US Forex Brokers Compared: The Six Firms Holding Retail Forex Money, and What Each Charges

Michael Whitman · Trading since 2017, full-time since 2020 · YouTube creator, 137K subscribers · Published 2026-11-08

A forex broker that takes US retail customers has to be a CFTC-registered retail foreign exchange dealer or futures commission merchant and a member of the National Futures Association, and in September 2026 only six firms held any US retail forex money at all.

Together they held $470.5 million on 30 September 2026, the CFTC’s latest month-end, and two of them, FOREX.com and OANDA, held 71.3% of it.

This page starts from the regulation, because in the US the rules decide the shortlist before price does.

It then reads each firm’s money and capital out of 192 monthly CFTC spreadsheets, sets out how each one charges from its own price page, and works one 100,000-euro trade through in dollars. Nothing here ranks the six firms, and the figures are a record of filings and price lists, not a recommendation.

The rules first: six lines every US forex account runs on

The rule is a floor, and both texts say so. The CFTC’s rule lets the NFA set the percentage “provided” it is not lower than 2% and 5%; the NFA’s Executive Committee “may temporarily increase these requirements under extraordinary market conditions”; and a dealer may ask more than either.

What they are: six firms holding US retail forex money

Every month each FCM and RFED files its capital and customer funds with the CFTC, which posts the figures. Column (q) is the total of money customers have deposited in retail forex accounts, adjusted for realized and unrealized profit and loss. These are the firms with a non-zero figure on 30 September 2026.

“Capital vs requirement” is each firm’s adjusted net capital divided by its net capital requirement on the same sheet. OANDA reported $32.34 million against a $26.74 million requirement. Interactive Brokers’ $10.53 billion of capital covers its whole stock, options and futures business, so its multiple says nothing about forex alone. Schwab’s forex page adds that its accounts are not open to residents of Ohio or Arizona.

How they differ: spread-only accounts against commission accounts

Every dealer here earns from the spread, the gap between its buy and sell price. Some also charge a commission and quote a narrower spread in return. One pip on 100,000 units of EUR/USD is $10, because the dollar is the quote currency, so a 1.4-pip spread costs $14.00 on that size whichever way you trade.

The labels matter. A “minimum” spread is the narrowest the dealer quotes, while OANDA’s 1.4 is the figure on its pricing page with no basis stated, so the two are not the same measure.

Neither tastyfx’s “$5 per lot” nor FOREX.com’s “$7 USD commission per $100k USD traded” says whether it is charged once per round trip or on each side, so both readings are shown. FOREX.com’s own spread pages refused our requests on 8 November, so its spreads are left blank rather than guessed.

A worked example: 100,000 euros at the legal limit

EUR/USD stood at 1.1228 at the start of Friday 6 November 2026, London time, in Yahoo Finance’s daily data. One standard lot, 100,000 euros, was therefore worth $112,282.60.

• Deposit at 2%, the 50:1 floor: $112,282.60 x 0.02 = $2,245.65.
• Deposit at 5%, the 20:1 floor for a non-major pair of the same size: $5,614.13.
• Interactive Brokers’ commission: 0.20 basis point of $112,282.60 is $2.25 an order, above the $2.00 minimum, so $4.49 to open and close.
• FOREX.com RAW’s commission: $7 per $100k of $112,282.60 is $7.86, so $7.86 for the trade if charged once, or $15.72 if charged on the way in and again on the way out.
• OANDA spread-only: 1.4 pips x $10 = $14.00 both sides, with no separate commission.

Now set the deposit against how far the pair moves. Over the 250 sessions from 20 November 2025 to 6 November 2026, the median high-to-low range of EUR/USD was 0.42% of the previous day’s rate, about 48 pips. At 50:1 a 0.42% move is 21.0% of the deposit, and a 2% move is all of it.

The original data: 192 months of CFTC filings

The data: every monthly CFTC “Financial Data for FCMs” spreadsheet from October 2010, the first that carries the retail forex column, to September 2026, 192 month-ends with none missing. In every month the firm rows add up to the CFTC’s own Totals row.

• The total: $742.6 million at the end of 2010, $470.5 million on 30 September 2026, 36.6% lower. June 2026, at $462.3 million, was the lowest month-end in the series.
• The peak: $982.3 million in August 2012, when FXCM alone reported $360.9 million. All seven month-ends at or above $800 million fell between April and October 2012.
• The firms: 17 held retail forex money in December 2010 and as many as 18 in 2011 and 2012; there have been six or fewer in every month since November 2015, and six on 30 September 2026.
• The concentration: the two largest firms held 41.5% of the total in December 2010 and 71.3% in September 2026.
• The last year: $505.6 million on 30 September 2025 to $470.5 million a year later, down 6.9%; only tastyfx (+14.1%) and the much smaller Trading.com (+1.2%) grew.

What the firm rows show. FXCM held $183.4 million, 34.5% of the total, in January 2017 and is absent from February; the CFTC’s order of 6 February 2017, over its defrauding of retail forex customers, barred it from registering.

The total fell only $25.0 million that month, while GAIN Capital’s figure rose $144.5 million.

IG US LLC last appears in April 2024 and TASTYFX LLC first in May 2024, the rename that became tastyfx; TD Ameritrade Futures and Forex gives way to Charles Schwab Futures and Forex between August and September 2021.

Download the data: US retail forex obligations by month and the six dealers in September 2026, free to reuse with credit and a link to this page under the site license.

Leverage at the dealer: why 50:1 is often not what you get

The NFA puts the pound on its 2% list, yet tastyfx’s tier-one margin on GBP/USD was 5% on 8 November 2026, the legal floor for a non-major pair. On 100,000 pounds at 1.3456, the 6 November rate, that is $6,728.03 of deposit against $2,691.21 at the NFA floor. Of the five pairs in its summary table, AUD/USD and USD/CHF were at 3%, and only EUR/USD and USD/CAD sat at 2%.

tastyfx also tiers margin by size, so at that dealer a larger position can need a higher percentage than the first lot. Treat the 50:1 in an advert as the most the law allows, then read the dealer’s own margin table for the pair and size you trade. How the deposit and stop distance fit together is set out on how to size a forex position.

Checking a dealer on NFA BASIC in four searches

BASIC is the NFA’s free register. Four searches settle whether a forex firm may deal with you.

1. Start from the NFA ID in the dealer’s footer. FOREX.com’s footer gives GAIN Capital Group LLC, NFA ID 0339826; OANDA’s gives 0325821. Searching the number skips look-alike names.
2. Read the status lines. The firm needs to show as approved as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer or Futures Commission Merchant and as an NFA member, not as withdrawn or pending.
3. Look up the people. The profile names the listed principals, the people who control the firm; each can be searched in turn, and an FCM’s profile also carries its NFA financial reports back to 2012.
4. Match the firm to the CFTC list. A dealer with US retail customers files the monthly figures above; a name that never appears in them is not holding US retail forex money.

The general version of these checks, for any broker and any country, is on how to verify a broker.

Which to pick: matching the charge to your trade size

A spread-only account costs less when your trades are small. Interactive Brokers’ $2.00 minimum per order is $4.00 a round trip, and on 10,000 euros, where a pip is worth $1, that is the price of 4 pips against OANDA’s published 1.4.

A commission account costs less when the spread it removes is wider than the commission it adds. At Interactive Brokers, $4.49 of commission on one EUR/USD lot is the price of about 0.45 pip; if the quoted spread is narrower than a spread-only account’s by more than that, the commission account is cheaper per trade.

A firm’s size in the CFTC data matters when you would rather sit where most US retail forex money already is: FOREX.com and OANDA held 71.3% of it. Size is not a safety score; each firm’s capital is on the same sheet.

A broker you already use matters when you trade other markets too. Schwab and Interactive Brokers carry forex beside stocks, options and futures, while OANDA and tastyfx are built around currencies.

When it fails: four ways a US forex comparison misleads

It fails when size is read as safety. FXCM was the largest US dealer in January 2017, with 34.5% of all US retail forex money, in the month before the CFTC barred it.

It fails when the money is assumed to be insured. OANDA’s and Schwab’s US pages both state that forex accounts are not protected by SIPC and receive no preference in a bankruptcy under Part 190 of the CFTC’s rules. The dealer is your counterparty, which is why its capital is worth a look.

It fails when spreads are compared across different labels. A “minimum” beside a typical or listed figure flatters the minimum. OANDA’s page also says its spreads can widen around market opens and closes and after news.

It fails when the legal maximum becomes the plan. At 50:1 a 2% move against you takes the whole deposit, and the median EUR/USD day over the last 250 sessions moved 0.42%. Why that makes leverage the defining risk is covered on how to start forex trading.

Short answers on US forex brokers

How many forex brokers are regulated in the US?

Six firms reported US retail forex customer money to the CFTC for 30 September 2026: FOREX.com, OANDA, Charles Schwab, tastyfx, Interactive Brokers and Trading.com.

What is the maximum forex leverage in the US?

50:1 on pairs of major currencies and 20:1 on the rest, from the 2% and 5% minimum deposits in 17 CFR 5.9. A dealer can ask more, as tastyfx does on GBP/USD at 5%.

Can a US trader hedge forex in one account?

No. NFA Rule 2-43(b) requires a dealer to close opposite positions in a pair first-in, first-out.

Related

How a currency pair differs from a stock, and why there is no central exchange, is explained on forex. The steps for a first account, from session hours to overnight interest, are on how to start forex trading, and pips covers the unit every price in the tables above is quoted in.

This page is educational, not financial advice. Test every idea on your own charts before risking money.