Best Forex Brokers for Small Accounts 2023

For this list, we have reviewed and tested several forex brokers for small accounts.

We have opened live accounts and deposited between $4,000 and $8,000 in our accounts. Then we placed real trades to see how the spreads will work out. Also, we contacted each broker’s customer team to resolve issues with deposit and withdrawal processes.

We have picked the best forex brokers for large accounts based on our trading data and experience as traders.

What is Small Trading Account?

Forex small accounts are a popular choice for those who have just started learning to invest (read our article about beginner traders); this enables them to learn and experiment with minimized risks.

• Small trading account is usually considered below $1,000; a lot of brokers like FBS, OANDA, or Admiral Markets offer small trading accounts even starting from $1. However, a smaller trading account means less exposure to the markets and inability to trade some instrument due to margins

• Trading might be dedicated to a specific trading strategy, not every strategy will be good for a smaller account. For example, scalping is one of the best strategies for small accounts since with scalping you can invest small amounts of capital to achieve big results.

Traders with small accounts need to trade on margin to achieve bigger results which, of course, can maximize the risk too. Since some instruments are available only on a CFD basis (Futures, Options) some high-priced stocks like Google, Tesla, Apple, etc. will require higher capitalization.

How to Trade Forex with a Small Account?

Trading with a small account can be a good experience, one that can teach you valuable lessons about discipline, risk management, and trade execution. 

So, how to grow a small forex account? Here are some tips for growing your forex account:

• Learn from trends
• Gain some live experience
• try low-risk trading strategies
• follow market news
• do your analysis
• try only high-probability trades

Since small accounts are harder to grow, it is crucial to find a good balance between strategies, accounts, and instruments. Also, put limitations on the use of strategies and instruments to avoid risks.

Best Leverage for Small Forex Account

High leverage is restricted by world authorities due to the high risks, hence it is better to decide on a reasonable leverage level based on the instruments you are trading. Most of the beginner traders in search of brokers with high leverage use the services of offshore brokers offering 1:1000 leverage. We do not recommend offshore brokers since money safety should be a top priority.

The best leverage for small accounts is the one that enables you to open positions based on the strategy you apply without running the risk of margin calls. The best leverage for small accounts between $10-$1,000 is 1:100, a 1:30 leverage can work too.

Most popular leverage level for forex trading:

Leverage Level	Margin Required
🥇 400:1	0.25%
🥈 200:1	0.5%
🥉 100:1	1%
🏅 50:1	2%

Best Brokers for Small Accounts

To come up with this list, we reviewed and tested several brokers for small accounts suitable for beginners. We opened live accounts and deposited between $4,000-$5,000. Then we placed real trades to see the spreads and conditions of each broker.

• Pepperstone – Best Overall Small Forex Trading Account
• CMC Markets – Best Forex Trading Small Accounts for Beginners
• XM – Best Forex Brokers for Small Accounts on MT4
• BDSwiss – Best Small Account Options Trading Broker

Best Overall Small Forex Trading Account

We chose Pepperstone as the best broker overall for small accounts.

Founded in 2010, Pepperstone is a global forex and CFD provider licensed by top-tier regulators. Pepperstone offers excellent trading conditions with forex pairs, indices, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and a currency index with a $200 minimum deposit, to begin with, the lowest spreads in the industry benchmark, as well as good educational materials for beginners.

Best Forex Trading Small Accounts for Beginners

We chose CMC Markets as the best broker for small accounts for beginners.

Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a highly-trusted broker offering 12,000 CFDs to trade in forex, indices, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrency markets. The broker is publicly traded and regulated with top-tier licenses. CMC Markets gives traders the opportunity to trade starting with a $1 deposit and also provides excellent easy-to-understand educational resources, making it the most suitable for beginner traders.

Best Forex Brokers for Small Accounts on MT4

We picked XM as the best MT4 broker for small accounts.

XM is a highly regulated global forex broker operating since 2009 with more than 1,200 tradeable instruments including Forex, Cryptocurrencies, CFDs, and Futures. The broker is most recommended to those preferring trading with MT4 with a small deposit since XM is offering only a $5 minimum deposit for trading with spreads as low as 0.6 pips.

Best Small Account Options Trading Broker

We chose BDSwiss as the best broker for options trading with a small balance.

Established in 2012, BDSwiss is an international brokerage providing exceptional forex and CFD investment services; its client base counts more than 1.5 million clients in over 186 countries across the globe. The broker demonstrates exceptional trading conditions and excellent order execution speed with access to over 1,000 underlying CFD instruments, fueled by ample educational resources and exemplary customer support.

BDSwiss is highly regulated with the Swiss banking license and provides world-class binary options solutions enabling its clients to trade USD/SGD, USD/BRL, USD/TRY, USD/ZAR, and USD/RUB. It provides a full suite of the MetaTrader platform as well as its proprietary platform with a minimum deposit of $10 for its Cent Account and $100 for Classic Account.

List of Brokers for Small Accouunt

Apart from the short-listed brokers, here’s a list of forex brokers with large accounts.

Forex Brokers	Test Details	Broker Review
Pepperstone	Deposit Amount: Over €6,000 Total Trade: 12 trades	Pepperstone Review
XM	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 12 trades	XM Review
Vantage FX	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 15 trades	Vantage FX Review
FxPro	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 15 trades	FxPro Review
Dukascopy	Deposit Amount: Over €4,000 Total Trade: 15 trades	Dukascopy Review
FP Markets	Deposit Amount: Over €6,000 Total Trade: 12 trades	FP Markets Review
Plus 500	Deposit Amount: Over €6,000 Total Trade: 18 trades	Plus500 Review
XTB	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 12 trades	XTB Review
Trading 212	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 15 trades	Trading 212 Review
ThinkMarkets	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 15 trades	ThinkMarkets Review
Fortrade	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 12 trades	Fortrade Review
Darwinex	Deposit Amount: Over €5,000 Total Trade: 12 trades	Darwinex Review

FAQ and more on Trading Accounts with Small Balance

When it comes to forex brokers with small accounts, traders may have many questions. We answered some of the most essential queries related to small accounts.

Best Day Trading Platform for Small Accounts

Day traders can benefit from small accounts using different trading strategies depending on the small price fluctuation, as well as implementing leverage to take positions on the market.

Based on our trading experience we chose the best brokers for day trading small accounts:

• Forex.com
• XM
• Admiral Markets

Swing Trading with a Small Account

Generally, there are no restrictions on the minimum deposit for swing trading, however, some brokers may put limitations on the minimum balance to $1,000. On top of that, swing traders with small accounts can rely on specific strategies for their investments.

If you are curious about swing trading, here are some of the platforms allowing swing trading with a less than $100:

• Forex.com
• Robinhood
• TD Ameritrade