The question of "Forex.com or OANDA" may appear frequently as both are equally top US brokers. And here is the answer.

Both Forex.com and OANDA offer exceptional services with numerous award-winning features. They are equally known as trailblazers in online trading. They operate globally under one of the strictest regulations in the world. So, which is better, Forex.com or OANDA?

The first thing we should understand is that the term "better" is subjective. Each broker may or may not be suitable for your needs. What is good for others may not necessarily be good for you. As such, we should delve into their offerings before making any decision.

Forexcom or OANDA Which is Better

Here, we will explore the answer by looking into six important features in every broker: legal background, trading platform, trading fees, trading instruments, client services, and deposit requirements.

 

Legal Background

Forex.com and OANDA stand among the most highly regulated forex brokers in the world. They have registered with the CFTC and NFA, and so, they can accept US clients. Traders from other countries may be registered under other regulatory bodies.

Here is a list of OANDA licenses:

  • CFTC/NFA 0325821 (United States)
  • FCA 54257 (United Kingdom)
  • FSA 1571 (Japan)
  • FSC SIBA/L/20/1130 (British Virgin Island)
  • MFSA 18.12.2020 (Malta)
  • MAS 200704926K (Singapore)
  • ASIC ABN 26 152 088 349 AFSL No. 412 (Australia)

And here's the list of Forex.com licenses:

  • CFTC/NFA 0339826(United States)
  • FCA 190864 (United Kingdom)
  • FSA 1539 (Japan) 
  • Cayman Islands Monetary Authority 25033 (Cayman Islands)
  • IIROC (Canada)

 

Trading Platform

Both Forex.com and OANDA offer their own proprietary trading platforms and the popular MetaTrader. All of them are available for Android, iOS, and desktop.

OANDA's platform —aptly titled FxTrade—features all the necessary tools for daily trading activities with additional trading performance tools. You can use this tool to analyze your trading history, broken down by instrument, profit/loss, win rate, and risk-to-reward ratio.

FOREX.com app is more focused on trading execution. The navigation bar, dashboard, watchlists, and alarms may all be customized. You can also place trailing stops and unique conditional orders such as One Cancels the Other (OCO) orders, in addition to the usual market and limit orders.

 

Trading Fees

The two top US brokers apply different fee structures. Take note carefully, because what one offers might be unsuitable for you.

OANDA provides two types of accounts with different pricing:

  • A spread-only account will not charge any commissions, but there are fairly wide spreads starting from 1.4 pips for EUR/USD.
  • The commission account imposes a $50 charge per 1 million base currency units, along with a basic spread (starting from 0 pip).

Forex.com presents three types of accounts, they are:

  • The standard account has a variable spread starting from 1 pip.
  • The commission account charges $5 per 100,000 base currency units, along with a basic spread that starts at 0.2 pip.
  • The STP Pro Account offers competitive pricing with spreads starting at 0.1 pips, but it has a $25,000 minimum deposit requirement.

 

Trading Instruments

Forex.com actually offers a wider range of instruments than OANDA. Both provide trading facilities for Forex, CFD, and cryptocurrency (CFD), but Forex.com brings more symbols to the table. Forex.com has over 5,500 tradeable symbols, while OANDA only has 124 symbols (71 of which are forex pairs).

 

Client Services

OANDA is one step ahead of Forex.com in terms of customer support. OANDA's customer service team is available 24 hours a day from Sunday at 1 pm EST to Friday at 6 pm EST through email and live chat. OANDA also arranges multiple localized phone supports, equipped with multilingual staff, perfectly embody a globalized forex broker. 

On the other hand, Forex.com does not provide direct phone numbers. You can only contact their customer support through live chat, 24 hours a day, from Sunday at 10 am until Friday at 5 pm. It may be a hassle for people with certain restrictions.

 

Deposit Requirements

OANDA wins this one too because they don't have any minimum deposit requirement. You can deposit any sum of money starting from US$1 up to US$9,000 (or currency equivalent) to your OANDA account. However, Forex.com requires a minimum of US$100 as an initial deposit.

So, which one would you choose, Forex.com or OANDA? This short research should have told you the answer. OANDA excels overall and is very suitable for beginners.

Nevertheless, experienced traders may prefer Forex.com to diversify their portfolio and enjoy OCO orders.