Oanda foreign exchange trading review

What I think about Oanda

Oanda is one of the few forex brokers that accepts US traders. It offers access to over 70 currency pairs including major pairs and exotics like USD/ZAR, USD/SGD and TRY/JPY.

The spreads are relatively low with EUR/USD having an average of 1.4 pips and GBP/USD with 1.7 pips. This isn’t bad for the average forex trader. But high-volume traders – those who trade in millions and have large accounts – may find this option too expensive.

Luckily, Oanda offers two pricing models:

• Spread-only pricing. With this model, you only pay the spread, which is on the higher end between the two models. This option is best for beginner traders and those with accounts of less than $10,000.
• Core pricing plus commission trading. With this model, you get some of the lowest spreads, such as 0.4 pips on EUR/USD and 1.0 pips on GBP/USD, but you also pay a $50 commission per $1 million traded lots. You can lower the commission by having an account of $10,000 or more and trading more than $10 million in lots each month.

Regardless of the pricing model you choose, you’ll have access to multiple trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4.

All this makes Oanda a decent choice for any US trader looking to trade currency pairs.

Oanda offers 5 ways to trade

Oanda lets you trade forex through its mobile platform, desktop and web — including TradingView — and MetaTrader 4.

The mobile app is available on iOS and Android and it has the same features as the desktop and web versions. You can do advanced technical analysis and set advanced orders, including trailing stops.

Traders who are familiar with TradingView or MT4 could use either of the two. The latter is especially useful because of the countless custom indicators and automated trading software, known as Expert Advisors (EAs), available for free or for a fee on the MQL marketplace. And if you don’t like any of those, create your own.

Oanda is best for 4 types of forex traders

With so much to offer, Oanda can be an excellent choice for:

1. Beginners. With relatively low spreads, a variety of trading platforms and a solid educational library, Oanda is definitely worth considering for beginners.
2. Forex experts. The core pricing plus commission trading model, the commission rebates based on your trading volume and the variety of charting software — including TradingView and MT4 — make it an excellent choice for forex experts.
3. Automated trading. Traders who want to use EAs and automate their trading strategy can do so via the MT4 platform.
4. Social trading. Traders who want to copy other traders can follow them on ZuluTrade. Oanda is the only US-regulated broker that allows this feature. However, copy trading comes with certain risks, mainly because of lag, different spread between your account and the trader you follow and slippage.

Pros and cons

How do I sign up?

Sign up with Oanda following these 4 steps:

1. Visit oanda.com.
2. Select either Open account or Start trading.
3. Fill out the application form.
4. Review the form and submit it.

Deposits and withdrawals

Oanda lets you deposit funds via:

• • Debit card with a $20,000 monthly maximum limit.
  • Bank wire transfer.
  • Check (USD).
  • ACH with a maximum limit of $50,000 per deposit.

When you request a withdrawal, Oanda can only transfer your funds via debit card or wire transfer.

How legit is Oanda?

Oanda was founded in 1995 and is now owned by CVC Capital Partners, a private investment and equity firm, based in Luxembourg. Oanda is based in New York, but it operates worldwide and it’s regulated in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and the UK.

Oanda reviews are mostly negative

Oanda isn’t accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and it earns an F rating from 21 complaints as of April 2022. More than half of Oanda’s 128 Trustpilot reviews consider the broker “Bad.” The most common complaint is widening spreads and poor customer support.

3 ways to reach Oanda customer support

Reach out to Oanda customer service via:

• • • Email at frontdesk@oanda.com
    • Integrated chat service on their website
    • Phone at 212-858-7690

Compare other forex trading platforms

Sort by:

Name	Product	Available asset types	Maximum Leverage	Annual fee
IG		Currencies	50:1	0%	IG offers tight spreads and lets you access over 80 currency pairs with leverage as high as 1:50, but the platform is far from risk-free and losses can exceed deposits.	Go to site More Info		loading Fetching your data...
Forex.com		Currencies	Up to 50:1	0%	Largest forex broker in the United States with assets of $1.449 billion.	Go to site More Info		loading Fetching your data...

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Bottom line

Oanda is one of the leading forex trading platforms. It comes with many features that could appeal to many types of traders. Its analytical tools and instant approvals could suit experienced traders, while having no minimum deposit amount and the ability to trade in virtual currency could appeal to newcomers.

Before deciding on any trading platform, it’s best to compare other options to find one that suits you best.