In operation since 2001, Forex.com is a global CFD and Forex broker that promises competitive, transparent pricing and a wide range of markets to its clients. The platforms it offers come with comprehensive tools and features, while traders receive access to hundreds of global markets and can speculate on Forex, shares, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
Forex.com is a reasonably safe and reliable broker, holding licenses from multiple jurisdictions. It is regulated by several top-tier regulators, including the CFTC/NFA in the US and the FCA in the UK, and is owned by StoneX, a publicly traded company (NASDAQ:SNEX). The broker does not charge trade fees and is, instead compensated through the spread. Certain account types may charge a commission per million traded. In accordance with regulatory requirements, the maximum leverage is 50:1. Compared to other retail Forex and CFD brokers, Forex.com offers average spreads – between 1.9 and 0.84 pips.
Regulation
The broker is part of GAIN Capital Group LLC, one of the early developers of online trading of the foreign exchange market. The company is based in Bedminster, New Jersey, but it has several subsidiaries operating outside the United States. GAIN Capital Group LLC also operates other retail foreign exchange brands, such as CityIndex, and was acquired by StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SNEX) in 2020.
In addition to its headquarters in Bedminster, GAIN Capital Group LLC has offices in Notrh America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. It also holds licenses for offering Forex and CFD trading from a wide range of regulators around the world. It is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA) in the US, Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Japan, Cayman Island Monetary Authority (CIMA) in Cayman Islands, Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) in Australia, SFC in Hong Kong, and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Singapore.
Trading Instruments
Forex.com is primarily a Forex broker but along with this market, it also offers access to more than 300 trading products, including CFDs on commodities and cryptocurrencies where traders can speculate on gold or Bitcoin without having to take ownership.The products and services available to you at FOREX.com will depend on your location, and on which of its regulated entities holds your account. This also includes maximum leverage and deposit/withdrawal methods.Forex
The foreign exchange market is the largest and most liquid market in the world and is preferred by individual traders due to the great speculative opportunities it offers. Traders can choose spot, forwards and futures Forex markets, hedge against interest rate risks, and trade using leveraged positions. As you can probably tell by the name of the brand itself, Forex.com is among the world’s leading FX brokers.
It offers trade on more than 80 currency pairs, including all major ones such as EUR/USD or USD/JPY. Of course, clients here can also speculate on various other pairs that include currencies such as the Euro (EUR), British pound (GBP), Swiss franc (CHF), and many more. When compared to most of its competitors, Forex.com has average spreads on FX pairs – the spreads are very tight – around 0.8 pips, on highly-traded currency pairs, however.
Indices
Forex.com also offers CFDs on some of the most popular market indices. CFDs or contracts for difference are derivative trading instruments that allow investors to deal in the price fluctuations of products such as commodities and indices without the need to buy the actual commodity or index. Index CFDs are preferred by many traders because they allow them to speculate on the value of a collection of shares in one particular industry or country rather than tracking the performance of individual companies and trying to predict whether their value will increase or decrease.
The broker gives its clients exposure to top financial markets and some of the most influential companies in the world. Forex.com offers CFDs on around 20 different indices, each tracking the performance of the largest corporations and companies in the US, UK, Germany, etc. These include the main Australian index Australia 200, UK 100, which is comprised of the largest UK companies by market capitalization, and the Wall Street 30, also known as US30, Dow Jones 30 or DJ30. Other popular indices that can be traded at Forex.com are US SP 500, Japan 225, China 50, US Tech 100, and many more.
Shares
Equity CFDs are also preferred by many traders as they allow them to speculate on both rising and falling markets while using leverage and avoid ‘stock-specific risks. Equity/shares trading is available at the Forex.com proprietary platforms but it cannot be accessed from the MetaTrader platform that is also offered by the broker. Clients can create their own portfolio of companies based on their interests, focus on specific markets, and projection for the performance of these companies and the sectors they represent.
Pricing here is below average and the broker’s commissions are as low as 0.08% per trade. The offering of Forex.com includes more than 220 of the most successful company shares in the US, the UK, and the world. Clients can trade stock from industry giants such as Apple, Netflix, JPMorgan, Lufthansa, Amazon, Uber, Tesla Motors, Alphabet Inc A, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, etc.
Commodities
Forex.com gives its clients access to both hard and soft commodities, which means trade is available on a wide range of markets – from precious metals and oil to agricultural commodities such as cotton, coffee, or corn. Clients can speculate on spot and future CFD commodities with margins from 1% and spreads as low as 0.35 pips.
CFDs are the preferred way to trade commodities among individual traders for one major reason – buying the physical commodity typically comes with certain risks such as transportation and storage costs. When opting for contracts for difference, clients simply avoid these inconveniences. Since they use leverage, however, they cannot avoid the risk – leverage can bring both increased profits and losses. Other commodity CFDs that can be traded at Forex.com include heating oil, natural gas, platinum, copper, US and UK crude oil.
Cryptocurrencies
Another popular trading market in the past few years is cryptocurrency CFDs – due to the high volatility of the market, most traders prefer CFDs on various cryptocurrencies rather than buying and owning the cryptocurrency itself. Forex.com has several different cryptocurrencies to choose from, including Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, which are currently the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies.
Forex.com claims to offer the lowest prices on crypto trading – spreads are from 35 pips and the margin required is 50%. Other cryptocurrencies available here are Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple.
Trading Platforms
 Platforms |
 PC / MAC |
 Smartphones |
 Tablets |
|---|---|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 |   |   | |
| FOREXTrader PRO | | | |
| Web Trader | | | |
Forex.com offers a nice range of trading platforms, including the industry-standard MetaTrader 4, as well as the broker’s own platforms. Let’s start with the Advanced Trading Platform, the best offering by Forex.com, which is available for free download on most desktop computers. This is the flagship platform by the broker and is suitable for more experienced traders, although the user interface is quite simple.
It features various drawing tools, different layouts, advanced live charts, as well as nearly 140 technical indicators. Also, the platform uses data from Autochartist for automated technical analysis and clients can choose from more than 100 templates for trading strategies. These integrated tools allow customization and the development of different strategies from scalping to reversal techniques.
Another option is to choose the broker’s Web Trader, a fast and convenient browser-based trading platform with advanced charts, a nice range of trading tools, and more than 70 technical indicators. Traders can place stop losses and manage their accounts very easily. Additionally, Forex.com has two fantastic mobile apps that allow you to trade, track your positions, and monitor markets you are interested in on the go. The apps can be downloaded for free from the App Store and Google Play and are compatible with most modern Android and iOS devices.
The broker also gives access to the dominant trading platform right now, MetaTrader 4 or simply MT4. Most traders are familiar with it and would find it convenient and easy to use. It is also highly customizable, allows using a trading robot via the Expert Advisors feature, and it comes with integrated trading tools exclusive to FOREX.com. Here, MetaTrader 4 users receive access to integrated Reuters News, technical analysis by Trading Central, Forex.com research, and many more. The broker also offers MetaTrader Web, and MT4 for Android, iPhone, and iPad.
Payment Methods
Forex.com allows its customers to register one of several different base currencies when registering their account. This is crucial because traders who find a broker online working with the same currency as their bank account, debit card, or wire transfer, they would not be charged currency conversion fees. The currencies available are USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, CAD, AUD, and JPY. The best thing about the payments at Forex.com is that they are all free – the broker does not charge fees for deposits or withdrawals.
There are not many banking methods available, however. Traders can fund their accounts using credit or debit cards by Mastercard, Visa, or Maestro. The deposit appears instantly into their balance after the transaction has been confirmed. Deposits and withdrawals through this service are free of charge and transactions are extremely fast and secure.
The other way to make a deposit is through a bank transfer. Although practically anyone has access to this payment method, it is not the most convenient way to fund an online trading account or to make any type of online payment. Deposits via bank transfers usually take around 3 working days to arrive so they are simply not an option for most traders.
Withdrawals can be made using the same methods – via either a credit/debit card or a bank transfer. Once again, the transaction takes longer if bank transfer is used – rather than receiving your profits within 3 to 4 days via a card, you would need to wait up to 10 working days for the money to reach your bank account. Another important thing to note is that the minimum deposit amount is only $50, which is impressive. Many brokers would not allow traders who have not deposited at least $2,000. In comparison, Forex.com allows live trading accounts to be opened with only $100.
| Brand | Minimum | Fees | Processing Time |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
 | $50 | No Fees | 3 business days |
| Brand | Minimum | Fees | Processing Time |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
 | - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
| - | No Fees | 3-4 business days |
Account Types
Forex.com offers several different accounts for its customers but to test its trading platforms, clients can opt for a Demo Account. With these user accounts, the broker demonstrates all trading services and features it offers and the markets it gives access to. Traders can try out the derivative financial instruments at Forex.com and see whether CFDs and leveraged trading are suitable for them.
Along with this Demo Account, the broker offers live accounts – individual, joint or corporate ones. For those based in the United States, Forex.com also offers DMA Accounts – accounts with Direct Market Access. Here, the execution of every trade is agency-based, while the broker charges a small commission. This type of account would fit really serious traders who demand deeper liquidity. Prices are typically lower and the broker reimburses bank fees on wire transfers. The other benefit of opening a DMA account is that clients can earn interest – 1.5% APY interest on their average daily available margin balance up to $50,000 or 0.5% APY on $50,000 – $100,000.
Support
Forex.com has an excellent support service, which is among the most important things to consider when choosing an online Forex and CFD broker. Its clients can take advantage of professional, helpful support integrated into the trading platforms offered by the broker. They can contact the customer support department at any time of the day or night when the markets are open. They can opt for the Live Chat or send their quires at info@forex.com or ukinfo@forex.com.
The broker also has a dedicated phone support line with local support teams available – clients in the US can call 1-877-367-3946, while those in the UK – 0800 056 7928 or 1-855-317-9242 in Canada. Along with the local support centers, Forex.com also offers its customers plenty of educational tools on the website and via the Demo Account. It features useful tutorials on how to use the Forex.com and MetaTrader 4 trading platforms, as well as lots of information about the different markets, research and analysis sections, etc.
Conclusion
Compared to most FX and CFD brokers, Forex.com offers great prices and tight spreads, especially on popular FX pairs. In terms of market variety, it does not boast the largest and most diverse offering but it does cover all the bases with its CFDs on Forex, commodities, shares, cryptocurrencies, and indices. The maximum leverage is limited to 1:50 and there are several different account types traders can choose from. Overall, Forex.com is a safe and trustworthy FX broker with a great reputation and nearly 20 years of experience.