Advertiser disclosure: we have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers, and no click to a broker is paid. If that changes, this notice changes first. How we make money
12 brokers in our data combine a raw-spread account with at least one Tier 1 regulated entity. They are ranked by the lowest EUR/USD raw spread each broker publishes, because a scalper crosses the spread on every entry and exit; ties go to the lower spread plus commission; terms published up to 19 Oct 2026.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
For traders who hold positions for seconds to minutes and aim for a few pips. Execution speed and slippage matter as much as cost, but no broker publishes them in a comparable form and we have not measured them, so they are not in the score. Read first:how we rankhow we make moneyrankings by country
On published raw spreads, Pepperstone ranks first: Razor averages 0.1 pips on EUR/USD plus GBP 2.25 per lot per side, with an FCA entity in the UK. A scalping strategy lives on that arithmetic: a 5-pip target on one lot earns USD 50 before costs, and the cost of each round trip comes straight out of it.
Price your target: on Pepperstone’s standard account the spread alone, from 1.0 pips (USD 10 a lot), takes a fifth of a 5-pip scalp; on Razor the spread is about USD 1 plus GBP 4.50 commission.
Read the client agreement for minimum holding times or “abusive trading” clauses; our data does not record scalping rules per broker.
If you want depth of market and one-click trading in cTrader, the brokers here that offer it are FP Markets, FxPro, IC Markets and Pepperstone.
Not sure which broker fits you?
Pick what matters most and go straight to the ranking built for it.
Every ranking shows the company behind each broker and the loss rate that company publishes.
Best forex brokers for scalping, ranked by raw spread
Ranked by this page’s rule from published broker data, not by commission. Advertiser disclosure
Why this order: only brokers with a raw-pricing account and a Tier 1 entity that takes retail clients, sorted by the lowest EUR/USD spread the broker publishes (ties broken by spread plus commission), because a scalper crosses the spread on every entry and exit. Ranked from our data on 12 brokers, updated 19 Oct 2026. How we rank
Ranked by this page’s rule · 19 Oct 2026
Your country decides which company opens your account, and with it your leverage cap 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 #1lowest all-in EUR/USD cost in our data (Razor 0.1 pips average plus GBP 2.25 per lot per side) and Tier 1 entities with the FCA, CySEC, BaFin, ASIC and DFSA.
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
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
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
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
1PepperstonecTrader, MT4 or MT5 scalping on the lowest published commission8.5/10
2Admirals (Admiral Markets)MT5 scalpers in the UK or the EEA7.7/10
3CMC MarketsMT4 scalping with a percentage commission7.8/10
4TickmillUSD 3.00 per lot per side with an FCA entity for UK clients7.7/10
5OANDAtraders in Australia or Singapore, where OANDA publishes raw pricing8.0/10
7FP MarketscTrader scalping with a published average of 0.19 pips7.9/10
Scores by criterion
Each criterion scored 0–10. Darker means a higher score; an empty cell means not measured.
Scores by criterion
Broker
Costs
Platforms
Regulation
Accounts
Research
Support
Pepperstone
8.2
9.5
9.0
7.0
Not measured
Not measured
Admirals (Admiral Markets)
8.0
6.5
8.0
8.0
Not measured
Not measured
CMC Markets
8.0
6.5
9.0
7.0
Not measured
Not measured
Tickmill
7.6
8.0
7.5
8.0
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
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
XM
6.8
6.0
8.0
8.0
Not measured
Not measured
IC Markets
6.8
9.5
8.0
8.5
Not measured
Not measured
ThinkMarkets
Not measured
8.0
9.0
9.0
Not measured
Not measured
FXCM
Not measured
7.0
7.0
6.5
Not measured
Not measured
Preliminary scores from published broker data. Research and support are not scored until live-account tests, and a broker with no published EUR/USD spread in pips has no costs score.
At a glance
Forex broker comparison table
What the table shows
Licence numbers as each broker publishes them (we have not yet matched them on the registers), which entity serves which country, and spreads with the date we copied them from the broker’s own pages.
How to use this table
Sort by score, spread or minimum deposit. Deposits stay in the broker’s own currency, so compare them only within one currency.
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)
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.
Highest score in our data
Our scalping pick for October 2026
Pepperstone publishes Tier 1 licences from 5 regulators and quotes EUR/USD from 0.0 pips on its Razor account (checked 19 Oct 2026). The trade-off: the published average spread is still above the 0.0 headline, and the lowest commission applies to GBP accounts.
Work out what one round trip costs before you choose the timeframe or the setup.
1
What share of your target goes on costs?
Divide the round-trip cost by the target. A 5-pip target on EUR/USD is USD 50 a lot; a spread from 1.0 pips costs USD 10 of it, a raw spread of 0.1 pips plus GBP 4.50 commission far less.
Scalping techniques depend on liquidity: raw spreads stay near their published lows in the busiest hours and widen around data releases and at the daily rollover.
MT4 and MT5 run automated scalping strategies (expert advisors); cTrader adds depth of market. Brokers on this list with cTrader: FP Markets, FxPro, IC Markets and Pepperstone.
A Tier 1 entity caps retail leverage on major pairs and closes positions at a margin level set by its regulator. Higher offshore leverage makes a losing streak end faster, not slower.
A desk score from the brokers’ published terms. We have not opened live accounts yet, so nothing on this page is a test result.
1Copy published termsSpreads, commission, deposits, platforms and account types from each broker’s own pages, each with its date (latest 19 Oct 2026).
2List the entitiesEvery licensed company of a brand, with the licence number the broker publishes. Matching each number on the regulator’s register is the next step.
3Score four criteriaCosts, platforms, regulation and accounts, 0–10 each, by a fixed formula. Research and support stay unscored until we test them.
4Apply this page’s ruleThe filter and sort written under the ranking heading. Ties are broken by the overall score.
Weights in the preliminary score
Costs · 31%
Regulation & safety · 31%
Platforms · 19%
Accounts & funding · 19%
12brokers scored
19 Oct 2026latest data check
What does not affect a score
Partner status and advertising. We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers.
We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers, and no click to a broker is paid. If that changes, the site will say so first; partner status is not an input to any score, whose formulas use spreads, platforms, licences and account terms only.
What we don’t do
No bonuses or sign-up offers. No offshore leverage presented as a feature. No claim that we tested an account we have not opened. No personal investment advice.
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.
Most retail brokers accept short holding times, but rules differ and our data does not record them. Search the client agreement for “minimum holding time”, “latency arbitrage” and “abusive trading” before you fund the account.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
2What spread is too high for scalping?
It depends on your target. With a 5-pip target, a 1.0-pip spread takes 20% of the gross result before commission and slippage; a raw spread averaging 0.1 pips plus commission takes much less. Set a ceiling as a share of your target, then compare brokers.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
3Does execution speed matter for scalpers?
Yes: slippage of half a pip on entry and exit can cost more than the commission. We have not measured execution yet, so this ranking uses published costs only; test fills on a demo or a small live account first.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
4What is a forex scalping strategy?
A way of trading very short moves, usually on 1- to 5-minute charts, with tight stops and a fixed target of a few pips. Because each trade earns little, the result depends on cost per trade and on discipline with stops; it does not change the fact that most retail CFD accounts lose money.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
5Can I scalp with an expert advisor?
Most brokers here run MT4 or MT5, which support expert advisors. Brokers sometimes restrict high-frequency EAs in their terms, so check before you run one live. With cTrader, cBots do the same job (FP Markets, FxPro, IC Markets and Pepperstone).
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
6Why is IC Markets lower on this list?
It publishes an average raw spread (0.1 pips) and USD 3.50 per lot per side, which costs more on our formula than the leaders. Outside the EEA and Australia most of its clients are also onboarded by offshore entities.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
Who wrote and checked this page
Written and checked by
Low Spread Brokers team
Copies broker costs and account terms from the brokers’ own pages, records the date and source of each figure and checks entities and licence numbers on the regulators’ registers; for this page that check is still in progress.