There can sometimes be confusion around what an ECN Forex Broker or Electronic Communication Network (ECN) currency trading account is.
An ECN forex broker is a brokerage firm that provides trading accounts with direct access to other participants in the currency markets. The ECN model always operates with no dealing desk. Therefore, orders placed by a trader are forwarded to the inter-bank market without being processed by a dealing desk. 
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Features Of An ECN Pricing Trading Account
Compare ECN Forex Brokers with the MT4 & MT5 Trading Platform
Features Of An ECN Trading Account
Three features every ECN broker account will have:
- No dealing desk (NDD) – orders placed via the trading platform are forwarded and placed directly into the interbank market, without being processed by a dealing desk. By definition, any ECN broker is always going to provide direct market access (DMA).
- Always have variable “market” spreads (also referred to as raw ECN spreads). This means the FX broker does not add any additional spread to the quoted prices. In fact, when looking at the definition for true ECN broker or brokerage account, there is no dealing desk involved. Therefore, a real ECN account will also be NDD and STP (straight through processing) by its very nature.
- There will always be a commission charged on top of the ECN spreads. For a broker that operates with no dealing desk and provides the raw ECN market spread, the commission charged is the only way they make any money on that trade. Think of commission as the fee charged by the FX broker to use their infrastructure and trading platforms to directly access other buyers and sellers.
If any of these are missing, then it’s not a true ECN pricing brokerage account.
Compare ECN Forex Brokers with MT4/MT5 Platform
There are several top ECN brokers with MT4 (MetaTrader 4 trading platform) and the newer MT5 platform operating in the Australian Foreign Exchange Market. Our commitment to providing the best ECN forex broker reviews continues for all brokers listed in the comparison tables below. As always, any foreign exchange brokers listed are regulated in Australia and will therefore have an ASIC AFS license number available in the reviews.
- Key DifferenceForex traders needing low ECN spreads with wide variety of trading platforms & FX pairs
- Australian Regulated
- Deposits Held
- No. Forex Pairs61+
- AU $3.50 per 100,000
- FX Spread TypeRaw ECN Spread
- Spreads FromFrom 0.0 pips
- AUD/USDAve: 0.14 (from 0.0) pips
- EUR/USDAve: 0.13 (from 0.0) pips
- GBP/USDAve: 0.44 (from 0.0) pips
- USD/JPYAve: 0.16 (from 0.0) pips
- EUR/GBPAve: 0.41 (from 0.0) pips
- MT4 Platform
- MT5 Platform
- cTrader Platform
- Minimum Trade Size0.01 Lot
- Minimum Deposit$ 200
- Account CurrenciesAUD, CAD, USD, JPY, EUR, GBP, CHF, NZD, HKD, SGD
- Key DifferenceECN Forex traders who also require access to a wide selection of instrument types
- Australian Regulated
- Deposits Held
- No. Forex Pairs45
- AU $3.50 per 100,000
- FX Spread TypeECN Pricing
- Spreads FromFrom 0.0 pips
- AUD/USDAve: 0.30 (from 0.0) pips
- EUR/USDAve: 0.09 (from 0.0) pips
- GBP/USDAve: 0.49 (from 0.0) pips
- USD/JPYAve: 0.36 (from 0.0) pips
- EUR/GBPAve: 0.61 (from 0.2) pips
- MT4 Platform
- MT5 Platform
- cTrader Platform
- Minimum Trade Size0.01 Lot
- Minimum Deposit$ 100
- Account CurrenciesAUD, CAD, USD, JPY, EUR, GBP, CHF, NZD, HKD, SGD
- Key DifferenceForex traders needing a good range of FX pairs, tight spreads & dedicated account manager
- Australian Regulated
- Deposits Held
- No. Forex Pairs50
- AU $3.00 per 100,000
- FX Spread TypeECN Pricing
- Spreads FromFrom 0.0 pips
- AUD/USDAve: 0.2 (from 0.0) pips
- EUR/USDAve: 0.2 (from 0.0) pips
- GBP/USDAve: 0.5 (from 0.0) pips
- USD/JPYAve: 0.2 (from 0.0) pips
- EUR/GBPAve: 0.4 (from 0.0) pips
- MT4 Platform
- MT5 Platform
- cTrader Platform
- Minimum Trade Size0.01 Lot
- Minimum Deposit$ 200
- Account CurrenciesAUD, CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, NZD, HKD, SGD
1 Electronic Communication Network Broker ratings quoted in the above forex ECN trading account comparisons are an overall average rating. The calculation is based on the six review criteria displayed on all CFD and Foreign Exchange brokers’ individual review pages:
- pricing (based on spreads, commissions and other costs or fees),
- range of instruments,
- speed of execution,
- trading platform features,
- overall ease of use, and
- customer support
The individual rating breakdown for the above criteria can be easily accessed by simply clicking the review rating in the above tables or clicking the “read our full review” button.
We aim to regularly update information on this website and provide a “last updated” date at the bottom of every page to ensure you know when the last update was made to the review page. However, you should always click on the “view website” button and review the information on the broker’s or provider’s site first to confirm the details and ensure they will suit your online trading needs.
Currency (also known as foreign exchange, Forex, or FX) derivatives are complex, leveraged financial products and require a certain level of experience, so may not be suitable for everyone. Trading forex carries a high degree of risk to your capital and can result in losses which exceed your initial deposit. Please ensure that you understand all the risks involved.
FX reviews and comparisons for best foreign exchange broker in Australia are conducted independently. However, ECN Brokers or ECN trading accounts included on this page may not suit your financial situation, personal objectives or needs.
