Forex.com is an online trading platform for forex and CFDs and is part of GAIN Capital Holding Inc. Forex.com was founded in 1999, as was GAIN Capital Holding. GAIN Capital has a history of awards, including being No. 44 on Fortune’s list of the 100 Fastest Growing Companies in 2015.

Forex.com has its headquarters in Bedminster, New Jersey, but has over 800 staff spread throughout North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Regulation comes from multiple bodies, including CFTC and NFA in the U.S., IIROC in Canada, FCA in the U.K., ASIC in Australia, SFC in Hong Kong, MAS in Singapore, FSA in Japan, and CIMA in the Cayman Islands.

Forex.com has limited language support compared to other platforms, just offering English and Chinese. In terms of availability, it is a proprietary platform from GAIN Capital, meaning that Forex.com is the only broker that supports the use of the Forex.com web, mobile, and advanced trading platforms.

Because of the range of platforms offered within Forex.com, it is easy enough for beginners to use yet offers the tools that advanced traders want. Beginners would likely be overwhelmed by the desktop platform, which is the advanced trading platform due to the large number of additional features such as indicators and the various customization settings. The web platform will work well for most users as it is set up in a similar fashion to many other forex platforms.

Forex.com has a quick execution speed with no major complaints. As previously mentioned, leverage can include a margin requirement of as little as 2 percent, although this varies by currency pair. Those who qualify for the Active Trader Program can receive a cash rebate of as much as $10/mil volume traded and as much as 1.5 APY interest on the average daily available margin.

There are two main account types with Forex.com, Standard Accounts and Commission Accounts. The Standard Account has highly competitive spreads without commissions on FX trades. By contrast, Commission Accounts have the best possible FX spreads, including EUR/USD as low as 0.2, with a low commission of just $5 for each 100k on forex trades. Beginners will do best with the Standard Accounts while advanced traders will want to consider the Commission Account, although the latter’s availability in MetaTrader is still coming soon.

Those who trade high volumes qualify for the previously mentioned Active Trader Program. In addition to the above benefits, this program includes professional guidance from a market strategist and reimbursement of any fees your bank charges for wire transfers.

Forex.com offers an excellent range of trading markets, typically making it unnecessary to use more than one platform or broker to trade multiple instruments. There is support for trading forex, indices, shares, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Overall, there are more than 200 trading products, most of which have competitive pricing. They include over 80 currency pairs and more than 100 equities plus the most popular commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.

Those who want to trade less popular instruments may, however, need to combine platforms. In terms of cryptocurrency, Forex.com only offers trading for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. There are nine commodities for trading and more than 15 indices. While this is a good selection, other platforms do offer more for all three categories.

Forex.com is registered as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) and Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It is also a National Futures Association member since 2004 with NFA # 0339826.

As a subsidiary of GAIN Capital, Forex.com is additionally regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization in Canada, Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K., Australian Securities and Investment Commission in Australia, Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, Monetary Authority of Singapore in Singapore, Financial Services Agency in Japan, and Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in the Cayman Islands.

The advanced trading platform has all the features that advanced traders prefer, including more than 80 technical indicators, drawing tools, 100s of predefined templates for integrated trading strategies, and advanced orders. The web platform includes advanced charting features for intermediate to advanced traders but should be clear enough for those with less experience. That said, experienced traders will find it easiest to use this platform. For beginners, tools like market analysis, FX trading signals, and market strategists should provide assistance.

Advanced charting is available from Forex.com on the desktop, web, and mobile applications. The most advanced charting tools are found on the desktop version known as the Advanced Trading Platform. These include more than 100 predefined indicators to choose from, the ability to create your own indicator, the ability to zoom and toggle between 15 time frames, advanced customizable drawing tools, and trading right from the charts.

There are also integrated trading strategies with potential entry and exit points for trades on the charts. There are more than 100 of these templates to select from, along with customization. Alternatively, traders can create their own templates using Visual Basic, .NET, or C# using the Forex.com Development Studio.

Another key aspect of the Forex.com tools is the range of order types, including the ability to add OCOs, limits, and stops at the time of the order. Advanced orders, such as trailing stops and guaranteed stop loss orders, are also available to help with risk management. Traders also have access to hedging tools that let them go long and short within the same market, and there are partial close abilities that allow you to close trades incrementally.

Trading Signals harness automated scanning tools from the Autochartist to deliver a curated list with trading opportunities plus a feed of trading opportunities and volatility analysis. There is also help from Recognia for short-term trade ideas that include resistance levels, support levels, and pivot points.

The Forex.com website is mobile-friendly and offers a mobile platform that is similar to the others, but it does have a few quirks that make it slightly less easy to use. You can still customize the dashboards and access more than 80 technical indicators, but there is no watch list. It is also challenging to use the drawing features and technical indicators. This latter problem is due to a lack of a navigation icon when in portrait mode, which is how most traders will choose to use the platform. Overall, however, the mobile application is fully featured and highly functional.

Forex.com offers competitive pricing, particularly if you opt for the Commission Account, which offers some of the tightest spreads you will find. That said, there is no account offered without any spreads at all. With that Commission Account, spreads can be as low as 0.2. The spreads on Forex.com are floating, so they can vary based on demand and the news.

Forex.com account holders can complete both deposits and withdrawals from the MyAccount page once they log in. Deposits can be done via credit or debit card or wire transfers. For cards, transactions must be between $50 and $10,000, there is no fee, and the processing is immediate. There are no transaction limits for deposits via wire transfers, but they can take 1-2 business days.

Withdrawals are done via the same method as the original deposit, with any extra funds withdrawn via check, eCheck, or bank transfer. Forex.com does not charge any fees for withdrawals, although the receiving bank may. Wire transfer withdrawals may take up to 48 hours while withdrawals to debit and card cards can take up to 24 hours. Only up to $50k or the amount funded can be withdrawn to a card.

The FAQ section of Forex.com has more than enough information to guide users through the process of trading with any of their platforms, including creating and setting up an account. There are then specific FAQ sections for each version of the trading platform (desktop, web, and mobile) plus charting, including a basic guide for each on how to use the platform. For those who need additional support, Forex.com offers support via online messages, phone, or email. The support hours of 10 a.m. (Eastern) Sunday to 5 p.m. Friday are competitive.

Forex.com includes market analysis in real time, which includes actionable trade ideas. These are the FX Trade Signals from key players like Recognia, Autochartist, and Faraday Research. Forex.com users can even work with a trained market strategist to create their trading plan.

There is a full Education Center that features topics perfect for all experience levels. There are trading courses divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced categories as well as tutorials for the platforms, a glossary, an introduction to trading strategies, and information on technical and fundamental analysis.

Forex.com only has content in English and Chinese, but the broker has a strong reputation and a platform that is easy to use. It stands out among other brokers for its long history and offering of cryptocurrency CFDs. There are no recent investigations or penalties that Forex.com faces.

As long as a trader does not want access to more obscure commodities, indices, or cryptocurrencies, Forex.com is a very good choice for a trading platform. It is highly rated, has a long history, is regulated in many jurisdictions, and offers a long list of forex pairs and equities. The availability of the platform as a web, desktop, or mobile version is also a strong point in its favor. While novices could use Forex.com, advanced traders will appreciate it much more thanks to its various charting tools.