Brokers

5 Best South Africa Forex Brokers List for 2023

By Stefano Treviso , Updated on: Dec 30 2022.

Here’s our selection of the 5 Best South Africa Forex brokers for the year 2023:

The majority of the above brokers possess a financial license from FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa). This grants South African forex traders a great layer of protection in the event of any dispute as complaints can be dealt with locally. Other brokers despite not having an FSCA are popular choices amongst South African traders that still count on high tier global financial licenses such as ASIC or FCA.

Each one of these brokers was analysed using our proprietary methodology.

1. Pepperstone - Best for multi-platform environment

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Pepperstone is an Australian broker founded in 2010 with the aim of providing a professional trading experience with low fees and tight spreads. Currently Pepperstone counts with 7 financial licenses and operates in almost every country around the world.

Pepperstone is an Australian broker that holds 7 financial licenses from which 4 belong to high tier regulators (BaFin, FCA, ASIC, DFSA). Just like the previous choice, they’re not regulated in South Africa yet they are also a very popular choice amongst South African traders.

Pepperstone provides various platforms (MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView) making them one of the best choices for traders looking for platform variety. Their account offering (RAW spreads from $3 per lot)  and execution is amongst the best in the industry (under 30ms). If you’re an intermediate to experienced trader, Pepperstone can be a great choice for you.

2. Blueberry Markets - Best for beginners

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Blueberry Markets is a young Australian broker founded in 2015 offering CFDs on all the basic asset classes with competitive low spreads.

Blueberry Markets is a relatively young Australian broker that counts on 2 financial licenses (ASIC and SCB). Despite them not being regulated by FSCA they have gained increased popularity in the South African market leading us to include them in our ranking.

Blueberry Markets is definitely a beginner friendly choice. Their asset count is low, their commission structure is simple and they operate on MT4 and MT5. One of the best things about them is the emphasis they put on customer care, account management and educational services to assist new traders.

3. Markets.com - Best for intermediate level currency traders

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68% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Markets.com is an international broker that offers share dealing and CFD trading accounts through their own proprietary platform or MT4 and MT5.

Markets.com's regulatory framework consists of 4 financial licenses from which 2 belong to high tier regulators (ASIC, FCA) making them a reliable choice. They are also part of a publicly traded company (Playtech) and have been around since 2008.

Markets.com has many interesting features for beginners and intermediate level traders such as having a TradingView integrated platform and a very simple interface to use along with learning or planning resources. If you’re an intermediate trader Markets.com can be a great choice for you.

4. AvaTrade - Best overall option

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71% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

AvaTrade is a top-tier multinational broker with more than 7 financial regulators specialising in FX and options trading with their own proprietary platforms.

AvaTrade's regulatory framework consists of 8 financial licenses from which 6 belong to high tier financial regulators (ASIC, FFAJ, CBI, IIROC, ADGM, ISA) making them one of the strongest and most regulated brokers in the South African market. 

AvaTrade's proprietary platforms are definitely the most interesting part of their offering, especially because they developed their own currency options trading platform. For experienced currency traders looking for currencies and options on currencies, AvaTrade is a great choice.

5. IG - Best for most currency pairs offered

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79% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

IG is a global broker established in 1974 that holds 8 reputable financial licenses and provides CFD trading on stocks, commodities, ETFs, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, futures, options along with real stocks through their share dealing account.

IG is amongst the oldest and most regulated brokers in the world. Their regulatory framework consists of 8 financial licenses from which 7 belong to high tier regulators (ASIC, FCA, UK, NFA, ADGM, FINMA, MAS, FFAJ). It’s also important to note that IG was founded in 1974 and is a publicly traded company at the LSX.

IG boasts an overall asset offering of 10,000+ instruments with the possibility to add more. Their currency pair count is 210 different pairs. For professional traders, IG is one of the best choices. On the other hand, for beginners, their pricing structure and order placement language can result intimidating and complicated to use.