Looking for the top gold trading broker? Based on our hands-on analysis, we’ve identified 11 best options tailored to various trading needs. Practical tips from our experts are included.
*82% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
We carefully considered the needs of gold traders and focused on the points that benefit this group the most.
Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology. Here’s how we test.
Now let’s go through the selected brokers.
Founded in 2005, MultiBank has a long track record as a CFD broker and has grown to have a major global presence. The Dubai-based broker is regulated across 5 continents and maintains over 20 offices globally to cater to an international client base.
Gold traders need quality order execution and MultiBank is a non-dealing desk broker using Straight Through Processing (STP) for optimal fills. Low trading-related fees keep costs to a minimum for active traders. Deposits and withdrawals are free and fast, also there is a wide range of available methods. Customer support at MultiBank Group is first class and we experienced almost zero wait times in our tests.
Insurance from Lloyd’s of London can provide peace of mind that funds are safe. MultiBank Group’s offshore subsidiary MEX Atlantic offers a $1M excess loss insurance policy underwritten by Lloyd’s of London.
Exness is a large and well-established forex and CFD broker with a unique offering. The Limassol, Cyprus-based broker was founded in 2008 and offers access to trading in CFDs on currencies, crypto, stocks, indices, and commodities.
Gold traders must be nimble and Exness delivers a platform that can cater to day traders in fast-moving markets. The Exness Trading Terminal has an intuitive interface and popular features such as watchlists, 1-click trading, and trading from the chart.
Charting provided by TradingView is robust, with 50 drawing tools, 100 indicators, 9 time frames, and 7 chart types. Standard order types are available, and the platform also has a sentiment indicator that tells you the percentage of buy and sell orders that were recently opened by traders. In addition to the Trading Terminal platform, Exness provides clients with the full suite of MetaTrader platforms. In our tests, we found Exness to have competitive gold spreads.
Plus500 was founded in 2008 and is now a giant of the brokerage industry: available in over 50 countries, with 400,000 active clients. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: PLUS), it is one of a handful of publicly traded CFD brokers. We verified that Plus500 is a multi-regulated broker, authorized by various top-tier authorities. Clients can access 2,500 CFD instruments via the state-of-the-art WebTrader platform and mobile app.
Plus500 has invested heavily in its web platform and mobile app, and the results are outstanding. The Plus500 mobile app combines an intuitive interface and advanced functionality. Popular features like watchlists, alerts, and light/dark mode are available, along with built-in analysis, news, and an economic calendar. Our research showed that charting within the app is robust, featuring 13 chart types and 119 indicators, and advanced order types like trailing stops are available. It’s easy to flip back and forth from demo to live mode, and the app provides two-factor authentication as an additional layer of security.
An impressive variety of gold-related instruments are available, ranging from spot gold and gold options to various popular gold-related shares like the mining company Royal Gold (RGLD) and exchange-traded funds like VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ). The sentiment data built into the Plus500 mobile app shows the percentage of buyers vs. sellers and can be a powerful indicator of potential trend change in these volatile instruments.
FxPro is a leading CFD broker regulated by multiple authorities globally, including top-tier FCA and CySEC. The London-based firm provides access to over 2,100 financial instruments, including CFDs on forex, commodities, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies. Each asset class has above-average depth. Gold traders have a superb range of CFD contracts to work with including spot and futures markets and GOLDgr (gold measured in grams rather than ounces).
FxPro offers an excellent range of five platforms. The user-friendly FxPro Trading platform caters to beginners and casual traders, while the robust MetaTrader 4&5 and cTrader are better suited for advanced and algorithmic traders. All clients benefit from order execution in under 12 milliseconds, which is substantially faster than average.
I tested FxPro’s Standard Account and recorded competitive gold spreads of 32 pips, while even tighter spreads are available via its Raw Spreads account. Research materials are another broker’s highlight, with first-class in-house analysis and a range of proprietary and third-party tools.
Vantage is an award-winning CFD broker headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Since launching in 2009, Vantage has grown to acquire over 50,000 active clients worldwide, according to its website. Clients have access to CFDs on forex, commodities, indices, shares, and cryptocurrencies. We confirmed that Vantage is regulated by ASIC and CIMA. Furthermore, all client funds are held in segregated custodial accounts with an AA-rated Australian bank.
Our analysis confirmed that Vantage offers a comprehensive range of educational materials – including articles, videos, courses, and webinars. The Academy section of the website hosts detailed guides covering topics such as trading strategies and trading psychology. For novice traders, there are materials styled as a course, ranging from market terminology to technical and fundamental analysis. We observed that these materials are frequently updated and of high quality.
Multiple live webinars take place weekly, featuring market outlook and trading strategy-themed sessions. If you struggle with getting up to speed with software, Vantage also offers a series of useful tutorials, enabling traders to make the most of the platforms.
Australian CFD brokers have a reputation for high standards, and FP Markets is no exception. The Sydney-based broker has won over 40 industry awards and has a long operating history of 18 years. FP Markets earned a high trust score in our review, with entities regulated by top-tier ASIC and CySEC.
Clients can access thousands of instruments across stocks, indices, forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. The Standard Account is great for beginner traders as it offers commission-free trading. The Raw Account is suited to professional traders as it is commission-based but has lower spreads. FP Markets also provides an IRESS Account, enabling clients to trade with Direct Market Access (DMA).
Available trading platforms include MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, WebTrader, IRESS, and a user-friendly proprietary mobile trading app.
FP Markets offers a great range of tools for professional traders. MAM/PAMM accounts allow clients to manage money on behalf of others. Algorithmic traders can use a Virtual Private Server (VPS) to run automated trading strategies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with low latency and reduced risk of downtime. Industry-leading third-party tools Autochartist and Trading Central are also available and provide good coverage of the gold market.
IG was founded in 1974, making it the oldest broker we have reviewed. The London-based forex industry giant now has over 300,000 clients and offices across five continents. IG Group Holdings PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is part of the FTSE 250 Index.
The IG Academy offers material catering to beginner, intermediate, and advanced traders. Courses are broken down into short, easy-to-digest lessons and feature a quiz at the end to aid the learning process. There is good coverage of commodities trading, including videos like How to trade gold: bullion, coins, ETFs, and shares. I judged the content as well crafted and a great reference for both new and experienced traders.
The award-winning IG Web Platform is intuitive, highly customizable, and packs a robust range of features. These include popular items like watchlists, alerts, one-click trading, and trading from the chart. While trading on the IG Platform, I appreciated the ability to customize it to your preference and create multiple workspaces. The suite of tools – including trading signals from Autochartist, client sentiment, and the news feed from Thomson Reuters – is outstanding.
Founded in 2010, IronFX offers trading in a broad range of CFDs, including forex, commodities, indices, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. CFDs on futures are also available, including futures on metals. The Cyprus-based broker has entities regulated by top-tier CySEC and FCA and an unregulated offshore entity. In our live tests, we found that spreads in gold are competitive.
IronFX offers the popular MetaTrader 4 platform and its proprietary Web Trader app. Traders have seven types of accounts to choose from four accounts with live floating/fixed spreads and three STP/ECN accounts. Islamic account options are available for the four floating/live fixed spreads accounts.
Deposits and withdrawals are made easy at IronFX. Clients have a broad choice of payment methods, including bank wire, credit cards, digital wallets, and cryptocurrencies. There are no fees for deposits or withdrawals except for bank wires under $300.
Founded in 2014, Tickmill earned a high mark in our trust category, with five entities primarily licensed by first and second-tier regulators. The London-based broker offers a wide range of CFD instruments. Futures and options on gold are also available for UK clients, giving traders a broader choice of contracts.
Tickmill is a user-centric broker that bucks the CFD industry trend by not charging inactivity fees or fees for deposits and withdrawals. Clients can choose between a standard account providing commission-free trading and floating spreads or Raw account with raw spreads and fixed commissions.
Our live tests showed that Tickmill has competitive spreads for gold and most other instruments. Swaps and commissions are also relatively low. You get the sense that Tickmill genuinely wants to see its clients succeed in the market and does its best to support this by cutting costs.
IC Markets launched in 2007 and has grown to become a market leader, providing access to trading in currencies, stocks, commodities, futures, bonds, and digital assets. The Sydney, Australia-based broker caters to the needs of advanced traders with cutting-edge trading platforms, low-latency connectivity, and better-than-average liquidity. In our live tests, we found spreads to be highly competitive.
Traders can take advantage of the full range of MetaTrader platforms and the cTrader platform, which offer automated trading and copy trading capabilities. A Virtual Private Server (VPS) allows traders to run automated trading strategies nonstop with the fastest possible connectivity to the IC Markets trading servers.
IC Markets introduced 20 exclusive trading tools previously unavailable on MetaTrader 4. These include apps such as ‘Correlation Trader’, which enables users to compare the correlation between two symbols and trade emerging differences. Correlation strategies are beneficial for gold traders, as the yellow metal has a positive correlation with instruments such as AUD/USD.
A giant of the CFD industry, Plus500 has recently expanded into the United States to offer futures trading via its state-of-the-art proprietary web platform and mobile app. Since launching in 2008, Plus500 is now available in over 50 countries and has 400,000 active clients. US clients can access futures contracts on forex, indices, commodities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.
Plus500 has invested heavily in its proprietary WebTrader platform, which takes ease of use to a new level. WebTrader has a range of popular features, including watchlists, trading from the chart, and access to live chat support from within the platform.
I especially liked the ease with which you can flip between demo and live trading. The ability to easily enter three orders at once (your initial, order, profit target and stop loss) is another great feature. Futures trading becomes simple and straightforward with this ultra-intuitive platform.
To freely day trade stocks in the US requires an account balance of at least $25,000, but this is not the case with futures. Plus500 US lowers the barrier of entry to active trading with a $100 minimum deposit, competitive commissions, and low intraday margin requirements for a diverse range of futures contracts. For example, to trade the CME Micro Gold futures contract, the intraday margin requirement is just $50.
Physical gold trading involves buying and selling actual physical gold, such as gold bars or coins, while CFD (Contract for Difference) gold trading involves buying and selling a contract that represents the price movement of gold without actually owning the physical asset.
Here are some key differences between physical gold trading and CFD gold trading:
When looking for a gold trading broker, you should pay special attention to the following points.
Take into account the broker’s regulatory status. CFD brokers regulated by top-tier financial authorities must undergo audits, meet capital requirements, and provide segregated accounts and negative balance protection. A compensation fund is sometimes available in the event of broker insolvency.
Tip: you can search the regulator’s website to confirm the broker’s status and check for any disciplinary action. The broker’s size and operating history are also worth considering. You can usually find these on the company’s LinkedIn page.
Read more about Best regulated forex brokers.
Forex and CFD brokers typically offer spot gold (XAU/USD), which reflects the live price – the cash market. Some brokers also provide gold against other currencies, such as XAU/GBP, XAU/EUR, and XAU/AUD. Sometimes, you can trade gold against crypto, for example, Bitcoin against gold (BTC/XAU).
A variety of other gold-related CFDs are sometimes available – these include CFDs on gold futures, gold options, and ETFs related to gold such as the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). A handful of CFD brokers also offer ‘real’ (non-CFD) gold futures and options trading.
Explore our list of Best CFD brokers.
An intuitive, easy-to-navigate platform will allow you to launch into the trading world with minimal hitches. The most user-friendly platforms are typically browser-based platforms created by the broker. Look for easy-to-implement features such as watchlists, trading from the chart, search, news, and a customizable interface.
The MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms have advanced features like backtesting, automated trading, and a wide range of order types – but are less user-friendly. Also, check on the availability of a good, broker-designed (proprietary) mobile app.
Read more about Best MetaTrader 4 brokers and Best MetaTrader 5 brokers.
Working with a broker that keeps the spreads to a minimum can make the difference between profit and loss at the end of the day. This is a crucial point for day traders. We rate gold spreads of above 55 pips as high, 36-54 pips as medium, and less than 35 pips as low.
Find out Best forex brokers with lowest spreads.
Find out the minimum initial deposit so you won’t be taken by surprise when it’s time to trade live. This can vary from $0 for Exness to $200 for IC Markets. Typically, the minimum deposits at CFD brokers are relatively low.
The available leverage at CFD brokers is a significant benefit when trading a commodity like gold. If you want to invest in gold bullion, leverage is not available. When trading gold ETFs, 1:2 leverage is typical. CFDs on gold offer a much higher degree of leverage, typically between 1:20 and 1:500, depending on which financial authority regulates your broker.
Beware of using excessive leverage, even if it is tempting. It’s an enthralling feeling to control a large position in the market. But when markets are moving fast and you hold a highly leveraged position, there is a high risk of losing money. Accounts can get wiped out in seconds.
Explore Best forex brokers with high leverage.
When choosing a broker for trading gold, you should look for competitive spreads and swap fees. If you want to day trade gold, you should look for a broker that offers 1-click trading. Without 1-click trading, the order entry process is too slow for such a fast-moving market. If you plan to hold positions over days or longer, check the swap fees, which can be very expensive over time.
A common scam in the forex and CFD industry involves vendors offering a trading strategy that guarantees an outlandishly high return in little time. These may involve automated trading using bots or a signal service where trades are shared via chat or social media. Nobody can guarantee returns with certainty, and it is more likely that such strategies will lose money. When assessing strategy or signal providers, you should look for a live track record audited by a third party, but remember that past performance does not guarantee future results.
Traders should also be highly cautious about opening an account with an unregulated offshore broker. Such brokers may offer a straightforward account opening process, bonuses, and high levels of leverage but client funds are not protected. Meanwhile, brokers regulated by top-tier authorities must undergo regular audits and are held accountable for misconduct. Traders can also benefit from having their funds held in segregated accounts, negative balance protection, and a compensation fund in case of broker insolvency.
Our selection of top forex brokers for beginners is based on FXEmpire’s proprietary methodology, refined since 2010. We evaluate brokers using over 250 data points across nine categories: Trust, Fees, Platforms and Tools, Tradable Instruments, Customer Service, Deposits and Withdrawals, Account Types, Research, and Education.
Our analysis includes live testing, research, questionnaires, and broker demonstrations. We open accounts with each broker, focusing on standard account types and platforms, testing spreads, swap fees, and other costs.
We also assess brokers’ industry competitiveness, platform features, and usability. FXEmpire ensures high editorial integrity, with reviews based on objective, measurable data and regularly updated.
For this guide, we prioritized brokers with competitive gold spreads, swap fees, transparent fee structures, and diverse trading options, including gold and other commodities. Each platform was thoroughly tested for order types, charting tools, and overall user experience.
Learn more about our review process here.
The team of forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire is composed of trading industry professionals and seasoned financial journalists. Our experts have been published on leading financial websites such as Investopedia and Forbes. In addition, they all have extensive trading experience.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licenced futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licenced futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.