5 Best South Africa Forex Brokers List for 2023

By Stefano Treviso, Updated on: Jan 22 2024.

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

Broker	Reason
Pepperstone	Best for multi-platform environment
IG	Best for most currency pairs offered
Blueberry Markets	Best for most currency pairs offered
Markets.com	Best for intermediate level currency traders
AvaTrade	Best overall option

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 (BTW, find out What Time Does Forex Open and Close in South Africa).

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.

Key data
Currency Pairs	60
EUR/USD Spread	Dynamic - From 0 to 0.77 Pips
Commissions	For Standard account : All fees included in the spread For Razor account: From $7 per Lot round turn
Minimum Deposit	$200
Financial Regulators	BaFin, FCA, ASIC, DFSA, CySec, SCB, CMA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	Yes
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	No

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.

The Good	The Bad
Well regulated on several jurisdictions Low latency, fast execution under 30ms Competitive spreads and low commissions from 0.0 pips on their Razor account	Avaliable asset offering is not that comprehensive No ability to purchase real stocks or cryptocurrencies, only CFDs

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. 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.

Key data
Currency Pairs	80
EUR/USD Spread	Dynamic - From 0.6 Pips
Commissions	Yes, they charge depending on the client’s account base currency and exchange location of the shares being traded. For example, for some clients US shares can have a minimum charge of $10 in-and-out.
Minimum Deposit	From $10 to $450.
Financial Regulators	ASIC, FMA, NFA, ADGM, FINMA, MAS, FFAJ, FSCA, BMA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	No
cTrader	No
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes

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.

The Good	The Bad
Broad platform offering with high customisability and integrated news feeds Comprehensive asset offering with more than 10,000 + CFDs or real stocks and ETFs	There are too many small costs such as custody, in-and-out-commissions in some cases, management fees, etc Their standard contracts can be too large some times for low volume traders

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.

3. 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.

Key data
Currency Pairs	45
EUR/USD Spread	Dynamic - From 0.1 Pips to 1 Pip
Commissions	Depending on account type: Standard account has no commissions Direct Account has a commission of $3.5 per lot
Minimum Deposit	$100
Financial Regulators	ASIC, SCB.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	No
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	No

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.

The Good	The Bad
Allows deposits using cryptocurrency USDT (Tether) Leverage of up to 1:500 (for experienced traders) Extremely competitive spreads	All instruments are CFDs, you can't buy underlying assets (real stocks or cryptocurrencies) Their available asset offering is very low with less than 350 tradable assets

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.

4. 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.

Key data
Currency Pairs	67
EUR/USD Spread	Dynamic - From 0.7 Pips
Commissions	No comissions on CFDs. For share dealing, the first 3 months are commission free, then the structure is: EU Shares = 0.1% (min €10) UK Shares = 0.1% (min £8) US Shares = 2c (min $15) AU Shares = 0.1% (min A$10)
Minimum Deposit	$100
Financial Regulators	CySec, FCA, UK, ASIC, FSCA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	No
TradingView	Yes
Proprietary Platform	Yes

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.

The Good	The Bad
Clear separation between investors and Traders by offering share dealing accounts and CFD trading accounts Wide range of platforms (Proprietary, MT4, MT5) Wide range of stocks and stock CFDs	Minimum trade sizes larger than average Spreads above average

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.

5. 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.

Key data
Currency Pairs	55
EUR/USD Spread	Dynamic - From 0.9 Pips
Commissions	None
Minimum Deposit	$100
Financial Regulators	ASIC, FFAJ, CBI, IIROC, CySec, FSCA, ADGM, ISA.
MT4	Yes
MT5	Yes
cTrader	No
TradingView	No
Proprietary Platform	Yes

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.

The Good	The Bad
AvaProtect feature for negative trades payback Great variety of platforms (proprietary ones, MT4 & MT5) Smooth platform experiences and easy account management Custom Options trading platform	Lack of variety in stocks, ETFs and bonds Expensive inactivity fees No multi-chart tools High trade minimums in all assets except forex

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.