The rating, decomposed
OANDA review
What produced OANDA's rating - every factor, shown separately.
OANDA sits below the standard we would recommend without reservation. Regulated by FCA, CFTC, offering OANDA platform, MT4. What follows is drawn from the broker's own published material and covers the things that decide the account you end up with: who oversees them, what trading actually costs, and where the compromises sit.
Our rating
One rating, identical across our sites - only the way it is shown changes. It weighs regulation, trading costs, platform quality and how openly the broker publishes its terms.
What it costs to trade
- Spread from
- 1.4 pips
- Minimum deposit
- 0.0
Spreads from 1.4 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.
OANDA lists a minimum deposit of 0.0. 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.
Platforms
- Trading software
- OANDA platform, MT4
MetaTrader 4 remains the most widely supported platform for expert advisors. If you rely on an existing EA, this is usually the deciding factor.
Leverage, markets and funding
- Maximum leverage
- 1:50
- Markets
- Forex, CFDs
- Funding
- Bank transfer, cards
Leverage is capped at 1:50, 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.
OANDA covers forex, cfds. A wider range matters less than depth in the instruments you actually trade.
Funding options: bank transfer, cards. 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.
Regulation and safety
- Regulated by
- FCA, CFTC
OANDA holds a tier-one authorisation from FCA. 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.
The FCA caps retail leverage at 1:30, mandates negative balance protection, and covers eligible clients under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Information is regularly updated. Last compiled from OANDA's own website on 26 August 2026.