XM Broker Review

Written by Richard Perry

Richard Perry

Richard Perry is a recognised expert in technical analysis and market strategy, with significant experience in currency and equity markets. He has set up his own shingle called Perry Market Analysis, providing consultancy analysis of major markets, including research via webinars, videos and written analysis.

, | Updated: September 4, 2025

If you are a retail trader in search of a broker that focuses on stocks and forex, then XM is certainly worth your consideration. With negative balance protection, excellent research and educational content, competitive spreads, transparent fees, and responsive customer support, XM stands out as a strong choice for beginner traders.

In this broker review, we will highlight all key factors you should consider when deciding on whether you should use XM as your broker. Featured on the Trustpilot platform, XM has an aggregated score of 3.8/5. Currently, the brand has been reviewed 2,515 users, with 46% of them giving XM 5 stars and 31% of reviewers ranking the broker as a 1-star company.

Key Pros and Cons

If you are tight on time, we will quickly list a few key pros and cons that should be at the forefront of your decision on XM.

Company Information

XM is a group of entities operating globally under the umbrella of the parent company Trading Point of Financial Instruments Limited. The company was founded in 2009 and in just 16 years, it has attracted over 15 million clients from 190 countries all over the world. The broker prides itself on having executed over 10.3 billion trades with zero requotes or rejections.

Here are the XM Group entities, with their respective registered offices:

By creating an account with XM, traders join an award-winning broker, with an enviable track record of industry awards, including for forex brokerage services, platforms, and other accolades. The broker also has a solid presence on social media platforms, with profiles on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

While XM serves over 15 million traders from 190+ countries around the globe, the broker does not provide its services in certain jurisdictions such as the USA, Canada, Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Why Trade with XM?

If you are tight for time, here are some of the important features that we like about trading with XM.

Regulation

Conventionally, a broker’s regulatory quality is judged by the notion that the more licenses they hold, the better. XM has been gradually expanding its regulatory licenses over the years. Starting with regulation in Cyprus, which includes oversight under the EU’s ESMA framework, XM Group has expanded its presence to include South Africa, Dubai, and more recently, Belize.

Here is a breakdown of the various regimes they come under:

We would say that the regulation is decent without being exceptionally stringent. There are more stringent EU regulators than CySEC, whilst Belize would be considered lower-tier regulation and rather loose. This is however balanced somewhat by the ASIC regulation which is considered to be strong.

There are also some interesting absences here that also impacts clients:

• No FCA regulation (the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority) – the FCA is a stringent regulator that also allows traders’ assets to be covered up to £85,000 in case the broker goes bankrupt.
• No CFTC regulation (Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US) – this means that no US clients can trade with XM.

Furthermore, there are other notable countries, such as Canada, Japan, and China, where traders are restricted from trading with XM.

KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing

Many traders from around the world can sign up to trade with XM. Notable countries that traders will not be able to sign up from include the US, Canada, China and Japan.

Signing up to join XM is fairly quick (in under 15 minutes) whilst the account verification can take 24 hours. The procedure is also rather standard compared to other brokers.

Here are the steps that we had to take to sign up:

1. Some contact details – add in your name, country of residence and preferred language, email address and telephone number.

2. Trading Account Details – you will need to choose your preferred platform (MT4 or MT5) and your account type (Standard, Ultra Low, Zero)

3. Personal Information – add in your date of birth and address

4. Choose a base currency – Choose a base currency from the available options and select the desired leverage size.
5. Financial information – there are now a few sections covering your financial situation.
6. Trading Knowledge – assessing your financial industry experience and knowledge of leverage trading. There is nothing to worry about, as these are all fairly standard questions that brokers will ask you.
7. You will be required to upload some identifying documentation for XM to verify. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity and residency.

   Proof of ID – you will need to prove your identity via one of the following:

   • Passport
   • National ID card
   • Driver’s License

   Proof of residency – such as a utility bill or bank account statement.

8. Once you have completed your profile and uploaded your documents, you will need to wait for XM to verify your account. This review is done within one business day.
9. However, there is also one more thing before you can start trading. You will need to fund the account with a minimum deposit, which amounts to $5.

Account Types

Depending on the XM entity traders register with, the broker supports several account options, designed to suit all preferences.

• Demo Account – Best for practice trading with virtual funds; Supported by all entities.
• Standard Account – The primary account that most retail traders will use.
• Micro Account – This is an account for newbie traders who want to learn the ropes of leverage by trading in micro lots.
• Ultra Low – Ideal for high-volume trading; Tight spreads and competitive swap rates reduce traders’ overall costs.
• XM Zero Account – An account designed for traders who prefer to trade with zero or very low spreads, paying a fixed commission on every trade.
• Shares Account – Best for traders who prefer to invest in real stocks.
• Islamic Account – Swap-free account, designed to comply with Shariah law, which bans the payment or receipt of interest. No rollover fees are charged.

Demo Account

XM’s Demo account gives traders the chance to practice and upgrade their trading skills in a risk-free environment, replicating real trading conditions. This account mimics live trading conditions on popular third-party solutions such as the MT4 and MT5. On the other hand, experienced traders could use this account to test new strategies without risking any real funds.

• All XM entities regulated by CySEC (Cyprus), FSC (Belize), IFSC (Mauritius), FSA (Seychelles), DFSA (UAE), and FSCA (South Africa) provide demo accounts.
• Demo accounts offer a virtual balance of $100,000, access to all financial instruments provided by the broker, and the full line-up of features and functionalities of the MT4 and MT5 platforms. Inactive demo accounts are closed automatically after 60 days, with each customer being able to open up to 5 accounts.

Standard Account

XM’s Standard account gives traders access to all the available instruments with zero commissions. There are as many as 11 base currencies to choose from and a $5 minimum deposit. As with traditional standard accounts, 1 lot has a contract size of 100,000 units. This means that trading 1 lot of EUR/USD is the equivalent of $10 per pip. The leverage you can use will depend upon the entity (and therefore regulatory jurisdiction) that you have opened your Standard account under.

• Accounts under the CySEC jurisdiction have limits to protect retail clients, and therefore the maximum leverage is capped at 1:30 on Forex, 1:10 on commodities, and 1:5 on stocks.
• Accounts registered under Belize regulation offer lower levels of retail client protection, with the leverage you can use as high as 1:1000 on some instruments such as Forex. Indices feature lower leverage at 1:100 times or 1:200, whilst commodities offer leverage of 1:50.

Ultra Low Account

XM’s Ultra Low Account, available across several entities of the broker, is ideally suited to the needs of high-volume traders who prioritize cost-efficiency. The minimum deposit required to open such an account is $5. Traders have access to all financial instruments supported by the broker, such as Forex, metals, indices, crypto, stocks, and commodities.

• The Ultra Low Account is available through the XM entities regulated by CySEC (Cyprus) and FSC (Belize).
• Other important features of this account type include maximum allowable leverage of 1:1000 (for the offshore entity), stop-out level at 20%, swap-free and micro account options, no commissions, and spreads starting from as low as 0.8 pips on EUR/USD.

Micro Account

Traders who are new to the game and are cautiously just finding their feet, may prefer the option of the Micro account. This account is great if you are worried about blowing up your balance by making mistakes on the platform such as using the wrong trade size. Once traders gain experience, they can migrate to the Standard account for larger contract sizes.

• The Micro account provides traders with the same features as the Standard account, however, the equivalent contract size of trading 1 Lot is 100 times lower. The contract size of 1 lot equals 1,000 units. In other words, when opening a trade with the Micro account, a 1 lot position on EUR/USD gives you exposure to $0.1 per pip (or 10 cents per pip) movement.
• Other important features of XM’s Micro account include a minimum deposit requirement of $5, variable spreads, and no commissions. Additionally, traders benefit from negative balance protection, the opportunity to hedge their positions, and the option to convert to an Islamic swap-free account.

XM Zero Account

The Zero account is the last of the main account types you can open with XM. Traders can keep their costs down by trading with spreads as low as 0 pips for currency pairs such as the EUR/USD and the USD/JPY. For this privilege, traders pay a commission of $3.5 (per lot per side) for every 1 lot traded, or $7 per round trip. The commission is on top of the very tight spreads, starting from 0.0 pips on major currency pairs. (See Trading Costs for a comparison of the spread versus commission account models).

In addition to the tight spreads and competitive commissions, Zero account holders will benefit from:

• A minimum deposit requirement of $5, similar to the one for Standard accounts.
• Only 3 base currencies available (USD, EUR, JPY) versus 11 for the Standard account.

Other Available Accounts

Here are the other accounts are available at XM, however, these do come with restrictions:

Account Types Unavailable at XM

There are some accounts and features that XM does not offer. Here are a few accounts you need to be aware of that other brokers might have available. These may be part of your decision making in choosing a broker:

• Professional/Premium accounts – some brokers will offer professional traders who meet certain criteria better spreads and execution, along with higher leverage limits and access to cryptocurrency margin trading in the European jurisdiction.
• STP or ECN accounts – Accounts at XM use a dealing desk model of trade execution. Subsequently, there are no Direct Market Access accounts such as STP (Straight Through Processing) or ECN (Electronic Communications Network) available.
• Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders – Some brokers offer this feature to protect traders from gapping markets. XM does not offer Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders (GSLO).

Trading Fees and Other Costs

The fees you incur whilst trading can be an important aspect of your decision over which broker to choose. The lower your costs, the better. There are several costs that you can incur while trading. Generally, we can split these costs into two categories:

• Trading fees – spreads, commissions and overnight financing charges
• Non-trading costs – account fees, inactivity fees, currency conversion fees

Let’s break these down and see how XM compares against the competition.

Spreads

Across its Standard and Micro accounts, XM generates profits from the spread rather than commissions. In contrast, XM’s Zero account features zero or very low spreads plus a commission on every trade.

XM generally offers competitive minimum spreads, especially on major pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/USD, but is occasionally outperformed by IG Markets and AvaTrade on some instruments.

The following table shows how XM measures up against some of its rivals across the most widely traded forex pairs.

*unconfirmed

*Commission per Standard Lot per Side

Commissions

XM charges no commission on its Standard account. However, with the zero spread account, you will pay $3.5 commission per standard lot (100,000 units) traded per side. This commission is paid when you open and close positions, totaling $7 per round trip.

So let’s make a comparison of trading a position with XM on a Standard account versus what you would pay using its Zero spread account. Buying 1 standard lot of EUR/USD if you closed the position immediately after you opened it (i.e. there is no change to the spread):

As we can see the trading costs of trading via the Zero spread account are lower. These savings can be much greater when you trade other instruments with wider spreads on the Standard account.

Financing Charges

If you hold a position overnight, you will incur financing charges, often referred to as swaps or rollover fees. These charges can result in either a gain or a loss and vary depending on the instruments being traded and the day. They are based on “tom-next rates”, or the interest rate differential between the two currencies involved.

In addition to the said rates, there is an XM markup to take into consideration. Not all brokers add their markup to the rollover. For long positions, XM adds +0.5% whilst for short positions XM takes off -1.5%. The formula for the calculation of overnight financing charges that XM uses is as follows:

Trade size x (+/- tom-next rate – XM overnight markup) = Daily Overnight Interest Charged/Paid

Deposit Fees

XM has zero deposit fees, which is fairly standard among competitors. For more details see Deposit Methods.

Withdrawal Fees

XM has zero withdrawal fees on almost all supported methods. The only exception is if you are withdrawing a small amount (less than $200) via a wire transfer. This will incur a $15 fee. Although this is a minor exception, XM generally scores very well when it comes to withdrawal fees. Many CFD brokers charge for additional withdrawals requested within the same month, often as much as $25 for subsequent bank wire transfers. For more details see Withdrawal Methods

Inactivity Fees

Inactivity fees are among the non-trading fees that you can incur. Brokers generally want you to keep trading, so when an account becomes inactive, they may start charging inactivity fees. These need to be measured by how long your account can remain dormant before being charged a fee, and, secondly, by how high the fee is. We believe that XM scores poorly on the length of the dormant period allowed, but scores well on cost.

With XM, inactivity charges kick in after just 90 days of the account being dormant. We consider this period to be very short. We consider six months or sooner to be bad, while 18 months and above is generous. 12 months is about average.

After a 90 day dormant period an inactivity charge is levied at $15 per month (you lose all bonuses or promotional credits). We consider $15 per month to be average compared to competitors.

Let’s compare how much you would be charged after 12 months of a dormant account with some other brokers

*AvaTrade also charges a $100 administration charge on dormant accounts after 12 months

Compared to rival brokers, XM charges inactivity fees very quickly, however not as expensive as other brokers.

Overall on Fees

Overall, we believe that XM scores fairly well but not great on fees. The spreads are not the best you can find, but trading costs can be reduced with the Zero account.

The XM markup on financing charges is not unique among brokers but some do not add any fees to the standard tom-next rate formula. We like the zero fees that you get on deposits and withdrawals (except for wires below $200). Inactivity charges are low on the monthly rate but kick in after only a short time.

Desktop Trading Platforms

XM supports the widely popular MetaTrader platforms, with options for both MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) across desktop, web, and mobile devices. In addition to these advanced solutions, the broker offers its XM App, available on the App Store and Google Play.

Here is a list of the available platforms:

• MetaTrader 4 – MT4 is still considered to be the benchmark platform for retail traders.
• MetaTrader 5 – MT5 is the upgraded version of MT4.
• XM App – the all-in-one XM app is available for download on the App Store and on Google Play.

MT4 and MT5

Beginner traders who have done even minimal shopping around for brokers will by now have realized that the MT4 platform is available everywhere. Some of the bigger brokers will offer their proprietary platforms to trade on, while others will offer other third-party platforms for variety.

Despite this, MT4 is considered the industry benchmark for platforms and is very popular with retail clients, especially beginners. Brokers that are offering stock CFDs are now also pushing clients on to MT5 (an upgrade on MT4) as direct access to physical stocks is unavailable on MT4.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is good for charting and technical analysis and translates very well across your devices, meaning desktop, tablet and mobile versions interact very well. MT4 also supports the EA (Expert Advisor) functionality, which enables algorithmic trading with robots.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is an upgrade on MT4 and supports a wider selection of asset classes, including directly trading with physical stocks. Other upgrades include:

• More order types (6 on MT5 versus 4 on MT4)
• More timeframes available (21 to choose from on MT5, versus just 9 on MT4)
• 38 technical indicators (versus 30 on MT4)
• 37 graphical drawing and annotation objects (versus 24 on MT4)

Mobile Trading Platforms

XM offers MT4 and MT5 across mobile devices. Both are compatible with the iOS and Android operating systems.

MT4 and MT5 Trading Apps

The mobile versions of MT4 and MT5 translate extremely well from the desktop versions, also allowing excellent interaction between devices. The 3 chart types and 30 technical indicators of MT4 migrate well, while there are also push notifications for trading alerts.

Trading Instruments

XM offers easy access to nearly 1,400 tradable instruments, across several asset classes, including CFDs on forex, stocks, commodities, indices, precious metals, energies, and thematic indices. Cryptocurrencies and turbo stocks are available in specific jurisdictions.

Upon reviewing the broker’s selection of supported markets, we noticed there are no ETFs, bonds, and options.

Forex

There are over 50 Forex instruments to trade, including major, minor, and exotic pairs, which is a fairly decent selection. Many brokers will have between 50 and 60 pairs. Some like Fusion Markets are more focused on forex trading, offering north of 90 currency pairs.

Indices

There are 14 indices to trade, including major indices, such as Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500, among others. Additionally, the brokerage offers thematic indices, allowing exposure to various sectors, such as electric vehicles, AI, and blockchain.

Stocks

The selection of stock CFDs is where XM excels. There are nearly 1,300 individual stock CFDs from 18 countries around the world. In addition to the US and Canadian stocks, there are equities from 14 European countries, Brazil and Russia.

This is an impressive selection of stock CFDs and is beyond the offering of most brokers.

Commodities

At present, XM offers around 15 commodity markets. This includes precious metals like gold and silver), agricultural products, industrial metals, and energy products, such as oil and natural gas. Precious metals like platinum and palladium are tradable through futures CFDs. Although this selection allows traders to diversify their portfolios, it is somewhat limited, compared to other brokers who offer between 20 and 30 different commodities to trade.

Physical Shares

If you are a trader registered under the XM Global entity (Belize regulation) you can have a Shares account which means that you can trade the underlying company shares rather than speculating on their prices as is the case with stock CFDs. There are 100 to choose from and are all major US, UK and German companies.

Unavailable Instruments at XM

At XM, the selection of traded instruments ends there. This means there are:

1. No ETFs: this is disappointing as most brokers will at least offer some ETFs
2. No Bonds: often only really offered to any serious extent by the larger brokers.
3. No Options: some brokers will offer options, although these tend to be only the larger brokers.

Trade Execution

XM operates as a market maker broker with a dealing desk, meaning all trades are executed in-house directly by the broker. There are several key advantages to this business model, some of which are prominently highlighted on the website.

• Fast trade execution: XM claims that 99.4% of all trades are executed in less than one second
• 100% execution rate: no rejected orders and re-quotes

It is always important for would-be traders that they understand the flip side of trading with a dealing-desk broker. It raises important questions about trust and conflict of interest.

XM does not appear to offer STP (Straight Through Processing) or ECN (Electronic Communications Network) trading accounts. So there is no Direct Market Access and it means that XM can set the price that traders receive. XM seems to be entirely a dealing desk broker.

Dealing desk brokers can manage the risk of their clients’ trades in two ways. They can keep it in-house (and therefore effectively take the opposite side of the trade), or they can pass over the risk to their liquidity providers. The amount of risk a dealing desk broker like XM assumes is not publicly known. Similarly, it is unclear how often, if at all, XM takes positions opposite to its clients.

It is up to the individual trader to decide how comfortable they are trading with a dealing desk broker.

Deposits

To open a standard account with XM, the minimum deposit varies depending on the account type.

The Standard and Micro accounts require a minimum deposit of just $5 or the equivalent in other base currencies to start trading. The Shares account (only available to XM Global) requires a minimum deposit of $10,000.

Looking also at the number of base currencies available, there are 11 to choose from. This is considerably more than what many brokers will offer you.

Deposit Methods

Deposits can be made in any currency and will be converted to your account’s base currency at XM’s prevailing interbank exchange rate. All deposits via the credit/card and e-wallet options clear into your account instantly. Bank wires will take several days to clear.

XM supports a variety of deposit methods to accommodate different preferences and regions.

• Debit/credit cards
• Local bank transfers
• Bank wire transfers
• E-wallets (Skrill, Neteller)

Deposit Bonuses

Bonuses available to traders outside Europe and under the XM Global entity. Specific terms and conditions apply to these incentives, with clients being able to opt out of the bonus scheme whenever they wish. Bonus availability and range varies wildly based on the country of the onboarding customer. For instance, new clients onboarding from South Africa can claim a $50 no-deposit bonus upon registration, an offer that is otherwise unavailable to traders at the CySEC entity.

Withdrawal Methods

We like the fact that XM does not charge any fees or commissions on withdrawals across payment methods. The only exception to this is with Wire transfers of less than $200, which incurs a $15 charge. However, many other brokers typically charge up to $25 for all wire transfer withdrawals, regardless of the amount.

Some brokers will charge for additional withdrawals requested within the same month, regardless of what method clients use. The fact that XM does not charge for withdrawals beyond the first one helps to keep costs down for the trader.

All withdrawals are processed within 24 hours. This is prompt and fairly standard across the industry.

In line with anti-money laundering regulations, traders must use the same withdrawal method they deposited with. There is also a withdrawal priority procedure if you have funded the account using several different methods. If you deposited funds using a credit or debit card, you can withdraw an amount up to your original deposit back onto the same card. Anything above this amount should be transferred via bank wire or e-wallet.

Customer Support Contacts

Customer support is an area where XM truly goes the extra mile, offering assistance in over 30 languages. Support is accessible through all the usual communication channels, ensuring traders worldwide can get help conveniently. We were satisfied by the availability of human support, which is an excellent feature for novice traders. It is hard to imagine what more they could do to improve their service.

1. Personal Account Managers

   Traders value knowing their broker is readily available to help with any issues, which is especially important for beginners. This is why we like the Personal Account Managers service that XM assigns to all of its clients.

   The account managers can then support the trader with platform training, trading queries, and add a sense of reassurance. Personal account managers must be contacted during business hours.

2. FAQs

   As is often the case with good quality brokers, there is an extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions on the website. Topics covered include account queries, deposits, withdrawals, and platforms, among others.

3. XM Live Chat

   Some broker websites have an automated chatbot that churns out pre-recorded answers. However, XM has a live chat where you can connect to a person to answer your queries. The service is available 24/5 and is very useful for outside local business hours trading when your personal account manager may not be on standby.

4. Telephone Contact

   If you prefer to speak with someone directly, there are plenty of telephone contact numbers on the website. The telephone line is available 24/5 at the CySEC entity from 08:00 to 22:00 on weekdays. European customers must dial +357 25029933, while +501 2236696 and +501 2279421 are reserved for clients registered under the offshore division.

5. Email

   Customers must fill out the contact form on the website to receive a response via email. Encouragingly too, emails are also targeted to specific departments. The response time is quick too, within 24 hours. Additionally, clients can get in touch with the broker on WhatsApp and Telegram. They must select their preferred messenger service and scan the QR code to start speaking with a support rep on their smartphones.

Research and Educational Materials

XM has also really put the effort in when it comes to research and education. The website is jam-packed with content to give traders the most assistance they could ask for on their journey.

Research

There is extensive video and written market analysis content on the website. Some of this is locked to clients, but some is free to all. Here’s what’s available:

• Market Commentary: what’s moving markets
• Technical Analysis: major markets analysed
• Special Reports: giving bigger picture macro views
• News: news feeds from Reuters
• Trade Ideas: ideas generated from Autochartist and Analyser third party content
• Economic Calendar: scheduled events to watch

Live analysis content is also a feature of XM’s research offering. XM TV is a great addition for videos while podcasts are also now on the site.

Education

The Learning Center hub is another area of the site for traders to learn their craft. We are impressed with the selection of educational videos and platform tutorial videos, while the XM live video feed is a service you will very rarely see with rival brokers.

There is also a wide selection of:

• Forex webinars: in 19 different languages, scheduled for times throughout the day, 7 days a week.
• Forex seminars: although none are scheduled right now.
• XM Live
• Beginner Room
• Advanced Room

Security and Money Guarantees

At BestBrokers, we believe that the protection of client funds is one of the most important factors in choosing a broker. We believe that your money is safe with XM. Here is why.

• 15+ years of trading history and growth
• Top-level CySEC regulation
• Investor compensation scheme (for European traders only)
• Negative balance protection for all clients

Let’s look at these in more detail.

The history of growth and stability over the 15+ years of trading gives us confidence in XM. Although it is not a public company or has a bank attached, we believe they have a strong track record.

The CySEC regulation is top-tier and means that XM is a responsible, ethical, and professional company.

European clients under the CySEC jurisdiction are covered by the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). If a finance company under the CySEC jurisdiction fails then its clients are entitled to a maximum compensation of up to €20,000. This could be better if XM had Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation then clients would be protected up to £85,000.

One strong point is that XM extends negative balance protection to all its clients, not just the EU clients as is required under the CySEC regulatory framework. This means that traders cannot lose more than their available balance and is excellent for beginners especially.

Conclusion

At BestBrokers, we believe XM is an excellent option for beginner and novice traders. Here are the benefits for beginners:

• Excellent customer support with personal account managers
• The available educational resources are extremely useful for building trading knowledge.
• Negative balance protection prevents traders from losing more than their deposits.

However, while XM is excellent for beginners, when it comes to more experienced traders, XM may not score quite so highly:

• No professional/premium account available giving EU traders access to higher leverage
• No futures or options available
• The spreads for some instruments are wider than those of competitors (although trading costs can be reduced with the Zero spread account).
• The available platforms are limited to MT4/MT5.

Written by R. Perry