Despite the rumors about over-regulation killing the industry, there are plenty of Forex / CFD brokers accepting German residents as clients. I’ve looked at the best Forex brokers in Germany in detail and compiled the shortlist below. Read on to find the best Forex broker for you, and to learn some important facts about trading in Germany.
- ACY Securities, Swap-free trading with the MT5 trading platform.
- AvaTrade, Highly regulated, choice of fixed or floating spreads.
- BlackBull Markets, Best ECN trading environment, with scalping and hedging.
- Eightcap, Competitive pricing + excellent daily videos.
- Plus500, multi-asset and CFD broker.
Best Germany Brokers Comparison
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Regulators | ASIC | ASIC, BVI, Central Bank of Ireland, FFAJ, FSCA, KNF, MiFID | FMA, FSA | ASIC, CySEC, FCA, SCB | ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FMA, FSCA, MAS |
Year Established | 2011 | 2006 | 2014 | 2009 | 2008 |
Execution Type(s) | ECN/STP, Market Maker | Market Maker | ECN/STP, No Dealing Desk | ECN/STP, Market Maker | Market Maker |
Minimum Deposit | |||||
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD | 1.1 pips ($11.00) | 0.9 pips | 1.3 pips | 1.0 pips | 1.3 pips |
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD | 1.1 pips ($11.00) | 1.5 pips | 2.0 pips | 1.2 pips | 1.7 pips |
Average Trading Cost Gold | $0.15 | $0.29 | $0.90 | $0.12 | $0.34 |
Trading Platform(s) | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | Other, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Web-based+ | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Trading View | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Trading View | Proprietary platform, Web-based |
Islamic Account | |||||
Negative Balance Protection | |||||
| Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Get Started Visit Website82% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
The Most Trusted Trading Platforms in Germany
ACY Securities
In Summary Swap-free trading with the MT5 trading platformTight spreads in the commission-based accounts are available at ACY Securities via 46 liquidity providers. The excellent trading infrastructure results in order execution under 30ms, making ACY Securities one of the best Forex brokers in Germany. The Pro Zero and Bespoke accounts, with a $200 and $10,000 deposit requirement, offer raw spreads from 0.0 pips for a $6.00 and $5.00 commission.
Negative balance protection applies, and ACY Securities segregates client deposits at Commonwealth Bank. It also has professional indemnity insurance. Copy traders get embedded MT4/MT5 services, Signal Start, and SoFinX, while VPS hosting supports 24/5 low-latency algorithmic trading.
Pros & Cons
- Large repository of daily analysis and educational content
- Low spreads starting at 0 pips in the Spread Zero account
- 16 payment processors, including cryptocurrencies
- Competitive trading fees in its commission-based accounts
- Only 1 regulator
AvaTrade
In Summary Highly regulated, choice of fixed or floating spreadsTraders at AvaTrade get commission-free costs with a balanced asset selection. Clients get 1,250+ CFDs and ETFs, while vanilla options allow advanced traders to deploy complex strategies. Beginners benefit from the high-quality, spun-out trading academy SharpTrader. Besides a competitive trading environment, AvaTrade provides passive income opportunities via its lucrative partnership program. It has 70,000+ partners from 150+ counties and 250M+ commission payouts.
AvaTrade ranks among the most balanced Forex brokers in Germany and maintains an excellent choice of trading platforms. Algorithmic traders get upgraded MT4/MT5 platforms, and social traders have integrated MT4/MT5 services, Ava Social, ZuluTrade, or DupliTrade. Manual traders may use the proprietary web based AvaTrade WebTrader. Options traders get AvaOptions, and mobile traders the AvaTradeGO app.
Pros & Cons
- High-quality educational offering via SharpTrader
- 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
BlackBull Markets
In Summary Best ECN trading environment, with scalping and hedgingBlackBull Markets was founded in 2014 in New Zealand. Like many antipodean Forex brokers, BlackBull Markets is an ECN broker, offering raw spreads and commissions. They are regulated in New Zealand by the Financial Services Providers Register (FSPR) and offer a maximum leverage on some Forex currency pairs as high as 500 to 1. In addition to their global headquarters in New Zealand, BlackBull Markets also has presences in the form of branch offices in New York and Malaysia. BlackBull Markets offers a relatively tight range of tradable assets: 27 Forex currency pairs and crosses, gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, and 6 major equity indices. That should be sufficient for those traders with more focused strategies not requiring wide diversification.
Pros & Cons
- ECN/NDD execution model with deep liquidity
- Institution-grade pricing for retail traders via proprietary price aggregation
- ZuluTrade and Myfxbook for social trading
- Leverage of up to 1:500
- Limited deposit options
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
Plus500
In Summary multi-asset and CFD brokerForex traders looking for a quality execution-only multi-asset broker should consider Plus500. It also ranks among one of the most trusted Forex brokers in Germany. Plus500 is a publicly listed company in the UK and a constituent of the FTSE250 index. Therefore, it adheres to strict capital requirements and best business practices. Home to 22M+ accounts from 50+ countries, Plus500 reports 300M+ trades valued at $800M+ spread across 2,800 assets.
While Plus500 only supports manual trading via its proprietary web-based platform and highly ranked mobile app, it maintains one of the most competitive commission-based Forex pricing environments. It also has trailing stop-loss and guaranteed stop-loss orders for advanced risk management, complementing the standard take profit and stop loss options.
Pros & Cons
- Broad asset selection in equities and options
- Free and unlimited demo account
- Advanced free-of-charge analytical trading tools
- Global and regulated fintech platform
- Sub-standard trading platform without support for automated or social trading
German Regulation and BaFin Authorization
BaFin (Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) is the German financial regulator, which unlike most of its global counterparts, is not financed by the state. It exclusively funds itself through membership fees it collects from companies it regulates. Therefore, BaFin remains an independent regulator, operating autonomously and impartially.
BaFin was established in 2002 via the merger of three German regulators, has offices in Bonn and Frankfurt, and regulates over 2,700 banks, 800 financial services firms, and 700 insurance companies. It has legal enforcement powers, imposes fines for violations, and takes legal action where necessary.
What are the Best Deposit Methods Available to German Traders?
Since Germany has a well-developed financial system that is interconnected globally, German Forex traders have numerous deposit and withdrawal methods available. It offers the freedom to the individual to manage their finances as they see fit, provided their Forex brokers in Germany include them in their offering.
The available deposit and withdrawal methods at Forex brokers in Germany include:
- Bank wires
- Credit/debit cards
- Giropay
- Sofort
- PayPal
- Skrill
- Neteller
- Cryptocurrencies
- Prepaid cards
- Other e-Wallets
- Localized FinTech solutions
- EU licensed and regulated payment processors
- Emerging FinTech alternatives
The Importance of Competitive Trading Platforms & Software
Trading with a cutting-edge platform ensures traders can have a competitive edge in today's fast-moving financial markets. Forex brokers in Germany can offer out-of-the-box trading platforms. They are available as desktop clients, lightweight web-based versions, and mobile apps. The most competitive German Forex brokers offer proprietary alternatives or trading apps streamlined for mobile trading.
Out-of-the-box trading platforms offered by Forex brokers in Germany:
- MT4, the industry leader among Forex traders, with full support for algorithmic and copy trading, is home to 25,000+ EAs, plugins, and custom templates
- cTrader, the primary ECN trading platform and fiercest MT4 challenger with full algorithmic and copy trading support and the best out-of-the-box user interface
- MT5, which many consider the failed MT4 successor due to the lack of backward compatibility
- Sirix, a lesser-known alternative for manual traders
Proprietary trading platforms offered by Forex brokers in Germany:
The most competitive Forex brokers in Germany develop proprietary trading platforms. It requires intensive monetary and time investment, usually resulting in superior alternatives to out-of-the-box trading platforms. The drawback is that only a few support algorithmic trading.
Trading apps offered by Forex brokers in Germany:
Some Forex brokers in Germany may not develop proprietary trading platforms but make smaller investments in trading apps streamlined for mobile trading. These are ideal for traders who prefer to check their portfolios on the go and get relevant market news and analytics but are not well-suited for trading-related activities.
Why Should Traders Care About Commissions, Spreads & Fees?
Trading costs directly impact profits, and high spreads, as offered by many commission-free Forex brokers in Germany, can make most Forex trading strategies unprofitable. Forex traders must avoid the commission-free trap and carefully evaluate trading costs.
How to spot expensive Forex brokers in Germany?
The quickest way is to look at trading costs for all major currency pairs, where costs should not exceed $8.00 per 1.0 standard round lot. Therefore, commission-free spreads should not be above 0.8 pips, while commission-based alternatives must average spreads of 0.2 pips with a $6.00 commission. Traders can try to exploit a volume-based rebate program where it exists, potentially lowering final trading costs.
Bottom Line
Forex trading in Germany continues to expand and evolve, and Forex brokers in Germany get plenty of competition from FinTech companies. It all results in better trading conditions for clients, cutting-edge trading platforms, and lower trading costs. German Forex traders should ensure they trade with a regulated broker. They should carefully compare the core trading environment between brokers, searching for the lowest pricing environment and an asset selection that suits their trading strategy. The most competitive Forex brokers in Germany fully support algorithmic and copy trading.
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