Trading with offshore Forex brokers is a time-tested practice favoured by many profitable traders.
However, only some of these brokers offer equally secure platforms and beneficial trading terms, so it is important to pick the right ones.
Our offshore Forex brokers review analyzed dozens of offshore Forex brokers that provide traders with regulated, trustworthy environments and competitive trading conditions.
Best Forex Brokers in Offshore at a Glance
- AvaTrade, Highly regulated, choice of fixed or floating spreads.
- FXTM, Best all-around broker with high floating leverage and fast execution.
- FP Markets, ECN trading with leverage up to 1:500.
- Pepperstone, Great ECN execution on MT4/5, cTader, TradingView and Pepperstone proprietary platform.
- Eightcap, Competitive pricing + excellent daily videos.
Best Offshore Brokers Comparison
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Regulators | ASIC, BVI, Central Bank of Ireland, FFAJ, FSCA, KNF, MiFID | CMA, CySEC, FCA, FSC Mauritius, FSCA | ASIC, CMA, CySEC, FSCA | ASIC, BaFin, CMA, CySEC, DFSA, FCA, SCB | ASIC, CySEC, FCA, SCB |
Year Established | 2006 | 2011 | 2005 | 2010 | 2009 |
Execution Type(s) | Market Maker | ECN/STP, Market Maker | ECN/STP | No Dealing Desk, NDD | ECN/STP, Market Maker |
Minimum Deposit | |||||
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD | 0.9 pips | 0.1 pips | 1.2 pips | 1.1 pips | 1.0 pips |
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD | 1.5 pips | 0.2 pips | 1.4 pips | 1.4 pips | 1.2 pips |
Average Trading Cost Gold | $0.29 | $0.18 | $0.16 | $0.15 | $0.12 |
Trading Platform(s) | Other, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform, Web-based+ | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Proprietary platform, Web-based | Other, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Proprietary platform, Trading View+ | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Trading View |
Islamic Account | |||||
Negative Balance Protection | N/A | N/A | |||
| Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Get Started Visit Website75-95% of traders on margin lose | Visit Website |
AvaTrade
In Summary Highly regulated, choice of fixed or floating spreadsAvaTrade maintains reasonable commission-free costs and a well-balanced asset selection, including options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Besides MT4/MT5, AvaTrade upgrades its proprietary WebTrader and the mobile app AvaTradeGO with Trading Central. Traders also get Ava Option and Ava Social, placing AvaTrade among the offshore Forex brokers with the most trading platform choices.
The MT4 Guardian Angel plugin and the fee-based Ava Protect insurance policy protecting against losses are quality beginner trading tools. Copy traders can use the MT4/MT5 services, Ava Social, or DupliTrade, while AvaTrade also features a high-paying affiliate program with 145,000 registered partners and $300,000,000+ in commission payouts.
Pros & Cons
- High quality educational offering via AvaAcademy
- Excellent choice of trading platforms catering to various trading needs
- Broad asset selection and cross-asset diversification opportunities
- Well-regulated and trusted broker with oversight from a central bank
- Trading costs competitive but nothing special
FXTM
In Summary Best all-around broker with high floating leverage and fast executionFXTM belongs to those offshore Forex brokers with the cheapest trading fees, ensuring its traders operate with a distinct competitive advantage. For a $500 minimum deposit requirement, Forex traders get raw spreads from 0.0 pips for a commission of $0.80 and $4.00 per 1.0 standard round lot. The FXTM price improvement technology typically lowers costs by an average of $3.00 per round lot.
Beginners receive actionable trading signals, the MT4 Pivot Point Strategy plugin, and quality education. Algorithmic trading, including 24/5 low-latency trading via VPS, is available in MT4/MT5.
Pros & Cons
- Excellent commission-based Forex pricing environment and transparency
- Upgraded MT4/MT5 trading platforms plus proprietary mobile trading app
- Quality market research and educational content for beginner traders
- A highly regulated broker with a tier-1 license
- No cryptocurrencies and limited choice of commodities
FP Markets
In Summary ECN trading with leverage up to 1:500Traders at FP Markets can benefit from a 12-plugin MT4/MT5 upgrade package, Trading Central, and Autochartist, placing FP Markets among the offshore Forex brokers with the most upgraded trading environment. MAM/PAMM modules cater to traditional account management services, and FP Markets publishes daily market reports via the FP Markets newsletter.
FP Markets offers 24/7 multi-lingual customer support, and beginners get quality education. FP Markets shines with its payment processor choices, including 15+ cryptocurrencies and fast payment processing times. Copy traders can diversify via embedded MT4/MT5/cTrader services, the proprietary FP Markets solution, fee-based Signal Start, and the well-known Myfxbook Autotrade.
Pros & Cons
- Choice of trading platforms and auxiliary trading tools
- Very competitive cost structure and excellent asset selection
- Low minimum deposit requirement and leverage of up to 1:500
- Well-regulated and trustworthy
- Availability of Iress geographically restricted
Pepperstone
In Summary Great ECN execution on MT4/5, cTader, TradingView and Pepperstone proprietary platformPepperstone provides traders with the Smart Trader Tools package featuring 28 plugins for MT4/MT5, and Autochartist. It elevates Pepperstone to the offshore Forex brokers with the most cutting-edge trading tool. Traders also get a well-balanced CFD asset selection, including cryptocurrencies and ETFs, while beginners get quality education and research.
Social traders can connect their Pepperstone account to TradingView, where 50M+ traders interact and share ideas. Copy traders can use the embedded copy trading services in MT4, MT5, and cTrader, which also support algorithmic trading, Signal Start, DupliTrade, and Copy Trading by Pepperstone based on their jurisdiction.
Pros & Cons
- Excellent choice of trading platforms consisting of MT4/MT5, cTrader, TreadingView and Pepperstone Platform
- Market-leading MT4/MT5 upgrade package, Autochartist, and API trading
- Social trading support via Signal Start, MetaTrader Signals, Copy Trading by Pepperstone, DupliTrade
- Leverage of up to 1:400 depends on jurisdiction and superb trade execution
- Demo accounts have 60-day time limits
Eightcap
In Summary Competitive pricing + excellent daily videosEightcap established itself among the best Forex brokers due to its superb trading infrastructure, excellent order execution amid deep liquidity, competitive fees, and cutting-edge trading tools. Manual traders get a well-designed AI-powered economic calendar, and Eightcap upgrades MT4 via Capitalise AI, which enables algorithmic trading in a code-free environment. MT5 traders benefit from Flash Trader, while the dedicated cryptocurrency solution Crypto Crusher caters to cryptocurrency traders.
Copy traders get the embedded MT4/MT5 services, and Eightcap connects social traders to the active TradingView community. Beginner traders get an outstanding educational and research offering via Eightcap Labs and Eightcap Trade Zone.
Pros & Cons
- Low minimum deposit and high leverage of up to 1:500
- Competitive cost structure
- Excellent technology infrastructure and seasoned management team
- Daily research and quality educational content
- Limited leverage in some areas
What is an Offshore Forex Broker?
Offshore Forex brokers are Forex brokers regulated in a different jurisdiction than the home country of a trader but usually refer to Forex brokers in business-friendly island nations. Despite the misconception that these nations are underregulated, most have capable regulatory environments. While many sources favour the security and protection of tier-1 regulators, they fail to note that the most significant frauds usually occur in the US and Cyprus.
What to Look for in an Offshore Forex Broker
I have focused my review of offshore Forex brokers on the below aspects.
Offshore Forex brokers should offer the following:
- Regulation - A clean regulatory track record of 10+ years.
- Low trading fees - Competitive trading fees and swap rates.
- Trading platforms - Algorithmic and copy trading platforms.
- Asset diversity - A choice of liquid assets.
- Deposits/Withdrawals - No internal transaction fees and low minimum requirements.
Pros & Cons of Trading with Offshore Brokers
Traders should carefully consider the pros and cons of offshore Forex brokers.
The pros of Forex trading with offshore Forex brokers are:
- Flexible trading conditions
- Higher leverage with negative balance protection
- More payment processors
- Ultra-competitive trading conditions
- Low trading fees
- Bonuses and incentives
- Segregated client deposits with reputable banks
The cons of Forex trading with offshore Forex brokers are:
- Potentially less investor protection (broker dependent)
Bottom Line
My offshore Forex brokers review has revealed several first-class offshore Forex brokers offering secure trading environments, advanced tool-rich platforms, and attractive trading terms. Many Forex brokers in tier-1 jurisdictions also operate offshore subsidiaries to provide traders worldwide with competitive trading conditions.
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