I’ve looked at Alpari and others, now I am down to Oanda or MB Trading’s new free EXN plan. I am opening accounts at both and I will make small deposits until I see which one I like better. Anyone have any experience with either of these (good or bad)?
I use oanda, MT4 sucks for execution. So just execute from Java app. I was also looking into MB trading myself coming from Oanda. But i didn’t see the need until i went full on ECN. Tell me your thoughts on the EXN (i dont understand the difference between than an an MM and true ECN) .
This new FREE EXN feed of theirs is fast and the quotes a much better than Oanda. The NFA no longer lets US brokers use the term ECN if they have retail customers, but it’s the same thing, very quick responses. My executions have all been under a second.
Not sure on the difference exactly, but so far I have live accounts with both and I have to say that the MB spreads are better and executions are faster on this new free EXN plan. We’ll see if it stays that way though.
Thanks for the insight doseme, that’s helpful to know.
I have heard great things about this new MBT Free plan, and so far I am impressed. I have a live account open, executions are fast and responsive, and the spreads really are about the tightest that I’ve seen. Anyone else using this thing? Could be the best deal out there right now if these executions hold up.
I jumped in with MB Trading myself recently and so far, so good with the execution – no problems. I’d also compared spreads with various brokers and found MB to be right there or better than Oanda, FXCM etc. So far, no regrets for me.
A month into my live account with MBT on this FREE EXN plan and I have to say that it’s quite amazing. They pulled some banks out for a few days and the spreads were a little wider, but now they say they have them back in and working again, and it’s hard to beat. Very fast executions, no glitches at all, and 0.7 or 0.8 on the EURUSD net with no limit to how many orders you place or how close they are to the market. Plus, if you do a limit order, it reflects directly in the quote and still no charge. This is how an ECN broker should be. I don’t think enough people are aware of this plan because I don’t see much discussion of it out on the Internets, but it might be the hidden gem in FX broker offerings.
MB Trading for sure
Oanda (use for around 1 year or so, for the most part, quite happy)
Pro:
- Better rate (most of the time)
- Free withdrawal for SGD account (never try it)
- Execution is, most of the time, pretty fast
Cons:
- Sudden increase in spread. I found that sometimes this increase is NOT shown on their historical spread webpage.
MB Trading (I only try Demo, but may get an account soon):
Pro:
- EXN
- 1:100 leverage for UK account
- hedging allow
- Seems to have a lot of awards and recommended by Barron
Cons
- higher spread, surprisingly for a ECN you get higher pips than Oanda most of the time. Also, the real spread is always higher than the one shown on FXIntelligence.
I favor MBTrading over Oanda. Oanda’s MT4 platform strictly adheres to the FIFO rules and won’t close your trades in an order other than the one they’ve been opened in, while MBTrading applies the FIFO netting plug which allows you to close your trades in the desired order. Also, spreads are lower with MBTrading, so your trades close better and you get to keep more profits there.
I came to the same conclusion as Sameer42… either Oanda or MB Trading.
The thing which disappoints me about free EXN from MB Trading is that it’s for the MT platform only. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I like my stop losses saved on their end. I live in the north east where we get a lot of snow, and one power outage could kill an account.
If you’re trading with an EA, a VPS will solve this problem.
Exactly. I’ve been with them now for a couple of months with VPS and all is perfect.
I prefer MBT over Oanda. Faster execution. Smaller spread. And I use MT4.
Does anyone see these funny moves on MTB that is not present in other brokers. It look very obvious like stop hunting. Seeing these, I am quite hesitant to trade with MTB.
Also, my observation is that MTB spread is almost always higher than Oanda, why so many said the opposite here? Check it out yourself.
Micron, have you contacted MBT with your screenshots about this issue? What did they say?
That’s a good question. I think you should ask the MBT people about it. I’m eager to know the answer too. Thanks a lot!
I am about to. here is another GREAT ONE:
BTW, do you guys find the same weird move on your MBT live MT4? I need to make sure that it is not some data loading problem.
Yes, I’ve been having the exact same issue with MBT and don’t know its causes.