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Of the 20 brokers in our data, 15 offer MT4, 13 MT5, 14 TradingView and 4 cTrader; 4 trade only on their own platform. This ranking orders every broker by that range, because the platform you can use is fixed the moment you choose the broker.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
For traders choosing a platform first and a broker second. The platforms score counts recognised third-party platforms, an API and an own platform. It does not grade charting or execution speed, which we have not tested. Read first:how we rankhow we make moneyeditorial policy
No platform wins for everyone. Broker support in our data: MT4 at 15 brokers, TradingView at 14, MT5 at 13 and cTrader at 4. TradingView works as a charting front end linked to a broker account. The brokers at the top of this list let one account use most of them.
All four third-party platforms (MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView) at one broker: FP Markets, FxPro, IC Markets and Pepperstone.
Own platform only, with no MetaTrader to move to later: eToro, Interactive Brokers, Plus500 and XTB.
Pepperstone UK clients cannot use TradingView on the Standard account (Pepperstone UK, checked 19 Oct 2026).
Looking for a different list?
Every ranking on this site uses its own filter. Pick the need that comes first for you.
Why this order: every broker in our data, sorted by our platforms score, which counts MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, an API and an own platform; charting and execution are not tested yet. Ranked from our data on 20 brokers, updated 19 Oct 2026. How we rank
Ranked by this page’s rule · 19 Oct 2026
Your country decides which entity opens your account, and with it your leverage and protections.
Depends on entity: up to 1:30 (retail, per Pepperstone support FAQ) (FCA)
Funding methods
Debit card, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bank transfer
StandardRawSpread bettingProfessional5 of 8 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #1platforms score 9.5: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and its own platform; in the UK, TradingView is not available on the Standard account and MT4 comes with Razor only.
Depends on entity: up to 1:30 (ASIC)up to 1:30 (retail, all account types) (CySEC)up to 1:5000 (MetaTrader accounts), 1:1000 (cTrader); described as dynamic (FSA Seychelles)up to 1:200 (SCB)
Funding methods
Credit/debit card, Bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, BPAY, FasaPay, POLi
StandardRawIslamicProfessional3 of 4 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #2platforms score 9.5: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and its own platform; cTrader commission is priced at $3.00 per $100,000 traded, MetaTrader Raw at $3.50 per lot per side.
Depends on entity: up to 50:1 implied (margin from 2% on EUR/USD, retail) (CFTC / NFA)up to 30:1 (major forex pairs, retail; margin 3.33%) (FCA)up to 1:30 (retail, per account comparison table on EU site) (KNF)up to up to 20:1 (retail) (MAS)up to 25x implied (individual FX margin at least 4% of transaction amount) (JFSA)
Funding methods
Debit card, Credit card, Bank transfer (Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS, SWIFT, SEPA)
StandardRawProfessional4 of 8 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #6platforms score 8.0: MT4, MT5, TradingView and its own platform; its US, Canadian and Australian pricing pages flagged a TradingView system issue on 19 Oct 2026.
0.0 pips (RAW ECN (inferred: unlabeled block), 17 Feb 2026)
Platforms
MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary
Max retail leverage
Depends on entity: up to 30:1 (major currency pairs, retail); lower for other instruments (FCA)up to up to 30:1 (retail clients) (ASIC)up to 100:1 to 500:1 (global help center, all account types; certain products fixed) (VFSC)
Funding methods
Debit card, Credit card, Bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, E-wallets, Alternative payment methods
StandardRawECNIslamicCopyCentSpread bettingProfessional2 of 6 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #7platforms score 8.0: MT4, MT5, TradingView and its own platform.
StandardRawIslamicProfessional4 of 5 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #8platforms score 8.0: MT4, MT5, TradingView, its own platform, CQG and Trading Technologies; also lists CQG and Trading Technologies, platforms used for futures.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
11F
FXCM
Main entity: Stratos Markets Limited · 7 entities in total
Depends on entity: up to 30:1 (depending on instrument, retail) (FCA)up to 30:1 (major currency pairs, retail) (CySEC, ASIC)up to 30:1 default for major currency pairs (as stated on fxcm.com/za open-account page) (FSCA)up to 1000:1 (accounts with equity < $10,000; 400:1 for $10k-50k; 100:1 above $50k; MT4 < $10k max 400:1) (Unregulated)
Funding methods
Debit/credit card (Visa, Mastercard; Discover in UK), Bank wire, PayPal (UK, AU), Google Pay, Apple Pay (UK, AU), Open Banking (UK), Skrill, NETELLER, Rapid Transfer (UK), China Online Payment (markets), Crypto (markets)
StandardRawSpread bettingProfessional4 of 6 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #11platforms score 7.0: MT4, TradingView, its own platform and API; has an API; its UK client book is being sold to Trade Nation (announced 6 Oct 2026).
Depends on entity: up to 1:400 (CMA Kenya)up to 1:Unlimited if eligible (equity < 5,000 USD); 1:2000 by default; 1:1000 / 1:500 at higher equity (FSA Seychelles, CBCS, BVI FSC)
Funding methods
Bank card (Visa, Mastercard, 3D Secure), Prepaid cards (not US-issued), Local and global payment methods (region-dependent, listed only in Personal Area)
StandardRawIslamicDemoCent3 of 10 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Why #14platforms score 6.5: MT4, MT5 and its own platform; not available to retail clients in the UK, the EEA, the US or Canada.
Depends on entity: up to 1:30 (major FX CFDs, retail: ESMA-style minimum initial margin 3.33%; 5% other pairs) (FCA)up to Leverage limits per CBI CFD rules (Aug 2019) for retail; ESMA minimum margin 3.33% major FX (1:30) per CFD margin page (Central Bank of Ireland)
Funding methods
Bank wire, ACH (US), Direct ACH (US), Check (US), Online Bill Pay (US), Wise balance transfer, USDC stablecoin (USD)
Standard6 of 9 licences checked on the register, 20 Oct 2026
Each criterion is scored 0–10 from the brokers’ published terms. Research and support are empty for every broker: we have not scored them, so they count in no rating.
Scores by criterion
Broker
Costs
Platforms
Regulation
Accounts
Research
Support
Pepperstone
8.2
9.5
9.0
7.0
Not measured
Not measured
IC Markets
6.8
9.5
8.0
8.5
Not measured
Not measured
FP Markets
7.6
9.5
8.0
6.5
Not measured
Not measured
FxPro
7.2
9.5
8.0
5.0
Not measured
Not measured
IG
7.6
8.5
9.0
6.0
Not measured
Not measured
OANDA
7.6
8.0
9.0
7.0
Not measured
Not measured
Vantage
7.6
8.0
8.0
8.0
Not measured
Not measured
Tickmill
7.6
8.0
7.5
8.0
Not measured
Not measured
ThinkMarkets
Not measured
8.0
9.0
9.0
Not measured
Not measured
AvaTrade
6.4
8.0
8.0
7.0
Not measured
Not measured
FXCM
Not measured
7.0
7.0
6.5
Not measured
Not measured
CMC Markets
8.0
6.5
9.0
7.0
Not measured
Not measured
Admirals (Admiral Markets)
8.0
6.5
8.0
8.0
Not measured
Not measured
Exness
Not measured
6.5
3.5
6.0
Not measured
Not measured
Saxo
7.2
6.0
9.0
6.5
Not measured
Not measured
XM
6.8
6.0
8.0
8.0
Not measured
Not measured
XTB
6.8
4.0
9.0
7.5
Not measured
Not measured
Plus500
Not measured
4.0
9.0
5.5
Not measured
Not measured
Interactive Brokers
Not measured
4.0
9.0
5.0
Not measured
Not measured
eToro
Not measured
4.0
9.0
4.0
Not measured
Not measured
Preliminary scores from broker data collected 19 Oct 2026. No live accounts were opened.
At a glance · platforms
Trading platforms by broker
What the table shows
Licence numbers as each broker publishes them, which entity serves which country, and spreads with their date and source page.
How to use this table
Sort by score, spread or minimum deposit. Deposits stay in each broker’s own currency and are not converted.
50:1 implied (margin from 2% on EUR/USD, retail) (CFTC / NFA) · 30:1 (major forex pairs, retail; margin 3.33%) (FCA) · 1:30 (retail, per account comparison table on EU site) (KNF) · up to 20:1 (retail) (MAS) · 25x implied (individual FX margin at least 4% of transaction amount) (JFSA)
0.0 pipsRAW ECN (inferred: unlabeled block) · 17 Feb 2026
MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary
Standard, Raw, ECN, Islamic, Copy, Cent, Spread betting, Professional
30:1 (major currency pairs, retail); lower for other instruments (FCA) · up to 30:1 (retail clients) (ASIC) · 100:1 to 500:1 (global help center, all account types; certain products fixed) (VFSC)
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (Plus500UK Ltd).
19
IBInteractive BrokersSEC / CFTC · FCA · DFSA · Central Bank of Ireland · ASIC · CIRO · MAS · JFSA · SFC Hong KongLicences and register check
6.1/10
$0
Not measured
proprietary
Standard
1:30 (major FX CFDs, retail: ESMA-style minimum initial margin 3.33%; 5% other pairs) (FCA) · Leverage limits per CBI CFD rules (Aug 2019) for retail; ESMA minimum margin 3.33% major FX (1:30) per CFD margin page (Central Bank of Ireland)
Spreads as published by each broker, latest check 19 Oct 2026. Minimum deposits are shown in each broker’s own currency and are not converted.
Closer look
One broker from this list, October 2026
FP Markets has entities licensed by 2 Tier 1 regulators and offers MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, Iress and its own platform. The trade-off: it has no FCA entity in our data, so UK residents get no FCA protection with it.
Which of its entities you get depends on where you live: rankings by country
Decide the platform first: only 4 brokers in our data offer cTrader, against 15 with MT4.
1
MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5?
15 brokers in our data offer MT4 and 13 offer MT5. Keep MT4 only if you run MQL4 expert advisors or indicators; they do not run on MT5 without rewriting.
cTrader, from Spotware, is offered by 4 brokers in our data: FP Markets, FxPro, IC Markets and Pepperstone. At IC Markets the cTrader commission is $3.00 per $100,000 traded, against $3.50 per lot per side on its MetaTrader Raw Spread account.
TradingView is charting software you link to a broker account; 14 brokers in our data support it. Saxo offers TradingView without MetaTrader.
4
Is a broker’s own platform worse?
Not by default, but it ties you to one broker. eToro, Interactive Brokers, Plus500 and XTB trade only on their own platforms, so indicators and strategies built there cannot move with you to another broker.
API access appears in our data for FXCM, IG and Saxo. For automated trading without coding against an API, MetaTrader and cTrader both run strategies inside the platform.
Methodology v1 · preliminary
How we rate brokers
Every rating here comes from documents the brokers publish, collected on 19 Oct 2026. We have not opened live accounts, so each score is marked preliminary.
1Collect published termsSpreads, commissions, minimum deposits, platforms and account types, each saved with its source page and date.
2List every entityEach licensed company of a brand, with the licence number the broker publishes. Matching those numbers on the regulators’ registers is still to do.
3Score four criteriaCosts, platforms, regulation and accounts, 0–10 each. Research and support stay unscored until we test them.
4Apply this page’s ruleA filter by published fact, then a sort by one criterion. The rule is printed above the ranking.
5Show what changes a recommendationClient-book sales, regulator orders and offshore-only onboarding are written on the broker’s card.
Criteria weights
Costs · 25%
Regulation & safety · 25%
Platforms · 15%
Accounts & funding · 15%
Research & education · 10%
Support · 10%
20brokers on this page
42regulators behind their entities
19 Oct 2026latest data check
What does not affect a score
Partner status and advertising. We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers.
Latest data entries
Date
Entry
Result
19 Oct 2026
EUR/USD spread, Razor account, Pepperstone
0.1 pips
19 Oct 2026
EUR/USD spread, Raw Spread (Global) account, IC Markets
0.1 pips
19 Oct 2026
EUR/USD spread, Standard (MT4, EU) account, FP Markets
1.3 pips
Data collected 19 Oct 2026 · 83 of 152 licences checked on regulators’ registers
A desk comparison of published terms; no broker pays us.
Who writes it
Each ranking is written and checked by the Low Spread Brokers team; the date the broker data was collected (19 Oct 2026) is printed at the foot of the page.
At the moment we earn nothing from brokers: there are no affiliate or advertising agreements, and the buttons lead to the brokers’ official websites. Partner status is not an input to any score.
What we don’t do
No bonuses or sign-up offers, no offshore leverage presented as a benefit, no personal investment advice, and no claims of live-account tests we have not run.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
1MetaTrader, cTrader or TradingView: which should I use?
MetaTrader if you want the widest broker choice (15 brokers offer MT4, 13 MT5); cTrader if you prefer Spotware’s platform and accept fewer brokers (4); TradingView if charting comes first and your broker is one of the 14 that link to it.
Answers checked against broker data collected 19 Oct 2026
2What is the best forex trading platform in the UK?
Among brokers with an FCA entity for UK residents, the widest platform range on this page’s rule belongs to Pepperstone, FxPro and IG. The UK ranking orders the same brokers by overall score instead.
Answers checked against broker data collected 19 Oct 2026
3Can I use one platform with several brokers?
Yes for MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView: each broker issues its own login for the same software, and you can run several at once. An own platform works only with the broker that built it.
Answers checked against broker data collected 19 Oct 2026
4Is a trading platform the same as a broker?
No. The platform is software; the broker’s licensed entity holds your money and positions. Two brokers on the same MT5 can give you different leverage caps, protections and costs.
Answers checked against broker data collected 19 Oct 2026
5Which platforms work on a phone?
MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView run on desktop, web, iOS and Android. Brokers’ own platforms in our data run on web, iOS and Android; 19 of the 20 brokers have one.
Answers checked against broker data collected 19 Oct 2026
6Are online forex trading platforms regulated?
The software is not; the broker is. Check the licence number of the entity that will hold your account on the regulator’s own register, such as the FCA register or the CySEC register, before you deposit.
Answers checked against broker data collected 19 Oct 2026
Who wrote and checked this page
Written and checked by
Low Spread Brokers team
Collected the broker terms used on this page from the brokers’ own websites and checks each entity, figure and date against the source pages recorded in our broker data.