Score card
AvaTrade review
Every factor behind AvaTrade's ranking, with the points each one contributed.
Last checked
AvaTrade ranks high here because it scores well on the two categories carrying the most weight, regulation and cost, rather than by making up ground on the lighter ones. Regulated by Central Bank of Ireland (C53877); ASIC (406684); BVI FSC (SIBA/L/13/1049); FSCA (45984); Japan FSA (1662); FFAJ (1574); ADGM FSRA (190018); CySEC (347/17); CMA Kenya (262); Israel Securities Authority, offering MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, AvaTrade WebTrader, AvaTrade App, AvaOptions.
Our rating
One rating, identical across our sites - only the way it is shown changes. It averages six assessments: regulation, trading costs, platforms, markets, support and education.
What it costs to trade
8.9/10- Spread from
- 0.9 pips
- EUR/USD spread
- 0.9 pips
- GBP/USD spread
- 1.5 pips
- Commission
- $0
- All-in cost, EUR/USD
- 0.9 pips
- Spread type
- Variable
- Overnight swap
- Both: overnight funding applies; Islamic/swap-free accounts available
- Inactivity fee
- $50 after 3 consecutive months inactivity; $100 administration fee after 12 months where permitted
- Currency conversion
- Currency conversion spread/markup applies where account and instrument currencies differ
Cost is the second heaviest, and the one most likely to move a broker several places.
Spreads from 0.9 pips suggest an all-in account, where the broker's fee is built into the price rather than charged separately. There is usually no commission on top, which makes the cost easier to predict.
Quoted spreads are best-case figures on the most liquid pair, in normal conditions. What you actually pay widens around news and at the session open.
AvaTrade lists a minimum deposit of $100. Treat it as the cost of opening an account, not the cost of trading one - position sizing on a small balance is what tends to cause damage.
Markets and execution
9.1/10- Markets
- Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds, Cryptocurrencies, FX Options
- Currency pairs
- 50+
- Total instruments
- 1,250+
- Crypto CFDs
- Yes
- Maximum leverage
- 1:30
- Execution model
- Market maker
- Execution speed
- Instant execution, typically under 1 second
- Order types
- Market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit, trailing stop
- Servers
- Global data-centre infrastructure
Leverage is capped at 1:30, which is the retail limit under tier-one regulation. It is a protection rather than a restriction: it caps how quickly a position can move against your balance.
AvaTrade covers forex, stocks, indices, commodities, etfs, bonds, cryptocurrencies, fx options. A wider range matters less than depth in the instruments you actually trade.
Funding options: visa, mastercard, bank wire, skrill, neteller and regional e-payment methods. Check withdrawal routes as well as deposit ones - they are often not the same, and the difference only becomes apparent when you try to take money out.
Platforms and tools
9.3/10- Platforms
- MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, AvaTrade WebTrader, AvaTrade App, AvaOptions
- Own platform
- Yes, WebTrader, AvaTrade App and AvaOptions
- Mobile app
- Both proprietary and third-party
- Browser trading
- Yes
- Automated trading
- Yes; MT4/MT5 Expert Advisors and automated strategies
- Copy trading
- AvaSocial; DupliTrade
- Indicators
- 30+ MT4 indicators; 38+ MT5 indicators plus proprietary platform tools
- Third-party tools
- Trading Central, DupliTrade
- API access
- Yes
MetaTrader 4 remains the most widely supported platform for expert advisors. If you rely on an existing EA, this is usually the deciding factor.
MetaTrader 5 handles more asset classes and order types than MT4, but expert advisors are not compatible between the two - an MT4 EA will not run on it.
Regulation and safety
9.8/10- Regulated by
- Central Bank of Ireland (C53877); ASIC (406684); BVI FSC (SIBA/L/13/1049); FSCA (45984); Japan FSA (1662); FFAJ (1574); ADGM FSRA (190018); CySEC (347/17); CMA Kenya (262); Israel Securities Authority
- Regulator tier
- Tier 1
- Register entry
- Central Bank of Ireland Register, C53877
- Client money segregated
- Yes
- Held at
- NatWest and Barclays for applicable entities; Commonwealth Bank in Australia; other regulated banks by entity
- Negative balance protection
- Yes
- Compensation scheme
- Irish Investor Compensation Scheme for eligible EU clients; no compensation scheme under several international entities
- Audited by
- Independent external auditors
- Not available to
- United States, Belgium, Iran, North Korea and other restricted/sanctioned jurisdictions
Regulation is the heaviest-weighted input into the position on this page.
AvaTrade holds tier-one authorisations from ASIC and CySEC. That matters more than any headline spread: it determines your leverage cap, whether losses can exceed your deposit, and what happens to your money if the firm fails.
It also operates an offshore entity (FSC and FSA). Which one you are onboarded to depends on where you live, and the two carry very different protections - worth confirming before you deposit.
ASIC caps retail leverage at 1:30, requires negative balance protection, and obliges the broker to hold client money in a separate trust account.
CySEC licences passport across the EU and follow the 1:30 retail leverage cap, with the Investor Compensation Fund covering eligible claims.
The FSCA licenses derivative providers in South Africa without a fixed retail leverage cap, so headline leverage is often higher than an FCA or ASIC entity may offer.
Check the licence yourself: the Central Bank of Ireland registers, ASIC Connect, the FSCA list of regulated entities, the CySEC register of investment firms.
Accounts
- Minimum deposit
- $100
- Account types
- Retail, Professional, Options, Spread Betting, Islamic, Demo
- Account currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD
- Islamic account
- Yes
- Demo account
- Yes, unlimited
- Professional account
- Yes
- Minimum trade size
- 0.01 lots
- Time to open
- Typically a few minutes
Deposits and withdrawals
- Deposit methods
- Visa, Mastercard, bank wire, Skrill, Neteller and regional e-payment methods
- Withdrawal methods
- Original funding method, bank wire and supported e-payment methods
- Deposit time
- Cards/e-wallets generally instant; bank wire typically several business days
- Withdrawal time
- AvaTrade processing within 24 business hours; arrival depends on payment method
- Minimum withdrawal
- $100
- Local payment methods
- Skrill; Neteller and various country-specific e-payment solutions
Support and education
9.2/10- Support hours
- Monday-Friday, 05:00-21:00 GMT for English support
- Contact channels
- Live chat, email, phone
- Languages
- 15+ languages
- Telephone
- +353 76 680 5780
- customer@avatrade.com
- Live chat response
- Typically under 2 minutes
- Education
- Extensive: AvaAcademy, courses, articles, videos, tutorials, ebooks and live webinars
- Research
- Extensive: daily market analysis, Trading Central, trading signals, technical and fundamental analysis
The company behind the brand
- Legal entity
- Ava Trade Markets Ltd
- Company number
- 1646989
- Headquarters
- Dublin, Ireland
- Founded
- 2006
- Publicly listed
- No
- Parent company
- AvaTrade Group
- Employees
- 500+
- Also trades as
- AvaTrade; AvaTradeGO; AvaOptions; AvaSocial
Questions people ask about AvaTrade
How long does a withdrawal from AvaTrade take?
AvaTrade gives a withdrawal time of avaTrade processing within 24 business hours; arrival depends on payment method. The clock usually starts when the broker approves the request rather than when you submit it, and a first withdrawal is slower because identity checks run alongside it.
Does AvaTrade offer a swap-free account?
AvaTrade offers an Islamic, swap-free account. Brokers usually recover the swap through a wider spread or an administration charge, so it is worth asking which.