Established in 2001, Forex.com is an online forex brokerage with an active presence in over 183 countries across the world. Forex.com is the brand name of the New York Stock Exchange-listed company Gain Capital. The broker is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey and regulated by top tier financial regulatory agencies across the world including CFTC in the U.S, FCA in the United Kingdom, and Australia’s ASIC.
Forex.com is a market that supports the trade of 84 currency pairs, 8 cryptocurrencies, and 17 indices It supports margin trading with a maximum leverage of 20:1 for stocks and 50:1 for all other financial instruments.
In this Forex.com US review, we dig deeper into the broker’s operations. Informed by its past and present client reviews, we detail and rate each of the financial assets tradable here as well as the nature of their services like customer support, trading fees, trading platforms, and account types.
This Forex.com review should help answer all your legitimacy and safety queries about the broker and decide whether to open an account with them or not.
Forex.com Review Navigation
What can you trade?
# Forex.com Forex review
| Min Deposit | App Support | Max Leverage | Trading Fees |
| $50 | Good | 1:30 | Low |
With regards to forex trading, Forex.com gives you access to 84 currency pairs – more than most other leading forex brokers. You get to trade all the majors, all major pairs, more minor pairs, and a tad more exotic pairs than you would with most other brokers.
When it comes to forex trading fees, Forex.com maintains relatively expensive spreads. The EUR/USD pair, for instance, has an average spread of 1.3 on the standard account that is dependent on such factors as market volatility and liquidity. The broker also features the commission trader accounts where spreads start from as low as 0.2 but attract a $5 commission for every $100k traded.
Forex.com also provides margin-based forex exchange trading for currencies. The rates are however dependent on your geographical location and local regulations. The U.S and international Forex.com clients, for instance, have access to the entire 50:1 leverage. UK traders, on the other hand, can only use 30:1 leverage as directed by the FCA.
At Forex.com, you can start trading with as little as $50 where the minimum trading lot is currently set at 1,000.
Forex.com commodities review
Forex.com also exposes its clients to the commodities markets. On their platform, traders can only engage in the trade of unleveraged spot metals like gold and silver. These are, however, only available on the WebTrader and not on the MetaTrader platform.
With regards to trading these commodities, you can speculate on their price appreciation or depreciation. These precious metal traders on Forex.com also gain insights from the broker’s market analysis page.
#1 Forex.com futures and futures options review
| Min Deposit | App Support | Max Leverage | Trading Fees |
| $500 | Good | 1:1 | Low |
When it comes to Futures and futures options, Forex.com makes it possible for its clients to trade futures and futures contracts. The broker provides a platform through which they can invest in such products as commodities and indices. These are nonetheless only available to the U.S clients who get to trade them through Futures Online – an introducing broker for GAIN Capital.
In helping most of their clients get started with futures and futures contracts investments, Forex.com gives access to a 14-day demo trading account. The simulated trading account is loaded with $50,000 virtual cash and contains all the key trading features like ultra-fast execution speeds and live market data.
#2 Crypto
| App Support | Trading Fees |
| Many | High |
What did our traders think after reviewing the key criteria?
Forex.com fees
Forex.com maintains three primary types of trading fees – all of which are volume-based and tied to different types of accounts. These include pure spreads, spread plus fixed commission, and spread plus variable commission. The spreads, though competitive, are variable and are highly dependent on liquidity and the prevailing market conditions. Forex.com broker doesn’t impose deposit or withdrawal charges.
The pure spread account is popular with retail traders and spreads for the major currencies start from 1.0 and average at 1.3 pips. The spread and fixed-rate commission has lower spreads that start from 0.2 pips in addition to the $5 fixed commission for every $100k traded. The direct market access trader fees start from 0.1 pips plus a variable commission that averages $60 for every $1 million traded.
With regards to discounts on fees, Forex.com runs a cash rebate program that is pegged on the volume of trades. The broker offers cash rebates of up to $9 for every million traded on the retail standards account, $9 for every million traded on the commission accounts and $20 per million traded on high volume and direct market access account.
Non-trading fees on Forex.com include the rollover fees charged on trades that remain open at the end of the day trading session – 5 pm ET. Traders on the platform get to earn or pay these rollover rates based on whether they are going long or short of a trade.
Account Types
There are three primary account types availed by Forex.com.
The broker also hosts free demo accounts for both forex and futures contracts. These come stocked with $50,000 in virtual trading capital and are valid for 14 days.
The live trading accounts include:
Standard account:
The standard account is accessible on both the Forex.com webtrader and the MetaTrader trading platforms. It calls for a $50 minimum deposit and attracts wholly variable trading fees where the spreads average 1.0 pips for the popular EUR/USD pair. Standard account holders subscribed to the broker’s Active Trader Program also get to earn up to 18% cash rebates.
Commission Account:
Forex.com’s commission stands out because it employs both variable spreads and fixed commissions in the determination of trading fees. Spreads on the commission account start from 0.2 pips with the fixed commission set at $5 for every $100k traded. The minimum deposit amount is $50 and the account is only available on the broker’s Webtrader and mobile apps and not on the MetaTrader.
Direct market access account:
The Direct Market Access is according to Forex.com specially designed for high volume and frequent traders. Trading fees are a mix of variable spreads that start from 0.1 pips for major pairs and a variable commission starting from $60 for every million traded. The minimum account operating balance is set at $100K but traders are advised to maintain not less than $250K in their accounts. The DMA account is also not available on the MetaTrader platform.
The broker doesn’t maintain the Sharia-compliant trader accounts that are synonymous with the absence of overnight/rollover fees.
Forex.com trading platforms
The broker supports several major trading platforms. These include the MetaTrader (MT4), in-house trading platforms, Ninja trader, and API connections.
You, however, can only access the Forex.com standard forex trading account on the MT4 and Ninjatrader platforms. The two other accounts hosted by the broker will only be accessible via the broker’s in-house trading platform that’s available as a web trader, desktop app, and mobile app.
Usability
Most of the forex.com US reviewers found the website aptly organized and easy to use. The home page of the broker website features all the important tabs needed for fast and easy navigation. These include the signup and login features for new and existing clients as well as the markets, services, about us, platforms, market analysis, education and support tabs for everyone else looking for more insights about the broker. There also is a search tab where you can key in direct queries for even faster navigation.
Customer support
Forex.com provides 24/5 customer support but doesn’t offer live chat service on its website. Its clients can, however, access the broker’s support team on telephone and text message, through the different social media pages, and email. The broker website also features a detailed FAQ section.
Payment Methods
Forex.com supports four key payment methods. These include:
Debit card payments: Forex.com does not support credit card payments but processes debit card transactions for both Visa and MasterCard. The minimum deposit for debit cards is set at $50 and the maximum at $10,000. The broker supports USD, EUR, and GBP currencies but all these are automatically converted to USD. Deposit processing is near-instant and free.
Debit card withdrawals have an estimated wait time of 24 hours. They do not attract processing fee but have a per transaction limit of $50,000.
Bank wire transfers: Forex.com processes up to seven different currencies when it comes to bank wire deposits that must then be converted to USD. There is no minimum or maximum deposit limits for bank transfers. It may take up to two business days for the transfer to reflect in your trader account and the broker does not impose processing fees in addition to those charged by your bank.
Bank Wire withdrawals have an estimated wait time of 48 hours. There is no withdrawal limit but attract a $25 fee per transaction for amounts above $10,000.
eCheck: Forex.com processes eCheck payments. The minimum deposit is $50 with the maximum set at $10,000. Transaction processing is immediate and free.
eCheck withdrawals have an estimated wait time of 24 hours, don’t attract processing fees and have a withdrawal limit of $25K per transaction.
Personal or business check: The broker will also process both personal and business checks. There are no minimum or maximum deposits and transaction processing is free. Traders might, however, wait for up to 10 business days after the day of receiving the check for the cash to reflect in their accounts.
The broker also allows for personal or business check withdrawals with a wait time of 48 hours. These are free and there are no maximum withdrawal limits.
Best Offers
Forex.com isn’t running any promotions or bonus offers currently, safe for the cash rebate program available to its Active Trader Program subscribers.
Regulation and deposit protection
Forex.com is the brand name of GAIN Capital Group LLC that’s headquartered in Bedminster, NJ. The broker is registered with and regulated by such financial regulatory agencies as Futures Market commission (FMC), the National Futures Association (NFA), the Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED), and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
When it comes to deposit protection, there is no evidence of Forex.com insuring customer deposits with the FDIC. GAIN Capital, however, claims that it maintains a separate account for their customer funds. The broker adds that these funds are then “distributed across a global network of custodian banks and brokers.”
Awards
Forex.com was established in 2001 and has over the years won several awards and global recognition. In Feb 2001, for instance, Forex.com was named the Forbes “Best of the Web” by Forbes.com before being named the “Best Online FX Trading Platform” for the year 2001 by Global Finance later that year. Others include being voted the Best Forex Broker in the USA for 2013 as well as the Best Forex Brokers by FT and Investors Chronicle magazine readers the same year.
