

Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Trading Forex is impossible without a good broker. And even the best among them need to make money. They charge their clients for the trades that are performed. As little as these charges are, they can stack up. That is why traders look for the lowest spreads available to them. If you are tying to cut the costs of your trading, the article below will examine how brokers nowadays introduce trading fees. We will then present you with a list of the ten best Forex brokers with the lowest fees in the UK.
Spreads, commissions and the costs of trading
There are two main ways in which brokers these days make their money. They charge their clients with either spreads or a commission, and we will examine what both of these things are:
Firstly, a spread is the difference between the buy (bid) and sell (ask) price on a certain financial instrument. Spreads are measured in a special unit, called a pip. The value of this unit depends on the asset you are trading, but for most Forex majors it is one hundredth of a percent. The only notable difference is the Japanese Yen, where a pip is worth one percent of the asset. To understand exactly how much this costs you, you need to multiply the spread, denoted in pips, by the exchange rate for the asset and the trade value. That is a rather complex calculation to make, and most brokers provide tools to help you complete it.
There are no specific rules from the FCA regarding how big the spreads of a broker can be. However, the Forex market is a very competitive space, and there is a large amount of participants there which have set similar trading costs for their clients. Accordingly, they rarely charge over 1 pip for trading FX majors like the EURUSD. Often times, they have way lower spreads, and some even have ones as low as zero pips.
That is because no-spread brokers charge commissions. These are much less abstract, and are much more straightforward. The price you pay on entering or exiting each trade is a certain flat rate, that does not fluctuate up and down like spreads do. Exiting the position means you pay the same price again. Commissions are denoted in either sides, or round turns, where the size of both fees are calculated together. That means that if you pay $3 per side, you would have to do so twice, on opening and closing the position. This is equal to paying $6 per round turn. One important thing about these charges is that they are calculated per standard lot. Each standard lot is 100 000 units of base currency. If you trade with less than that, you will also pay less in commissions.
If a firm uses commissions, however, that does not mean spreads will not be present with it. Spreads are also charged by the liquidity providers that brokers connect you with. The brokers which do not use commissions have markups on these, reaching pretty high spread costs. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at some companies with low spreads:
The best UK Forex brokers with the lowest spreads
Here are the firms with the lowest trading costs in Britain. We have selected ten of them and placed them in no particular order. Besides outlining the basic features of the companies, we have also mentioned what makes them stand out from their competition:
1. FXTM
License | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSCM |
Minimum deposit | £10 |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5 |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0.6 pips/No commissions |
The advantages of trading with FXTM include the lack of commissions – the firm only charges you the value of the spreads. Secondly, it is able to open accounts in the GBP. This means any deposits you make from your domestic currency do not have to be exchanged to the currency the account is in. Therefore, you do not have to worry about any additional fees which could otherwise apply to your deposits. Trading with brokers which have GBP accounts is certainly a rather understated way of saving on deposit costs!
2. XM
License | FCA, CySEC, DFSA, FSC |
Minimum deposit | $5 |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5 |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0 pips/$3.5 per side |
What makes XM stand out is the exceptionally low entry cost for traders with the broker. Nowadays, accounts with British companies can cost anywhere between £100 and £200. Cheaper tiers are also available, called micro accounts. In the case of XM, these cost the pound equivalent to $5 to open, which is incredibly little. That is on the low end of the micro account spectrum these days too. This is perfect for the more cautious trader, or the newer one. It allows you to see if trading on the Forex market is the right call for you and then if the services of the particular firm are a good fir for your individual needs without committing too much of it outright!
3. Trading212
License | FCA |
Minimum deposit | €10 |
Trading platforms | Trading212 platform |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0.9 pips/No commissions |
Aside from very low costs of trading, this European Forex broker provides access to its own trading software, developed for mobile devices. On it, you can engage in CFD trading or try the Stock investing feature of the firm. It allows you to select from a large number of company offerings, domestic and from abroad. You can purchase them at no additional commission. Of note is also the Hotlist hosted on the website of the firm. It ranks the biggest gainers and losers among the stock of various companies. Obviously, that is useful when investing, but it also provides insight on what to open long or short positions on.
4.FBS
License | CySEC, ASIC, IFSC, FSCA |
Minimum deposit | $10 |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5, FBS Trader |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0 pips/$6 per round turn |
The first broker we would like to highlight is FBS. This company has to be one of the be one of the best low-cost Forex brokers out there, with spreads often sitting at zero pips. The commission it has is also incredibly fair, and one of the lowest out there. There is a way to cut costs even further, however. If you decide to try the broker’s proprietary platform, FBS Trader, you can benefit from a 20% cashback on the fees you pay. The platform is available for Android and IOS devices and is quite powerful. It lets you trade and seamlessly top up your account, without needing to go to the firm’s website. This can prove to be quite valuable for traders on the go!
5. FP Markets
License | CySEC, ASIC, FSCA |
Minimum deposit | $100 |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5, Iress |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0 pips/$3 per side |
Aside from its remarkably low trading costs, FP Market’s services are focused on providing excellent trading platforms. Traders who are used to MT4 in particular will benefit from the exclusive tools for the platforms which are offered by this firm. As popular as Metatrader 4 was, support for it was discontinued a while ago by its creator, MetaQuotes. That is why brokers and users of the platform have developed various plugins, to help the software keep up with its successor, MT5. The FP Markets Traders’ Toolbox is just that, a set of additional tools. Some of them are quite powerful. For instance, the Alarm Manager tool opens positions automatically based on trading alerts you receive. The alerts which can lead to trades being opened are highly customizable as well.
6. HFM
License | FCA, CySEC, CMA, DFSA, FSCA |
Minimum deposit | £$100 |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5, HFM Platform |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0 pips/$6 per round turn |
HFM stands out from the competition with the copy trading service it provides. This is a way of engaging with the markets which is perfect for newer traders. It allows you to automatically open and close the same positions as a certain trader you have picked to copy, from the best performing clients of the broker. Combine that with the exceptionally low trading costs of the firm, as well as the lack of fees for copying, and you get one of the best social trading services out there. Please note, however, that the traders you can copy themselves might charge you a fee, which they themselves determine.
7. Pepperstone
License | FCA, CySEC, ASIC, DFSA, |
Minimum deposit | $200 AUD or equivalent in GBP |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5, cTrader |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0 pips/$3.5 per side |
Pepperstone’s lack of spreads is an excellent way to engage with the markets. In general, high-volume traders benefit from the predictability of commissions. With Pepperstone, they also get to benefit from a platform that was designed for them. The name of that platform is cTrader. It is designed to rival Metatrader 5, and it does so with a focus on TA tools. It has more timeframes, indicators and analytical objects than its competitor. There are also the automated trading features which made MT5 the staple it is today. So, if you are interested in trying out a new platform, Pepperstone might be the firm for you!
8. CMC Markets
License | FCA, ASIC, FMA, IIROC |
Minimum deposit | No such requirement |
Trading platforms | MT4, Next Generation |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0.7 pips/No commissions |
What makes CMC Markets stand out from the rest of its peers are not only its trading costs, but also its focus on providing its clients with reliable information. They can rely on insights from several finance professionals, working for the broker. These are hosted on the website of the firm and can provide you with new ideas how to approach the markets more efficiently. Of note is the Morning update, which will help you keep track of the most relevant current events. There is also a section titled Weekly Outlook with a more broad scope, which we consider to be potentially useful to most traders.
9. FXCM
License | FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSCA |
Minimum deposit | $50 |
Trading platforms | MT4, NinjaTrade, Zulu Trade, Trade Station |
Maximum leverage | 1:30 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0.4 pips/No commissions |
Traders in the UK make use of a special trading mode alongside their more conventional CFD trading. They are able to bet on spreads. There are certain benefits to doing that in particular, as spread betting is not taxed in the country. Stamp duty is not owed on it either. FXCM has a branch in Britain which is dedicated to providing its clients with the mode of trading. This is one of the best places to go if you are looking to engage in it.
10. AvaTrade
License | FSCA, ASIC, IIROC, CBI, JFSC |
Minimum deposit | $100 |
Trading platforms | MT4, MT5, AvaOptions |
Maximum leverage | 1:400 |
Spread/Commissions | From 0.9 pips/No commissions |
The Metatrader platforms of AvaTrade come with an additional feature in built, called Guardian Angel. This tool can help you improve your trading, as it gives you direct feedback on every opened and closed position you participate in. For instance, if you take on excessive risk by entering into a dangerous trade, you will get an automated message. It will also help you with setting Stop Loss and Take Profit functions as well. The best part about the Guardian Angel is that you can customize how it reacts to your individual trading style in particular. AvaTrade boasts that no two clients have the same Angels!