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Low-cost tradingSummary
OANDA is a multi-asset forex broker that offers a wide range of products, including forex, indices, commodities, and bonds. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. OANDA is regulated by several financial authorities, including the National Futures Association (NFA) in the US and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
OANDA offers several trading platforms, including its proprietary OANDA Trade platform and the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. It also offers a range of tools and resources for traders, including market analysis and educational materials. In addition to forex trading, OANDA also offers services such as currency conversion and international money transfers.
Some other things to know about OANDA:
- OANDA received several industry awards, including Best Forex Broker at the Forex Magnates Summit in 2013 and Best Forex Provider at the 2016 and 2017 UK Forex Awards.
- The company offers competitive spreads and does not charge commissions on forex trades.
- OANDA offers negative balance protection to ensure that clients cannot lose more than their account balance.
- The company has a strong focus on technology and innovation, and has been recognized for its advanced trading platforms and tools.
- OANDA offers customer support in several languages and has a reputation for providing high-quality assistance to traders.
Overall, OANDA is a well-regarded forex broker that offers a range of products and services to traders around the world.
Oanda pros and cons
With just a few exceptions, Oanda's fees are low. It offers a great and easy-to-use MT4 trading platform including MT4, MT4-web, MT4-Mobile, and a quick and user-friendly account opening process with no minimum deposit. Its research tools are powerful, with numerous technical indicators included in the MT4 premium version (which is available to all clients).On the downside, Oanda has a limited product portfolio, as you can trade with forex and CFDs only. The bank withdrawal fee is high, while customer support could be improved as it is slow and not available 24/7.
- • Generally low fees
- • Easy-to-use web trading platform
- • Easy and digital account opening
- • Only FX and some CFDs
- • Poor customer service
- • High bank withdrawal fee
Fees
Oanda charges low CFD and low forex fees. Non-trading fees are low, though the withdrawal fee is quite high for bank transfers.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Low trading fees | • High withdrawal fee for bank transfers |
| • Low forex fees | |
| • No withdrawal fee | |
| • No withdrawal fee in most cases |
| Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| EURUSD | Low | The fees are built into spread, 1.2 pips is the average spread cost. |
| GBPUSD | Low | The fees are built into spread, 1.6 pips is the average spread cost. |
| S&P 500 CFD | Low | The fees are built into spread, 0.5 is the average spread cost. |
| Inactivity fee | Low | $10 per month after 2 years of inactivity |
How we ranked fees
We ranked Oanda’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.
To get things rolling, let’s go over some lingo related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on, are trading fees, and non-trading fees.
- Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
- Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.
In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Oanda for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading, spreads, commissions and financing rates are the most important fees.
We also compared Oanda’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Pepperstone and FXCM. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Oanda alternatives.
To have a clear overview of Oanda, let’s start with the trading fees.
Oanda trading fees
Oanda trading fees are generally low.
We know it’s hard to compare trading fees for forex brokers. So what we did was we compared brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.
We picked popular instruments within each asset class usually offered by forex brokers:
- Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP
- Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50
A typical trade means buying a leveraged product, holding it for one week and then selling it. For volume, we chose a $20,000 position for forex and a $2,000 position for stock index and stock CFD transactions. The leverage we used was:
- 30:1 for forex
- 20:1 for stock index CFDs
These catch-all benchmark fees include spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let’s see the verdict for Oanda fees.
Forex fees
Oanda forex fees are low. The EURUSD fee is a bit higher than the average.
| Oanda | Pepperstone | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD benchmark fee | $15.9 | $14.9 | $16.5 |
| GBPUSD benchmark fee | $11.9 | $12.5 | $13.0 |
| AUDUSD benchmark fee | $8.3 | $11.9 | $17.3 |
CFD fees
Oanda has generally low CFD trading fees. Compared to Pepperstone and FXCM, Oanda’s fees are lower.
| Oanda | Pepperstone | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 index CFD fee | $1.0 | $2.0 | $2.2 |
| Europe 50 index CFD fee | $0.9 | $1.6 | $1.6 |
Non-trading fees
Oanda has average non-trading fees. There is no deposit fee. The withdrawal fee is low for credit/debit cards and PayPal, but the bank withdrawal fee is high. Oanda charges a reasonable $10 per month after 2 years of inactivity.
| Oanda | Pepperstone | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account fee | No | No | No |
| Inactivity fee | Yes | No | Yes |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Account Opening
What is the minimum deposit at Oanda?
There is no minimum deposit at Oanda.
Account types
There is only one type of trading account at Oanda (in addition to a demo account). However, you can open up to 19 sub-accounts. These are great if you want to have different base currencies under one account. E.g. you can have a USD account with EUR and GBP subaccounts.
How to open your account
Oanda review – Account opening
From start to finish, you can calculate in less than 10 minutes. Account approval, though, can take multiple days, as we were asked to send some of our verification documents in an email; but it’s still quick if you respond to their emails in time.
It takes four steps to complete the Oanda account opening:
- Contact details: set your username and password.
- Personal information: submit basic personal information, like your employment status or income estimate.
- Appropriateness Test: fill out a competence test with questions like “What are margins?”
- Verify your identity: upload a copy of your ID/passport to verify your identity, and a bank statement/utility bill to verify your residency.
Can you open an account?
Select your country of residence to see if you can open an account at Oanda – Top US Forex Broker For USA Traders.!
Bottom Line
It is important to carefully consider your options when choosing a forex broker, as they can vary significantly in terms of fees, spreads, and regulation. Here are a few things to consider when selecting a forex broker:
- Regulation: Look for a broker that is regulated by a reputable organization, such as the National Futures Association (NFA) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Fees: Compare the fees charged by different brokers for trading and other services. These can include spreads, commissions, and overnight financing fees.
- Trading platforms: Consider the trading platforms and tools offered by the broker, as well as their ease of use and reliability.
- Customer service: Look for a broker with good customer service, as you may need assistance with account questions or technical issues.
It is also a good idea to read reviews and compare the experiences of other traders before making a decision. Some popular forex brokers among US traders include OANDA
Oanda is an American forex broker founded in 1996.
It is considered safe because it has a long track record, discloses its financials, and is regulated by top-tier authorities, such as the US Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.5% 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 risk losing your money.
We selected Oanda as the Best mobile trading platform and Best broker for API trading for 2020 based on an in-depth analysis of 57 online brokers that included testing their live accounts.
Specification: Oanda – Top US Forex Broker For USA Traders.
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Videos: Oanda – Top US Forex Broker For USA Traders.
