Best Forex Brokers for Expert Advisors (EA)

A forex expert advisor is an automated system that tracks the forex markets and delivers indications when trading opportunities are identified. Although we do not endorse any specific forex expert advisors, some professional traders find them useful owing to the unpredictability of the forex market. Let’s take a look at how Expert Advisors work and what are Best Forex Brokers for Expert Advisors.

How Do Expert Advisors Work?

EAs can be programmed to produce trade signals and advise you of trading opportunities automatically and can be utilized on a variety of forex trading platforms. Some of these platforms, such as MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, allow traders to completely customize their trading methods before using them on a personal account. To work with MT4 and MT5, EAs are written in MetaQuotes Language 4 (MQL4) or MetaQuotes Language 5 (MQL5). Although the processes for installing EAs are the same for both MT4 and MT5, it is not possible to utilize an EA designed for MT4 on MT5. This is because EAs are programmed using the language appropriate for the trading terminal (MQL4 for EAs on MT4 and MQL5 for EAs on MT5).

The best Forex Expert Advisors can be programmed to work in a variety of ways. For example, employing various technical indicators such as the moving average indicator or the MACD indicator or searching for necessary market movements. Using these many indicators, the Forex expert adviser can examine the market as well as the behaviour of certain financial instruments and provide a trading recommendation.

Now that we have an idea of what Expert Advisors are and how they work, let’s look at some of the best forex brokers for expert advisors.

Pepperstone

Pepperstone is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia. Pepperstone allows clients to trade more than 1,200 CFD instruments, including forex, indices, stocks, energy, cryptocurrencies, and commodities.

The broker provides access to 4 highly popular trading platforms; namely: MT4, MT5, TradingView and cTrader. The broker offers two trading accounts, the accounts differ in the trading costs that are associated with trading. The first one, the standard account, has spreads from as low as 1.0 pips and no paid commissions. The second one, the razor account, has spreads from 0.0 pips but clients have to pay the commission fee. The commission fee differs depending on the trading platform the client uses. For instance, forex clients on the MT4/MT5 and TradingView platforms pay a commission of $3.50 per side per lot. On the other hand, forex traders using the cTrader platform pay a commission of $3 per side per lot. The minimum deposit at Pepperstone is $0. An EA can be used on MT4, MT5, and cTrader. Clients can also use scripting languages to program their own Expert Advisors.

76.3% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FP Markets

FP Markets was established in 2005 and is regulated by the ASIC, and the CySEC among other high-profile regulatory bodies. FP Markets offers Forex trading alongside CFD trading in Shares, Metals, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies. Standard and Raw accounts are available at FP Markets. The minimum deposit for both accounts is $100. The standard account has tight spreads beginning from 1.0 pips and no commissions paid. Alternatively, traders can open a raw account on which FP Markets provides consistently tight spreads beginning at 0.0 pips, but a small commission fee is paid here.

Forex traders can deploy Expert Advisors on FP Markets' Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Many traders rank the MetaTrader platforms as the best trading platforms in the world. This is because they come with a plethora of charting tools and have fast order execution.

72.92% of retail CFD accounts lose money

XM

XM was established in 2009 and is regulated by the CySEC, the FCA, and the ASIC. XM offers over 1000 trading instruments, including CFDs on forex, stocks, commodities, precious metals, energies, and indices. XM has multiple account types that cater for all kinds of traders, these differ mainly in trading fees (spreads) and lot sizes.

Clients at XM have the option of choosing amongst three trading platforms: MT4, MT5, and XM Trading App. XM's MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5 platforms allow traders to integrate expert advisors (EA) as part of their trading experience. Expert advisors only work when the trading platform is turned on and there is a connection between the trading platform and the trading server. 

74.12% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

XTB

Founded in 2002, XTB is a well-known broker in Forex and CFD trading, offering access to over 3,000 financial markets. These include forex, stocks and CFDs on indices, commodities, stocks, cryptos and ETFs. It is licensed and regulated by the FCA, the CySEC, the KNF, and the FSC. XTB has one main standard account on which the spread is floating, starting from 0.9 pips. There are no commissions paid on this account. 

XTB provides its clients with xStation 5, a platform available on the Web, as a desktop app, as well as a mobile app. The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform is no longer available for recently created accounts. It is, however, still available to existing users who have previously used the MT4 platform. XTB supports the use of expert advisors, which execute orders based on parameters that have been thoroughly examined by specialists.

74-76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

OANDA US

OANDA US is a forex broker with over 25 years in the market. The company is regulated by the NFA and the CFTC. OANDA US provides access to over 68 currency pairs and a number of cryptocurrencies. There is no minimum deposit amount, and you can fund your OANDA US account with up to US$9,000 (or currency equivalent). The spreads on OANDA US are competitive. They start from 1 pip for major currency pairs. 

OANDA US supports both the MT4 and MT5 platforms, as well as a wide choice of trading tools for market analysis. OANDA US allows traders to explore 2,000 free indicators on the MT4 or create and test their own automated strategies (expert advisors) and technical indicators. You can also develop your own analysis tools, trading algorithms, and back-testing techniques.

Risk warning: Trading margined products carries a high level of risk.

Exness

Exness was established in 2008 and is licensed and regulated by the FCA, CySEC, and the FSCA. Exness offers standard and pro accounts, including a Standard Cent account, a Standard account, a Pro account, a Zero account, and a Raw spread account. Cent accounts allow traders to invest a small capital at a time. Exness is one of the best cent account brokers in the market today. Exness offers its traders a variety of trading instruments including CFDs on Forex, Metals, Cryptocurrencies, Energies, Indices, and Stocks. The spreads and commissions vary depending on the account the trader opens. However, the standard account has very competitive spreads, beginning at 0.3 pips. Exness provides a variety of trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and WebTerminal.

Expert Advisors (EAs) and technical indicators are pre-installed in MetaTrader 4, allowing for automatic trading on financial markets. Custom Expert Advisors, trading robots, and technical indicators built by other traders are also available for installation on the platform. You can also use the MetaQuotes Language 4 (MQL4) programming language to develop your own scripts, trading robots, and technical indicators.

Remember that forex and CFDs available at Exness are leveraged products and can result in the loss of your entire capital. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved.

Forex.com

Forex.com is a global forex and CFD broker owned by StoneX Group Inc. It is licensed and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom. It is also regulated by the CFTC and NFA in the USA, the IIROC in Canada, the CySEC in Cyprus, and the ASIC in Australia, among others. This broker allows clients to trade assets from multiple markets including forex, indices, cryptocurrencies and commodities. These assets are available in most regions with the exception of the US where you can trade forex, futures and futures options. MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 are both available on forex.com.

Forex.com vows to offer the best prices in the market. There are three main trading accounts on Forex.com with different spreads and commissions. These include the Standard Account, the Raw Spread Account, and the MetaTrader Account. The standard account and MetaTrader account do not require clients to pay a commission when trading. The main fee you have to cover here are the spreads. Luckily, the spreads on this account are competitively low, starting at 1 pip for major currency pairs. On the other hand, the raw spread account has spreads as low as 0.0 pips but comes with a small commission fee.

FX Blue offers all EAs that come with a Forex.com MetaTrader account. Eligible clients can use EA hosting services to operate their strategy in a secure VPS environment. When you disconnect from the server, EAs operate locally on your PC and cannot execute strategies. Please keep in mind that MetaTrader 5 allows you to run many Expert Advisors at the same time.

74-76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

AvaTrade

AvaTrade was founded in 2006 and is licensed and regulated by the ASIC, the Central Bank of Ireland, the FCSA, and the BVIFSC. CFDs on Forex, commodities, equities, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, and ETFs are among the trading instruments available at AvaTrade. Clients can trade on the MT4, MT5, and AvaGo platforms, and they get free access to trading tools such as Autochartist, Duplitrade, and AvaProtect, the company's own proprietary risk management system. AvaTrade has three types of accounts: Retail, Standard, and Professional.

AvaTrade's regular account spreads are industry standard and competitive. Popular trading instruments have the lowest spreads due to high trading volumes. For example, the spreads for major currency pairs can go as low as 0.9 pips. Traders should stay updated on the movement of spreads on AvaTrade before they invest. AvaTrade offers a variety of seminars, account managers, and other services to help you get a better understanding of the market and trade comfortably with your Expert Advisor. AvaTrade supports Expert Advisor use or any clients that deem them necessary.

76% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Advantages of Using Expert Advisors

We have looked at some of the best brokers for expert advisors. But what are the advantages of using Expert Advisors in trading? Let’s look at some.

• They help develop discipline in traders. These systems are programmed to manage your positions based on preset parameters.
• It saves time as traders do not have to stay glued to charts waiting for certain price actions. They can simply set the EA to execute an order when the price action conditions are met.
• The auto-trading feature of Expert Advisors removes the emotions of traders from trades.
• Backtesting is simpler and faster. You can backtest an EA to see if a strategy has previously been profitable on multiple markets. Although this can give you the confidence to utilize them, keep in mind that past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

Disadvantages of Using Expert Advisors

• Expert advisors can fail to recognize news trends and stick to parameters set by traders.
• Expert Advisors do not teach investors how to trade. Many traders may not be aware of the strategies coded within an EA, hence will not pick the strategies up for themselves.

Final thoughts

Not all traders see the need for Expert Advisors. However, there are many investors who rely on EAs to make moves for them based on set parameters. While this can be profitable, it does not mean a trader will develop new trading strategies when using an EA. Still, the advantages of using an EA outweigh the disadvantages.

In this article, we looked at some of the best forex brokers for expert advisors. Whether you are using an Expert Advisor for auto-trading or simply for trading signals, these are some of the best brokers that support their use. They have ample regulations and feature some of the best trading conditions in the market. Still, it all boils down to the trader’s individual choice. Make sure you research the company before making an investment.