Thadeus Geodfrey and finance are inseparable. He is a versatile expert with a strong cryptocurrency and market analysis background. Thadeus provides a unique blend of technical and strategic insights as a seasoned financial writer. His overarching probe and attention to detail inspire the InvestingGuide community. He guides you through the continuously evolving market landscape to build solid investments or make successful trades.
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As a seasoned trader, I have worked with just about every third-party trading platform available in the UK. One of the solutions I’ve grown attached to for very good reasons is MetaTrader 5. I love MT5 because it offers both power and flexibility. While trading with it, I always get the opportunity to leverage robust tools, enhanced algorithmic trading capabilities, a broad range of financial instruments, and much more.
That said, to take your trading to the next level with MT5, you need a reputable and trustworthy MT5 broker. I researched, tested, and rated the most popular brokers for MetaTrader 5. I’ve listed and reviewed the top five performers in this guide. I used a strict set of criteria to pick them, including regulatory status, current reputation, and ease of use.
MetaTrader 5 Brokers List
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1
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Risk Warning86% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading on margin with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how margin trading works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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2
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Risk Warning74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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3
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Risk Warning76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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4
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Risk Warning
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with OANDA TMS Brokers S.A. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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5
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Risk Warning
Derivative products are highly leveraged, carry a high level of risk and may not be appropriate for all investors.
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In This Guide
Comparison Table
Let’s start with a bird’s-eye view before diving into the full reviews of the best MetaTrader 5 brokers. Over the years, I have learnt that picking a fitting broker becomes easier when you have access to a list of viable options and their key features laid out side-by-side. That enables you to compare the service providers at your disposal and identify potential choices based on what matters the most.
My overview of the best providers is essentially a comparison table. I’ve focused on 9 crucial aspects, from regulation to money insurance. Everything I have highlighted matters a lot. For instance, regulatory status ensures you pick a service provider that follows strict rules set by authorities like the FCA. On the other hand, money insurance helps you identify brokers guaranteed to refund all or part of your money in case of insolvency.
| Best MT5 Broker | License & Regulation | Minimum Deposit | Commission and Spreads | Support Service | Software | Payment Method | Demo Account | Money Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | FCA, ASIC, DFSA, CySEC, SCB, BaFin | £0 | From 0.0 pips | 24/7 | TradingView, MT4, MT5, cTrader, Pepperstone Trading Platform, Social trading | Visa, Mastercard, Bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal | Yes | Yes |
| FxPro | FCA, ASIC, FSCA, SCB | £100 | From 0.0 pips | 24/5 | FxPro Mobile App, MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro WebTrader | Credit/debit cards, Bank wire transfers, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal | Yes | Yes |
| Forex.com | FCA, CFTC, CIRO, CySEC, FSA, ASIC | £100 | From 0.0 pips | 24/5 | WebTrader, Mobile App, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView | Credit/ debit cards, PayPal, Wire transfer | Yes | Yes |
| OANDA | FCA, CIRO, CFTC, MAS, ASIC | £0 | From 0.0 pips | 24/5 | OANDA Mobile, OANDA Web, MT4, MT5, TradingView | Credit/debit cards, BPay, Online banking, Bank wire transfer | Yes | Yes |
| FP Markets | FSCA, ASIC, CySEC | £100 | From 0.0 pips | 24/7 | MT4, MT5, TradingView, cTrader, WebTrader, Mobile App, Copy Trading | Credit/debit cards, Neteller, Skrill, Bank transfer, Google/Apple Pay | Yes | No |
Mini Reviews
The comparison table has given you a snapshot of what the brokers I’ve recommended here offer. But it has only highlighted part of the story – there’s much more you have to be familiar with before signing up with any of the service providers on my MetaTrader 5 brokers list. I’ve covered the essentials in the mini-reviews below. Everything I’ll walk you through is based on what I discovered while researching, testing, and using each MT5 broker.
1. Pepperstone – Best MT5 Broker for Novices
If you are a novice, the best MT5 broker to sign up with is Pepperstone. I recommend it because its beginner-friendly interface is guaranteed to make your journey smoother, especially when taking your first steps. Navigation menus are logically placed on the official site, making it easier for users to find essential tools, from available platforms such as MT5 and cTrader to markets and learning resources.
Speaking of learning resources, plenty are offered by Pepperstone. I discovered countless guides that cover crucial topics such as how CFD trading works, the definition of volatility, and how to avoid spillage. I also came across numerous articles tailored to walk novices through the basics of spread betting, technical analysis, day trading, and more.
Pepperstone is also ideal for newbies, as it offers demo trading. After learning the basics, please open a Pepperstone demo account. With it, you can practise what you’ve learnt and improve your trading skills for up to 60 days. A demo account is free, so you don’t have to worry about fees. Plus, it comes with up to £50,000 in virtual funds that enable you to practise without risking hefty financial losses.
Pepperstone
✔24/7 customer support
✔No inactivity fees
Pros & Cons
Fees
Trading Assets
Pros
- Account setup takes a couple of minutes
- Clean, beginner-friendly user interface
- No minimum deposit requirement
- Plenty of resources for learners, including guides and demo mode
- Low spreads from 0.0 pips
- No inactivity fee for dormant accounts
Cons
- Need more educational content
- Limited product range compared to its peers
After evaluating Pepperstone, we opened a trading account for conducting extensive tests. The process was quick and easy.
But what impressed us most was the Pepperstone minimum deposit requirement. This platform has no minimum deposit, which makes it ideal for low-budget and high-budget traders. If you are a beginner, joining this broker is advisable since you can start with a low amount and increase your stakes with time. To top it off, Pepperstone supports free deposits and withdrawals. This broker allows you to use diverse payment methods for free, from Visa debit and credit cards to PayPal and domestic bank transfers.
When it comes to spreads and commissions, Pepperstone is very cost-friendly. You can open a Razor account with this broker and enjoy 20 commission-free trades. Pepperstone’s Standard accounts also have zero commissions. On the other hand, spreads start from as low as 0.0 pips for forex pairs like EUR/USD and 0.5 for commodities like XAUUSD.
Finally, unlike most of its peers, Pepperstone charges zero inactivity fees. However, any positions you hold overnight with this platform are subject to swap rates. Visit Pepperstone’s pricing page for a detailed account of how this broker calculated swap rates for different financial instruments.
2. FxPro – Best MT5 Broker for PAMM Trading
Suppose you’re a pro trader with vast experience and a proven track record. You can sign up with FxPro, open a PAMM account, and use your skills to earn handsome returns. A PAMM account will give you the opportunity to manage a pool of funds from different investors. The trades you make from your account will automatically replicate in the linked sub-accounts.
Each sub-account will come with its predefined allocation settings. The same will determine the profits or losses incurred by the investors in your pool. Simply put, each investor will either rake in a certain amount of profits or lose a specific percentage of their capital, depending on whether you place winning or losing trades.
To thank you for your effort as a PAMM account manager, FxPro rewards you with a portion of the total spread charges. The other noteworthy perk is that while leveraging your skills with a PAMM account, you can trade the markets with a personal account. To be a PAMM account manager, you must meet FxPro’s eligibility requirements. For starters, you must have proof of 6 months of successful live trading experience. You’ll also be required to demonstrate financial stability with a minimum portfolio of £50,000.
FxPro
✔User-friendly platform
✔Low minimum deposit requirement for UK clients
Pros & Cons
Fees
Trading Assets
Pros
- Seasoned traders can profit from PAMM account management
- Reasonable eligibility requirements for PAMM managers
- Sharp spreads from 0.0 pips on major FX pairs
- Excellent support with knowledgeable agents
- Multiple platforms besides MT5, including MT4 and cTrader
Cons
- Higher inactivity fees than its peers
- Only offers a limited number of CFDs and FX pairs
From our broker analysis and comparisons, we find FxPro to be one of the most affordable brokers for Ul clients. For starters, this broker has a free account opening procedure that takes minutes to complete. Moreover, it has a £1000 minimum deposit requirement, though you can deposit as little as £100. And when it comes to transaction costs, FxPro doesn’t impose any. We believe this makes it suitable for newbies who are sceptical about spending a lot of money and low-budget traders.
When it comes to trading charges, FxPro imposes low fees compared to other brokerage firms. For instance, forex trading attracts low fees, starting from 0.0 pips on major currency pairs. However, expect to incur additional costs for positions left overnight. There is also an inactivity fee of £10 monthly should your account remain dormant for over six months.
3. Forex.com – Best MT5 Broker for Forex Trading
Based on my observation, the Forex.com broker chose its brand name as a declaration of its dedication to serving forex traders. While many trading platforms offer a handful of currency pairs, sometimes less than 40, Forex.com has 80+. I discovered multiple categories of assets while evaluating this broker, including majors, minors, and exotics.
You can trade various major currency pairs on Forex.com, from GBP/USD and EUR/USD to AUD/USD and USD/JPY. You’ll also have access to many minors, including EUR/GBP, GBP/AUD, and EUR/NZD. And whenever you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can trade exotic FX pairs such as EUR/TRY, USD/TRY, and GBP/PLN.
Forex.com’s other strength is its pricing offers. For starters, this broker offers low spreads from 0.0 pips on Raw. While trading with this platform, you can also enjoy what’s offered to Standard users, including spreads starting from 0.4 points, which is still reasonably low compared to what’s offered by other service providers. You’ll also have access to 6,500 assets, so diversifying your portfolio will be easy.
Forex.com
✔Intuitive design platform
✔Low trading fees
Pros & Cons
Fees
Trading Assets
Pros
- Forex enthusiasts can trade 80+ major, minor, and exotic pairs
- Traders can diversify with 6,500 instruments, including CFDs on shares, indices, etc.
- Users can exploit TradingView’s advanced charting capabilities
- Supports trading automation with Capitalise.ai
- Free academy with a wide variety of learning materials
Cons
- £15 monthly inactivity fee after 12 months of no trading activity
- Share CFDs make up over 90% of all assets
Forex.com UK has a transparent fee structure you will find on its official website. There are no hidden costs based on our analysis. This makes us conclude that it enables users to budget accordingly without worrying about additional charges.
Note that signing up for a trading account at this broker’s site is free. Forex.com minimum deposit requirement is £100, which we believe is among the lowest in the industry. And the best part is that Forex.com does not impose deposit and withdrawal charges.
When it comes to trading at Forex.com, expect to incur low spreads, starting from 0.8 pips on major currency pairs. Commission also applies to share trading, starting from 8 basis points. The best part is that Forex.com features an Interest Payment Scheme. This allows users to earn interest on their tradable account funds. However, this scheme comes with specific requirements that you must meet to qualify.
Another fee to expect with Forex.com is overnight charges for positions left overnight. You will also incur inactivity fees of £15 monthly should your trading account remain dormant for over 12 months.
4. OANDA – Best MT5 Broker for Multi-Platform Access
If access to multiple platforms besides MT5 is a top priority, OANDA will do you a world of good. Besides MT5, this trading site has MT4, one of the most user-friendly platforms today, and TradingView, which is known for its supercharged charting tools. Additionally, this broker offers a powerful proprietary platform for web traders and native mobile apps for trading on the go.
While trading with the platforms on the OANDA official site, you’ll have uncapped access to a wide variety of financial instruments. The options that caught my eye include 1,500+ share CFDs from the UK, the US, and other regions. While trading them, you can increase your odds of reaping handsomely by adding assets such as commodities CFDs, index CFDs, and forex CFDs to your portfolio.
OANDA has 2 types of accounts for CFD traders: standard and professional. Standard is for average retail traders and comes with a myriad of exciting features, such as sophisticated market analysis tools and competitive spreads from 0 pips. The Professional account option is for experienced traders who meet OANDA’s eligibility requirements, including having at least a £500,000 portfolio.
OANDA
✔No minimum deposit requirement
✔Excellent customer support service
Pros & Cons
Fees
Trading Assets
Pros
- No minimum deposit requirement
- Multiple platforms available, including MT5/4 and TradingView
- Ideal for both standard and professional traders
- Quick, professional support
- Offers CFD trading and spread betting
Cons
- Accounts that have been inactive for 12+ months incur a £10 monthly fee
- Doesn’t support social and copy trading
Opening an OANDA trading account is free, and you only need your personal details to set it up. From our experience, there is no minimum deposit requirement. We believe this attracts even low-budget traders as they can easily dive into financial market investment with any amount they can afford.
We also noticed that the OANDA broker doesn’t charge fees for deposits. This is whether you transact using credit/debit cards, e-wallets, or bank transfers. Plus, users can make one free withdrawal every month using their credit/debit cards. Subsequent withdrawals attract a fee, which varies depending on the currency you are transacting with. Bank transfers and e-wallet withdrawals also attract a fee, which from our analysis, is higher than credit/debit card withdrawals.
When it comes to inactivity fees, OANDA charges £10 monthly should your account remain dormant for over 12 months. Financing charges also apply for positions left overnight. Overall, we can confidently state that OANDA has no hidden charges. It allows users to easily plan and budget for their activities without worrying about future surprises.
5. FP Markets – Best MT5 Broker for CFD Trading
To succeed at CFD trading, you need access to a wide variety of financial products, excellent speed, and outstanding support. FP Markets as I realised while assessing the best MetaTrader 5 brokers in the UK shines in all these areas. For starters, this service provider has the biggest collection of CFD instruments I’ve ever seen.
FP Markets’ users get the opportunity to trade 10,000+ CFD assets. This broker offers diverse categories of CFDs, from forex, shares, and metals to indices, commodities, and digital currencies. Retail traders can leverage most of the available financial products except crypto CFDs, which can only be traded by qualified professionals, in accordance with FCA mandates.
Speedy execution is another factor that has encouraged me to recommend FP Markets to CFD traders. This broker uses Equinix servers tailored to facilitate low-latency trade execution. Each of my orders was executed in less than a second, an incredible feat that helped me get the most out of every available trading opportunity. I also urge CFD enthusiasts to trade with FP Markets because this broker offers excellent support 24/7 via phone, email, and live chat.
FP Markets
✔10,000+ tradeable financial instruments
✔Free deposits and withdrawals
Pros & Cons
Fees
Trading Assets
Pros
- Has 10,000 CFDs on shares, forex, commodities, etc.
- MT5, MT4, TradingView, and cTrader are available
- Ultra-fast order execution and low latency
- Tight spreads from 0 pips on major currency pairs
- Top-quality multi-channel support available 24/7
- No inactivity fee
Cons
- Doesn’t support spread betting
- Not a member of the FSCS investor protection scheme
Before going any further, note that the FP Markets minimum deposit is £100. You can’t fund your account with anything less than the mandated amount. Also, as a trader, expect to cover stipulated FP Markets fees and commissions. Let’s expound on that.
FP Markets has different trading and non-trading fees. However, the costs you will likely incur depend on where you are from. Take London as an example. If you’re from this city, you’ll incur a 0.10% commission per side while trading equity CFDs. You’ll also have to pay a £60 monthly fee if you use Iress Trader or ViewPoint.
But here’s the good news. You won’t incur additional costs while depositing or withdrawing money from your FP Markets trading account. Moreover, unlike many other brokers, this service provider doesn’t have inactivity fees for dormant accounts.
Please visit FP Market’s official site for a comprehensive overview of all fees and commissions.
What Should You Know Before Starting?
Before you start trading with one of the recommended MT5 forex brokers, there are several aspects you have to understand. First and foremost, trading is risky – 70% of traders lose money. In fact, 80% of newbies quit within their first two years due to this issue. Reduce your odds of losing your capital by educating yourself before trading, using proper risk management, and working with a plausible strategy.
Other key points to note before diving include:
The broker you choose will determine your entire experience
Ignorance will lead to costly mistakes
Starting with a demo account is highly advisable
Becoming successful at trading takes time
An MT5 broker isn’t just a middleman. This service provider is supposed to give you access to everything you need to trade seamlessly and hit your goals. If you pick the wrong broker, the odds are that countless issues, including poor execution, unscrupulous practices, and poor support, will undermine your experience and efforts.
Look for a broker that is guaranteed to impact your trading journey positively. The right service provider should have your favourite platforms, competitive costs, and world-class support. Most importantly, it should be regulated by multiple respected authorities and have a good reputation backed by superb online ratings and reviews.
While interacting with the markets over the years, I’ve learnt that ignorance often leads to costly mistakes, especially where trading platforms are concerned. The platforms you use, including MT5, connect you to the markets. They allow you to take every critical action, from placing orders to managing risk and closing trades.
If you use a tool like MT5 without sufficient understanding, you will make numerous mistakes that will cost you. For instance, you might enter the wrong lot size and risk more than you should or fail to activate stop loss and incur enormous losses. Avoid such complications by learning all you can about each platform beforehand.
A demo account is like a trading sandbox, where you can experiment, make mistakes, and learn without losing any capital. All of the brokers I’ve recommended support demo trading and offer accounts loaded with virtual money. Use them to level up, especially if you’re a novice.
Treat your virtual funds like real money while practising with a demo account. Avoid trading recklessly just because it’s “fake cash”, because you won’t improve with this attitude. Assume this is your hard-earned capital and do what you’d do if you were trading live, including having strict goals and sticking to a specific strategy.
If you’ve joined the trading scene because you heard of people who’ve made it big and want to make a fortune overnight, I have terrible news for you. Online trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and your odds of hitting a big payout within a couple of days are extremely low. That said, many have made a fortune from this venture, and so can you. How do you get there?
Be patient, learn consistently, and trade with discipline. You will incur more than a few losses, but don’t let them stop you. Just analyse what went wrong each time and learn from any mistakes you might have made. I also recommend journaling your progress and reviewing your performance regularly.
What is the Best Account Type for MT5?
- Standard account: Most brokers offer this option to retail traders. I consider it ideal for beginners who can be overwhelmed by the complexities of dealing with both spreads and commissions. In standard accounts, all charges are built into the spread.
- Raw spread account: If you want the tightest spreads, use a raw spread account. On most platforms, this account option comes with super-low spreads starting from 0.0 pips. But they have separate trading commissions.
- Islamic account: This is tailored for Islamic traders who must obey Sharia law. It’s also known as a swap-free account since it has zero swap fees. Note that many brokers require people who want to open an Islamic trading account to provide sufficient proof of religion.
- Professional account: Professional accounts are for seasoned traders who meet the requirements specified by brokers. The eligibility criteria often include trading experience, trading volume, and portfolio size. Professional accounts usually come with unique perks such as high leverage up to 1:500 and premier dedicated support.
Final Thoughts
Pick the best broker for MetaTrader 5 that meets your needs and preferences, and start building a flourishing trading career today. Remember to fulfil your obligations as a trader in the UK. That includes paying your taxes diligently. You might be required to pay income tax, capital gains tax, or stamp duty depending on what you do. Please read and understand the government’s tax mandates before you start interacting with the financial markets.
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