Binary Options Contract Lengths | Brokers With A Range Of Expiries

Binary options contract lengths, also known as expiry times, are a key variable for active traders. On many platforms we’ve used, you can choose from preset expiries or set your time in the future in a few clicks. This guide for beginners breaks down the typical contract durations available to binary traders and explains the pros and cons of different expiry times. You can also use our comparisons below to find a broker with a contract expiry that suits your trading style.

Some brokers listed may not be regulated to offer binaries in your country. Just because a firm accepts accounts from your location does not mean it is licensed. You may lose regulatory protections by opening an account.

Binary Options Brokers With Flexible Expiry Times

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These brokers offers a variety of expiry times, from short contracts of seconds up to hours and longer in some instances:

Tested with a live trading account Accepts traders from Syria Your capital is at risk. Trade only with funds you can afford to lose.

1. Our top pick in Syria
   1

   Pocket Option

   4.2/ 5

   Visit Pocket Option Read review
   • Demo account
   • Platforms: Web, MT4, MT5
   • Min. deposit: $5
2. 2

   Deriv

   4.6/ 5

   Visit Deriv Read review
   • Demo account
   • Regulator: MFSA, LFSA, BVIFSC, VFSC, FSC
   • Min. deposit: $5
3. 3

   Quotex

   4.4/ 5

   Visit Quotex Read review
   • Demo account
   • Platforms: Web Platform
   • Min. deposit: $10
4. 4

   IQ Option

   4.0/ 5

   Visit IQ Option Read review
   • Demo account
   • Instruments: CFD, Forex, Crypto, Stocks, Digital Options
   • Regulator: CySEC
5. 5

   Olymp Trade

   3.8/ 5

   Visit Olymp Trade Read review
   • Demo account
   • Regulator: VFSC
   • Platforms: Olymptrade Platform
6. 6

   AZAforex

   2.2/ 5

   Visit AZAforex Read review
   • Demo account
   • Platforms: Mobius Trader 7
   • Min. deposit: $1

Learn how we test brokers and why you can trust our ratings.

Here is a short overview of each broker's pros and cons

1. Pocket Option 4.2/5 Established in 2017, Pocket Option is a binary options broker offering high/low contracts on forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. With over 100,000 active users and a global reach, the platform continues to prove popular with budding traders.
2. Deriv 4.6/5 Established in 1999, Deriv is an innovative broker now serving over 2.5 million global clients. The firm offers CFDs, multipliers and more recently accumulators, alongside its proprietary derived products which can't be found elsewhere, providing flexible short-term trading opportunities.
3. Quotex 4.4/5 Established in 2019, Quotex is a broker that offers 100+ assets, including forex, stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. The platform emphasizes user-friendly features, complete with short-term contracts that span 5 seconds to 4 hours alongside payouts that can reach 98%.
4. IQ Option 4.0/5 IQ Option is a trusted broker with multi-asset trading on its user-friendly proprietary platform. The broker provides trading on forex, stocks, cryptos, indices, commodities and ETFs with competitive fees and a good suite of extra features and educational content. You can also open an account with just $10.
5. Olymp Trade 3.8/5 Olymptrade was established in 2014 and now boasts over 88 million traders. With a presence in over 130 countries and support in 13 languages, the brand offers a stable platform and attractive rewards for new traders. Olymp Trade also offers fixed time trades (FTT) over a diverse range of markets. The brand is licensed offshore by the VFSC.
6. AZAforex 2.2/5 Established in 2016, AZAforex is an offshore broker offering short-term trading on 235+ global financial markets, including through binary options with payouts of up to 90%. Three accounts (Start, Pro and VIP) offer unique features, but all provide access to the broker’s Mobius Trader 7 platform, which has benefited from performance upgrades over the years.

Compare Contract Expiry Times Available At Top-Rated Brokers

Compare the range of expiry times available on contracts on the best binary trading platforms:

Compare Contract Expiry Times Available At Top-Rated Brokers

Broker	Binary Options Expiry Times
Pocket Option	3 seconds - 4 hours
Deriv	15 seconds - 365 days
Quotex	5 seconds - 4 hours
IQ Option	60 seconds - 1 month
Olymp Trade	5 seconds - 23 hours
AZAforex	30 seconds - 1 day

Community Sentiment

See how users rate these brokers based on the average customer ratings submitted on DayTrading.com, plus ratings from Trustpilot, the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Community Sentiment

Broker	Our Users' Rating	Trustpilot Score	Trustpilot Reviews	iOS App Rating	Android App Rating
Pocket Option	4.5 / 5	-	-	-	4.4 / 5
Deriv	4.3 / 5	4.3 / 5	73623	4.2 / 5	4.3 / 5
Quotex	4.3 / 5	-	-	-	5.0 / 5
IQ Option	3.0 / 5	-	-	4.1 / 5	3.7 / 5
Olymp Trade	3.7 / 5	2.3 / 5	1295	4.1 / 5	4.5 / 5
AZAforex	-	-	-	5.0 / 5	-

Pocket Option

4.2/ 5

Visit Pocket Option Pocket Option review

Pocket Option stands out as one of the best binary brokers for active traders owing to its now industry-leading range of binary assets and frequent platform upgrades, including ‘AI Trading’ and a wider suite of expiry times, ranging from just 3 seconds up to 4 hours for short-term traders.

Pocket Option quick facts

Demo Account

✔Yes

Instruments

Binary Options, Currencies, Commodities, Stocks, Indices, Cryptos

Platforms

Web, MT4, MT5

Minimum Deposit

$5

Minimum Trade

$1

Account Currencies

USD

Pros

• The web platform shines for its straightforward design and usability that will appeal to beginners looking to speculate on popular financial markets in a few clicks
• The MetaTrader platforms offer integrated analysis with helpful technical summaries for short-term traders
• Pocket Option has introduced an ‘AI Trading’ feature that analyzes signals, technical indicators, and trader insights to determine the optimal trade direction and expiration time, though test carefully with small stakes given the limited transparency about how it works.

Cons

• You need to deposit $1000 to access the extended list of 250+ assets, otherwise just 130+ assets are available
• Pocket Option offers a slimmed down iteration of the MT4 and MT5 that doesn't provide the full charting package for advanced traders
• Despite offering competitive payouts up to 92% on standard binaries and 218% on Express Trades (accumulator trades), some other binary brokers offer higher potential returns on standard binaries up to 98%

Visit Pocket Option Pocket Option review

Deriv

4.6/ 5

Visit Deriv Deriv review

Deriv is ideal for active traders seeking alternative ways to speculate on global financial markets, from binaries, multipliers and accumulator options to its bespoke synthetic indices, which mimic real market movements and are available 24/7, allowing for continuous trading opportunities regardless of market hours. It remains one of the most trusted, longest-standing binary providers, earning the confidence of our team.

Deriv quick facts

Demo Account

✔Yes

Instruments

CFDs, Multipliers, Accumulators, Synthetic Indices, Forex, Stocks, Options, Commodities, ETFs

Regulator

MFSA, LFSA, BVIFSC, VFSC, FSC

Platforms

Deriv Trader, Deriv X, Deriv Go, MT5, cTrader, TradingView

Minimum Deposit

$5

Minimum Trade

0.01 Lots

Account Currencies

USD, EUR, GBP

Pros

• Deriv stands out with its innovative products, from multipliers and derived indices to its addition of accumulator options, providing exclusive short-term trading opportunities.
• Although response times trail alternatives in our personal experience, Deriv offers 24/7 support and is one of the few brokers to offer WhatsApp assistance.
• After integrating direct TradingView trading and adding MT5 web trader, Deriv now offers a first-class selection of charting tools across desktop, web and mobile devices.

Cons

• Apart from the MFSA in the EU, Deriv lacks top-tier regulatory credentials, reducing the level of safeguards like access to investor compensation.
• While the Academy launched in 2021 is a step in the right direction, there is limited education on advanced trading topics for seasoned traders and no live webinars to upskill new traders.
• Leverage up to 1:1000 will appeal to traders with a large risk appetite but frustratingly there is no ability to flex the leverage in the account area.

Visit Deriv Deriv review

Quotex

4.4/ 5

Visit Quotex Quotex review

Quotex may suit active traders seeking fast, fixed-return trades with above-average payouts of up to 98%. The fast, fully digital onboarding process and low $10 minimum deposit also make it especially accessible for aspiring traders. The binary platform is regularly improved, featuring daily trading signals and a genuinely intuitive interface.

Quotex quick facts

Demo Account

✔Yes

Instruments

Binary Options on Stocks, Indices, Forex, Commodities, Cryptos

Platforms

Web Platform

Minimum Deposit

$10

Minimum Trade

$1

Account Currencies

USD, EUR, GBP, INR, JPY, MYR, IDR, RUB, BRL, NGN, THB, VND, UAH

Pros

• The web-based platform and app are intuitive based on our hands-on tests, with a clean design and simple order execution. They include multiple indicators and built-in trading signals, making them practical solutions for both beginners and more experienced traders.
• A free demo account with $10,000 in virtual funds lets new traders practice strategies and test the platform without risking real money. It's an excellent tool for beginners to gain experience.
• Quotex lets you start trading with just $10, making it accessible for beginners and those wanting to test the platform with minimal risk. Withdrawals also start from $10, allowing easy access to funds.

Cons

• Quotex offers few market analysis tools and lacks real-time financial news, economic calendars, or in-depth research reports. Educational resources, such as courses, webinars, and expert insights, are also absent, making it less ideal for beginners.
• Customer service is mainly available via a ticketing system, which can lead to slow response times in our experience. Some competitors provide 24/7 live chat and phone support, ensuring you get help quickly during technical or withdrawal problems.
• Quotex is an offshore broker operating in a jurisdiction known for loose regulatory oversight. Unlike regulated brokers, it does not offer the same level of investor protection, dispute resolution, or fund security, making it riskier.

Visit Quotex Quotex review

IQ Option

4.0/ 5

Visit IQ Option IQ Option review

After a raft of upgrades, including FX options, multipliers, added indicators and longer expiries - IQ Option is best suited to active short-term traders who want a user-friendly, fast platform for digital options alongside CFDs and multipliers in one place. With a track record stretching back to 2013, it's also one of the most established binary providers.

IQ Option quick facts

Demo Account

✔Yes

Instruments

CFD, Forex, Crypto, Stocks, Digital Options

Regulator

CySEC

Platforms

Own

Minimum Deposit

$10

Minimum Trade

0.001 Lots

Account Currencies

USD, EUR, GBP, ZAR

Pros

• Excellent range of payment methods
• Access to IQ Option community
• Blitz Options added for faster, intraday expiries

Cons

• €10 inactivity fee after 90 days
• No MetaTrader 4 integration

Visit IQ Option IQ Option review

Olymp Trade

3.8/ 5

Visit Olymp Trade Olymp Trade review

OlympTrade is built for short-term traders with contracts from just 5 seconds and fast execution. It also stands out as one of the few fixed time trade brokers to offer trading on ETFs, plus composite indexes, while its customer support excelled during testing, especially on live chat, where we got responses of under 1 minute. The trade-off is weak regulatory oversight making it higher risk.

Olymp Trade quick facts

Demo Account

✔Yes

Instruments

Forex, CFD, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, ETFs, OTC, Fixed Time Trades

Regulator

VFSC

Platforms

Olymptrade Platform

Minimum Deposit

$10

Minimum Trade

$1

Account Currencies

USD

Pros

• Beginner-friendly blog section with analytics, trading education and market news
• Diverse range of day trading markets including commodities, cryptos and composite indices
• Fixed time trades (FTT) on popular markets with payouts up to 93%

Cons

• The best conditions are available only to those who can deposit at least $500
• Limited transparency on the website
• Weak regulatory oversight and offshore registration means traders receive limited statutory mandated safeguards

Visit Olymp Trade Olymp Trade review

AZAforex

2.2/ 5

Visit AZAforex AZAforex review

AZAforex is best suited to active traders looking for a choice of American and Chinese options, with different payout structures to standard high/low options. It’s also excellent for mobile traders, offering a dedicated app that provides a more comprehensive experience if you’re trading on the go compared to the mobile-optimized web browsers most firms use.

AZAforex quick facts

Demo Account

✔Yes

Instruments

CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, Binary Options

Platforms

Mobius Trader 7

Minimum Deposit

$1

Minimum Trade

0.0001 Lots

Account Currencies

USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, MYR, IDR, CHF, RUB, THB, VND, UAH, CNY

Pros

• Few brokers offer digital options as part of their portfolio. Still, AZAforex includes them, allowing you to speculate on short-term price movements with fixed risk and reward up to 90%, though such products require a high win rate to breakeven.
• AZAforex supports a huge and growing variety of payment methods, including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies, providing flexibility for funding and withdrawals. This variety accommodates traders from different regions and preferences.

Cons

• AZAforex offers basic trading guides and a blog but lacks robust educational tools such as video tutorials, webinars, or interactive learning resources. This makes it less appealing for beginners who need comprehensive learning support. A lot of the content is outdated, too.
• AZAforex still operates without regulation from a recognized financial authority, which raises concerns about transparency, fund safety, and accountability. You may have no recourse in disputes, making it riskier than regulated brokers.
• While functional during testing, the Mobius Trader 7 platform is proprietary and not widely used by other brokers. This creates risks of potential price manipulation or discrepancies in market data, as there's no external verification like with MetaTrader or cTrader.

Visit AZAforex AZAforex review

Different Binary Expiry Times

Many binary options brokers offer a wide range of contract lengths to cater to different strategies. These can be broadly split into three groups.

Short-Term Contracts

Short-term binary options contracts have expiry times of a few seconds up to five minutes. Sometimes referred to as turbo binaries, expiry intervals with popular brokers include 60 seconds.

However, some platforms in recent years, such as Pocket Option, have also dropped their shortest contract length to just 3 seconds. You can see this next to the arrow in the platform image below.

This type of turbo contract that lasts just seconds, often suits momentum or correction-based trading, where prices may move in a single direction in a very short time frame.

Breaking market or global news can often catalyse these patterns for forex and commodity markets, as can earnings reports and stock dividend announcements.

Medium-Term Contracts

While trading binary options, we found that medium-term contracts with five-minutes to one-day expiry times offered day traders flexibility in setups. Popular intervals in this area include 15-minute, 30-minute, 1-hour and 1 day binaries.

Medium-term contracts are short enough to capitalize on market momentum while sometimes long enough for asset values to ride out slight deviations from a solid directional trajectory.

Long-Term Contracts

Some brokers offer longer-term contracts with expiry times of over one day through to several months.

The longer expiry times of such binary contracts allow investors to take advantage of more fundamental and gradual price changes. However, long-term contracts have disadvantages.

One concern is that your trading capital is locked up for a prolonged period. This is particularly pertinent for a fixed-return instrument such as binary options. Another is that payouts are sometimes lower on longer-term contracts – more on this later.

Example: How Expiry Time Changes the Outcome

Let’s say EUR/GBP is trading at 0.85000.

Trader A (very short-term idea)

Trader A expects a quick push higher over the next 30 seconds based on short-term momentum. They place a $100 “High/Buy” binary with a 30-second expiry. The broker offers an 85% payout, so:

• If they win: they receive $185 back ($100 stake + $85 profit)
• If they lose: they lose the $100 stake

After 30 seconds, EUR/GBP has slipped slightly to 0.84992 (a small move lower). Because the price finished below the entry level at expiry, Trader A’s trade expires out-of-the-money and they lose their stake.

Trader B (longer-term idea)

Trader B agrees EUR/GBP could rise, but expects it to play out over days, not seconds (for example, due to broader market sentiment). They place a $100 “High/Buy” binary with a 1-week expiry. The broker offers a 75% payout, so:

• If they win: they receive $175 back ($100 stake + $75 profit)
• If they lose: they lose the $100 stake

Over the week, EUR/GBP fluctuates up and down (including small dips similar to Trader A’s). By the end of the week, EUR/GBP closes at 0.85210. Trader B’s trade expires in-the-money, so they earn $75 profit on top of their original stake.

Key point: Short expiries can be decided by tiny, normal price wiggles. Longer expiries give the trade more time to work, but you’re exposed to more events and your capital is tied up longer.

Cashing Out

Some binary options brokers offer investors the chance to cash out early on a contract to either lock in profits or reduce losses. However, this is primarily a viable option for medium to long-term contracts, as short-term expiry times sometimes leave investors little time to readjust to changing market conditions.

Broker Availability

We’ve found the available binary options contract lengths can differ significantly between online brokers.

Extreme binary options contract lengths on either end of the expiry time scale, such as 3 seconds or several months are rare. However, we found that almost all brokers support contract expiries in the several minutes or hours range.

Negative Expected Value Still Matters At Every Expiry

Most over-the-counter (OTC) binaries on offshore platforms have a negative expected value because payouts are asymmetric (e.g., risk $100 to win $80). So you must win over 55.6% just to break even at an 80% payout.

Expiry length doesn’t remove the house edge on some platforms: 60s, 1h, 1d, 1w – if the payout is “risk more than you can win,” the math stays against you unless your win rate (or pricing edge) is high enough.

Short expiries can worsen it: more noise and execution effects mean your realized win rate tends to drop, so the negative expected value structure can hit harder.

How Expiry Times Impact Strategies

Multiple strategies are available to binary traders, with different plans suited to various contract lengths. Here are a couple of systems and considerations:

Trading Fundamentals

Fundamentals trading is all about the long-term outlook of an asset, also taking into account the price history of an asset. For example, this can be if an asset’s sector is due for a seasonal boost or your analysis of its price determinants reveals an asset as overvalued.

Technical analysis can also play a part in these trades, with historical data from trading graphs a valuable tool to corroborate fundamental beliefs.

Long-term binary options typically suit to this type of trading technique, as price movements tend to reflect fundamentals more than market momentum over an extended period such as weeks or months.

Trading Momentum

Trading momentum is based more on short-term price direction, with asset fundamentals not playing such a significant part. Momentum is often triggered by events like news, such as layoffs at a company, interest rate changes that affect a currency, or the announcement of a global commodities shortage.

Short or medium contract length binary options are suited for momentum-based trading. 1-minute and 5-minute binary options contracts allow traders to shoot for returns from momentum-based moves.

Bottom Line

Binary traders can access a variety of expiration times to implement different trading strategies. However, the right expiry time for you will ultimately depend on your plan and how you like to trade.

FAQs

What Is The Best Expiry Time For Binary Options?

There is no universal best expiry time. While short-term contracts lasting just a few seconds are popular on some platforms, in part due to the prospect of high percentage payouts, they require a careful strategy and emotional resilience to prevent overtrading.

Which Binary Options Expiry Times Offer The Greatest Payouts?

For many markets, short contract-length binaries offer the highest payouts, sometimes climbing above 90%. But while attractive this means you could potentially lose your stake just as quickly. See our pick of binary brokers with the best payouts for winning trades.

Can I Make Binary Options Contract Length Extensions?

Yes, some platforms we’ve used have introduced ‘rollover’ features. These let traders extend binary positions.

Regulatory Disclaimer

• US: Binary-style ‘event contracts’ exist on regulated venues; be cautious of off-exchange platforms – regulators warn about fraud/manipulation risks.
• UK: Binary options providers are banned from soliciting retail clients (sale/marketing/distribution).
• EU/EEA: Binary options were prohibited for retail clients under ESMA’s intervention measures (national rules continue).
• Elsewhere: Rules vary – many offshore firms accept clients where protections are limited, making them high risk. Verify broker authorization before depositing.