Founded in 1999, FOREX.com is now part of StoneX, a financial services organization serving over one million customers worldwide. Regulated in the US, UK, EU, Australia and beyond, the broker offers thousands of markets, not just forex, and provides excellent pricing on cutting-edge platforms.
"FOREX.com remains a best-in-class brokerage for active forex traders of all experience levels, with over 80 currency pairs, tight spreads from 0.0 pips and low commissions. The powerful charting platforms collectively offer over 100 technical indicators, as well as extensive research tools."
- DayTrading Review Team
Bonus: Active Trader Program With A 15% Reduction In Costs
The in-house Web Trader continues to shine as one of the best-designed platforms for aspiring day traders with a slick design and over 80 technical indicators for market analysis.
FOREX.com offers industry-leading forex pricing starting from 0.0 pips, alongside competitive cashback rebates of up to 15% for serious day traders.
Alongside a choice of leading platforms, FOREX.com offers a superb suite of supplementary tools including Trading Central research, SMART Signals pattern scanner, trading signals, and strategy builders.
Cons
There’s no negative balance protection for US clients, so you may find yourself owing more money than your initial deposit into your account.
FOREX.com's MT4 platform offers approximately 600 instruments, significantly fewer than the over 5,500 available on its non-MetaTrader platforms.
Demo accounts are frustratingly time-limited to 90 days, which doesn’t give you enough time to test day trading strategies effectively.
eToro is a social investing platform that offers short-term and long-term trading on stocks, ETFs, options and crypto. The broker is well-known for its user-friendly community-centred platform and competitive fees. With FINRA and SIPC oversight and millions of users across the world, eToro is still one of the most respected brands in the industry. eToro securities trading is offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc.
"eToro remains a top pick for traders looking for leading social investing and copy trading services. With a low deposit, zero commissions and an intuitive platform, the broker will meet the needs of newer day traders."
- DayTrading Review Team
Bonus: Invest $100 and get $10
Instruments: Stocks, Options, ETFs, Crypto
Demo Account: Yes
Platforms: eToro Trading Platform & CopyTrader
Minimum Deposit: $10
Minimum Trade: $10
Pros
A free demo account means new users and prospective day traders can try the broker risk-free
The online broker offers an intuitive social investment network with straightforward copy trading on cryptos
Investors can access Smart Portfolios for a more hands-off approach, covering a range of sectors and markets such as renewable energy and artificial intelligence
Cons
Average fees may cut into the profit margins of day traders
There's a narrower range of day trading instruments available compared to competitors, with only stocks, ETFs and cryptos
The proprietary terminal doesn't support trading bots and there are no additional stock market analysis tools
LQDFX is a straight-through processing (STP) broker based in the Marshall Islands. The offshore trading firm offers competitive spreads from 0.0 pips, free deposits, 24/5 support and access to the hugely popular MetaTrader 4 platform. LQDFX also runs a competitive bonus program for short-term traders.
"LQDFX is best for active day traders looking for ultra-tight spreads, low fees and high leverage up to 1:1000. Forex traders will particularly appreciate the strong range of 70+ currency pairs with minimum deposits starting from $20."
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.
"Pocket Option excels for its easy-to-use web platform which provides a best-in-class user experience for short-term binary traders. The $50 minimum deposit is also accessible for beginners while opening an account is really easy. Looking at the negatives, Pocket Option still trails alternatives in its market offering and regulatory credentials."
The range of payment methods beats the majority of rivals, providing fast, secure and convenient deposits for traders in most countries
Extremely fast and smooth sign-up process that takes less than 2 minutes
Well-funded traders who deposit $1000+ can qualify for a 2%+ payout boost, more tradable assets and exclusive perks
Cons
Pocket Option offers a slimmed down iteration of the MT4 and MT5 that doesn't provide the full charting package for advanced traders
The maximum binary contract length of 4 hours is restrictive for longer-term trading strategies. Alternatives like Videforex offer binaries up to 1 month
You need to deposit $1000 to access the extended list of 250+ assets, otherwise just 130+ assets are available
IQCent is an offshore binary options and CFD broker based in the Marshall Islands. The brand continues to offer a range of unique account types with bonuses and perks, including payout boosts, TradeBacks and free rollovers. With 100+ assets, around-the-clock trading and 98% payouts, the firm is popular with aspiring short-term traders.
"IQCent will appeal to day traders looking for a straightforward binary options and CFD trading platform with low fees, a range of accounts, and copy trading. Getting started takes less than 1 minute and a $250 deposit. "
Tixee is offering a welcome bonus that ranges from 30% to 100% of the starting deposit. Clients can earn between $250 with the Entry account and $10,000 with the Premium and VIP accounts. We unpack the sign-up offer, alongside key terms and conditions below.
FxPlayer is offering tiered welcome deposit bonuses ranging from 100% to 500%. The more clients trade, the bigger the bonus. We break down joining instructions and key terms and conditions below.
PU Prime is offering a generous bonus on first and second deposits. The trading credit can be used to boost your account margin and market exposure. The offer is available on Standard, Prime and Islamic accounts.
InstaForex is running a 100% deposit bonus. Traders can double their first deposit and use promotional funds to speculate on the broker’s 100+ currency pairs. Read on for joining instructions, plus bonus terms and conditions.
AAAFX is running a 100% deposit bonus for global clients. Promotional funds are added to client accounts as additional margin. Find out how to claim the welcome bonus and boost your trading funds.
Award-winning forex and crypto broker, AAAFx, is offering a free VPS for traders that deposit $5,000. The virtual private server ensures uninterrupted trading operations, lending it to automated investing strategies and trading signals. Read on for the details.
FBS is a top-rated broker offering up to $140 in free trading capital. The new bonus can be used to trade on the company’s range of forex and CFD assets. Find out how to qualify for the welcome bonus, along with any withdrawal terms and conditions.
FBS is making copying trading risk-free for first-time traders. On copy trades up to $100, your losses will be covered on the first three trades. And, if you make a profit, you get to keep your rewards. This leaves traders with just two outcomes: making money or retaining their original deposit amount.
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What is a Trading Bonus?
If you want to use brokers with bonus offers or other incentives, it’s important to understand the different varieties out there. From no deposit bonus schemes to explaining why free bonuses are usually not free at all, we will explore the bonus and promotion offers at a range of brokers. We detail the types of bonus available, why forex trading bonuses might differ and which strategy can maximise bonus returns. We also reveal why the key to bonuses is always to read the terms and conditions.
A bonus provides you with potentially free money for trading and is normally offered by a broker as an incentive to attract new clients who can then try trading with little or no risk.
There are different types of trading bonus offers and requirements for getting the bonus paid out to your account. We detail these below.
No Deposit Bonus
The no deposit bonus is the most lenient of bonuses, as it does not require you to deposit any funds at all before you get the bonus. Normally a broker wants you to at least deposit some funds with them before you can get your bonus, but with a “no deposit” bonus they allow anyone to get the bonus after creating a new account.
Note that there might still be requirements to fulfil before you can get your trading profits paid out, and those requirements might be stricter for this kind of bonus than for others. Normally you have to trade a certain total volume before you can withdraw the profits derived from the bonus money.
Considering how generous it is to hand out free money to new traders, that makes a lot of sense. Make sure you are ok with those requirements before you sign up.
Welcome Bonus
A “welcome bonus” is a way to reward new traders who sign up for an account, to make them feel welcome and to make it easier for new clients to start trading right away. A welcome bonus might require you to make a deposit, so make sure you agree with the bonus requirements before you sign up.
Deposit Match Bonus
The “deposit match bonus” will match a percentage of your deposit, up to a certain maximum amount.
For example, if the bonus is a 30% match up to $5,000, and you deposit $1,000, you will get an additional $300 from the broker ($1,000 * 30%). With this example offer the most you can get is $5000, which you would get when depositing at least $16,667 ($16,667 * 30% = $5,000). Even if you deposit more than that, you will still only get the maximum $5,000.
Note – we have seen alternate definitions of the maximum amount, where 30% match up to $5,000 would rather mean that even if you deposit more that $5,000, you will only get the 30% paid out on $5,000. In other words, the maximum amount pertains to the maximum deposit on which you will get the 30% bonus, and NOT how much bonus you can maximally get.
OBS! For a serious trader the distinction between the two maximum amount definitions can make a big difference, so make sure you understand the requirements before signing up and depositing.
Considerations
Most bonus types have requirements regarding how much you have to trade before you can withdraw profits. For some traders this is ok, while to others it becomes a source of frustration.
Due to bonus abuse by many unscrupulous traders, the requirements have by necessity become so strict that you might be better off without one. However, it’s impossible to give individual advice, as it comes down to how much money you want to trade with and how long you can wait before you make a withdrawal.
In the long run a trading bonus will not make a huge difference to many traders, and might make things feel more complicated and thus spoil the joy of trading. Only use a bonus if you feel it makes sense to you personally.
FAQ
Do I have to accept a broker's trading bonus?
Normally you don’t have to accept a bonus deal just because a broker is offering one. You might have to explicitly opt out of a bonus however, so make sure to check the terms and conditions when signing up.
Is a bonus basically free money?
While a bonus offer can sometimes sound like free cash with no requirements involved, there are always terms and conditions attached. If this wasn’t the case, what would stop dishonest traders from just withdrawing the funds without trading?
Which Brokers Have Bonus Offers?
Due to regulation in many countries, it can be hard to find brokers with a bonus. However, we have collated all available bonuses here and also list other kinds of ongoing trading promotions and incentives.
Note that using a broker’s bonus offer is not necessarily best for all traders. Always read the terms and conditions, especially what’s required to “clear” the bonus (i.e., what you have to do to receive the full amount).