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COMPARE ECN/STP FOREX BROKERS

INFORMATION ABOUT ECN / STP FOREX BROKERS

There are many advantages when trading with an ECN / STP Forex Broker compared to a Dealing Desk Broker.

WHAT IS AN ECN BROKER?

An ECN broker is a Forex Company that uses the ECN (Electronic Communications Network) of banks to provide its clients with direct access to the Foreign Exchange market. ECN brokers have access to different liquidity providers and thus they may offer their clients tighter spreads and better trading terms than market makers. ECN Brokers are No-Dealing Desk Brokers (NDD).

WHAT IS A STP BROKER?

An STP broker is a Forex Broker that operates a business model similar to the ECN model. A Straight Through Processing (STP) broker connects to multiple liquidity providers (banks, investment companies, etc.) and forwards its clients' trades directly to them. Traders buy or sell at the best available bid / ask prices provided by the liquidity providers. STP Brokers are No-Dealing Desk Brokers (NDD).

ADVANTAGES OF ECN / STP FOREX BROKERS

Here are the main advantages:

(1) You don’t trade against your broker as in the case of a Dealing-Desk (DD) broker and that makes the trading process more transparent

(2) NDD brokers offer tight spreads on Forex majors based on their better liquidity

(3) ECN / STP brokers provide fast order execution and that makes them suitable for News Traders and Forex Scalpers

(4) No Re-Quotes on pricing

(5) Automated trading, scalping, and hedging are all allowed by ECN / STP brokers

(6) ECN / STP brokers offer their clients high trade sizes (you may trade up to 200 million USD in a single transaction)

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Table: Compare Forex Ratings

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DUKASCOPY EUROPE RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {77.7%}

Dukascopy Europe is an EU licensed ECN Forex broker owned 100% by the Swiss Forex bank Dukascopy Bank SA, since 2011. Dukascopy Europe provides access to the Swiss Foreign Exchange (SWFX) Marketplace on the same conditions which are available to the clients of Dukascopy Bank. The difference between Dukascopy Europe and Dukascopy Bank is that the minimum account at Dukascopy Europe is just $100 instead of $5,000 and the whole process of opening a new account is considerably easier and faster. Dukascopy Europe is situated in Latvia, Europe.

The SWFX Marketplace is a centralized-decentralized marketplace which enjoys huge liquidity. Dukascopy group is connected to major world's commercial banks such as Bank Of America, Commerzbank, Nomura, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Societe Generale, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, BNP Paribas, HSBC Bank, EBS and Morgan Stanley. Dukascopy clients can trade in one click up to 200 million USD. As concerns the trading terms, the spreads offered by Dukascopy are variable and considerably tight. The minimum spread when trading EURUSD starts at 0.25 pip and the typical is about 0.5 pip. Dukascopy is charging trading commissions $3.5 / lot. Large traders pay even less trading commissions (the lowest is $1.0 / lot). Overall, the cost when trading with Dukascopy is very low and maybe the lowest offered for retail traders in the whole Forex industry.

Dukascopy offers cutting-edge trading technology via the JForex platform. JForex which is in-house developed allows automated and social trading. Integrated tools provide unique features such is slippage-control, monitoring market depth, etc. Hundreds of programmers worldwide develop Expert Advisors and other software exclusively for JForex. Dukascopy offers also the Java platform plus mobile traders for iPhone, iPad, and Android. All Dukascopy platforms support multiple trading orders: Market, Stop, Limit, Take Profit, Stop Loss, Stop-Limit, Trailing Stop, Place Bid/Offer, OCO, IFD, etc.

The asset index contains 50+ Forex pairs plus many equity indices, oil trading, gold, and silver on spot. The minimum account for opening a new account with Dukascopy Europe is just $100 and you may fund it via Cards and Bank Wire. There are many account currencies available. Currently, there is also a 10% equity bonus for all clients. Traders can even withdraw this bonus after some time. Overall Dukascopy may be seen as one of the top choices for advanced and professional Forex traders including day-traders, scalpers, and news-traders.

• Minimum Account: $100
• Fund Methods: Debit Cards | Credit Cards | Bank Wire
• Account Currencies: US Dollar | Euro | Australian Dollar | Canadian Dollar | British Pound | Hong Kong Dollar | Japanese Yen | Polish Złoty | Singapore Dollar | Swiss franc
• Platforms: JForex | WebTrader | JavaTrader | Mobile Apps for iOs and Android
• Forex Index: Dukascopy Europe offers 50+ Forex pairs
• Metals: GOLD | SILVER
• Energy: US CRUDE | UK BRENT
• Soft Commodities: No
• Indices: US 30 | US 100 Tech | US 500 | Australia 200 | Spain 35 | EU Stocks 50 | Hong Kong | Germany 30 | France 40 | Switzerland 20 | UK 100 | Japan 200+ Index
• Customer Support: 24/5 via Phone, eMail, Callback, Skype
• Support Languages: English | Arabic | Chinese | French | German | Japanese | Russian

ETX CAPITAL RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {72.2%}

ETX is a UK-based broker offering CFDs and Spread Betting. ETX belongs to Monecor LTD. and it went online in 2002. One of the key advantages when trading with ETXCapital is the safety of money. The broker is regulated by FCA UK and MiFID and at the same time provides segregated client bank accounts. ETX is covering its client funds up to 50,000GBP per account (check at this end of this review for full information).

FXCC RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {80.2%}

FXCC is a NDD (No-Dealing Desk) Forex broker offering 30+ Forex pairs, Gold and Silver trading plus two US Indices (Dow and Nasdaq). FXCC was found in 2010 and it is regulated by FSA UK and CySEC. FXCC is a member of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) and provides segregated client bank accounts to all clients. FXCC operates as an ECN broker and that means it may offer tight spreads.

Trading platforms available by FXCC include MetaTrader-4, Sirix WebTrader and a MAM platform but also ZuluTrade and FX StatBook. There is also a mobile version of Metatrader4 for iOs and Android devices. Automated Trading, Hedging and Scalping are all allowed and the broker offer fast execution and low slippage on execution. The trading spreads start as low as 1 pip on EURUSD.

The maximum capital leverage is 300:1. The minimum deposit to open a new account with FXCC is 100USD and you may fund your account with various methods including Neteller, WebMoney, Skrill etc. FXCC offers also a welcome bonus for all new traders up to 100% of their initial deposit. FXCC is an excellent choice for all types of Forex traders including beginners, advanced and professional traders. Forex scalpers and news-traders will also benefit when trading with FXCC.

• Minimum Account: 100 USD
• Fund Methods: CARDS | WIRE | SKRILL | WEBMONEY | NETELLER | UNIONPAY
• Account Currencies: EUR | GBP | GBP
  
• SWAP-Free Accounts: Yes
• Platforms: MetaTrader4 | Sirix WebTrader | ZuluTrade | FX StatBook MT4 Mobile Apps for iOs and Android
• Forex Index: FXCC offers 30+ Forex pairs
• Metals: GOLD | SILVER
• Energy: NO
• Commodities: NO
• Indices: DOW JONES | NASDAQ
• Customer Support: Live Chat, Phone, eMail, Callback
• Support Languages: English | Arabic | Chinese | Portuguese | Spanish | French | German | Italian | Greek | Turkish

HY MARKETS RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {75.4%}

HYMarkets is a member of the Henyep Group (UK) which is a huge financial and real estate Group with over 30 years of operation. HYMarkets is based in London, UK but it maintains also offices in UAE and Hong Kong. It is regulated by FCA UK but it is also registered with SFC in Hong Kong and with the DFSA in Dubai.

HYMarkets operates as a STP Forex broker offering 36 Forex pairs plus many indices, shares, energies, metals and soft commodities. The spreads offered by HYMarkets are not very tight but you may take advantage of rebates that may limit your trading cost. There are three (3) trading platforms available including Metatrader-4, WebTrader and HY Pro Trader. There are also mobile versions of MT4 for all popular mobile devices.

Capital leverage can be up to 300:1. As concerns the account types, the Mini account can be opened with as low as $50 and you may fund your account via Cards, Skrill, Bank Wire, Webmoney and PayPal. The Standard account starts at $750 and the Premium account starts at $2,500. There is also the Pro Trader account designed for professional/institutional traders that starts at $10,000. The spreads for this account types start at 0.5 pips. As concerns refunds, all withdrawal requests are processed promptly, and the whole withdrawal process is fast given that all legally required documentation has been provided by traders.

The HYMarkets customer support operates 24/5 via live chat, phone, fax and email. The support is multilingual including languages such is English, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, and Urdu. HYMarkets offering include free trading education, daily market analysis, SMS alerts and 1-to-1 trader support. There are also VIP services for professional traders. The welcome bonus is currently 25% for new clients and you may even withdraw it after trading it several times. In overall HYMarkets is a very good choice for all Forex / CFD traders except Forex scalpers. Maximum security of money, wide asset index and fair trading terms.

• Minimum Account: 50USD
• Fund Methods: Cards | Bank Wire | PayPal | Skrill | WebMoney
• Account Currencies: USD
  
• SWAP-Free Accounts: Yes
• Platforms: MetaTrader4 | WebTrader | HY Pro Trader | MT4 Mobile Apps for Android, Windows and iPhone
• Forex Index: HY Markets offers 36 Forex pairs
• Metals: GOLD VS USD | SILVER VS USD | GOLD VS EUR | SILVER VS EUR | COPPER
• Energy: US OIL | BRENT | NATURAL GAS
• Commodities: Coffee | Sugar | Cotton | Cocoa
• Indices: US500 | US100 | US30 | UK100 | GERMANY 30 | JAPAN 225 | HONG KONG 50 | CHINA H-SHARES
• Shares: 12 major shares listed on NYSE and US INDEX 100 {Apple, Dell, Google, Intel, IBM, American Express, AT&T, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Exxon Mobil, Goldman-Sachs}
• Customer Support: 24/5 via Live Chat, Phone, eMail, Callback
• Support Languages: English | Arabic | Chinese | Russian | Hindi | Urdu

INSTAFOREX RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {58.7%}

InstaForex is a Russian-based broker found in 2008. The broker is regulated by RAFMM. InstaForex offers a great variety of Forex pairs and trading options. There are more than 120 Forex pairs available. The minimum account is just $1 and can be funded via various methods including even Bitcoin (check below for more info). Two main platforms are available (MT4, MT5) plus mobile apps. InstaForex offer a 30% welcome bonus plus many different trading contests (Real and Demo Account Contests).

• Minimum Account: $1
• Fund Methods: Cards | Wire | Bitcoin | CashU | EgoPay | Neteller | Skrill | Ukash | UnionPay | WebMoney
• Account Currencies: United States dollar | Euro
  
• Platforms: MetaTrader4 | MetaTrader5 | Mobile Apps
• Forex Index: InstaForex offers 120+ Forex pairs
• Customer Support: 24/7 via Live Chat | Phone | eMail | Skype | Forum
• Support Languages: English | Arabic | Russian | Indonesian | Malay

IRONFX RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {76.9%}

IronFx is a Forex broker offering both NDD (No-Dealing Desk) and DD (Dealing Desk) Forex Trading. The broker is regulated by FSA UK and CySEC and it is registered with many more regulators (check at the end of the review). IronFx is providing segregated client bank accounts via UBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), BNP Paribas, and Raiffeisen. There are many trading platforms available including MT4, MT5, SirixTrader, and many different mobile traders. Automated Trading and Scalping are both allowed. The minimum account is $500 and you may fund via a great number of different fund methods. The IronFx spreads (as you can see in the rating table below) are not very tight.

• Minimum Account: $500
• Fund Methods: Credit/debit cards | Bank Wire | FasaPay | Neteller | QIWI | Skrill | WebMoney
• Account Currencies: United States dollar | Euro | Australian dollar | Great Britain pound | Japanese yen | Russian rouble | Swiss franc
  
• Customer Support: Live Chat, Phone, eMail, Callback, Forum, Skype
• Support Languages: English | Arabic | Chinese | French | German | Hebrew | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Persian | Romanian | Russian | Spanish | Greek

ORBEX RATING REVIEW

-FOREX BROKER RATING {74.4%}

Orbex is an ECN Forex broker situated in Cyprus and maintaining also offices in Kuwait. Orbex is regulated by FCA UK and CySEC and registered with many more regulatory bodies (check at the end of this review for full licenses). Segregated client bank accounts are provided to all clients. Orbex offer only one desktop platform which is MetaTrader-4, in two versions (PC and MAC) plus the MT4 multi-terminal. There is a MT4 app covering all major mobile devices (check below). Automated trading and scalping are allowed (ECN accounts only) and Orbex offers also a free VPS hosting. The Orbex asset index contains 28 Forex pairs plus all major metals, energy and equity indices. The trading spreads are considerably tight starting as low as 0.6 pips for EURUSD plus $10 / lot commissions. If you want to trade without any commissions you pay spreads starting as low as 1.5 pips for EURUSD.

As concerns Orbex accounts, there are 5 account types starting with the Universal Mini Forex Account (minimum deposit $500) and the ECN Standard Account (minimum deposit $500) and getting up to the ECN Advanced Account (minimum deposit $25,000). Note that you can open an ECN account with as low as $500, and that is good. There are a lot of different fund methods that can be used, as you may see below, while no commissions or fees are charged on deposits or withdrawals. The broker offers also daily market research and analysis plus Forex education in online training. No welcome bonus is offered for new clients.

Overall Orbex is a good choice for advanced Forex traders offering tight spreads and good technology. Forex scalpers and Forex news-traders can take advantage of fast execution and the free VPS service for all Orbex clients.

• Minimum Account: 500USD
• Fund Methods: Cards, Wire, CashU, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney
• Account Currencies: United States dollar | Euro
  
• SWAP-Free Accounts: Yes
• Platforms: MetaTrader4 | WebTrader | Mobile Apps
• Forex Index: Orbex offers 28 Forex pairs
• Metals: Gold and Silver (vs USD and vs Euro)
• Energy: Crude Oil | Natural Gas
• Commodities: Coffee | Sugar
• Shares: No
• Indices: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P500, DAX
• Customer Support: 24/5 via Live Chat, Phone, eMail, Callback
• Support Languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, German, Bengali, Russian, Chinese, Urdu, Bulgarian, Greek