OANDA Review

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

A trusted global brand, OANDA stands out for its reputation and quality market research. Its regulatory track record is strong, and its support for third-party features bolsters its overall offering.

OANDA recently bolstered its range of markets in certain jurisdictions, yet its below-average pricing puts it just behind the best forex brokers, unless you deposit $10,000 for its Core Pricing or qualify for its Elite Trader discounts which help bring its costs closer to the industry average.

OANDA pros & cons

Overall summary

Is OANDA safe?

OANDA is considered Highly Trusted, with an overall Trust Score of 93 out of 99. OANDA is not publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is regulated by seven Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero tier-2 regulators (average trust), zero Tier-3 regulator (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk). OANDA is regulated by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system. Learn more about Trust Score or see where the different OANDA entities are regulated.

Note: Regulated brokers are not immune from running into trouble, and our risk assessment is by no means a guarantee of solvency for the indefinite future.

Offering of investments

The range of available markets at OANDA will vary slightly depending on which of its entities regulates your account. CFDs are not available in the U.S., whereas in select regions OANDA offers as many as 3,928 symbols (CFDs and shares) and 68 forex pairs, as well as the option to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin as CFDs. Note: The availability of tradeable symbols varies by region. Please reference OANDA's website to verify what is available in your country or region.

Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency trading is available at OANDA in select regions through CFDs. Traders at OANDA in the U.S. can trade underlying crypto assets (for example, purchasing actual Bitcoin) via its Paxos account offering. Paxos is a separate company from OANDA and all crypto trades for U.S. clients are conducted through them, but managed on the OANDA platform. Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except for Professional clients).

The following table summarizes the different investment products available to OANDA clients:

Commissions and fees

OANDA’s forex trading costs are generally steep, with high effective spreads across both its default and core pricing, compared to the best brokers. While not a discount broker, OANDA’s main advantage is its automated execution across its account offering.

Spreads: OANDA’s bid/ask spreads (the fees clients pay to trade) are most comparable to FOREX.com and FxPro, while the minimum spread cost (or lowest advertised rate) may be slightly higher than those firms that list a sub-pip spread (less than 1.0 pip). For example, the average non-core pricing at OANDA was 1.61 pips on the EUR/USD pair during July 2024.

Core pricing: OANDA’s core pricing features lower spreads, but includes a per-side commission of $5 per $100,000 worth of currency (or roughly $10 per round turn standard lot). This option requires a $10,000 minimum deposit, and when factoring in the commission, the all-in cost ends up being slightly better than the commission-free pricing. For example, let’s say the spread on the EUR/USD is 1.6 pips under the default pricing structure, and the spread for core pricing is only 0.4 pips. Once you factor in the commission-equivalent of 1 pip (0.5 pips per side), the total cost for core pricing ends up coming to 1.4 pips – just under the default price.

Micro lots: In most cases, the smallest contract size for trading forex is one micro lot. However, OANDA brings this minimum trade size down by three orders of magnitude – to 1 unit or 0.001 micro lot.

Elite Trader program: OANDA offers rebates in select jurisdictions for active traders who trade 10 million or more in volume. There are five rebate tiers, with rebates that range from $5 to $17 per million. Other perks include subscription reimbursements for TradingView Pro, Pro+ and Premium subscribers.

Transparency: As part of its push for greater pricing transparency, OANDA continually publishes a trailing average of its spread across nearly all time frames. However, because it does not publish a number that reflects the average spread over a fixed period – such as one day or one month – it is difficult to make precise comparisons.

Note: The applicability of information within this section will depend on your country of residence. For example, certain data (including spreads, pricing, and product offerings) was obtained from OANDA's U.S. entity (the OANDA Corporation) and may not be applicable if you reside in another country. For example, Crypto CFDs are available outside of the U.S. and U.K. from certain OANDA global entities but are not available to U.S. or U.K. retail clients (professional clients in the U.K. can access crypto CFDs from OANDA Europe).

Mobile trading apps

OANDA's flagship Trade mobile app is easy to use and provides quality market research and excellent charting features.

Apps overview: OANDA offers the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) mobile app developed by MetaQuotes Software Corporation, alongside its own proprietary Trade mobile app. OANDA also recently introduced MetaTrader 5 (MT5) at select locations, such as its BVI entity. New MetaTrader accounts will be limited to MT5 as the broker transitions away from MT4 (existing MT4 clients are not yet affected).

Ease of use: Opening a chart on the Trade app is as easy as clicking the graph icon at the bottom of the watchlist. Whether setting up a trade or adding a price alert, I found the overall layout to be straightforward and easy to use. Beyond its intuitive design, charting with the Trade app is balanced with features such as research from Autochartist and news headlines.

A neat feature that stood out to me was the seamless transition to the trade ticket window from within the charts. Users can quickly enter their orders from the chart, then adjust their stop-loss and limit order levels with a simple drag and drop function.

Charting: The Trade app’s versatile charting features 33 technical indicators, 13 drawing tools, and the ability to select from over a dozen time frames. Zooming in and out of charts on Trade is a fluid experience thanks to the apps’ responsive design.

Syncing: I’d like to see Trade add the ability to sync watchlists, and it’s worth noting that mobile chart indicators do not sync with the desktop or web version of Trade. Lastly, adding educational and market analysis videos would be a logical (and helpful) next step in the evolution of the Trade app.

Other trading platforms

OANDA’s Trade trading platform suite is a good option for market news and charting (powered by TradingView) but falls short in other areas. For example, I found OANDA’s integration of research and trading tools within its desktop and web platforms to be imperfect.

Platform overview: OANDA primarily offers two platform suites; the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform, developed by MetaQuotes Software Corporation and available for web and desktop, and OANDA’s Trade web and desktop trading platform. MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is now available at OANDA in Japan, the U.K., and in emerging markets, from the broker’s BVI entity. MT5 is not available in the U.S. for OANDA clients, and new MetaTrader clients can only choose MT5 at select OANDA entities where available.

Charting: OANDA’s Trade platform features charts powered by TradingView, with over 80 indicators and various additional features, such as the ability to overlay multiple currency pairs within a single chart for comparison. I also appreciated that the web-based and desktop versions of Trade are identical to each other, which makes swapping between versions simple and painless.

However, many of the integrated features in the platform will trigger a new browser window to open – even when you are on the desktop version. Other brokers integrate such features directly into the platform, which allows you to stay focused without a distracting flurry of new windows popping into your screen.

Trading tools: Additional platforms are available from third-party developers within OANDA’s Marketplace. The Seer Trading Platform, for example, supports algorithmic trading system development – including back-testing and forward-testing automated trading systems. OANDA also supports trading connectivity with multiple charting platforms such as TradingView, NinjaTrader, MultiCharts, and MotiveWave. Lastly, OANDA’s Algo Labs provides API access with various supported languages, including Python and C#.

Account management: OANDA combines several services within its online account management portal, making it easy to transfer money between accounts and access your statements.

Note: While OANDA's Trade platform is available globally, TradingView is only available to residents of the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

Market research

OANDA provides forex and CFD traders everything they need to successfully navigate the markets, with multiple daily articles, as well as podcasts and research tools. One minor annoyance is that many of the research resources from the desktop and web platform open in a new browser, rather than being directly integrated within the platform. OANDA also provides fewer video updates than the leaders in this category, such as Saxo and IG.

Research overview: OANDA offers a broad range of research for forex traders. Its MarketPulse site has an excellent selection of articles organized by category with multiple updates published each day, and news headlines on OANDA’s MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and Trade platforms stream directly from Dow Jones Newswire – among other providers. Autochartist integration within the broker’s web platform and mobile app offers trading signals and automated technical analysis. The only drawback is that video content on MarketPulse and OANDA's YouTube channel has not been very active since the beginning of 2024.

Market news and analysis: OANDA’s MarketPulse site has dedicated news, research, and analysis content. OANDA’s Trade mobile app streams news from Dow Jones as well as the company’s blog. One feature I quite like about OANDA's research is the ability to filter between headlines and trading signals from within its news feeds and under its alerts stream.

Premium content: OANDA offers Dow Jones Select, and third-party technical analysis software is available from MotiveWave and MultiCharts.

Education

OANDA offers educational content, including webinars, conducted by its staff yet lacks an extensive range of educational articles and videos (including on its YouTube channel). Expanding its range of videos and written articles would help elevate OANDA's educational offering, which does not currently measure up to education leaders such as IG and AvaTrade.

Learning center: OANDA recently revised its learning portal with a dedicated "Learn" section, although compared to the courses it had previously the new section is very thin on content. That said, I did find that the few articles available in the new Learn section are well-written and of high quality. There is also a dedicated landing page to the U.S. elections with high quality educational content and a related webinar by OANDA staff, which I found to be well prepared.

Room for improvement: OANDA’s educational content for beginners is scattered across its website. Adding the ability to filter educational resources by experience level would benefit traders of all competencies. In addition, OANDA would benefit from building out its new Learn center with courses, quizzes, and progress tracking, as well as adding more educational articles in general. The best brokers in this category have a comprehensive offering of both videos and articles. As such, I’d also like to see an increase in the number of educational videos at OANDA, beyond the existing platform tutorials.

Final thoughts

OANDA’s edge is its strong regulatory track record, with licenses in the strictest major financial centers. It also delivers robust market research content and an excellent mobile app. In our 2024 Annual Awards, OANDA earned Best in Class honors for Ease of Use and Research. OANDA's U.S. brand holds regulatory status in the U.S., making it one of the few forex brokers that can accept U.S. residents. While OANDA bolstered its range of markets recently, it is still held back by its pricing that simply can’t compete with the best low-cost brokers.

Thanks to its straightforward web and mobile trading apps, OANDA offers something for casual investors while also serving sophisticated traders who prefer to connect via API or use automated trading systems on MT4 (and more recently MT5 in select locations).

What is the minimum deposit for OANDA?

There is no minimum balance or deposit amount needed to activate a live account at OANDA.

Furthermore, unlike most brokers that offer micro contracts (1,000 units) as the smallest trade size, OANDA allows you to trade as little as 1 unit of currency when trading forex. This makes OANDA a great option for those who want to test a trading strategy with a small deposit and not be constrained by the minimum trade size.

The one caveat to this is that in order to access OANDA's more competitive core pricing, you must deposit at least $10,000. This enables commission-based forex trading on lower average spreads, compared to its standard spreads which are higher.

Is OANDA a good broker for beginners?

OANDA does rank highly for its ease-of-use factor, making its Trade platform and client dashboard good for beginners, especially when compared to the complex trading software available from other brokers. In addition, OANDA has a decent offering of client education, alongside excellent research.

announcementPlease note:

Just because a broker offers a trading experience that caters well to beginner forex traders does not mean that it is easier to make money trading forex on their platform. Forex trading is risky; learn more about why the majority of forex traders lose money by checking out our Forex 101 educational series.

Is my money safe with OANDA?

OANDA is regulated in numerous Tier-1 jurisdictions including in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Australia, Japan, and Canada, making it a trustworthy broker to keep your money safe. OANDA’s longstanding history dating to 1996, impeccable regulatory track record, global licenses and capital infusions from private equity groups over the years make it a safe broker to hold client funds.

Choosing a well-capitalized and trusted broker is crucial for reducing your counterparty risk, because in the extraordinary event of your broker’s insolvency, your deposit may only be partially protected under any applicable regulatory compensation funds.

About OANDA

Founded in 1996, OANDA operates across eight global financial centers, serving clients in over 196 countries through its entities licensed in six major regulatory jurisdictions, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Japan, and Singapore.

In May 2018, CVC Capital Partners (CVC) Asia Fund IV, a private equity and investment advisory firm that manages $70 billion, announced the acquisition of all the outstanding equity of OANDA, subject to regulatory approval.

The OANDA Group has multiple subsidiaries who are licensed to offer products to clients around the globe. The OANDA subsidiary with whom a client contracts depends on their country of residence. Each subsidiary provides different products via different platforms, so clients will experience OANDA differently depending on their country of residence.

ForexBrokers.com 2024 Annual Awards

For the ForexBrokers.com 2024 Annual Awards, brokers were evaluated against ForexBrokers.com’s 8 Primary Categories: Commissions & Fees, Offering of Investments, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Research, Education, Trust Score, and Overall.

Best in Class honors were awarded to the Top 7 forex brokers in each of the following areas: Beginners, Social Copy Trading, Ease of Use, MetaTrader, Algo Trading, Crypto Trading, and Professional Trading.

For more information, see how we test.

Category awards

2024 Review Methodology

At ForexBrokers.com, our reviews of online forex brokers and their products and services are based on our collected data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).

Our research team conducts thorough testing on a wide range of features, products, services, and tools (collecting and validating thousands of data points in the process). We test all available trading platforms for each broker – whether they are proprietary or come from third-party providers – and evaluate them based on a host of data-driven variables.

We also take an in-depth look at each broker’s commissions and fees, such as bid/ask spreads – including the average spread data for some of the most popular forex currency pairs. We research other trading costs, such as inactivity or custody fees, minimum deposit requirements, VIP rebates and/or discounts, and a range of other important fee-based data points.

Some of the other important research categories that are factored into our testing include mobile trading accessibility and capability, availability of market research and educational content, and each broker’s overall Trust Score.

All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry.

Read our full explanation and accounting of our research and testing process to learn more about how we test.

Forex Risk Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Read more on forex trading risks.

OANDA Disclosures and Disclaimers

OANDA Corporation is regulated by the CFTC/NFA. OANDA is a member Firm of the NFA (Member ID: 0325821). CFDs are not available to residents in the United States.

OANDA CORPORATION IS A MEMBER OF THE NFA AND SUBJECT TO THE NFA’S REGULATORY OVERSIGHT AND EXAMINATIONS. HOWEVER, YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THE NFA DOES NOT HAVE REGULATORY OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY OVER UNDERLYING OR SPOT VIRTUAL CURRENCY PRODUCTS OR TRANSACTIONS OR VIRTUAL CURRENCY EXCHANGES, CUSTODIANS OR MARKETS.

Trading in digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, is especially risky and is only for individuals with a high risk tolerance and the financial ability to sustain losses. OANDA Corporation is not party to any transactions in digital assets and does not custody digital assets on your behalf. All digital asset transactions occur on the Paxos Trust Company exchange. Any positions in digital assets are custodied solely with Paxos and held in an account in your name outside of OANDA Corporation. Digital assets held with Paxos are not protected by SIPC. Paxos is not an NFA member and is not subject to the NFA’s regulatory oversight and examinations.

Leveraged trading in foreign currency contracts or other off-exchange products on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. We advise you to carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for you in light of your personal circumstances. You may lose more than you invest. Information on this website is general in nature. We recommend that you seek independent financial advice and ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading. Trading through an online platform carries additional risks.

OANDA (Canada) Corporation ULC is regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and customer accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund within specified limits. A brochure describing the nature and limits of the coverage is available upon request or at www.cipf.ca.

OANDA Europe Limited is a company registered in England number 7110087, and has its registered office at Dashwood House, 69 Old Broad Street, London EC2M 1QS. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, No: 542574.

OANDA Australia Pty Ltd is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC (ABN 26 152 088 349, AFSL No. 412981) and is the issuer of the products and/or services on this website. It's important for you to consider the current Financial Service Guide (FSG), Product Disclosure Statement ('PDS'), Account Terms and any other relevant OANDA documents before making any financial investment decision.

OANDA Global Markets Ltd is a company registered in BVI number 2026433, and has its registered office at Kingston Chambers, PO Box 173, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. It is authorised and regulated by the BVI Financial Services Commission, number: SIBA/L/20/1130.

Article Resources

different OANDA entities, YouTube channel

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