Broker to Trading

It is possible for a trader to use an online trading platform which charges a fee. In general at brokers, platform are offered which do not have a charge for the use of the platform. Arguably all online trading platforms are similar, in that they will have charts and charting tools and what the trader gets out of it, is dependant at least partly on factors unrelated to the platform.

A potential advantage of a free platform is that there is no additional cost to use the platform to consider when calculating the outcome of a trade. Brokers and third party providers have iterated designs of platforms with the aim of improving them and to provide platforms which can arguably be seen as quality products, at no cost to the trader.

Where free platforms broadly differ is in terms of the types of trading they support, which can be divided into those which support automated trading and those which do not. Of those which do not support automated trading, there are further subdivisions into those which are aim to support the human trader via the design of the platform and possibly with additional tools such as social, copy and crowd trading.

So the way a trader trades can be a factor when choosing a trading platform. A beginner trader can use a demo platform and when they move to a live account could consider whether account features, such as the capacity to trade with small trade sizes may be useful for them. The beginner trader may or may not appreciate a platform optimised for the human trader, with user friendly design and perhaps tools such as social trading so they can draw on the ideas of more experienced traders (or copy their trades).

However there is perhaps no substitute for learning to trade by trading, firstly on a demo then on a live account. The trader may wish to combine learning to trade with learning how to use a platform, that is they do not necessarily need a user friendly platform. In fact a beginner trader may learn to use a platform and learn to trade on it and then decide to stick with it. So that makes choosing a platform perhaps important.

Best Free Online Trading Platform

With all of the above in mind, Broker to Trading has picked FOREX.com's Advanced Trading Platform for 'best free online trading platform'. This said, traders may wish to consider other types of platforms if they want features such as social and copy trading or want to use online trading robots. There is no fee to use the Advanced Trading Platform and it is available for clients on a demo and real account. The demo account is free to use, but the live account requires a minimum deposit of at least $100. This is a platform which is perhaps not specifically designed to be especially user friendly in terms of ease of use rather it aims to provide powerful trading features, but it is nonetheless relatively user friendly. This said it is worth spending time working out how to use it on a demo.

Part of the reason it is picked for 'best free online trading platform' is that it is well designed, has been iteratively improved by FOREX.com over the years and packs a lot of features into it. It offers arguably very well designed charts, which is the core of the trading experience (the trader can sign up for a free demo below and see for themselves).

The charts come with a wide range of technical indicators and other charting tools. It has something of a professional air about it, and can be used by beginner and serious experienced traders. In fact FOREX.com provides a DMA account for advanced Forex and Metals traders which uses the Advanced Trading Platform (sign up link below).

Traders can trade on FOREX.com's standard account and trade on a wide range of markets from Forex to Crypto CFDs. The Advanced Trading Platform does not support full trading automation (this is available on FOREX.com's MT4 platform also offered to account holders along with a user friendly Web Trader) but does support the automation of charting signals. That is the trader can use or build signals which will give entry and exit points directly on the chart, which the trader can trade on. There is also a news feed provided. This is arguably an example of a platform which has a range of features, is well designed and which does not require any fee to use.