Best Forex Brokers in New Zealand

Are you a New Zealand resident shopping around for the best forex broker? Forex brokers often differ quite a bit in the services and products they offer to their clients, so consider your trading requirements carefully before you fund a trading account. This roundup compares our top picks for reputable and trustworthy forex brokers, comparing them in key areas, including trading platforms, charts, technical analysis tools, and more.

Quick Look: Best Forex Brokers New Zealand

• Best for Beginners: Plus500
• Best for Excellent Trading Conditions: FOREX.com
• Best for Professional Traders: BlackBull Markets
• Best for Low Commissions: AvaTrade
• Best for Demo Accounts: eToro

Best Forex Brokers in New Zealand

It’s important to take your individual trading needs into account when you look into the best online brokers that accept clients from New Zealand to trade forex.

Best for Beginner and CFD Traders: Plus500

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Currency Pairs: 60+
• Trading Platforms: Web platform and mobile app

Plus500 is an excellent option for beginner traders, primarily for its emphasis on risk management and educational support. Plus500 stands out for its dedication to helping beginners navigate the complexities of forex trading and CFDs, ensuring a more secure and informed introduction to the market. Plus500 provides extensive educational resources, including detailed guides, tutorials, and webinars, all tailored to enrich your understanding of forex trading.

Why We Picked It: One standout feature that makes Plus500 an ideal choice for newcomers is its array of comprehensive risk management tools. Notably, Plus500 offers the guaranteed stop-loss (GSLO) order, a premium feature available only through select brokers in NZ. This unique order type allows you to predefine a specific price at which your position will automatically close, safeguarding you against potential losses from market volatility and sudden price gaps.

Best for Excellent Trading Conditions: FOREX.com

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Currency Pairs: 80+
• Trading Platforms: MT4, web trader, mobile app

FOREX.com offers a robust platform and a comprehensive range of services tailored to meet the needs of novice and experienced traders alike. One of its key strengths is its highly customizable platform, allowing you to tailor your trading environment to suit your preferences and trading strategies.

Why We Picked It: FOREX.com offers advanced charting tools, real-time market data, and a range of technical indicators. In addition to its intuitive trading platform, FOREX.com provides access to a wealth of educational resources and market analysis, from comprehensive trading guides and tutorials to regular market commentary and analysis, making it a solid option for dedicated forex traders.

Best for Professional Traders: BlackBull Markets

• Minimum Deposit: $0
• Currency Pairs: 60+
• Trading Platforms: MT4, mobile app, web trader, TradingView and cTrader

BlackBull Markets stands out as a top-tier broker for New Zealand traders, primarily due to its ECN account offerings. The ECN Standard Account requires no minimum deposit and delivers tight spreads starting at 0.8 pips on major forex pairs like EUR/USD. For traders looking for even lower spreads, the ECN Prime Account starts at just 0.1 pips, with a $2,000 minimum deposit. This account is designed for high-volume traders, with reduced commission costs of $6 round-turn per standard lot

Why We Picked It: BlackBull Markets delivers exceptional trading conditions with low-cost pricing, making it ideal for both beginner and advanced traders. Its lightning-fast execution—averaging 72 ms for limit orders and 90 ms for market orders—puts it ahead of the competition globally. This combination of affordability and speed makes it one of the best brokers available for serious forex traders.

Best for Low Commissions: AvaTrade

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Currency Pairs: 60+
• Trading Platforms: MT4, MT5, WebTrader, ZuluTrade Duplitrade and AvaSocial

AvaTrade is one of the most trusted brokers in the industry, operating under the oversight of seven regulatory authorities across six continents. These include regions such as Europe, Australia, Japan, the UAE, South Africa, and the British Virgin Islands, providing global traders with a high level of safety and regulatory assurance.

Why We Picked It: AvaTrade combines strong global regulation with a diverse lineup of trading platforms to suit different trader needs. From MetaTrader 4 and 5 to WebTrader, ZuluTrade, DupliTrade, and AvaSocial, the platform variety supports everything from manual trading to social and automated strategies, making it a versatile choice for traders of all levels.

Best for Demo Accounts: eToro

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Currency Pairs: 40+
• Trading Platforms: Web trader, social trading

eToro is a leading social trading platform, designed especially for beginners who want to mirror the trades of experienced investors. It offers a broad selection of over 40 currency pairs and a highly intuitive multi-asset trading interface, accessible via web and mobile apps. eToro also provides solid educational resources, making it a strong starting point for new forex traders.

Why We Picked It: eToro excels in social trading, allowing users to follow and copy top-performing traders with ease. Its clean, user-friendly design and beginner-friendly tools set it apart from more complex platforms. While it doesn't support MT4 or MT5, its core strength lies in making forex trading more accessible through simplified execution and community-driven insights.

Forex Oversight in New Zealand

Online brokers must be authorized and submit to oversight by New Zealand’s financial regulator known as the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). The FMA began operating in 2011 after the global financial crisis. Trading losses prompted the Financial Markets Bill by New Zealand’s parliament. 

The FMA is also a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), so it operates under the stricter rules that organization requires. The FMA’s basic responsibility is to enforce regulations that pertain to financial service firms that provide access to markets in New Zealand.

What to Consider Before Choosing a Broker

When you make a deposit, choose a reputable broker you feel safe with. You should also consider the following list of key considerations. 

Regulatory Authority

One of the more important things you may want to look for in a quality forex broker is how strict its regulatory environment is since the best online brokers will be overseen by a good financial regulator. The regulator should ensure that any broker operating in its jurisdiction keeps client funds separate from its own funds to protect it in case of the broker’s insolvency. 

Maximum Leverage Ratio

A higher leverage ratio means you can control a larger position with a given margin amount. Brokers regulated in the EU and the U.S. generally offer low leverage ratios of 30 to 1 and 50 to 1 respectively, while some brokers regulated in more lenient jurisdictions can offer leverage ratios up to 3,000 to 1 on forex trades. 

Electronic Platform

Forex brokers allow clients to trade using trading software that can include their own proprietary platform and/or those offered by 3rd parties like the very popular MetaTrader 4 or 5 (MT4/5) platforms. Any modern electronic platform should let you draw charts and trade directly from them and have a news feed and a customizable interface. Some platforms like MT4/5 will even let you create custom indicators, backtest strategies and trade automatically based on programmed algorithms. 

Educational and Research Materials

You might need educational resources to help you improve as a trader if you’re new to forex trading. Many brokers offer online courses, e-books, webinars, videos and articles that can help you self-educate. You might also benefit from expert fundamental and technical research from your broker.  

Trade Support

You’ll want to look for fast customer support from your broker to prevent potentially expensive losses from accruing. Virtually all brokers offer prompt support in English via live chat and telephone, although email and fax are usually also options if a matter is not especially urgent. 

Margin Deposits

Brokers vary considerably in the minimum initial margin deposit they require for you to start trading, so check to see if you have the right amount of funds available. Some brokers will accept deposits in NZD but you might need to convert them to a major currency accepted by your broker like euros, U.S. dollars or pounds sterling when you open an account. 

Forex Account Types

Just about all online brokers let you try out their services and practice trading using a free demo account. They also typically have several account types to fit different clients: 

• Micro accounts could be good if you’re a new trader
• Standard accounts are better for medium-sized traders
• VIP accounts are for well-funded traders
• Swap-free Islamic accounts are for Muslim clients who wish to conform to Sharia law

Take the Next Steps to Start Trading Forex

You’ll find that most international brokers will accept you as a client if you’re a New Zealand-based forex broker. The amount of leverage available to you and the minimum deposit required to open an account can vary. 

Select a well-regulated and reputable broker that segregates its funds from its clients and meets your personal needs. 

Frequently Asked Questions