Searching for the top broker with a micro account offering? Based on our hands-on analysis, we’ve identified 3 best options tailored to various trading needs. Practical tips from our experts are included.
If you have a limited amount of trading funds, a micro account could be the perfect option for you. Micro accounts allow traders to transact in micro lots. A lot represents the standardized size of currency units in a standard contract. Traditionally, brokers offered the ability to trade using only standard lots, equivalent to 100,000 units of currency. This required a sizeable trading account.
To appeal to a wider base, many brokers now offer the ability to trade in micro lots, which are one-hundredth the size of a standard lot. This means transactions can be made in 1,000 units of currency, making them a perfect fit for account holders trading with smaller funds.
Using FX Empire’s comprehensive methodology, our team of experts has identified the best forex brokers offering micro accounts for this year. Here’s how we test.
Now let’s explore the selected brokers.
Founded in 2005, FP Markets is an Australian broker providing an excellent range of detailed, insightful, and helpful educational materials, including webinars, articles, videos, eBooks, and courses. With raw ECN pricing micro lot trading accounts, multiple trading platforms, and a broad selection of forex pairs, FP Markets stands out as a top broker to consider.
Key Micro Lot Account Features:
FP Markets offers an impressive range of trading courses for beginner and intermediate traders. There are 25 online video courses covering topics such as ‘What is Technical Analysis?’, ‘What is Fundamental Analysis?’, ‘The Stochastic Oscillator Introduction’, and many more. Some courses are short videos, while others are longer, up to 40 minutes in duration. I found the 33 platform video tutorials to be an excellent resource for beginner traders.
The broker offers over 70 forex pairs for trading in micro-lots (0.01), a better range than most brokers. Quotes are based on its ECN pricing model, received directly from the interbank market with no broker intervention, ensuring fast and precise trade execution. In our live fee test of the Standard Account, the spread for EUR/USD averaged 1.1 pips, close to the industry average of 1.0 pips.
Founded in 2009 and based in Belize, RoboForex is the Official Sponsor of Club Cienciano. The broker offers five different trading accounts, multiple trading platforms, and its own copy trading solution, CopyFX.
Key Micro Lot Account Features:
RoboForex offers five trading accounts: Prime, ECN, R Stocks Trader, ProCent, and Pro. The Prime, ECN, and Pro accounts allow trading in micro-lots (0.01), feature a low minimum deposit of 10 USD, and offer a good range of 36 forex pairs. Additionally, these accounts offer cashback rebates of up to 10% of the commission, which can be beneficial for active traders.
In our live fee test of the Prime Account, the average spread for EUR/USD was 0.1 pips, with a commission of $1 per lot. This significantly beats the industry average commission of $3.50. The broker also offers 24/7 customer support, which I find extremely helpful in case any trading or account issues need handling.
XM provides the option to trade on the industry-standard MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. It also offers a VIP Education Package for these platforms, which includes proprietary indicators such as the Ribbon Indicator, River Indicator, and others.
Key Micro Lot Account Features:
The XM MT4 platform offers over 100 built-in technical analysis indicators and drawing tools, nine timeframes, three chart types, and multiple orders (market, limit, and stop). The MT4 platform has long been considered the gold standard for forex trading. I particularly enjoy using the MetaTrader Marketplace from the platform, which provides an extensive database of customized indicators and automated trading strategies.
The XM Ultra Low Standard and Zero accounts offer a minimum trade volume of 0.01 on a standard lot contract of 100,000 units, effectively allowing micro lot trading on these accounts. However, it can be confusing that the XM Ultra Low Micro Account offers a minimum trade volume of 0.1 lots, but on a contract size of 1,000 units. This arrangement enables trading at even lower volumes than a micro lot, at 100 units of currency, known as a nano lot, which is beneficial for very small accounts.
In our live fee test of the Standard Account, the spread for EUR/USD averaged 1.7 pips. This is higher than the industry average of 1.0 pips for a zero-commission trading account.
Pros:
MT4, MT5, MT MultiTerminal
Micro lot and nano lot accounts
Extra MetaTrader indicators
Detailed XM Research
Cons:
Not the most competitive spreads
Here is a quick guide on choosing a forex broker with micro accounts.
Nowadays, brokers can be categorized as either regulated or unregulated. I recommend steering clear of unregulated brokers, as there is no legal recourse to reclaim your capital if they act fraudulently and steal it.
A regulated broker is legally required to adhere to strict standards in handling your capital. However, it’s important to note that not all regulators provide the same level of protection. In our broker reviews, we classify regulatory bodies into three tiers:
Brokers licensed and authorized by a Tier-1 regulator provide the highest level of investor protection. For example, brokers regulated by the UK FCA, IIROC, CySEC, and ASIC must legally segregate client funds from their own, ensuring that client deposits aren’t utilized for the broker’s operational needs.
Check out our dedicated guides on best CySEC-regulated brokers and best FCA-regulated brokers.
Furthermore, these regulators enforce a negative balance protection policy, preventing a retail client’s account from dipping into negative territory during adverse market movements. It’s important to note that professional traders may waive this protection.
The FCA, IIROC, and CySEC take another step by mandating brokers to participate in compensation schemes. These schemes can safeguard client deposits up to a specified amount in case the broker goes bankrupt.
To verify your broker’s regulatory status, review the legal terms and conditions and consult the regulator’s online register in the country they operate. Read more about best regulated forex brokers in our comprehensive guide.
There are a variety of fees to take into consideration when using a micro lot trading account.
When trading on micro lot accounts, be aware that some brokers may significantly mark up the spread they receive from the interbank market. This is because micro lots allow traders to transact at very small stakes, resulting in minimal profit for the broker. Therefore, they may impose higher spreads on these accounts to generate more revenue.
To verify a broker’s fee structure, you can review the account or fee page on their website or contact customer support.
Brokers aim to attract a diverse range of clients. Therefore, many brokers offer various account types, including standard, mini, micro, and nano lot accounts. But what do these terms mean?
A lot represents the standardized quantity of currency units in a position. In forex trading, the standard size of one lot is typically 100,000 units of the base currency.
Some brokers will offer a trading account called Micro. This means that when you trade, you are trading one-hundredth of a standard lot (0.01 lots).
However, during my research, I found that many brokers offer trading in 0.01 lots on many of their other standard accounts. Many non-micro-named accounts may offer better terms and trading fees than a micro-named account. It’s well worth doing your due diligence and researching each account type the broker offers before committing.
The ideal scenario for micro lot traders is to use an account with the lowest trading fees and the most trading features. This may not necessarily be the micro-named account but any account that allows trading a volume of 0.01 lots. Check the broker’s account page, terms and conditions, and speak to customer support if in doubt.
Check out our picks of Best forex demo accounts.
One reason forex and CFD trading is so popular is leverage. When trading on leverage, you can open a larger position using a small deposit, amplifying both gains and losses.
For example, a leverage ratio of 1:30 allows you to initiate a position valued at $30 with a mere $1 deposit, granting control over a position thirty times the size of your deposit.
Regulators in the Tier-1 category, including the FCA, CySEC, ASIC, and IIROC, have imposed restrictions on retail trading leverage, capping it at 1:30. However, many offshore brokers may offer extremely high leverage, reaching up to 1:2000 in some cases. While this can help to maximize your returns, it can also wipe them out due to the potential of a margin call.
When trading with leverage, your profit and loss are calculated on the total trade value, not the margin deposited. The broker might issue a margin call if your account lacks adequate capital to manage the larger position. The broker will automatically close your trades in such circumstances, potentially leading to unforeseen losses.
For traders seeking high-leverage options, FX Empire offers a list of the best forex brokers with high leverage, carefully selected to suit specialized trading needs.
Accessing and trading the financial markets successfully requires a reliable trading platform that is both swift and secure and offers a comprehensive range of features and tools. Some of the widely used trading platforms are:
I personally favor brokers that provide multiple platforms accessible on various devices. This approach ensures seamless switching to an alternative platform or device in case of issues, guaranteeing uninterrupted management of my account. You can also check out our dedicated guide on best forex trading platforms.
When choosing a forex and CFD broker offering micro lot trading accounts, be cautious of the following:
To safeguard yourself from forex and CFD scams, adhere to the following guidelines:
And if you are still uncertain, you can always check out our database of reviews to find the most reliable brokers.
To identify the best forex brokers with micro accounts, we evaluated brokers using our proprietary rating system, which analyzes 250 data points across nine core categories:
We abide by our strict guidelines for editorial integrity based on the objective standards we have set for our reviews. You can read more about our review process here.
For this page, we also confirmed that each broker provides a micro lot trading account with low minimum deposits, a wide range of currency pairs to trade, and a feature-rich trading platform.
The team of forex and CFD writers and editors at FX Empire is composed of trading industry professionals and seasoned financial journalists. Our writers have been published on leading financial websites such as Investopedia and Forbes. In addition, they all have extensive trading experience.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licenced futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.