Over the past few years, an unprecedented amount of money has flown into the equity and forex markets from retail traders, and an increasing number of people are now beginning to day trade.

While this form of trading was originally used by hedge funds and institutional investors, now several platforms are providing offshore trading accounts for retail traders too. In this guide, we review the different offshore trading platforms available for you.

Best Offshore Trading Platforms 2021 List

While there are several different offshore trading platforms that you can choose from for your trading needs, a list of the top 5 such platforms that you should consider has been given below.

• eToro – The Overall Best Trading Platform
• Capital.com – The Best Low Spread Offshore Trading Platform for Forex Traders
• Libertex – The Best Overall Offshore Trading Platform
• Skilling – The Best Offshore Trading Platform for the Lowest Fees
• AvaTrade – The Best Offshore Trading Platform for High Leverage

Best Offshore Trading Platforms Reviewed

A detailed review of the top 5 trading platforms that you should consider for all your offshore trading needs is below. This includes a discussion on the different asset classes, their fees, and the other factors that you must look into before deciding on an offshore trading platform or your needs.

1. eToro – The Overall Best Trading Platform

If you’re looking for a user-friendly and convenient platform to begin trading, then eToro is the perfect choice for you. It is the largest and most popular social trading network in the world and allows you to trade over 2400 assets, which includes 45+ currency pairs, stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, and commodities. An additional advantage that eToro has is that it offers CFD trades, which means that you do not have to pay any fees at all. For fast traders, who open and close positions very regularly, this no-fee trading option is definitely one of the primary attractions that eToro offers.

They also allow you to trade on leverage on a variety of assets. For example, they offer x30 leverage for most major currency pairs, x20 for minor currencies, and x15 for most major commodities. While trading through eToro, you can use their web portal or download their mobile app, allowing you to monitor your trading positions on the move. Setting up an account on eToro is a quick and easy process, and you not only get access to a social trading network with over 17 million members but also to the different CopyPortfolios. This will allow you to copy the trades of more successful and experienced traders, including the most successful fast traders.

eToro is also highly regulated and insured by several agencies worldwide, making it highly trustworthy to trade financial assets. To get started, you need to set up an account and add a minimum deposit of $200, after which you can then begin trading right away.

eToro fees

Pros

Cons

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

2. Capital.com – The Best Low Spread Offshore Trading Platform for Forex Traders

Another very popular trading platform among offshore traders, especially those who trade forex pairs, is Capital.com. It provides one of the largest varieties in currency pairs, with over 138 FX pairs available to trade including some of the most exotic ones. The platform also allows you to trade with leverage of up to 100x. It offers extremely tight spreads, such as 1.3 pips for GBP/USD and 0.8 pips for the EUR/USD pairs.

When trading through capital.com, you have two options. You can either use their own trading platform, which offers a wide range of tools and features. The platform also utilises artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to offer forex trading signals and advice based on your patterns. The other option is to use the MT4 trading platform in conjunction with capital.com’s brokerage service. MT4 is more suitable for experienced traders who wish to analyse forex pairs using a variety of charting and statistical tools. MT4 also supports several trading bots and algorithmic strategies.

Capital.com is also highly regulated by a variety of global regulatory agencies, such as the FCA in the UK. They have a very low minimum deposit requirement, just 20 EUR/GBP/USD depending on what country you’re located in.

Capital.com fees

Pros

Cons

75.26% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

3. Libertex – The Best Overall Offshore Trading Platform

Libertex is easily among the oldest and most trusted offshore trading platforms that support a variety of asset classes including stocks, commodities, and currencies. It is best known for being the best broker to trade with through the MT4 and MT5 platforms, therefore its forex trading is regarded very highly. It allows you to trade over 51 currency pairs with leverage as high as 30x.

It is the ideal offshore trading platform because it offers 0 spreads, which means you can buy and sell the asset instantly at the same price. On every trade you make, you only have to pay a commission of 0.006%, making it the ideal platform for fast traders.

If you are a professional trader and meet their requirements for being considered experienced, then Libertex will allow you to trade with leverages as high as 1000x on some currency pairs, easily the highest in the industry. Like with Capital.com, even though Libertex is compatible with MT4 and MT5, you can also use their own trading platform which has a wide range of tools including market sentiment analysis, a built-in news feed, and different customizable signals services.

Libertex fees

Pros

Cons

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% 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.

4. Skilling – The Best Offshore Trading Platform for the Lowest Fees

While Skilling is a relatively new platform, it has quickly become very popular because of the high leverage that it offers for all traders. It offers forex and CFD products, with leverage as high as 500x for major and 200x for minor currency pairs, which is much higher than most other high leverage forex brokers. In addition to allowing traders to trade forex pairs, it also has commodities (with 100x leverage), gold (with 200x leverage). While it also provides access to stocks and cryptocurrencies, the leverage on these is much lower, at 10x and 5x respectively.

The platform is regulated by the CySEC, and it does not charge any fees or commissions on trades. They have very tight spreads, and also offers copy trading for those who are looking to capitalise on the experience of more expert fast traders.

Skilling fees

Pros

Cons

Your capital is at risk when trading CFDs with this provider.

5. AvaTrade – The Best Offshore Trading Platform for High Leverage

If you’re an experienced trader who is looking for advanced trading tools, high leverage trading, and access to a variety of financial assets, then Avatrade is the right choice for you. Not only does Avatrade support MT4 and MT5 trading platforms, but it is also among the best forex offshore trading brokers. It supports a variety of automated trading tools such as DupliTrade, AvaSocial, and ZuluTrade.

However, perhaps the biggest USP of Avatrade is that it offers extremely high leverages for most trades. For example, on most currency pairs, it offers a leverage of 400x, making it extremely popular for experienced traders who are comfortable with the risk. At the same time, Avatrade also has very tight spreads (0.9 pips for the EUR/USD pair and 1.6 pips for the GBP/USD pair) which are fixed throughout the day. It offers the opportunity to trade CFDs, thus allowing to trade on vanilla options with low fees on high leverage.

AvaTrade fees

Pros

Cons

71% of retail CFD accounts lose money with this provider.

Offshore Trading Platforms – Fee Comparison

A tabular comparison of the different fees charged for forex pairs by top offshore trading platforms has been discussed below.

Offshore Trading Apps Assets & Software Comparison

Best Offshore Trading App

Your choice of the best platform that suits your trading needs and requirements will differ largely on the basis of your trading needs and level of experience. However, the overall best offshore trading platform is Libertex. Not only does it offer a wide range of assets that you can trade through, including stocks, commodities, and currencies, it is also incorporated and regulated in Cyprus, making it a trustworthy offshore trading brokerage provider for day traders. They provide low spreads, high leverage, and are compatible with both the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. In addition to this, they also have very low minimum deposits and are generally known for their zero spread trading.

How to Choose the Best Offshore Trading Platform for You

There are several things that you should keep in mind while trying to select the right offshore trading platform for your needs. Your choice of broker has a direct and proportionate effect on how successful your trading strategy will be, and therefore it is important for you to look at a variety of factors before deciding on a particular broker. A list of the various factors that deserve some consideration has been discussed below.

Regulation and Safety

Even for a normal trading account, your choice of broker is a key factor. This becomes even more important for an offshore account since the safety and security of your money is of the utmost importance. It is important for you to select a broker that is regulated for a variety of reasons. The first and primary reason is that regulated brokers are inspected and monitored to ensure that they do not manipulate or exploit customers. This is particularly important when it comes to market-making brokers since they have a conflict of interest between their trading division and brokerage division.

Therefore, if you are trading with an unregulated broker that makes markets, they might have a tendency to skew prices in the wrong direction in case they are facing significant losses. This will adversely affect you as a trader on the other side of the trade, and reduce your profitability. However, this risk does not present if you are dealing with a regulated broker, since they cannot manipulate prices based on their whims and fancies.

Another advantage of using a regulated broker is that they are safer and keep your capital secure. There have been numerous instances of brokers absconding with the capital that was invested with them and the like, resulting in huge losses to the investors. This is not a possibility with regulated brokers, since they are required to have insurance for the funds that they hold on their platform. This ensures that the funds you deposit with them are safe and can be withdrawn at any given point in time.

In order to make sure that the broker you are investing through is safe and regulated, you should only consider brokers that are regulated by Tier-1 agencies. There are several such agencies that belong to different countries in the world, and they each apply to a different jurisdiction and/or asset class. For example, if you are trading in the UK, then the FCA is the number 1 regulatory agency that you should be on the lookout for. Commodity trading in the US is regulated by the CFTC, whereas brokers that operate in Cyprus are regulated by the CySEC.

Assets

The next factor to consider before trading through an offshore trading platform is the variety of assets that it offers. Even if you are only going to be trading one or two asset classes, it is always advisable for you to trade on an offshore trading brokerage platform that provides variety in terms of asset classes. This will be useful later if you choose to expand your trading horizons and begin offshore day trading other assets too.

In addition to this, platforms that offer access to more than one asset class also usually have more features than other platforms since they have to cater to a variety of traders. Usually, multi-asset offshore trading platforms allow you to trade stocks, currencies, commodities, indices, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.

Fees

The fees you pay are also an important consideration that will affect your bottom line. They also affect the kind of strategies that you can employ on a particular platform. For example, an offshore trading platform that charges high commissions on each trade that you make implies that you will not be able to scalp trade through it, because your small profit margins will be wiped out by the commissions, resulting in negligible profits or even losses.

The fees charged by a platform can be divided into two types: trading fees and non-trading fees. Trading fees refer to the fees that a trader incurs whenever they make a trade, this could be in the form of a commission or a spread. On the other hand, non-trading fees are fees that are not directly related to the trading activity on the account. For example, this could include inactivity fees, deposit and withdrawal fees, as well as account management charges.

Before you begin trading through an offshore platform, it is important for you to be aware of the different fees that the platform charges. Usually, these fees differ across asset classes and are different for each country and jurisdiction, so you should look at the ones applicable to your trading needs. For the same functionality, you should always prefer a platform that charges lower fees over one that has high fees.

73.81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Trading Commission

A commission is a flat fee that you pay for each trade order that you place. One of the advantages of commissions is that they are known in advance, therefore you can easily accommodate commissions and account for them when backtesting a strategy or preparing a plan for trading. Commissions are usually volume-based, and the greater your trading volume, the lower the commissions that you will have to pay. At the same time, commissions can sometimes be higher than spreads.

Different brokers offer spreads and commissions, and some brokers even offer a combination of both. While both spreads and commissions have their own advantages and disadvantages, commissions are usually preferred by traders because they are fixed, accountable, and quite low if a certain trading volume is exceeded. When selecting a broker that charges commissions, you should always check if this broker offers rebates or discounts. Since offshore trading strategies usually involve large volumes, it will be easy for you to meet the threshold and be eligible for rebates, if any.

Spreads

Spreads are the other type of trading fee that a platform can charge and usually refer to the difference between the buy and sell prices of an asset. Spreads charged by platforms can either be fixed or variable. Fixed spreads stay constant throughout the trading day, whereas variable spreads vary during the trading day based on volatility and liquidity in the market. It is important for you to know what the spread for your broker is, and whether it is fixed or variable. Different brokers have largely different spreads depending on the instruments you wish to trade, and spreads can vary even among one particular asset class.

Other Trading Platform Fees

Other platform fees are non-trading fees, and they can be divided into three types of fees. The first is the management fee for the account, which is an annual charge that you pay for using the platform. The next is the fees for depositing and withdrawing fees to your account. This could be either a blanket fee for deposits and withdrawals, a fee for either deposit or withdrawals, or a fee that is only applicable on particular forms of depositing and withdrawing funds.

The third type of fee is the inactivity fee, which only comes into play when you do not use your account, makes trades, or add funds to your account for more than a particular period of time. If this happens, you will be charged a regular inactivity fee.

Before selecting a broker, it is important for you to know the different non-trading fees since they also affect your profitability.

Trading Tools & Features

Aside from the characteristics and criteria mentioned above, there are several other factors that you have to keep in mind while selecting an offshore broker. These are the features and tools that the platform offers. A larger variety of tools is always better than a smaller one if you do not end up using all of them. The major features that you should look for in an ideal offshore trading platform have been discussed below.

Fractional Ownership and Low Minimums

The primary feature that you need to look at is the possibility of fractional ownership. This allows you to purchase a fraction of a share, such as 0.01 of a share or even less. This is particularly useful if you do not wish to invest a large amount of capital into your trading account. For example, some shares can cost as much as 2000 GBP, and the only way in which you can buy them with a small capital investment is through the use of fractional ownership options. There are several platforms these days that offer this functionality, and this is definitely something you should be on the lookout for.

A corollary of having fractional ownership of shares on a platform is having low minimum deposit requirements since this allows you to set up an account with low capital investments. Therefore, you should also look at platforms that have low capital requirements, such as XTB (minimum deposit of 1 GBP) or Capital.com (minimum deposit of 20 GBP).

Automated Trading

The next factor to keep in mind while trading is to look at the automated trading facilities that they offer. While some brokers allow you to set up and execute automated trading strategies through their own platform, the most common way to do this is through the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. There are several types of automated trading strategies that you could employ. For example, you could choose to trade through bots, trading signals, or copy trade with another trader. Either way, it is important for you to find and use a broker that supports automated trading strategies.

Orders

There are several types of orders that platforms allow you to place. These include market orders, limit orders, stop-limit orders, and stop-loss orders. In addition to this, there are numerous timeframes that you could set on your orders, such as:

• Good-till-canceled (GTC)
• Day Order
• One week
• One month
• End of week
• End of month
• End of Year
• Good-till-date (GTD)
• Immediate or cancel (IOC)

It is important for the offshore broker you choose to allow you to place such orders so that you can trade with maximum efficiency.

Research and Analysis

Research and analysis tools are highly important, particularly for offshore trading platforms. There are two types of research and analysis tools that a platform might offer: technical and fundamental. Technical tools include charting and analysis methods and can be either general or asset-specific. Fundamental tools include economic calendars, financial reports, analyst forecasts, and other similar forms of data.

Traders usually perform only one of the two forms of analysis, however, it is important to be aware of both since they have an impact on prices and can therefore affect the overall profitability of your strategies. Having a broker that incorporates both fundamental and technical analysis can mean that this job is made easier.

Demo Account

Some platforms require getting used to because they are designed and structured in a unique way. A demo account helps with this since it enables you to understand how the navigation and order execution on the platform works. At the same time, having a demo account on a platform means that you can easily test out your strategies in real market conditions, and build up your knowledge and experience without risking real capital. This is a very useful tool, and it is always better to use a broker that allows you to open a demo account with them.

Mobile App

A mobile app is very useful since it allows you to monitor your positions and trade on the move, even when you are not near a laptop or a computer. At the same time, most mobile apps also have functionalities that enable you to set price alerts and push notifications for a variety of situations, enabling you to stay informed on the move.

Payment Methods

The variety of methods that you can use in order to withdraw and deposit funds to your trading account is also a key factor to consider. While most brokers allow you to deposit funds through bank transfer and credit/debit cards, it is better to use brokers that allow other forms of deposit as well, including electronic wallets such as PayPal, Skrill, and others. This will enable you to easily add and withdraw funds from your account.

Customer Service

The last factor that you must consider is the customer service offering provided by the platform. Those platforms that provide live chat options are always highly preferred since this means that your queries can be resolved quickly and easily as and when they arise. At the same time, you should also look for platforms whose customer service teams are available 24/5 so that you can call or email them during this time and receive answers to your questions.

How to Get Started with an Offshore Trading Platform – Libertex

The process of getting started with an offshore trading platform such as Libertex is quite simple and straightforward and involves 5 steps that have been discussed below in detail.

1. Open a Trading Account

73.81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

The first step is to open a Libertex account. This can be done by simply heading over to their website and clicking on the “Join Now” button. You will be asked to fill up a form with your contact details, email ID, and your full name. You will also have to set up your login credentials. Alternatively, you can use your Facebook account to log in to Libertex.

2. Confirm Identity

Once you have created an account, the next step is to then verify your identity. Since Libertex is a highly regulated broker, they require you to submit proof of ID and address proof before your account is verified. For ID proof, you can submit any government-issued ID such as a driving license or your passport. For address proof, you could either submit a utility bill or your bank statement.

Once you have uploaded the requisite documents, the Libertex verification process is pretty quick. As soon as your account has been verified, you will be able to move on to the next step.

3. Deposit Funds

The next step is to deposit funds into your account. Libertex supports a wide range of payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, SEPA/International bank wire transfers, Skrill, Neteller, and more. There are no deposit fees and your funds are credited to your account instantly except for wire transfers that take between 3-5 days.

4. Search for a Trading Market

The next step is to search for the market that you wish to trade on. This is as simple as going to the search bar and typing the name of the market. You can then select the market you are interested in. alternatively, you can use the menu to select an asset class and find the market you wish to trade in through that.

5. Place a CFD Trade

The last step is to place a trade. To do this, simply open an asset’s page, click on buy or sell, enter the amount you wish to trade, enter the leverage, set the stop loss, and then click on execute. The trade will be executed almost instantaneously.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74,5% 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

Conclusion

Offshore trading has very recently become popular among retail traders as a way of evading taxes and gaining access to a wider variety of markets. There are several important considerations to keep in mind when trading through an offshore trader, which have all been discussed. These include general considerations about the platform, such as the trading fees and the asset class list. But they also include the trading tools that the platform provides, such as their analysis capabilities and the different order types that can be placed through the platform.

eToro – Alternative to Offshore Trading Platforms

An alternative to offshore trading is to trade via eToro. It is one of the largest social trading platforms in the world, and it provides traders with access to over 2400 markets and instruments. In addition to this, the platform also allows you to trade cryptocurrencies, stocks, indices, ETFs, and commodities at no commissions and very competitive spreads. eToro is regulated by agencies all over the world, and it has over 15 million users on its platform

There are two main reasons why eToro is considered to be one of the best platforms in the world for stock trading. The first reason is their platform, which has been designed like a social media platform o make it easy for beginner traders to navigate it. They also offer a demo account and tutorials for you to be able to familiarise yourself with the platform before you begin trading. The second reason is their social trading tools. In addition to being able to see what other traders think about a particular stock, eToro also gives you the option to copy other more experienced traders and profit from their expertise.

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FAQs

What is the best offshore trading platform?

While different trading requirements necessitate the use of different offshore trading platforms for day trading, the overall best platform is Libertex.

Which is the cheapest offshore trading platform?

The cheapest offshore trading platform with a wide variety of assets and zero spreads is Libertex, which only charges a very negligible commission on every trade.

Which offshore trading platform offers US shares?

Most offshore trading platforms offer US shares, including Capital.com and Libertex.

Are the offshore trading platforms legit?

Yes, offshore trading platforms are legit. While some of them may not be very safe, using an offshore trading platform that is regulated in another jurisdiction helps you ensure that your capital will be safe.

What is the best offshore trading platform to buy Bitcoin?

The best offshore trading platform to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is Capital.com.