Leverage 1:500 Forex Brokers

Written by Miro Nikolov

Miro Nikolov

Miro Nikolov is the co-founder of TradingPedia.com and BestBrokers.com. His mission is to help people make profitable investments by giving them access to educational resources and analytics tools.

, | Updated: December 13, 2024

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• Jump to:
• Main features of the best 1:500 Leverage Forex brokers
• Forex Brokers Offering 1:500 Leverage
• Forex Brokers Compared by Spread
• Forex Brokers with 1:500 Leverage
• What Is Financial Leverage
• How Does It Works
• Margin
• Leverage and Expected Returns
• Is 1:500 Suitable for You
• Advantages
• Risks
›

One of the most attractive yet high-risk features of forex trading is leverage. Since it allows traders to open positions that exceed their deposit balances, leverage can quickly amass massive returns. Depending on regulatory restrictions, forex brokers may impose limits on the leverage ratio, minimizing the risk of bigger losses. However, jurisdictions like the Seychelles, Vanuatu, and others may often allow traders to use leverage of up to 1:500.

If you are willing to take the risk of trading with higher leverage, we can help you discover several reputable brokers offering leverage of up to 1:500. Have a look at our table below, revealing some of the top forex brokers that allow the use of higher leverage ratios.

1. 

   Fusion Markets

   Rating: 4.9

   74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

2. 

   Axi

   Rating: 4.8

   The vast majority of retail client accounts lose money

3. 

   FP Markets

   Rating: 4.7

   73.85% of retail investor accounts lose money

4. 

   Pepperstone

   Rating: 4.6

   75.5% of retail investor accounts lose money

5. 

   Global Prime

   Rating: 4.5

   74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

6. 

   XM Group

   Rating: 2.9

   72.82% of retail investor accounts lose money

In this review, you can find a comparison table of forex brokers that offer 1:500 leverage. We rank them based on several factors including: regulation, spreads and commissions, Trustpilot rating, trading instruments, trading platforms, deposit and withdrawal methods.

Main features of the best 1:500 Leverage Forex brokers

1. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   Fusion Markets

   Min Deposit

   $0

   Trading Instruments

   Forex, Commodities, Indices, Crypto, US Stocks

   Regulators

   ASIC, FSA (Seychelles), VFSC (Vanuatu)

   Trading Platforms

   MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, DupliTrade, Fusion+ Copy Trade, TradingView

   Spread

   0.9 pips Classic; 0.0 pips Zero

   Leverage

   1:30 (1:500 for forex and metals via VFSC)

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Fasapay, Jeton Wallet, Perfect Money, Online Naira, Doku, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, USDT, Tether, Ripple, bank wire, ZotaPay, VNPay, DuitNow, XPay, DragonPay, VAPay, FasaPay, AstroPay, PayID, Jetonbank, Sticpay, Interac, LuqaPay, Zotapay, MiFinity

   Withdrawal Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Bank Wire, Skrill, Neteller,Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, Ripple, MiFinity, Interac, PayPal, AstroPay, Jetonbank, DragonPay

   74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

   Traders who have opened a Professional Account with Fusion Markets or have accessed the broker through its VFSC entity can pick a leverage ratio of up to 1:500 on major forex pairs and other instruments.

2. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   FP Markets

   Min Deposit

   $50 (AU$100)

   Trading Instruments

   Forex CFDs, Shares CFDs, Metals CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Indices CFDs, Crypto CFDs, ETF CFDs

   Regulators

   ASIC, CySEC, FSA (Seychelles), FSCA, FSA (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

   Trading Platforms

   MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, WebTrader, IRESS, cTrader, TradingView

   Spread

   1.0 pips Standard; 0.0 pips Raw

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, Bank Transfer, Skill, Sticpay, Fasapay, Virtual Pay, Perfect Money, Pagsmile, Dragonpay, Crypto, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Online Banking, Broker to Broker, PayPal, XPay, Rapyd

   Withdrawal Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Bank Wire, Neteller, Skrill, Paytrust88, PayPal

   73.85% of retail investor accounts lose money

   Pro Account holders can trade forex and other instruments with a leverage of 1:500. Meanwhile, retail traders can trade with a maximum leverage between 1:2 and 1:30, depending on the tradable product.

3. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   Pepperstone

   Min Deposit

   $0

   Trading Instruments

   Forex, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Share CFDs, ETFs

   Regulators

   UK FCA (No.684312), CySEC (No. 388/20), ASIC (No. 414530), BaFin (No.151148), DFSA, CMA, SCB (Bahamas)

   Trading Platforms

   TradingView, MT5, MT4, cTrader

   Spread

   From 0.0 pips (Razor Accounts), 1 pip (Standard Accounts)

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Bank Transfer, BPay, Neteller, Skrill

   Withdrawal Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Bank Transfer, BPay, Neteller, Skrill

   75.5% of retail investor accounts lose money

   Pro traders can access leverage of up to 1:500 on forex and other instruments at Pepperstone. Retail traders will be limited to trading major and minor currency pairs with a maximum leverage of up to 1:30 and 1:20, respectively.

4. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   Global Prime

   Min Deposit

   $0

   Trading Instruments

   Forex, Cryptocurrencies, Indices, Commodities, Bonds

   Regulators

   ASIC (No. 385620), VFSC (No. 40256)

   Trading Platforms

   MT4 Desktop, MT4 Webtrader, MT4 Android

   Spread

   0.9 pips Standard, 0.0 pips Raw

   Leverage

   1:500 (1:30 for ASIC entity)

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Gate8, Dragonpay, Fasapay, VNPay, Pagsmile, BPay, POLi, AstroPay, Bank Transfer, Interac, Perfect Money, PayID, Jeton, MiFinity, XPay, Crypto

   Withdrawal Methods

   Mastercard, Visa, Local Bank Transfer, Bank Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, AstroPay, PayPal, Dragonpay, Perfect Money, Jeton, Interac, Cryptocurrencies

   74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

   For ASIC Pro clients and VFSC traders, Global Prime offers leverage of up to 1:500 on forex pairs and other products. Meanwhile, retail ASIC traders can trade major and minor currency pairs with a leverage of up to 1:30 and 1:20, respectively.

5. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   Axi

   Min Deposit

   $0

   Trading Instruments

   Forex, Stocks, IPOs, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies

   Regulators

   ASIC, FCA, CySEC, DFSA, FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

   Trading Platforms

   MT4 Desktop, MT4 WebTrader, Axi Mobile

   Spread

   From 0.0 pips (Elite and Pro Accounts), 0.9 pips (Standard Account)

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Bank Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, AstroPay, Fasapay, Przelewy24, Boleto, Pix, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Tether, Stellar, POLi, iDEAL, Sofort, Giropay

   Withdrawal Methods

   Mastercard, Visa, Bank Transfer, Przelewy24, Fasapay, Skrill, AstroPay, Pix, Boleto, Neteller, Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, Stellar

   The vast majority of retail client accounts lose money

   While retail traders will have a cap on the leverage they can use for forex and other products of 1:30, those who open an Elite Account with Axi can use leverage of up to 1:500 on forex pairs and other instruments.

6. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   XM Group

   Min Deposit

   $5

   Trading Instruments

   Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Thematic Indices

   Regulators

   (ASIC) (ref. No. 443670), FSC (license no. 000261/397), DFSA (ref. no. F003484), CySEC (license no. 120/10), CFTC; Registrations for EU passporting: - BaFin, CNMV, MNB, CONSOB, ACPR, FIN-FSA (Finland), KNF, AFM, FSA (Sweden)

   Trading Platforms

   MetaTrader 4 and 5, MetaTrader 4 and 5 on mobile, MT4 WebTrader, MT5 WebTrader, MT4 Multiterminal

   Spread

   From 0.0 pips (Zero Account), 0.6 pips (Standard and Micro Accounts)

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard. Skrill, Bank Transfer, Neteller, Apple Pay, Google Pay, UnionPay, Maestro

   Withdrawal Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, China Union Pay, Skrill, Neteller, Bank Transfer

   72.82% of retail investor accounts lose money

   At XM, professional traders can adjust their leverage ratio on various tradable instruments between 1:1 and 1:1,000. That means the 1:500 leverage will not be available to retail traders as they can access only leverage of up to 1:30 on certain instruments.

7. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   Vantage FX

   Min Deposit

   $50

   Trading Instruments

   Forex, Indices, Commodities, Shares CFD, ETFs, Bonds

   Regulators

   FCA (license no. FRN: 590299), VFSC (reg. No. 700271), ASIC (license no. no. 428901), FSCA (license no. 51268), CIMA (no. 1383491)

   Trading Platforms

   MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, ProTrader, TradingView, Copy Trading

   Spread

   1.1 pips on Standard Account; 0.0 pips on Raw, Cent, and Pro Accounts

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Union Pay, Boleto, Bank Wire, Skrill, Neteller, Crypto, POLi, FasaPay, Perfect Money, BPay, Pagsmile, AstroPay, JCB

   Withdrawal Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Union Pay, Bank Wire, Skrill, Neteller, Crypto, AstroPay, Perfect Money, JCB

   FSCA and VFSC traders can enjoy the highest leverage of 1:500 on major forex pairs. Premium Account holders will also be able to use leverage of up to 1:500 on various CFD instruments, with some products allowing even higher ratios. Retail traders, however, can use leverage of only up to 1:30 on specific assets.

8. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   IC Markets

   Min Deposit

   $200

   Trading Instruments

   CFDs on Forex, Commodities, Index, Bond, Cryptocurrencies, Stock, Futures

   Regulators

   FSA (Seychelles), CySEC, ASIC

   Trading Platforms

   MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, ZuluTrade

   Spread

   0.8 pips Standard, 0.0 pips Raw Accounts

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Visa Direct, SafeCharge, Transact365, eCommPay, CardPay, Bpay, FasaPay, Poli, RapidPay, Klarna, Nuvei

   Withdrawal Methods

   Bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Visa Direct, SafeCharge, Transact365, eCommPay, FasaPay, Poli, RapidPay, Klarna

   70.64% of retail investor accounts lose money

   The availability of leverage of up to 1:500 or higher depends on your status as an IC Markets trader. Professional traders can unlock higher leverage ratios, while retail ASIC and CySEC traders can access maximum leverage of only 1:30 (available only on major pairs).

9. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
   Admirals

   Min Deposit

   $100 ($1 for Invest MT5 Account)

   Trading Instruments

   CFDs on Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Bonds, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies

   Regulators

   CySEC (No. 201/13), ASIC (No. 410681), FCA (No. 595450), JSC (No. 57026), FSCA (No. FSP51311), EFSA (No. 4.1-1/46), CMA (No. 178), CIRO, FSA (No.SD073)

   Trading Platforms

   MT4, MT5, WebTrader, MT Supreme Edition, StereoTrader

   Spread

   From 0.0 pips (Invest and Zero Accounts), 0.5 pips (Trade Accounts)

   Leverage

   1:30

   Deposit Methods

   Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, Klarna, Bank Transfer, PayPal, Neteller, iDeal, POLi, Perfect Money, Cryptocurrencies

   Withdrawal Methods

   Bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Perfect Money

   73% of retail investor accounts lose money

   While retail traders will be limited to forex leverage of 1:30 (major pairs) or 1:20 (minor pairs), those who open a professional account, or access the FSCA or FSA entities of the broker, can unlock a leverage of 1:500 on various currency pairs and other CFD products.

10. TRADE NOW READ REVIEW
    XTB

    Min Deposit

    $250

    Trading Instruments

    Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Indices, Cryptocurrencies

    Regulators

    FCA (License No. FRN 522157), CySEC (License No.169/12), FSC (FSC License No.: 000302/438), IFSC (License No.: 000302/46.), KNF (N/A), CNMV (N/A), BaFin (registered), FSCA (N/A), FSA Norway (registration ID - FT00118162)

    Trading Platforms

    xStation 5, xStation Mobile

    Spread

    From 0.1 pips (Pro Account), 0.5 pips (Standard Account)

    Leverage

    1:30

    Deposit Methods

    Visa, Maestro, Mastercard, Bank Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Ecommpay, PayU

    Withdrawal Methods

    Bank Transfers, Visa, Mastercard, Skrill

    80% of retail investor accounts lose money

    While retail EU and UK traders will have a leverage cap of 1:30 on forex and other instruments, IFSC clients will be able to use leverage of up to 1:500 on currency pairs and other tradable products.

Forex Brokers Offering 1:500 Leverage Compared by Stop Out Level and Trading Platforms

Forex Brokers Compared by Spread

If you want to be a successful online trader, then you have to understand the global markets and know the basics of trading. One of the first things every beginner needs to learn about is leverage – what this is and how it can be used to maximize profits. Furthermore, different Forex brokers may offer leverage ranging from 1:5 all the way up to 1:1,000 and traders need to decide which ratio is suitable for their trades.

Leverage is an extremely important part of every successful trading strategy. In Forex, investors apply it to increase the potential profits from fluctuations in exchange rates between any two currencies. It represents something like a loan, a line of credit brokers extend to their clients for trading on the foreign exchange market. If brokers offer 1:500 leverage, this means that for every $1 of their capital, traders receive $500 to trade with.

What Is Financial Leverage?

Before looking into leveraged trading products such as CFDs or Forex pairs, we need a better understanding of how leverage works and how it is applied. There are various forms of leverage that could arise in different situations but in general, it is the use of borrowed funds (rather than solely one’s own money) for the purchase of an asset. The idea is that the future profits of this investment will be much higher than the borrowing cost.

Financial leverage could be used by firms, banks, and individuals and although the specifics may differ significantly, the basics are pretty much the same. Investment funds, for instance, may leverage their assets by funding a portion of their portfolios with fresh capital resulting from the sale of other assets. Businesses may also leverage their investments by borrowing funds so they can use less equity (their own capital). Another example is purchasing a home and financing a portion of the price with mortgage debt.

Let’s assume for instance that we buy a property for $100,000 with the intention to sell it for double the purchase price. We use 50% equity and 50% debt and within a few months, we manage to sell our asset for $200,000. We will repay the bank only the nominal value of the debt plus some interest, of course, which will leave us with around $150,000 (before the borrowing costs). This means that we have managed to leverage our initial capital and have increased our wealth by 200%.

How Does Leverage Work in Forex?

Once we have described the basic concept of using leverage, we should be able to apply it in currency trading, as well. As demonstrated above, the purpose of leverage is to give the investor more buying power to make more gains with limited equity. The same applies to Forex trading, as well. Brokers offer their clients leverage so that they can generate higher profits with only a portion of the transaction value.

But how exactly does leverage work in Forex trading? It is shown as multiple of the trader’s equity – it could be 10, 50, or 200 times the client’s own funds. Most brokers display it as the ratio of the trader’s money to the funds borrowed from the firm or vice versa – 500:1 or 1:500. These two refer to the same thing – the broker allows the trader to open a position worth 500 times his capital. If we deposit $1,000, for instance, and use 1:500 leverage, we will be able to trade volumes at a value of $500,000.

However, there are several additional things Forex traders should be aware of when using leverage. One of them is the margin requirement set by the broker.

Margin

In order to provide leverage to their clients, Forex brokers require a certain amount of funds to be deposited in the trading account as collateral to cover the risk associated with taking leverage. This deposit is called margin and leveraged trading is sometimes referred to as trading on margin. Each broker has a different margin requirement, based on the type of account (standard, mini, professional, etc.), the funds deposited by the trader, and the type of financial instrument that will be traded.

The initial margin requirement is usually displayed as a percentage of the total transaction value and it could be 0.5%, 1%, 2%, etc. There are various formulas for margin and leverage that could clearly show how these two fundamental concepts are linked. For instance, we can calculate the margin by dividing the value of the transaction by the leverage. If we use the same example from above and have $1,000 as balance in our account, the broker offers us quite high leverage of 1:500 (or 500:1 more precisely).

We want to buy 1 standard lot of the EUR/USD pair on a USD-denominated account. To get the margin for this specific position, we need the value of the transaction, which is €100,000, and the leverage, which is 500 (500:1). When we divide €100,000 by 500, we get €200, which is 0.2% of the transaction value. This means that while our position is open, our balance may remain $1,000 but our equity will be less – €200×1.10 (the EUR/USD exchange rate)= $219,52. This is the margin that needs to remain “locked” as collateral so our equity will be $780.48.

Leverage and Expected Returns

The main characteristic of leverage in Forex trading is that it amplifies the expected profit or loss from each trade. This means that traders can earn a lot more from a successful transaction with leverage than they would if they invested only their own equity. If we take the 1:500 level, each $1 profit from regular, non-leveraged trading would translate to $500. To better illustrate the effect of leverage on the expected returns, let’s use the same example from above.

We are holding a long position on 1 standard EUR/USD lot (€100,000), which we have purchased at a rate of $1.10. Usually, the price for this major currency pair does not move by more than 100 pips per day (1 pip is one-hundredth of one percent or in this case, the fourth decimal place in the bid-ask price). Let’s say the Euro increases in value relative to the US dollar and the movement is only 45 pips. This means that when we sell and close the position, €1 will be equal to $1.1045.

This does not sound like a lot – it is a movement of only a fraction of a cent. However, our profit will be €100,000 x (1.1045 – 1.10) or $450. Note that we have kept this position open only for a few hours and the price movement was very slight. With a minimum required margin of only $219,52, we have made a profit of $450. In other words, we have doubled our equity.

Is 1:500 Suitable for You?

When determining what leverage to use, traders should take several important things into consideration. First of all, they should keep in mind that 1:500 or 500:1 is an extremely high level of leverage in trading and it is not allowed in many jurisdictions due to the high risk for losing one’s capital. This includes major Forex markets such as the US, Japan, and the European Union where brokers are required to restrict the leverage offered to retail clients. In the EU, for instance, traders can get maximum leverage of 1:30 for major currency pairs.

The high risk of excessive leverage also means that traders should be skilled and have sufficient experience in the foreign exchange market before taking 1:500 leverage. Another thing they should consider is the strategy they are about to apply and their overall trading style. More importantly, it is essential to determine all conditions of the trade before opening a position and this involves its duration. Usually, traders who open and close positions within a few hours would prefer using higher leverage – 1:100 and higher.

This way they can squeeze the highest possible profits out of short-term transactions. Such high leverage – around 1:500, is particularly popular among so-called scalpers. Scalping is quite an interesting strategy in Forex trading where positions are kept open only for a few minutes or even seconds.

Advantages of 1:500 Leverage

Until a few years ago, the Forex market became extremely popular among retail traders and one of the reasons for this was the opportunity to get high leverage and make the most of your limited capital. Nowadays, you would not find many brokers offering 1:500 leverage due to regulatory changes aiming at creating a more secure and sustainable trading environment. Although such high levels of leverage may seem too extreme to some traders, they do provide us with the chance to increase our potential profits by multiple times – by 500 times compared to any profits we could generate without leverage, to be precise.

Of course, traders should know that although leverage works as borrowed capital, i.e. as a line of credit as some would say, it has no additional cost. Traders do not have to pay interest on the leverage they get. There is no need to repay any debt or pay for anything else – the only cost for the transaction will be clearly displayed by the broker beforehand.

Last, but not least, traders should understand that in most cases, leveraged trading is the only way for them to access the foreign exchange market. Typically, transaction volumes here are within the six and seven-figure rate and only a handful of retail traders could afford to open trades with their own equity. When using leverage, however, everyone can trade against leading banks, hedge funds, and other institutional traders.

Risks of Using 1:500 Leverage

Leveraged trading is always linked with great opportunities for profits and high risks. While leverage is used with the purpose to magnify the profit from a trade, it may also enhance the negative outcomes from unsuccessful trading – i.e. the financial losses. This is one of the most underestimated dangers to beginner traders – they would get 1:500 leverage tempted by the attractive promise for huge profits but without a solid, reliable strategy and good knowledge of the market, they risk losing all their capital within days or even hours.

To avoid losses, they should first learn how to apply leverage and determine how much leverage would be suitable to them. In addition, they should apply different risk management techniques and tools – many of these are readily available once you open a retail client account with an online Forex broker. Great risk and management tools are stop losses, for example, but to be effective, they need to be placed correctly by the trader.