Guides
Forex trading guides
Four guides that teach the mechanics with numbers you can check: what a pip is worth, how much margin one lot needs, when a broker closes your position. Rules come from the regulators, market figures from the BIS survey of April 2025, broker figures from our data collected up to 19 Oct 2026.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
Where to start
Which forex guide should I read first?
New to trading: start with what forex is, then the beginners’ guide, then leverage and margin, because margin is where most early accounts are lost. At the 1:30 retail cap, a 1% move against a position costs 30% of its margin. UK residents should add the UK guide for the FCA rules and FSCS cover of £85,000 per person per firm (investments).
- Each guide ends with the calculators that repeat its sums.
- Published loss rates in our data run from 58.9% to 88% of retail accounts.
- The guides explain; the rankings compare brokers.
Pick a guide by the question you have
Each guide answers one question with worked numbers.
- 1
What is forex, and how does one trade work?
Start with how a pair is quoted and what a pip is worth: on 0.1 lot of EUR/USD one pip is USD 1, so a 50-pip move is USD 50.
- 2
How do I open my first account and size my first trade?
The beginners’ guide goes from demo to a live trade; on a USD 1,000 account with a 1% risk and a 20-pip stop, the size is 0.05 lot.
- 3
What is a margin call, and how much leverage is safe?
One lot of EUR/USD at 1.1000 needs USD 3,666.67 of margin at 1:30 and USD 220 at 1:500; the leverage guide shows what each means for your account.
- 4
I live in the UK: which rules apply to me?
FCA rules: 1:30 leverage on major pairs, negative balance protection, FSCS cover of £85,000 per person per firm (investments) if the firm fails.
Guides, tools and rankings
Who writes the guides
Who writes and checks these guides
The guides are written and checked by the site team, not by named individuals. Every rule cites its regulator and every worked example is recalculated before a guide is published.
Low Spread Brokers team
Broker data, regulation, platforms and accounts
Records each figure with the page it came from and the date of the check, and maps which company serves which country.
About us
Broker data collected up to 19 Oct 2026Editorial policyHow we make money
Risk warning:
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.
FAQ
Questions about our guides
Short answers from the same broker data and country reference as the rest of the site, collected up to 19 Oct 2026. Terms change: check the broker’s own page before you trade.
Ask a questionWe cannot give personal investment advice.
1Where should a beginner start learning forex?
With what forex is and how a pip turns into money, then the beginners’ guide and the leverage guide. Practise each sum in the pip and lot size calculators before opening a demo.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
2Are these guides financial advice?
No. They explain how forex trading and the regulators’ rules work, with worked examples. They do not tell you what to trade, and they do not give tax advice.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
3Where do the figures in the guides come from?
Regulatory rules from the regulators’ own publications, such as FCA PS19/18; market size from the BIS Triennial Survey of April 2025; broker figures from the brokers’ published terms, collected up to 19 Oct 2026. Each guide lists its sources with the date we opened them.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
4Do brokers pay to appear in the guides?
No. We have no affiliate or advertising agreements today. Brokers in a guide come from that guide’s own rule, written next to the list.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026
5Is there a guide on spread betting?
The UK guide compares spread bets and CFDs side by side, and the spread betting ranking lists the FCA firms that offer a spread betting account.
Data collected up to 19 Oct 2026