Best STP Brokers 2024
Best STP Broker - RoboForex
Top STP brokers in 2024:
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RoboForex - Best STP Broker for Algo Traders
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Admiral Markets - Best STP MetaTrader Broker
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eToro - Best STP Broker for copy trading
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Pepperstone - STP Broker Platform with Crypto CFD Trading
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FxPro - Best STP Broker for Forex and CFD Traders
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IC Markets - Best STP Execution Speed
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FP Markets - Top STP Choice for Scalpers
Traders who don't want requotes or commission fees prefer STP brokers, which are plentiful in the forex market.
There are a large number of brokers offering straight-through processing, which makes it more difficult for forex traders to choose the right one for them. In addition to offering features, innovations, and superior service touches, some companies go the extra mile to satisfy their customers. But this might not be so for others.
Here, we discuss some of the top STP brokers in 2023 as well as things to consider when choosing the best broker that suits your needs and trading goals.
Key points from the article
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STP brokers route trades directly to the market without a dealing desk, ensuring accurate market prices and fast execution speeds.
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Pros of STP brokers include no conflict of interest, transparency of prices, flexible lot sizes. Cons are typically wider spreads compared to market makers.
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STP brokers are compared to dealing desk/market maker brokers who generate income by charging spreads and taking the other side of client trades, creating potential conflicts.
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STP brokers are also compared to ECN brokers which offer direct market access but route trades through their own liquidity pools rather than directly connecting traders, and typically have higher minimum trade sizes.
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STP brokers can be suitable for beginners due to transparent pricing and flexible account sizes compared to larger minimums at ECN brokers.
What Are STP Brokers?
No dealing desk forex brokers use STP platforms to send trades automatically to the market. Dealing desks, on the other hand, are 'market makers' who take the other side of the trade themselves rather than passing it on.
Due to the fact that you are interacting directly with the forex market, no dealing desk brokers who use STP have better prices but larger spreads. Because market makers set prices and take trades, they can restrict trading during high volatility.
What Are STP Brokers Pros and Cons
Pros
Retail traders often prefer STP brokers. There are several advantages to their business model:
Processing speed: STP technology allows these brokers to execute trades quickly and electronically. While some market maker brokers use software to process trades, most complete them manually through a dealing desk. It can be a slow process, and requotes can occur if the market is volatile.
Quotes reflect the market: A STP broker trades directly with the market. In this way, they accurately reflect prices in their quotes. Artificial quotes may be offered by market makers to increase their margins. Their quote may be artificial or they may pick and choose which orders to fulfill. Because STP brokers are directly linked to the market, client losses are not motivated by profit.Being able to invest with a broker whose revenue increases when clients profit is likely to attract more clients.
No conflict: Market makers profit when their clients lose because they often take the other side of trades. Because of this, brokers may operate in a way that hinders the chances of their clients winning.
Lot sizes: A typical ECN broker restricts all trades to 0.1 lots - the equivalent of 10,000 units in the base currency. The minimum trade size is required by banks and other financial institutions. Smaller values may be prohibitive for retail traders. There are often lower minimum lots available with STP brokers.
Cons
A STP broker operates with all the benefits of both an ECN and a market-maker broker, so there are few drawbacks. They include:
Spreads: Spreads are usually wider with STP brokers than with dealing desk brokers. Brokers who handle dealing desks make money when their clients lose money. As a result, they don't have to make as much money from spreads. On the other hand, spreads and commissions are the sole source of revenue for STP brokers.
Hybrid models: There are some brokers who take a hybrid approach to dealing desks. Some trades may be passed onto the market, while others may be taken under their control. Brokers who operate in this manner can be difficult to identify. Using the broker's customer support number may help you obtain clarification.
7 Best STP FX Brokers Comparison
| Regulation | Minimum Deposit | STP account EURUSD average spread | STP account fees | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
RoboForex |
FSC, CySec |
$10 USD |
1 pip |
None |
|
Admiral Markets |
FCA, CySEC |
$100 |
0.00006. pips |
None |
|
eToro |
FCA, CySec, ASIC |
$10-$200 |
1.1 pips |
None |
|
Pepperstone |
CYSEC, BAFIN, CMA, SCB, DFSA, ASIC, FCA |
$0 |
0.09 pips |
None |
|
FxPro |
CySEC, FCA, FSCA, SCB |
$100 |
1.7 pips |
None |
|
IC Markets |
ASIC, CySEC |
$200 |
0.1 pips |
None |
|
FP Markets |
ASIC, CySEC |
$100 |
1.2 pips |
None |
RoboForex - Best STP Broker for Algo Traders
RoboForex was established in 2009, and since then, it has experienced steep growth.
There are currently more than 800,000 clients from 169 countries trading with this Belize-regulated forex broker.
In spite of offshore regulations, RoboForex appears to be a relatively safe choice since client funds are kept in segregated trading accounts and negative balance protection is in place. The company has also joined the Financial Commission's Compensation Fund. They are also audited by Verify My Trade for their order executions. Their Civil Liability insurance covers fraud, errors, omissions, negligence, and other risks that may result in financial losses.
RoboForex offers an intriguing proposition when it comes to STP brokers. They offer a variety of account types, including Prime, a popular choice among advanced traders. The ECN and R Trader accounts are suitable for professionals and experienced traders.
Pro-Cent or Pro-Standard accounts are better for beginners and more experienced traders.
Admiral Markets - Best STP MetaTrader Broker
With low spreads and a small minimum deposit, Admiral Markets is one of the top ECN/STP brokers. With the Invest account, you can trade stocks and ETFs as well as more than 3,900 assets across many account types. In spite of the fact that it isn't perfect for social/copy trading, it is a good choice for many other traders due to its support for scalping, hedging, VPS, and algo-trading.
The low spreads Admiral offers on both CFDs and real assets make it a versatile broker. There is also a rebate program for ASIC and UK clients that can reduce costs by up to $1 per lot traded as well as 10 base account currencies, so you can avoid conversion fees in many cases.
eToro - Best STP Broker for copy trading
With over 27 million platform users in over 140 countries, eToro is a popular STP brokerage. CFD trading options are available on forex pairs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies on the platform.
Additionally, eToro is a social trading platform that allows investors to collaborate and help each other. A CopyTrading feature, for instance, allows beginners and inexperienced traders to copy the exact trades of more experienced traders.
You can begin trading with eToro with as little as $10 and can benefit from a variety of deposit options.
Pepperstone - STP Broker Platform with Crypto CFD Trading
Founded in 2015, Pepperstone is an Aussie STP broker. A web-based platform provides investors with access to more than 60 foreign exchange currency pairs. There are also three mobile trading platforms offered by Pepperstone - MT4, MT5, and cTrader.
Investors can use these third-party platforms to facilitate trading in FX, commodities and cryptocurrencies with a range of tools and charts. Pips per spread are offered to platform members for the EUR/USD trading pair. There is also a $3.5 commission per lot per trade on the platform.
The leverage on major FX pairs is 30x, while cryptocurrency leverage is 2x.
When investing with Pepperstone, there is no minimum deposit required. There are also a variety of deposit options available.
As an ASIC regulated forex broker, Pepperstone is one of the best to watch right now. A number of other regulatory agencies, including the FCA and BaFin, have also registered the brokerage.
FxPro - Best STP Broker for Forex and CFD Traders
The name shouldn't deter you. Everyone can use FxPro; the pro part refers to their mission statement of enabling people to trade like professionals while on the go.
FxPro invests in training and learning resources in order to appeal to a wide audience. It is highly recommended that you check out FxPro's training section, even if you have never traded forex before. Registration is not required. Courses are available for beginners and advanced users, which is great since forex is something you never end up mastering. It's never too late to learn something new, and there's always something to learn.
Beginners can benefit from this commitment to learning. A variety of account types and platforms are available through FxPro, such as MetaTrader 4 and 5, cTrader, and FxPro EDGE, the company's in-house platform.
There are five types of accounts, all of which are platform-centric. Compared side-by-side, the FxPro website makes it easy with so many choices. Even though FxPro uses STP technology, they classify themselves as Non-Desk Dealing, which is a better reflection of their order execution method. Consequently, the price is largely unaffected by requotes or human intervention.
A number of their entities are licensed in Cyprus, the UK, the Bahamas, and South Africa, proving that their operations are well regulated.
IC Markets - Best STP Execution Speed
A forex and CFD brokerage firm called International Capital Markets Pty Ltd trades under the name IC Markets. Sydney-based IC Markets offers trade executions and prices from liquidity providers through its ECN brokerage brand.
IC Markets attributes its true ECN status to its spreads of 0.0 pips. Over 50 different banks provide IC Markets with pricing and liquidity, which allows the company to offer some of the most competitive spreads on the market. Pricing and direct market access are not the only benefits of trading on ECN platforms. Also important is the speed of executions, since ECN users are typically large volume traders who are looking for the quickest executions possible. To provide competitive trade execution speeds, IC Markets operates trade servers in the NY4 & LD5 Equinix Data Centers in London and New York. Fiber optic cables connect various providers of Virtual Private Server networks at these centers, ensuring ultra-low latency.
FP Markets - Top STP Choice for Scalpers
With segregated client funds and top tier liquidity, FP Markets was founded in 2005 and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). CySEC-authorised and regulated First Prudential Markets Ltd is part of the FP Markets group of companies.
In addition to its market analysis and education resources, FP Markets offers trading ebooks and video tutorials as well as technical analysis and fundamental analysis articles and videos. 24/7, 5 days a week, users can reach live support via telephone, email, and live chat.
STP Brokers vs/ Dealing Desk Brokers (Market Makers)
Client orders are routed directly to liquidity providers with access to the interbank market by brokers with STP systems.
No Dealing Desk brokers are those who do not have a dealing desk. In other words, NDD brokers don't take the other side of their clients' transactions; they just connect two parties.
In NDD STP brokers, liquidity providers quote their own bids and offers separately.
The Dealing Desk (DD) generates income for forex brokers by charging spreads and providing liquidity. As the name implies, they are market makers.
Market makers make a market for their clients, which means they often trade the opposite way from their clients. Openly quoted prices are used for buying and selling currency on the OTC market. As a result, a market maker becomes a counterparty to most retail transactions. The market maker sells a currency whenever a retail trader purchases it, and vice versa.
It poses very little risk for market makers to set fixed spreads because they control the prices at which orders are filled.
STP broker vs. ECN Broker
A STP Forex broker and an ECN Forex broker share many similarities, but the main difference is the routing system. While STPs can deal with different liquidity providers from their liquidity pool, ECNs act as a kind of hub. Due to its representation by banks, hedge funds, and all major market players, the hub acts as the major liquidity source.
In order to fulfill orders they cannot handle internally, they all become interconnected. ECN trading is also typically capped at a minimum lot size of 0.1, another difference between STP and ECN. Inexperienced traders who require smaller amounts of money (for instance, between 1000-2000 EUR) have difficulty trading with liquidity providers that allow less than 0.1 lots. This led to the development of a hybrid model as a solution.
10 Best ECN BrokersIs STP Brokerage Good for Beginners?
Beginners should consider an STP broker. The reason for this is that STP brokers work through a bridge that connects a trader's terminal to a liquidity provider or an interbank. Traders can also use STP bridges to connect with smaller brokers, who can then either connect them directly to the market or absorb the trades internally. This makes for more favorable trading conditions, including lower trading fees and more narrow spreads
How to Choose an STP Broker
A number of factors should be taken into consideration before settling on a particular STP broker. Your Forex trade's outcome is largely influenced by them. When choosing an STP Forex broker, take the following factors into consideration.
Regulation: A growing number of STP brokers has led to an increase in illegitimate brokers as well. Ensure that the broker you are working with is registered and regulated by a reputable institution. For additional information on a broker, you should also check its website. Brokers who do not meet these requirements are questionable.
Spreads: Forex trade success is heavily influenced by your broker's spreads. To maximize profits, choose a STP broker with low spreads. For example on the STP trading account of the Infinox broker, the commission is charged in the form of a spread (average - 0.9 pips for EUR/USD).
Leverage: Forex markets are advantageous because of their leverage. Before trading with a broker, it is crucial for a trader to confirm whether the broker offers various leverage options. Depending on the situation, both high and low leverage could be beneficial. High leverage, for instance, poses a larger risk, but it will provide favorable conditions for a trader with limited capital. Conversely, if your capital is adequate, you should use lower leverage.
Trading platform: The trading platform plays an important role in Forex trade, as this is where clients can conduct their transactions. Select a platform that is reliable and popular for the trader. In addition, the platform can be tailored to meet the needs of individual traders. A mobile trading option should also be integrated into the platform to provide various trading options. Traders should be able to make the most out of the platform when trading forex.
Account types: In order to meet different trading needs, a good STP broker will offer a variety of account types. Choosing a broker that offers different account types is a better choice.
Customer support: Traders could lose significant amounts of money if their customer support is unreliable. You should ensure that the broker provides 24/7 customer service in case of technical or general issues.
Summary
It is difficult to define the term 'best'. There is no doubt that it is a subjective concept. People may be polar opposites when it comes to what they believe is best for them. Considering this, we set out to review the best STP forex brokers.
We evaluated each broker based on their trading conditions, transparency, security, and reliability. Based on our experience, we identified seven STP brokers that stand out as good all-rounders for both beginners and experienced traders. Each of these five brokers is distinguished from others in the forex brokerage industry by an intangible quality.
There is an ideal STP forex broker waiting for you no matter where you are on your forex journey.
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Team that worked on the article
Oleg Tkachenko is an economic analyst and risk manager having more than 14 years of experience in working with systemically important banks, investment companies, and analytical platforms. He has been a Traders Union analyst since 2018. His primary specialties are analysis and prediction of price tendencies in the Forex, stock, commodity, and cryptocurrency markets, as well as the development of trading strategies and individual risk management systems. He also analyzes nonstandard investing markets and studies trading psychology.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.
Olga has extensive experience in writing and editing articles about the specifics of working in the Forex market, cryptocurrency market, stock exchanges and also in the segment of financial investment in general. This level of expertise allows Olga to create unique and comprehensive articles, describing complex investment mechanisms in a simple and accessible way for traders of any level.
Olga’s motto: Do well and you’ll be well!
Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Mirjan is a cryptocurrency and stock trader. This deep understanding of the finance sector allows her to create informative and engaging content that helps readers easily navigate the complexities of the crypto world.