4 Best Forex Options Brokers for 2024

List of Top Options Brokers and Trading Platforms

Best brokers for US traders

Best brokers for international traders

What are the Options?

Options give the right — but not the obligation — to buy or sell a market at a fixed price on a specific date. They can be used on currency pairs, stocks, indices, or commodities and can be beneficial for executing short-term and long-term strategies.

One reason options trading is popular is that there is no need for a stop loss. As you are not purchasing the underlying asset directly – just the option to do so in the future – options provide some interesting possibilities for speculation and hedging strategies.

How did FXEmpire select the Best Forex Brokers for options trading?

• We chose brokers that scored a rating of 4+ based on our 250-data point checklist.
• We checked the broker’s authorization and licenses to operate in different jurisdictions and confirmed them with the regulator.
• We ensured that each broker offers both put and call options and allows multiple types of option strategies.
• We explored the full options offering from each broker to ensure a wide variety of options contracts are available with a wide range of strike prices and expiry dates.
• We examined the range of tradable instruments available to trade on with options to ensure a diverse range of markets.
• We assessed the different option trading fees to ensure they are competitive and transparent.
• We tested the broker’s options trading platform to confirm it is feature-rich, secure, and easy to use.
• We checked the leverage and margin available for each broker’s options products.
• We looked for any educational content and research tools specifically tailored to trading options.
• We contacted customer support to test how helpful, knowledgeable, and easy-to-access customer support agents are/.

Using FX Empire’s comprehensive methodology, our team of experts has identified the best forex brokers for options trading this year. Here’s how we test.

Now let’s explore the selected brokers.

How to Choose the Best Options Broker?

Pay attention to the following points to choose the best forex broker for options trading.

1. Choose a regulated broker

When choosing a forex broker to trade with, it is important to stick to a regulated broker. These brokers are required by law to adhere to strict rules regarding the safety of your capital and the quality of your trade execution.

However, not all regulators are equal. In our broker rating review, we categorize regulators into three tiers:

• Tier-1. These are regulators that are based in well-known financial jurisdictions and include the UK FCA, ASIC, CFTC, NFA, IIROC, and others.
• Tier-2. These are regulators that are based in well-known economic regions but are less known as major financial centers and include the FMA, FSCA, CBI, and others.
• Tier-3. These are regulators that are based offshore and include the FSA Seychelles, FSC BVI, and others.

Brokers regulated by a Tier 1 regulator offer the highest level of protection. For example, the UK FCA, IIROC, CySEC, and ASIC make it a legal requirement for brokers to segregate client funds from company funds and to offer a negative balance protection so your account does not go below zero.

Explore Best CySEC-regulated brokers and Best ASIC-regulated brokers.

The UK FCA, CySEC, and IIROC take investor protection one step further and make it a legal requirement to be part of a compensation scheme to protect client funds up to a certain amount in the event the broker becomes insolvent.

It is advised to stay well clear of unregulated brokers, as there is no legal recourse should they decide to run away with your funds. You can check the regulatory status of a broker and their license on the relevant regulator’s online register in the jurisdiction the broker is based in.

Read more about best regulated forex brokers in our comprehensive guide.

2. Check the option trading fees

Some of the trading fees you should be aware of include:

• Spread. This is the difference between the buy price and the sell price of an option. See our guides on the best zero spread and best lowest spread forex brokers.
• Commission. This is a fee to open and close an option trade.
• Regulatory fee. If trading options from an options exchange, there are regulatory fees for each option contract.
• Deposit/withdrawal fees. These are fees for depositing and withdrawing funds.
• Inactivity fees. If no trading activity has taken place over a set number of months, the broker may charge an inactivity fee.

Ideally, you want all fees to be as low as possible. Research the fees on the broker’s website and terms and conditions document, and speak to customer support to verify your findings.

3. Choose the right options account

Most European and Asia forex brokers will offer an options CFD trading account. This means you can purchase the option to buy or sell a CFD of a certain market at a particular price in the future.

Some of the benefits of trading option CFDs are that many of them charge zero commission to buy or sell, and you can often access a higher level of margin. For example, some brokers that are regulated by Tier 1 regulators, such as the UK FCA and CySEC, may offer up to 1:30 leverage on forex options. This means you can purchase an option worth $3,000 with just $1,000.

Read more about Best FCA-regulated brokers.

However, forex brokers providing option CFDs will have different margin requirements, so check the broker’s product offering page or speak to a customer support agent.

Some brokers may offer the ability to purchase options that are listed on an exchange, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange. If so, you will find that the broker will only provide access to stock equity options through these exchanges.

Therefore, it’s crucial to research the broker carefully to identify which tradable instruments are available for options trading, ensuring you can access the markets you’re interested in trading.

4. Test the options trading platform

Brokers who offer the ability to trade options will likely only offer them through their own proprietary trading platform. All of the brokers listed on this page provide access to their own options trading platform. Typically, this is a web-based platform, but some brokers may also provide access to options mobile trading app.

Some brokers offer feature-rich proprietary trading platforms with everything you need. Other brokers may provide their own platform to trade options, but you may find their charting, technical analysis, and research tools to be limited.

It may be useful to check what other trading platforms and research tools the broker provides, as you can use them for your analysis and research and then simply trade from the proprietary web platform.

See our comprehensive guide on the best forex trading platforms.

What to avoid when choosing a Forex Options broker?

Here are some things to avoid when choosing a forex broker for options trading:

• Brokers lack transparency. If you cannot find information regarding the different types of options available to trade with from a broker and the fees associated with doing so, then it is a red flag that the broker may be hiding something.
• Brokers with no physical presence. If a broker does not have a physical office in a well-established jurisdiction with a live customer support team to speak to, it’s probably best to avoid trusting them with your money.
• Unregulated brokers. These brokers are not subject to any official oversight, which means there is no protection if they go bankrupt or act fraudulently.

If you stick to the brokers listed on this page, you are less likely to encounter any of these issues.

How to avoid forex and CFD scams?

Here are some tips to avoid trading scams:

• Trade with a regulated broker.
• Check they have a physical presence.
• Speak to a live customer support agent.
• Ensure they operate in a well-known economic jurisdiction.
• Only use well-known payment methods.
• Start with a demo account or small funds first.

And if you are still uncertain, you can always check out our database of reviews to find the most reliable brokers.

Our Methodology

When identifying the best forex brokers for options trading, we checked that each broker offers both call and put options.

• By purchasing a call option, you are buying the right – but not the obligation – to purchase a market at a fixed price in the future.
• By purchasing a put option, you are buying the right – but not the obligation – to sell a market to someone else at a fixed price in the future.

Every option has a different expiry. Some of the brokers listed in this article offer daily options that expire at the end of the day. Many of the brokers listed provide options that expire 1 – 12 months out, making them useful for short-term and long-term traders.

European Style Options can only be exercised at the expiry date. American Style Options can be exercised at any time before the expiry date. It is common for options that expire daily to be European-style. American Style Options provide more flexibility as you can close the option trade before expiry and lock in a profit or minimize a loss.

Some brokers will offer options that are traded on an options exchange, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange. However, as many forex brokers are providing options as an additional product to their clients, you will find that many of these brokers provide option CFDs. This is where you are purchasing an option to buy or sell a CFD at a fixed price in the future, which comes with certain benefits such as trading on margin and lower or zero commissions.

In our methodology, we have identified forex brokers that provide a different range of option expiries and styles. We also selected the brokers using over 250 research data points covering nine core categories, which include:

• Trustworthiness: We check the broker’s regulatory status, reputation, and license to operate within different jurisdictions.
• Fees: We test the broker’s trading fees with a live trading account to check how transparent and competitive they are.
• Trading platform and tools: We examine and test the broker’s trading platforms and tools to identify the number of features they provide.
• Tradable instruments: We check how diverse a broker’s product range is to ensure a good level of diversification of tradable instruments.
• Customer support: We test the level of knowledge and helpfulness of each broker’s customer support agents.
• Payment methods: We evaluate the different deposit and withdrawal methods available and check the fees associated with each one.
• Account types: We examine the broker’s account types and features to ensure a transparent and diverse product offering.
• Research and education: We review the quality of the broker’s research and education materials.

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.

Meet Our Writers

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.

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