Best Forex Trading Platforms Australia – Top 4 Forex Trading Platforms Compared
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Before the recent cryptocurrency trading boom, forex trading was the in-thing. It’s not hard to see why currencies are constantly fluctuating, resulting in an extremely lucrative opportunity for savvy traders. Because you can take out both short (betting against an asset) and long (betting on an asset) positions, you have the potential to make great profits regardless of how the market is performing, especially when using leverage to simplify your profits. Because of this, many investors use forex to day trade (opening & closing a position in a single day) as there’s almost always money to be made.
Despite losing some of its hype over recent years, forex trading is still hugely popular and now that many of the fake “gurus” have moved on to the crypto space, there’s no better type to start taking forex trading seriously. Therefore it’s no surprise we’ve seen so many new traders wanting to try their hand at forex. So, to ensure you get started on the right foot we’ve created this article, discussing the best forex trading platforms and exactly how you can start trading forex today!
Table of Contents
#1 Forex Trading Platform Australia – eToro
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Mobile AppYes
Best Forex Trading Sites – Quick Pick
If all you’re looking for is a quick breakdown of the best forex trading platforms, you’re in the right place! We know not everyone has the time to read a full-length review, so we’ve included this handy list covering what each brokerage does best.
- eToro – All-Around Best Forex Trading Platform
- Capital.com – Best Alternative Forex Trading Platform Australia
- AvaTrade – Best On-The-Go Forex Trading Platform Australia
- easyMarkets – Most Educational Forex Trading Platform Australia
What is Forex Trading?
Forex trading is the act of trading one currency for another. Typically, when trading forex you’ll be purchasing currency pairs, meaning your earnings will be affected by the strength of one currency vs another. Although the forex market exists for a variety of reasons (tourism, etc) we’ll be discussing it in the sense of trading currencies for profit. As of 2021, there are a total of over 150 national currencies in circulation, and when you consider the fact that they fluctuate in price every day, the appeal of trading forex becomes clear. There are few markets available to investors that have as much volatility (and therefore the potential for profit) as forex does. As you may be aware, although there is a great deal of volatility in the forex market, because the price changes are typically only a few pence at most, you would require a large amount of capital to make reasonable profits. However, if you don’t have a large amount of spare capital to invest, you can still take advantage of small price swings by trading using leverage. While leverage offers investors an incredible opportunity to make life-changing profits, it should only be used by those with trading experience because it can lead to hugely detrimental losses.
Top 4 Best Forex Trading Platforms Australia
Before you delve head-first into the world of forex trading, it’s important you take the time to consider which forex trading platform is right for you. There are hundreds, if not thousands of brokerages out there that support forex trading, making it difficult to select one that fits your needs. So to help alleviate some of the pressure involved, we’ve included our reviews on the 4 best forex trading platforms.
1. eToro – All-Around Best Forex Trading Platform Australia
If you’re asking yourself the question “what is the best forex trading platform?” The simple answer is eToro. They’ve been operating since 2007 and in that time have managed to amass over 20 million users, not a small feat by any standards. eToro is packed full of trading features, covering the needs of the vast majority of users. This ensures that regardless of your trading goals or platform requirements, you’re more than likely covered.
Security & Privacy
When you’re in charge of the funds of over 20 million people, your security can’t be lackluster. eToro seemingly understands this well, as they’ve made sure to implement a range of industry-leading security measures. eToro is regulated by ASIC and the FCA, therefore they have to comply with regular audits, making it near-impossible to hide any illicit activities. This results in peace of mind and a far more secure platform for customers. When you input any data to a website, it has to make its way from your device to a central server, this is standard practice but gives hackers an opportunity to intercept your data. To prevent this from happening eToro uses SSL encryption, obscuring your data before it leaves your device, rendering it useless in the event of it being intercepted. On top of this, eToro allows users to enable something called 2-factor authentication, a method of requiring a code sent to your mobile device to complete actions on your account that could be deemed sensitive (deposits, withdrawals, etc).
Features
eToro has heaps of useful features that have been designed to make the life of every eToro far easier. CopyTrading is one such feature. Perfect for new users, CopyTrading is a way you can mirror the trades of more experienced users automatically, resulting in an easy way for beginners to begin learning trading strategies and earning a passive income. Another excellent “copy” feature that eToro offers is something called a “CopyPortfolio”. As the name would imply, this is a way you can copy a predetermined set of assets, providing you with a diverse portfolio without the effort it would usually take. As we mentioned, leverage can be incredibly important when you’re trading forex, it gives you access to a larger amount of capital than you currently have, allowing you to take advantage of small price changes. eToro offers its users 30:1 leverage on forex trades meaning that for every $100 you have, you gain access to $3000 buying power. Overall, we’d say these features solidify eToro’s top spot on our list of the best forex trading platforms, although Capital.com and AvaTrade aren’t far behind!
eToro Fees
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
| Commission Fee | 0% |
| Deposit Fee | $0 |
| Withdrawal Fee | $5 |
| Inactivity Fee | $10 (Monthly) |
Pros
- SSL encryption
- Regulated
- 2FA
- CopyTrading
- Copyportfolios
- Range of markets
- 30:1 leverage for forex
- Commission-free
Cons
- TradingView integration would be nice to have
- Could benefit from a larger range of technical indicators
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
2. Capital.com – Best Alternative Forex Trading Platform Australia
Outside of the usual trading features, it’s becoming increasingly common to provide traders with a range of educational material, typically covering the basics of trading but often some more advanced topics too. The second platform we’ll discuss, Capital.com, has taken this approach to the next level, providing its users with a huge amount of educational material and even a dedicated educational app.
Security & Privacy
Another area outside of education that Capital.com excels in is security. They have implemented several impressive security measures in order to make sure customer data and funds remain safe and sound. Arguably the most innovative of these features is Transport Layer Security. As we mentioned, intercepting your data on its way back to a brokerage’s central servers is one method hackers employ to steal your data. Transport Layer Security, is a preventative measure that encrypts your data before its sent. It’s the new version of SSL encryption. As an additional step to ensure customer data is well protected, Capital.com is fully PCI data security standards compliant, meaning you can rest easy knowing your data is well looked after.
Features
When you’re just starting your trading journey, having access to well-researched educational material can be the difference between making and losing thousands. Therefore, it’s great to see how seriously Capital.com has taken the education of its customers. Instead of simply offering a few short guides covering the basics of trading, Capital.com has gone the extra mile to cover almost every topic you could need to succeed in forex trading. Outside of education, Capital.com is still, by all means, an excellent forex trading platform, they offer full TradingView Integration, ensuring technical traders are never left missing indicators or charting tools they need. Lastly, in a similar fashion to eToro, Capital.com offers 30:1 leverage for Forex trades.
Capital.com Fees
| Fee Type | Amount |
| Commission | 0% |
| Withdrawal Fee | $0 |
| Deposit Fee | $0 |
| Inactivity Fee | $0 |
Pros
- Transport layer security
- PCI data security standard compliant
- FDIC insurance
- Regulated by ASIC and FCA
- Investmate
- Trading guides
- TradingView integration
- 30:1 leverage
Cons
- Limited on investment types
- Could benefit from crypto pairs
76.72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and/or CFDs with this provider.
3. AvaTrade – Best On-The-Go Forex Trading Platform Australia
Founded in 2006 AvaTrade has made a name for itself in the finance space by creating a well-rounded, extremely accessible forex trading platform. AvaTrade currently serves more than 2 million users, making it a medium-sized brokerage. Despite AvaTrade not quite matching some competitors’ figures, the impressive list of features they boast knocks the majority of brokerages out of the water.
Security & Privacy
Forex trading platforms have a duty of care toward their customers, after all as a user you’re putting your faith in a platform to take the necessary precautions when handling your money. Therefore, it’s no surprise that AvaTrade has taken ample measures to ensure the safety of its customers. Firstly, by following strict regulations set out by ASIC, ensuring customer data and funds are handled correctly. 256-bit SSL encryption has been utilized to obscure sensitive data before it makes its way back to the AvaTrade central server, this means that even if your data was to be intercepted it wouldn’t be usable. In addition to this, AvaTrade uses a powerful piece of technology called McAfee Secure to encrypt important documents like a driving license or card info.
Features
AvaTrade has made sure their platform is packed full of useful features, they’ve made sure to include everything you’d expect from one of the best forex trading platforms, however, they’ve also taken extra care to ensure their platform is one of the most accessible forex brokerages out there. They’ve achieved this by allowing users to register for an account specific to their needs, you can register for a standard AvaTrade account, a professional trader account, or an Islamic account. Therefore regardless of your situation, there should be something you can make use of. Beginners are well looked after thanks to AvaTrade’s educational resources, in this case consisting of short, informative video guides. And to round off our review of AvaTrade, they have created an incredibly powerful mobile trading platform for their users that like to trade on the go. This platform is called AvaTradeGo and is perfect for mobile traders, it’s full of powerful trading tools and comes equipped with an on the fly research system to help you make better trading
AvaTrade Fees
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
| Commission Fee | 0% |
| Deposit Fee | $0 |
| Withdrawal Fee | $0 |
| Inactivity Fee | $50 after 3 months & $100 after 12 months |
Pros
- 256-bit SSL encryption
- McAfee secure
- Regulated by ASIC
- Islamic accounts
- Professional trading account
- Video trading guides
- AvaTradeGo
Cons
- UI somewhat dated
- Not accessible in certain countries
Your Capital is at Risk.
4. easyMarkets – Most Educational Forex Trading Platform Australia
By a wide margin, the oldest platform on our list is easyMarkets, a top-tier forex trading platform that specializes in the Australian market. It’s fair to say that easyMarkets has had a fair amount of time to refine their trading platform and ensure they’re implementing features that traders actually need.
Security & Privacy
Any platform that’s been around for as long as easyMarkets has got to have some pretty tight security, otherwise they’d have been exploited to death long ago. One way easyMarkets protects its customers is by making sure to comply with strict regulations set out by Australia’s authoritative body, ASIC. Another way that easyMarkets ensures customer funds are kept safe is by using segregated bank accounts, taking care to make sure that client funds are kept separate from corporate funds. Additionally, all funds held by easyMarkets are locked away in tier-1 bank accounts, ensuring that even if they go into insolvency customers will not have any issues withdrawing their funds. These features combined with a 20-year track record certainly help easyMarkets earn its place as one of the best Forex trading platforms.
Features
As we mentioned, easyMarkets has been around for long enough to understand what traders actually need from a brokerage, instead of gimmicky features they’ve ensured everything serves a real purpose. They have their own educational resources that almost rival that of Capital.com. The educational resources they offer consist primarily of a step-by-step trading course that explains all the basic information you need in order to start a successful trading journey, including basic terminology, all the way to a guide on building a simple trading framework. Dealcanellation is another easyMarkets feature, designed to help save traders money in case a
prediction goes awry, by allowing you to cancel a losing trade up to 6 hours after it was opened. And the final feature we’ll discuss is easyTrade, easyMarkets “smart” trade system that can automatically close a position after a specified amount of time.
easyMarkets Fees
| Fee Type | Amount |
| Commission | 0% |
| Withdrawal Fee | $0 |
| Deposit Fee | $0 |
| Inactivity Fee | $0 |
Pros
- Regulated by ASIC
- Funds kept in segregated tier-1 banks
- 20+ year track record
- Deal cancellation
- easyTrade
Cons
- A larger range of assets would be nice
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Best Forex Trading Platforms Australia Compared
It can be difficult to pick out the differences between the best forex trading platforms without using them. Therefore, we thought it best to include this easy-to-reference table comparing the fees associated with each forex broker. That way you can have a clearer insight into how they stack up against each other.
| Broker | Commission | Deposit Fee | Withdrawal Fee | Inactivity Fee |
| eToro | 0% | $0 | $0 | $10 monthly (after 12 months inactivity) |
| Capital.com | 0% | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Stake | 0% | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| AvaTrade | 0% | $0 | $0 | $50 after 3 months, $100 after 12 months |
Which Platform is Best For You?
When it comes to selecting which forex trading platform is the best fit for your individual requirements, it can be difficult to differentiate between what features are important and what ones are gimmicks. So, to help our readers make a better-informed decision we’ve chosen to break down some of the main factors you should consider when selecting a new forex broker.
1. Fees
One of the most important things to look out for when you’re trying to select a new forex trading platform is fees. Unfortunately, many brokerages still choose to try and pull the wool over a customer’s eyes by hiding fees in places you wouldn’t otherwise think to look. These fees can come in the form of things like a “convenience fee” which is really just a brokerage’s way of taxing you that extra little bit more.
2. Payment Types
It can be easy to overlook something like which payment types a platform offers, after all, you’d assume they’d all be relatively similar. However, you need to be aware that not all payment methods are built equally. For example, regardless of the platform you use, you’re almost guaranteed to pay a steep (2-5%) fee when using a credit/debit card for a deposit. If you’re making regular deposits something like this could cause you to lose a serious amount of money in the long term.
3. Security
Something that I’m sure just about every trader/investor will agree with me on, is that security is one of the most important aspects of selecting a brokerage. If a platform frequently experiences outages, it’s likely that at some point it’ll be down when you need to close/open a trade, potentially resulting in large losses. A more serious security flaw could even lead to customer accounts getting compromised and funds being withdrawn.
How to Use the Best Forex Trading Platform Australia
It’s no secret that trading platforms are often unnecessarily complex, throwing confusing menus and heaps of financial jargon at you. Well, here at Economy Watch, we believe everyone should have easy access to investment opportunities, so to help you start trading forex, we’ve included this section, explaining exactly how you can invest in forex with our top-rated brokerage, eToro.
1. Sign Up
Before you can get stuck into the world of forex trading, you’ll have to sign-up for an account with a regulated brokerage. We recommend eToro because their platform has been designed with the needs of users of every skill level in mind. All you’ve got to do to register is type “eToro.com” into your browser, press “Join Now”, and fill in the required details.
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
2. Verify ID
eToro is a regulated platform, meaning users can enjoy increased security. However, it also means that you’ll have to verify your identity before you can start trading. Luckily, it only takes a couple of minutes to verify yourself, the only documents needed are a photo ID (passport, driving license) and proof of address (utility bill, bank statement).
3. Fund Account
Once your identity has been verified, you’re only one step away from trading forex! The final prerequisite is funding your eToro account. To do this just click on the button marked “Deposit Funds”, type in the amount you plan on investing, and press “Deposit”. Because eToro is a global platform it supports a range of payment methods. You can use either a credit/debit card, bank transfer, or e-wallet (PayPal, Skrill).
4. Start Trading Forex
Now that you’ve loaded your eToro account with a source of funds, it’s time to start trading! Simply type in the name of the currency pair you’d like to trade (e.g. EUR/GBP), press “Trade”, enter however much you’d like to invest, and press “Open Trade”. You’ll be able to monitor and manage your investment from the “Portfolio” section of your account.
Conclusion
To conclude, forex trading can be an incredibly lucrative career. The volatility and sheer amount of currencies make it incredibly attractive to traders, particularly those that rely on technical analysis to make their decisions. Although there’s a huge amount of upside potential when trading forex, it’s regarded as quite a risky way of trading. This is primarily because, in order to take advantage of small price swings you’ll have to either risk large amounts of capital or use leverage, both of which could lead to catastrophic losses without careful planning. One way you can reduce the risk that comes with forex trading is by ensuring you trade with a reputable platform that provides you with all the necessary tools to succeed. One forex trading platform that fits this description to a T is eToro, it offers users an incredibly simple, yet powerful trading platform that supports a huge range of markets and deposit types.
Best Forex Trading Platform Australia – eToro
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Mobile AppYes
FAQs
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What is Forex Trading?
