Guide · 8 min
What a spread actually costs you per trade
The number brokers advertise and the number you pay are rarely the same. Here is the arithmetic on a standard lot.
Daniel Oyelakin · 11 Nov 2026
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with leverage of up to 1:2000 –
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Top-rated brokers, November 2026
| Rank | Broker | Regulators | Broker Review | Min Deposit | Max Leverage | Visit Broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 |  | FSCA, FSC, FSA | Read Review | $50 | 1:3000 | 
|
| 🥈 |  | ASIC, FSA, CBI, BVI, FSCA, FRSA, CySEC, ISA, JFSA | Read Review | $100 | 1:400 |
|
| 🥉 |  | FSA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC | Read Review | $10 | 1:3000 |
|
| 4 |  | FCA, CMA, FSC, SCA | Read Review | $30 | 1:3000 |
|
| 5 |  | FSCA, FCA, FSA, CMA, St. Vincent & the Grenadine | Read Review | $0 | 1:2000 |
|
| 6 |  | Globally regulated with multiple licences from respected financial regulators. | Read Review | $10 | 1:2000 |
|
| 7 |  | FSC, CySEC, ASIC | Read Review | $5 | 1:3000 |
|
| 8 |  | ASIC, BaFin, CMA, CySEC, DFSA, FCA, SCB | Read Review | $10 | 1:30 for retail EEA/UK |
|
| 9 |  | FSC | Read Review | $10 | 1:200 |
|
| 10 |  | ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FSA | Read Review | $100 | 1:500 |
|
Updated November 2026 · 117 brokers tracked
Broker reviews you can check, not just trust.
We open real accounts, place real trades, and verify every licence against the regulator's own register. Every score on this site shows its working.
- 117
- brokers tracked, 187 checks each
- $61k
- of our own money deposited in tests
- 0
- paid placements in any ranking
Type a name to jump straight to the review.
What brings you here?
Three tools, one panel. Everything else on this site is a review or an explainer.
Filters
Results are ordered by tested score, never by payout. Filters change what is shown, not the ranking.
No brokers match all of those filters.
Try removing one, or start again.
Verify a licence
Enter the broker's name or licence number. We check it against the regulator's live register, not our own database.
Checks we run
- Licence number matched to the regulator's live register.
- Entity name on the website compared with the licensed entity.
- Client-money segregation and compensation-scheme cover.
- Warning lists from FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSCA and 11 others.
- Withdrawal complaints reported to us in the last 12 months.
Flagged in the last 90 days
Sourced from regulator warning lists
Aurex Capital Markets
Clone of a licensed FCA firm, using licence 214477.
FCA warning list
Avoid
TradeVista Global
Unlicensed solicitation of South African clients.
FSCA
Avoid
Nordfin Invest
Licence lapsed 3 Nov 2026; still accepting deposits.
CySEC
Avoid
Meridian FX
Withdrawal delays reported by 14 readers; broker responded.
Our watchlist
Caution
Entities currently on our watchlist: 28
Report a broker
Path 1 · 20 min
What trading actually costs
Spread, commission and swap, worked through on one standard lot so you can compare two brokers honestly.
- What a pip is worth
- Spread vs commission accounts
- Overnight swap, explained
Path 2 · 25 min
Leverage without the margin call
Why 1:500 is a risk setting rather than a feature, and how to size a first position.
- Margin and free margin
- Position sizing by risk
- Stop-loss placement
Path 3 · 15 min
Before you deposit
The six things worth checking on any broker, in the order they matter.
- Verify the licence
- Read the withdrawal terms
- Test with the minimum
Trading platforms
One hub instead of eight lists. Pick a platform to see which brokers support it and what changes for you.
MetaTrader 4
Still the default for expert advisors and copied strategies. Four-decimal pricing, a mature indicator library, and the widest broker support of any platform we track.
- Brokers
- 306 of 117
- Best for
- Automated strategies
- Watch out for
- No native depth of market
MetaTrader 5
The successor rather than a replacement: more timeframes, real depth of market, and stocks alongside FX. Expert advisors written for MT4 need porting.
- Brokers
- 284 of 117
- Best for
- Multi-asset trading
- Watch out for
- EAs are not portable
cTrader
Built around transparent order books and level II pricing. Usually paired with a commission-based raw-spread account, so compare total cost rather than spread alone.
- Brokers
- 41 of 117
- Best for
- Scalping, order-book depth
- Watch out for
- Commission per lot
Best-scoring brokers on cTrader
FP Markets
$100
4.9
Go Markets
$200
4.9
IC Markets
None
4.9
Pepperstone
$10
4.9
TradingView integration
Charting most traders already know, wired straight to a live account. Execution quality is still the broker's, so the score below is the broker's, not the chart's.
- Brokers
- 37 of 117
- Best for
- Chart-led discretionary trading
- Watch out for
- Paid plan for some features
Best-scoring brokers on TradingView
easyMarkets
$25
4.9
FP Markets
$100
4.9
Go Markets
$200
4.9
IC Markets
None
4.9
Copy and social trading
One hub for copy trading, social feeds and signal marketplaces. Past performance on a leaderboard is a marketing figure until you see drawdown, so we publish both.
- Brokers
- 88 of 117
- Best for
- Hands-off allocation
- Watch out for
- Performance fees on profit
Best-scoring brokers on copy trading
Pepperstone
$10
4.9
Avatrade
$100
4.8
Blackbull
None
4.7
Vantage
$50
4.7
Broker-built platforms
In-house web and mobile apps. Often the cleanest first experience, but your strategies and layouts do not travel if you change broker.
- Brokers
- 197 of 117
- Best for
- First accounts, mobile
- Watch out for
- Lock-in, fewer tools
Best-scoring brokers on proprietary platforms
easyMarkets
$25
4.9
Exness
$10
4.9
FBS
$5
4.9
FP Markets
$100
4.9
How a score is built
Six weighted pillars, 187 data points, re-tested every quarter. Nothing is bought.
Regulation
25%
Licence numbers matched against each regulator's public register, plus enforcement history.
Trading costs
20%
Spreads, commissions and swaps recorded from our own live accounts over 30 days.
Execution
20%
Fill quality and slippage measured across 400 orders, including news releases.
Withdrawals
15%
We withdraw real money and time it, from request to cleared funds.
Platforms
12%
Desktop, web and mobile assessed on tools, stability and order types.
Support
8%
Anonymous questions in three languages, scored on accuracy and speed.
Start here if it's your first account
Checklist
Six things to verify before you deposit
Licence number, entity name, segregation, negative balance protection, withdrawal fees, and the small print on bonuses.
Editorial team · 2 Nov 2026
Explainer · 6 min
Leverage, margin and the call you don't want
Why 1:500 is a risk setting rather than a feature, and how to size a first position sensibly.
Amara Boateng · 11 Nov 2026
Markets now
EUR/USD
1.0912
+0.18%
GBP/USD
1.2841
+0.07%
USD/JPY
146.32
−0.24%
USD/ZAR
17.884
−0.41%
XAU/USD
2,438.10
+0.62%
Indicative interbank mid-rates, delayed 15 min.
More resources
Reference pages, kept out of the way.
