11 Best Forex Broker in India 2023 (Review and Comparison)

Forex (Fx) is a non-stop market and forex brokers operate 24×7 worldwide (100+ countries).

The best forex brokers have licenses and operations under various authorities like Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (Cyprus), the Financial Conduct Authority (UK), and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).  

Foreign forex brokers allow Indian residents to open an account and trade in different forex currencies, stocks, indexes, commodities and even in top cryptocurrencies.  

But…

In India – The forex exchange is regulated by RBI (central bank) and permits trading only on stock exchanges.

RBI does not acknowledge or approve any of the Forex brokers listed in the article.

Non- Indian persons may check the regulation of forex brokers based on the region of their residence.

Disclaimer – The information present in this article is for information purposes only. And does not solicit investment, account opening, or trading in assets mentioned in the article. Please check with your financial & legal advisor before taking forex trading.

In India, you can trade only in INR-based currency pairs on NSE, BSE and MSE (Metropolitan Stock Exchange). 

Only four INR-based currency pairs are available in India – USD/INR, EUR/IND, GBP/INR and JPY/INR. You can also trade cross-currency F&O contracts on EUR-USD, GBP-USD and USD-JPY. That is because the cross currencies have corresponding INR pairs. 

But, if you want to trade in other FX like AUD (Australian Dollar), CHF (Swiss Franc), Canadian Dollar (CAD), or other currency pairs then you need to open a forex account with an international forex broker. 

Before you pick a specific forex broker, you need to know the factors for selecting a top forex broker in India. You can check the factors that I have listed after the section – top 11 best online forex brokers in India.

Here is our list of the best forex brokers in India 2023

• OctaFx – Best for Indian audience
• Olymp Trade – One of the most trusted
• FXTM – Best for fast trading platforms
• eToro – Great for multiple trading assets options
• XM Forex – Demo account with $100,000 of virtual balance
• iForex – Great for one-click deal execution
• Alpari International – Greate for a lowest minimum deposit
• Forex.Com – Best for advanced tools & charts
• FBS – Best for highest leverage
• HYCM – One of the oldest

11 Best Forex Brokers in India 2023

#1. OctaFX Forex Broker Review

You can trade 35 currency pairs, metals, CFDs, indices and digital assets on OctaFX. The company is registered and regulated by the Law of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 

OctaFX account can be opened online with a minimum deposit of $25 for currency. Deposits can be made using Neteller, Skrill, Local banks, and Paytm. You can also deposit/withdraw through Mastercard.

You benefit from a practice demo account, nil deposit and withdrawal commission and fast trade execution on OctaFX.

You can trade-in  

• 35 currency pairs, for example, EUR/USD, GBP/USD and others
• 150 CFDs on stocks
• 2 Metals Gold & Silver
• 3 Energies
• 10 Indices like Nasdaq and DowJones
• 230 trading assets including digital assets 

Depending on your trading experience & platform requirement you can open the following three account types

• MetaTrader 4 account – for new Fx traders 
• MetaTrader 5 account – for experienced traders

But you need to maintain the account currency in either USD or EUR. 

You can trade higher limits with a maximum leverage of 1:500 and negative balance protection. 

New FX traders can explore the video tutorials and gainfully use the copy trading option to get started trading. 

What I Like

• Nil commission on deposit & withdrawal
• Deposit through Paytm and Mastercard
• Trading in digital assets (cryptos) available
• cTrader ECN platform for automatic (similar to algorithmic) trading
• Support available in the Hindi language
• Option to have a 100% Sharia-compliant account

What I Didn’t Like 

• $5 charged for the status program  

#2. Olymp Trade Forex Broker

Olymp Trade is a member of the International Financial Commission and the website belongs to and is managed by Saledo Global LLC. 

Saledo Global LLC is registered and operates under the jurisdiction of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

You can trade Commodities, Stocks, Indices, ETF, Currencies, OTC and digital assets (crypto) using the Olymp Trade platform.

The leverage available is up to 500 times.

Olymp Trade also offers innovative “Fixed Time Trading” (FTT) where you profit by forecasting currency exchange rates. 

In fixed-time trading, you make forecasts as to whether the price of an asset will rise or fall over a certain period of time. If your forecast is correct, then you get a profit of up to 90% of the trade amount.

You have the flexibility to choose the trade time and set the trade amount as per your trading convenience.

The partner companies for the Olymp Trade are 

• VISEPOINT LIMITED; registration No. C 94716, VICTORIA (GOZO) VCT 2604, Country MALTA
• WALLFORT LIMITED; registration No. HE364695, Limassol, Cyprus

What I Like 

• Trading assets include Cryptos and other instruments
• Innovative Fixed Time Trading
• Demo practice account
• Trading guides, webinars, interactive course & Insights

What I Didn’t Like 

• Inactivity commission of $10 per month 
• At times commission on forex trades can differ 
• Leverage of 1:500

#3. FXTM Forex Broker Review

FXTM is a brand of Forex Time Limited and is regulated under Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (Cyprus), FSCA of South Africa and the Financial Conduct Authority (UK). 

FXTM is trusted by over 4 million individual traders worldwide. You can trade currency pairs, CFDs, stocks, cryptocurrencies, precious metals and commodities.  

You can trade fast and securely over MetaTrader (MT4) and MT5 trading platforms across web, desktop and mobile devices. 

FXTM does not have its own trading platform but offers trading tools in combination with MT platforms. The tools are – FXTM pivot point strategy and trading signals tools that aid your trading strategy. 

New forex traders can copy trade real-time by following experienced traders using FXTM Invest. 

FXTM allows deposits from host of payment methods like – VISA, Mastercard, Maestro, Skrill, Neteller, GlobePay, PayRedeem, Google Pay, and Local Bank transfers. 

You have the option to choose from six account types:

Account Types	Minimum deposit	Spreads	Commissions	Trading Instruments
Micro	$10	From 1.5 pip	Zero	Fx, Metals, Commodities
Advantage	$500	From 0.0 pip	$0.4 to $2 based on volume	Fx, Metals, Commodities, Indices, Stocks & Stock CFDs
Advantage Plus	$500	From 1.5 pip	Zero	Fx, Metals, Commodities, Indices, Stocks & Stock CFDs

What I Like 

• FXTM Invest – copy trading option
• Range of accounts with affordable minimum deposits
• Leverage up to 1:2000
• Negative balance protection

What I Didn’t Like 

• No proprietary trading platform
• $500 minimum deposit in advantage and advantage plus account 

#4. eToro Forex Broker Review

eToro is regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). 

You can trade in multiple assets like Global stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Indices, Commodities and Currencies. The CFDs are available on currency pairs, indices and commodities. 

The new traders can open a virtual-money demo account having $100K to practice strategies and real-time trading. 

eToro advocates social trading, where traders get to share their strategies and tips.  Further, at eToro one can copy trade other trader’s orders/ actions in real-time. 

The minimum first-time deposit varies from $10 to $10,000 based on your region and country regulations. 

eToro offers leverage between 2:1 to 30:1 depending on the instrument and account with a facility of negative balance protection so that you trade comfortably. 

What I Like 

• 3116+ stocks & 49 currencies to trade
• $100,000 virtual practice account
• Copy-trading and social trading facility

What I Didn’t Like 

• Flat $5 withdrawal fees
• Minimum withdrawal amount of $30
• Crypto transfer & conversion fees
• Leverage of 30:1 

#5. XM Forex Broker Review

XM Global Limited is a subsidiary company of Trading Point Holdings Ltd with registered address at Suite 404, Coney Drive, Belize. 

XM Global Limited is regulated by Financial Service Commission and the other group company by the name Trading Point is regulated by CySEC (Cyprus). 

XM has over 2.5 million traders from over 196 countries. You can trade over 1000+ instruments over six asset classes – 55 currency pairs, CFDs on major global indices, commodities, stocks, metals and energies. 

XM offers MT4 and MT5 trading platforms across devices (Android, iOS, iPad, Mac and PC) and even on the web through MT Web Trader.

New traders can test their forex trading skills on a demo account that comes with $100,000 of virtual balance. 

XM has four account types with negative balance protection. 

Account Types	Minimum deposit	Spreads	Leverage
Micro Account	$5	As low as 1 pip	Up to 1:1000
Standard Account	$5	As low as 1 pip	Up to 1:1000
XM Ultra-Low Account	$50	As low as 0.6 pip	Up to 1:1000
Shares Account	$10,000	As per the underlying exchange	No leverage

What I Like 

• Demo account with $100,000 of virtual balance
• Low minimum deposit Forex account
• Negative balance protection

What I Didn’t Like 

• Max 200 open positions
• No proprietary platform

#6. iForex Broker Review

iForex is a trademark owned by the Formula Investment House Ltd and is licensed & supervised by the BVI (British Virgin Islands) Financial Services Commission.

The platform offers to trade CFDs in currencies, crypto, indices, shares, commodities and ETFs assets. 

iForex trading platforms are mobile and web-based trading platforms with over 750 CFDs (tradable instruments) and real-time charts. Traders benefit from one-click deal execution. 

You can open an account with the minimum initial deposit of $100. The trading account can be funded using VISA, Master, Diners, Neteller, Jeton, Skrill, GlobePay and netbanking. 

iForex has a wide range of educational materials in the form of videos, books and exclusive 1-on-1 training with a trading coach. Customer support is available in over 16 languages.

You get leverage up to 1:400 depending on the assets and negative balance protection. 

What I Like 

• One-click deal execution
• Education & support in over 16 languages

What I Didn’t Like 

• Withdrawal fees of $20
• No MT4 or MT5 trading platform

#7. AVATrade Forex Broker Review

AvaTrade is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland in Europe, ASIC (Australia), Financial Services Agency (Japan), BVI Financial Service Commission (British Virgin Islands), FRSA Abu Dhabi and South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (South Africa).

You can trade on desktop, web, tablet and mobile-based trading platforms with

• AvaTradeGO (proprietary trading app)
• MetaTrader 4 
• MetaTrader 5

1000+ instruments on Forex, Commodities, Indices, ETFs, Stocks CFDs along with Cryptocurrencies are the trading assets available with AvaTrade.

AvaTrade provides online trading, information and educational materials in 20 languages.

An AvaTrade margin account can be opened with a minimum deposit of $100 by paying in any of the four currencies (USD, Euro, GBP).

However, 100 GBP is for British traders and 100 USD is for global traders only. 

The account deposits can be made using credit cards and wire transfers. AvaTrade also accepts e-payments from Skrill, Webmoney and Neteller. But, E-payment options are not available for Australian and EU traders.

AvaTrade offers leverage of up to 1:400 with negative balance protection so that your account never goes below zero. 

What I Like 

• Trading websites in local languages
• Negative balance protection

What I Didn’t Like 

• Leverage of 1:400

#8. Alpari International Forex Broker Review

Alpari International has 20 years of forex industry presence with 2 million traders. Alpari is a brand name of Exinity Limited and is regulated by The Financial Service Commission – Mauritius. 

Alpari offers MT5 and MT4 trading platforms. Apart from forex one can trade in stocks, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies and metal assets. 

New traders can benefit from Alpari’s copy trading program where you can copy the strategist’s trade and share a certain percentage of your profits. 

Alpari offers four account types

Account Types	Minimum deposit	Spreads	Max. Leverage
Forex Standard Account	$100	from 1.2 pip	Floating from 1:1000
Forex Micro Account	$5	from 1.7 pip	Fixed 1:400
Forex ECN Account	$500	from 0.4 pip	Floating from 1:1000
Forex Pro Account	$25,000	from 0.4 pip	Floating from 1:300

You can fund the margin account using

• Credit cards (VISA, Master or Maestro)
• E-wallets (Neteller, Skrill, Webmoney, Vload)
• Bank wire transfer 
• Using local transfer 

What I Like 

• Leverage up to 1:1000
• Minimum deposits start from $5

What I Didn’t Like 

• No FCA regulation
• No negative balance protection

#9. Forex.Com Broker Review

FOREX.com is a trading name of GAIN Capital Group LLC which is registered futures commission merchant & retail Fx dealer with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

One can trade on 80+ currency pairs, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies.

Forex.com offers its own proprietary trading platform for desktop web and mobile trading through apps. The platform has 70+ technical indicators, a host of time intervals, multiple chart types and 50+ drawing tools. 

Additionally, you have access to MetaTrader 4 platform. 

The unique part is the MetaTrader VPN hosting, where you get a MetaTrader 4 software pre-installed on Virtual Private Server (VPS) solution.

The solution helps you get maximum uptime, fast trade execution and account access from any operating system via a web browser.

However, to get a VPS solution you need to trade at least a notional volume of $500,000 per month.

For opening an account the initial deposit is $100 but Forex.com recommends depositing at least $2500 for better risk management. You can fund the account through credit, debit, forex cards and wire transfer. 

Forex.com gives a default leverage setting of 50:1 and expects you to trade within the default leverage. MT4 accounts can request changes in leverage to 20:1 or even up to 10:1.  

What I Like 

• VPS hosting for active traders
• Account funding through credit & debit cards and wire transfer

What I Didn’t Like 

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission registration only
• $100 initial deposit

#10. FBS Forex Broker Review

FBS has trusted traders from 150 countries having 23 million traders. FBS activities are regulated by the IFSC (International Financial Services Commission) Belize.

You have trading access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS and WebTrader desktop applications. 

Apart from that, you can use the proprietary FBS trader App. The app allows real-time stats & price charts to help you trade over 50 currency pairs and metals. You can also trade in forex, metals, CFD, Stocks, Forex exotic.

FBS provides leverage starting from 1:50 and going up to 1:3000 with negative balance protection. 

FBS offers 5 account types

Account Types	Initial deposit	Spread	Commission	Leverage
Cent Account	From 1$	floating, from 1 pip	0$	Up to 1:1000
Micro Account	From 5$	floating, from 3 pips	0$	Up to 1:3000
Standard Account	From 100$	floating, from 0,5 pip	0$	Up to 1:3000
Zero Spread Account	From 500$	Fixed, 0 pips	From 20$/ lot	Up to 1:3000
ECN Account	From 1000$	floating, 0 pip	6$/ lot	Up to 1:500

You can fund the account using VISA, Neteller, Stic Pay, Skrill and Perfect Money.

What I Like 

• Leverage up to 1:3000
• Proprietary FBS App-based platform

What I Didn’t Like 

• $1000 high initial deposit for ECN account
• $20 commission on Zero Spread accounts

#11. HYCM Forex Broker Review

Henyep Markets is a multi-regulated forex broker, having registration under the FCA (UK), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, and also registered in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.

The 40+ years old forex trader offers trading in 300+ instruments across 5 asset classes like forex, stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities and ETF.

You can open a trading account by funding through a credit card (VISA, Master), bank wire, VISA transfer, Interac, Neteller and Skrill. The minimum deposit required to start trading is $100.

New traders have the option to open any of the three accounts:

Account Type	Minimum Deposit	Spread
Fixed Account	$100	fixed from 1.5 pips
Classic Account	$100	variable from 1.2 pips
Raw Account	$200	raw spreads from 0.2 pips

Henyep offers maximum leverage of 1:500 and also provides negative balance protection.

One can trade assets over MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms using a laptop, smartphone or PC. 

What I Like 

• A minimum deposit of $100
• Negative balance protection

What I Didn’t Like 

• Max leverage of 1:500

Features of Best Forex Broker in India

#1. Registered With a Reputable Financial Regulator

Forex brokers operate online across the globe. To be trustworthy they need to be overseen by a major financial regulator having rigorous compliance on trading practices and client protection.

The financial regulators can be the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus’ Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), or any other country-specific regulator with strict regulations. 

#2. Accepts Affordable Minimum Deposit

You need to open a margin account for forex trading. 

You need to pay a minimum deposit amount while opening a margin account. The deposit amount ranges from $5 to $200 and above which varies from broker to broker.

All you need is to find a forex broker that asks for a reasonable minimum initial deposit amount corresponding to the services provided.

#3. Trading Assets

Forex brokers let you trade in different currency pairs, currency derivatives (like options trading, swaps and forward), global stock, indexes, commodities and crypto. All forex brokers do not provide trading in all the currency pairs or assets.

You will frequently come to hear of Contracts For Difference (CFD) in forex broking. CFDs are over the counter (OTC) derivative products, where you trade on the price movement (difference) of financial assets without actually owning them. 

The CFD contracts can be on Indices Futures, Commodity Futures, Stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

Before you select a forex broker, you need to check your asset preferences for trading.  

Based on your trading requirements pick a broker that provides all the assets you want to trade-in.

#4. Leverage Available

Leverage or margins help you trade a larger volume on a fraction of your money. For example, if you have a leverage of 1:100 means that with $1000 in your account you can enter a trade worth $100,000.  

There are forex brokers offering leverage up to 1:1000 levels. 

Leverage is like a double edge sword. They can help you earn plenty or lose huge amounts if the price movement is adverse.  

Prudent practice suggests that you should always use appropriate leverage in line with your trading strategy and risk capacity.

#5. Trading Platform

MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading platforms are the popular global forex trading platforms. Both platforms support automated trading.

Other commonly used forex trading platforms are cTrader and Ninja Trader. 

Your forex broker should at least provide MetaTrader 4/5 in addition to their own proprietary trading platform. 

#6. Negative Balance Protection 

Forex trades are highly leveraged. Any adverse economic, political news and events have the potential to create high volatility. The sudden adverse movements can result in losses more than your capital/ account deposits.

This is where your account turns negative (i.e. situations where trade losses are more than the deposits in the account).

Brokers who offer negative balance protection save you from any debt payments. Under negative balance protection, the losses are restricted up to the initial deposit. 

Traders can also prevent negative balance situations by

• Placing stop-loss order with each trade
• Using leverage carefully
• Keeping the trading volumes under check

Conclusion

You can make forex trading a part of your trading portfolio. You can read my guide on how to start stock intraday trading, and how to start options trading in India to diversify your portfolio.