FXOpen Review
FXOpen are one of the most popular brokers in the world. Regulated and providing top-notch platforms, they focus on facilitating the traders with low commission fees and tight spreads. They have various account types and funding option to cater for all different traders. The broker has plenty of financial instruments for trading and investing online along with educational and research content to help support beginners.
FXOpen is an online forex broker that provides trading services on the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TickTrader platforms for retail and institutional clients. You can trade CFDs on various assets including Forex, Stocks, Shares, Commodities, Cryptocurrency Indices, Metals and Energies.
The brokerage services were introduced in 2005 as a natural step to address the growing demand for fair and transparent trading conditions along with excellent customer service. FXOpen is regulated under ASIC and FCA. They have offices in Australia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the UK.
FXOpen have a decent amount of educational resources for beginners and robust tools for conducting technical analysis to keep up to date with what is happening around the financial markets. The minimum deposit to open a trading account is just $5 whereas free demo accounts to practice your trading strategies are also available.
FXOpen is a good option for beginners as they provide a decent amount of educational content, free demo accounts and have a minimum deposit of just $5. They are equipped with innovative technology and high-quality analysis tools to satisfy the more experienced traders demands. You can get convenient access to trade the markets on all of your devices with a good selection of powerful trading platforms including MT4, MT5 and TickTrader. They offer a wide range of accounts with very competitive trading conditions including tight spreads, low commission fees and reliable execution speeds. This is all backed up by excellent customer support.
FXOpen has been prudently working since 2005 in the financial markets. They have a wide range of financial products for you to choose from including forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptos. I think there is enough variety for everyone to build a diversified portfolio, regardless of your interests. However, they do not quite compete with the likes of Swissquote who have over 3,000,000 instruments available. That being said, if you are planning on trading forex, they do have a great selection of major, minor and exotic currency pairs.
FXOpen Instruments Summary
| Instruments | FXOpen |
|---|---|
| Forex | ✓ |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Indices | ✓ |
| Commodities | ✓ |
| Cryptos | ✓ |
| Options | x |
| Bonds | x |
| ETFs | x |
| CFDs | ✓ |
Commission and Spread Fees
FXOpen has a very nominal commission fee and tight spreads over ECN and STP accounts. On ECN accounts, the commissions are a minimum of $1, while the commissions are not applied in STP accounts. Spreads start from as low as 0.0 pips, depending on your chosen account type. I found the FXOpen commission charge to be below the industry average, so there is some potential for savings there.
| Fee | Micro | STP Account | ECN Account | Crypto |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commission (per standard lot per side) | $0 | $0 | $1.5 | 0.5% |
| Spreads from | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | Variable |
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
FXOpen makes it easy for you to fund your account and withdraw funds when needed with a good variety of payment options. I found them to have reasonable deposit and withdrawal fees overall.
Inactivity Fees
After 90 consecutive days of non-use (no trades or open positions, no deposits, transfers, or withdrawals), FXOpen charges a monthly inactivity fee of $10. An inactivity fee will reduce the value of the customer’s trading account until it is depleted. Traders can request that FXOpen reactivate a dormant account. A one-time cost of $50 is charged for reactivation. If you would rather avoid inactivity fees, you might want to take a look at easyMarkets as they do not charge any.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 has been one of the most common trading platforms since 2005 and is well known for being user-friendly and fully loaded with lots of indicators and tools for complex market analysis. Data suggests that most forex brokers use MetaTrader 4 which accounts for a large majority of all retail forex transactions. FXOpen was one of the first brokers to use the MetaTrader 4 platform to provide direct access to interbank liquidity and ECN trading to their users way back in 2009. The liquidity aggregator technology developed by FXOpen has improved and enhanced the core functions of MT4. You can trade with MT4 on desktop, web and mobile.
MetaTrader 5
If you want to trade CFDs other than forex, you can opt to choose the enhanced MT5 multi-asset platform. The MT5 platform looks and feels the same as MT4, but it has a lot more features including additional flexibility, more professional technical analysis tools and a built-in calendar for fundamental analysis. Just like MT4, the platform is free to use on desktop, web and as an intuitive trading app for those of you who want to take the markets with you in your pocket. With MetaTrader 5, you can enjoy:
- 4 Order execution types
- Exchange Execution with Depth of Market
- Stop Limit pending orders
- No Negative Slippage
- Netting positions
- Custom Expert Advisors
- MQL market
- Ready-Made expert advisors, indicators and scripts
- Multi-currency strategy tester
- Direct Chart Trades
- Modifiable Take Profit and Stop Loss
- Mobile apps for iPhone and Android
TickTrader
TickTrader is a powerful trading platform that allows users to trade forex, stocks, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies from a single account. The multi-asset trading platform allows for both margin and end-to-end trading. This can be done using the FIX, REST or WebSocket API or directly on the platform. It is easy to learn and use, but it also includes many features that make it suitable for traders, from beginners to professionals.
With Tick Traders, you can enjoy the following privileges:
- High Compatibility
- Highly Customisability
- Versatility in Margin Types
- One-Click Trading
- Fast Entry and Execution
- Advanced Tools
- Record of Trading Operations
- Versatility in languages and User Settings Support
PAMM
FXOpen also provides PAMM (Percentage Allocation Master Module) accounts, which allow clients (followers) to replicate the tactics of other traders (masters). The master trades their own funds using the PAMM, and the PAMM technology allows the trading activity to be reproduced on the followers’ accounts. Funds are assigned to a PAMM and separated such that they cannot be utilised for any other purpose than the PAMM. PAMM accounts help followers since they may profit from another trader’s trading without conducting the analysis and monitoring of positions themselves. However, there can be no guarantee on results and past performance is not an indication of future results. All online investing and trading carries risks that you should be fully aware of.
Trading Tools
FXOpen offer some additional trading tools that make your life easier. They have some handy trading calculators that can help with planning trades, especially if you are in a hurry or not that confident with maths. You will find plenty of tools in the platforms and can also download many more from the MQL marketplace or develop your own using the MQL programming interface. If you have an idea but no coding skills, you could always hire a freelancer to help build it for you.
Currency Conversion Calculator
FXOpen offers a currency conversion calculator to quickly and easy convert currencies using current and historical rates.
One-Click Trading and Level2 Plugin
In volatile forex markets, order placement speed can be critical. FXOpen offers One Click Trading and Level2 Plugins for those of you who need your trades placed at the very best prices available. This is especially important if using scalping strategies that rely on small pip movements. With five degrees of market depth, available liquidity is always visible for any currency pair. Here are some benefits of the one-click trading and Level2 Plugin:
- Fast order execution
- Set Stop Loss or Take Profit
- Market Depth Level 2 Data
- Volume-weighted average price (VWAP)
FXOpen Platforms Summary
| Platform | FXOpen |
|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | ✓ |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | ✓ |
| cTrader | x |
| Proprietary | x |
| Desktop | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ |
| Mobile | ✓ |
| Social Trading | ✓ |
| Other (Tick Trader, VPS, FIX API) | ✓ |
FXOpen provides a variety of research and educational resources. The resources enable you to dig deep into the anatomy of trading and analysis of the financial markets. It is always good to see a broker that provides clients with content to help ensure they can learn more about trading to become better traders and make informed decisions.
Economic Calendars
The economic calendars summarise news and other important publications released during trading sessions. These are key factors in determining the market price in both small and large markets. I think this is a vital tool that I always like to reference before taking any trade decision. It is worth noting that you can also find a new calendar implemented within the MT5 platform which I find more convenient. It saves you from needing to switch between tabs when checking the news.
Forex Market Analysis
FXOpen keeps you up to date and gives you the analysis on almost every currency pair that they deal in. The micros and macros are covered in such a way to give the trader precise information. I think that this is a good source for learning and staying up to date with what is happening in the forex market. Even if you are a beginner and don’t yet have money to invest, you can still learn a lot from this section. After consistent analysis and reading of news, you may become confident enough to trade. You can always start with a free demo account to put what you have learned into practice.
Forex Forum
FXOpen have their forex forum where you can connect with like-minded traders to share and spread knowledge. There are traders from all over the world who share their strategies and experience. It enhances the sense of education and gives multidimensional perspectives of financial thinking. You can be a part of a community in an industry that can often leave you feeling isolated. This is a nice feature and something that you do not see with many brokers.
FXOpen Research and Education Summary
| Resources | FXOpen |
|---|---|
| Market Analysis | ✓ |
| Guides | ✓ |
| Videos | x |
| Webinars | x |
| Autochartist | x |
| Trading Central | x |
| Economic Calendar | ✓ |
| Other (Trading Calculator, Forex Forum, One Cling Trading and Level2 Plugin ) | ✓ |
FXOpen have a good choice of convenient payment methods to make quick and easy deposits and withdrawals to and from your trading account. They can accept bank transfers, card payments, various e-Wallets and cryptocurrencies. They have one of the largest selections that I have seen from any trading broker.
FXOpen Funding Summary
| Payment Method | Deposit | Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| Wire Transfer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Credit/debit Card | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electronic Wallets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cryptos | ✓ | ✓ |
FXOpen is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. I consider this to be top-tier regulation and therefore have no problem trusting them. I have had an account with FXOpen for many years now and never had any issues. All of my withdrawals have been processed in a timely manner.
FXOpen Regulation Summary
| Regulator | FXOpen |
|---|---|
| ASIC (Australia) | ✓ |
| IIROC (Canada) | x |
| CySEC (Cyprus) | x |
| SFC (Hong Kong) | x |
| JFSA (Japan) | x |
| MAS (Singapore) | x |
| FINMA (Switzerland) | x |
| FCA (UK) | ✓ |
| CFTC (USA) | x |
| Other | x |
FXOpen provides excellent customer support 24/5 via live chat, email and phone. The only disadvantage is that there is no support on weekend. If that bothers you, FP Markets do provide 24/7 support.
Overall, there is a lot to like about FXOpen. They were one of the first brokers that I opened an account with to start trading online. Since then, they have always delivered very competitive trading conditions and not given me any unnecessary hassle. You can trade forex and lots of other instruments on the user-friendly MetaTrader platforms with tight spreads, low fees and rapid executions. The broker does a good job of providing up to date market analysis for inspiring potential trade opportunities and some educational resources to assist beginners. They also have flexible account types, lots of payment options and excellent support. I think FXOpen can be a good choice of broker for anyone primarily looking to trade forex in a regulated environment with a broker that has been around since the initial boom in online trading began.
