Best Forex Brokers South Africa – Pros & Cons

Forex trading is one of the most popular forms of trading, especially for beginner traders. This is because it is the biggest market with the maximum liquidity. In addition to this, most currency pairs are already familiar to people, so it is much easier for them to start with forex trading. The most important thing when trading forex currency pairs is your strategy and your mental strength.

However, there is another factor that makes all the difference in how successful you will be as a forex trader, and this is a factor that is often overlooked. This is the selection of the right broker for your forex trading needs. In this guide, we have discussed and reviewed the major forex brokers in South Africa for you, based on your needs and requirements.

Best Forex Brokers South Africa 2023 List

There are several different brokers available in the market that you can use for your forex trading requirements. However, for the best results, you need to make sure that you are using the best brokers available in South Africa. A list of some of the top brokers available has been given below:

1. Capital.com – The Best Overall Forex Trading Platform
2. Libertex – Best Forex Broker for Spread-Free Trading
3. AvaTrade – Best Forex Trading Platform For Professionals
4. VantageFx – Top Forex Broker for Trading with High Leverage
5. Plus500 – User-friendly and Regulated Broker for Forex Trading

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Total Fees (for 12 months)

$

What we like

• No spreads
• Educational content
• User-friendly platform

Fixed commissions per operation

$0.07

Account Fee

- per month

Mobile App

8/10

Features

Payment methods

Account Info

Account From

$10

Deposit fees

0% to 4%

ETFS

-

Inactivity fees

$5/month after 90 days

Leverage

1:5

Operating margin

Yes

Minimum operation

-

Stocks

-

CFD Position

-

CFDS

-

Trading fees

Commissions or Spreads

Withdrawal fees

29$ or 1%

Fees per operation

Bonds

-

Cryptocurrencies

0.2%

CFDS

-

DAX

0.006%

Copy Portfolio

-

ETFS

-

CFD Position

-

Stocks

0.33%

Savings Plan

-

Robo Advisor

-

Funds

-

Total Fees (for 12 months)

$

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CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Account Info

Account From

$10

Deposit fees

0% to 4%

ETFS

-

Inactivity fees

$5/month after 90 days

Leverage

1:5

Operating margin

Yes

Minimum operation

-

Stocks

-

CFD Position

-

CFDS

-

Trading fees

Commissions or Spreads

Withdrawal fees

29$ or 1%

Fees per operation

Bonds

-

Cryptocurrencies

0.2%

CFDS

-

DAX

0.006%

Copy Portfolio

-

ETFS

-

CFD Position

-

Stocks

0.33%

Savings Plan

-

Robo Advisor

-

Funds

-

Rates and assets Rates and assets

Rating

Total Fees (for 12 months)

$

What we like

• Trade Volatility 75 with cTrader
• Integrates with MT4 and MT5 trading platforms
• Very low VIX trading spreads

Fixed commissions per operation

$0

Account Fee

- per month

Mobile App

9/10

Features

Payment methods

Account Info

Account From

$0

Deposit fees

$0

ETFS

-

Inactivity fees

$0

Leverage

1:5

Operating margin

Yes

Minimum operation

-

Stocks

-

CFD Position

-

CFDS

-

Trading fees

Spreads

Withdrawal fees

$0

Fees per operation

Bonds

-

Cryptocurrencies

0.07%

CFDS

0.005%

DAX

0.009%

Copy Portfolio

-

ETFS

-

CFD Position

-

Stocks

0.1%

Savings Plan

-

Robo Advisor

-

Funds

-

Total Fees (for 12 months)

$

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80.18%% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Account Info

Account From

$0

Deposit fees

$0

ETFS

-

Inactivity fees

$0

Leverage

1:5

Operating margin

Yes

Minimum operation

-

Stocks

-

CFD Position

-

CFDS

-

Trading fees

Spreads

Withdrawal fees

$0

Fees per operation

Bonds

-

Cryptocurrencies

0.07%

CFDS

0.005%

DAX

0.009%

Copy Portfolio

-

ETFS

-

CFD Position

-

Stocks

0.1%

Savings Plan

-

Robo Advisor

-

Funds

-

Rates and assets Rates and assets

Rating

Total Fees (for 12 months)

$

What we like

• Flexible leverage options
• Free deposits and withdrawals
• Easy-to-use platform

Fixed commissions per operation

$3.50

Account Fee

$10 per month

Mobile App

6/10

Features

Payment methods

Account Info

Account From

N/A

Deposit fees

N/A

ETFS

N/A

Inactivity fees

$10 per month

Leverage

Flexible

Operating margin

Yes

Minimum operation

0.01 lots

Stocks

-

CFD Position

-

CFDS

-

Trading fees

$3.50

Withdrawal fees

N/A

Fees per operation

Bonds

N/A

Cryptocurrencies

$3.50

CFDS

$3.50

DAX

N/A

Copy Portfolio

N/A

ETFS

N/A

CFD Position

-

Stocks

-

Savings Plan

-

Robo Advisor

-

Funds

-

Total Fees (for 12 months)

$

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Visit site

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Account Info

Account From

N/A

Deposit fees

N/A

ETFS

N/A

Inactivity fees

$10 per month

Leverage

Flexible

Operating margin

Yes

Minimum operation

0.01 lots

Stocks

-

CFD Position

-

CFDS

-

Trading fees

$3.50

Withdrawal fees

N/A

Fees per operation

Bonds

N/A

Cryptocurrencies

$3.50

CFDS

$3.50

DAX

N/A

Copy Portfolio

N/A

ETFS

N/A

CFD Position

-

Stocks

-

Savings Plan

-

Robo Advisor

-

Funds

-

Rates and assets Rates and assets

Best Forex Brokers South Africa Reviewed

While there are different forex trading platforms available in the market, some of the best forex trading platforms that you should consider have been reviewed below.

1. Capital.com – The Best Overall Forex Trading Platform

Capital.com is one of the most reliable platforms when it comes to trading forex CFDs, and it is a highly useful platform for beginners. For starters, it only offers CFDs, which means you do not actually own currencies, but instead take bets on which direction the prices will move in. You can place a bet in either direction and you will be rewarded if your bet is right, making it a much more suitable trading method for beginner traders, and it is why most beginner traders prefer trading CFDs over real assets. 

The platform offers both major and minor currency pairs as well as exotics. Capital.com does not charge any commissions and even allows you to trade all their currency pairs with leverage. Their spreads are very competitive by industry standards, and the platform is also quite easy to use. The minimum deposit requirements of the platform are also quite low, and the platform is quite famous for deploying some of the best proprietary AI technology that assists traders in recognizing trading opportunities. 

Capital.com fees:

76.72% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

2. Libertex – Best Forex Broker for Spread-Free Trading

Libertex is one of the most preferred platforms for traders who wish to trade currency pairs with little to no leverage. As such, this is highly used by day traders, who do not wish to pay high amounts of money for the difference between buy and sell prices. However, the catch here is that while Libertex does not have spreads, it does charge a small commission on each trade. The good thing is that the commissions are very low and you are unlikely to even notice that they are being charged. 

The commissions that Libertex charges differ based on what currency pairs you are trading, but as a general rule, they can be as low as 0.006%. The platform also offers a wide variety of exotic currency pairs, such as the Rand, Lira, Peso, and the Zloty, which several other platforms may not offer.

Libertex fees:

83% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site.

3. AvaTrade – Best Forex Trading Platform For Professionals

AvaTrade is the platform of choice 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 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:

71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

4. VantageFx – Top Forex Broker for Trading with High Leverage

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 highly 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:

71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500 – User-friendly and Regulated Broker for Forex Trading

Plus500 is another popular broker that allows traders to trade on FX currency pairs with up to 30x leverage for retail accounts and up to 300x leverage for professional accounts. It is widely known as one of the safest trading platforms because it is so highly regulated and licensed by top-rated regulators. It offers access to over 70 forex pairs. In addition to this, you can also trade stocks, indices, commodities, and ETFs on Plus500. 

While you also have an option to trade CFDs, the leverage on them is quite low, often as little as 5x or even lower. Its platform is highly user-friendly and this makes it a good idea for traders looking to get started with high leverage forex trading. 

Plus500 fees

72% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Best Forex Brokers South Africa Comparison

A tabular representation of the different top brokers, their fees, and the leverage they provide to retail traders has been provided below for your reference.

How to Choose The Right Forex Broker South Africa for You

There are several different forex brokers available out there in the world, and this number is constantly growing. With that being said, it can still be quite difficult for you to find the right broker for yourself, partially because there is so much choice that it can sometimes become confusing. Aside from the brokers mentioned in this guide, there are a variety of other brokers that are available and might be suitable for you.

What this means is that at the end of the day, it is up to you to decide on which broker you wish to use and which one fits your needs best. Before doing this, you need to make sure that the broker you are using is, in fact, the right one for you. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered before you decide on a broker. Choosing the right broker is arguably one of the most overlooked parts of the trading process, and yet it has a direct influence on how effectively and efficiently you can trade. Below, we have compiled a list of the different factors that you should consider before deciding on a broker to trade with.

Safety

Safety is one of the most important considerations for any forex trader. Before you consider opening an account with any platform, you need to be sure that your information and your money is safe with them. The easiest way to determine whether or not a broker is safe is to check whether they are regulated, and which agencies regulate them.

There is a list of agencies that make a broker safe to trade with. You can trust regulatory agencies such as the ASIC, CySEC, FCA, SEC, CFTC, or FINRA. If the broker you are considering is regulated by any one of these agencies, then it is safe for you to proceed with using them. If not, or if they’re regulated by a lesser-known agency, it is best to either proceed with extreme caution or look for another broker entirely.

76.72% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

Fees

The next thing that you should consider before you decide on a broker is the fees that they charge. Brokers can charge fees in two ways: a spread and a commission. A spread is a difference between the buy and the sell price of an asset at any given point in time. For example, if you’re trying to trade the USD/EUR pair, then buying and selling the asset at the same instant will result in a net loss, because the sell price is lower than the buy price. This difference between the two prices is called the spread, and it is how the broker earns money.

On the other hand, a commission is a flat charge levied on each trade or on a particular volume traded by the user. For example, a platform could charge $3 for every lot of 100,000 that you choose to trade. Usually, a platform will only have either spreads or commissions, as having both would simply be too expensive for the users. It is important for you to be aware of the fee structure that your platform charges so that you can trade accordingly and adjust your risk-reward requirements. There is no point in making small profits on every trade if all the profit you make is lost as commissions, so this is another important factor that you need to keep in mind.

Commission

If you’re trading on a platform that charges commissions, then you need to try and ensure that you minimise the fees you’re paying as much as you can. Usually, platforms that charge commissions do not charge spreads, so you will be able to trade at very tight or even no spreads, which can be very favourable. The easiest way to minimise the fees that you pay as commissions are to make as few trades as possible without negatively impacting your profitability. For example, if you’re trading on a commission-based model, you cannot continuously trade in and out of a position since this will rack up a lot of fees that will eat into your profits.

Another thing that you need to keep in mind while trading on a platform that charges commissions is that you need to adjust your target profit accordingly. The platform will charge a commission whether or not you make a profit on your trade, therefore this should also be a part of your calculations when trying to determine what your net profit or loss is. Otherwise, there will be a discrepancy in your net balance on the platform and as per your calculations, and you might underestimate or overestimate how good a particular strategy is performing.

Spreads

Spreads are another kind of fee that is charged by brokers. If you’re trading on a platform that charges spreads, then there are a few things that you need to check. First, you need to know what the average spread for a particular asset is. Usually, such platforms offer tighter spreads on major currency pairs because they have a higher volume and larger spreads on minor and exotic pairs. At the same time, you need to know if the spreads are fixed or variable. Some platforms offer fixed spreads, in that they remain unchanged throughout the day. On the other hand, some other platforms charge variable spreads, which change from time to time in the day based on the volatility and trading volume in the market.

If you’re trading using a broker that offers variable spreads, then you need to trade during periods of maximum market activity to minimise the spreads you pay. This is usually the time that both London and New York markets are open since these are the markets that are responsible for the maximum trading volume in the forex market.

Other Forex Broker Fees

You should also be on the lookout for any other forex broker fees that your platform might charge you. This could include fees such as an overnight fee for rolling over your positions from one trading day to the next. Another possible fee could be an inactivity fee, where you are charged a certain fee every month if your account remains inactive for more than a stipulated period of time. Lastly, you should also check whether your broker has any withdrawal or deposit fees. Sometimes, platforms can charge you a certain fee every time you try to add or remove funds to your account, so it is important for you to know this.

Most brokers do not have all of these fees, but all these fees can definitely affect your profitability and make the broker less competitive, so these are things you should keep in mind while trying to select a broker for your forex trading requirements.

76.72% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

Trading Tools

The next thing you should do is check the list of trading tools that are available for you to access on the platform. Depending on whether the platform is more suitable for beginners or professionals, you will have a variety of tools that are available to assist with the trading process.

You should check whether the tools present on the platform will enable you to carry out the strategies you wish to use and whether this is compatible with the level of expertise you have. For example, some platforms do not have the requisite tools for you to carry out advanced analysis on forex pairs, thereby limiting their use to you if you’re an experienced forex trader.

Charting Tools

If you rely on technical analysis for your trading strategies, then looking at the charting tools that are available on the platform you trade through is of the utmost importance. Most traders who do not rely on fundamental analysis alone need to use charting tools, and this is a crucial difference-maker in the decision of which trading platform to use. Depending on what strategy you use, there are different charting tools that you might want to use, and before you decide on a platform, it is important for you to make sure that these tools are present on the platform.

As a general rule, all other things being equal, you should always choose the platform that offers the maximum choice of trading and charting tools, since this will be important if you choose to refine or change your trading strategy in the future.

Copy Trading

Copy trading is an extremely important and useful feature, especially if you’re not an expert trader yourself. It allows you to capitalize on the expertise of other traders and use their experience to profit for yourself. Copy trading is the best bet for you to earn money passively while you’re still trying to learn how to actively trade. As the name suggests, copy trading basically refers to you copying someone else’s trades in the same proportion.

There are several types of copy trading in forex, and they’re each done by different types of traders with varying levels of expertise. For starters, the simplest and most basic copy trading refers to allocating a certain part of your portfolio to simply copy and mirror every trade that another trader makes. In this case,m you’re trading 100% passively, as all the buy and sell decisions will be made without your involvement.

Another type of copy trading is through the use of trading signals. This is similar to simple copy trading in some respects, except for one major difference. When you set a trading signal on a particular trader, you are notified every time they make a trade. You can then choose whether or not you wish to make the same trade or not. This is a semi-passive form of trading since you get to decide whether or not you wish to make the trade yourself. You can also subscribe to trading signals from traders for a small fee, where they perform technical analysis and send you signals. Another form of trading on signals is to decide on a particular set of conditions. Whenever a pair in your sample set satisfied these conditions, you will be notified and you can then decide whether or not you wish to initiate the trade.

Leverage

Leverage is another very important concept in the world of forex trading, and definitely something that you should keep in mind while selecting a platform to trade through. Essentially, grading with leverage means that you can borrow money from your broker and take on larger positions than you can afford, meaning that you get a greater profit. Conversely, it also means that you have a higher degree of loss if the trade goes against you.

While risk-averse traders prefer to not trade with a very high degree of leverage because they feel that it will adversely affect their portfolio to a huge extent if things go against them, a healthy degree of leverage is very important for you to be able to take on risks and make higher profits. The amount of leverage you take should match your risk profile and you need to make sure that you are comfortable with the leverage you choose. If you’re a trader who likes high leverage, then you need to choose a platform that provides you with a high degree of leverage.

Financial News and Alerts

If you’re a trader who relies, at least partly, on fundamental analysis for your trades, then this is an important aspect of a trading platform for you. While you can get financial news on any news platform too, it is best if you get them on your trading platform since that makes it more convenient for you and you can initiate trades instantly. Usually, most forex trading platforms also have a news feed and an economic calendar where they let you know about the upcoming macroeconomic events that might have an effect on the different currency pairs involved.

Some platforms even go as far as to have a system where you can get notified of major events are taking place, either via email or through a notification on your device, ensuring that you do not miss anything of importance that could affect your portfolio.

Platforms

There are several different platforms that forex traders use in order to perform technical and fundamental analysis. At the same time, some platforms are more suitable than others for certain strategies, such as automated trading strategies or trading bots. Therefore, it is important for you to check if the broker you use is compatible with other trading platforms such as the MT4 trading platform or the MT5 trading platform. Some brokers also support cTrader, which is a platform very commonly used by experienced forex traders.

Account Types

Another thing that you should definitely consider is whether or not your broker offers you multiple types of accounts that you could trade through. For example, some brokers have an option to choose between the standard, commission, and professional accounts. These accounts are different from each other in terms of the fees they charge, the functionalities they offer, and the leverage they allow you to trade using. Even if you do not end up using more than one type of account, it is always useful to trade through a broker that offers you the functionality to do so.

Payments

The last thing that you need to consider before you decide to trade through a broker is the different payment methods they support. For example, a particular broker might only support credit/debit cards or bank transfers. On the other hand, some other brokers even support e-wallets such as PayPal and Skrill.

76.72% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

Best Forex Brokers South Africa For Beginners

There are different forex brokers that will be useful for you for varying levels of expertise. For example, if you’re a beginner trader, then it will definitely not be very useful for you to trade through AvaTrade, because the options and tools that they offer are only useful to an experienced trader. If you’re not able to utilise their tools, this might affect the quality of your analysis and thereby result in losses. Therefore, as a beginner, you should definitely consider simpler platforms that are easier to navigate, such as Capital.com.

There are several reasons why this platform is more suitable. For starters, it has a lot of variety in terms of assets, such as stocks, forex pairs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and more. In addition to this, its interface is very user-friendly, and it is easy to use. At the same time, Capital.com also allows you to use their demo account functionalities. As you become more experienced and your strategies get refined, there are several functions and tools that you will require that are not available on these platforms. Then, you can move on to more complex and advanced platforms.

How To Get Started With A Forex Broker in South Africa

To get started with the best forex broker in South Africa, all you need to do is set up a Capital.com account. This is a simple and straightforward process, and the steps have been discussed below.

Step 1: Open a Capital.com Forex Account

67% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

You’ll first need to visit the Capital.com website and open an account. This will require you to provide some personal information, contact details, and a very brief overview of your trading experience.

You will also need to choose a username and a strong password, and verify your mobile number.

Step 2: Confirm Identity

You will also need to upload a couple of documents so that Capital.com can verify your identity. This includes your:

• Valid passport or driver’s license
• Utility bill or bank account statement (issued within the last 3 months)

In most cases, Capital.com can verify your documents instantly.

Step 3: Deposit Funds

Once you feel ready to make a deposit, you can choose from the following payment methods:

• Visa credit/debit card
• MasterCard credit/debit card
• Bank Transfer

Step 4: Search for a Trading Market

It’s now time to search for the asset that you wish to trade. The easiest way to do this is to use the search box at the top of the screen.

In our example above, we are looking to trade the South African rand against the Japanese Yen – so we search for ‘ZAR/JPY’.

Step 5: Place a Trade

To finalize your first trade on Capital.com, you will need to set up an order.

This is a simple process, as you simply need to select from a buy or sell order – depending on whether you think the asset will rise or fall. In our example, we replace a buy order on ZAR/JPY, meaning we think the exchange rate will increase in value.

We also enter our stake at $100 with leverage of 10x.

Finally, you need to click on the ‘Open Trade’ button to execute your commission-free position.

Conclusion

Forex trading is inherently risky, and therefore, you need to be prepared for it before you risk your own capital. Aside from your preparation and strategies, a very important factor in deciding how successful you will be as a trader is choosing the right broker. Depending on your requirements, there are different brokers that would be suitable for your needs. However, the overall best forex broker in South Africa is Capital.com, which is suitable for all kinds of trading needs and requirements. Set up your account with Capital.com today by following a series of simple steps.

Capital.com – Best Forex Broker in South Africa

76.72% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site

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