Best Futures Broker – For investment professionals, one of the most effective ways to trade is through futures contracts: exchange-traded products that offer substantial leverage. A futures contract commits a seller and a buyer, on a set expiry date, to the payment and delivery of an asset at a price agreed on the day the contract is made. In this article, find out which is the best futures broker.
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The Best Futures Broker: Our Selection
This review gives you the key information you need about futures brokers.
Reading the full comparison will give you all the details, and it will take you no more than 20 minutes.
If you are short on time, however, you can check the list below, which briefly presents the futures brokers we selected.
- Saxo Bank: Futures broker with a strong trading platform
- Interactive Brokers: Cheapest futures broker
- TD Ameritrade: Best customer service
- WH Selfinvest: Best futures broker for different trading strategies
- Lynx Broker: Multi-asset futures broker
- Tickmill: Best futures broker according to customer reviews
Saxo Bank – A Regulated and Reputable Broker
Saxo Bank is one of the oldest brokerage firms on the market. Founded in 1992, it has been providing trading solutions to its clients for a little over 25 years.
Saxo Bank lets you invest within a fully legal framework worldwide, as it holds a license issued by the Danish FSA.
Beyond regulation, Saxo Bank also has an impeccable security record. It protects your money effectively and has never been hacked to date.
With Saxo Bank, you can trade more than 200 futures across more than 23 marketplaces worldwide. All you need to do is sign up and make a minimum deposit of $10,000.
Once your account is funded, you will have access to several trading platforms:
- Saxoinvestor
- Saxotrader Go
- Saxotrader PRO
These platforms offer advanced features, but it is a pity that MetaTrader is not available at Saxo Bank.
When you sign up with this broker, you can choose from several account types. And before you start investing for real, Saxo Bank lets you begin with a demo account.
This means you can learn to trade futures for free.
Interactive Brokers – A Well-Known and Reliable Trading Platform
Interactive Brokers has been around even longer than Saxo Bank. The brokerage was founded in 1972 in the United States. This futures broker lets you trade more than 35 markets worldwide.
According to the broker itself, its goal is to provide low-cost brokerage services, and its trading costs confirm this policy.
Costs vary by account. On one side, there is the Lite profile, designed for futures beginners and all retail traders. Here, the lowest fees start at $0.
On the other side, there is the PRO account, suited to large investors. It has higher commissions, which are nonetheless just as competitive.
Naturally, the Interactive Brokers PRO account offers more features for trading futures.
When you sign up with Interactive Brokers, you get access to several trading platforms, including:
- Client Portal
- Trader Workstation
- IBKR Mobile
- IBKR API
Strictly speaking, Interactive Brokers is not an MT4 futures broker. However, our research shows that, to a certain extent, the platform’s introducing brokers can use MT4 or MT5.
Traders themselves do not really have access to these platforms, which are the easiest to use. This is one of the drawbacks of a futures broker that is good overall.
As for the amount needed to use this broker, the minimum deposit is $10,000. A small fortune indeed.
TD Ameritrade – Futures Broker with No Minimum Deposit
This broker offers more than 70 futures to trade. In the United States, where it is based, TD Ameritrade is one of the best futures brokers.
Every type of investor can find what they need among its many platforms.
Unfortunately, TD Ameritrade is not an MT5 futures broker. Instead, it offers platforms such as:
- Web platform Classic
- Next Gen Web Platform
- TD Ameritrade mobile
- thinkorswim web
- thinkorswim desktop
- thinkorswim mobile
- In addition, clients receive support at all times, through the tools this futures broker provides to help them spot the best market opportunities.
- They are also kept informed in real time of international market developments.
- What we like about this futures broker is that it does not require a minimum deposit to trade on its platforms.
- However, if you want to trade on margin, you will need a minimum deposit of $2,000.
- That said, the broker’s tools are somewhat hard to access. In short, TD Ameritrade has a few weaknesses, but it remains effective for futures trading and, above all, cheaper.
- For the record, TD Ameritrade has been around since 1975, so it has plenty of experience in the business. It is regulated by top-tier authorities such as the SEC and FINRA. It is a reliable futures broker.
WH SelfInvest – A Quality Futures Broker
- Here is another high-quality futures broker. WH Selfinvest was founded in 1998 and is a legitimate broker.
- Proof of this: it is regulated by the AFM in the Netherlands, the FSMA in Belgium and the CSSF in Luxembourg.
- It gives you access to a range of futures contracts every day, with advanced features that help you analyze the market more effectively.
- WH Selfinvest offers a demo account that lets you try its platforms, the NanoTrader software, for free.
- They suit every trading strategy. Whether you scalp, day trade or swing trade, WH SelfInvest is the broker for you.
- Using this futures broker requires a minimum deposit of $2,500. With this amount, you can open a PEA account, because this broker does not offer a standard securities account, a minor drawback worth pointing out.
Lynx Broker – An International Futures Broker
Lynx Broker is a futures broker founded in the Netherlands in 2006. It is regulated by the Dutch AFM, which attests to its international legitimacy.
With Lynx Broker, you can trade futures on virtually every market available on the exchange.
To do so, you need to deposit at least $3,000 to start trading.
You will have access to several trading platforms:
- Axial Finance
- Lynx Basic
- Lynx Pro
On these platforms you will find effective trading tools to help you with your day-to-day decisions.
Lynx Broker only offers standard securities accounts and no PEA. So if you are looking for a PEA account, you will need to look elsewhere.
Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is a Danish bank founded in 1992 that provides investment banking services.
The company offers brokerage, online trading, private banking and other financial services, and serves clients worldwide.
Saxo Bank is an exclusive broker that requires a minimum deposit of $10,000 to open an entry-level “Classic” account. Saxo Bank’s Platinum and VIP accounts require $200,000 and $1,000,000 respectively. If the minimum deposit is too high, consider Tickmill or WH Selfinvest.
Minimum deposit aside, the client experience with Saxo Trader is outstanding. Besides access to 40,000 trading instruments, Saxo Bank offers reliable customer service and excellent pricing across the board. Better still, Saxo Bank’s flagship platform, SaxoTraderGo, is superb and includes everything traders need to navigate the market.
Tickmill – Our Recommended Futures Broker
We round off our selection of the best futures brokers of 2025 with Tickmill. It is a fairly young brokerage, founded only in 2014, but it is already among the best.
Tickmill is a reliable and legitimate broker. It is regulated by the UK’s FCA, which earns it worldwide recognition.
With this broker, you have access to 5 major global exchanges where you can trade futures contracts.
The company has several strengths, including an education program that is more comprehensive than average.
It also requires less trading capital than most of its competitors: with $1,000 you can trade futures.
What we like most is that Tickmill supports several platforms, including:
- Metatrader 4
- The website WebTrader
- The CQG platform
If you choose this futures broker, you can use MetaTrader, the most convenient trading platform available.
Tickmill is also known for very fast order execution, a real advantage given how quickly markets move.
So there you have a list of today’s best brokers offering futures. If you want to trade futures contracts, we recommend choosing from this selection.
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What Is a Future?
- Make sure you know exactly what a future is before looking for the best brokers that offer this product.
- By definition, futures are forward contracts. The word “forward” refers to an expiry date fixed between the parties to the contract, that is, the buyer and the seller.
- In a futures contract, both parties also agree on the asset sold, its price and the date on which it will be delivered.
- The period between the moment the contract is made and its expiry date (the day the contract ends) plays a major role.
- During this period, the market will almost certainly move, allowing either the seller or the buyer to make a profit.
- Let us take an example to illustrate the concept. Suppose you are a buyer called X and you want to buy a future on a given asset.
- You make a deal with a seller who will sell you the security for $200 in one month.
- During this waiting period, the market moves in your favor. On the delivery date, the price of the product you bought is now $280.
- That is how you make an $80 profit without much effort.
What Is a Futures Broker?
As you have probably guessed, futures brokers are intermediaries that give you access to the exchange to trade futures. There are two main types of brokers:
- ECN brokers, which give you direct market access without being your counterparty
- Market makers, which, as the name suggests, make the market and act as your counterparty (without necessarily manipulating the market to their advantage).
Choosing a futures broker is not something to take lightly, because your effectiveness on the market will depend on it.
In other words, you need to be very careful about which broker you choose for futures trading.
To make a smart choice, you need to consider certain points. We have identified the criteria that any good futures broker must meet.
In this part of the comparison, we present the criteria for selecting a good futures broker, along with the best broker for each criterion.
How to Find the Best Futures Broker in 2025
- Futures contracts are sophisticated financial instruments, yet easy to use once you understand how they work.
- Traders who use futures usually aim to make as much money as possible and turn a profit over a fairly short period. Unlike stocks and ETFs, whose prices can take weeks to change significantly, futures allow you to take large positions thanks to margin trading.
- Most futures traders are scalpers or day traders who execute a large number of trades within minutes, so fast execution is essential, and the information available must be updated every millisecond.
- Risk management tools are another very important point: a broker offering relevant real-time monitoring of positions and risk metrics will be a crucial help to the trader.
- Fees and commissions are also important to consider. They should not hold back your trading or eat up all your gains.
- Finally, and unfortunately, no French futures broker is yet able to offer attractive packages.
Futures Contracts
- Futures, forwards or futures contracts are financial instruments known as derivatives, which give you the right and the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset (an index, a commodity or any financial asset) at a price and expiry date set in advance.
- For example, if you buy an oil futures contract at $50 expiring in 3 months, it means you will buy oil at $50 in 3 months, whatever the market price of oil is then.
- If, in 3 months, oil is at $60 and you are an oil consumer, you have got a good deal by buying the oil you need at a lower cost; or you can simply resell it on the market at $60 when it cost you $50.
- In the other scenario, if oil is at $40 in 3 months, you have overpaid, and if you want to sell it you will lose $10.
- Futures contracts were invented to protect farmers and producers from price volatility, since a futures contract can lock in or fix the price of a product. This is why hedge funds, institutions and large companies use futures to hedge.
- Recently, however, given the profit potential of futures markets, individual investors have started trading these products, which are traded on margin and offer many advantages to those who know them well. In fact, many brokers have added futures to their trading offering.
- If you prefer to trade and specialize in a single asset, for example the French index, you need a CAC 40 futures broker.
- Do not waste your time looking for a futures broker on your own. Define your main priorities and use our list to find the best online futures broker for you.
The Best Broker for Customer Service
The strength of the best futures broker lies above all in its ability to support its clients, and especially in having professionals available at all times.
That is why we believe a broker’s customer service deserves close scrutiny if you want to make the right choice.
How do you contact support? When can you call the broker? Does customer service speak your native language?
These are the questions to ask when choosing a good futures broker based on its customer service. Ideally, your broker should be available 24/7.
It should be reachable by live chat, email and phone. Most importantly, customer service should have a perfect command of French, which is presumably your native language.
Here are some brokers that offer quality customer service:
The table above shows that TD Ameritrade is the best futures broker for customer service. It offers 24/7 support that you can reach by email, phone and even live chat.
The Best Broker for Spreads and Additional Fees
- Looking for a cheap broker is good. Looking for a broker with competitive pricing is even better.
- Bear in mind, though, that the spread shown by an online broker may hide other fees, such as currency conversion or withdrawal fees.
- Fees matter because they count toward your total trading cost. Needless to say, if a broker is too expensive for you, you are better off avoiding it.
- Here are some details on the fees charged by the best futures brokers.
Based on futures commissions, we consider Interactive Brokers the best option. With this futures broker, fees are low, starting from $0.08.
The Best Broker for Trading Platforms
- Brokers offer a variety of trading platforms, and they are not all equal. Some perform very well, others are average.
- We recommend choosing the futures broker that offers the most advanced trading platform while remaining easy to use. A MetaTrader 5 or MT4 futures broker would be ideal.
- Ideally, choose a broker that offers a demo account. That way, you can test the platforms.
- It is an excellent way to find out whether the online broker has a platform that suits your profile.
- We have already studied the platforms of the best futures brokers, and here is what we found.
In our view, MetaTrader is trading software that offers all the essential features a trader needs. It is also intuitive, which makes it easy to use.
Tickmill is the only broker among the best futures brokers that supports this platform, which is why we think it is the best choice on this criterion.
The Best Broker for Beginners’ Ease of Use
- When it comes to trading, a beginner needs support, whether through education, quality customer service to guide them or an easy-to-use platform.
- This last point is the most crucial in determining whether a broker is suitable for beginners. Overall, the brokers in this selection are all suitable for beginners.
- The table below shows this clearly.
Even so, we prefer futures brokers such as Tickmill and Saxo Bank. Tickmill offers the MetaTrader 4 platform, which is very easy to use and therefore suitable for beginner investors.
Saxo Bank does not support MetaTrader, but its own platforms are just as easy to handle.
The Best Broker for Payment Methods and Withdrawals
- After using your broker’s demo version for free, you will need to move on to real investing. To do so, you have to fund your account in your country’s currency.
- The money in your account will be used to invest in the assets of your choice. If you make a profit, you can cash out your gains.
- For this, the futures broker must offer you a range of payment methods.
- This detail matters, because if the broker does not support your preferred payment method, it will be difficult for you to transfer money.
Ideally, your broker should accept all of the following:
- Bank transfers
- Credit and debit cards
- E-wallets
Here are the payment methods accepted by the best futures brokers.
TD Ameritrade accepts several payment methods, such as bank transfers, bank cards and e-wallets. It also accepts mobile payment providers such as Apple Pay.
This option makes it even easier for traders using iPhones or iPads to make transactions.
For this reason, we crown TD Ameritrade the best futures broker for payment methods.
The Best Broker for Product Range
Which products can I buy futures contracts on? This question shows how important the range of instruments is when choosing a broker.
The table below shows the products available with each futures broker in this comparison.
In this category, the winner is WH Selfinvest, as it lets you trade any futures market.
Based on the Market You Want to Trade – Which Is Best?
WH Selfinvest stands out on this point. It adapts particularly well to clients’ needs and provides access to all futures markets.
The Best Broker for Reputation
- This is one of the most important criteria! An online broker‘s reputation depends on whether it is regulated or licensed. This reassures you that you are dealing with serious, well-established online brokers.
- For any checks and for a futures broker comparison, simply visit the websites of these financial authorities.
- We have studied the reputation of the various futures brokers. Here are those with the best reputations worldwide.
Broker Futures | Broker Review | Regulators |
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![]() | TD Ameritrade |
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As you can see, all the futures brokers in our selection are popular and regulated in many countries, so we cannot objectively say which platform is best on this criterion.
We would point out, however, that Tickmill holds major licenses such as those of CySEC and the FCA. If we had to pick one, it would be Tickmill.
Diversifiez votre patrimoineInvestissez dans l’artDes tableaux originaux, pièces uniques signées par l’artiste. Un actif tangible, loin des écrans et des cotations.Voir les tableaux →The Best Broker for Education
You should consider a broker’s education program before signing up. Futures trading education is essential for your development as a trader.
It is how you will improve step by step. With a good education program, you can easily move beyond the beginner stage and become a top-level trader.
Here are the education programs offered by the best futures brokers.
In our view, Interactive Brokers is the broker with the most comprehensive education offering. It wins this category hands down.
The Best Broker for Trading Strategies
Does the broker let me trade using the strategy of my choice? Always ask yourself this question before making your choice.
Permitted trading strategies vary from one broker to another. Some online brokers do not allow strategies such as scalping.
That said, if you do want to use these strategies, be careful, as they are risky.
The best futures broker is the one that lets you invest with any strategy. The table below shows the trading methods allowed by the brokers in our selection.
This time, we have three winners. The futures brokers TD Ameritrade, WH Selfinvest and Tickmill allow all trading strategies. They let you scalp, day trade, swing trade and even protect yourself through hedging.
Based on Your Trading Strategy – Which Futures Broker Should You Choose?
It is better to sign up with a broker that accepts all trading strategies. That way, you are free to adopt an investment approach that fits your goals and the circumstances.
With this in mind, we suggest TD Ameritrade, WH SelfInvest and Tickmill. These are the three futures brokers that allow scalping, day trading, hedging and swing trading.
The Best Broker for Safety of Funds
When investing in the markets, clients want to be sure their money is safe and can be withdrawn at any time.
We know of cases where brokers have used client funds for their own purposes without their clients’ consent.
Given this reality, you should avoid brokers that do not guarantee full transparency in how your money is managed.
You therefore need to make sure that the futures broker holds your money in accounts separate from the brokerage firm. That way, your funds are safe even if the online broker runs into difficulties or goes bankrupt.
Let us look at which futures brokers follow this rule for safeguarding funds.
Most of the brokers in our selection segregate client accounts. This means your trading balance is kept separate from the broker’s own accounts, and the broker cannot use it in the event of bankruptcy.
Interactive Brokers nevertheless stands out with substantial protection coverage. In our opinion, it is the best futures broker in terms of safety of funds.
The Best Broker for Order Execution Quality
This is an important factor to consider when choosing a futures broker. Investors need to be sure that when they place an order, it is executed as quickly as possible and filled at the requested price.
Why is this so crucial? The reason is simple.
Financial markets move at lightning speed. In the time between placing an order and its actual execution, the asset’s price can move against you.
You therefore need to take your position as quickly as possible. The best futures broker is the one that executes your orders instantly.
Here are details on how long the best futures brokers take to execute your orders.
Tickmill is the fastest of the futures brokers in this comparison. It can open a trade instantly.
More precisely, Tickmill takes only 0.20 seconds to open or close a trade.
Saxo Bank is also able to fill 92.8% of orders in under 50 milliseconds. That is an impressive statistic, but Tickmill provides the most precise figure (0.20 seconds).
Saxo Bank therefore takes second place on the podium.
The Best Broker for Analysis Tools
To trade successfully, you need all the keys to choose which products to trade and, above all, when to trade them to make money.
For that, your broker must provide effective analysis tools. With these tools, you can make objective decisions and invest more thoughtfully.
Discover the analysis tools available at the best futures brokers in our selection.
Autochartist is one of the most powerful analysis tools. Tickmill offers it, which is why we prefer this broker for analysis. Otherwise, Saxo Bank provides a fairly similar and equally effective service.
The Best Broker by Amount Invested
Most online brokerage platforms require you to invest a certain amount to use their services. Some brokers are flexible on this point, while others are not at all.
The amount to invest is therefore an important criterion when choosing the best broker. The lower the minimum deposit, the better.
Here are the best futures brokers by amount to invest.
Broker Futures | Broker Review | Minimum Deposit |
![]() | $10,000 | |
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![]() | TD Ameritrade | $2,000 to trade on margin No minimum deposit for non-margin trading |
![]() | $1,000 | |
![]() | $10,000 | |
![]() | $2,500 |
We think TD Ameritrade is the best option. It requires no minimum deposit as long as you trade without margin. Otherwise, it requires an investment of $2,000.
That remains flexible compared with what its competitors require. Only Tickmill comes close to this broker.
The Best Broker by Account Type
In most cases, brokers offer several account types depending on the investor’s profile. This detail also matters when making your choice.
If the broker does not have an account that suits your profile, it will not be practical for you. Good brokers offer all kinds of accounts to match the specific needs of everyday traders.
Here is how the futures brokers in our selection compare.
The accounts offered by these firms are very similar. However, Tickmill stands out by offering an Islamic account, which allows Muslim traders to invest in line with the rules of their religion.
What Is the Best Broker for Beginners?
A new trader needs an online broker that can support them through quality customer service and education. Earlier, we highlighted how easy Tickmill is to use.
We think it is the ideal MT4 futures broker when you are a beginner.
Saxo Bank is also easy to use if you are not convinced by Tickmill.
What Is the Best Broker for Experienced Traders?
Those with more trading experience need new challenges.
That is why they turn to riskier trading strategies and more complex platforms.
With this in mind, we have three suggestions. First, TD Ameritrade, which offers trading platforms designed specifically for professionals.
Next, Saxo Bank and Tickmill provide in-depth analysis for smarter futures trading.
Customer Reviews of the Brokers
Why Choose the Best Futures Broker?
- There is no doubt that working with the best futures broker is very important, for several reasons.
- One is that a good futures broker can give you access to all products and open the door to many international markets. At the same time, you can be sure that your portfolio is managed transparently and that your funds are safe.
- A good futures broker never uses your money for its own purposes and protects it against any outside attack.
- Finally, the best futures broker helps you make the most objective trading decisions.
- It will certainly have the right analysis tools to study every piece of market data and extract crucial insights.
Given all these arguments, there is every reason to seek out the best futures broker.
Beware of Scams!
Not every tempting offer is worth taking. If an offer looks too good, that is a sign you need to be extra careful.
Many companies lie by making outrageous promises just to lure you in.
To protect yourself, always check that the broker really exists and that it is regulated or authorized by a serious financial authority such as the FCA, ASIC, etc.
So investigate a futures broker thoroughly before signing up. Believe us, it is more than necessary.
How Do You Know You Are Choosing the Best?
It is simple! Rely on other clients’ reviews, and look for them on independent websites.
Why independent? Simply because on the broker’s own website, negative comments may well be censored.
Beyond that, form your own opinion too. Check whether the online broker offers a demo account.
If it does, learn more by testing its service for free. It is the most effective way to be sure of its quality.
How to Choose the Best Broker for You
How do you find a good futures broker? To answer that, ask yourself two questions: What is your investment goal? What are your needs?
The answers to these two questions matter, because they let you choose a broker based on your personal requirements.
Ultimately, what really matters is what is right for you, not what someone else thinks.
For example, you can define your expectations in terms of:
- Amount to invest based on your budget
- Products you want to trade
- Order execution quality
- Total trading cost
- etc.
Pros and Cons – The Best Broker
Working with the best futures broker brings plenty of advantages. On the other hand, using an unreliable broker will bring you plenty of trouble. The table below sets out the benefits of using a good futures broker and the risks of using a bad one.
Pros of Using the Best Futures Broker | Cons of Not Using the Best Futures Broker |
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Which Broker Has the Best Interface?
Each of the sites presented in this comparison has a good graphical interface. It is hard for us to say objectively which of these firms has the best interface, as the experience varies from one user to another.
You can use each of these futures brokers on your computer or on an iOS or Android smartphone. They are designed to deliver smooth interfaces on any device.
Which Futures Broker Do We Recommend?
In all honesty, the brokers presented in this comparison are evenly matched. They all provide quality service and attractive trading conditions. Still, we have to make a call.
In our view, the best futures broker is the one that meets the most selection criteria. In our study, Tickmill came up again and again.
We therefore think it is the best choice.
Tickmill has the qualities of a good broker: access to many instruments, affordable trading costs, quality analysis tools, good customer service and ease of use.
Tickmill is a MetaTrader 4 futures broker, and we highly recommend it. It is also a futures broker available in France and accepted worldwide.
Other Futures Brokers
Some brokers let you take a CFD position on futures, that is, speculate on the price direction of a futures contract. Brokers offering this kind of service include:
- FXPRO: A futures CFD broker operating in more than 170 countries worldwide. It has more than 10 years of experience in the field. It is regulated and therefore trustworthy, and our FXPRO review is rather positive.
- ActivTrades: CFD trading on futures with low spreads from 0.5 pip. Read our detailed ActivTrades review to learn more about this broker.
Conclusion – What Is the Best Futures Broker in November?
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced trader, you can get started in futures trading with Tickmill, the best futures broker. Thanks to its many education resources, its range of account types and its outstanding platforms, this futures broker will always meet your needs.
Which broker do you think is best for trading futures? Share your experience and leave us a comment!







