Best Forex Brokers in South Africa

A forex broker takes on an important role of connecting you to the online FX market while charging a brokerage fee for the service.

Advertising and marketing campaigns are employed by forex brokers to attract South African traders, especially on social media, to draw you in, but you need to look beyond the surface & avoid unlicensed brokers.

In our research, Exness is a low-cost forex broker in South Africa, based on a careful examination of FSCA regulated brokers in the region and comparison to other brokers.

A comprehensive breakdown of how we have ranked the brokers is given below.

Best South African Forex Brokers

• Exness – Best South African Forex Broker with Lowest Spreads
• Tickmill – Best Forex Broker for Pro Traders
• HF Markets – Overall Best Forex Broker in South Africa
• AvaTrade – Best Forex Broker for Fixed Spreads
• FxPro – Best Forex Broker with Rand Account
• XM – Forex Broker with Ultra-low Account
• FXTM – Best Forex Broker for Beginners
• Think Markets – FSCA Regulated Forex Broker with Low Spreads
• IFX Brokers – South African Forex Broker with ODP License
• Scope Markets – Regulated Forex Broker with Copy Trading

For safety, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) licenses & supervises forex brokers who decide to accept traders in South Africa. However, some brokers prefer to operate from outside, without FSCA supervision, making it riskier to deposit your funds.

We have ranked these regulated brokers based on factors including safety, starting deposit, spread, number of currency pairs, and technology.

Advertiser Disclosure: Please note that this list should not be viewed as an exact ranking of brokers, but instead as a list of forex & CFD brokers. Moreover, some of the links in this guide may be affiliate links, and the advertiser may earn a small commission if you sign up with the broker.

Our review process in independent & unbiased, and we have reviewed only the brokers who are licensed in South Africa.

1. Exness – Best South African Forex Broker with Lowest Spreads

Exness Group was established in 2008 and has over 515,000 active clients.

Exness ZA (PTY) Ltd (owners of Exness brand) is regulated and can be found in the FSCA register with FSP license number 51024.

Exness Standard and Pro Account are commission free, while the Raw spread and Zero Accounts attract commissions of $3.5 per side.

Exness offers ZAR base currency trading accounts and to begin trading, the minimum deposit required is $10 for Standard Accounts or $500 for Professional Accounts. South African traders can use bank or EFT for funding/withdrawal from Exness account.

Because of the $10 starting deposit requirement, Exness  commission-free Standard & Standard-Cent Accounts are most affordable with EUR/USD average spread being 1 pip.

Exness Raw Spread & Zero Spread Accounts on the other hand have very low spreads with EUR/USD being 0.0 pips most of the time.

Irrespective of your account type, you can access swap-free trading & don't pay inactivity fees when your Exness account is left dormant.

Pros and Cons of Exness

Get more information on Exness website about their accounts

 2. TickMill – Best Forex Broker for Pro Traders

Tickmill was established in 2014, and they are licensed under many regulations

Tickmill South Africa (Pty) Ltd (owners of Tickmill brand) can be found in the FSCA register with license number 49464.

Tickmill's Classic Account is commission free, but its VIP and Pro Accounts attract a commission of 2 USD & 1 USD per side respectively.

The Classic & Pro Account versions on Tickmill both require the same $100 minimum deposit and max leverage is 1:500.

So, while the Classic Account has spreads starting from 1.6 pips, you might as well open a Pro Account where spreads start from 0.1 pips.

On the Pro Account average spreads to expect include EUR/USD at 0.1 pips, GBP/USD is 0.3 pips, & USD/CAD is 0.2 pips.

Pros and Cons of TickMill

Read more on Tickmill website for their trading conditions

3. HF Markets – Overall Best Forex Broker in South Africa

HF Markets Group was established in 2010 and registered for international operations in 2015 in Saint Vincent & The Grenadines.

HF Markets SA PTY Ltd. operates with the trading name – HFM and are in the FSCA register with FSP license number 46632.

HFM does not charge commissions except you operate a zero spread account which attracts a 6 USD per round turn commission. Spread is variable and USD/ZAR average spread is around 119 pips.

HF Market spreads on the Cent & Premium Accounts are quite pricy and EUR/USD is expected at 1.6 pips. However, the Premium Account is the only account you can trade with on the HFM Mobile App.

Spreads on the HFM Zero Account start from 0.1 pips for the EUR/USD pair. HFM also allows you to keep positions on major FX pairs open overnight without charging swaps.

HFM offers ZAR base currency trading accounts and to begin trading, there is no minimum deposit (except 100 USD minimum requirement for pro account users) & no funding fees apply.

Pros and Cons of HF Markets

Visit HFM ZA website for more information on their accounts

4. AvaTrade – Best Forex Broker for Fixed Spreads

AvaTrade was established in Dublin, Ireland in 2006 and has 400,000 registered customers.

In South Africa, Ava Capital Markets Pty (owners of AvaTrade brand) is regulated by the FSCA with FSP number 45984.

AvaTrade does not charge commissions on their accounts. Spread is fixed depending on currency pair and USD/ZAR average spread is around 85 pips.

AvaTrade lets you open ZAR base currency trading accounts. To begin trading, there is a minimum deposit requirement of 100 USD or ZAR equivalent (but AvaTrade recommends 2000 USD) & no funding fees apply.

Pros and Cons of AvaTrade

Visit AvaTrade website for more information

5.  FxPro – Best Forex Broker with ZAR Account

FxPro was founded in 2006 in London as a no dealing desk broker and has over 2.15 million client accounts registered (not active traders) on its platform.

In South Africa, FxPro Financial Services Ltd (owners of FxPro brand) is regulated and can be found in the FSCA register with FSP license number 45052

FxPro pricing is transparent. When you trade with their Standard Accounts which has a $100 starting deposit, expect spreads of major FX pairs like EUR/USD & USD/JPY to be 1.5 pips.

Spread is floating, but they mention their typical spreads. For example, USD/ZAR average spread is around 190.50 pips on MT4/5, & 80.37 on cTrader.

When you trade with the FxPro Raw Account expect spreads on majors like EUR/USD to be 0.2 pips plus you pay commissions of $3.5 per side in exchange for the low spread you get. The leverage on FxPro is 1:200.

FxPro lets you open ZAR base currency trading accounts, and no funding fees apply except when you want to withdraw without carrying out any trade activity.

Pros and Cons of FxPro

 Read about FxPro's trading conditions

6. XM – Forex Broker with Ultra-low Account

XM was established in 2009 by Trading Point Holdings, and they are registered in Belize.

XM operates in South Africa under a subsidiary called Keyway Financial (Pty) Ltd. who are in the FSCA register with license number 49976. But it is important to note that their subsidiary is only an intermediary, and the product issuer is XM Global.

XM does not charge commissions except on its share trading account. Spread is variable and USD/ZAR average spread is around 120 pips.

XM offers ZAR base currency trading accounts and to begin trading, there is a 5 USD minimum deposit requirement & no funding fees apply

Pros and Cons of XM Trading

Visit the XM website for more information of their accounts

7.  FXTM – Best Forex Broker for Beginners

FXTM is the trading name of Forex Time Ltd, who are regulated by the FSCA with FSP license No. 46614. FXTM has 1 million clients registered on its platforms.

FXTM Micro Account & Advantage Plus Account users don't pay commissions, but the FXTM Advantage Account attracts a commission of not more than 2 USD per side. Spread is variable and USD/ZAR average spread is around 139.3 pips on standard account.

FXTM offers ZAR base currency trading accounts and to begin trading, there is a minimum deposit of 10 USD for the Micro Account, & 500 USD for Advantage Accounts.

Deposits are free but withdrawals via visa/master cards attract a 3 USD fee.

Pros and Cons of FXTM

 Visit the FXTM website for more information.

8.  Think Markets – Regulated Forex Broker with Low Spreads

Think Markets is a trading name of TF Global Markets (South Africa) Pty Ltd. and was established in 2010. They have more than 450,000 registered users.

TF Global Markets (South Africa) Pty Ltd is regulated by the FSCA with FSP number 49835.

The Think Zero account variant attracts a commission of $3.5 per side, & the Standard Account is commission free. Spread is variable and USD/ZAR average spread is around 40 pips on Standard Account.

Think Markets offers ZAR base currency trading accounts and to begin trading, there is a minimum deposit of 500 USD or ZAR equivalent for the Think Zero account variant, and no minimum deposit for standard account.  No funding fees apply.

Pros and Cons of Think Markets

 Visit the Think Markets website for more information

9.  IFX Brokers – South African Regulated Forex Broker with ODP License

IFX Brokers Holdings (Pty) Ltd trades with the name IFX brokers. They can be found in the FSCA register with FSP license number 48021.

IFX Brokers accounts are commission free except the VIP account that has a commission of 6 USD/round turn.

On the IFX standard account, spreads start from 1.3 pips, & on the VIP account spreads start from as low as 0.5 pips.

IFX Brokers offers ZAR base currency trading accounts and to begin trading, there is a minimum deposit of 10 USD on the standard, Islamic, & cent accounts. No funding fees apply.

Pros and Cons of IFX Brokers

Visit the IFX Brokers website for more information

10. Scope Markets – Regulated Forex Broker with Copy Trading

Scope Markets SA Pty Ltd own the trading name Scope Markets and has been around for 20 years. Their FSCA license number is 47025

Scope Markets has a 5,000 ZAR minimum deposit, zero commission, & average spreads from 0.9 pips.

Pros and Cons of Scope Markets

Visit the Scope Markets website for more information

#11 Khwezi Trade – Local Forex Broker for Low-Deposit

Khwezi Financial Services Pty Ltd, owners of the trading name Khwezi trade are FSCA regulated with license number 44816. They are also a licensed ODP with FSCA.

Khwezi Trade has a 500 ZAR minimum deposit, and zero commission on its accounts.  

Pros and Cons of Khwezi Trade

Visit the Khwezi Trade website for more information.

Summary on Best Forex Brokers in South Africa

 How to Choose a South African Forex Broker?

1. Check if the broker is regulated by the FSCA

• Visit the FSCA website at www.fsca.co.za/Pages/Default.aspx ,
• Hover your cursor over "Regulated Entities",
• Under the "List of Regulated Entities & Persons" button you click on "FAIS"
• Click on "Financial Service Provider"

You then search by the forex broker's name or FSP number to reveal their details. For example, HF Markets search result can be seen in the image below.

 2. Check the Fees Applicable to the Various Account Types Offered

Forex brokers offer various account types with different fee structures. You should study the account types to see which suits your trading style.

Some accounts attract commissions while some do not, while some accounts have zero spread meaning the brokers don't take any spread.

However, zero commission accounts often attract higher spreads and vice versa, so it is a tradeoff.

If you hope to be making deposits or withdrawals in ZAR currency, you should research forex brokers that include ZAR as the available base currency. ZAR base currency accounts accept your deposits & process your withdrawals without an additional currency conversion fee.

3. Check Tradable asset classes

Assets classes like currencies should have many forex pairs to choose from so you can diversify your position and minimize risk.

The broker should also offer CFDs on other assets like commodities, indices, etc. in case you need to hedge risk by trading another asset class.

All the forex brokers list their available asset classes & instruments on their website. For example, this is the table from HFM broker where they have listed all the minor currency pairs you can trade with them.

In general, you will find the list of available instruments when you browse the 'markets' available on the broker's website.

4. Check the Trading Platforms Offered

MetaQuotes the company that has developed the MT4, has since stopped updating MT4, and is focusing on MT5 its successor so many MT4 user controls are not modern.

MT4 is a popular platform for forex trading and its successor, the MT5 is not so popular but has more advanced features such as deeper market depth, & higher chart time frames.

cTrader is also a competitor to MT5 and has a modern design, & advanced order management. Its intuitive controls and modern user interface make it easy to use for beginners.

Also check if the broker has developed their own proprietary mobile app. There are multiple mobile trading apps in SA on iOS & Android that you can download securely. But you must check if your broker supports your device or not.

Any broker without their own app will have an over-dependence on 3^rd party apps like MetaTrader & cTrader which is not healthy.

There are certain new functions absent on MetaTrader that brokers include in their own proprietary mobile apps.

Account Management, Live Support, etc. are all provided for free on most proprietary mobile apps; whereas on MetaTrader you may need to buy plugins for these functions. 

What is Broker in Forex?

A forex broker is required if you want to trade currency pairs like EUR/USD, USD/ZAR, GBP/USD. Retail traders must go through a broker if they want to speculate in FX markets.

You cannot directly trade currencies without a broker. The broker provides the liquidity and connects your trade to other participants. For doing so, they charge spreads, which is the difference between bid & ask price.

All brokers must be licensed with FSCA in South Africa for it to be safe for any trader.

Comparison of South African Forex Brokers

Frequently Asked Questions – South African Forex Brokers

What is a Broker in Forex Trading?

A broker is a middleman or company that gives you access to a trading platform for trading foreign currencies.

In South Africa, traders can trade currency pairs for speculation through FSCA regulated online forex brokers.

Which forex broker is the Best in South Africa?

There is no single best forex broker, but the brokers that are regulated, have low trading fees & offer fast withdrawals without any conditions are good.

HFM, Exness, Tickmill, FxPro & some other forex brokers are good considering their overall trading conditions.

What is an ECN broker in forex?

ECN brokers use Electronic Communication Networks (ECN) to connect you to liquidity providers. The result is lower spread and speedy execution.

Which Forex Brokers have ZAR Accounts?

Exness, HFM, Tickmill, FxPro, JustMarkets, IFX Brokers & a few others allow account opening in ZAR. You can select ZAR account currency when you open any new trading account via these brokers.

Which forex broker offers Cent Trading Accounts in South Africa?

HF Markets, Exness, XM, & FXTM all offer low deposit accounts where you can trade lower units or micro lots.

Which forex broker gives Deposit bonus in South Africa?

XM Broker, HF Markets, Tickmill and Scope Markets offer trading promotions for South African traders in one form or another. Another broker, JustMarkets offers $30 no deposit bonus for new traders in SA.