High Leverage Forex Brokers UK 2023 – Platform Reviews
To trade forex on leverage, you need to do is to find a broker who ticks off all the boxes and lets you trade on a variety of forex pairs with high leverage. In this guide, we have reviewed high leverage forex brokers that UK traders are accepted at.
It is important to spend time researching the different options that are available. This is because each broker offers different features and fees. Read each mini review to discover more about UK high leverage forex brokers.
8 High Leverage Forex Brokers UK List
There are several brokers that provide the option to trade FX currency pairs using high leverage. However, each of these brokers is suitable for a different type of trader. Here is a list of UK high leverage forex brokers, followed by a review of each of them:
- eToro: eToro is a global social trading platform offering high leverage forex trading. It’s regulated and has over 20 million users in 140+ countries. Leverage varies from 30x to 400x, with expert account requirements. It offers social trading and charges spread-based fees.
- VantageFx: High leverage up to 500x and access to 40+ currency pairs, indices, commodities, and shares. It provides multiple trading platforms, zero spreads, 24/7 customer service, and a 50% welcome bonus. The platform is less regulated but caters to traders globally with competitive features.
- FinmaxFX: FinmaxFX offers up to 200x leverage on forex, commodities, and 100x on energy instruments. It supports MT5 for advanced trading but has higher withdrawal and inactivity fees. Regulatory agencies are less strict compared to others, providing traders with alternatives.
- Skilling: Skilling is relatively new but gained popularity for its high leverage options and tight spreads. It’s CySEC regulated and has copy trading features. Skilling offers high leverage forex and CFD trading, up to 500x for major currencies. It also covers commodities and gold with varying leverage.
- Avatrade: AvaTrade is favored by expert traders for its compatibility with MT4/MT5, high leverage up to 400x for forex pairs, and forex options at 100x leverage. It operates globally, providing various asset classes, but fees may apply based on the asset. AvaTrade suits traders seeking advanced tools.
- Forex.com: While primarily a forex broker, Forex.com also supports commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, and ETFs. Forex.com offers 90+ forex pairs, competitive spreads, and various asset classes. It’s suitable for trading exotic pairs and offers DMA account options.
- FXTM: FXTM is a high leverage broker with extreme leverage of up to 1000x for forex and CFD markets. Leverage is consistent for both retail and professional traders. It offers tight spreads, making it cost-effective but involves high risk. Fees vary, with some pairs having zero spreads.
High Leverage Forex Brokers UK Reviewed
After extensive research on all the high leverage forex trading platforms available to traders and investors in the UK, we have reviewed United Kingdom facing platforms that you can use. Each of these platforms has been discussed below in detail.
1. eToro – High leverage forex platform with social trading
eToro is a social trading platform that is also a high leverage forex trading platform. It operates in over 140 countries and is the largest trading platform worldwide. It is also regulated and insured, making any capital you deposit into eToro secure. It has well over 20 million users and offers access to 2400+ financial assets that you can trade on.
It offers nearly 50 forex pairs, ranging from major pairs such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY to minor currency pairs. eToro offers two types of accounts: a regular account and an expert account. If you open a regular account with eToro, you will get leverage of 30x for major and 20x for minor currency pairs. On the other hand, if you choose to open an expert account, then you can get leverage as high as 400x. However, opening an expert account on eToro requires you to complete their test so that they can make sure that you know what you’re doing and that you understand the risks associated with trading on such high leverage.
eToro also offers a variety of assets that you can trade besides currencies. These include stocks (which you can trade on with 10x leverage), ETFs (with 5x leverage), as well as commodities and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It provides a different level of leverage on each of these assets.
If you are new to trading, you can always use eToro’s social trading feature in order to begin and trade with the expertise and experience of other traders.
eToro fees:
Fee | Amount |
Stock trading fee | Free |
Forex trading fee | Spread, 2.1 pips for GBP/USD |
Crypto trading fee | Spread, 0.75% for Bitcoin |
Inactivity fee | $10 a month after one year |
Withdrawal fee | $5 |
74% 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. VantageFx – Trade with leverage of up to 500x
VantageFX is a trading platform that provides high leverage to all kinds of traders and offers a very wide product range to choose from. Since they are not as regulated as most other brokers, they can afford to provide leverage of up to 500x to all their customers. In addition to this, they also provide access to around 40 currency pairs in addition to indices, commodities, shares, and more.
While trading with VanatgeFX, you can choose from a variety of trading platforms, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is suitable for traders across the world with any level of trading experience. They have zero spreads, so you can buy and sell any pair at exactly the same price at a given moment. In addition to this, their 24X7 customer service and negative balance protection make them a very attractive option for traders. They also provide a 50% welcome bonus, wherein any amount you deposit will receive a 50% bonus.
VantageFX fees:
Fee | Amount |
Stock trading fee | Variable spread |
Forex trading fee | Spread, 1.4 pips for GBP/USD |
Crypto trading fee | N/A |
Inactivity fee | Free |
Withdrawal fee | Free |
Your capital is at risk.
3. FinmaxFX – Trade with leverage on cryptocurrencies
FinmaxFX is also a very strong contender for high leverage forex trading if you’re looking for a broker that has significant other advantages. For starters, it offers up to 200x leverage on forex and commodities. In addition to this, it also offers up to 100x leverage on energy instruments, 20x on stocks, and 10x on selected cryptocurrencies.
While FinmaxFX is also regulated, its regulatory agencies aren’t as strict as the FCA or the CySEC. It supports the use of MT5 for advanced charting and technical analysis. The platform offers up to 50 currency pairs and 400 financial instruments in total for you to choose from. The only major drawback of the platform is that it charges very high withdrawal and inactivity fees.
FinmaxFX fees
Fee | Amount |
Stock trading fee | Commission. 0.034% for Amazon. |
Forex trading fee | Commission. 0.008% for GBP/USD. |
Crypto trading fee | Commission. 1.23% for Bitcoin. |
Inactivity fee | $5 a month after 180 days |
Withdrawal fee | Free |
Your capital is at risk.
4. Skilling – CFD trading platform that supports high leverage trading
While Skilling is a relatively new platform, it has attracted the attention of traders that want to trade with high leverage. 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 offer copy trading for those who are looking to capitalise on the experience of more expert traders.
Skilling fees
Fee | Amount |
Stock trading fee | o% Commission on Skilling’s Trader Account |
Forex trading fee | Variable spreads starting from 0.7% |
Crypto trading fee | Spread. 0.20% for Bitcoin. |
Inactivity fee | €10 per month after one year |
Withdrawal fee | Free |
Your capital is at risk when trading CFDs with this provider.
5. Avatrade – High leverage trading platform compatible with MT4
AvaTrade is a suitable platform for expert traders, and this is the case for a variety of reasons. For starters, it is compatible with several trading platforms, including but not limited to MT4 and MT5, which allow automated trading, signals, and bots. At the same time, they also have high leverage and operate in several regions across the world. While their exact leverage differs, they have a maximum leverage of 400x for forex pairs, alongside 200x for commodities, 10x for stocks, and 20x for ETFs.
AvaTrade is also one of the very few high leverage forex brokers that offer forex options, which makes it a unique option for expert traders. However, the leverage on forex options is only 100x, much lower than the standard forex leverage of 400x.
Avatrade fees:
Fee | Amount |
CFD trading fee | Variable spread |
Forex trading fee | Spread. 0.9 pips for EUR/USD |
Crypto trading fee | Commission. 0.25% (over-market) for Bitcoin/USD |
Inactivity fee | $50 per quarter after three months of inactivity |
Withdrawal fee | Free |
71% of retail CFD accounts lose money with this provider.
8. Forex.com – Well-known forex trading platform
Forex.com is a UK broker that offers as many as 90 forex pairs, making it a sought-after option for those looking to trade exotic pairs. It also has competitive spreads by virtue of it being an STP broker with DMA account options.
While it offers a variety of asset classes on its platform, it is primarily a forex broker and therefore a lot of its tools and options have been designed specifically for forex traders. However, they also have over 4500 options such as commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, and even ETFs.
Forex.com fees:
Fee | Amount |
Stock trading fee | o% Commission |
Forex trading fee | Variable spreads starting from 0.1% |
Crypto trading fee | Spread. From 35 for Bitcoin. |
Inactivity fee | $15 per month after one year of inactivity |
Withdrawal fee | Free |
Sponsored ad. Your capital is at risk.
9. FXTM – High leverage up to 1000x for forex CFDs
FXTM is a very, very high leverage broker that provides higher leverage than any other trading platform discussed so far. If you wish to trade CFD or forex markers with leverage of 1000x, then this is an option for you. They do not discriminate between retail and professional traders, so there is a 1000x leverage for everyone.
They offer up to 1000x leverage for major forex pairs, 500x for minor pairs, 50x for exotic pairs, and 500x leverage for spot metals. They also have tight spreads, which are some of the lowest in the industry. Some of their pairs have zero spreads or as little as 0.1 pips.
FXTM fees
Fee | Amount |
Copy-trading fee | Free (Variable profit share scheme) |
Forex trading fee | Spread, 0.1 pips for EUR/USD |
Crypto trading fee | Free (variable swap) |
Inactivity fee | $5 per month after six months |
Withdrawal fee | $10 |
74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
High Leverage Forex Brokers UK Fees & Leverage Comparison
The table below provides insights into the leverage that most platforms provide for retail and professional traders, and what their fees are like.
Broker | Professional Leverage | Retail Leverage | Fees |
eToro | 400x | 30x | Commission-free |
VantageFX | 500x | 500x | Commission-free |
FinmaxFX | 200x | 200x | Commission-free |
Plus500 | 300x | 30x | Commission-free |
Skilling | 500x | 500x | Commission-free |
AvaTrade | 400x | 400x | Commission-free |
Forex.com | 50x | 50x | Commission-free |
FXTM | 1000x | 1000x | Commission-free |
High Leverage Explained
While the possibility of trading with high levels of leverage offers the possibility of high gains and sounds very exciting, it is important to know exactly how leverage works, what its advantages and disadvantages are, and what the risks and rewards are to trading with leverage. These questions have been answered below.
What is Leverage in Forex Trading?
Put very simply, leverage is money that you, as a trader, will borrow from the broker to invest in a particular trade.
For example, if you’re investing 100 GBP at 10x leverage into a trade, that means that you will borrow 900 GBP from your broker to invest a total of 1000 GBP, or 10x your investment, into the trade. This allows you to take on bigger positions and maximise your profit potential. It is preferred by traders because they only have to put up a small amount of capital on their own, and can just borrow the rest from their broker
However, leverage is not free. Often, brokers charge interest on the funds that they provide to the trader as leverage. This fee is called the swap fee or the overnight fee and differs from broker to broker.
What is Considered an Appropriate Leverage Ratio in Forex Trading?
The amount of leverage that is useful to you depends entirely on your risk appetite, as increased leverage comes with its own set of risks. Higher leverage means that you will have a higher profit if the trade goes in your favour. However, the trade-off is that there is a higher amount of money at risk, the margin of error is lower, and the chances of you losing a lot of money are quite high if the trade goes against you. Therefore, higher leverage is only suitable for those who have a higher risk appetite.
Therefore, the amount of leverage that is right for you depends on how you wish to trade. If you are a risk-averse trader, then it may be more suitable to trade with lower amounts of leverage, which will limit your risk and downside and leave more room for error. On the other hand, if you’re a risk-happy trader, then platforms that offer high leverage may be appealing, as you believe that the higher risk is justified by the high reward potential on the trades.
Tip For Trading with High Leverage
We conducted research into high leverage trading best practices. While these tips do not guarantee that any profits will be made, following the guidelines below is one way to minimize the risks of high leverage trading.
- Use a stop-loss on every order to protect your maximum downside.
- Understand and use risk-management tools. Most brokers have their own tools to manage and mitigate risk, so it is important for you to be aware of them and how they can help you.
- Use a risk-reward ratio while setting a stop-loss to ensure that the reward you get is proportional to the risk that you are taking.
- Only use high leverage while trading short-term positions. If you are opening a position that you wish to hold in the long-term, do not use high leverage as the time frame, and hence the probability, in which the trade can go against you is longer.
Conclusion
Trading with leverage is a high-risk trading that is used by traders who want to trade with more capital than they have in their accounts. Due to the risky nature of this trading strategy, it is important for you to do your research on choosing the right broker before you get started. There are several brokers that are suitable, which have all been reviewed above, including one regulated by the FCA in Britain.