The best forex broker in Australia is one that offers low fees, tight spreads, a large number of trading pairs, plus educational material, analysis tools and a fully-functional mobile app.
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We lined up six forex brokers in Australia that meet these criteria.
Keep on reading to find out more.
An Overview of the Best Forex Brokers in Australia
The Best Australian Forex Broker: Six Options Compared
Here is our ranking of the top Australian forex brokers.
- eToro: Best Forex Broker in Australia for Beginners
- CMC Markets: Biggest Number of FX Pairs
- IG Australia: Most Trusted Forex Broker in Australia
- Pepperstone: Lowest Spread Broker in Australia
- FP Markets: Best Forex Broker in Australia for Scalping
- Blackbull Markets Review: Best Forex Broker for Experienced Traders
Disclaimer: Always take into account your own individual circumstances before making any investment decisions, and don’t rely on the information presented here alone. We highly suggest that you consult with an expert before applying for any product or service mentioned on our site.
1. eToro: Best Forex Broker in Australia for Beginners
If you are just getting into forex trading, eToro is a great platform to help you learn the ropes.
- Rating 10/10
- ASIC regulated: Yes
- FX Pairs: 49
- Minimum Spreads: 1 pip
- Minimum deposit: $50
- Platforms available: eToro Trading Platform
- Other products: Stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, crypto assets
- AUD deposit method: POLi, credit/debit cards, PayPal
- Customer support: Live chat, email & phone
t’s easy to use, has a host of educational resources and a demo account with $100,000 in virtual money to practise with. Plus, thanks to its revolutionary CopyTrader feature, inexperienced traders can replicate the strategies of some of the platform’s biggest users and connect and share experiences with them.
eToro has the biggest global community of traders, many outperforming market benchmarks, giving you the chance to learn from the very best in the business.
The selection of FX pairs is also well suited to newbie investors. eToro offers 49 major, minor and exotic currency trading pairs, which is enough to let you dip your toes in the market, without getting overwhelmed.
The spreads may not be the lowest, however, eToro does not have any management or deposit fees, making it a cost-effective option overall.
2. CMC Markets Review: Biggest Number of FX Pairs
CMC Markets, one of the top-rated trading apps and our pick for best Australian forex broker, is a great choice for any investor.
PROS:
- Largest social trading network
- Free insurance of up to $1m
- Multi-tiered loyalty program
CONS:
- Conversion charges apply
Read our full eToro review here.
- Rating: 9/10
- ASIC regulated: Yes
- FX Pairs: 330+
- Minimum Spreads: 0.7 pips
- Minimum deposit: None
- Platforms available: CFD Next Generation, MT4
- Other products: Shares, indices, commodities, options, ETFs, managed funds, mFunds, securities & bonds
- AUD deposit methods: POLi, BPAY, PayPal & bank transfer
- Customer support: live chat, phone
It offers over 330 forex pairs, as well as 12 forex indices, a basket of related FX pairs that share the same base currency, giving you more chances of diversification.
On top of the biggest selection of currency pairs, CMC Markets also provides super-fast, fully-automated execution and the most accurate pricing (combining eight feeds from tier-one banks). It also boasts a 99.7% fill rate, which means that they execute all trades, no matter how small.
Best of all, CMC Markets is suitable for beginners and more experienced investors. There is a demo account available for newbies, while seasoned users can take advantage of advanced analysis tools, including free forex news and 12 different types of charts, as well as a premium FX Active account that offers tighter spreads and fixed-rate commission.
3. IG Australia Review: Most Trusted Forex Broker in Australia
Established in 1974, IG is one of Australia’s most trusted and best forex trading platforms, serving over 320,000 users and providing access to more than 18,000 markets.
Founded in 1989
One million clients worldwide
Start trading from $0
Inactive & withdrawal fees apply
Rating: 9/10
ASIC regulated: Yes
FX Pairs: 80+
Minimum Spreads: 0.6 pips
Minimum deposit: None
Platforms available: IG proprietary trading platform & apps, L2 Dealer, ProRealTime, MT4
Other products: Shares, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies
AUD deposit methods: Credit/debit card, PayPal & BPAY
Customer support: Personalised support, live chat, email, phone & social media
It is also one of the best trading apps for CFDs allowing customers to trade forex and individual stock market CFDs, alongside each other on the same trading platform, and trade outside of standard trading hours (including weekends) on key index and forex markets.
On IG, users can trade over 80 popular, exotic and emerging FX pairs with minimum spreads as low as 0.6 pips on AUD/USD and EUR/USD.
Clients can choose to trade forex on IG’s proprietary platform or the MT4 platform—both are super intuitive and suitable for beginners. Pro traders, on the other hand, have access to a DMA account where they are charged by trade volume with commissions starting at $10 for every $1 million traded.
4. Pepperstone Review: Lowest Spread Broker in Australia
This Melbourne-based forex broker was founded in 2010 but is already considered as one of the best forex brokers in Australia.
Fully functional mobile trading platforms
Competitive spreads
Full suite of technical analysis & risk management tools
Customer service could be a bit slow
Rating: 8.5/10
ASIC regulated: Yes
FX Pairs: 60+
Minimum spreads: 0.6 pips
Minimum deposit: $200
Platforms available: MT4, MT5 & cTrader
Other products: Cryptocurrencies, shares, indices, commodities
AUD deposit methods: credit card, POLi, BPay, bank transfer, PayPal & other e-wallets
Customer support: phone, email & live chat
Pepperstone has two forex trading accounts—Standard, a beginner-friendly, commission-free account, and Razor, the platform’s raw spread account. Designed specifically for algorithmic traders and scalpers, the latter gives users access to spreads as low as 0.0 pips and charges a very competitive commission of $3.50 per 100k traded.
The reason why Pepperstone is able to provide such low spreads is due to its no-dealing-desk business model. In other words, the quotes provided by the broker are sourced directly from a list of liquidity providers (22 banks and financial institutions) bringing you only the lowest quotes.
In addition to tight spreads, Pepperstone offers one of the fastest execution speeds (under 30ms), a wide range of platforms to choose from (including cTrader), a 99.95% fill rate and maximum leverage up to 30:1.
5. FP Markets Review: Best Forex Broker in Australia for Scalping
Like Pepperstone, FP Markets has ECN-type raw spreads with no dealing desk and no requotes. This allows the platform to offer tight spreads (from zero pips), high-speed execution (under 40ms) and minimal price slippage—perfect for scalpers who rely on low-latency execution and low margins to make a profit.
Great customer service
Multiple trading platforms supported
Raw spreads from 0 pips
Only $50 in demo funds
Rating: 8/10
ASIC regulated: Yes
FX Pairs: 60+
Minimum Spreads: 0.0 pips
Minimum deposit: $100
Platforms available: MT4, MT5, Iress
Other products: Shares, metals, commodities, indices, bonds, ETFs, crypto
AUD deposit methods: Credit/debit card, bank transfer, Skrill & Netteler
Customer support: phone, email & live chat
Those with a lower risk appetite can go for FP Markets’ Standard Account which provides tight spreads of 1.0 pips and no commission fees.
Both accounts come with advanced charting tools, updated news on the global FX market and automated trading options, i.e. all the standard features of the popular MT4 and MT5 platforms.
FP Markets also gives access to Iress, one of the few brokers in Australia that do. However, this trading platform is more focused on shares than forex and is best suited for active traders with high-balance accounts.
Although not based in Australia, FP Markets has multi-lingual support and is registered with ASIC.
6. Blackbull Markets Review: Best Forex Broker for Experienced Traders
Blackbull Markets is a New Zealand-based broker that has expanded into global markets, including Australia. It is a fully regulated ECN broker, i.e. a non-dealing desk broker allowing the platform to offer tight spreads starting at 0.0 pips on major FX pairs.
Copy trading available
Raw spreads
Regulated in 3 tier-one jurisdictions
Educational resources could be better
Rating: 7/10
ASIC regulated: No
FX Pairs: 27
Minimum Spreads: 0.0 pips
Minimum deposit: USD$50
Platforms available: MT4, MT5, WebTrader
Other products: Index and share CFDs, commodities, precious metals, energy, shares
AUD deposit methods: credit card, bank transfer, Neteller, UnionPay & Skrill
Customer support: phone, email & live chat
Blackbull Markets has three account types: a commission-free Standard account, ECN Prime that charges a commission of USD$6 round turn per lot and an ECN Institutional account, reserved for pro traders willing to deposit a minimum of USD$20,000 to get started.
On the plus side, the platform offers a no-fee funding method, an average execution speed of 20ms, a wide range of trading platforms, including the full MT suite and WebTrader, and award-winning customer support available through live chat.
Those willing to take bigger risks can get leverage up to 500:1—since Blackbull Markets is not regulated in Australia it does not have to comply with ASIC regulations.
How to Choose the Best Forex Broker in Australia [A Buyer’s Guide]
Here is a brief list of what Australian traders should look for in their FX broker.
No fee deposits
Low FX spreads
Excellent educational tools
Not regulated in Australia
Withdrawal & conversion fees apply
1. Regulation
Almost all Australian forex brokers are licensed and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
ASIC not only provides a safe trading environment but also makes sure that users cannot access leverage over 30:1 and suffer huge losses in the process.
Verifying whether the company is licensed by ASIC is very easy—check the bottom of the home page for the licence. If there is none, check for licences from regulatory bodies where the broker is headquartered or operates.
Not finding any? Then, it’s best to avoid that particular site.
2. Commission and Spreads
Most brokers do not charge commissions, but rather operate on a spread-only model.
The spread is the difference between the buy and sell price and it is measured in pips. For instance, if you are trading AUD/USD at 1.3398/1.13404, the spread is 0.6 pips, i.e. 1.13404 – 1.3398.
Most Australian forex brokers have minimum spreads of 0.6 pips, while some offer even lower starting at 0.0 pips.
The ones that have trading fees typically charge on a per-lot basis, although you can find platforms that work on a percentage-based commission model.
Think about which model best suits you according to your risk appetite and trading volume and choose accordingly.
3. Range of currency pairs
The best FX brokers in Australia offer a wide range of trading pairs, covering almost all majors and minors, as well as exotic pairs.
They also provide trading in other financial instruments, such as crypto, commodities and shares. If you are interested in more than just FX trading, using the same platform for other instruments is pretty convenient. Not to mention you can get several perks such as loyalty rewards and trading volume rebates.
4. Deposit & withdrawal fees
When looking through the best forex brokers in Australia, you need to consider the following questions regarding funding and withdrawals.
Looking for the best crypto apps in Australia? Here are our top picks.
- What payment methods are accepted?
- Are there any deposit or withdrawal fees?
- Is there a minimum deposit?
Try to stick to Australian-based FX brokers as these tend to support local payment methods which means you won’t pay hefty conversion fees.
5. Customer support
Try to sign up for a broker that offers 24/7 support, whether it’s live chat or email service. It’s a good idea to read up a couple of reviews by actual customers as these are usually the most objective when it comes to the quality of customer support.
6. Trading platforms and tools
Forex trading is a changing game and users need to have access to top-of-the-line analytical tools in order to keep track of the market and make valid investment decisions.
That’s why choosing a broker that supports the MT4 or MT5 trading platforms is the best option. These popular platforms offer simple trade executions, market insights, an economic calendar, financial news, technical indicators and customizable charts. Plus they are easy to use, thus suitable for investors with varying levels of experience.
7. Additional services
Forex trading is a highly competitive industry and each platform is trying to introduce additional features to make it stand out from the crowd, which works out great for users. These can range from referral bonuses and trading competitions to interest earned on trading accounts and price alerts.
What Is the Best Australian Broker?
We compared and ranked the very best Australian forex brokers, so now it’s over to you.
Choose a platform that is licensed and offers detailed and reliable trading tools as well as low spreads, commissions and withdrawal fees. If you cover all the factors outlined in the guide above, you should not have any issues, whether you are getting started with investing or switching brokers.
1. Is forex trading taxable in Australia?
Yes, since the country acknowledges this type of trading as a legitimate income-generating activity.
2. Is there a limit to the leverage offered with forex in Australia?
Yes, ASIC states that the maximum leverage for forex trading cannot go over the 30:1 ratio.
3. Is there a minimum legal age to start trading forex in Australia?
There is no minimum legal age for trading forex in Australia, however, you need a bank account to get started which means you need to be at least 18 years old to trade on the foreign exchange market.
4. Are bonuses offered in forex trading?
On the hunt for the best forex broker in Australia, you are likely to find many platforms that offer deposit bonuses (rewarding you when you open your account) or referral bonuses to attract new users.
