Forex trading has become an investment that is of interest to many people worldwide. To start forex trading, the first step that needs to be taken is choosing the right broker.

Currently, many popular foreign forex brokers offer various services and features. Here is a list of the most popular foreign brokers that you can choose:

1. FBS: offers the highest leverage up to 1:3000
2. Exness: have a trading account that applies a spread of 0 pips and a commission of $0
3. XM: broker with flexible trading conditions and low deposits
4. Octa: there is an attractive bonus for every deposit made
5. ThinkMarkets: allows traders to open an account without paying a deposit
6. RoboForex: offers low spreads from 0 pips
7. Admirals: spreads for forex trading as low as 0 to 0.1 pips only

Several criteria make a broker popular in the forex market. Some of them are as follows:

• Regulated
  There are many cases of scams under the guise of trading in many countries. Therefore, forex traders always choose regulated brokers; whether registered with ASIC, FCA, NFA, CySEC, or another well-known regulatory body.
• Have a mobile app
  The level of traders' mobility is very high. Many of them work 9-5 Monday through Friday, then travel with friends or family on the weekends. To access the market between activities, traders rely on forex brokers' mobile apps. That's why they prefer brokers whose trading applications can provide real-time access, provide notifications when there are important movements, and execute orders accurately.
• Competitive trading costs
  Transaction costs such as spread, minimum deposit, and commission, are important factors in choosing a broker. Traders tend to look for brokers that offer competitive spreads and low transaction costs to help increase the potential profitability of their trading.
• Have an Islamic account
  In addition to catering to Muslim traders from countries like Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Islamic accounts or swap free accounts are also sought after by non-Muslim traders due to their lack of swap fees. The existence of this account with the broker is a plus point that is worth considering.

The seven forex brokers mentioned previously have met these criteria. Check out the complete information in the explanation below.

1. FBS

• Regulation: ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FSC Belize.
• Mobile app name: FBS Trader/FBS
• Mobile app rating: 4.6/5
• Minimum deposit: $5
• Spread: Starting from 0.7 pips
• Commission: $0
• Leverage: 1:3000
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

FBS Broker has been operating in more than 190 countries since 2009. This popular broker, which has won many prestigious awards, has 4 regulations, including ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, and FSC.

The FBS trading application is very popular among traders worldwide because it has a 4.6-star rating on both the Play Store and App Store. Many traders are satisfied with FBS mobile trading services, especially the execution speed, no requotes, and news trading feature.

The minimum deposit you need to open an account at FBS is $5, which is relatively low so it is affordable for traders with limited capital. The trading account specifications are also very flexible. The spread for forex trading at FBS is as low as 0.7 pips without any commission fees.

Plus, the leverage is very high, reaching 1:3000. This is an advantage in itself because many traders cannot enjoy high leverage on domestic brokers due to regulations or something else.

Islamic or swap free accounts are available for Muslim traders who want them. You need to activate the swap free account feature on the FBS website or FBS application.

See also:

FBS Testimonial

2. Exness

• Regulation: FSA Seychelles, FSC BVI, CBCS
• Mobile app name: Exness Trade: Online Trading
• Mobile app rating: 4.3/5
• Minimum deposit: $10-$200
• Spread: 0-1 pips
• Commission: $0-$3.5
• Leverage: 1:2000
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

Exness is the most popular broker in the world which always sets records for the highest trading volume every year. This broker, which has been operating since 2008, has 3 regulations including FSA, FSC, and CBCS.

The Exness trading application has been downloaded more than 10 million times. Competing with FBS, the Exness mobile app rating received 4.3 stars on both the Play Store and App Store. This means that there are more positive reviews than negative regarding the Exness mobile application.

The minimum deposit you need to open an Exness trading account is $10. There are 5 types of Exness accounts: Standard, Standard Cent, Pro, Zero, and Raw Spread. Specifically for Pro, Zero, and Raw Spread accounts, the minimum deposit is higher, reaching $200.

You can enjoy zero spread forex trading on Exness Zero accounts and Raw Spread accounts. However, you need to pay a commission of $3.50.

If you want to avoid commission fees, then you can consider Standard, Standard Cent, and Pro accounts. In exchange, you will have to pay spreads from 0.6 pips (Pro accounts) and 1 pips (Standard and Standard Cent accounts). However, the spread is still relatively low.

There is an Islamic account at the Exness broker. Trading conditions are the same as other account types, including high leverage reaching 1:2000.

See also:

Exness Testimonials

3. XM

• Regulation: ASIC, CySEC, FSC Belize, BaFIN, DFSA
• Mobile app name: XM - Trading Point
• Mobile app rating: 4.0/5
• Minimum deposit: $5
• Spread: 0.6-1 pips
• Commission: $0
• Leverage: 1:1000
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

XM Brokers has been in the trading and financial industry since 2009. This multi-regulated broker is also popular among traders worldwide. Traders from various countries also like XM for its flexible trading services.

XM launched its trading application in 2015. To date, 5 million clients have downloaded the XM mobile app. The rating on the Play Store is also no less high than other broker applications, reaching 4.0 stars out of 5.

To start forex trading on XM, you only need to deposit $5. This applies to all XM forex accounts: Micro, Standard, and Ultra Low. $0 commission and high leverage of up to 1:1000 also apply to all three accounts.

The spread for the XM Ultra Low account is slightly lower than the Micro and Standard accounts, starting from just 0.6 pips for all forex pairs. Meanwhile, spreads starting from 1 pips apply to both other XM account types.

For those of you who want to trade forex on an XM Islamic account, you can change it yourself in your respective Member Area. Islamic account trading conditions are the same as the three available account types.

See also:

XM Testimonial

4. Octa

• Regulation: CySEC, FSA SVG
• Mobile app name: Octa Trading App
• Mobile app rating: 4.4/5
• Minimum deposit: $25
• Spread: Starting from 0.6 pips
• Commission: $0
• Leverage: 1:500
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

Octa Broker formerly known as OctaFX is a popular forex broker with more than a decade of experience. This broker, who has won 60 awards in the forex sector, has 2 regulations: CySEC and FSA Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Octa trading application has been downloaded more than 10 million times since it was first released. The ratings are also amazing, namely 4.4 stars on the Play Store and 4.5 stars on the App Store. You can also open a trading account via the Octa mobile app.

There are 3 types of trading accounts that Octa has: OctaTrader, MetaTrader 5, and MetaTrader 4. Each account reflects the trading platform used. Low spreads as low as 0.6 pips and $0 commission applies on all account types. The leverage is also the same, reaching 1:500 for all forex pairs, except ZAR/JPY.

One advantage of the Octa broker is that all account types are in swap free mode. So, you don't need to request or activate it first. Just register as usual, verify, and then start trading.

To start trading on Octa, you need a minimum deposit of $25. Slightly higher than the other brokers mentioned, but you have the opportunity to get a deposit bonus of 50% on the transactions you make.

Apart from deposit bonuses, the Octa broker also has a ton of other bonuses, promotions, and attractive trading contests with prizes of thousands of dollars.

See also:

Octa Testimonial

5. ThinkMarkets

• Regulation: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSA Seychelles, FSCA, FSA Japan
• Mobile app name: ThinkTrader
• Mobile app rating: 4.0/5
• Minimum deposit: $0-$500
• Spread: 0-2.52 pips
• Commission: $0-$3.5
• Leverage: 1:500, 1:2000
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

The name of ThinkMarkets must be familiar to all forex traders in the world. This popular forex broker, which has been operating since 2010, has many regulations, including FCA UK, ASIC, CySEC, FSA Seychelles, FSCA, and FSA Japan.

Many users have left positive reviews regarding the performance of the ThinkMarkets trading application called ThinkTrader. The rating is also quite high, up to 4.0 stars on the Play Store and 4.8 stars on the App Store. The rating on the Play Store had dropped due to an update from the application developer so adjustments were needed.

Trading at ThinkMarkets has flexible conditions. The reason is, that there are three types of trading accounts that you can choose: Standard, ThinkZero, and Mini. You do not need a minimum deposit to open a Standard ThinkMarkets account. However, you need a $10 deposit to start trading on a Mini account and $500 for a ThinkZero account.

You do not need to pay spread for every transaction in your ThinkZero account. Meanwhile, the spread on the Standard account starts from just 0.4 pips and on the Mini account 2.52 pips. ThinkMarkets also does not charge commission fees for forex trading, except for ThinkZero accounts, where a commission of $3.5 per lot side applies.

The applicable leverage is relatively high, reaching 1:500. Especially for Mini accounts, the leverage can reach 1:2000, allowing you to open more positions.

As additional information, all ThinkMarkets trading accounts use the MetaTrader platform 4 and 5. If you want to trade via ThinkTrader, then you must open a Standard account. For a ThinkMarkets Islamic account, you must first request through CS.

See also:

ThinkMarkets Testimonials

6. RoboForex

• Regulation: FSC Belize
• Mobile app name: MobileTrader/MobileTrader FX
• Mobile app rating: 4.4/5
• Minimum deposit: $10
• Spread: Starting from 0 pips
• Commission: $2-$4
• Leverage: 1:300, 1:500, 1:1000
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

RoboForex is a popular forex broker because of its execution reliability and ease of registration. Having been operating since 2009, RoboForex has an official license from FSC Belize. This is what makes RoboForex have high flexibility regarding its trading conditions.

RoboForex has a mobile application called MobileTrader or MobileTrader FX. This application has a rating of 4.4 stars on the Play Store and 4.7 stars on the App Store. The rating is relatively high, according to user reviews who are satisfied with the speed and ease of trading via the application.

You need a minimum deposit of $10 to start forex trading on RoboForex. These deposit requirements apply to all forex account types: Prime, ECN, ProCent, and Pro.

Prime and ECN accounts apply floating spreads starting from 0 pips with a commission of $2 per lot side for Prime accounts and $4 per lot side for ECN accounts. Meanwhile, ProCent and Pro accounts apply spreads starting from 1.3 pips.

Regarding leverage, RoboForex differentiates it for each account. This broker limits leverage to 1:300 on Prime accounts, 1:500 for ECN accounts, and 1:2000 for ProCent/Pro accounts only. In addition, all forex accounts can be converted into Islamic accounts so there are no swap fees.

See also:

RoboForex Testimonials

7. Admirals

• Regulation: ASIC, FCA, CySEC, FSA Estonia, FSA Seychelles
• Mobile app name: Admirals
• Mobile app rating: 4.3/5
• Minimum deposit: $25
• Spread: 0-0.1 pips
• Commission: $0-$3 per lot
• Leverage: 1:500
• Availability of Islamic accounts: Yes

Finally, there is the Admirals broker which is also popular in 150+ countries worldwide. This broker adheres to many regulations; some of them are ASIC, FCA, CySEC, FSA Estonia, and FSA Seychelles. Admirals are also regulated in Jordan.

Admirals trading app has the same name as the broker's name. The Admirals mobile app received a rating of 4.3 stars on the Play Store and 4.6 stars on the App Store. The number of clients who have downloaded this application has reached more than 500K.

There are 4 account types for forex trading at Admirals: Trade.MT5, Zero.MT5, Trade.MT4, and Zero.MT4. You need to deposit $25 to open any type of account. A leverage of 1:500 also applies to all four accounts.

Especially for Zero accounts, there is no spread that you have to pay for every transaction made. Meanwhile, the spread on Trade accounts is still relatively low because it starts from just 0.1 pips.

Instead, there is a commission fee of $1.8 to $3 per lot if you trade forex using a Zero account. If you use a Trade account, trading costs are included in the spread so you don't have to pay commission fees.

If you want to trade using Islamic account, then you can only choose the Trade.MT5 account. Don't worry, the trading conditions for Islamic accounts are the same as Trade.MT5 accounts because the only difference is whether there are swap fees or not.

See also:

Admirals Testimonials

What broker is the most ideal for me?

If you are still confused about which popular forex broker to choose, below we have presented a comparison table of each detailed trading condition for each broker as explained above.

Based on the comparison in the table, it appears that FBS is the best broker of choice as it provides the most superior trading conditions. The FBS mobile app has the highest rating among others, the minimum deposit is the lowest, there are no commission fees, and the leverage is the highest.

Exness and XM can also be considered due to their flexible trading conditions. Exness' Zero Spread and Raw Spread accounts offer 0 pips spread with no commission fees. The leverage is also high. However, the minimum deposit may be too expensive and not suitable for those of you who have limited capital.

If you don't have a lot of capital, then XM will be a more suitable choice. The minimum deposit is only $5. You also don't need to pay commission fees on XM, there is only a spread of 0.6 pips to 1 pips. This figure is still considered very low. It's just that the leverage is below FBS and Exness.