Through extensive research and a strict adherence to our robust methodology, we have determined the best forex brokers in all of these areas and more, which has resulted in our top rankings below. Our mission has always been to help people make the most informed decisions about how, when, and where to trade and invest. Given recent market volatility and the changes in the online forex brokerage industry, we are more committed than ever to providing our readers with unbiased and expert reviews of the top trading platforms for traders of all levels, for every kind of market.

Best Forex Brokers for 2020

• CMC Markets: Best Overall Forex Broker and Best for Range of Offerings
• London Capital Group (LCG): Best Forex Broker for Beginners
• Saxo Capital Markets: Best Forex Broker for Advanced Traders
• XTB Online Trading: Best Forex Broker for Low Costs
• IG: Best Forex Broker for U.S. Traders
• Pepperstone: Best Forex Broker for Trading Experience

CMC Markets: Best Overall and Best for Range of Offerings

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

• Account Minimum: $0
• Fees: Spread cost; Additional charge for guaranteed stops; Commissions; Overnight financing costs; Inactivity fees
• Best for: Overall Forex Broker and Range of Offerings

CMC Markets (CMC), founded in 1989, is a well-established, publicly traded, and highly regarded U.K. forex broker that has successfully adapted to the ever-changing online brokerage landscape. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol, CMCX. Like many forex brokers, CMC does not accept U.S. traders.

CMC Markets is for all types of traders, from the novice retail trader looking to dip their toes into the online trading arenas of forex, CFDs, and spread betting, to the experienced veteran seeking exposure to a broad array of products. The firm’s fees are competitive within the industry and it ranks high on several of our lists. The company is ranked as the winner for Investopedia’s Best Overall Forex Broker as well as Best Forex Broker for Range of Offerings in 2020.

London Capital Group (LCG): Best for Beginners

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

• Account Minimum: $0 (Standard); $10,000 (ECN)
• Fees: Spread cost; Additional charge for guaranteed stops; Premium added to either side of the bid/ask price for shares; Overnight financing costs; Inactivity fees
• Best for: Beginners

London Capital Group (LCG), founded in 1996, has continued to keep pace in the highly competitive online brokerage space. The company’s latest rebranding effort occurred in 2016 with the launch of LCG Trader. This, coupled with the ubiquitous MT4 (downloadable) platform and a functional mobile application, comprises LCG’s entire online offering to the consumer. LCG provides access to a broad selection of CFDs and spread betting instruments across several different asset classes. Like most others on this list, LCG does not accept U.S. traders.

As one of the major U.K.-based forex brokers, LCG offers a wide range of asset classes and a seamless trading experience. The firm’s fees are competitive within the industry and it ranks high on our list for customer service. With these positive attributes along with its apparent focus on functional simplicity, LCG is well-suited to beginning traders. Aside from rating highly overall, the company is ranked as the winner for Investopedia’s Best Forex Broker for Beginners in 2020. Although you certainly don’t have to be a beginner to benefit from its offerings, LCG is hard to beat if you are just starting out.

Saxo Capital Markets: Best for Advanced Traders

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

• Account Minimum: £500 (Classic – UK)
• Fees: Competitive FX spread costs; Host of additional costs
• Best for: Advanced Traders

Denmark’s Saxo Bank Group (Saxo Bank), founded in 1992, classifies itself as “a leading Fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment and delivering ‘Banking-as-a-Service’ to wholesale clients.” The company embraced the technological advancements of the late 90’s in launching one of the first online trading platforms in 1998. Saxo Bank has operated in the United Kingdom since 2006 through its subsidiary Saxo Capital Markets U.K. Ltd (SCML) and, like many forex brokers, it doesn’t accept U.S. traders.

Saxo Capital Markets is for the advanced trader. It offers a broad variety of brokerage services geared towards sophisticated active traders, investors, professionals, and institutions. Smaller account holders will encounter a number of unusual obstacles that include higher account minimums, a variety of fees, and fewer customer support options. Tiered accounts lower trading costs and add benefits as equity grows, but the majority of retail traders will have a tough time reaching the higher customer tiers. The company is ranked as the winner for Investopedia’s Best Forex Broker for Advanced Traders in 2020.

XTB Online Trading: Best for Low Costs

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

• Account Minimum: $0
• Fees: Spread cost; Commissions; Overnight financing costs; Inactivity fees
• Best for: Low Costs

Founded in 2002 as Poland’s first leveraged foreign exchange brokerage house, X-Trade morphed into X-Trade Brokers in 2004 to comply with new Polish regulations. It then rebranded to its current incarnation, XTB Online Trading (XTB), in 2009 and went public, listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2016 under the ticker symbol, XTB. The firm does not accept U.S. traders.

XTB is a solid choice for traders that want to minimize their costs, whether it be the inherent cost of placing a trade (bid/ask spread) or not having to be burdened with extraneous costs, such as wire fees. XTB offers maximum leverage of up to 500:1 for non-U.K. accounts while U.K. accounts get up to 30:1 leverage. The firm places an emphasis on customer support and offers relevant educational tools and research amenities that would be well-suited to a novice trader. This company is ranked as the winner of Investopedia’s Best Forex Broker for Low Costs in 2020.

IG: Best for U.S. Traders

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

• Account Minimum: $250
• Fees: Spread cost; Overnight financing costs; Inactivity fees
• Best for: U.S. Traders

IG Group (IG), founded in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler “as the world’s first spread betting firm,” is part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly traded (LSE: IGG) conglomerate that “empowers informed, decisive, adventurous people to access opportunities in financial markets.” Unlike most brokers on this list, IG does accept U.S. forex traders, which has been the case since early 2019 when the company re-entered the U.S. market.

Globally, IG is for anyone wanting to trade CFDs. In the U.S., it’s for clients who want to trade the foreign exchange markets. It’s as simple as that. To deliver on this successfully, IG has decided to adopt the time-honored adage, “go big or go home” because, well, it can. Low spread costs, emphases on customer service and education, actionable research, and functional user interfaces make this broker well-suited to compete in the online forex broker market. This company is ranked as the winner of Investopedia’s Best Forex Broker for U.S. Traders in 2020.

Pepperstone: Best for Trading Experience

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

• Account Minimum: 200 units of the base currency
• Fees: Spread costs; Overnight financing costs
• Best for: Trading Experience

Since opening its doors in 2010, Australia-based Pepperstone Group has emerged as a top-tier player in the online brokerage landscape, building a highly competitive and full-featured trading portal that focuses on forex, shares, indices, metals, commodities and even cryptocurrencies.

Pepperstone offers uncomplicated access to the markets which allows the client to focus on the complicated task of trying to successfully trade the markets. Pepperstone is ideally suited to traders that want a manageable range of low-cost offerings, multiple choices of user interfaces and account types, and efficient customer support. Investopedia’s ranking methodology factored in these attributes in declaring Pepperstone as the Best Forex Broker for Trading Experience in 2020.