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Best Forex Brokers for Stocks of 2024

BrokerNotes.co

Written by BrokerNotes.co

March 14, 2024

What to Consider When Choosing an Online Stock Trading Broker

Trading online may seem daunting and intense, and in many ways it is. It can be fast-paced and making decisions on sudden market moves may not necessarily be something everyone is capable of. However, if you feel it is for you and wish to make a foray into this rather romanticized world, the first thing you will need to consider is what broker to use.

An online stock broker is your point of contact with the markets and the so-called middle-man through which you will action your trades. As such, choosing the right one is something you should pay careful attention to before putting your money on the line. Here are five key points to bear in mind.

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CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Best Forex Brokers for Trading Stocks

Here are the best forex brokers for trading stocks.

  • IG
    - 9.9/10 Overall
  • Interactive Brokers - 9.9/10 Overall
  • Saxo - 9.7/10 Overall
  • CMC Markets - 9.6/10 Overall
  • FOREX.com
    - 9.4/10 Overall
  • TD Ameritrade - 9.3/10 Overall
  • City Index - 9.3/10 Overall
  • XTB - 9.1/10 Overall
  • eToro - 8.8/10 Overall
IG
9.9/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit£250.00
Tier-1 Licenses8
Tradeable Symbols (Total)19537

Year after year, IG has shown itself to be the best broker in the forex industry and a fantastic choice for forex traders. Highly trusted and regulated across the globe, IG delivers a wide variety of rich features, market research, and powerful trading tools. Fans of copy trading will appreciate IG’s seamless integration of trading signals into its web platform. Read full review

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Visit Site

Join 239,000+ traders worldwide.

(Trading forex carries a high level of risk.)

Interactive Brokers
9.9/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses9
Tradeable Symbols (Total)8500

Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted broker regulated across the globe that delivers access to over 100 markets, including forex and CFDs. Its Trader Workstation (TWS) platform offers a variety of advanced trading tools for experienced traders, and IBKR's web-based platform is great for beginner forex traders.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Saxo
9.7/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tradeable Symbols (Total)70000

Saxo is a highly trusted broker that operates multiple banks and is regulated across the globe. Saxo delivers an incredible cross-platform experience alongside powerful research and a vast selection of more than 60,000 symbols across multiple asset classes. It’s worth noting that minimum deposits at Saxo are steep.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
CMC Markets
9.6/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses5
Tradeable Symbols (Total)12074

CMC Markets is a highly trusted multi-asset broker regulated in multiple Tier-1 jurisdictions. CMC's powerful Next Generation trading platform for web and mobile delivers a huge selection of markets and a fantastic user experience. CMC Markets also ranks highly for its high-quality research and educational content.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
FOREX.com
9.4/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$100
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tradeable Symbols (Total)5500

FOREX.com is a highly trusted brand with a long history of offering forex in the U.S. and across the globe. FOREX.com offers its own flagship trading platforms for web and desktop, as well as the full MetaTrader suite. Though its pricing is higher than average, FOREX.com is a balanced choice for traders of all experience levels.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)Yes
Visit Site

A Global Market Leader!

(Trading forex carries a high level of risk.)

TD Ameritrade
9.3/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses5
Tradeable Symbols (Total)0

TD Ameritrade, part of financial conglomerate Charles Schwab, is a leader in platform technology and trusted by millions of investors globally with trillions in assets under its brands. Available exclusively to U.S. residents, TD Ameritrade's forex offering consists of just over 70 currency pairs, along with powerful research and trading tools.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
City Index
9.3/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit£100.00
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tradeable Symbols (Total)13500

City Index, part of StoneX Group, is an award-winning, highly trusted broker with a long history of offering forex and CFDs across its global offices. City Index delivers a well-designed mobile trading app and a powerful web platform, as well as a large range of tradeable markets (though pricing is just average).

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
XTB
9.1/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses2
Tradeable Symbols (Total)6010

XTB is a highly trusted brand with a proprietary platform (xStation 5) that delivers a rich selection of trading tools. XTB also offers CFDs for a wide range of asset classes, including multiple cryptocurrencies. Beginners will appreciate XTB's excellent educational content and the hundreds of lessons that are available via its Trading Academy.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
eToro
8.8/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$10-$10,000
Tier-1 Licenses3
Tradeable Symbols (Total)3479

Best known for its copy trading platform suite, eToro is a highly trusted broker offering a large selection of cryptocurrency products, CFDs, shares, forex pairs, and a wide range of powerful trading tools. It’s worth noting that eToro is not a discount broker (though it offers zero-dollar commissions for U.S. stocks).

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)No
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No

Regulation

While it may seem obvious, it is imperative that a broker be regulated by an appropriate authority. There are certain commissions that cater for this, but if at all possible, it is always better to go with one that is regulated by a financial authority. Better yet, a broker that is regulated by a national central bank should be reputable in all its dealings.

Spread and Transaction Fees

Your brokerage, whichever one you chose, will charge you in some way or other. This is to be expected. After all, they are offering a service. Many people seek a broker that simply offers the lowest spread, but with money on the line, it is important to consider other factors. For example, while offering a low spread, is the broker then applying higher transaction fees or quarterly charges on your balance? Some brokerages will charge per trade but will offer a flat monthly fee for regular traders. Check all of this before signing up, so that you can find a fee system that you feel will match your trading goals.

Charting Packages and Trade Processing

Most brokerages offer both free and fee-based charting packages. For those of you unfamiliar with charting packages, they graph price action and allow you to action trades. Meta-Trader 4 is among the most popular, as it is free, though other packages, such as Ninjatrader, offer free demo accounts. The majority of other packages charge fees on live accounts, while some will even charge for their demo. MT4 is generally reliable and perfectly acceptable when starting out. It also allows you to program trading software to action trades for you, based on certain market conditions being met. As you progress with your trading career, this feature may prove very useful.

Market Mover

A market mover holds both buy and sell options on an instrument. The instrument is held in inventory by the broker and when you elect to take a position on it, ie buy {go long on your position} or sell {short the position}, the market mover can action it almost immediately. The key is that the broker has direct access to the instrument in question, rather than needing to contact a third-party provider. A broker's ability to action and close trades in a timely manner is important, and generally speaking, market-movers can achieve this. Ensure that the broker you choose is known for processing trades in this manner so that you can enter your position as close to the desired point as possible.

Customer Service

It is important that you have a clear point of contact and timely response in the event of any issue. As with all services delivered online, connection issues can arise and affect your trade. All good brokers have dedicated customer service teams and are contactable in the event you are uncertain about anything. To get an idea of a broker's reputation, it is a good idea to review posts on a few trading forums and look for any repeated issues.

Below are some useful definitions to help you understand what to look for in a stockbroker.

What is a stock CFD?

A stock Contract For Difference (CFD) is a contract between you and the broker in which you take a position on which way a stock’s price will move. If it moves in the direction you have forecasted, you make money whether that movement is up or down.

There are two key differences between this and traditional stock trading. First, you never own the underlying stock. You simply take a view – that you back financially – on what will happen to the stock price. The second difference is that by margin trading, you can use leverage to boost the returns on the position you have taken – but you have to be aware that it will also increase losses to the same extent.

Although there are many advantages to trading with CFDs rather than stocks, there are some disadvantages as well. In this article, we look at both aspects, as well as examine in more detail how CFDs actually work and how you can trade them.

What is a CFD stockbroker?

A CFD firm is a broker who will act as the other party in your CFD position. They usually offer CFDs for a wide range of stocks and other types of financial instruments, for example:

As with ordinary stock trading, CFDs are traded with a spread of prices. This means that if you want to buy a CFD, the price you pay to open (buy) your trade is not the same as the price you pay to close (sell) it.

Unlike traditional stockbrokers who charge a commission each time a client buys and sells a stock, the spread is the cost of dealing in CFDs and you need to take it into account when you are calculating a trade and the potential profit or loss for the trade. Until you have covered the spread, you haven’t made any money.

To trade CFDs, you’ll need to open an account with a CFD broker like Plus500.

CFD platforms for trading stocks

As mentioned earlier, CFD brokers usually offer traders a wide variety of instruments in all the world’s leading markets and many niche markets – the larger platforms like Plus500, offer access to thousands of markets. The brokers will often offer access to a range of trading platforms, usually asking the client to select one of the platforms when they open an account. The platform allows clients to access these markets while they are open, without having to interact with each market separately.

One of the most popular platforms for traders is the MT4 platform. Some brokers like AvaTrade will offer the choice between a fixed spread accounts or a floating spread account, with the floating spread account, the spreads are constantly updated for various financial instruments depending on the market activity. For traders, the size of the spread is a factor that should be considered when choosing a CFD broker.

For example, let’s say a trader believes Barclays shares are going to rise. The trader decides to “go long” Barclays by entering into a contract to buy the shares at a certain price. The trader first visits the website of a broker like Plus500 and checks the spread.

The traders see that with Plus500, clients can sell Barclays at 225.7 and buy at 226.1. The actual spread will vary, and the price must change equal to the spread for the trade to become profitable – or it will result in a loss.

How do you trade stocks as a CFD

Suppose a trader believes that Barclays shares are going to fall and makes the decision to use a Barclays CFD to open a position and try to benefit from a fall in the share price.

The trader would first need to choose a CFD broker, such as AvaTrade. The trader will then need to provide the necessary documents and details before making a deposit to start trading.

Different brokers will have different margin requirements attached to the different CFD instruments and will vary from one stock to another. Traders can expect to get a margin of anywhere up to 20:1 for CFD stocks.

This means that for every pound a trader has deposited, they can take out a contract to buy or sell £20.00 of stock (20 times the amount of their deposit). This is one of the main reasons that CFDs are popular amongst traders – CFD brokers give traders the ability to trade more than their initial account size by using leverage.

However, be aware that if the stock price moves very strongly in the opposite direction to the one for which you have a contract, you can find yourself owing more to the broker than you have deposited in your account unless the broker offers negative balance protection.

So the cost of your trade will include the spread, and other fees if any like overnight financing, generally there will be no commission for a CFD broker.

Five Advantages of CFD brokers vs. traditional brokers

  • A broker such as AvaTrade allows you to trade on margin – so you need far less capital to take a substantial position on a stock.
  • Profits are amplified by using leverage – but note that losses are too
  • Traders can access global markets from one trading platform, with very fast execution
  • Commission and fees are not usually charged
  • Day traders have access to tools such as charting and graphing

Five disadvantages of CFD brokers vs. traditional brokers

  • Margin trading means that your deposit – and more – can be rapidly wiped out
  • It’s a case of buyer beware – be sure that you are using a trusted broker that is regulated by or reputable organization like
  • In both cases, traders pay every time you buy and sell
  • If there is little volatility in the market, you may not make much money
  • It can be tempting to overtrade

The difference between trading and investing

Investors tend to take a longer-term view of a share’s performance and are not particularly interested in short-term volatility. They hold the underlying stock and are therefore interested in dividends as well as share price appreciation.

Traders seek to deploy strategies that will allow them to take advantage of market volatility and share trends. They don’t own the underlying assets and hold positions for a much shorter period.

In short, investors are looking for a payout in the future and traders are looking for a payout in a much shorter time frame, for example, scalpers are looking to make a profit within minutes of placing a trade.

BrokerNotes.co 2023 Overall Rankings

To recap, here are our top forex brokers for 2023, sorted by Overall ranking.

Company Overall Rating Minimum Deposit Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard Trust Score Tradeable Symbols (Total) Read Review Visit Site
IG logoIG 9.9 £250.00 0.98 info 99 19537 IG Review Visit Site
Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers 9.9 $0 0.63 info 99 8500 Interactive Brokers Review
Saxo logoSaxo 9.7 $0 1.1 info 99 70000 Saxo Review
CMC Markets logoCMC Markets 9.6 $0 0.61 info 99 12074 CMC Markets Review
FOREX.com logoFOREX.com 9.4 $100 1.4 info 99 5500 FOREX.com Review Visit Site
TD Ameritrade logoTD Ameritrade 9.3 $0 1.25 info 99 0 TD Ameritrade Review
City Index logoCity Index 9.3 £100.00 1.4 info 99 13500 City Index Review
XTB logoXTB 9.1 $0 1.07 info 96 6010 XTB Group Review
eToro logoeToro 8.8 $10-$10,000 1 info 90 3479 eToro Review
Swissquote logoSwissquote 8.8 $1000 N/A info 99 472 Swissquote Review
Capital.com logoCapital.com 8.7 $20 info 0.67 info 87 3007 Capital.com Review
AvaTrade logoAvaTrade 8.7 $100 0.92 info 94 1260 AvaTrade Review
Plus500 logoPlus500 8.6 €100 0.8 (August 2021) info 99 5500 info Plus500 Review
OANDA logoOANDA 8.5 $0 1.57 info 93 1744 info OANDA Review
FXCM logoFXCM 8.5 Starts from $50 0.74 info 95 440 FXCM Review
Admirals logoAdmirals 8.5 $100 0.8 info 93 8702 Admiral Markets Review
Pepperstone logoPepperstone 8.4 $200 0.77 info 95 2342 Pepperstone Review
XM Group logoXM Group 8.4 $5 1.6 info 88 1429 XM Group Review
FP Markets logoFP Markets 8.3 $100 AUD 1.1 info 87 10000 FP Markets Review
FxPro logoFxPro 8.1 $100 1.51 info 90 2249 FxPro Review
IC Markets logoIC Markets 8.1 $200 0.62 info 84 3583 IC Markets Review
Markets.com logoMarkets.com 8.1 $100 1.9 info 96 2179 Markets.com Review
Tickmill logoTickmill 8.1 $100 0.51 info 83 725 Tickmill Review
Fineco Bank logoFineco Bank 8.0 $0 N/A info 94 9770 Fineco Bank Review
BlackBull Markets logoBlackBull Markets 8.0 $0 0.827 info 77 26000 BlackBull Markets Review
Vantage logoVantage 8.0 $50 1.30 info 90 1000 Vantage Review
HYCM (Henyep Capital Markets) logoHYCM (Henyep Capital Markets) 7.9 $20 0.6 info 88 1199 HYCM Review
HFM logoHFM 7.9 $0 1.2 info 86 3500 HFM Review
ThinkMarkets logoThinkMarkets 7.8 $0 info 1.1 info 92 4000 ThinkMarkets Review
FlowBank logoFlowBank 7.7 $0 N/A info 80 408600 FlowBank Review
DooPrime logoDooPrime 7.8 $100 N/A info 83 10000 DooPrime Review
Trading 212 logoTrading 212 7.7 €10 1.9 info 79 8025 Trading 212 Review
BDSwiss logoBDSwiss 7.7 $10-$5000 info 1.6 info 76 1081 BDSwiss Review
Trade Nation logoTrade Nation 7.6 $0 0.6 85 601 Trade Nation Review
TMGM logoTMGM 7.6 $100 N/A info 83 12000 TMGM Review
Moneta Markets logoMoneta Markets 7.5 $50 1.27 info 72 1016 Moneta Markets Review
Eightcap logoEightcap 7.5 $100 1.0 info 85 736 Eightcap Review
MultiBank logoMultiBank 7.5 $50 N/A 84 1042
ACY Securities logoACY Securities 7.4 $50 1.2 info 75 2200 ACY Securities Review
RoboForex (RoboMarkets) logoRoboForex (RoboMarkets) 7.3 $100 1.4 info 71 12000 Roboforex (RoboMarkets) Review
VT Markets logoVT Markets 7.3 $100 1.2 info 70 1000 VT Markets Review
easyMarkets logoeasyMarkets 7.3 $50 0.9 info 80 199 easyMarkets Review
IronFX logoIronFX 7.2 $50 1.2 83 340 IronFX Review
Spreadex logoSpreadex 7.2 $0 0.81 info 71 10000 Spreadex Review
IFC Markets logoIFC Markets 7.2 $1 1.44 info 67 630 ATFX Review
Trade360 logoTrade360 7.2 $250 N/A info 76 1062 Trade360 Review
Octa logoOcta 7.2 $25 0.9 info 70 230 OctaFX Review
Axi logoAxi 7.1 $0 N/A info 81 175 Axitrader Review
TeleTrade logoTeleTrade 7.1 $100 N/A 71 500 Teletrade Review
GKFX logoGKFX 7.0 $0 N/A info 65 354 GKFX Review
Exness logoExness 7.0 $1 0.9 info 71 112 Exness Review
Vestle logoVestle 7.0 -1 N/A 78 750 Vestle Review
FXOpen logoFXOpen 7 $100 N/A info 80 87 FXOpen Review
FXPrimus logoFXPrimus 7.0 $100 N/A info 71 140 FXPrimus Review Visit Site
Forex4you logoForex4you 6.9 $0 N/A info 61 150 Forex4you Review
GBE brokers logoGBE brokers 6.8 $500 N/A info 71 500 GBE Brokers Review
Alpari logoAlpari 6.8 $20 N/A info 68 105 Alpari Review
TopFX logoTopFX 6.7 Depends on payment method N/A info 67 655 TopFX Review
Libertex (Forex Club) logoLibertex (Forex Club) 6.7 $10 N/A info 73 300 Libertex Review
LegacyFX logoLegacyFX 6.7 $500 N/A 67 425 LegacyFX Review
FXGT.com logoFXGT.com 6.6 $5 N/A 69 117 FXGT Review
ATFX logoATFX 6.5 $500 N/A info 73 150 ATFX Review
Xtrade logoXtrade 6.5 $250 N/A info 80 142 Xtrade Review

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Methodology

At BrokerNotes.co, our data-driven online broker reviews are based on our own extensive testing of each broker's products and services as well as the qualified observations of our expert editorial team. In conjunction with our sister site, ForexBrokers.com, we’ve published well over 100,000 words of research and collected thousands of data points across hundreds of variables. Our online trading guides are created with the same rigorous, data-driven approach.

The online brokers on our site provide the ability to trade forex in one or more ways, such as non-deliverable spot forex (i.e., rolling spot contracts), contracts for difference (CFD), or other derivatives such as futures. The availability of specific markets or features will depend on your country of residence and the broker's applicable brand or entity that services your account(s). Our proprietary Trust Score rating system tracks data from over 100 regulatory jurisdictions to help forex traders understand the regulatory status of their forex broker and choose a broker that they can trust.

Our editorial team is led by Steven Hatzakis, an industry veteran with decades of experience and a deep understanding of the forex market. Our team conducts thorough testing on a wide range of brokers, platforms, products, technologies, third-party trading tools, and mobile apps. We also test for the availability of high-quality educational content, actionable market research resources, and the accessibility and capabilities of mobile platforms. All of our ratings and rankings are based on the collection and validation of thousands of data points and our in-depth product testing.

Part of our testing process involves in-depth research into commissions and fees. We dive into each broker’s trading costs, such as VIP rebates, inactivity fees, custody fees, bid/ask spreads (we always strive to determine the average spreads for each broker to better serve our readers), and a variety of other fee-based data points.

All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser. Our Desktop PCs run Windows 11, and we use MacBook Pro laptops running the latest version of macOS to test trading on the go.

When testing mobile apps or mobile products, we test on both Apple and Android devices. For Apple, we test with the iPhone XS running iOS 16, and for Android we use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra devices running Android OS 13.

All of the content on BrokerNotes.co is researched, fact-checked, and edited by members of our editorial team. Our ratings and rankings are driven by our independent data collection. We may use generative AI tools to assist in some of the rote aspects of our content production processes, but the substance of our content, as well as our opinions and evaluations are based on our extensive research and product testing. Read our Generative AI policy to learn more.

Our rigorous data validation process provides our readers with quality data they can trust. Click here to learn more about how we test.

Forex Risk Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Learn more about foreign exchange risk.

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