The rating, decomposed

Focus Markets review

What produced Focus Markets's rating - every factor, shown separately.

Last checked

Focus Markets rates poorly, and not because of one bad category dragging an otherwise decent record down. The weakness is spread across the measures that matter most. Regulated by ASIC (AFSL 514425); Mauritius FSC (GB25205284), offering MetaTrader 5, TradeLocker.

Our rating

★★★½

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

Spread from
0.0 pips
EUR/USD spread
Not reliably published
GBP/USD spread
Not reliably published
Commission
$3.50 per side / $7 round turn, Raw
All-in cost, EUR/USD
Variable
Spread type
Variable
Overnight swap
Both: swaps may be charged or credited
Inactivity fee
Not prominently advertised
Deposit fee
$0 on supported methods
Withdrawal fee
$0 from Focus Markets
Currency conversion
Applicable where conversion is required

Cost is scored on what a trade actually costs all in, not on the headline spread.

A quoted spread from 0.0 pips is a raw-spread figure, which almost always means a separate commission per lot. Compare the two together - a "zero spread" account with a high commission can cost more than a wider spread with none.

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.

Focus Markets lists a minimum deposit of $0. 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

Markets
Forex, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies
Currency pairs
50+
Total instruments
800+
Crypto CFDs
Yes
Maximum leverage
1:1000
Execution model
Market maker / hedged liquidity model
Execution speed
Not reliably published
Order types
Market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit and platform-specific pending orders
Servers
Not prominently disclosed

Leverage up to 1:1000 is available on this entity. High leverage does not increase your expected return - it increases position size for the same deposit, and shortens the move needed to close you out.

Focus Markets covers forex, commodities, indices, stocks, etfs, cryptocurrencies. A wider range matters less than depth in the instruments you actually trade.

Funding options: visa/mastercard, bank transfer, skrill, neteller, bitwallet, cryptocurrency and regional 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

Platforms
MetaTrader 5, TradeLocker
Own platform
No
Mobile app
MT5 and TradeLocker
Browser trading
Yes
Automated trading
Yes
Copy trading
Platform-dependent
Indicators
Extensive MT5/TradeLocker charting
Third-party tools
MetaTrader 5, TradeLocker
API access
Not prominently offered as a standard retail feature

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

Regulated by
ASIC (AFSL 514425); Mauritius FSC (GB25205284)
Regulator tier
Tier 1
Register entry
ASIC Professional Registers, AFSL 514425
Client money segregated
Yes, Australian entity
Held at
Not prominently disclosed
Negative balance protection
Australian retail protections apply; international entity-dependent
Compensation scheme
No statutory Australian investor compensation scheme equivalent to FSCS
Audited by
Not prominently disclosed
Not available to
Jurisdiction-dependent

Regulation carries the heaviest weight in the score, which is why it is scored first.

Focus Markets holds a tier-one authorisation from ASIC. 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). 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.

An FSC licence (Mauritius or Belize, depending on the entity) is an offshore authorisation with lighter reporting duties than a tier-one regulator.

Check the licence yourself: ASIC Connect, the Mauritius FSC register of licensees.

Accounts

Minimum deposit
$0
Account types
Standard, Raw, Access, Demo
Account currencies
AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, SGD, CAD
Islamic account
Entity/account dependent
Demo account
Yes
Professional account
Entity-dependent
Minimum trade size
0.01 lots
Time to open
Online application, subject to verification

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposit methods
Visa/Mastercard, bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Bitwallet, cryptocurrency and regional methods
Withdrawal methods
Cards, bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Bitwallet, crypto
Deposit time
Instant 24/7 on many electronic methods
Withdrawal time
Finance review 1-2 business days; settlement varies
Local payment methods
Yes

Support and education

Support hours
24/5
Contact channels
Phone, email, live chat
Languages
Multilingual/international
Telephone
N/A
Email
N/A
Live chat response
Typically fast during trading week
Education
Trading education, platform guidance and market content
Research
Market information and platform-based analysis

The company behind the brand

Legal entity
Focus Markets Global Limited
Company number
227720
Headquarters
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Founded
2019
Publicly listed
No
Parent company
Independent
Employees
Approx. 10-50
Also trades as
Focus Markets

Compare with brokers under the same regulator

Rated on the same scale and licensed by the same authority as Focus Markets, these are the brokers whose scores compare most directly.

Questions people ask about Focus Markets

Why does Focus Markets score 6.6 out of ten?

Focus Markets scores highest on platforms at 82 out of a hundred and lowest on education at 39. The overall figure is the tracker's own and the categories are what produced it, so the gap between those two is the more useful number.