Best Forex Brokers in Australia

IC Markets is an online forex broker operating under the company of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd. Traders under the Australian jurisdiction are provided with the trading service of IC Markets AU that is headquartered in Australia and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

On the other hand, non-Australian traders who open an account in this broker are registered under IC Markets SEY that is based in Seychelles, and regulated under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA). The dual operation is a result of the relatively new rules from ASIC that prohibit their regulated broker to offer trading services outside Australia.

Classified as an ECN broker, IC Markets provide clients with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader as platform trading options. This broker also follows market trends to include Cryptocurrencies as one of its products, enriching its already wide selection of trading assets that include Currencies, Indices, Metals, Energies, Softs, Stocks, as well as Bonds.

The minimum deposit in IC Markets is in the middle range compared to other ASIC-regulated brokers, as it reaches $200 for every client. Market analysis materials are also prepared regularly for trading insights on IC Markets's official website, proving their competence to serve their traders with important contents created by market experts that work specifically for them.

For payment methods, IC Markets allows funding and withdrawal via wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay, UnionPay, as well as Bitcoin via BitPay. The more interesting aspect from this broker is its multi-base currencies that include USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, and CAD.

As the trading technology in IC Markets is highly equipped with co-located servers and extremely low latency (especially on cTrader), the broker is widely known for its capability in hosting traders with the special needs for high-frequency trading as well as scalping.

To sum up, IC Markets is a fitting destination for active traders looking for a well-regulated broker. IC Markets is also flexible in terms of base currency and payment methods, signaling their commitment to welcome traders beyond their home country. As of late 2019, IC Markets provided their website in 18 international languages including English, Korean, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Italian, Malay, German, and Chinese.

Keeping positions open overnight won't result in the overnight/rollover fee reducing your earnings, so you don't have to worry about it. FP Markets offers the most competitive swap rates in the industry by introducing Swaps Points in the form of a live swap rates list on the MT4 and MT5 platforms. Here are some examples:

• ACWI: -5.00 for long positions and -2.50 for short positions.
• ADAUSD: -20.00 for long positions and -20.00 for short positions.
• AGG: -5.00 for long positions and -2.50 for short positions.

Pepperstone was founded in 2010 by a team of experienced traders with a shared commitment to improve the world of online trading. Based in Melbourne, Australia, they grew to become one of the largest forex brokers in the world. If traders want to find a broker that provides low spreads, fast execution, and award-winning support, then the answer is Pepperstone.

Pepperstone has a strong legality guarantee because it has been licensed by the Australian regulator ASIC and FCA. Traders' funds can be deposited in segregated accounts at top Australian banks, one of which is the National Australia Bank (NAB). Therefore, the safety of funds is not a concern if a trader chooses to open an account in Pepperstone.

They succeeded in collaborating with 23 top banks to bring Bid to investors instantly via optical fiber. This allows all orders to be executed 100 percent automatically with low latency up to 0.05 milliseconds, without dealing desk intervention and requotes, as well as with super low trading costs.

Trusted by over 73,000 traders around the world, Pepperstone processes an average of USD12.55 billion of trading volumes every day. Because of that, they have many awards such as:

• The Best Global Forex ECN Broker 2019 and Best Forex Trading Support-Europe
• Best Australian Broker and Best Trading Platform 2018 by Compareforexbrokers.com
• Best Forex ECN Broker, Best Forex Trading Support, and Best Forex Trading Conditions by UK Forex Awards 2018

With the many rewards gained, Pepperstone hopes to attract more and more traders from all over the world. The rising performance of Pepperstone is not only due to the super-tight spreads and fast execution that it provides, but also because many traders are interested in trading with deposits in currencies other than US Dollars.

For this reason, Pepperstone is one of the most market-responsive brokers because it is willing to accept deposits in 10 currencies, which include AUD, USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, CHF, JPY, NZD, SGD, and HKD.

Trading in Pepperstone would allow traders to choose between 11 trading platforms: MT4 for desktop, MT4 Mac, MT4 iPhone, MT4 Android, MT4 iPad/Tablet, MT5, WebTrader, cTrader WebTrader, cTrader cAlgo, and cTrader Mobile. The choice of trading platforms may seem confusing to novice traders, but actually, it is very useful because it has fast execution.

When trading forex, traders can enjoy raw spreads from 0.0 pips on Razor accounts, over 61 currency pairs, and commission-free account funding on a wide range of deposit options. In addition to currency pairs, Pepperstone provides many types of trading instruments, including CFDs for indices and shares, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

Instruments in commodity trading are pretty much diversified. Not only metal, gold, and silver, but traders can also trade with soft commodities such as cotton, sugar, coffee, cocoa, and orange juice. Pepperstone also provides trading on energy (oil and gas).

There are two types of accounts provided by Pepperstone, namely Razor accounts, and Standard accounts. If you area beginner, it is recommended to choose a Standard account with an average EUR/USD spread of 1.0-1.3 pips and free commission.

Those with particular trading styles such as scalpers and algorithmic traders may enjoy the lower cost setup traditionally seen in a Razor account, with a commission from AUD7 round turn of 100k traded. You can start trading with a minimum lot of 0.01 (micro) and 1:400 leverage.

As a Pepperstone client, a trader can fund and withdraw with alternative methods including Visa, Mastercard, POLi internet banking, bank transfer, BPay, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, and Union Pay.

If you are new to trading or looking to practice your trading strategies in a risk-free environment, you can create Demo Account in Pepperstone. But if you are an experienced trader or prefer to learn by doing, Pepperstone provides a Live Account that allows you to trade with live executions and pricing.

Traders can also follow and copy strategies from popular traders using third-party services while learning how to improve their trading abilities. Pepperstone has partnered with a range of social trading platforms that traders can choose from, such as Myfxbook, ZuluTrade, Mirror Trader, MetaTrader signals, and Duplitrade.

Vantage Markets was founded in 2009 in Australia. It is the brand name of the Vantage International Group which is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). Before it is known as Vantage Markets as today, they used to be MXT Global in 2009 and Vantage Markets Pty LTD in 2015. The Vantage Group also operates other companies such as Vantage Global Prime, which is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

According to the broker's website, Vantage Markets adds further protection to clients by segregating client funds and holding their funds with Australia's National Australia Bank (NAB). NAB is one of the 4 largest financial institutions in Australia as well as the Top 20 safest banks in the world. Thus, clients don't need to worry about saving their funds at Vantage Markets.

With Vantage Markets, traders will experience super-fast trade execution, as well as interbank grade and RAW ECN spreads. When combined, these elements offer clients a true institutional trading experience, across a wide range of trading instruments. They also offer services designed for both beginners and professionals with access to Forex ECN trading, as well as CFD trading on Indices, Commodities, and U.S & Hong Kong Shares. Those instruments are available to trade on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader WebTrader, CHARTS by TradingView, Mobile Apps, either for Mac, PC, iOS, or Android. There are also social trading platforms such as MyFXbook and Zulutrade.

By registering in Vantage Markets, traders will have access to an impressive range of educational materials and research tools including MT4 SmartTrader Tools, a wide variety of promotional trading offers and rebate programs, as well as access to accounts with up to 500:1 leverage.  However, the leverage for ASIC and FCA clients is 30:1, and normally no promotion for AU and UK clients because of the compliance policy.

Vantage Markets provides research in the form of technical and fundamental analysis on its blog from in-house staff as well as guest writers. There is also an economic calendar powered by MQL5 from MetaQuotes. For clients who deposit at least $1,000, Vantage Markets offers a suite of plugins for MT4 branded as MT4 SmartTrader Tools, developed by FX Blue LLP.

As an authorized representative of Vantage Global Prime, the broker caters to retail traders under the Vantage Markets brand and offers access to the following instruments:

• 44 currency pairs, which are the most liquid global forex market currencies.
• 16 most liquid Indices from across the globe, including the S&P 500, DAX, FTSE, DJ30, and more.
• 16 commodities, either soft commodities or precious metals.
• 5 indices futures such as DJ30ft, DAX4ft, and NAS100ft.
• 600+ US, UK, and HK shares from large companies, such as Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, and big corporations listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Clients can open accounts in Vantage Markets and deposit funds in 8 base currencies: USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, EUR, SGD, NZD, HKD, and JPY. They also provide clients with convenient deposit and withdrawal methods through local and international bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and e-payment.

Overall, Vantage Markets is valued to be proper for retail traders with small deposits who like the max leverage thresholds. In terms of pricing, the broker's commission-based Raw ECN account is the clear choice for cost-sensitive traders as it features a lower all-in cost compared to its Standard account offering.

As a multi-asset online brokerage, ThinkMarkets present a wide range of trading assets starting from Forex to Precious Metals, Commodities, Indices, Shares, and Cryptocurrencies. The Australian-based broker is established in 2010 and has since opened additional headquarters in London and regional offices throughout Asia-Pacific, Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America.

Along with its history operation, ThinkMarkets has been awarded and recognized many times in various aspects. Most recently, they won the Best Value Broker in Asia at the 2020 Global Forex Awards.

Average FX spreads for traders opening an account in ThinkMarkets start from 1.2 pips for the standard account, while ThinkZero provides the best trading experience with 0.1 pips spread. Still, traders may need to consider that ThinkZero applies commission from $3.5 per side for every 1000,000 trading volumes.

As a global online brokerage, ThinkMarkets operates under various financial regulatory institutions. For example, ThinkMarkets Australia is managed by TF Global Markets (Aust) Limited and is licensed by the Australian Financial Services as well as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) with ABN: 69158361561. ThinkMarkets UK is registered under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by the company name of TF Global Markets (UK) Limited (number: 09042646).

ThinkMarkets consistently try to improve their trading environments with various advanced products. Automatic trading fans are provided with free VPS Hosting, while passionate traders who'd like to experience beyond MetaQuote platforms can try ThinkMarkets' proprietary platform called ThinkTrader.

The trading platform is available on 3 different interfaces specifically designed for Web Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile displays. Furthermore, customized tools such as 80+ drawing tools and more than 125 indicators for technical analysis accessible even through Mobile screens would certainly provide a brand new trading on-the-go experience.

As far as market updates go, trading in ThinkMarkets would be accompanied with news from FX Wire Pro that is known for its strict policy toward upholding objective journalism and delivering critical, trusted information in real-time. Information segments covered by FX Wire Pro include Economic Commentary, Technical-level Reports, Currency and Commodities, Central Bank Bulletins, Energies and metals, together with Event-driven Flashes.

For payment methods, ThinkMarkets offer the gateway via bank transfer, credit card (Visa and MasterCard), Skrill, Neteller, POLi internet banking, BPay, and Bitcoin wallet.

All in all, it is safe to say that for a company that started business since 2010, ThinkMarkets is an accomplished broker in terms of legal standing and innovation in trading technology. As an additional safety assurance for traders, this broker underlines its commitment to provide a $1 million insurance protection program which is made possible by ThinkMarkets' insurance policy with Lloyd's of London that protects clients' funds for up to $1 million in the unlikely event of insolvency.

Since 2009, the action of FBS Holding Inc. or known as FBS in the world of forex trading has been recognized by various international institutions. With clients reaching 14 million as of 2019, FBS has received the title of Most Transparent Forex Broker 2018, Best Investor Education 2017, Best Customer Service Broker Asia 2016, IB FX Program, and many others.

FBS is regulated by FSC Belize and CySEC Cyprus. This broker has been trusted by millions of traders and 370 thousand partners from various countries. Based on their data, FBS garners about 7,000 new traders and partner accounts every day. And, 80% of the clients stay in the FBS for a long time. No wonder the broker is growing rapidly due to the incredible growth in the number of clients.

Trading products offered by FBS range from forex, CFD, precious metal, and stock. For forex trading, CySEC-regulated FBS offers leverage up to 1:30 on Cent and Standard Accounts. Clients who want to try higher leverage than that can alternatively register an account under FBS Belize.

FBS spread begins from 0.5 pips for Pro account type and from 0.7 pips for Standard and Cent accounts. On a standard account, volume orders can be made from 0.01 to 500 lots. Therefore, this account is recommended for experienced traders.

Whereas on Cent Accounts, volume orders can be carried out with a maximum of 500 cent lots or the equivalent of 5 standard lots. Cent Accounts involve a different level of risk. FBS recommends Cent Accounts for beginner traders. All account types support the following trading instruments: 36 Forex pairs, 8 metals, 3 energies, 11 indices, 127 stocks, 5 crypto pairs.

Before plunging into the real forex market, traders can practice with FBS Demo Account which consists of two types, i.e Standard and Cent.

FBS uses the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. They offer them on Windows and Mac as well as Android and iOS mobile. These platforms provide a trading experience at traders' fingertips, allowing traders to progress as a trader anywhere at any time.

MetaTrader platforms also have a variety of mainstay features, including the possibility to create, buy, and use expert advisors (EA) and scripts, One-click trading and embedded news, technical analysis tools, the possibility to copy deals from other traders, hedging positions, and VPS service support.

Another advantage provided by FBS is a deposit bonus of 100% for clients who fulfill certain requirements. The process of FSCing and withdrawing funds can be run easily and quickly. Based on clients' testimonies, each process usually takes no more than 3-4 hours, except on holidays.

Traders also have the opportunity to develop a side business when trading with FBS, namely as an Introducing Broker (IB) or Affiliate. The FBS partnership system provides partner commissions that are already in 3 level positions. Only by introducing new clients to FBS according to certain procedures, traders can earn extra income.

Traders will also get trading education experience at FBS. They have prepared a comprehensive forex course. The course consists of 4 levels: beginner, elementary, intermediate, and experienced. Traders can take courses that will turn them from newbies to professionals. All materials are well-structured. Besides, FBS provides various forex analyzes, webinars, forex news, and daily market analysis that can be accessed easily on their site.

Traders can access the FBS website with many language choices. Of course, this will increasingly provide comfort for traders. Available languages include English, Italian, French, Portuguese, Indonesian, Spanish, and others. Live chat support is also provided 24 hours 7 days a week.

In conclusion, FBS is a widely known broker among retail traders around the world. It continually grows to become a preferred broker because of flexible trading conditions that enable its clients to trade with various instruments, low deposit, and other trading advantages.

Go Markets is a broker established in Australia in 2006. Go Markets has also been licensed by the Australia Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), identified by its AFSL 254963. Go Markets has some partnerships with various specialists in global securities and derivatives, thus it can provide better service to their customers by bringing this expertise on board. Go Markets is well known for having some branches in the UK, Taiwan, and Hongkong.

Go Markets commits to give the best to their clients, by refining their technology and improving their service and clients' education. Furthermore, Go Markets is also willing to continuously provide the best trading experience to the clients through reliable customer service, transparent pricing, low-latency trade execution, and platform stability.

When it comes to trading, the right platform is needed to carry out your trades perfectly. GO Markets offers both the powerful MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 as desktop and mobile trading platforms for traders. Since Go Markets has been acknowledged as the first MT4 broker in Australia, they do some improvement by adding MT5 and a web-based trading platform to fulfill their clients' needs for suitable platforms.

MT4 for mobile allows new and seasoned traders to trade anywhere and any time, analyze markets and easily access all Expert Advisors. The main difference between MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 and their associated mobile trading platforms is that MT4 is predominantly a Forex trading platform, while MT5 is a multi-asset CFD trading platform. Moreover, the internationally trusted Go Markets Metatrader 4 Platform has these advantages among many others:

• No dealing desk involvement
• Spreads from 0.5 pips
• Leverage up to 500:1
• No hedge restrictions

By opening an account in GO Markets, traders will be provided with some of the most advanced and powerful trading tools in a range of markets when it comes to online CFDs Trading. For traders who just start, honing skills in GO Markets' demo account can familiarize themselves with the broker's trading platforms and tools.

While for those who want to start real trading, GO Markets allow for flexible trading on a range of Forex and CFDs including Shares, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies through MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms.

Go Markets is very pleased to announce that they will be soon using Currenex technology, a born of Currenex interbank liquidity, to provide more liquidity to their clients.

GO Markets ease their clients' money transfer through Client Portal. They can open accounts and deposit funds in 9 currencies (USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, SGD, CHF, CAD, HKD, AUD). Whereas, deposit and withdrawal can be done either by bank transfer or e-payment (FasaPay, Neteller, and Skrill). Clients do not need to worry about deposit and withdrawal fees, because GO Markets does not charge any internal deposit fees using Visa/Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, and Bank Transfer.

Last but not least, Go Markets also guarantees the clients' funds by protecting their privacy and financial information with maximum care. Go Markets employs leading security systems and has strict procedures in place to protect clients' information.

If you want to start trading in Go Markets with a little cash and low risk, Go Markets offers special accounts where clients can start trading with a few dollars and the ability to trade from one cent per pip only. There is a $500 deposit limit in these accounts and Expert Advisors use is allowed.

Plus500 is a UK-based company with its main offices located in the city of London. The company is authorized and regulated by FCA. For traders who are looking for a broker with top-tier regulators, Plus500 can be the right choice.

Plus500 offers 2,000 instruments to over a million clients. List of instruments available for trading with their CFD service include forex currency pairs, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, shares, and ETFs. Traders can choose instruments suitable for their needs.

Regardless, beginners should be extremely cautious while choosing their assets, as it can get daunting, confusing, and inherently risky.

When traders open an account, Plus500 will hold traders' funds on a segregated basis, following FCA's client money rules. Traders do not need to worry about Plus500 using their funds for hedging, as it is strictly prohibited to use clients' funds for this purpose.

Other advantages when trading in Plus500 are tight spreads and no commissions. The company only offers a single type of account, but traders can update the account from Retail to Professional by following some standards.

To apply Professional Accounts, traders have to fulfill at least 2 of the following 3 criteria eligible, such as sufficient trading activity in the last 12 months, financial instrument portfolio of over 500,000 Euro, and relevant experience in the financial services sector.

Plus500 is well-regarded for its services through the market spread, leverage up to of 1:30 for Retail Accounts, and leverage up to of 1:300 for Professional Accounts. Plus500 tries to give a sensible choice of leverage, which not only controls the risk but also helps novice traders to exercise more control over their trading emotions.

Founded in 2008, Plus500 provides almost the same features to both Retail and Professional account, including clients' money protection, negative balance protection, best execution for orders, clear and transparent information, as well as financial services compensation scheme. Still, Professional account is more advanced as it has access to FOS.

Based on the statistics, 76.4% of Retail account owners in Plus500 lose money when trading CFDs. Because of that, Plus500 always warns traders to consider their understanding of how CFDs work and their affordability to take high risk of losing money, before starting a trade in Live Account.

Even so, Plus500 has gained the trust of traders throughout the world. They have around 39 million positions opened, 304,000 active customers, and billions of volume trading processed by their system.

Plus500 always tries to give the best services to their clients. One of the ways to reach their goals is by making clients feel confident in their trading activity. They have a simple and easy-to-use trading platform, with an especially well-designed mobile platform. Traders can access the Plus500 platform via web-trader, iPhone/iPad, and Mobile App.

In their platform, traders will get advanced tools such as stop limit, guaranteed stop, free email and push notifications on market events, and alerts on price movements. All of these tools can help traders to navigate the market with better understanding.

As for payment methods, Plus500 provides various choices like Visa or MasterCard, electronic wallets (PayPal and Skrill), and bank transfer (direct bank to bank funds transfer).

For any concerns, troubles, or trading issues, traders can contact Plus500's customer service that is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The official website of Plus500 can be accessed in 24 languages.

Overall, Plus500 has some advantages and disadvantages. As it has a license from an elite regulator, traders can feel safe when trading in Plus500. It also provides a 24/7 support team to help traders. But, offering leverages up to 1:300 is not suitable for high-risk traders, such as scalpers, who indulge in high-frequency trading that holds positions in the market for a brief period and typically use high leverage.