Best MT4 US Forex Broker.
Few forex brokers regulated by the NFA or CFTC offer the MetaTrader 4 forex trading platform or forex trading. However, there are a few. We review the best forex brokers with MT4 for US traders to trade spot FX with a leverage of 1:50.
Written by Justin Grossbard.
Written by Justin Grossbard Co Founder.
With over 20 years of investing experience and 10 years of trading, Justin co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014. He has worked within the foreign exchange trading industry for several years and for several of the largest banks globally. Justin achieved Honours in Commerce and has a Master's degree from Monash University. He also owns Innovate Online offering digital marketing services with over 20 employees.
Edited by Laura Wolfe.
Edited by Laura Wolfe.
Laura is a freelance content writer focused on financial and legal technology, decentralized finance, cryptocurrency and related topics. Prior to beginning her writing career, she worked as an international disputes lawyer specializing in finance and construction cases in Paris, New York and Dubai. She holds degrees in law from Queen Mary University of London in Paris (LLM) and New York University School of Law (JD), as well as assorted other diplomas in Literature, French and Philosophy from New York University (MA) and the University of Georgia - Athens (BA Hons).
Reviewed by Riley Adams.
Reviewed by Riley Adams Senior Trading Editor.
As a Senior Financial Analyst for Alphabet with an active CPA, Riley has a vast amount of financial knowledge. He has a Master's Degree in economics at Penn State University and a B.A. & B.S., Economics at the Centenary College of Louisiana. He also owns the website Young and the Invested providing investing advice for young individuals.
Each month we update average spreads data published by the brokers the retail brokers lose %
We double-check broker fee details each month which is made possible through partner paid advertising. Learn more this here.
Our forex comparisons and broker reviews are reader supported and we may receive payment when you click on a link to a partner site.
US Forex Brokers MT4 List.
Our January 2023 Best MetaTrader 4 USA brokers are.
OANDA - Best MT4 Forex Broker For US Traders IG US - Great For New Traders Forex.com - Has Low Trading Costs.
Our Rating.
Forex specialist in USA.
Choice of trading platforms.
Guaranteed stop loss orders.
Regulations and Licenses.
NFA or CFTC (USA)
Brokerage.
EUR/USD Standard Spread.
Commissions (USD Base)
Minimum Deposit.
Swap Free Account.
No Inactivity Fees.
Funding Methods.
No Funding Fees.
Markets and Instruments.
Currency Pairs.
Cryptocurrency CFDs*
Index CFDs.
Share CFDs.
Commodities CFD.
Stockbroking.
Retail Max. Leverage (USA)
Major Pairs 50:1 Minor Pairs 33:1.
Spot 50:1 Futures 6.25:1.
Major Pairs 50:1 Minor Pairs 20:1.
*Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available to retail traders in the UK due to FCA regulations *CFD trading is not available in the USA due to NFA and CFTC regulations, American traders spot trade in place of CFDs.
Trading Platforms + Tools.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
TradingView.
Proprietary Platform.
Automated Trading.
Social + Copy Trading.
MetaTrader 4 only.
Standard Stop Loss.
Guaranteed Stop Loss.
Demo Account.
Overall.
Our Rating.
Broker Official Site Our Rating Regulation EUR/USD Spread GBP/USD Spread AUD/USD Spread MetaTrader 4 MetaTrader 5 cTrader Execution Speed Minimum Deposit Currency Pairs Crypto CFDs Retail Leverage Prof. Leverage Visit Broker > 8.83 NFA, CFTC IIROC - - - 120ms $0 68+ (Spot) - 50:1 100:1 Visit Broker > 7.28 NFA, CFTC FCA, IIROC - - - 160ms $100 55+ (Spot) - 50:1 50:1 Visit Broker > 8.23 NFA, CFTC FCA, ASIC - - - 130ms $450 80+ (Spot) - 50:1 50:1.
Developed and released by Metaquotes Software Corp. in 2005, MetaTrader 4 (or MT4) is widely considered to be the gold standard when it comes to forex trading platforms. With 33 technical indicators (plus 200 customer indicators), 24 drawing tools, 9 timeframes and automation with Expert Advisors, MT4 has no shortage of trading tools. This page looks at the best brokers MT4 brokers in the USA.
OANDA Is the Best MT4 Broker for US Traders.
OANDA is one of the industry leaders for forex trading, with over 25 years in business and a sizable international presence. As of this writing, this top broker has offices in Singapore, Australia, Japan, the UK, Germany, Poland, Malta and Canada.
We consider OANDA the best MT4 broker for US traders based on both the overall trading experience and the commitment to providing MT4 traders with the platform integrations and add-ons necessary to create a truly custom trading environment.
Key Strengths.
Platform features Spreads and trade execution Competitive trading costs.
OANDA’s MetaTrader 4 Features.
While OANDA’s home-grown web, mobile and desktop trading platforms are nothing to sniff at, this top forex broker stands out for the range and variety of trading tools it provides traders to enhance the MT4 trading experience.
OANDA offers MetaTrader 4 users access to a number of powerful enhancements, including additional technical indicators and Expert Advisors (EAs).
Specifically, US forex traders benefit from:
Depth of market pricing and spreads as low as 0.6 pips on typical EUR/USD order sizes. The smaller the order size, the tighter the spread. This functionality is available through the OANDA MT4 premium upgrade with the mini terminal; Access to OANDA’s suite of technical analysis packages as a plug-in to MetaTrader 4. This allows clients to execute trades directly from the interface, use intraday market scanning tools, and set up automated alerts for specified patterns; Access to MT4 open order indicator. With it, traders will view aggregate current buy and sell orders placed by OANDA clients for a better assessment of market sentiment; Ability to develop, optimize and use automated trading strategies with the help of MQL4; Fast order execution with no dealing desk intervention and no re-quotes; Good mobile trading options – access to 32 overlay indicators, 11 drawing tools and 9 chart types with OANDA’s mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.
OANDA’s MT4 Customer Support.
OANDA’s award-winning customer support team stands ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to assist MT4 traders. Because OANDA customer support representatives are, themselves, traders, the team provides more comprehensive and nuanced solutions to difficulties account holders may encounter navigating the platform.
OANDA’s MT4 Execution Speed.
OANDA uses price improvement technology to give forex traders using MT4 an advantage in the market. These systems review high volumes of trade data second by second to guarantee ultra-fast and intelligent routing for optimal prices and low slippage.
OANDA Trading Accounts.
American forex traders have the option of two account types with OANDA, both of which execute trades through a dealing desk with the broker acting as a market maker.
Our take: beginner traders may prefer the predictability of a Spread Only account, while scalpers and algorithmic traders may find the Core Pricing account easier on the wallet.
Spread Only Pricing. Variable spreads start at 0.6 pips, and traders pay no commission on round-turn trades of a standard lot. Core Pricing. Traders pay a commission of USD 10.00 per round-turn trade of a standard lot, but enjoy tighter variable spreads that start as low as 0.1 pips.
OANDA Minimum Deposits and Funding.
OANDA makes the process of opening and funding a live trading account cost-effective and straightforward.
OANDA does not require a minimum deposit to open an account, and allows American account holders to fund their accounts via debit card, ACH transfer and wire transfer. Regardless of how the account receives funds, OANDA charge account holders no fees for deposits or withdrawals.
OANDA Trading Products.
American forex traders will find everything they need in OANDA’s selection of currency pairs.
In addition to ten major pairs, the broker offers 58 minor, exotic and cross pairs for a total of 68 currency combinations for trading.
EUR, GBP, USD, JPY, NZD, AUD and CHF are among the major currency pairs available through OANDA.
OANDA: Our Verdict.
Above-average execution speeds, an impressive array of extras and premium features and low spreads for MT4 users make OANDA the logical choice for US forex traders committed to the MetaTrader family of platforms. For this reason we consider OANDA the best US forex broker to trade forex.
Our Rating.
The overall rating is based on review by our experts.
Spreads.
Leverage.
Trading Platform.
Risk Management.
Range of Markets.
Customer Service.
IG Is Great for New Traders.
IG US (Sometimes known as IG Markets US) is part of IG Group, a global financial services provider established in 1974, publicly traded, and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
IG US cater to the needs of many traders, from beginner traders looking to test the waters before jumping into live trading, to the active trader seeking to gain access to a wide selection of currency pairs and other financial markets with lower trading costs.
Key Strengths:
Excellent educational tools and trading supports Extensive research tools and trading strategy ideas Great proprietary trading platforms.
IG Trading Accounts and Products.
IG uses a market maker trading model, which means spreads are wider than ECN brokerages. While the spreads are wider, this does not mean they are more expensive on the Forex spreads front since commission costs are included in the spread as your trading fee.
You can choose from a range of currencies as your account currency. And, while there is no minimum deposit requirement, there is an inactivity fee of $12 if you don’t make a trade in 24 months.
IG’s spreads are some of the best available in US markets and there is a large range of currency pairs one can choose from when trading.
There are 87 major, minor and exotic Forex pairs available to trade. These pairs are divided into the following categories – Major, Minor, Exotics, Australian, Scandinavian and Emerging. So chances are IG US has the forex pair you are looking for.
IG Trading Platforms.
In addition to MetaTrader 4, IG offers account holders the option to trade using the broker’s award-winning proprietary platforms and ProRealTime.
Developed based on decades of experience with retail trading, the IG trading platform includes 32 indicators, 20 drawing tools and advanced market research. ProRealTime, is charting software for traders wanting extra technical analysis tools and the ability to automate trading.
While the IG encourage you to use their proprietary trading platform, using MT4 does provide some advantages. These include the ability to automate your trade through Expert Advisors and create custom indicators.
MT4 Features and Trader Benefits.
With IG US, USA-based Forex traders can enjoy a plethora of benefits when using the MetaTrader 4 platform. The most important ones include:
Sound MQL4 environment for developing, optimizing and backtesting expert advisors; Free-of-charge access to 6 extra technical indicators (Order history indicator, Pivot points indicator, High-low indicator, Renko indicator, Chart group indicator, Freehand drawing indicator) and 12 additional trading tools (including Stealth orders, Correlation matrix, Sentiment trader, Candle countdown). Forex traders can also download thousands of other indicators from inside the platform; Access to the powerful Autochartist pattern-recognition tool; Rich chart customization options that may suit clients’ individual trading needs; MT4 mobile apps (you can view the full list of the best forex trading apps in the US Access to MT4 WebTrader through all popular web browsers.
MT4 Demo Account.
IG US’s MetaTrader 4 Demo is great for beginner traders as it allows one to test with the same layout as the live version using $10,000 in virtual funds instead of their own. The demo can be very handy to test a particular strategy or get the feel of the broker’s platform features in a risk-free environment.
US clients will also be able to access the 18 additional technical indicators and trading tools, which IG offers on the live MT4 platform version.
Just note that there are certain differences between the live retail investor accounts and the demo account, which are as follows:
Demo trades are not subject to slippage, interest, and dividend adjustments; Demo trades will not be closed if clients do not have sufficient account balance to cover margin and running losses.
IG US: Our Verdict.
Overall, IG US LLC is ranked as one of the best MetaTrader 4 FX brokers in the USA. In terms of trading costs, IG claims its EUR/USD spread is 20% lower than the competition, which is hard to beat. Last, IG clients can access an additional 12 add-ons that don’t come with the standard MetaTrader 4.
Forex.com Has Low Trading Costs.
Established in 2001, FOREX.com is a trading name of GAIN Capital Holdings, an entity that NASDAQ-listed StoneX Group gained in February 2022. This broker is among our best Forex brokers that offer online trading services to US residents for its excellent range of tradable assets on the MetaTrader 4 platform.
Key Strengths:
Sophisticated technical trading tools Great variety of currency pairs Fast trade execution.
Forex.com Trading Accounts and Products.
Forex.com only offers one account type to traders using MetaTrader 4. This account is a standard account. Forex.com uses a market maker model, meaning commission costs are included as part of the spread.
To use this account, Forex.com recommends a starting minimum deposit of $1,000, though this is not an actual requirement.
Note: There is a commission account and STP Pro account, but these are not available with MetaTrader 4 platform.
US traders can access 84 major, minor and exotic spot currency pairs on the brokerage’s MetaTrader 4 platform. Like all brokers on this list, max leverage for retail clients is capped at 1:50 as per CFTC rules.
Spreads are variable and start from 0.5 pips on major Forex pairs, such as EUR/USD and there will be no trading commissions charged.
US traders can also have peace of mind with FOREX.com’s reliable order execution (99.99% fill rate of less than 1s) and can access the popular TradingView charting program for free.
Forex.com Trading Platforms.
Forex.com don’t limit the trading platforms you can choose to MT4, they also have their own Forex.com trading platform and Ninja Trader.
Forex.com does offer a number of handy features such as 80 charts technical indicators and drawing tools through the TradingVIew engine. It also has Smart Signals which make recommendations on when to trade and a trading coach in Performance Analytics.
Ninja Trader allows automated trading with no code. It also comes with market analysis tools and advanced trade management to help with your trading orders.
While there are compelling reasons to choose one of the other trading platforms, MT4 is a worthy option.
MT4 Features and Trader Benefits.
US clients can get the full benefit out of Forex.com’s MetaTrader 4 forex trading platform. The MT4 platform is available for PC, web browser and mobile MT4 (iOS and Android compatibility). Besides the standard MT4 features, Forex.com clients can access additional third-party Expert Advisors (EAs) and technical indicators.
There are nine different EAs, including an alarm Manager and a Correlation Matrix plus 15 technical indicators like Candle Countdown or Chart-in-chart tool all powered by FX Blue. If algo trading interests you then we recommend comparing the best-automated trading software page.
Active traders that generate a minimum of 500k in notional trading volume per month can access free VPS hosting solutions to run EAs uninterruptedly.
Forex.com: Our Verdict.
Overall, Forex.com offers a comprehensive list of forex pairs that no other US MT4 broker can match. By comparison, OANDA offers roughly 70 FX pairs, IG 80 FX pairs and only 38 FX pairs with ATC Brokers.
Regulator Country IG Forex.com Oanda ATC Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) United Kingdom ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Australia Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) Australia ✔ ✔ ✔ Cyprus Securities exchange commission (CySEC) Cyprus / Europe ✔ Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) Singapore ✔ ✔ ✔ Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) South Africa ✔ Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) Germany / Europe ✔ Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) Switzerland / Europe ✔ Financial Markets Authority (FMA) New Zealand ✔ the Financial Services Agency (FSA) Seychelles The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) Cayman Islands ✔ ✔ The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada Canada (IIROC) Canada ✔ The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) Malta / Europe ✔ British Virgin Island Financial Services Commission (BVIFSC) British Virgin Islands ✔ Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan Japan ✔ ✔
MetaTrader 4 In The US.
MetaTrader 4 (or MT4 for short) is a trading platform that allows you to buy and sell a wide range of assets and derivative products such as forex, stocks, indices and ETFs, cryptocurrencies and commodities such as gold, silver and energies. Since Contracts for difference (CFD) trading is not permitted by the derivatives regulators of the United States, the NFA and CFTC, MT4 is not well known in the US.
This might come as a surprise to US readers, as MT4 is the world’s most popular trading platform for retail traders and is a common option for brokers to offer their clients throughout the rest of the world. Although CFD trading is not permitted in the US, there are still a few brokers regulated by NFA and CFTC that offer MT4 for trading. The difference is that you will trade using Spot prices, not CFD prices.
Spot trading involves buying or selling derivatives such as forex at a current rate. This means there is a direct exchange of the derivative. CFDs products replicate the movements of the underlying asset. Instead of an exchange of the asset, you receive a contract which is like a representation of its value.
If you really want to trade financial instruments in the USA, this is your best option. Fortunately, MetaTrader 4 is a suitable platform for certain derivatives such as forex, gold, silver and several other commodities.
Key Features Of MT4.
MT4 was developed by MetaQuotes Software Corp in 2000 and has since become the platform offered by more than any other broker and used by traders. This is especially true with forex trading as the platform was designed for decentralized products that don’t require a central exchange.
There are several reasons MT4 is so popular and reasons include:
More brokers offer this platform to their clients than any other platform, and more traders use this platform (though MetaTrader 5 is catching up). MT4 is free to download and use by traders It is one of the oldest trading platforms, so has earned a reputation as a reliable and trustworthy trading platform free from defects You can use MT4 on Windows and macOS, any web platform (via WebTrader) and mobile or tablet devices for Android and iPhone. It offers all the essential tools one needs for successful trading with a user-friendly interface You can trade a variety of asset classes.
Point 5 invites more details since one would want to know what the platform offers.
MT4 Feature MT4 Feature Description ��️ Speed Lightning-fast institutional speed to reduce risks of slippage �� Analysis Tools 30 inbuilt technical indicators, 24 graphical objects �� Real-Time Charts 9 timeframes inc. 1, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes, 1, 4 hours, 1 day, 1 month, custom timeframes �� One-click Trading Allows you to execute trades with one click, perfect for scalper and day trader �� Market Orders 4 Pending order types (buy stop, buy limit, sell limit, sell stop). 2 stop orders + trailing stop ��️ 3 Execution Modes Instance execution, Execution on request, Execution by markets �� Trading Automation Expert Advisors with MQL4 IDE (programming) and a library of signal to plus in �� Backtesting 32 bit, single-threaded strategy tester �� MetaTrader Marketplace Access 1700 trading robots (EAs) and 2100 technical indicators �� News Updates MT4 terminal to receive the latest news and events �� Copy Trading Trading signals to automatically copy other traders in real-time.
The sum of all these features contributes to why many consider MetaTrader 4 among the best platforms on the market and explain its enduring popularity.
As part of this page, we look at the best trading brokers regulated by National Futures Association (NFA) or Commodity Futures Trading Commissions (CFTC) that offer the MT4 platform.
Brokers chosen for this page.
The brokers chosen for this page are all the online brokers we are aware of that offer trading on the foreign exchange market with the MT4 trading platform.
There are other brokers offering forex trading services to the US Market that don’t have MT4. These include td AmeriTrade, Trading.com (who offer MetaTrader 5 (MT5), Capital.com, eToro (who don’t offer forex but crypto and like bitcoin and stock trading functionality) and Interactive Brokers.
Regulation.
If you are trading leveraged products on the forex market in the US, the best broker you can choose is one regulated by National Futures Association (NFA) or Commodity Futures Trading Commissions (CFTC).
Being regulated by the NFA or CFTC means the broker can legally offer leveraged foreign exchange brokerage services for trading to US residents. It also means you as a trader have an element of protection as the broker must comply with the operating standard set by the regulator.
All brokers on this list are regulated by the NFA or CFTC. Some brokers might also be regulated by financial regulators of other jurisdictions such as ASIC in Australia, FCA in the UK however this is irrelevant to you as a US resident. Other regulators, you might see mentioned include CySEC for Cyprus (and European Union) and BaFin (Germany and EU) and FSA for Seychelles.
Disclaimer.
Due to the recent growth in the popularity of forex trading, unethical individuals and institutions may seek to profit from perceived regulatory loopholes. We advise all US forex traders, whether beginners or experienced investors, to partner only with regulated brokers fully licensed by the CFTC and the NFA. Even in one of the most tightly surveilled global markets, fraud can and does occur, and trading through a licensed forex broker can protect you against scams and market manipulation.
We should also note that leverage products are complex instruments that are associated with high risk because of the use of leverage. Retail traders need to fully understand how these instruments work before they trade them on a live account. For this reason, leverage is a tool best for professional traders.
All information on this page is general in nature only. We do not provide investment advice or trading advice.
About the author: Justin Grossbard.
With over 20 years of investing experience and 10 years of trading, Justin co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014. He has worked within the foreign exchange trading industry for several years and for several of the largest banks globally. Justin achieved Honours in Commerce and has a Master's degree from Monash University. He also owns Innovate Online offering digital marketing services with over 20 employees.