Oanda Broker Review

Written by Richard Perry

Richard Perry

Richard Perry is a recognised expert in technical analysis and market strategy, with significant experience in currency and equity markets. He has set up his own shingle called Perry Market Analysis, providing consultancy analysis of major markets, including research via webinars, videos and written analysis.

, | Updated: June 9, 2025

When it comes to looking for a forex broker to trade with, OANDA is a strong option! The strapline for their website is “We do all things currency”. In this broker review, we will highlight the important factors to look for when considering whether you should open a trading account with OANDA. At bestbrokers.com we believe that OANDA scores very well across many aspects. The broker enjoys quite a few positive reviews from customers, with its aggregated Trustpilot score being 4.0/5. That score is based on a total of 1,085 customer reviews, with 62% of them giving OANDA the maximum 5-star rating. Meanwhile, 25% of reviews gave the brand 1 star as of June 9th, 2025.

Key Pros and Cons

These are the key factors we think you need to consider before trading with OANDA:

Company Information

OANDA is an industry-leading forex broker. Boasting a robust history of over 25 years, it has achieved significant growth, establishing itself as a pioneer in the industry.

The company was founded by two professors back in 1996 in the US state of Delaware. In the two and a half decades since its incorporation, the company has grown impressively. With headquarters in Times Square, New York City, OANDA now has offices in eight countries around the world. This expansion means it has now become a leading presence at the top table of the truly global brokers, able to compete with the best.

Here is the list of the countries that OANDA has offices in:

Management

In 2018, OANDA was bought out by CVC Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm which has allowed an extension of its strategic growth plan as a leading global multi-asset brokerage. With the development of cutting edge technology, Oanda can continue to invest in its institutional-grade platform. This means that Oanda can offer traders the tools they need to maximize their potential.

Why Trade with OANDA?

Here are some of the key highlights of trading with OANDA that we believe help to make it one of the best brokers to trade with.

Regulation

For many traders, choosing a broker with strong regulation is one of the most important factors. A broker with multiple licences from jurisdictions around the world is a trustworthy and attractive proposition. So, in this regard, there can be few that can surpass OANDA.

Many brokers will have licences in maybe three or four regions. However, OANDA goes the extra mile for their clients, with regulatory licences in nine jurisdictions. It is also important to mention the broker is regulated by some of the most highly regarded and stringent financial watchdogs, like the FCA in the UK and ASIC in Australia.

Below is a list of the countries/regions and regulators that OANDA is licensed for:

This scope of regulation is significant and important for traders, helping to improve trust. However, it also has other implications as well.

Most importantly, having many regulatory licences means that OANDA is a broker that people from all over the world can trade with. Forex brokers can be restricted from operating in certain countries due to their lack of regulatory licences. For example, many brokers outside countries such as the US, Canada, and Japan will not seek regulation in those regions due to the administration which is deemed to be too stringent and expensive. It means that traders in these regions cannot use these brokers. However, having so many regulatory licences for key regions means that OANDA provides a service for traders around the world.

Furthermore, having a license in the British Virgin Islands is useful as it improves the choice that traders have for their trading. It means that it is possible to register in a region that allows for much higher leverage for their positions when trading on margin.

KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing

We signed up to join OANDA and the registration took us about ten minutes in total. Here we lay out exactly what the process entails. The questions you will be required to answer include:

1. Your country of residence, city, and permanent address.

2. Registration details, including email address, username,password, and telephone number.

3. Personal details, including National Insurance Number (in the UK), date of birth and a couple of questions on how much your salary is and how much you have in savings.
   It is all fairly standard up until this point. Next up, OANDA needs to assess your trading knowledge.

4. A suitability test

   After giving your registration and personal details, you are then asked to complete a fairly extensive “Appropriateness Assessment”. We believe that this part of the process is positive as it suggests integrity. It is also one of the more rigorous sign-up procedures you will come across. The test includes questions on:

   • Forex pairs
   • What CFDs are
   • Margin
   • Volatility
   • What the spread is, and what a “variable” spread is
   • An explanation of what a market gap is
   • Risk management
   • Leverage

   Once you pass this test, you are almost there. There is just one more thing you need to do.

5. Proof of ID – finally, you will be asked to provide proof of your identity. For this, you will need to upload some documents for them to check.

   For the ID check, you can do this by uploading one of the following:

   • Passport
   • National ID Card
   • Driver’s License
   • Visa or Proof of Residence card

   You must also upload a copy of a recent bank statement or utility bill to confirm your address. Additionally, the broker will require photos of the front and back of the credit or debit card you intend to use for deposits or a screenshot of your e-wallet account. Once you have provided this information, you must wait for OANDA to verify your identity, which can take a couple of days. After that is done, you will then be free to start depositing funds to begin trading.

   One more encouraging feature of signing up with OANDA is that there is no minimum deposit requirement. Onboarding customers can deposit as much money as they wish. You can open your account and take your time with the demo, participate in some webinars, and get comfortable with your strategy before committing with real money.

Account Types

Unlike some brokers, which have a multitude of account types for you to choose from, OANDA have just three types of accounts: a Standard, Premium Plus, and a Premium account.

Each of OANDA’s entities across the various regions around the world has slightly different elements to the trading accounts. However, the graphic below shows a comparison of the accounts.

API Trading

Another functionality that OANDA offers clients is API trading. Application Program Interfaces (APIs) are an automated form of trading. Many traders use algorithm trading as a way to customize their trading strategy.

OANDA have a developer portal function to help traders get started, with resources and code samples available. Traders just need to open an OANDA account, select an API, and build their strategy.

Account Functionality Offered Only in Certain Regions

With offices operating under different regulatory regimes worldwide, OANDA can offer clients specific account features depending on their geographic location.

Here are the main variables and the regions where they are available:

Spread-Only and Core Pricing Models

In September 2018, OANDA introduced a new pricing model that is now available in certain regions. Traders can choose between a traditional spread-only pricing model, or a Core pricing plus commission model.

For the Core pricing model, traders get much tighter spreads but pay a commission of $5 per $100,000 traded of the base currency. This is the equivalent of 0.5 pips for a one standard lot in EUR/USD. Based on the spreads provided on their website, trading 1 lot of EUR/USD with a commission-based account results in lower overall expenses for traders.

This feature enables OANDA customers in the US and Australia to reduce their costs, especially when trading high volumes. Here is a table of average spreads for the different models:

The table below illustrates how traders can reduce their costs by using the core pricing and commissions account, based on average spreads. We show the total trading cost incurred by both models when opening a 1 lot ($100,000 traded) position in EUR/USD.

*a trade size of one lot on EUR/USD

Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders

If you are a trader residing in jurisdictions like Australia and Singapore, there is an added benefit of having Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders. These give traders guaranteed prices for automated closing out of positions.

During times of elevated volatility, markets can gap sharply and there can be a significant slippage on stop-losses. For a nominal fee (in Australia it is A$2 per lot), GSLOs help protect traders from major losses.

Spread betting available for UK clients

UK clients can reduce their tax bill by trading over 100 instruments across all the asset classes through a spread betting account. Spread betting means that any profits are exempt from capital gains taxes in the UK.

Trading Fees and Other Costs

Any broker you come across will charge you one way or another for using its services as brokers, like all businesses, must generate revenue somehow. Trading fees can be an extremely important factor that will eat into your profits the end of the month. So, keeping your trading costs to a minimum is important. You want to be trading with a broker where the fees are as low as possible.

At BestBrokers.com, we find OANDA’s trading costs to be exceptionally competitive. But what exactly are the fees you might encounter?

These expenses are typically categorized into two main groups:

• Trading fees: spreads, commissions, and overnight financing charges
• Non-trading costs: account fees, inactivity fees, currency conversion fees

Let’s break these down and see what they are at OANDA.

Spreads

Trading spreads are competitive. OANDA has spread from 0.1 pips on EUR/USD and GBP/USD. Transparency in pricing is crucial for brokers, and OANDA’s website features a market board displaying live spreads in real time.

These minimum spreads largely align with those of OANDA’s closest competitors. However, spreads are not always this tight throughout the whole session and can be considerably wider at times. Taking this into account, average spreads are wider.

This table shows how OANDA compares in terms of standard-account spreads against rival brokers, listing the minimum and average values for major currency pairs. Again, we believe that OANDA compares well.

Commissions

In jurisdictions where Core Pricing accounts are available, traders can pay a commission on each trade to get much tighter spreads. The charges are $5 per standard lot ($100,000 currency units) in either direction of the trade.

Financing Charges

Some customers tend to forget about these costs but maintaining leveraged positions overnight beyond standard market hours attracts additional financing charges. Also known as swap rates or rollover, these fees change daily based on the interest-rate differentials of the currencies comprising a forex pair. OANDA updates this information on a daily basis.

Deposit Fees

OANDA have zero fees for clients depositing money into their accounts. However, there may still be charges levied by payment providers. For more details see Deposit Methods

Withdrawal Fees

Withdrawal fees vary based on

• Withdrawal method (debit/credit card, bank transfer, e-wallet)
• Your chosen base currency

The first withdrawal of the month is always free of charge, although charges are levied on subsequent withdrawals – for more details see Withdrawal Methods

Inactivity Fees

If you have a funded account but there is no trading activity, the broker will start charging you after a given period. This is called an inactivity fee and is a fairly standard practice in the industry. There are two variables here:

• The length of inactivity before the charge is levied
• The size of the charge

At OANDA, inactivity fees begin to be levied after 12 months of no trading activity. This is up to a maximum of $10 (or £10 in the UK) per month.

A 12-month period before inactivity fees are applied is fairly standard; six months is short, but 24 months would represent a significantly longer timeframe.

Currency Conversion Fees

If your base currency is different to the currency that a traded instrument is priced in, then you will be charged a currency conversion fee.

For example, if the base currency of your account is the pound sterling, and you want to open a CFD in the S&P 500 index, then the trade is made in US dollars. Your profits will incur a conversion charge to exchange the currency back into pounds.

At OANDA, this charge is 0.5%, which is fairly average across online brokers.

Overall on Fees

We believe that OANDA compares well to rival brokers in terms of trading costs and fees.

Desktop Trading Platforms

OANDA provides traders with a choice from :

• OANDA Trade: the proprietary platform of the broker, compatible with mobile and desktop devices.
• MetaTrader 5: the ubiquitous MT5 is the benchmark platform across the industry.
• TradingView: OANDA has also partnered with TradingView to offer customers advanced charting and real-time market data.

There is one proprietary platform plus two additional white-label options to give clients a varied choice of trading platforms.

OANDA Trade

OANDA’s proprietary platform has strong functionality. Some of the functions and features of the platform include:

• Customizable platform layout
• Trade and manage positions directly from charts
• More than 10 chart types
• More than 50 drawing tools
• Market news and analysis
• Identical desktop and web-based platforms

We also really like the ability to overlay multiple currency pairs onto a single chart for comparison. This is a function that is not seen on other platforms like MT5 and is a strong feature of the proprietary software.

The platform is also available in many languages, including English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese.

MetaTrader5

MT5 is a standard platform that most brokers offer, but OANDA has enhanced the MT5 service. By adding its custom-built bridge OANDA’s can offer its competitive pricing and improved execution speeds.

Furthermore, when traders use the MT5 premium upgrade, this enhances functionality, with additional order types and trade management features. The platform comes with 21 charting timeframes, level II pricing, and Expert Advisors (EAs) for automated trading.

TradingView

OANDA has also now partnered with TradingView to provide a third platform. Once more, as with MT5, this comes with OANDA’s clear pricing and lightning-fast execution. The main features of TradingView include:

• Hundreds of charts and indicators
• Custom technical indicators
• Social trading, enabling you to view other user’s trading ideas and use community-built indicators
• Integrated economic calendar
• Strategy backtesting

Mobile Trading Platforms

The mobile version of OANDA Trade (OANDA Mobile) is another strong feature. As with other brokers, the app is available for Android and iOS devices.

• The functionality is similar to the desktop versions, with the same advanced charting capabilities.
• Customizable platform app (something not often available through other trading apps).
• The set alerts and notifications are another positive.

Trading Instruments

There is a wide range of tradable instruments available, although this is not as wide as some brokers. Asset classes offered include forex, indices, metals, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Bonds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are available in certain regions only.

Forex

They have a very strong offering of forex pairs to choose from. Looking across several brokers, OANDA offers a good selection of 48 pairs including majors, crosses, and exotics. Some competitors will offer perhaps less than 40 pairs, so we see OANDA as being strong on forex.

Indices

At OANDA you can trade 14 of the world’s major stock market indices. All of the usual major US and European indices are available, in addition to Asian indices from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, and Taiwan.

Metals

If you are into trading precious and base metals, then you will be impressed with what OANDA has to offer. The broker has all the key precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, copper, and palladium), however, an impressive addition to this is that you can trade gold and silver priced in all the major currencies. Trade Gold prices in Canadian dollars, or Silver prices in Japanese yen, the choice is yours. Furthermore, prices are also offered in the Hong Kong dollar and Singapore dollar.

There are a total of 5 metals markets to choose from, which we believe is a solid enough offering.

Commodities

There is also a selection of 9 other commodities. These include energies like crude oil and natural gas, and soft commodities, such as cocoa, sugar, and wheat.

One slight disappointment is that there could be a better offering of base metals (perhaps iron ore and zinc), but broadly speaking this is a good selection of instruments.

Bonds

Not many brokers offer their customers the ability to trade bonds. However, at OANDA, there is a selection of over 60 popular government bonds. You can trade 10yr bonds from the UK (Gilt), Germany (Bund) and the US (Treasuries), in addition to three other durations of Treasuries.

Stocks

This is one big area OANDA excels at. Stock trading is available, with customers being able to choose from hundreds of shares. The broker covers all major companies from the US, UK, France, Germany, and other major economies. The portfolio can be filtered by region or sector like healthcare, consumer goods, technology, finance, and more.

Other Asset Classes

OANDA also offers the ability to trade ETFs (exchange-traded funds) but options and futures are currently unavailable. Furthermore, customers from the US cannot engage in CFD trading as offering these high-risk derivative instruments is currently illegal in the country. This option is only available to traders in regions like Australia and Europe. Meanwhile, UK clients have access to CFDs but cannot trade cryptocurrencies on margin unless they qualify as professional traders.

It is rare for brokers to offer these types of products (especially futures and options), however where crypto is offered, we believe a selection of 18 markets is satisfactory.

Trade Execution

OANDA is very strong when it comes to trade execution. Here is why:

• No dealing desk execution: the fully automated execution not only enhances speed but also improves trust in the broker.
• The incredibly fast server speed is considered to be “institutional-grade execution”(less than 1 millisecond on the V20 platform)
• No re-quotes on all orders traded at market prices. Also, no automated rejections occur, either.

Deposit Methods

There is no minimum deposit to open an account at OANDA. Furthermore, on the standard account, there is no minimum level needed to maintain an account (although there is a minimum level to qualify for the Premium and Premium Plus accounts).

OANDA supports several deposit methods but availability varies based on which region the trader is in.

OANDA does not charge fees on deposits, but the method used may incur bank charges. There seem to only be upper limits on deposits with specific payment methods. Bank transfers have no ceiling on the maximum transferable amount. Funding seems to be done quickly too and only gets slowed down by bank clearing.

Withdrawal Methods

At OANDA, the withdrawal methods and costs vary based on:

• The region that you are trading in
• Your method of withdrawal
• Your account type – one of the added perks of being a Premium Account holder is that you have unlimited free withdrawals.

Most withdrawal methods, including cards and e-wallets, do not attract additional processing fees on the broker’s side. This is not the case with bank transfers, which will cost you $20 for the first request of the month and $35 for subsequent withdrawals within the same month.

Withdrawals to e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller are processed within the same day of requesting them. Withdrawals via bank transfers may take 2 to 5 business days. If you withdraw in a currency other than your base account currency, you will additionally incur a 0.5% fee for currency conversion.

Customer Support Contacts

The support pages are written in a variety of different languages, including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Malay. Just click on the flag to select the required country and you will be redirected to the website version in your preferred language.

If your queries are not featured in the FAQ section, then the online chat bot OANDA Assistant is available. The online chat bot can service customers in several different languages (English, Spanish, German and Japanese) for instant contact. The only downside of this is that it is an automated system. However, it is also worth noting that OANDA’s Premium and Premium Plus accounts come with a dedicated account manager.

If it is the personal touch you are after, you also can contact OANDA via telephone. Clicking on the regional office will open the details you need. Customers from Europe can use local telephone lines available for Poland, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic.

Beyond that, there is email support at info.eu@oanda.com. This is useful if perhaps your issue or query is more complex and cannot be addressed adequately by the chat bot.

“OANDA’s Award-Winning Customer Service

It is also worth noting that OANDA’s customer service is award-winning. In 2021, the broker won an award for Best Client Satisfaction for Mobile Platform and/or App.

Research and Educational Materials

OANDA is a strong source of research and educational content for all traders. The website has a dedicated research section called Market Pulse (which also acts as a standalone site) and an education tab called “Learn” providing plenty of learning materials.

There is also a good selection of webinars on live markets and trading strategies to participate in. Also for developers, there is a very useful guide on how to implement the API.

Research – “Market Pulse”

OANDA has a recognized, active research team providing broad market coverage and analysis across multiple asset classes and timezones.

Content available:

• News reporting, commentary, and trading idea
• Technical analysis on markets
• Podcasts
• Video analysis and commentary
• The week ahead on key markets
• Economic calendar

Education – “Learn”

The education tab has a whole raft of free-to-all articles to digest on how to increase your knowledge as a trader. This includes how-to guides on web pages and video content. The covered topics include:

• Platform tutorials
• Getting Started – learning the basics
• A broad guide to fundamental analysis
• Technical analysis indicators
• Capital management – leverage and stop-losses

Webinar Content

We believe that webinars are an important way for traders to develop trust in the broker and to expand their knowledge base. OANDA has a whole series of webinars to take part in. Some are available to everyone, while other premium content requires registration to access.

There are weekly live market analysis webinars, in addition to educational webinars on several topics. Historic webinars are available (in exchange for contact details), while premium content is available for account holders.

Security and Money Guarantees

When trading with any broker, the safety and security of your account are of paramount importance. This is why at BestBrokers.com, we say that you should always trade with a well-regulated broker.

OANDA’s robust and extensive regulation provides an enhanced layer of security for your trades.

Should OANDA face insolvency, the safety of your funds will depend on the regulator governing the entity with which your account is registered. For instance, traders covered by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) are protected up to £85,000, while in Canada, the compensation extends to C$100,000. It is important to note that offshore regulators like BVI Financial Services Commission may offer less protection.

As an added element of security, OANDA also segregates the funds of clients from its operating capital. All decent brokers would do this anyway, but this also helps prevent misuse of customer funds on behalf of unethical companies.

Retail clients trading under OANDA Europe Limited and OANDA TMS Brokers S.A (from the UK and the EU) are also benefit from negative balance protection. This means that clients cannot lose more money than they deposited.

Conclusion

At BestBrokers.com, we believe that OANDA ranks among the world’s best forex brokers. With its strong regulation, high level of customer trust, excellent platforms, and impressive range of research materials, OANDA is a broker that ticks a lot of boxes.

The only real negative is the lack of derivative instruments like futures and options, with CFDs being the only available option at the time of writing. Unlike some of its closest competitors, OANDA offers a somewhat limited range of metals and soft commodities but compensates with a comprehensive lineup of stocks, ETFs, and currency pairs. Overall, we believe OANDA is an excellent broker.

Written by R. Perry