OANDA is a forex broker based in San Francisco, California that provides forex trading services around the globe. As well as ranking among the best forex brokers in the US, OANDA offers trading on commodities, bonds and stock indices, using its own fxTrade platform and companion app. Established in 1997, OANDA has definitely come a long way since its early days of providing free currency exchange information over the internet.
OANDA review: Platform options
- Straightforward to get started
- More than 65 indicators
- Mobile app little disappointing
OANDA’s platform makes it easy to set up trade and just as simple to set up stop-losses and other advanced orders. The powerful platform tools powered by TradingView provide access to over 65 popular technical indicators, and the option to analyze forex price trends with charts ranging from five seconds and more, all designed to help you plan your forex trading strategies. What you can't do with this platform is create multiple watchlists, and there are limited options for setting up alerts and ever fewer options for customization.
In addition to the desktop platform, OANDA has a mobile app, through which you can access more than 50 technical tools, including 32 overlay indicators, 11 drawing tools, and nine charts - you can trade through the charts too. Despite these options, app perhaps lacks some of the tools that the best forex trading apps have. For instance, you cannot use charting tools or set up alerts with the OANDA app, and most frustrating of all, you cannot add currency pairs to watchlists through the app; you must add them through the desktop platform.
OANDA review: Features
- Over 70 currency pairs
- No commissions
- Competitive spreads
Through OANDA you can trade more than 70 currency pairs, including the major pairs and minor pairs, as well as exotic currencies, such as the Norwegian Krone, the Turkish Lira and the South African Rand.
OANDA does not charge commissions and stands apart from other forex brokers in that it does not require a minimum deposit and has no minimum trade lot size. You can make trades on as little as one unit of currency. The only cost you incur is from the bid/ask spreads, which is the difference between the buying and selling price. In comparing OANDA’s spreads to other brokers', we found them to be very competitive and the best of the brokers that don’t charge commission - be aware, however, that spreads fluctuate constantly and can change quickly.
There's a demo account to practice with, and OANDA provides some webinars and investment articles for traders, but the information is not as extensive as other brokers' offerings. You can find video tutorials to train you on the platform, but those are located on YouTube and are not easily accessed through the platform.
Should you use OANDA?
OANDA is a forex broker that doesn’t require a minimum deposit and has no minimum lot size, making it a good entry option for novice forex traders. There's no trading commissions to pay either, with traders paying on the bid/ask spreads instead. While its trading platform is missing some features that the very best forex brokers might offer, OANDA's low costs and minimal trading requirements make it an attractive option for new investors looking for less risk.
