Best Forex Brokers in the UK with High Leverage
If you're a UK trader chasing higher leverage, you'll need to look offshore because the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) restricts leverage for retail traders. Here's your guide to the best high-leverage brokers with leverage up to 1:500 across Forex and metals.
Brokers we recommend
- Min. deposit: $100
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, cTrader, Copy trading
- Regulators: Australia, Cyprus (EU), Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Trade the markets with leverage up to 1:500. FP Markets is regulated by CySEC and Australia, but high leverage is only available through its offshore entities. Funding options include GBP bank transfers, credit and debit cards. Open a trading account in GBP to avoid FX fees.
- Min. deposit: $50
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, Copy trading
- Regulators: Cook Islands
4XC was built by traders, for traders, and offers flexible leverage up to 1:500 on more than 49 FX pairs plus metals. UK clients can open standard or raw-spread accounts and fund in GBP via cards, Skrill, Neteller, or crypto. Live chat support runs 24/5.
- Min. deposit: $100
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, Copy trading
- Regulators: Australia, BVI, Cyprus (EU), Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Africa, UAE
AvaTrade's BVI subsidiary delivers up to 1:400 leverage and welcomes UK residents who register under the offshore arm. You'll have access to MT4, MT5 and AvaTradeGO, its in-house platform.
- Min. deposit: $100
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, Copy trading
- Regulators: Bahamas, Cyprus (EU), South Africa, UK
FxPro is best known for its FCA-regulated service, but UK traders can opt into its Bahamas entity for leverage up to 1:200. Follow this links in this article for their offshore entity. Open a GBP trading account to avoid FX fees.
- Min. deposit: $0
- Platforms: MT4
- Regulators: Cyprus (EU), Union of Comoros
FXCC is an award-winning broker offering leverage up to 1:500 on MT4. UK residents registering through its offshore entity can claim a 100% deposit bonus (up to £2,000) on their first deposit.
Comparison table
We rate brokers across 5 categories and 18 criteria, following a standardised methodology. Here are our overall and category-specific ratings:
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FxPro | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 |
| Markets | 5.0 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Trading environment | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.2 |
| Deposits and withdrawals | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| Investor protection | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 3.8 |
| Customer service | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 3.8 |
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FxPro | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forex (CFD) | |||||
| Cryptos (CFD)* | |||||
| Stocks (CFD) | |||||
| Indices (CFD) | |||||
| ETFs (CFD) | |||||
| Metals (CFD) | |||||
| Energy (CFD) | |||||
| Commodities (CFD) | |||||
| Bonds (CFD) |
* Availability is subject to local laws and regulations.
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FxPro | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT4 | |||||
| MT5 | |||||
| Copy trading | |||||
| TradingView | |||||
| cTrader |
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FxPro | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | |||||
| Credit card | |||||
| Debit card | |||||
| NETELLER * | |||||
| Skrill * | |||||
| BTC (Bitcoin) | |||||
| USDT (Tether) | |||||
| Broker to broker transfer |
* Availability is subject to local laws and regulations.
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FxPro | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | |||||
| BVI | |||||
| Bahamas | |||||
| Cook Islands | |||||
| Cyprus (EU) | |||||
| Ireland | |||||
| Israel | |||||
| Japan | |||||
| Kenya | |||||
| Mauritius | |||||
| South Africa | |||||
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines | |||||
| UAE | |||||
| UK | |||||
| Union of Comoros |
Investor protections in the UK
The UK market remains one of the world's safest thanks to the FCA's stringent rules. These include:
- Leverage Limits: The FCA has capped retail leverage at 1:30 for majors and 1:20 for everything else since July 2019. It also enforces margin-close-out levels and prohibits bonuses that could encourage excessive risk-taking.
- Segregated Accounts: Client funds must be held in ring-fenced bank accounts separate from a broker's own capital.
- Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS): If an FCA-regulated broker fails, each client is protected up to £85,000 per person, per firm according to the FSCS.
- Negative Balance Protection: Your account can never slip below zero, even if you trade on leverage.
Why choose an offshore broker
The FCA's safeguards are well intentioned, but offshore brokers can offer benefits the UK regime does not:
- Higher Leverage: FPMarkets.com and FXCC.com provide up to 1:500 leverage, and negative balance protection. Open larger positions with less margin, knowing that you'll never owe your broker more money than you've deposited.
- Lower Trading Costs: Offshore entities often pass on savings from lighter regulation by offering raw spreads as low as 0 pips and commissions from just £2.25 per lot across Forex pairs in the case of FP Markets.
- Broader Instrument Range: Many offshore firms list crypto-CFDs, single-stock CFDs, and niche commodities banned or restricted in the UK. In particular, you'll find over 1,000 single-stock CFDs through FP Markets MT5 account.
That said, offshore brokers do not fall under the FSCS, and dispute-resolution avenues may be limited. Always conduct enhanced due diligence before sending funds overseas.
How to pick the right offshore broker
First, check where your preferred broker is regulated and how long it has held its licence for. You may be surprised to learn that some international brokers with offshore entities, like FP Markets and AvaTrade, are overseen by tier-1 regulators like ASIC or CySEC in their home markets. This should provide peace of mind, and the assurance that your funds are safe.
Next, compare pricing by adding spread and commissions together across the instruments you plan to trade. Raw accounts with ultra-tight spreads could ultimately cost more if the commission is high. Specifically, we recommend FP Markets' Raw Account with spreads from 0 pips and a low £2.25 /lot commission per side.
Make sure that your preferred broker offers a platform you genuinely enjoy using - whether that's MT4 for its vast library of indicators, MT5 for its speed, cTrader for its depth-of-market tools, or TradingView for its community and charting tools.
Funding methods matter too. If you live in the UK look for brokers that allow you to open a trading account in British pounds to avoid hidden currency conversion fees on deposits and withdrawals. This is the case for all brokers reviewed here.
And finally, test customer service via live chat before funding your account. Fast, and genuinely helpful answers will make a meaningful difference to your experience.
Risk management best practices
High leverage can turbo-charge your returns, and punish sloppy risk management just as fast. To protect your capital, limit each trade to one or two per cent of your equity and remember to set a stop-loss as soon as you open a position. Higher leverage can also amplify your emotions, so set clear daily and weekly loss limits and try to stick to them.
Conclusion
Because the FCA caps retail leverage at 1:30, UK traders hunting for 1:200 or 1:500 must look offshore. Brokers such as FPMarkets.com, AvaTrade.com, and 4xc.com all accept UK residents and offer far higher gearing. Carry out thorough checks, understand the risks, and if you're satisfied, open a free demo - or jump straight into a live account - today.
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About the author
I'm Stefan, a trader and an entrepreneur. My mission with TrustedBrokers is to help you find the right broker for you, whether you're a beginner or a pro. I've personally used and tested the brokers mentioned in this article. I started my career in investment banking in London as an FCA-approved person.