Looking for the best online broker in the market ? We’ll give you a hand 🙂 !
The online brokers present on the market are more and more numerous. It has become difficult to find your way reliably between these different financial intermediaries. Our dossier aims to show you a selection of the best brokers to trade the market.
And we start right away with the best broker from our comparison of the best online brokers ! 🕵️
Best online brokers : our selection | ||||
N° |
Brokers |
Minimum deposit |
Benefits |
Learn more |
1 |
eToro |
200$ |
✔️ Perfect for beginners ✔️ 67% of retail CFD accounts lose money. |
See |
2 |
VantageFX |
1€ |
✔️ Extended CFD offer |
See |
3 |
Libertex |
1€ |
✔️ Very large number of crypto CFDs |
See |
4 |
DEGIRO |
1€ |
✔️ Widest catalogue of assets |
See |
5 |
XTB |
1€ |
✔️ Very low spreads |
See |
6 |
AvaTrade |
1€ |
✔️ Ideal for Forex options trading |
See |
What is the best online broker ?
- eToro : best broker for beginners / best for copy trading
- VantageFX : high leverage forex broker
- Libertex : best broker for trading cryptos
- DEGIRO : the cheapest generalist broker
- XTB : the best CFD spreads
- AvaTrade : the best broker for Forex options
1. eToro : the best broker for beginners
eToro is the largest online broker on the market : over 20 million users and a presence since 2007. Its main asset is its trading platform : it democratizes trading by offering a very interesting visual experience – and very powerful tools to invest by copying traders (copy trading and thematic portfolios).
eToro’s offer in a few words :
eToro Overview | |
Name | eToro (Europe) Ltd |
Year of creation | 2007 |
Country of origin | 🇨🇾 Cyprus (CySEC) |
Minimum deposit | 50$ |
Methods of payment |
|
Demo account | Yes |
Markets |
|
Social trading | Yes |
Platforms | eToro Webtrader
Mobile application (Android and iOs) |
Max Leverage | 1:30 |
Deposit fees | 0$ |
Withdrawal fee | 5 per withdrawal |
Transaction fees | 0% |
Conversion fee | 0,50% |
The main advantages of eToro :
- 0 commission on 2500 direct stocks
- Competitive spreads on CFDs
- Excellent copy trading and thematic portfolios
- Platform tailored for beginners
eToro’s disadvantages :
- Fees on withdrawals
- USD account only
2. VantageFX : high leverage Forex broker
VantageFX is the first choice when looking to trade Forex for anyone looking for a quality broker. It is a specialist Forex broker that offers two types of account for trading currencies. The first is a standard account, which is aimed at beginners. The second is a fixed commission account, which is more suitable for scalpers and high volume traders.
VantageFX’s offer in a nutshell :
Vantage FX Overview | |
Name | Avus Capital |
Year of creation | 2006 |
Country of origin | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (FSC) |
Minimum deposit | 200€ for the Standard account
500€ for the Raw ECN account |
Methods of payment |
|
Demo account | Yes, unlimited |
Markets |
|
Social trading | No |
Platforms |
|
Max Leverage | 1:30 |
Deposit fees | 0€ |
Withdrawal fee | 0€ |
Transaction fees | 0.0% (CFD)
3 per lot (Forex – ECN) 0 per lot (Forex – Standard) |
Conversion fee | 0% |
The main advantages of VantageFX :
- Choice of platforms (MT4/MT5)
- Choice of account types (with or without fixed commissions)
- Specialised in Forex
Disadvantages of VantageFX :
- Limited selection of instruments
- Moderately competitive spreads on the standard account
3. Libertex : best broker for trading cryptos
Libertex is an online trading broker that stands out for its very large offer of crypto CFDs (in all over 70). This offer is regularly updated to include crypto projects with verified blockchain. It is possible to have a leverage of up to 1:600 to trade these instruments on Libertex. There are, of course, conditions to be met for this, but they are not draconian.
The Libertex offer in a nutshell :
Livertex Overview | |
Name | Indication Investments Ltd |
Year of creation | 2012 |
Country of origin | 🇨🇾 Cyprus (CySEC) |
Minimum deposit | 100€ |
Methods of payment |
|
Demo account | Yes |
Markets |
|
Social trading | No |
Platforms |
|
Max Leverage | 1:30 (Retail) |
Deposit fees | 0€ |
Withdrawal fee | 0€ |
Transaction fees | 0,0% |
Conversion fee | 0% |
The main advantages of Libertex :
- Leverage of up to 1:600 under certain conditions
- Globally reduced spreads
- Trading on MetaTrader 4
Disadvantages of Libertex :
- Only on CFDs
- Limited educational content
4. DEGIRO : the cheapest generalist broker
DEGIRO was already recognised as one of the cheapest online stock and derivatives brokers. But it has just lowered its fees again by removing fixed commissions on Euronext, NYSE and NASDAQ shares. These are precisely the markets where the stocks preferred by traders and equity investors are listed! DEGIRO also offers very specific coverage of the derivatives markets (futures, options, warrants). In short, DEGIRO is a broker that is aimed at both beginners and professionals.
DEGIRO’s offer in brief :
DEGIRO Overview | |
Name | flatex DEGIRO Bank AG |
Year of creation | 2008 📅 |
Country of origin | 🇩🇪 Germany (BaFin) |
Minimum deposit | 0,01€ for all account types |
Methods of payment | Bank transfer 🏦 |
Demo account | No |
Markets |
|
Social trading | No |
Platforms |
|
Max Leverage | 1:5 |
Deposit fees | 0€ 👍 |
Withdrawal fee | 0,10% |
Transaction fees | 0,0% |
Conversion fee | 0% |
The main advantages of DEGIRO :
- 0 commission on a very large number of shares and ETFs
- Very low fees on the rest of the catalogue (funds, derivatives, bonds)
- Ultra-diversified and very extensive catalogue
- Historical European stockbroker, reference player
- Impeccable customer service
The disadvantages of DEGIRO :
- Not a CFD broker
5. XTB : the best CFD spreads
XTB is an online broker that recently won an award at the Trading Show for its xStation 5 trading application. The Polish broker has a similar offering to eToro, with stocks, ETFs and CFDs all tradeable in the same account. It has a physical presence in France, with an office in Paris where regular trading events are held. Very low cost across its entire product range (0 commission equities, lowest CFD spreads on a standard account).
XTB’s offer in brief :
XTB Overview | |
Name | X-Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski SA |
Year of creation | 2002 |
Country of origin | 🇵🇱 Poland (KNF) |
Minimum deposit | 0€ for all account types |
Methods of payment |
|
Demo account | Yes |
Markets |
|
Social trading | No |
Platforms |
|
Max Leverage | 1:5 |
Deposit fees | 0€ |
Withdrawal fee | 0€ |
Transaction fees | 0,50% |
Conversion fee | X-Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski SA |
The main advantages of XTB :
- 0 commission on equities and ETFs (below €100,000 monthly volume)
- xStation 5 awarded at the last Trading Fair
- Diversified catalogue, including direct products and CFDs
- Ultra-low spreads on CFDs
- Reference educational content
The disadvantages of XTB :
- Stock catalogue still limited to the main stocks
6. AvaTrade : the best broker for Forex options
AvaTrade is both a CFD broker and a derivatives broker. Its positioning on derivatives is clearly a beginner broker positioning : best for a first experience on vanilla currency options trading. The trading tools are in the eToro style : very visual, very easy to use and almost playful. In all, the broker offers three different web applications and three mobile applications. A wide choice!
AvaTrade’s offer in brief :
Name | AvaTrade (EU) Ltd |
Year of creation | 2006 |
Country of origin | 🇮🇪 Irland (Central |
Minimum deposit | 1€ |
Methods of payment |
|
Demo account | Yes |
Markets |
|
Social trading | Yes (AvaSocial, DupliTrade, ZuluTrade) 📈 |
Platforms |
|
Max Leverage | 1:30 |
Deposit fees | 0€ 👍 |
Withdrawal fee | 0€ |
Transaction fees | 0% |
Conversion fee | 0% |
The main advantages of AvaTrade :
- Excellent broker to trade options as a beginner
- Choice of trading platforms
- Excellent customer service
- Interesting educational content
AvaTrade’s disadvantages :
- Averagely competitive spreads
- Catalogue finally rather limited
Best online broker : the point by point comparison
To help you choose an online broker on different aspects, we have made detailed comparisons: markets covered and instruments, trading platforms and fees.
Best online brokers : the comparison of tradable instruments
Among the best online brokers in our selection, a majority offer CFDs in their catalogue. CFDs (Contracts for Difference) are instruments that allow you to use high leverage to increase your exposure. In this way, you multiply your potential gains, but also your losses. CFDs are very profitable for brokers, and brokers like Libertex and VantageFX have made them their speciality. Other brokers such as eToro and XTB also offer them, but alongside a live stock offering. DEGIRO did not offer these products.
Here is a table for a detailed overview of the asset classes and instruments covered :
Comparison of markets by broker | ||||||
Markets | eToro | VantageFX | Libertex | DEGIRO | XTB | AvaTrade |
CFD | ||||||
Forex |
50 |
46 |
50 |
– |
49 |
308 |
Indices |
13 |
16 |
28 |
– |
42 |
92 |
Stocks |
2 590 |
210 |
132 |
– |
2400 |
8 000 |
ETF |
259 |
– |
10 |
– |
114 |
1 000 |
Bonds |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
56 |
Commodities |
14 |
16 |
16 |
– |
22 |
136 |
Cryptos |
16 |
6 |
70 |
– |
25 |
15 |
Direct | ||||||
Stocks |
2 590 |
– |
– |
20 000 |
2 400 |
– |
ETF |
259 |
– |
– |
5 400 |
220 |
– |
Funds |
– |
– |
– |
9 000 |
– |
– |
Bunds |
– |
– |
– |
640 |
– |
– |
Derivatives | ||||||
Options | – | – | – |
12 markets |
– |
40 |
Futures |
– |
– |
– |
14 markets |
– |
– |
Turbos – Warrants – Certificates |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Here is what you should know from our comparison :
- DEGIRO offers the widest range of products : traditional products (stocks, ETFs, bonds) and derivatives (futures, options, turbos, warrants, etc.)
- eToro and XTB can also be considered as generalist brokers since with a single account, one can access all live stocks and CFDs
- Libertex and VantageFX are brokers specialising in CFDs and Forex
Best online brokers : the comparison of trading platforms
Our favourite online brokers are divided into two « schools ». On the one hand brokers who offer their own platform, most often a web interface (accessible to a browser like Chrome or Safari). On the other hand, brokers who rely on the MetaTrader suite, the most widely used in the world for CFD and Forex trading. A broker like AvaTrade cultivates the in-between and offers both MetaTrader and its « in-house » platform AvaTradeGO.
An overview of the different trading platform choices :
Comparison of trading platforms | ||||||
eToro | VantageFX | Libertex | DEGIRO | XTB | AvaTrade | |
PC/Mac | – |
MetaTrader 4 |
MetaTrader 4 |
– |
MetaTrader 4 |
MetaTrader 4 |
Web |
Webtrader |
MetaTrader 4 |
MetaTrader 4 |
Webtrader |
xStation 5 |
AvaOptions
|
Mobile |
Etoro Mobile |
MetaTrader 4 |
MetaTrader 4 |
DEGIRO mobile |
xStation 5 MetaTrader 4 |
AvaTradeGO AvaOptions AvaSocial |
Some interesting findings :
- eToro offers the best trading app for beginners. It is only available in web and mobile versions
- XTB offers with xStation 5 the best compromise between a platform for beginners and an expert solution for experienced traders
- Libertex, AvaTrade and VantageFX rely on MetaTrader 4, the most popular trading software
Best online brokers : fee comparison
The best online brokers are converting to 0 commission : no commission on live trading. This is the case with eToro, XTB and more recently DEGIRO. However, they are not free of charge, as they still get paid on the spread of the shares and on the conversion commission. For example, XTB is the least competitive of our three generalist brokers due to a 0.50% conversion fee on US stocks. In comparison, DEGIRO charges « only » 0.10% …
Overview of the different fee structures on our 3 generalist brokers :
Fee Comparison | |||
DEGIRO | XTB | ETORO | |
Euronext Paris Fees |
Free |
Free on a selection of 2000 shares. Otherwise 0.10% |
Free on a selection of 2000 shares, impossible to invest outside this selection |
International Scholarship Fees |
|
Free on a selection of 2000 shares Otherwise 0.10% |
Free on a selection of 2000 shares, impossible to invest outside this selection |
ETF Fees |
|
|
Free on a selection of 150 ETFs, impossible to invest outside this selection. |
Inactivity fees and rights of custody |
0€ |
0€ | 10€ if no open position for 1 year |
0€ | 10€ per month if no activity for 1 year |
Foreign exchange fees |
0,10% |
0,50% |
0,50% |
Secondary fees |
None |
None |
Withdrawal fee : 5€ |
Here we have focused on three generalist brokers for a more meaningful comparison :
- DEGIRO is in fact the most competitive on all traditional stocks
- XTB is penalized by a 0.50% exchange fee on North American stocks
- eToro seems to be the best price compromise
Which online broker to choose ? The 5 criteria
To choose an online broker, the criteria are :
- The regulation of the broker
- The offer of instruments
- Fees
- The trading platform
- The customer service
Why choose a regulated online broker ?
Choosing a regulated online broker is important in order to have guarantees regarding the custody of funds and the execution of orders. A regulated intermediary is supervised and monitored and must comply with a set of specifications at all times. By depositing money with an unregulated broker, you are likely to come across a scam, a swindle or at best an unreliable service, unresponsive and unconcerned with its customers.
Does choosing an online broker based on instruments make sense ?
Choosing an online broker based on instruments makes sense when you want to diversify your allocation. A single account such as XTB’s allows you to invest in both direct shares and equity CFDs. You can therefore set up a hedge of your main long position. In addition to this, you can also have greater flexibility, as you do not have to open multiple accounts to trade the short term and invest in long term stocks.
Other criteria are also decisive :
- Fees : the profitability of your trades is largely determined by the costs of placing orders and conversion commissions. It is therefore essential to know them well.
- The trading platform : the platform is evaluated on two levels: the ergonomics and the adequacy with your trading strategy. Usability refers to how easy it is to use and how long it takes to master its features. Suitability for your trading strategy refers to the fact that the platform allows a particular trading technique (e.g. scalping).
- Customer service : the responsiveness of advisors is essential to deal with technical emergencies
Finding the best online broker : FAQ
To complete our comparison of the most interesting online brokers on the market, we have put together some key questions, with detailed answers to each. These will give you a more specific insight into a particular aspect of an online broker.
What is a reliable broker ?
A reliable broker demonstrates a high level of seriousness and integrity in the execution of its clients’ orders. Regulated, with no history with regulators, credited with very positive customer reviews, transparent, responsive customer service, without aggressive sales practices : these are the concrete indicators of a reliable broker. Working with an online broker recognised as reliable by users and the specialist media is the first step in securing your investment.
Is a regulated broker necessarily reliable ?
A reliable broker is always regulated, but not all regulated brokers are always reliable. Many perfectly legal brokers, licensed by the regulators, have been found guilty of fraudulent practices. Rather than trusting on the basis of approval alone, it is better to check by concrete evidence whether the broker in question is indeed a serious and trustworthy intermediary.
Let’s look at these concrete indicators :
- Regulated : you should look for brokers that are regulated by the authorities recognised as competent (FCA in the UK, AMF in France, BaFin in Germany). As a general rule, their specifications and controls are stricter, and it is very difficult for an unserious site to maintain this type of approval
- No history with the regulatory authorities : avoid brokers that have had problems with the regulators, history tends to repeat itself
- Positive customer reviews : here you need to make sure you have a sufficient number of certified reviews. 21 reviews on a recent broker are not enough to make a judgement
- Transparent : when a broker does not give information about its premises, its team members (e.g. links to LinkedIn profiles), this is generally not a good sign
- Responsive customer service : the broker should show signs that its pool of advisors is sufficiently alert to requests. If the waiting times on the phone are long, the response times to emails are also unusually long … you are not dealing with a good quality of service
- Without aggressive marketing practices : many of the sites singled out by regulators have relied on aggressive cold calling. The idea is to call each prospect who has left his or her contact details when opening a demo account, in order to « push » him or her to deposit money
How to choose a good online broker ?
To choose an online broker, you need to :
- Choose a regulated CFD broker ✔️
- Shortlist CFD brokers with a low initial deposit ✔️
- Prefer brokers with low spreads ✔️
- Favour brokers with a varied offer ✔️
- Retain the one that offers good trading tools ✔️
Here are some essential information to remember when choosing a broker :
- Trade imperatively with a regulated broker : for the beginner trader, the important thing is first of all to avoid falling on a fraudulent broker and losing all his deposits. On this point, it is therefore necessary to check whether the broker has a licence, whether it is absent from the black list of regulators and whether it is registered with the regulator. You should also check that it has good scores on certified review platforms, such as TrustPilot.
- Consider the initial deposit required : the trader who is new to CFDs will not necessarily want to start with an overcapitalised account! It is therefore useful to open an account with a CFD broker that allows, for example, the opening of a Micro account or a Hundred account. Rather than being expressed in $ or €, this type of account is expressed in cents. By depositing €10 into your account, it will appear as €1,000 cents. Very handy for first time CFD traders!
- Favour CFD brokers with low fees : this is an important, if not fundamental, criterion. In order to avoid having all your profits « eaten up » by fees, you should examine the broker’s fee structure. This of course includes the fees on the transactions themselves : spreads, commissions, conversion fees, etc. But you should also pay attention to the additional fees that often lead to unpleasant surprises : withdrawal fees, inactivity fees, stock exchange connection fees, real-time quotation costs, etc.
- Favour brokers with a wide range of assets on offer : the variety of the offer is not in itself a fundamental criterion, but it is still important. Stock market indices, commodities, metals, crypto-currencies… these asset classes must at least be part of the broker’s offer. It is indeed important to diversify one’s trades, because it is tempting for the beginner to invest all his capital on an asset in full upward trend. This is not recommended, and it is important to invest your capital in non-correlated assets to reduce your portfolio risk.
- Do not neglect the trading experience : the last important criterion is the trading experience, in particular the quality of execution and the overall ergonomics of the trading platform. Today, most CFD brokers offer trading with MetaTrader 5, which is optimised for CFD trading. However, brokers such as eToro and XTB also offer their own platform, which is worth a look!
What markets are covered by an online broker ?
The markets covered by an online broker are stocks, ETFs, currencies, cryptocurrencies, indices and commodities. So on the one hand we have generalist brokers like DEGIRO, eToro and XTB, which offer these stocks on a single trading account. On the other hand, there are more specialised brokers such as AvaTrade, which focus on a specific product (currency options), generally not covered by its competitors.
Are equity markets really covered by an online broker ?
Equity markets are covered by online brokers such as eToro, DEGIRO and XTB. Here we are talking about live stocks, and as a bonus with 0% commissions! The number of stock markets covered varies between these three brokers. DEGIRO clients have access to more stock exchanges in addition to the usual Euronext, NYSE, Nasdaq and Xetra.
In addition to the markets covered, one should also look at different aspects :
- The type of instrument offered : CFD or live? This is not a neutral question because a CFD is a speculative instrument (with leverage), whereas a direct share gives real rights (dividend payment, voting, etc.)
- The different types of account : should you open more accounts? At Admirals for example, the account giving access to live shares is different from the type of account giving access to CFDs
- The possibility to buy fractions of shares : can you buy fractions of shares or ETFs? At eToro this is possible, at DEGIRO no
What are the fees of an online broker ?
The fees of an online broker are divided into four categories :
- Spreads
- Trading commissions
- Financing interest
- Secondary fees
What are the spreads of an online broker ?
Spreads are the main costs of an online broker. They represent the margin charged between the bid price (at which the broker sells you) and the ask price (at which the broker buys you back) of an asset. On Bitcoin, for example, eToro displays a spread of 0.75% : this means that when you open a long position, you instantly take a 0.75% loss. You have to wait for the price to rise so that your position can « absorb » this loss and turn positive. The lower the spread, the more attractive the broker.
More precisely, each category of fees pays for a particular service provided by the broker :
- The spread is the difference between the buying and selling price of a currency pair at any given time. In a way, it is the commercial margin of the broker who buys a quantity of currencies from its liquidity suppliers (banks) and sells them with a surplus to the trader.
- The commission is a fixed amount paid to the broker for the purchase and sale of a batch of currencies (1 batch = 100,000 units). It represents the remuneration of the broker’s service which transmits the order to its liquidity providers
- Swaps represent daily financing interest paid to the broker as remuneration for the funds used for leveraged trading.
- Finally the secondary fees include small administrative charges and possibly commissions on fund withdrawals.
What is the cheapest broker ?
DEGIRO is the cheapest broker on the market, a statement that is particularly true in the European and US equity markets. DEGIRO has recently eliminated commissions on equities and ETFs, listed on Euronext and North American exchanges. For other equity markets, the costs are very low. The Dutch broker’s commissions are also very low on derivatives (futures, options, turbos, warrants).
Which is the cheapest broker for buying shares directly ?
DEGIRO is the cheapest broker for buying shares directly. The order commission is 0% on Euronext, NYSE and Nasdaq shares. On the other hand, you have to pay a fixed fee of €3.90 per order on LSE and Xetra shares. This is still an extremely competitive rate, which few stockbrokers can match. When buying shares directly with DEGIRO, there is also a rather small exchange commission of 0.10%, which is directly included in the exchange rate.
Which is the cheapest broker to trade Forex ?
XTB is the best broker to trade Forex. Its spreads are the most competitive for a standard account type, regardless of the session considered : Asian, European, American. On the EUR/USD pair, the spread is for example 0.1 pip at the peak of liquidity, i.e. during the simultaneous opening of the London session and the US session. We see similarly narrow spreads on the other major pairs and on a good portion of the minor pairs.
Which broker offers the best trading platform ?
eToro offers the best trading platform. It relies on simplified tools and lots of visual cues to produce an excellent trading experience. The charting module is excellent, order placement is simplified with well placed shortcuts. It is also one of the few trading platforms that allows you to choose your leverage for each trade. With eToro, there is no software to install, everything is accessible via a web browser like Firefox or Chrome.
Which broker offers the best trading platform for beginners ?
eToro offers the best trading platform for beginners. It’s a very quick platform to get to grips with, without much complexity thanks to many visual cues. The charting tools are well explained, and order placement is very well documented with videos on the broker’s web portal. However, it should be noted that the broker does not allow scalping on its platform (aggressive trading practice based on repeated position taking & exiting).
Which broker offers the best trading platform for advanced profiles ?
XTB offers the best trading platform for experienced traders. Recently awarded at the Trading Show for its excellent technical and fundamental analysis tools. A range of features that puts xStation 5 on par with platforms such as ProRealTime or MetaTrader 5 for stock trading.
How to place an order with an online broker
To place an order with an online broker, you need to :
- Search for your asset
- Open an order ticket
- Select your order type
- Indicate the quantity of securities / lot size
- Confirm
Why place a limit order with your online broker ?
Placing a limit order with your online broker allows you to choose your entry point carefully. This means that you don’t enter a position at the best available price, but you choose to enter only if a certain price level is available. A limit order also has a validity: it allows you to wait, and this wait costs nothing in terms of fees. The limit order is therefore preferable to a simple market order.
The different types of orders :
- Market order : executed at the best available price
- Limit order : set at a specific price, not executed if price not reached
- OCO order : one cancels the other. 2 associated orders, if one is executed, the other is automatically cancelled
- GTC order : remains active until the order is cancelled
Online brokers : in conclusion
There is no best online broker in absolute terms, since in reality brokers each have their own profile, likely to meet or not meet your specific expectations.
Before rushing to a broker recommended by this or that media, you should therefore be aware of the different types of online broker. There are generally three types :
- Generalist brokers : which allow you to invest in shares, ETFs, sometimes investment funds and sometimes a range of derivatives on regulated markets (in DEGIRO, XTB, eToro)
- Brokers specialising in derivatives : who position themselves in CFDs or options (at AvaTrade, Libertex, VantageFX)
- Brokers specialising in crypto trading : offering high leverage or a very wide range of CFDs on cryptos (at Libertex)
If you are looking for medium/long term gains, this is the first category of broker you need. eToro, for example, suggests that you start by « copying others » rather than doing stock-picking.
The broker offers copy trading on the best experts and a selection of thematic portfolios in which you can invest (CopyPortfolios). A unique approach tailored for beginners.
If you are looking for short term trading, scalping or intraday trading, the second and third category of online brokers are the ones to choose. Beware of the increased risk of loss due to the leverage, even though with the « negative balance protection » you cannot lose more than your capital.