Top 5 High Leverage Forex Brokers

When you use leverage in everyday life, you’re using something to maximum advantage. Forex trading is one of the perfect examples of this, which is why it’s the most traded financial market on the planet.

High leverage is one of the attractive elements for speculating in currencies. Of course, this same tool can also be destructive when misused. This article is a guide into choosing the best high leverage forex brokers, along with educational material on the concept.

Best Forex Brokers Offering High Leverage

Broker	Founded	HQ	Regulations	Platforms	Markets	Deposit from	Leverage up to	Website
	2008	Cyprus	FCA, CySEC, FSA, FSCA	MT4, MT5, WebTrader	Forex, Indices, Stocks, Crypto, Metals, Energies	$10	1:2000	visit
	2009	Cyprus	CySEC, FCA, ASIC	MT4, MT5	Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Metals	$5	1:888	visit
	2011	Cyprus	CySEC, FCA	MT4, MT5, FXTM	Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Metals	$50	1:2000	visit
	2007	Australia	ASIC, FCA, CySEC	MT4, MT5, cTrader	Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Bonds, Futures, Crypto	$250	1:500	visit
	2009	Cyprus	CySEC, IFSC	MT4, MT5, FBS Trader	Forex, Indices, Stocks, Metals, Energies	$100	1:3000	visit

What is leverage in forex?

In forex, leverage is about ‘gearing’ your account to open far bigger positions than what your account would typically handle using ‘borrowed’ funds from your broker.

While this ‘loan’ doesn’t incur traditional interest, traders still pay (or are sometimes credited with) rollover or swaps for any positions held overnight, which is a form of interest derived from the differentials of two currencies.

When we speak of trading on margin, we mean traders use leverage to profit from minute price changes. As the cliched adage goes, leverage is a double-edged sword because it can amplify gains and losses in equal magnitude.

Nonetheless, forex brokers with high leverage have drastically lowered the barrier to entry for capital requirements. Therefore, the margin isn’t necessarily dangerous when you understand what you’re risking on a per-trade basis in dollar terms (or currency equivalent).

How does leverage work in forex?

When you open a demo or live account with a broker, you have to choose between different margin ratios typically ranging from 1:1 to the maximum offered. You can always change this later on request by making it higher or lower.

High leverage forex brokers can have a ratio as high as 1:3000 or, in some cases, unlimited. When we trade currencies, we’re trading particular base currency units (the currency on the left) of a pair. 

We express such units according to lot sizes, namely: standard (100 000 units), mini (10 000 units), micro (1 000 units), and, in some cases, nano (100 units). The worth of each unit, measured in pips, will vary from pair to pair. 

Therefore, a standard lot on EURUSD will not have the same value as a more volatile pair like GBPUSD. If a trader has 1:100 leverage, this means they can trade up to 100 times their account balance at any given time. 

If their equity was $1000, they could open a position worth up to $100 000 in value (100 X $1000). If the leverage was 1:200 with the same account balance, they could execute a trade valued at a maximum of $200 000. 

We’ll explore the risks associated with high leverage in the next section.

The risks associated with high leverage

The real danger associated with high leverage is the double-edged sword concept. However, when you understand how much capital is sufficient to open all your desired positions at any one time, you can easily minimize the downsides.

Often, the traders who experience sudden and substantial losses using high leverage are severely under-capitalized and don’t appreciate the value of lot sizes. Let’s imagine a trader with $500 in their account wanted to open a standard lot buy order on EURUSD.

Historically, every pip is always worth $10 with this market. A slight 25 pip increase would result in an open profit of $250. Conversely, an unwanted decrease of the same amount would leave the trader with a floating $250 loss, already half of their balance. 

It would take a further 25 pip decline before the trader is wiped out. However, there is no universal minimum starting balance as it varies based on individual financial circumstances and experience. 

However, the rule of thumb suggests you should never risk more than 3% of your account per position. So, traders will need to have enough money to cover all their positions where they ideally don’t risk above this percentage at any given time.

It’s worth noting that not all traders use the fixed percentage rule. However, you should account for how many trades you make per day, week or month and allocate the adequate capital accordingly.

Is high leverage good in forex trading?

Ultimately, using leverage in forex is only a tool. It’s not necessarily the leverage responsible for losses but the lack of understanding for pip values, lack of experience, being under-funded and other factors.

So, are there any real advantages of using high leverage forex brokers? The most apparent motivation is magnifying your gains with a relatively smaller account.

The other benefit with high leverage is limited exposure. The whole idea of trading on margin is you don’t need to keep your entire disposable capital in your account. Traders should only have enough to maintain the margin required for each trade. 

This means you can fund your account with far fewer funds while keeping the rest of the capital away. This would limit exposure from slippage or erratic market volatility that may eat into more of your funds than necessary.

However, these concepts are generally applied by the most experienced traders who know all the accounting aspects of trading and can use high leverage skillfully and responsibly. 

Factors to consider when forex brokers with high leverage

Here are the key factors to consider when considering the best high leverage forex brokers.

Look for trusted and regulated brokers

Due to scams in forex, it becomes essential only to use high leverage forex brokers regulated by top-tier regulators. This ensures a drastic likelihood of any financial misconduct.

Generally, the majority of forex brokers tend to be licensed by any of the following: 

• ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) – principally for Australia
• CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) – principally for most of Europe
• CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) – principally for the United States
• FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) – principally for the United Kingdom

Of course, several other regulatory agencies prevalent in certain regions or countries also exist.

Verifying the regulatory rules for your region around the maximum leverage

Certain regulators, most notably the FCA (who have capped the maximum leverage to 1:30), have mandated brokers to reduce the amount of maximum leverage they provide to clients.

Therefore, you have to verify whether the relevant regulatory authority in your country doesn’t have any limit with high leverage forex brokers.

Consider the broker’s main trading costs

A broker’s primary trading costs are spreads/commissions and swaps/rollover fees. Other charges not related to the actual market execution include deposit/withdrawal fees (usually waived by virtually all brokerages), conversion fees, and inactivity fees.

Therefore, it’s beneficial to compare across the board for each category, particularly with swaps if you hold your positions for several consecutive days.

Observe the minimum deposit requirement and payment options

Ask yourself if a particular minimum deposit amount exists to use high leverage or is high leverage available with all accounts. It all boils down to affordability; therefore, the lower, the better.

You want a balance of the card, bank wire, and e-wallet/electronic transfer options for payment methods.

Explore the broker’s range of tradable markets

High leverage is only as good as the number of markets you can apply it to. Therefore, a broad selection of the most popular forex markets, aside from the regular major and minor pairs, helps for diversification and variety with certain traders.

Find out the customer support options available

The most crucial support channel for top brokers with high leverage is a functioning and responsive live chat. With this option, traders can resolve most issues with little effort. Of course, you should also have a telephone line and email address to contact your broker.

5 Best Forex Brokers With High Leverage For 2022

Let’s now explore the five best brokers with high leverage by looking at the main features they provide, a brief overview, and the advantages and disadvantages.

FAQs about the top forex brokers with high leverage

What’s the best leverage for beginners?

The generally recommended figure is 1:100 maximum leverage for newbies. Yet, this ratio is entirely arbitrary. Truthfully, it’s not so much how much leverage one uses but keeping their risk to a fixed monetary amount that isn’t above 3% of their equity.

Do you have to pay back leverage?

No, at least not directly. If you hold any leveraged position overnight, you might be debited swap or rollover fees, a form of payment for trading on margin.

Can I trade forex without leverage?

If you’re trading on a 1:1 margin, technically, there is no leverage. Yet, the downside is you would need to have the full transaction value for each traded market, which can be worth thousands of dollars.