Market Makers Forex Brokers
- Written By thinkforexbrokers
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Forex brokers can be categorized based on how they execute trades, and among them, market makers (also known as dealing desk brokers) are favored by some traders due to their fast order execution, fixed spreads, and competitive pricing. If you’re interested in exploring the top market makers in the forex industry, we recommend checking out the 10 brokers we’ve reviewed below. Each of these brokers is regulated by top-tier authorities and provides a secure and transparent trading environment. While some operate exclusively under the market maker model, others offer multiple account types to accommodate various trading preferences and execution methods.
59.57 % of retails investors accounts lose money
82 % of retails accounts lose money
Top 10 Forex Brokers Utilizing the Market-Maker Execution Model
1. XM Group
XM is a reputable and well-regulated forex broker that aims to meet the needs of different types of traders. The broker offers three main account types: Micro, Standard, and XM Zero. The Micro and Standard accounts operate under a market maker (dealing desk) model, where XM acts as the counterparty to trades. These accounts come with tight spreads starting from 0.6 pips and no trading commissions, making them ideal for beginners or traders with smaller budgets.
In contrast, the XM Zero account uses an ECN execution model, providing access to tighter spreads, larger trade volumes, and more competitive pricing. While the ECN model may be better suited for experienced or high-volume traders, the market maker accounts remain a solid choice for those who prefer simpler, lower-risk trading conditions.
Risk Warning: Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are complex financial instruments and carry a high risk of rapid capital loss due to leverage. 72.82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should carefully consider whether you fully understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
2. eToro
Another reputable broker featured in our list of top market makers is eToro, which operates its own in-house dealing desk. As a market maker, eToro sets the bid and ask prices for the currency pairs available on its platform. Instead of charging commissions, eToro generates revenue through the spreads applied to each trade. To determine accurate pricing, the broker uses a wide range of independent third-party reference sources and financial market data providers. While trading on eToro, clients can access major currency pairs with spreads starting from 1.0 pip, offering a commission-free trading model.
Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 61% 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.
3. AvaTrade
AvaTrade is a well-established forex broker that operates under the market maker model, executing client orders through its in-house dealing desk. To ensure competitive pricing, AvaTrade sources quotes from multiple third-party market data providers, with spreads automatically adjusted before being presented to traders. Clients can trade major, minor, and exotic currency pairs with spreads starting as low as 0.6 pips. Since AvaTrade includes its charges within the spread, no additional commissions are applied to forex trades.
Risk Warning: Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are complex financial instruments and carry a high risk of rapid capital loss due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should carefully consider whether you fully understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
4. XTB
Forex traders looking for a reliable market maker with low trading costs and rapid execution can consider XTB. Operating through its in-house dealing desk, XTB executes client orders at high speeds, offering an efficient and streamlined trading experience. The broker sets its own bid/ask prices, drawing quotes from top-tier liquidity providers to ensure fair and highly competitive pricing across a wide range of major, minor, and exotic currency pairs. With zero commission fees and spreads starting from as low as 0.8 pips, XTB stands out as a market maker that delivers strong value for forex traders.
Risk Warning: CFDs are complex financial instruments and carry a high risk of rapid loss due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should carefully consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
5. IG
IG is not only one of the longest-standing and most trusted forex brokers but also a top market maker, providing highly competitive pricing for currency pair trading. The broker sets its own bid/ask prices by sourcing quotes from multiple reliable venues, including leading liquidity providers, to ensure better prices and reduced trading costs. By opening a standard account with IG, your orders will be executed through the broker’s in-house dealing desk, offering low spreads on major currency pairs starting from just 0.6 pips. Additionally, IG charges no commission on your trades, making forex trading even more cost-effective.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail client accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Please make sure you fully understand how CFDs work and consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
6. Saxo Bank
SAXO is one of the largest CFD brokers available, offering CFDs on forex, equities, bonds, and various other assets. Operating as a market maker, SAXO sets its own bid/ask prices and also serves as a major liquidity provider for other financial market participants, including smaller forex brokers. This dual role ensures competitive pricing and fast execution of orders through SAXO’s in-house dealing desk. To remain competitive, SAXO offers fixed forex spreads on major currency pairs starting from 0.9 pips.
CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of rapid financial loss due to leverage. 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Before trading, you should carefully consider whether you fully understand how CFDs, FX, or any of our other products work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
7. CMC Markets
By joining CMC Markets, you gain access to trading over 330 currency pairs on their advanced spread betting and CFD platforms. As a market maker, CMC Markets executes your orders directly through its own dealing desk, ensuring lightning-fast execution speeds. The broker sets its own bid/ask prices, offering highly competitive quotes by benchmarking prices from eight major banks. Forex traders will benefit from exceptionally low spreads, often starting at just 0.6 pips on major pairs such as EUR/USD. With an average execution speed of 0.0045 seconds, CMC Markets minimizes slippage for a smooth trading experience.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
8. Plus500
Forex traders seeking a reliable dealing desk broker can consider Plus500, a leading name in the trading industry that offers CFDs on forex, ETFs, commodities, and more. As a market maker, Plus500 sets its own bid/ask prices, using data from multiple independent financial providers to ensure competitive pricing and tight spreads across major, minor, and exotic currency pairs. All trades are executed through Plus500’s in-house trading platform, delivering fast order execution to minimize slippage. Plus500 clients can enjoy commission-free forex trading, with spreads typically around 1.2 pips on major pairs like EUR/USD.
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Make sure you understand the risks involved and assess whether you can afford to lose your money.
9. FXCM
FXCM is a well-established market-making broker with extensive experience since its founding in 1999 in New York. Traders can rely on FXCM for competitive trading costs, as all orders are processed through the broker’s in-house platform. When trading major currency pairs like EUR/USD, FXCM offers an average spread of 0.7 pips with no commission fees. Committed to fast order execution, FXCM achieved zero or positive slippage on 87% of trades executed in 2023.
CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of rapid financial loss due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Before trading, consider whether you fully understand how CFDs work and if you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
10. ActivTrades
We recommend ActivTrades to traders seeking fast execution speeds (as low as 0.004 seconds), competitive pricing, and a diverse range of trading opportunities. The broker offers access to over 1,000 CFD instruments spanning Forex, Commodities, Shares, Indices, ETFs, Bonds, and Cryptocurrencies.
ActivTrades supports popular third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5, alongside its own proprietary platform, ActivTrader. Additionally, traders who appreciate the advanced charting tools of TradingView can link their ActivTrades account to this widely-used social trading platform.
Regarding its pricing model, ActivTrades describes itself as a No Dealing Desk (NDD) broker. However, the broker also acts as the sole execution venue for client trades, functioning as principal and dealing on its own account, indicating a hybrid approach.
CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of rapid financial loss due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Please ensure you understand how CFDs work and carefully consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Comprehensive Comparison of the Top 10 Market Makers Forex Brokers
Forex Broker | Min Deposit | Negative Balance Protection | Trading Platforms | Commission | Fixed Spreads | Min Spread | Avg Execution Speed |
$100 | Yes (European and Australian Retail traders) | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, WebTrader, AvaTade App, AvaSocial, AvaOptions, DupliTrade | $0 | Yes | From 0.9 pips (retail), 0.6 pips (pro) | 30ms | |
$0 | Yes (retail traders) | MT4, MT5, TradingView, Next Generation (proprietary | $0 for forex trading | Yes | From 0.0 pips (UK), 0.3 pips (SG, AU), 0.2 pips (IE) | 0.0045 seconds | |
$50 or $100 based on country ($10 for the UK, $1 in the US) | Yes (retail traders) | eToro Investing, eToro App, TradingView, eToro CopyTrader, Proprietary | $1 or $2 (stocks only) | Yes, floating spreads also available | From 1 pip | < 1000 ms | |
$100 | Yes | Proprietary, desktop and mobile platforms | $0 | Yes, variable spreads available for select markets | 0.8 pips | Unspecified | |
$0 ($150 for Singapore and Australia) | Yes (Retail traders) | MT4, WebTrader, Trading App, TradingView | $0 on forex trades; 1.8 CPS for US shares ($10 minimum); 0.08% for other shares ($10 or A$5 minimum) | Yes, floating spreads also available | From 0.7 pips (UK); 0.5 pips (Singapore and Australia) | 20 ms | |
$0 | Yes (EU, UK, and MENA regions) | xStation 5, xStation Mobile | $0 for Standard accounts, $3.50 per side for Pro accounts | Yes, floating spreads also available | From 0.1 pips (Pro Account), 0.5 pips (Standard Account) | < 440 ms | |
$50 | Depends on region (N/A in UAE) | MetaTrader 4, TradingView Pro, Trading Station, Capitalise.ai | $0 | No | From 0.0 pips | 19 ms | |
$0 | Yes (for limited risk accounts) | MetaTrader4, L2 Dealer, ProRealTime, IG proprietary software, TradingView, | $0 | No | from 0.6 pips Forex trading; 0.165 pips av. spread DMA trading | 10 ms | |
$5 | Yes, for retail clients | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, MT4 WebTrader, MT5 WebTrader, MT4 Multiterminal, XM App | $0 Ultra Low Micro and Ultra Low Standard Accounts; $3.50 per side XM Zero Account | No | From 0.0 pips (Zero Account), from 0.8 pips (Standard and Micro Accounts) | <1000 ms | |
$0 Classic $200,000 + Platinum $1,000,000 + VIP | Yes (EU, UK, and MENA regions) | Proprietary, SaxoTraderGO, SaxoTraderPRO, TradingView, SaxoInvestor | $3 per lot | Yes, for select index CFDs | 0.9 pips (Classic), 0.8 (Platinum), 0.7 pips (VIP) | 13 ms |
Best Market Makers Forex Brokers Ranked by Trustpilot Score
Forex Broker | Trustpilot Reviews | |
10,141 | ||
2,243 | ||
27,550 | ||
15,556 | ||
382 | ||
1,949 | ||
655 | ||
7,895 | ||
2,115 | ||
7,235 | ||
How Market-Maker Forex Brokers Work
Market makers act as intermediaries between the interbank market and retail traders by fulfilling customer orders through their dealing desks. They purchase large positions from liquidity providers and then package these into smaller orders that are accessible to traders with smaller accounts.
Essentially, the market maker model creates a new market derived from the larger interbank market. When a trader places an order, the broker’s dealing desk either takes the opposite side of the trade or hedges it with a liquidity provider. The broker adjusts the spread by adding a small markup before executing the order.
This model ensures faster execution speeds and fixed spreads, which makes it popular among many forex traders. Although some traders may prefer direct access to the interbank market, many retail clients lack the capital required for such trades. Market makers provide an accessible in-house trading environment with fixed spreads, single price quotations, and no commissions, delivering competitive pricing for smaller accounts.
Differences between Market Makers, STP, and ECN Forex Brokers
If you’re unsure whether the market maker model suits your forex trading needs, it’s helpful to understand the other common trading models offered by brokers. Besides market makers, many brokers operate using either the STP (Straight-Through Processing) or ECN (Electronic Communications Network) models.
Unlike market makers, who use an in-house dealing desk to process orders and create a new market, STP brokers provide traders with direct access to the interbank market—hence, they’re also called Direct Market Access (DMA) brokers. When trading forex through an STP broker, pricing and trade execution are handled by liquidity providers rather than the broker itself.
Generally, the STP model is better suited for professional traders who have sufficient experience and capital to trade larger volumes directly in the interbank forex market.
Steps in STP Execution
The broker receives the client’s order and forwards it to its network of liquidity providers.
A liquidity provider executes the order at the best available price.
The STP broker sends a confirmation to the trader and handles the order settlement.
Similar to STP brokers, ECN brokers also execute customer orders directly in the interbank market. However, the key difference is that ECN brokers may not route trades exclusively to liquidity providers. Instead, they can transfer orders to other participants in the FX market, such as other brokers willing to take the trade.
In fact, all ECN brokers can be considered STP brokers because they fulfill orders in the interbank market, but not all STP brokers are ECN brokers since ECN brokers involve a broader range of market participants.
Steps in ECN Order Execution
After the client places an order, the broker sends it to the electronic communication network where all interbank market participants can view it.
The system matches the client’s order with a corresponding order from another market participant.
The order is executed at an interbank price with no markups or spread adjustments.
The ECN broker confirms the order execution and settles the transaction.
Some brokers offer multiple execution models to suit different trader preferences. For example, certain account types might route orders through an ECN system to access the interbank market, while others use a dealing desk system with fixed spreads, no commissions, and faster execution speeds.
Comparison between Market Makers and STP/ECN Brokers
Market Makers | STP/ECN Brokers |
Orders are processed by in-house dealing desk platforms | Orders are processed in the interbank market |
Fast execution but there is a risk of requotes | Reliable and razor-sharp execution without requotes |
Derive profits from spread markups | Profit mostly from commissions |
Spread markups may range from 0.5 to 1.5 pips | No markup, with spreads from 0.0 or 0.1 pips |
Offer fixed spreads | Offer floating spreads |
Traders are offered single price quotations | Traders are offered multiple prices |
Suitable for traders with smaller accounts | Require bigger trading capital |
No commissions are charged | Charge both entry and exit order commissions |
Benefits of Using Market-Maker Forex Brokers
Different traders have varying needs when it comes to their forex trading experience, and no single trading model fits every investor perfectly. That said, the market maker model offers several advantages that many traders may find appealing.
As noted earlier, STP and ECN models are generally better suited for traders who can afford to trade larger volumes directly in the interbank market. If you don’t have the capital to place high-volume, riskier trades, market maker brokers could be a better fit for you. Since market makers purchase large order sizes from liquidity providers, they can create an internal market that allows smaller trade sizes, making them ideal for traders with lower volume preferences. Additionally, many market makers have low or no minimum deposit requirements, further supporting traders with limited funds.
Trading with dealing desk brokers ensures fixed spreads and a single price quotation for each currency pair, which can be an advantage compared to the constantly fluctuating prices typically seen with STP and ECN brokers. Furthermore, many market makers offer fixed spreads with no commission fees on trades, which can lead to lower overall trading costs compared to the often higher fees in the highly liquid interbank market.
Another benefit of market makers is the speed of order execution. Since trades are processed internally through the broker’s dealing desk, execution tends to be faster. In contrast, STP and ECN brokers route orders to the interbank market, where execution may take longer and increase the risk of slippage.
Potential Issues Related to Trading with Market-Maker Brokers
While market makers can be a suitable trading option for some traders—particularly those without the capital to place larger orders with STP or ECN brokers—there are important factors to consider before choosing this model for your forex trading.
As mentioned earlier, market makers fulfill orders by taking the opposite side of their clients’ trades. This creates an inherent conflict of interest, as the broker essentially trades against you. Additionally, although you receive a single price quotation, the bid/ask prices offered by market makers may be less favorable than those available through ECN or STP brokers.
Worse bid/ask prices may not always be deliberate; they can result from slippage during volatile market conditions, especially around major news releases. Market makers might also temporarily suspend order placement during periods of high volatility to protect their own risk.
Execution quality for larger orders can also be a concern with market makers, as these brokers often do not provide direct access to real interbank liquidity. While we focus on recommending reputable brokers, it is important to be aware that some market makers might manipulate prices or widen spreads significantly, which can adversely affect traders.
