Forex.com Review: Pros and Cons Uncovered 2023

Forex.com was founded in 2001 and is now a well-established broker. The company was founded in the US, but they now offer services worldwide.

Forex.com also boasts excellent regulation with oversight in place from 6 regulatory bodies in total. The brokers’ reputation is further enhanced by the fact they are part of StoneX Group.

This Forex.com review takes an in-depth look at all the key areas of the broker including costs, available trading platforms, account types, and more so you can have the clearest possible insight.

The main strengths of the broker include:

• Part of the respected StoneX Group
• Extremely well-regulated
• Low spreads available on most assets
• Deep forex liquidity provided
• Low minimum deposit

Before you start trading live, you can also try out the demo account offered by the broker. This can help you get to grips with the broker and their offering across all account types.

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Our opinion on Forex.com

Forex.com is an STP Market Maker broker offering both fixed and variable spreads from 0.2 pips, a very low minimum deposit of $100, and generally fee-free deposits and withdrawals. Forex.com is a great choice for US and international forex traders. Moreover, they are regulated by the NFA and other top-tier bodies.

Alongside these points, you will find that not only do they offer a great range of assets, but also many account types to choose from. These can be chosen at sign-up and will determine whether you trade under the Forex.com STP model, or on their Market Maker side.

One thing to note is that eWallets are not accepted as payment methods, and while the broker has low spreads, they do charge both overnight, and inactivity fees. A swap-free account is available in certain circumstances.

Pros and Cons

Pros

A big advantage is that they are one of only a few brokers to be regulated and available in the USA. This is a testament to their trusted reputation as much as anything else.

Another unique advantage is that they offer both fixed and variable spreads you may not find with every broker. The fixed spread is a little higher, but the floating spread is great value starting from only 0.2 pips. A low $100 minimum deposit also keeps the broker extremely accessible.

Cons

Addressing the downsides first and despite the competitive spreads, you may find that fees at Forex.com can be a little high.If you have been inactive for more than a year, a $15 monthly fee is applied.

Also, they offer just a limited number of account base currencies to choose from with the USD, EUR, and GBP the only 3. This means you could incur conversion fees if using a different currency to deposit or withdraw.

You may also find from time to time some differences in the services offered depending on your location and the regulation it is under. These will be clearly disclosed by the broker since regulations do vary.

Pros and Cons: a Summary

The table below helps chart the pros and cons of each key broker area clearly.

If you want to expand your research, and evaluate some options similar to this broker, you can consult the alternatives to Forex.com.

STP Forex Trading Review

When trading forex with the broker, you will find a good range of choices available. This includes more than 80 forex currency pairs which is a large number compared to many brokers. These are tradable on a 24/5 basis when markets are open.

The lowest spreads, which are very competitive from 0.2 pips can be found through the commission account. Forex.com also has a STP account perfect for expert traders.

It offers a fantastic depth of liquidity alongside the same great range of assets for trading, and at the best possible prices with low commissions in place.

Their retail account is also perfect for anyone who is new to trading or those looking to move across from the Forex.com demo account which is also offered,

Pros

• The low minimum deposit makes the broker very accessible to all
• Very competitive variable spreads are on offer
• The more you trade the more you can save with STP commissions

Cons

• Fixed spread on commission account is only available trading commodities

Forex.com USA Review

Forex.com is one of only a few brokers who offer services not only in the USA but also in Canada. This is a great plus for traders there and they are also regulated in each region.

The US regulation comes from both the NFA #339826, and the CFTC while Canadian regulation is provided by the IIROC.

In all, this speaks to their esteemed reputation in the industry as a top forex broker that can be trusted around the world.

Pros

• They are one of the few brokers that can operate in the US
• This offering backs up their trusted reputation
• Regulated both in the United States and Canada

Cons

• They don’t have the widest range of assets available here

API/Algo Trading Review

As an algo-trader, or someone utilizing APIs to trade, Forex.com also has you covered. They fully support this trading style and even make APIs like the REST API available.This provides you with live streaming prices, trade execution capabilities, and more advanced order types.

Through this API you can connect your algo-trading strategies seamlessly with the deep liquidity Forex.com provides.

You will also have the freedom to implement your own strategies and trade execution thanks to the support provided as well as utilize these tools to improve your market insight and study technical analysis alongside historical data with ease.

All you have to do to take advantage of this REST API is to open a new account with Forex.com. For institutions, they also offer the FIX API and are overall one of the best brokers for algo-trading.

Pros

• They have a great deal of advanced features available here
• The technical analysis provided is very up to date and precise
• Access to historical market data can provide great insight
• You can use your own algorithms and trading systems as you wish

Cons

• You will have to apply for a new account to do this, but it is a fast process

Is Forex.com regulated and legit?

Given its multinational locations, it has to adhere to different regulatory bodies depending on jurisdiction.

The Tier 1 regulatory bodies should give you peace of mind that you are in safe hands and dealing with an upstanding firm which prioritizes looking after its customer’s interests first and foremost.

Forex.com actually works under the business names of GAIN Capital as follows:

• UK entity: GAIN Capital UK Limited regulated by FCA (113942)
• EU entity: StoneX Europe Limited regulated by CySEC (400/21)
• US entity: GAIN Capital Group LLC regulated by NFA (339826) and CFTC. It also offers services in Canada via IIROC
• International entity: GAIN Global Markets Inc. is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (25033)
• AU entity: GAIN Capital Australia Pty Ltd regulated by ASIC (345646)
• Japan entity: StoneX Financial Co., Ltd regulated by the Japan FSA
• Singaporean entity: GAIN Capital Singapore Pte. Ltd, regulated by MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore)
• HK entity: Forex.com Hong Kong, Ltd, regulated by SFC (Securities and Futures Commission)

Foundation and Offices

The broker was founded as a US company in 2001. The brokerage was then taken over in 2020 by StoneX, a major group operating in several financial sectors. They have two offices in both the UK and the United States of America.

• UK offices are located at 1st Floor, Moor House, 120 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5ET.
• US offices can be found at 135 US Highway 202/206, Suite 11, Bedminster, New Jersey, 07921.

Money Protection

It is well known in the industry just how tough it is for a firm to obtain regulatory status in the United States of America’s financial industry.

One of the key features of its money protection services, is that it offers negative balance protection, so you can’t lose more money than you deposit. However, unfortunately, the company’s US customers do not have this feature.

As with any regulated broker in the UK or US, your money is held in segregated bank accounts. In addition, FCFS is available to UK traders trading under FCA. This is an insurance in case something happens to your money with protections up to £85,000.

Awards

It is always a great sign to see so many awards from a broker’s profile and Forex.com is able to boast over 35 awards won since 2001. In fact, the broker has been voted multiple times as the best forex broker in the USA.

Countries where Forex.com is not available

Forex.com accepts customers from over 150 countries. However, due to the different reasons, Forex.com can’t accept customers based within certain countries. These are the exceptions:

Account Types

Forex.com offers different kinds of accounts focused on each trader’s necessity. Check out all of it to identify what is the best option for you.

Forex.com Demo Account

Let’s go through the various account types, starting with the demo account.

It is always a good idea to get familiar with the broker’s platform when you first sign up, as you want to iron out any problematic features of the platform where you could otherwise make easily avoidable mistakes before you start to trade live markets and with real cash.

Unless you get lucky, every mistake leads to a financial loss.

Forex.com offers 30 days trial demo accounts, giving you plenty of time to get familiar with its features and interface usability. At the end of the 30 days, you can go ahead and open another one with another email address if you need more practice time.

This account is great for beginners or for testing strategies out before going live with them. The demo account is simple to open. You can do so just with an email and your full name, or sign in with Facebook/Google.

Remember, the money you are trading is virtual, so there’s no risk involved. This obviously means that both earnings and losses are also virtual. And don’t worry, if after a period of time you feel this broker is not for you when signing for a demo account, you won’t be committed to depositing real money.

You can stop trading with your demo account anytime and vice-versa, you can keep trading with a demo account as long as you wish to do so.

Forex.com Retail Account

Let’s move over to the live accounts, starting with the Standard trading account where you will have access to a wide range of asset classes and currencies.

As with most brokers, you can start trading with small initial deposits. With Forex.com, you can start with a deposit as low as $100 with a maximum leverage of 200:1 depending on the region you’re residing in.

This is essentially a way to transition from demo trading, having spent time getting used to the interface of the platform, to trading real money in live markets with market-maker execution.

Forex.com Commission Account

Now, let us take a look at the Commission Account. This account is suited for traders looking for very low spreads and fixed commissions.

One of the features of this account is the very low spreads from 0.2 pips and $5/lot round turn commission, which is charged at the time the trade is executed.

This account is only available on Forex.com’s proprietary trading platform.

Forex.com STP Account

Forex.com says that the Direct Market Access account is for serious traders who demand deep liquidity and the control to take advantage of rapid price opportunities.

The prices are sourced from global banks and top tier liquidity providers. The great thing is that there is no additional mark-up.

The minimum deposit is $100, but it is recommendable to have at least a balance of $25,000. Spreads are very low and come with a $6/lot round turn commission.

However, the greater is the number of your trades, the lower is the commission, and it could be cut down to $2/lot.

Forex.com Swap Free Account

The Swap Free Account offered by Forex.com has no rollover charge.

However, additional fees may be charged when you keep the position open for more than a few days. Contact the Forex.com support if you want to know more.

Forex.com Professional Account

Now let’s get into the Pro Account. This is only going to be available to you if you register under the UK entity and in order to be eligible you will have to match at least 2 of these requirements:

• The first one is that you will have to trade an average of 10 transactions of significant size per quarter in the past year.
• Then, there must be a financial instrument portfolio of over €500,000 (in your bank or into the trading account).
• You will have to have at least one year experience in the financial services sector for this account.

After meeting the criteria and opening a professional account, you will be granted with higher leverages of up to 500:1 on Forex. Also, negative balance protection will be kept available.

Please note that this depend on the Forex.com entity that is holding the account, and that US traders do not have access to both leverage and negative balance protection.

Deposit and withdrawal

Account Base Currency

One of the less appealing features is that there are not a very wide choice of base currencies.

In fact, you can only be based in either EUR, GBP or USD which are usually available. The exceptions are the USA and China where only USD is always available.

In any case, it is always a good idea to have your base currency matching the currency of your bank account or credit card is important because it keeps conversion fees away during deposits and withdrawals.

Deposit

Forex.com Minimum deposit

So, it is time to make a deposit. Well, you will be pleased to know if you are just starting out, that the minimum deposit to open an account is just $100 for all 3 account types – Retail, Commission, STP.

However, if you are serious about trading, you want to be trading an appropriate amount of cash to get you started and Forex.com suggests to deposit at least $1000, or up to $25.000 for STP accounts.In that way, you will comply with all entry price requirements.

Deposit Methods

Meanwhile, it is easy to deposit money at the broker and you can deposit in USD, EUR, GBP, CAD and more currencies. You can do this via a standard and traditional bank transfer which are accepted worldwide.

If you wish to use a cash card for simplicity sake, then you can use either a credit or debit card which are also accepted worldwide.

These are the most flexible methods available providing low to no fees, and multiple currencies to deposit with.

Alternatively, you can use eCheck and a Personal/Business Check which too are accepted, but not within the US and the UK.

Deposit Fees

When it comes to making a deposit, they are generally fee-free. However, checks and bank transfers may be subject to costs.

Also, a conversion fee may be applied in the case your base currency is not the same as the money you deposit.

Withdrawals

Withdrawal Methods

Now, concerning withdrawing funds, you can do this in several ways as well. You can withdraw them in either USD, EUR, GBP, CAD and more currencies.

Bank transfers and credit and debit cards are accepted. Cards are recommendable as they are more flexible and have low to no fees at all.

Withdrawal Fees

As for fees, when you withdraw funds, this is achieved free of charge for European traders.

In fact, all withdrawals are fee-free for withdrawals above $10.000. In every other case, however, you may be charged a little fee depending on the withdrawal method.

Also, a conversion fee may be applied if your base currency doesn’t match the currency of your bank account.

Trading Fees

When it comes to spreads and commissions, Forex.com offers both fixed and floating spreads. This gives you the flexibility to choose what is best for you.

Floating spread prices may vary depending on the market situation.

Floating spreads start as low as 0.2 pips, and it may have a range that is lower than typical when the market is quiet and liquidity is high.

Fixed spreads are offered on commodities including crude oil from 5 pips.

However, they remain the same even though the prices are changing. As opposed to floating spreads, fixed spreads do not fluctuate because of market conditions.

Finally, STP commissions vary depending on the number of positions and standard lots traded. It can be as low as $2/lot.

Overnight Fees

Like with all brokers, there are fees associated with rolling or holding a position overnight. You can find the fees on the website so you can plan accordingly.

That being said, the cut time for rollover in the Forex.com ecosystem is 5 pm ET, and the fee can vary depending on your position.

In the case you are an Islamic trader, the broker offers a rollover free account. Contact them for more information.

Non Trading Fees

Check the significant fees that you should know before opening an account with Forex.com and start trading in its platform.

Inactivity Fees

Some brokers will charge an inactivity fee and Forex.com is one of them, but only if you are in- active for 12 months. Forex.com will charge a monthly $15 inactivity fee until you don’t log in back again.

If the money on your account isn’t sufficient to cover this $15 fee, Forex.com may reserve the right to close your account notifying you. Demo accounts don’t apply.

Markets

Whether you trade forex, commodities, stocks and the indices or crypto, Forex.com has it all. So let’s break down the individual asset classes and get into them.

Forex

Firstly, if you wish to trade currencies, then you are in the right place with there being over 80 forex pairs to pick from which gives you great mobility around the forex industry.

You will also be able to enjoy really competitive spreads on the majors from 0.2 pips.

And again, forex will be available to trade so long as the market is open, which is 24/5, Asia’s open on a Monday (Asia) to the New York close on a Friday.

Commodities

If you want to trade commodities, this asset class will be made available to you through CFDs and Futures.

Fixed and variable spreads will be available and up to 16 in total, consisting of 5 metals (Palladium, platinum, gold, silver, all traded vs USD), 4 energies (in Brent and WTI crude oil, Natural Gas, and Heating Oil ) and 7 agricultural contracts (Corn, Coffee, Cocoa, Sugar, Soybean, Wheat, and Cotton).

Indices

When it comes to trading global equities, Forex.com gives you a great variety to choose from so that you can have access to the action across world-wide markets depending on what is happening in the world.

You will have 15 indices from all around the world to access with very low spreads during market hours.

Stocks

For trading individual stocks and shares, you will have access to over 4,500 of the most popular UK and US companies. However, these will not be available on MT4 and to US traders.

Commissions will be charged from as low as 0.08%.

Cryptocurrencies

As for crypto, here are 5 cryptocurrencies to trade made available through Forex.com, except within the United States.

These are the most common and liquid in the markets today and should be familiar to any observer of this expanding and growing marketplace: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple.

When buying or selling these cryptos, you will be trading against the US dollar in the main, however, Bitcoin can also be traded with EUR, GBP and even AUD.

Please note that this offer may vary depending on the Forex.com entity.

Execution, leverage and position sizing

Executions

When it comes to getting your trades done, at Forex.com, you will enjoy the benefit of a hybrid STP Market Maker broker feature and this will be depending on the account, either STP or Market Maker for the Retail and Commission account.

So, you’ll get one or the other execution.

Regarding executions, it is essential to note that in an STP platform, you will have Direct Market Access to buy and sell assets on the international market.

On the MM side, the broker will be the buyer and seller of any orders.

Leverage

Leverage depends on the Forex.com entity you register with. For instance, if you are with the UK entity, then the leverage on forex is 30:1 (500:1 for professional UK traders).

With the US entity, the leverage on forex is 50:1. With the Australian entity (ASIC) the maximum leverage on forex is 30:1. Last, with the Global entity the leverage on forex is 200:1.

Sizing

At Forex.com, the minimum trade size is 1 micro lot (0.01 standard lots). It allows traders to open positions with as low as $1000 in non-leverage options.

Risk Management

This brings us to the most important aspect of your trade plan and how it can be applied at Forex.com.

The broker offers 5 main risk management tools which include, Stop Losses, Take Profits, Limit Orders, Trailing Stops and Margin Calls.

The following are a description of these features to remind you of how they work universally in the industry:

• Stop losses and take profit are tools that allow you to protect yourself from losses and secure gains.
• Limit orders is a tool that asks XM to open a trade once the asset reaches a certain price
• Trailing Stop helps you to secure profits while the asset keeps moving in the right direction.
• Margin Calls are also available. They warn you when your equity is below a certain level.

Trading Hours

The great thing about Forex.com is the trading hours which are the times where an asset is available for trading.

If you do not know already by now, the FX market is a twenty-four-hour market which means you can trade from the moment Asia opens on a Sunday (or Asia Monday) right up to the close in New York on a Friday.

At Forex.com, the forex trading will be available around the clock so long as the market is open.

For the cryptocurrency market, this is even open on weekends and so too is Forex.com, so you can take advantage of the weekend price action as well.

The stock, index and the commodities/futures markets depend on the asset itself or on the local market hours of the stock exchanges or the indices, but so long as the markets are open, Forex.com will be there to offer you access, night and day, depending on where you are in the world.

Forbidden trading techniques

Whether you are a day trader, swing trader, investor or only wish to trade at certain times and volatility, you have the options to do so at Forex.com and the broker will allow you to scalp and hedge.

If you wish to trade algorithmic strategies, you will be pleased to know that trading with EAs is allowed through MT4 and MT5 platforms as well.

VPS, which is a service that helps traders to deploy their expert advisors on a dedicated server independently from the trader’s own computer, are legal to use as well.

Platforms & Mobile

As a key tool to implement your trading strategies, choosing the right platform is very important as it could either hurt your position or enhance your whole trading experience. Let’s take a look.

Charting and Trading tools

At Forex.com, you will enjoy great charting and trading tool software which are provided by MetaTrader 4 and 5. Metatrader offers the familiar 51 chart indicators. It also provides around 31 drawing tools from third-party platforms.

Then, you have the luxury of one-click trading and you can even set orders directly from the chart.

This is critical when you want to access the market and price with ease and precision and can make a real difference to the overall execution experience when trading volatility, especially if you are a scalper wanting to get in and out of the market.

Finally, the Forex.com proprietary platform offers more than 100 trading tools though it is not as customizable as MetaTrader.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 and 5 are similar, with 5 being the latest version of MetaTrader and it is taking a number of years for traders to move from 4 to 5, but depending on your preference, Forex.com makes both available to you to enjoy.

However, MT4, for example, is only available with Standard Retail accounts but is considered the best third-party trading platform on the market.

It is a powerful trading platform and is encrypted communications between you and the servers.

There are over 50 indicators and charting tools to enjoy from the get-go.

The platform even enables the trader to copy other traders. MT4 is accessible and compatible with Apple, iOS, Mac, Windows, Android and comes in the form of either a download desktop version or via Webtrader.

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5 is only available with Standard Retail accounts and is an improved version of MT4.

There are more indicators, it has an economic calendar, it features 6 more pending orders that can be available and market depth is shown across 21 total timeframes.

You can also code, download and install trading robots for algo trading.

Again, this is available for Apple, iOS, Mac, Windows, Android and is on Webtrader also.

Mobile Platform

The Forex.com mobile platform is available on your choice of iOS and Android devices and provides a top-quality trading experience with lightning-fast execution and trading that can be completed in just one swipe.

You will also not lose any of the technical capabilities through mobile trading.

Advanced TradingView charting & analysis tools are all available on mobile too alongside real-time trade and order alerts so you never miss a move.

You will have use of the full range of account management features to trade and fund your account on the move and save all of your charting preferences for easy future use.

Forex.com Trading Platform Trader

Now, let us get into the Forex.com trading platform. This platform is highly user friendly, for which some may prefer over MetaTrader.

Also, another advantage is that there is a huge amount of charting, trading and drawing tools, for a total of around 130 tools.

Again, this platform can be enjoyed on either Apple, iOS, Mac, Windows, Android and also is accessible on Webtrader as well.

Special features you can find on Forex.com

Forex.com Smart Signals

At Forex.com your will be able to use the smart signals feature to monitor and find potential trading opportunities within 36 major markets worldwide.

These will fit with a historically successful pattern or another identified pattern through the Smart Signal dashboard, and be ready to trade on a short frame from 4 to 12 hours.

Furthermore, you will also be able to use suggested order details, with the only part of the feature that can’t be automated, the closing of the position. Only you can close it yourself.

This feature is also available through mobile and you will find it under the “more” tab. It is not currently available for Japanese clients.

Performance analytics

The performance analytics feature works by analyzing your trading history and providing insight on three key points.

These are your psychological edges meaning how winning and losing trades impact your next trades; your strategy edges, meaning your most traded products and how they may create a weakness; and, your timing edges which can help identify the best time for you to trade.

You have the freedom to select the timeframes you would like to analyze with this feature that is free to Forex.com clients, and it is also available on mobile under the “my trading history” tab.

Forex.com Active Trader Program

For high volume traders, you have the Active Trader Program which means that you can qualify for it once you trade at least 500 lots in a calendar month and reduce your trading costs by up to 15%.

You can also earn rebates up to 9 lots traded and get reimbursed of bank and wire transfer fees.

Social Trading – Copy Trading

While Forex.com does not have any Social Trading features or copy trading features, it’s still possible to enjoy copy trading thanks to MetaTrader.

Don’t forget, MetaTrader offers the possibility to trade with EAs, which are basically algorithms that open and close assets automatically.

These can be coded (with MQL Language) or downloaded from the MQL5 forum community, so you still have plenty of flexibility and all at your fingertips.

Customer service

Languages

Forex.com is based in the UK and the US, which means it has limited accessibility for worldwide traders who do not speak English as their first or second language.

However, China is a growing market for traders and Forex.com is available in Chinese.

Customer Service

When it comes to customer service there is a huge FAQ section with dozens of questions. You can access the sales team via a live chat facility, or by phone calls and of course by email.

The only languages available for support are English and Chinese.

Research and Education

Research

Market analysis and research is essential to traders and Forex.com provides market-leading research features through its services in both forex and stock markets which are made by the Forex.com research team.

These are presented in various formats, including Webinars and their economic calendar. There is also market analysis on specific market situations such as Brexit.

The economic calendar is a “reminder” of important events that will take place in the near future, that may cause an asset to rise or fall, so it’s always good to stay abreast with what is coming up, to either avoid or trade.

Forex.com will give you the expected impact on the news to help you with your positioning in the markets around these key events.

Education

Forex.com is a service for all levels of traders, whether you are a novice or professional with years of experience, there is something for everyone.

You have tutorials for beginners, intermediate, and expert traders which are centred around such topics as risk management, trading concepts, technical and fundamental analysis and how to use their trading software.

There are no video lessons so you may have to get your reading specs on.

FAQs

How much is the maximum leverage at Forex.com?

The maximum forex.com leverage is 30:1 if you are based within the UK, EU or under ASIC. This increases to 50:1 maximum leverage if you are within the US, and 200:1 if you register with the international Forex.com entity (GAIN Global Markets Inc.).

What is the minimum deposit on Forex.com?

The Forex.com minimum deposit changes depending on the account type you choose. The lowest minimum deposit available is $100.

What are the spreads applied by forex.com?

Forex.com has both floating and fixed spreads. Floating spreads start from 0.2 pips. Fixed spreads from 5 pips are available, but only on commodities.

What are the Forex.com customer support phone numbers?

You can contact Forex.com with 2 numbers in the US. These are 908-731-0750 or toll free at 1-877-367-3946. There are also a variety of other numbers available which you can access depending on your location around the world. You can check the broker support section for your region for more information.