Best Institutional Forex Brokers

Written by Marcus Taylor

December 27, 2022

Institutional Trading Accounts

Institutional trading accounts are used by companies, groups or institutions with large capital sums available to trade with. Insurance companies, banks, hedge funds and pension funds are just some examples of institutions who may be eligible to open institutional trading accounts. The large capital sums attract better terms and trading account features; including access to deep pools of liquidity from the broker’s internal and external markets, powerful technology, advanced platform and reporting tools and a dedicated service that includes specialist support. Furthermore, APIs are available for institutional investors to connect the broker’s real-time data to their own front-end systems, allowing trades to be executed swiftly and smoothly in an in-house environment.

These types of trading accounts have reduced costs per trade, greater access to data analysis and information, and the ability to trade other financial instruments that are not necessarily available to individual traders. Institutions using these types of trading accounts also have the ability to negotiate trading fees while still getting the best price and fastest execution times. The accounts are used by institutions to engage in block trades, buying or selling 10,000 or more shares at a time. With such a high volume of trades, these accounts have the ability to significantly affect the prices of the securities in which they deal.

Best Institutional Forex Trading Accounts

Here are the best institutional forex trading accounts.

• IG
  - 9.9/10 Overall
• Saxo Bank - 9.7/10 Overall
• Interactive Brokers - 9.7/10 Overall
• CMC Markets - 9.6/10 Overall
• FOREX.com
  - 9.3/10 Overall
• City Index - 9.2/10 Overall
• XTB - 9/10 Overall
• eToro - 8.8/10 Overall
• Swissquote - 8.7/10 Overall

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IG

Overall Rating

9.9 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

£250.00

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	0.86 (September 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	0.5957 (September 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1974
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	Yes
Tier-1 Licenses	7
Tier-2 Licenses	2

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	19537
Forex Pairs (Total)	100
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	33

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

Saxo Bank

Overall Rating

9.7 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

€2,000

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	0.9 (September 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	0.7 (September 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1992
Publicly Traded (Listed)	No
Bank	Yes
Tier-1 Licenses	6
Tier-2 Licenses	1

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	60000
Forex Pairs (Total)	190
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	62

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

Interactive Brokers

Overall Rating

9.7 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

$0

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	0.6 (Aug 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	0.6 (Aug 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	No

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1977
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	No
Tier-1 Licenses	8
Tier-2 Licenses	1

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	8500
Forex Pairs (Total)	90
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	No
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	128

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

CMC Markets

Overall Rating

9.6 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

$0

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	0.51 (August 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	0.51 (August 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1989
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	No
Tier-1 Licenses	5
Tier-2 Licenses	1

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	12377
Forex Pairs (Total)	158
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	84

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

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FOREX.com

Overall Rating

9.3 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

$100

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	1.0 (July 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	1.0 (July 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1999
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	No
Tier-1 Licenses	4
Tier-2 Licenses	2

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	5500
Forex Pairs (Total)	91
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	No
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	203

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

City Index

Overall Rating

9.2 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

£100.00

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	1.0 (July 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	1.0 (July 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1983
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	No
Tier-1 Licenses	3
Tier-2 Licenses	2

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	13500
Forex Pairs (Total)	84
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	88

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

XTB

Overall Rating

9 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

$0

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	1.07 (Q3 2022)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	1.04 (Q3 2022)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	2002
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	No
Tier-1 Licenses	1
Tier-2 Licenses	3

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	12000
Forex Pairs (Total)	49
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	39

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

eToro

Overall Rating

8.8 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

$10-$10,000

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	1 (August 2021)
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	N/A
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	2007
Publicly Traded (Listed)	No
Bank	No
Tier-1 Licenses	2
Tier-2 Licenses	1

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	3458
Forex Pairs (Total)	49
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	66

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	No
Economic Calendar	Yes

Swissquote

Overall Rating

8.7 / 10

Minimum Initial Deposit

$1000

Trust Score

Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust.close

Highly Trusted

Trust Score

Low Risk

• Cost & Funding
• Regulation
• Investment Options
• Trading Platforms
• Apps & Tools

Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	N/A
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active	N/A
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)	Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)	Yes

Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less

Year Founded	1996
Publicly Traded (Listed)	Yes
Bank	Yes
Tier-1 Licenses	4
Tier-2 Licenses	1

Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less

Forex Trading	No
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)	466
Forex Pairs (Total)	78
Bitcoin	Yes

Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less

Virtual Trading (Demo)	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)	49

Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less

Android App	Yes
Apple iOS App	Yes
Has Education - Forex or CFDs	Yes
Daily Market Commentary	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)	Yes
Economic Calendar	Yes

Benefits of Institutional Trading Accounts

Brokers that offer Institutional Trading Accounts

Conclusion

There are numerous advantages for clients who qualify for an institutional trading account. This type of account will provide traders with a preferential service and terms from their brokers, the ability to trade in a wider variety of securities, and more in-depth market data, amongst other things.

BrokerNotes.co 2023 Overall Rankings

To recap, here are our top forex brokers for 2023, sorted by Overall ranking.

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Initial Deposit	Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	Trust Score	Trust Score	Tradeable Symbols (Total)	Visit Site
IG	9.9	£250.00	0.86 (September 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	19537	Visit Site
Saxo Bank	9.7	€2,000	0.9 (September 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	60000
Interactive Brokers	9.7	$0	0.6 (Aug 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	8500
CMC Markets	9.6	$0	0.51 (August 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	12377
TD Ameritrade	9.5	$0	1.25 pips (September 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	0
FOREX.com	9.3	$100	1.0 (July 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	5500	Visit Site
City Index	9.2	£100.00	1.0 (July 2022)	99	Highly Trusted	13500
XTB	9	$0	1.07 (Q3 2022)	95	Highly Trusted	12000
eToro	8.8	$10-$10,000	1 (August 2021)	93	Highly Trusted	3458
Swissquote	8.7	$1000	N/A	99	Highly Trusted	466
AvaTrade	8.6	$100	0.91 (Aug 2020)	93	Highly Trusted	1260
FXCM	8.5	Starts from $50	1.38 (Q2 2022)	96	Highly Trusted	441
Plus500	8.5	€100	0.6 (as of Aug 2018)	98	Highly Trusted	2800
Capital.com	8.4	$20	0.6 (July 2021)	77	Average Risk	6000
XM Group	8.4	$5	1.6 (Aug 2020)	90	Trusted	1372
Pepperstone	8.4	$200	0.77 (September 2022)	93	Highly Trusted	1200
OANDA	8.4	$0	1.26 (5/22-5/27/22)	92	Highly Trusted	124
Admiral Markets	8.3	$100	0.8 (July 2021)	87	Trusted	8425
FP Markets	8.3	$100 AUD	1.2 (August 2022)	86	Trusted	10000
IC Markets	8.2	$200	0.62 (August 2022)	86	Trusted	3583
Markets.com	8.2	$100	1.9 (as of Oct 2019)	98	Highly Trusted	2179
FxPro	8.1	$100	1.51 (August 2020)	90	Highly Trusted	2249
Fineco Bank	7.9	$0	N/A	92	Highly Trusted	126
Tickmill	7.9	$100	0.51 (August 2022)	82	Trusted	295
BlackBull Markets	7.9	$0	0.827 (August 2022)	74	Average Risk	26000
DooPrime	7.8	$100	-1	84	Trusted	10000
BDSwiss	7.8	$100-$5000 (depending on account type)	1.6 (08/10/22)	83	Trusted	1081
TMGM	7.8	$100	0.96 (July 2021)	79	Average Risk	12000
HFM	7.7	$5	1.2 (August 2021)	85	Trusted	3500
FlowBank	7.7	$0.00	N/A	77	Average Risk	408600
HYCM (Henyep)	7.7	$100	0.6 (Sept 2021)	86	Trusted	245
Vantage	7.7	$50	1.22 (August 2021)	83	Trusted	1000
Trading 212	7.6	EUR 10	N/A	77	Average Risk	1785
Eightcap	7.6	$100	1.0 (Aug 2022)	87	Trusted	326
Trade Nation	7.5	$0	0.6	83	Trusted	601
Moneta Markets	7.5	$50	1.27 (September 2022)	71	Average Risk	965
ThinkMarkets	7.4	$250.00	N/A	86	Trusted	1674
VT Markets	7.4	$200	1.2 (September 2021)	71	Average Risk	168
ACY Securities	7.4	$50	1.2 (Sept 2021)	75	Average Risk	1600
easyMarkets	7.3	$100	0.9 (as of Mar 2020)	84	Trusted	199
RoboForex (RoboMarkets)	7.3	$100	1.4 (Jan 2022)	69	High Risk	12000
IronFX	7.2	$50	1.2	84	Trusted	340
Exness	7.2	$1	0.9 (as of May 19)	74	Average Risk	112
Spreadex	7.2	$0	-1	70	Average Risk	2000
Trade360	7.1	$250	N/A	75	Average Risk	1062
AxiTrader	7.1	0	N/A	83	Trusted	175	Visit Site
GKFX	7.1	$0	N/A	66	High Risk	354
Vestle	7.1	-1	-1	79	Average Risk	750
OctaFX	7	$25	0.6 (August 2021)	67	High Risk	80
FXOpen	7	$100	N/A	80	Trusted	87
TeleTrade	7	$100	-1	67	High Risk	500
FXPrimus	6.9	$100	N/A	69	High Risk	140	Visit Site
Forex4you	6.9	$0	-1	62	High Risk	150
LegacyFX	6.9	$500	0	75	Average Risk	425
GBE brokers	6.8	$500	-1	69	High Risk	500
Alpari	6.8	$20	N/A	67	High Risk	105
TopFX	6.7	Depends on payment method	N/A	67	High Risk	655
Libertex (Forex Club)	6.7	$10	-1	72	Average Risk	300
ATFX	6.6	$500	-1	70	Average Risk	150
UFX	6.6	$100	3 (Jan 2021)	67	High Risk	619
Xtrade	6.5	$250	-1	80	Trusted	142
Tradeo	6.4	$200	-1	67	High Risk	256

View More

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Forex Risk Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Learn more about foreign exchange risk.

About the Editorial Team

Marcus Taylor

BrokerNotes was founded in 2014 by Marcus Taylor, founder and CEO of Venture Harbor, a venture studio in Oxford that develops innovative online tools & technology across a range of sectors.