ECN Forex Brokers

ECN, also known as Electronic Communication Network is a trading tool that connects traders to different liquidity providers such as brokerages, banks, or other traders. Using ECN, individual traders can gain access to financial markets with any type of trading accounts regardless of the balance size. The main reason why ECN brokers are popular is that they collect prices from several providers in order to offer you the best possible bid/spreads available on the market. Settling for one ECN Forex broker can be a hard task due to the unregulated nature of the Forex market. This is different from the stock and futures exchanges. The most popular forex ECN brokers have created a wide range of ECN trading account options and lower commissions for their clients. Electronic Communications Networks (ECN) presents an edge compared to Dealing Desks, who more than not, transact against some of their clients which is a bad example of conflict of interest.

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List of the Best ECN Forex Brokers

It might not be an easy task to choose your favorite trading space where it is possible to explore ECN Forex Brokers. There are a lot of ECN forex trading platforms available on the internet – below, you can see the list of Forex brokers that offer high-quality services along with secure and reliable transactions.

XM Group

XM Forex Review

Minimum deposit

5$

Regulation

CySEC, FCA, ASIC

Bonus

30$, 50%+20%

Maximum leverage

30:1

Year founded

2009

Trading platform

MT4, MT5, WebTrader

AvaTrade

Review of AvaTrade – Broker with over 15 years of experience

Minimum deposit

$100

Regulation

CySEC, CBI, FSA, FFAJ, BVI FSC, FSCA, FSRA

Bonus

Maximum leverage

1:400

Year founded

2006

Trading platform

MT4, MT5, WebTrader, AvaTradeGO

SAXO Bank

SAXO Bank Forex Review

Minimum deposit

USD 5,000

Regulation

FINMA, FCA, ASIC, FSA, MAS, AFM

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

1:30

Year founded

1992

Trading platform

SaxoTraderGo, SaxoTraderPro

HotForex

HotForex Review – Trade 1,000+ of Symbols with this Broker

Minimum deposit

$5

Regulation

SVGFSA, FCA, DFSA, FSCA, FSA

Bonus

From 30% to 100%

Maximum leverage

1:1000

Year founded

2010

Trading platform

MT4, MT5

ForexMart

ForexMart Review – High-class trading experience

Minimum deposit

15

Regulation

CySEC

Bonus

30%

Maximum leverage

1:500

Year founded

2015

Trading platform

MT4, WebTrader

CM Trading

CM Trading FX broker review – Is it legit?

Minimum deposit

$250

Regulation

FSCA

Bonus

Maximum leverage

1:200

Year founded

2012

Trading platform

MT4, WebTrader

Plus500

Plus500 Review

Minimum deposit

100$

Regulation

FCA

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

30:1

Year founded

2008

Trading platform

Custom

IQ Option

An in-depth IQ Option Review of fees, opportunities and more

Minimum deposit

$10

Regulation

Risk Warning: YOUR CAPITAL MIGHT BE AT RISK

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

1:1000

Year founded

2013

Trading platform

Proprietary

Exness

Exness Broker Review – Should You Trade With It?

Minimum deposit

10 USD

Regulation

FCA, CySEC, FSA

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

1:Unlimited

Year founded

2008

Trading platform

MT4, MT5, WebTerminal

OspreyFX

OspreyFX review – regulations, features and possibility of OspreyFX scam

Minimum deposit

$10

Regulation

N/A

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

1:500

Year founded

2019

Trading platform

MT4, custom

EagleFX

EagleFX review – Start trading with safe and secure broker

Minimum deposit

$10

Regulation

Bonus

Maximum leverage

1:500

Year founded

Trading platform

MT4

Forex.com

Forex.com Review

Minimum deposit

250$

Regulation

FCA, NFA

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

200:1

Year founded

1999

Trading platform

MT4

easyMarkets

Can You Trust easyMarkets? There Are Things You Need To Know

Minimum deposit

$25

Regulation

ASIC, CySEC, FSA, BVI

Bonus

50%

Maximum leverage

1:400

Year founded

2001

Trading platform

WebTrader, MT4, TradingView

HYCM

Can you trust HYCM Forex broker? What you need to know?

Minimum deposit

100

Regulation

FCA, CySEC, DIFC, CIMA

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

500:1

Year founded

1977

Trading platform

MT4, MT5

FPMarkets

Is FPMarkets reliable broker? Is it licensed to trade?

Minimum deposit

$100 AUD

Regulation

ASIC

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

500:1

Year founded

2005

Trading platform

WebTrader, MT4, MT5, IRESS

Pepperstone

Pepperstone FX Broker – Everything You Need To Know About This Broker?

Minimum deposit

AUD$200

Regulation

ASIC, SCB, CMA, CySEC, FCA, BaFin and DFSA

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

1:400

Year founded

2010

Trading platform

MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView

IMGFX

IMGFX Broker Review – Your Best Trading Experience

Minimum deposit

$50

Regulation

N/A

Bonus

N/A

Maximum leverage

1:500

Year founded

2015

Trading platform

MT4

FXOpen

FXOpen Review – The most experienced broker

Minimum deposit

1 USD

Regulation

ASIC, FCA

Bonus

10 USD

Maximum leverage

1:500

Year founded

2005

Trading platform

MT4, MT5, WebTrader

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

What is an ECN Forex Broker?

Also known as the term ‘No-Dealing Desk’ brokers, they simply act as middlemen passing trades from their clients to the direct source of liquidity or in some cases matching trades with other participants using a broker’s ECN.

ecn forex tradingAn ECN broker is an expert in forex financial matters and utilizes communications networks to give clients access to several financial markets. An ECN broker gathers buying and selling price lists from a wide range of participants and provides his/her clients with better options than they would get from another broker not utilizing ECNs (electronic communications networks).

This breed of brokers deals with online platforms to get a better reach on trading options for their clients and only ask for a commission. That’s what actually makes them attractive as with commission fees they have the ability to offer real value to their clients.

These are some of the characteristics that the board of ECN brokers has – These are also reasons why choosing them might be beneficial for you.

  • They value privacy – Each ECN brokerage firm protects their clients’ identities from transaction to transaction. There is a level of anonymity that makes it impossible to trace ECN forex trading accounts, meaning that while trading, you do not have to worry about money or privacy issues.
  • More chances of trading – You can access more of the Forex market and even make your own trading strategies and approach to have a better overall trading experience.
  • They are not seasonal – the financial climate plays little to no effect on your chances of trading using these kinds of brokers. It is even possible to trade in the most volatile conditions of the market.

A lot of traders would obviously opt for this type of trading structure due to the fact that being the middle man, they do not inherit risk, rather they pass it on from one end to the other. To put it into a few words, ECN FX broker gets a commission whether your trade ends up successful or not, meaning that he/she will never bet against you as there is no reason to take the other side of your trading position.

Additionally, ECN brokers are unable to manipulate market prices simply due to the fact that they use prices from other providers themselves. As we already mentioned, ECN Forex brokers display different prices from official sources – this process is completely transparent and makes it easier to trade immediately, use lower spreads and take advantage of lower commission fees.

All in all, we think it is pretty clear that using ECN Forex comes with a lot of advantages. Considering the fact that ECN brokers use different kinds of liquidity providers, traders are able to get cheaper ECN fx trading conditions in one of the most transparent environments available on the trading market.

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Advantages of using an ECN Forex Broker

ecn fx brokersECN brokerages derive profits by effecting commission rates on trades done on behalf of clients. While the commission presents a cost, this kind of brokerage still tends to offer better value for money overall.

  • If the client makes a lot of profit, so does the broker, they do not have a conflict of interests.
  • Brokers get their commissions regardless of how the trade goes, they don’t have to temper with ECN trades or deprive a client of certain details to trade in their selfish win, it is a win-win situation that removes any chances of traders sabotaging their clients.
  • There is no limit to the kinds of activities an ECN broker will approach his client with, his aim is to make large commissions, and as such a client gets a wider spread of their investments and better returns translate in both parties winning.

Disadvantages of using an ECN FX Broker

ecn fx brokersDue to the concept of commission in agreement, many ECN brokers prefer clients with sizable minimum deposits, pushing away potentially lucrative clients. Clients that do make the cut have the disadvantage of not being able to predict and set stop losses and can lose their investments in the wide spreads made available with the use of the broker’s networks.

 

FAQ on ECN Forex Brokers

How does ECN trading work?

The way ECN works is pretty simple and nothing too complicated. First of all, ECN stands for Electronic Communication Network, and this type of broker provides traders to different financial markets via trading prices. An ECN broker has the ability to provide his/her client with the best possible prices available on the trading market, so the client has the ability to get cheaper trading conditions.

How do you identify an ECN broker?

If you wish to find an ECN Broker, you have to open an account with a small amount of deposit. After that, it might be the best idea to check the spreads that are offered by a particular broker – if they offer variable spreads instead of fixed ones, it is a sign that you are dealing with a real ECN forex broker. Another good way of identifying an ECN broker might be to place a lot of trades – if they get rejected, it might be a sign that you are not dealing with an ECN broker.

Which is better ECN or STP?

To be honest, it all comes down to your interests and requirements. If you decide to go for STP, you need to consider the fact that while trading with STP is considered quick and easy, it might also result in a conflict of interests as brokers might trade against their clients. On the other hand, ECN brokers do not have the reason to trade against you as they claim commission fees whether your trade is successful or not.