20 Best Forex Brokers for Intermediate Forex Traders

In the Forex Market, the term Intermediate refers to Forex Traders who have passed the beginner stages, have learned how to trade and are taking the needed next steps to become a professional in the field.  As the biggest and most liquid financial market in the world, the forex market will offer Intermediate Forex Traders superb opportunities. But, with this being said, only those with the right skills and knowledge acquired will have what it takes to become a Professional Forex Trader.

The First and most important step when it comes to an Investors journey from Intermediate to Pro is finding a Reputable and Regulated Forex Broker with whom to invest.

 

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Factors to look for in a Forex Broker

 

Regulatory Compliance

Regulation plays a very important role in ensuring that forex brokers abide by a strict set of rules and standards.  Regulation ensures that the Brokerage Firm does not indulge in illegal practices.

 

Accounts on Offer

Traders should take a look at the Brokers Leverage and Margin, Commission and Spreads, Initial Deposit Amounts, Deposit, and Withdrawals, as each Broker will differ in what they have on offer.

 

Currency Pairs on Offer

A broker may offer a huge selection of forex pairs, but it is most important that the Broker offers the pair(s) in which the trader or investor may wish to invest.

 

Customer Service

A broker’ Customer Support should be available at all times as trading occurs 24 hours a day.

 

Trading Platform

Traders should make sure that the trading platform or platforms on offer are easy to use, visually pleasing and has a variety of technical and/or fundamental analysis tools.

 

AvaTrade

 

 

AvaTrade is an online broker which was founded in 2006 and offers Forex, CFDs, Spread Betting and Social Trading and is a global broker with their head office situated in The British Virgin Islands. AvaTrade is regulated in Europe, the British Virgin Islands, Australia, Japan, and South Africa by ASIC, CySEC and FCA.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Used by 200,000+ traders	Doesn’t offer VPS
Established in 2006
Regulated by Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, IIROC, FSA, FSB, UAE and BVI
Min. deposit from $100

 

Those who are looking to start out with AvaTrade will need a minimum deposit of $250 and a demo account is available for those who want to get acquaint with the popular MT4 forex trading platform.  AvaTrade also offers mobile apps for Android and iOS.

 

Trading benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Micro account	Bank Transfer
Low min deposit	Mini account	PayPal
	Standard account	Skrill
	Islamic account	Payoneer
		Neteller

 

Customer support is available by email, phone, or live chat.

 

EasyMarkets

 

 

EasyMarkets is one of the most popular choices for Beginners and is regulated by CSEC (Cyprus) and ASIC (Australia) and offers beginner forex traders:

• Enhanced risk management tools as standard
• Fixed spreads on all forex pairings
• An easy-to-use forex trading platform

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Doesn’t offer VPS
Established in 2003	Limited range of instruments
Regulated by CySEC and ASIC	Not FCA Regulated
Min. deposit from $1

 

The available trading platforms offered are MT4 and the EasyMarkets web platform.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Micro account	Bank Transfer
Low min deposit	Mini account	Payoneer
Guaranteed stop loss	Standard account	Neteller
Offers Negative Balance Protection	Islamic account

 

Customer Support is available 24/5 via various chat channels, email, phone and web forms.

 

IC Markets

 

 

IC Markets is a regulated Forex ECN and CFD broker which offers more than 236+ financial instruments across Forex, Commodities, Indices, Bonds, Cryptocurrency, Stocks and Futures on the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader platforms for desktop, web and mobile.  IC Markets is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), as well as the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA).

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Limited range of instruments
Established in 2007	Not FCA Regulated
Regulated by ASIC
Min. deposit from $200

 

IC Markets offers traders three main types of live trading accounts to choose from, including  Raw Islamic swap-free accounts and the use of a free demo trading account.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Mini account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Standard account	PayPal
Low min deposit	Zero spread account	Skrill
	ECN account	Neteller
	Islamic account

 

Customer support is available 24/7 via Live Chat, Phone and Email.

 

eToro

 

 

eToro is an online broker which was founded in 2006 and offers CFDs and Social Trading, with a head office based in Cyprus, UK.  eToro is supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulatory bodies and has been in operation for over 14 years.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Used by 6,000,000+ traders	Doesn’t allow scalping
Established in 2006	Inactivity Fee
Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, CySEC, ASIC	Limited range of instruments
Min. deposit from $200

 

eToro offers traders two ways to trade: CFDs, Social Trading and eToro traders will need to make a minimum deposit of $200 and the platform can accommodate various levels of traders from beginner to expert.  Traders can trade in a wide variety of over 100 instruments and over 50 currency pairs on eToro’s user-friendly custom trading platform which is available as a browser-based web application. eToro also offers traders mobile apps for Android and iOS, making it easier to keep an eye on and execute trades.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Offers STP	Demo account	Credit cards
Low min deposit	Micro account	Bank Transfer
	Mini account	PayPal
	Standard account	Skrill
	Islamic account	Payoneer
		Neteller

 

eToro supports a wide range of languages including English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian.  24/6 customer support is available via telephone and support ticket.

 

FP Markets

 

 

FP Markets is a global, online broker regulated by the Australian ASIC and the Cypriot CySEC which was founded in 2005 and offers Forex trading and has a head office situated in Australia. When starting off with FP Markets traders will need to make a minimum deposit of $100 and a demo account is on offer with a wide variety of instruments and currency pairs on offer.

 

Over 100 instruments and over 60 currency pairs in total is on offer, on the popular MT4 forex trading platform.  FP Markets also offers traders mobile apps for Android and iOS.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Low Forex Fees	High Stock CFD fees
Easy Account Opening	Limited Product Portfolio
Quick Deposit and Withdrawal	Outdated Platform

 

Trading benefits

Trading Benefits	Accounts Offered	Funding Methods
Allows scalping	Mini	Bank Transfer
Allows hedging	Standard	Credit/Debit
Offers STP	ECN	Electronic Wallets
Low min deposit	STP
Offers Negative Balance Protection	Managed

 

All accounts support a wide range of languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Bulgarian, Arabic, Russian, French, Italian, Greek, Philippines, Latvian, Polish, Indonesian, Thai, Malay, German, Vietnamese.

 

Customer Service is available via email, phone and live chat.

 

XM Group

 

 

XM Group (XM) is a group of regulated online brokers regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• Low stock CFD and withdrawal fees	• Limited product portfolio
• Easy and fast account opening	• Average forex and stock index CFD fees
• Great educational tools	• No investor protection for non-EU clients

 

XM offers traders more than 1000 financial instruments to trade on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms, including Forex Trading, Stocks CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Equity Indices CFDs, Precious Metals CFDs and Energies CFDs.  Forex trading is available on over 55 pairs, including the major USD, GBP, EUR and JPY pairs.  Traders must take note that XM does not offer binary options or futures.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features	Accounts Offered	Funding Methods
Negative Balance Protection	Micro	Wire Transfer
Low Spreads	Standard	Credit/Debit
Low Commission	XM Zero	Neteller
Hedging Allowed		UnionPay
Scalping Allowed		WebMoney
		Qiwi

 

Customer Service is available via live chat, Phone and email support.

 

OANDA

 

 

OANDA is a globally regulated Forex and CFD broker which also provides corporate Forex solutions and currency conversion. Users have the choice to trade on Forex, Indices, Metals, Commodities and Bond CFDs on the broker’s own proprietary trading platform for desktop, web and mobile, as well as on MetaTrader 4.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Accepts U.S. clients	No account protection for U.S. clients
Regulated by FCA and NFA	No guaranteed stop losses for U.S. or U.K. clients
Well-designed platforms	Traders cannot access cryptocurrencies or single-stock CFDs
Superior research offerings	A lot of ancillary fees

 

OANDA is the most Regulated Forex Broker and operate across six of the most credible authorities.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features	Account Offered	Funding Methods
Mobile Trading	Standard	Wire Transfer
Excellent Charting Tools	Premium	Credit/Debit
Educational Materials		PayPal

 

Customer support is available via a FAQ section, a OANDA Virtual Assistant and phone.

 

Forex Time (FXTM)

 

 

FXTM or ForexTime was founded in 2011 and is a registered brand name of Exinity Limited, regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius with license number C113012295.  FXTM offers users seven different accounts types where the execution method, range of markets, available platform, and commissions and fees may vary.  Three accounts are offered under the Standard category.  Forex Time (FXTM) is a MetaTrader broker which offers forex and CFD traders multiple account options for both MT4 and MT5 platforms.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Limited range of instruments
Established in 2011	Not ASIC Regulated
Regulated by CySEC
Min. deposit from $10

 

FXTM provides research in the form of daily technical and fundamental news analysis provided by an in-house team of analysts.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Micro account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Mini account	Payoneer
Low min deposit	Standard account	Neteller
Offers Negative Balance Protection	Zero spread account
	ECN account
	Islamic account

 

Customer Service is an available phone, email, online chat options – WhatsApp, live chat, Viber, Telegram or Messenger.

 

Interactive Brokers

 

 

Interactive Brokers was founded in 1978 and is regulated by multiple financial authorities including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

 

Interactive Brokers offers many account types, which fall into two big groups:

• accounts for individual traders and investors
• accounts for institutions

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Low trading cost	Pro users incur an account maintenance fee if multiple trades are not made
Invest globally in a multitude of products via a single account	Not everyone is eligible to open an IBKR Lite account
No minimum balance required
Tools to bring your trading to the next level

 

Trading Benefits

Tradable Securities	Accounts Offered	Funding Methods
Stocks	Lite	Bank Transfer
Fractional Shares	Pro
Bonds
Mutual Funds
ETFs
Options

 

Traders can choose between two different web trading platforms:  The Client Portal and Webtrader and IBKR Mobile, Interactive Brokers’s mobile trading platform, is available both for iOS and Android.  Users can trade on Stock, Forex, Option and Futures – to name but a few.

 

Customer Service is available 24/7 via Live Chat, Phone and Email.

 

IQ Option

 

 

IQ Option is a broker developed under the IQ Option Europe company which was founded in 2013. IQ Option contains a CySEC license Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission from Cyprus, with permission to provide its financial services within the European Economic Area zone, with several licenses from other EU local jurisdictions. IQ Option offers its clients services in binary options, stocks and shares, currencies, and ETF trading.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)	Does not provide MT4 and MT5 trading platforms
Easy and convenient method of opening an account	Not available for traders in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and other countries
Wide range of trading instruments on offer
No deposit and withdrawal fees

 

IQ Option provides clients with a proprietary platform which is also used for CFDs and for binary options trading. Traders can also install the mobile trading app which is provided free of charge. The mobile trading app has been designed specifically for use on smartphones and mobile devices and allows traders to check their account status, keep updated with all the developments in the market as well as to execute trades.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features	Accounts Offered	Funding Methods
Low min. deposit	Standard	Alipay
Low Spreads	VIP	Credit Card
Regulated by CySec	Demo	MoneyGram
		Perfect Money
		QIWI
		Skrill
		Wire Transfer

 

The IQ Options trading platform and website are available to traders in thirteen different languages and allows traders to choose the currency to trade with. The selections of currencies are: GBP, RUB, EUR, IDR, USD, MUR, and Yuan.

 

Customer service is available via email, live chat or the telephone.

 

Trading 212

 

 

Trading 212 is an online broker which was founded in 2006 and offers Stocks trading, Forex trading, Commodities trading, and Indices trading.  Trading 212 are a global broker and has a head office situated in UK.  Trading 212 is Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) and is used by over 14,000,000 traders.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Strict Regulation	No US clients
Segregated Client Funds	Limited leverage for non-professional clients
Financial Services Compensation Scheme	No MT4/MT5
Commission Free Trading
Intuitive trading platform
Low Minimum Deposit

 

Trading 212 are the UK’s number one trading and investment app with over 14,000,000 downloads, thus a large userbase but is not available in the following countries: US

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Benefits	Accounts Offered:	Funding Methods:
Allows hedging	Invest account	PayPal
Offers STP	ISA account	Skrill
Low min deposit	CFD account	Visa
Guaranteed stop loss	Demo account
Offers Negative Balance Protection

 

Trading 212 offers an outstanding, highly responsive customer service team available 24 hours a day across a variety of platforms and in 16 different languages.

 

City Index

 

 

City Index is a Spread Betting, CFD and Forex trading broker which is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  City Index offers traders the ability to trade on 12,000+ instruments covering Indices, Shares, Forex, Cryptos and Commodities, all on the MetaTrader 4 platform, the broker’s own proprietary, web-based HTML 5 trading platform or the AT Pro desktop download.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Used by 140,000+ traders	Doesn’t allow scalping
Established in 1983	Inactivity Fee
Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, ASIC and MAS	Limited range of instruments
Min. deposit from $25
Used by 140,000+ traders

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows hedging	Demo account	Credit cards
Offers STP	Micro account	Bank Transfer
Low min deposit	Mini account	Payoneer
Guaranteed stop loss	Standard account
	Managed account

 

Customer support is available 24/5 via Live Chat, Telephone, Email and an Online Contact Form.

 

Forex.com

 

 

Forex.com is a platform that can be used for trading foreign currencies and precious metals. Traders can trade over 80 currency pairs as well as silver and gold.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Doesn’t offer VPS
Established in 1999	Not ASIC Regulated
Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority
Min. deposit from $50

 

To open a live trading account, traders will need a minimum deposit of at least $50.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Mini account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Standard account
Low min deposit	ECN account
	Islamic account

 

Customer support is available by phone, live chat, or email 24 hours a day during market hours.

 

BDSwiss

 

 

BDSwiss is a Forex and CFD broker which is regulated by CySEC.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
250+ instruments	No US clients
Well Regulated	No Fixed Spread Accounts
Commission Free Accounts
Free VPS
Daily Trading Alerts

 

BDSwiss offers full demo and Islamic accounts and traders can fund their account via one of multiple choices.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features	Accounts Offered	Funding Methods
Negative Balance Protection	Classic	Wire Transfer
Multiple Trading Accounts	VIP	Credit Card
No Deposit or Withdrawal fee	Raw	Skrill
		Neteller

 

BDSwiss offers multilingual customer support 24/5 via Live Chat, Telephone, Email, Call Back, WhatsApp, Telegram and an FAQ section.

 

FXCM

 

 

Forex Capital Markets Limited or FXCM is a Spread Betting, CFD and Forex trading broker, authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under the Forex Capital Markets Limited and is part of the Leucadia Company, which offers users the ability to trade on Forex, Forex Baskets, Indices, Commodities and Crypto on its own proprietary Trading Station platform for Desktop, Web and Mobile, as well as on MetaTrader 4, NinaTrader and ZuluTrade.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Limited range of instruments
Established in 1999
Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority
Min. deposit from $1

 

FXCM offers traders 4 main types of trading accounts to choose from, including  Spread Betting, CFD Trading, Active Trader and Professional Clients. A Free Demo account is also made available.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Mini account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Standard account	Payoneer
Low min deposit	Islamic account

 

Customer Support is available via Live Chat, Phone, Email and SMS.

 

HotForex

 

 

HotForex was established in 2007 is well regulated by FCA, CySEC, DFSA, FSCA and SFSA.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Limited range of instruments
Established in 2010	Not FCA Regulated
Regulated by CySEC
Min. deposit from $1

 

The HotForex MT5 terminal offers 21 different timeframes, superior analysis tools, trading across HotForex asset classes, close to 100 simultaneous charts, hedging and one-click trading and 80+ technical indicators plus an in-built economic calendar.  The account can be accessed from anywhere using an iPhone, interactive charts for 9 timeframes, advanced trading functions, one-click trading, 24 analytical objects, and 30 technical indicators.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Micro account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Mini account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Standard account	Neteller
Low min deposit	Zero spread account
Offers Negative Balance Protection	Islamic account

 

Customer support is available via phone and email.

 

Admiral Markets

 

 

Admiral Markets is an online broker which was founded in 2001 and offers Forex and CFDs trading, is globally recognized and has a head office based in the UK.  Traders will need a minimum deposit of $200 to start and can sign up for a demo account to in over 148 instruments and over 40 currency pairs.   Admiral Markets is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA).

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Inactivity Fee
Established in 2001
Regulated by CySEC
Min. deposit from $100

 

Admiral Markets offers both of the MetaTrader platforms; MT4 and MT5 and mobile apps for Android and iOS.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Micro account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Mini account	Skrill
Low min deposit	Standard account	Payoneer
	ECN account	Neteller

 

Admiral Markets offers multilingual customer support via Telephone, Live Chat and Email.

 

Axitrader

 

 

Axitrader is an online broker which was founded in 2007 and offers Forex, CFDs and Social Trading, is a global broker and has a head office situated in Australia with no minimum deposit needed to get started plus a demo account is on offer.  AxiTrader is authorized and regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Used by 221,000+ traders	Limited range of instruments
Established in 2007
Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority and ASIC
Min. deposit from $1

 

AxiTrader is able to accommodate various levels of traders and offers the MT4 forex trading platform plus mobile apps for Android and iOS, respectively.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Micro account	Bank Transfer
Offers STP	Mini account	Skrill
Low min deposit	Standard account	Payoneer
	Zero spread account	Neteller
	ECN account
	Islamic account

 

Customer support is available via Phone, Live Chat and Email.

 

Markets.com

 

 

Markets.com offers traders access to the world’s most traded CFDs using instruments such as shares, currencies, indices, bonds, ETFs and commodities.  Markets.com is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Doesn’t offer VPS
Established in 2008	Inactivity Fee
Regulated by CySEC, Financial Services Board	Limited range of instruments
Min. deposit from $100	Not FCA Regulated

 

To open a live account, traders will need to make a minimum deposit of at least $100.  Markets.com offers over 2,146 different instruments to trade, including over 56 currency pairs on MT4 and MT5 forex trading platforms.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Mini account	Bank Transfer
Low min deposit	Standard account	PayPal
Guaranteed stop loss	Islamic account	Payoneer
Offers Negative Balance Protection

 

Customer support is available in over 25 languages, 24/5 via email, telephone and live chat.

 

SpreadEx

 

 

SpreadEx is a forex, CFD and spread betting broker which gives Forex traders access to major markets like currencies, indices, commodities and shares. SpreadEx is one of the few Forex Brokers which offers cryptocurrency CFDs, which makes it a smart choice for investors who are interested in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. SpreadEX also offers vanilla options to experienced traders.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Segregates client funds	Doesn’t allow EAs
Established in 1999	Limited range of instruments
Regulated by Financial Conduct Authority	Not ASIC Regulated
Min. deposit from $1

 

In order to open a live trading account, traders will need a minimum deposit of at least $1.  SpreadEx is Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and client funds are kept in segregated bank accounts.

 

Trading Benefits

Trading Features:	Accounts offered:	Funding methods:
Allows scalping	Demo account	Credit cards
Allows hedging	Standard account	Bank Transfer
Low min deposit		Skrill
Guaranteed stop loss		Payoneer

 

Customer Support is made available via live chat, phone and email.

 

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In Conclusion

If an Intermediate Trader has the utmost confidence in their Forex Broker, they will be able to focus on other important factors in their journey to “Pro”.