Hi, new trader here and I am looking to open a demo account to learn for a few months. Any recommendations for brokers I could use for the demo account and eventually for my live account? thanks a ton!
Oanda
more typing to meet the 10 character minimum, there really can be excellence in brevity
Oanda Oanda
(So suitable it was worth typing it twice, to fulfil the character-requirement.)
And it’s a very good idea to use the demo where you plan to open a real account later, so that you won’t have to start getting used to a new broker at the same time as trading live for the first time.
Why Oanda ?
Hi guys, why do you recommend oanda ?
Thank you
For myself, my reasons are …
(i) I did a [B][U]lot[/U][/B] of “due diligence” and took a lot of expert advice from people who genuinely know the industry well, before opening any accounts myself, and Oanda was my decision
(ii) I traded there for many years without ever having a problem (I think they’re possibly the only brokerage I’ve ever used that [I]never once[/I] made a single mistake on an account statement)
(iii) I believe them to be very ethical and honest, and overall “about as good as you can get” for a counterparty market-maker
(iv) They’re well regulated and have a good regulatory record (this is [B][U]hugely[/U][/B] important, in my opinion: I think it’s [I]essential[/I] to avoid brokers who have a history of endless adverse regulatory rulings and fines arising over issues relating directly to “how they’ve treated their clients”, though to my huge surprise almost nobody in this forum seems to agree with me about that!)
(v) I like their FxTrade interface: it’s a good and convenient one for aspiring traders to use, and it’s also a way of avoiding MT4, which is in itself a very worthwhile thing to do (Oanda does also have MT4 available, for those who absolutely insist on using it)
(vi) I found their spreads very good, for my purposes (often [I]less[/I] than 1 pip during RTH on the EUR/USD, which I traded every day)
N.B: As [U]against[/U] all these points, I was talking recently to someone I know and trust, here, who told me that Oanda’s spreads and their variability were offputting to him, and I’m wondering whether they’ve recently changed their policies on spreads - this would be my only caveat.
Hi Lexys,
Thank you for the detailed reply !!
I believe the FxTrade platform provided by Oanda is not free correct ?
Thank you
It is free, I use it
No - it [I]is[/I] free. I’ve never paid anything for it, and still have it now (I still have some demo accounts at Oanda which I occasionally have a play with when I’m testing things out).
Thank you Carlos and Lexys.
Hi Lexys,
Just wanted to ask - are you not with Oanda now ?
Not sure I remember correctly - but I think you had once mentioned you are with Interactive brokers now correct ? Why did you move from Oanda to Interactive brokers for this ?
If you are ok with it - please let me know why you did not suggest Interactive brokers ? Could you be because they have a minimum $10,000 to open the account and do not allow mini lots (both assumptions - have not yet actually checked it out)
Thank you
No, I’m a futures trader now.
But I moved even my spot forex account from Oanda to IB a long time ago to save commissions/spreads, when I became “professional” and wanted to trade through a genuine broker rather than a counterparty market-maker. I didn’t move because I was unhappy with Oanda.
All correct assumptions, and that was why. 
Hi Lexys ,
Thank you for the reply !
How do we know who is a genuine forex guy and who is a market maker ? What gives it away ?
Also if not in market makers internal market, where exactly would a genuine forex guy send his trades to ? Because there is no exchange .
Also, if someone says “instant execution” - does it mean such a provider is a market maker ?
Thank you
I think there are alot of brokers, but which one is the best i don’t know.
I am trading at different brokers and the one have better spread then the other and go on.
But try to find a broker where you can open a ECN Account, that one is not trading against you.
I think aside the recommendations here, you can do more search on broker review sites before you decide to choose. I would advice you look out for the following before you decide;
Are they regulated?
How is their deposit and withdrawal mechanism?
Are they transparent?
What is the commission charged?
Element, on Oanda demo make sure it is new v20 platform. We can chat here or email, but the basic feature is that it is fastest in retail FOREX. You can trade $1 with like pennies. That is the benefit with them unlike future contracts which require large deposits. Some currencies correlate to oil and if you get these pairs it is like almost future contract with lower price. You probably need few months of demo before deciding, but when you do can help with their promotions, referrals, spreads timing and so on as have anniversary with them. Anyway, better use many brokers in demo.
It doesn’t matter which broker you open a demo account with. The demo account won’t be the same as a real account. A demo will give you a ‘feel’ for trading but you only know what will really happen when you start using a real account