiber optic connection to the Equinix NY4 servers. This is why IC Markets can execute trades in less than 40 ms, offer low spreads, a zero requote policy, and no minimum order distance restriction. This means you can place orders very close to the live market price – a unique feature among brokers.

IC Markets’ clients have access to a good range of professional platforms – MT4, MT5, and the cTrader platforms. All of these provide excellent charting tools and indicators and can run algorithmic trading strategies 24/7 using the IC Markets VPS service. I found you can also connect these to social trading plugins such as ZuluTrade or use the new IC Social app. This allows you to copy the performance of other professional traders or share your own track record and have other traders copy you to build another income stream.

The first thing to know about tastyfx is that it’s part of the giant global fintech IG group, and tastyfx is their US brand. Technically, tastyfx was founded in 2019, but you can consider it a much more established entity given that IG is its parent company. As a US entity, tastyfx is under the regulatory umbrella of the CFTC and NFA.

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: CFTC (50:1 for major FX, 30:1 for minor FX, and up to 4:1 for exotic pairs)
• Tradable Instruments: Forex (85+ Forex pairs)
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, ProRealTime
• Speed of Execution: 21 ms average

I tested EURUSD during the London and New York sessions (the most active sessions for Forex), and the spread averaged 0.8 pips, better than the industry average of 1.0 pips without commissions. Their Zero+ account offers spreads from 0.0 pips; however, their commission of 5 USD per side per lot is much higher than the industry average of 3.50 USD.

Their execution speed is a respectable 21 ms, but it’s not exceptional. For most traders, this is fine, but for scalpers, they may need something faster.

For US traders, tastyfx is probably the best choice (particularly because not all the other brokers on this list accept US clients). I like the fact that tastyfx is purely Forex-focussed, taking the attitude of “do one thing, do it well.” The only negative is that for scalpers with a high number of trades, commissions are high, and its execution speed is not ultra-fast.

Founded in 1996, OANDA US is one of the most established names on this list. As a US entity, it falls under the regulation of the CFTC and NFA. (Note that this review is specifically for their US entity, OANDA US, and not the overall brand, OANDA.)

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: CFTC (50:1 for major FX, 30:1 for minor FX, and up to 4:1 for exotic pairs)
• Tradable Instruments: Forex (68 Forex pairs), Cryptocurrencies
• Trading Platforms: OANDA Web/Mobile, MT4, TradingView
• Speed of Execution: <20 ms

In my live test during the London and New York sessions (the most active sessions for Forex), the EURUSD spread averaged 0.8 pips, better than the industry average of 1.0 pips without commissions.

OANDA US keeps its execution speed under 20 ms, and it regularly comes in much quicker than that, around 8-10 ms. Basically, they’re fast.

It offers a respectable 68 Forex pairs and some cryptocurrencies. That’s a decent number of Forex pairs, and most traders will find the Forex pairs they wish to trade in their list, but there may be the odd exotic pair, for example, that isn’t available.

OANDA US is one of the very few brokers I’ve encountered that offers MT4 but not MT5. So, if you happen to be an MT5 fan in particular, OANDA US isn’t for you. Instead, they offer a free MT4 premium upgrade for additional tools and indicators.

OANDA US is a market maker-style broker, but it automates the function with an internal hedging and matching engine, and gets its pricing from liquidity providers. This feels similar to a non-dealing-desk, but for the sake of accuracy, they are technically a dealing desk broker.

OANDA US is an established, well-regulated entity with excellent execution. However, keep in mind there may be limitations that apply to your trading: a smaller list of markets than its competitors, and no MT5.

Founded in 2008, Plus500’s US entity is regulated by the CFTC and NFA. Its US entity’s offering is focused on futures contracts and prediction markets.

Key Features:

• Regulation & Max. Leverage: CFTC/NFA, leverage varies per futures contract
• Tradable Instruments: Equity Indices, Energy, Cryptocurrencies, Metals, Forex (15 contracts), Agriculture, Interest Rates
• Trading Platforms: T4 suite (not MT4!), TradeSniper (mobile app), TradingView integration
• Speed of Execution: 23 ms

Plus500 in the US is a true futures broker, routing orders directly to exchanges such as the CME. This broker is strictly for clients who want to play in the futures sandbox. For Forex, that has the disadvantage of a relatively low number of contracts: 15 in total. They also do not offer individual stocks. But they have futures contracts in markets that other brokers on this list do not, for example, agricultural commodities.

Their execution speed is a respectable 23 ms, and being a futures broker routing orders to exchanges, it’s the exchanges that will determine the fills when they receive the orders from the broker.

Plus500 uses proprietary platforms for their clients (T4 for desktop and TradeSniper for mobile), and allows TradingView integration.