Our top-rated Forex brokers
Start trading here
Learn to trade with no risk
Raw spreads & low commissions
Trade with Direct Market Access
Live trading with no deposit
Extend your buying power
Best accounts for Muslim traders
Fixed spreads & instant execution
Find a platform that works for you
The top MT4 brokers
The top MT5 brokers
The top cTrader brokers
The top TradingView brokers
Trade on the go from your phone
Copy professional traders
Last Updated On November 24, 2024
75-90% of retail traders lose money trading Forex and CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs and leveraged trading work and if you can afford the high risk of losing your money. We may receive compensation when you click on links to products we review. Please read our advertising disclosure. By using this website, you agree to our Terms of Service.
Founded in 2017, Zero Markets is a growing CFD broker that offers a low-cost trading environment on a wide range of tradable assets on the MT4 and MT5 platforms. However, Zero Markets clients in Uganda will be trading under its Saint Vincent and the Grenadines based entity, which provides little regulatory oversight and does not offer automatic negative balance protection.
Zero Markets offers two live CFD accounts both with a minimum deposit requirement of only 100 AUD, making them accessible to most traders. Spreads start at 1.00 pips (EUR/USD) on its Standard account, which is average compared to other brokers, and no commissions are charged for Forex trading. Spreads tighten to 0 pips (EUR/USD) on its Super Zero Account in exchange for a commission of only 5 USD per lot traded. Zero Markets also stands out for the number of financial assets on offer, including over 800 share CFDs, 45 Forex pairs, commodities, indices, and a small range of cryptocurrencies.
Some drawbacks for traders considering Zero Markets are that its educational and market analysis materials are sorely lacking, and it offers no trading tools to assist with technical and fundamental analysis.
Overall, Zero Markets will appeal to traders who value a low-cost trading environment and a broad range of tradable assets.
🏦 Min. Deposit | AUD 100 |
🛡️ Regulated By | ASIC, FSA-St-Vincent, FSC |
💵 Trading Cost | USD 10 |
⚖️ Max. Leverage | 500:1 |
💹 Copy Trading | Yes |
🖥️ Platforms | MT4, MT5 |
💱 Instruments | Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Stock CFDs, Forex, Indices, Metals, ETFs, Bonds |
Yes, according to our findings, Zero Markets is a safe broker for traders to trade with. Although Ugandans will be trading under the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines subsidiary, it is also regulated by top-tier authority, ASIC. However, we were disappointed to note that Zero Markets does not provide automatic negative balance protection.
Founded in 2017, Zero Markets is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Financial Services Authority of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG FSA), and the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC). Although as a Ugandan client, you will be trading through the Saint Vincent-based subsidiary, which has very little regulatory oversight, Zero Markets segregates its client funds from company funds in top-tier Australian banks. However, we were disappointed that it does not provide its traders with automatic negative balance protection, although this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Click here for more details on ZeroMarkets’ regulatory oversight.
ZeroMarkets’ trading fees are lower than average on its Super Zero Account and average on its Standard Account.
Our review found that, unlike other brokers that offer a range of account types with lower spreads linked to higher minimum deposits, Zero Markets only offers two accounts. Both account types are available on both MT4 and MT5. For more on Zero Markets’ trading platforms, click here.
The main difference between the two accounts is that the Standard Account has the trading costs included in the spread, while the Raw Account offers tighter spreads and a small commission per trade. We also found that spreads are variable at Zero Markets, which means that they widen or tighten depending on trading volume and market volatility. For more on Zero Markets’ account types, click here.
In order to assess ZeroMarkets’ accounts and compare its costs to those of other brokers, we opened and tested both accounts. We evaluated the costs based on the trading fees on one lot (100 000 USD) on the EUR/USD, including the spread and commission:
Spread x Trade Size + Commission = Total Trading Cost (USD):
We found that the trading costs on the Standard Account are built into the spread and are higher than the costs on the Super Zero Account, which has a round turn commission of 5 USD. Additionally, both accounts have a minimum deposit requirement of only 100 AUD, which is equivalent to 1100 ZAR (as of March 2022). On this basis, we recommend opening a Super Zero Spread account because it is priced so competitively.
Swap Fees
The other main trading cost we took into consideration was the overnight swap fee. It is determined by the overnight interest rate differential between the two currencies involved in the pair and whether the position is a buy ‘long’ or sell ‘short’.
Swap is calculated as: (pip value for 1 lot x No of lots x swap rate x number of nights)/ 10.
Please note the answer will be in the quote (second) currency of the pair you are trading.
For the most up-to-date Forex swap rates, please refer to the Market Watch panel in the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. Simply follow the steps outlined below:
As you can see, the swap fees are highlighted in the box above, including the long and short swap.
Overall, although Zero Markets only offers two trading accounts, the trading costs on its Standard Account are around the industry average but are lower than average on its Super Zero Account. In addition, we were pleased to note that both accounts have a low minimum deposit requirement of 100 AUD (1100 ZAR), making them a good choice for both beginner and experienced traders.
Zero Markets’ non-trading fees are higher than other similar brokers.
Some of the most overlooked trading costs are the non-trading fees that are charged by brokers. These fees can significantly affect your profitability and so should be carefully scrutinised.
Our review noted that although Zero Markets does not charge fees for deposits and on inactive accounts, Zero Markets charges withdrawal fees on most payment methods. For example, when we tested withdrawals via Skrill, a fee of 1% plus currency conversion fees were charged. Additionally, accounts that remain inactive for longer than three months will be archived.
Overall these fees are higher than other similar brokers.
According to our findings, the account opening process at Zero Markets is fully digital, fast, and hassle-free compared to other brokers.
We tested the account opening process, which took approximately 15 minutes to complete, and once our documentation had been submitted, our accounts were ready for trading within 24 hours.
As a Ugandan trader, you are eligible to open an account at Zero Markets as long as you meet the minimum deposit requirement of 100 AUD.
Creating an account is straightforward, the process is fully digital, and accounts are usually ready within 24 hours, which is faster than other brokers. Zero Markets offers joint and individual accounts, but we will focus on opening an individual account:
How to open a live account at Zero Markets:
In order to start the account-opening process, we clicked on the “Open Account” button at the top of the page. We were then directed to register an account with our name, email address, country of residence, preferred language, and telephone number.
The second step required us to fill in our personal details (including name, country of residence, residential address, gender, email address, mobile number, ID number, employment status, and occupation).
Next, we were asked to complete a short form to help Zero Markets assess the state of our finances and trading knowledge. While most brokers don’t include this step in the account-opening process, it is a responsible move in an industry that is often accused of an irresponsible approach to consumer protection.
We then acknowledged that we had read and understood Zero Markets’ various policy documents.
The next step required selecting our preferred account type (Standard or Super Zero), trading platform (MT4 or MT5), and chosen base currency (click here for more on Zero Markets’ base currencies).
Lastly, Zero Markets needed at least two documents to accept us as an individual client:
Proof of Identification – current (not expired) coloured scanned copy (in PDF or JPG format) of your passport. If no valid passport is available, a similar identification document bearing your photo such as an ID card or driving licence will work.
Proof of Address – a Bank Statement or Utility Bill. Please ensure, however, that the documents provided are not older than 6 months and that your name and physical address are clearly displayed.
Our application was approved within 24 hours.
Compared to other similar brokers, Zero Markets’ account opening process is fast, generally hassle-free, and fully digital, and accounts are ready for trading in one day.
Zero Markets offers two account types, which is average when compared to other ECN/STP brokers, and both account types are suitable for beginners and more experienced traders.
Zero Markets offers two simple account options, the Standard Account, which is commission-free, and the Super Zero Account, which has tighter spreads but carries a commission charge. Both accounts are suitable for beginners and more experienced traders.
We define beginner traders as inexperienced traders who have never traded before or have been trading for less than a year. Beginners often do not want to risk trading large sums of money, and will generally not be able to trade full-time during the workweek. Zero Markets’ accounts have a reasonable minimum deposit requirement of 100 AUD, making them accessible to beginner traders.
In general, experienced traders tend to prefer accounts with higher minimum deposits and tighter spreads. Zero Markets’ Raw Account offers tight spreads of 0.1 pips on the EUR/USD in exchange for a reasonable commission per lot traded, which should satisfy most experienced traders.
We were pleased to note that Zero Markets offers market execution accounts, with pricing sourced from 6 leading financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Citibank, among others. This means that there is no dealing desk intervention on the accounts and that traders will receive the best pricing possible.
Additionally, because Zero Markets servers are located in the NY4 Equinix Data Centre in New York, it provides its clients with the fastest possible execution.
Zero Markets offers trading on a good range of assets, including Forex, shares, metals, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices (click here for more on Zero Markets’ financial instruments). We were offered leverage of up to 500:1 on currency pairs, which is possible because of the SVG FSA regulation. We were also pleased to note that both accounts have access to Expert Advisors (EAs) and VPS hosting and that Zero Markets allows all trading strategies, including hedging, scalping, and copy trading.
Account Types
We opened both a Standard and a Super Zero Account, see below for more details:
Standard Account
The Standard Account is the best option if you are looking for commission-free trading. Spreads are wider than on the Super Zero Account, usually starting at 1.00 pip, although they can come down to 0 pips with high trade volumes, however, we noted that spreads were usually around 1.2 – 1.3 pips (EUR/USD).
The minimum deposit is 100 AUD, and 45+ Forex pairs, metals, commodities, and indices are available for trading. As is customary, you will see that equities are only available on the MT5 trading platform.
Super Zero Account
This account has tighter spreads – 0.1 pips on the EUR/USD- although we found spreads were usually around 0,2 – 0.4 pips (see the screenshot below). In addition, a commission of 5 USD round turn per standard lot is charged for Forex trading, one of the lowest commissions in the industry.
The minimum deposit is also set at is 100 AUD, so the only real difference between this account and the Standard Account is whether the broker’s fee is charged on the commission or in the spread, although the costs on the Super Zero Account are substantially lower. Super Zero accounts are generally more suited to scalpers and day traders.
Islamic Swap-free Accounts
Also known as swap-free accounts, Islamic accounts are ideally suited to Muslim clients, and in line with Islamic law, they incur no swaps or interest charges on overnight positions. Instead, the account holder is charged an administration fee that is deducted from the account’s balance. Islamic Accounts are available on both the Standard and Super Zero Account options:
How to open an Islamic swap-free account at Zero Markets:
Open a MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 account.
Send a request to customer service to convert your account to an Islamic swap-free option.
Include an official document showing confirmation of your faith (e.g., a Proof of Faith document from your local mosque) if the evidence is not already included in your ID document.
An admin fee of 5 USD per lot on major currency pairs is charged per night. However, fees are not charged for the first ten nights of trading, and will only be applicable from the eleventh night.
Demo Account
We opened a demo account at Zero Markets and found that it comes loaded with 100,000 in virtual funds. Demo accounts simulate the conditions one would find on a live account, and you can choose between both the Standard and the Super Zero Accounts on MT4 and MT5. We highly recommend opening a demo account, as they are a great way to practice trading before risking real money. We liked the fact that Zero Markets’ demo accounts are unlimited and won’t expire unless they remain inactive for over 30 days.
Overall, Zero Markets offers a limited number of accounts compared to most other brokers, but its trading costs are reasonable and accounts are suited to both beginners and more experienced traders.
Zero Markets charges low deposit fees, but withdrawal fees are higher than most other brokers.
In line with Anti-Money Laundering policies, Zero Markets does not accept payments from third parties and only accepts funds received directly from the named trading account holder. All funds deposited into your trading account must be under the same name as your Zero Markets trading account. Zero Markets does not accept deposits from joint bank accounts or cards; however, clients can deposit from individual bank accounts to a joint trading account.
We found that while Zero Markets does not charge fees for deposits, its withdrawal fees on some payment methods are high. On a positive note, we like the fact that funds can be deposited using a wide range of the most popular payment methods, including credit card and debit cards, payment wallets including Neteller and Skrill, online banking, broker to broker, and bank wire transfers.
Once your account has been verified by customer service, you can deposit and withdraw funds through the client portal:
We tested deposits via credit card and found that our payments were processed instantly and that our withdrawal was processed within one day. See below for more details:
How do you withdraw money from Zero Markets? Just follow these steps:
Overall, Zero Markets offers a wide range of funding methods, and while it does not charge any fees for deposits, its withdrawal fees are high for some methods.
Zero Markets offers an average range of base currencies compared to what is available at other brokers, and Ugandan traders will be charged conversion fees for deposits or withdrawals in ZAR.
When we opened our account, we noticed that the Zero Markets client portal allows traders to deposit funds in four base currencies, including AUD, USD, EUR, GBP.
Because we were depositing funds from a Ugandan bank account based in ZAR into a USD-based account, we were charged a currency conversion fee on both our deposit and our withdrawal.
We recommend that high-volume traders (who trade more than 10 lots a month) consider opening an account denominated in USD because a conversion fee will be charged for every trade made on a USD-quoted currency pair. This can be done by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank.
Overall, Zero Markets offers a limited number of trading account currencies compared to other brokers.
Zero Markets offers two trading platforms, which is average compared to other similar brokers.
Our review noted that Zero Markets offers both MT4, the most popular trading platform in the world, and MT5, the latest development by Metaquotes. As well as the desktop applications, Zero Markets also offers MT4 and MT5 WebTrader, which are the browser-based (online) versions of the platforms, along with mobile and tablet versions of both iterations.
While MT4 and MT5 are both excellent trading platforms, many other CFD brokers also offer their own web-based platforms, which tend to be easier to use for beginner traders. On the other hand, the benefit of Zero Markets offering third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5 is that traders can take their own customised version of the platform with them should they choose to migrate to another broker. Additionally, there are thousands of plugins and tools available for the MetaTrader platforms. Click here for more details on MT4 and MT5.
We rigorously tested the MT4 trading platform. See below for more details:
MetaTrader 4
We found that like many other brokers, Zero Markets’ MT4 platform is the standard out-of-the box version that does not have any extra bells or whistles. However, it does feature 50+ indicators, which is more than other similar brokers. We still recommend that more serious traders purchase third-party plugins for MT4 to unlock its full potential.
As you can see below, while MT4 has good customisability (you can easily move and change the size of the tabs) the platform looks outdated, and some of the features may be hard to find:
Additionally, it does not have great search functionality – you cannot manually type in the name of an asset:
In addition, only the basic orders are available, including Market, Limit, Stop, and Trailing Stop.
Traders should also be aware that alerts and notifications can only be set on the desktop version of the platform and not on the webtrader. Lastly, MT4 is available on Windows 7 or higher and it is not available on Mac:
MetaTrader 5
MT5, the newer version of its predecessor, MT4, is also available at Zero Markets. We recommend using MT5 if you are looking for a more powerful and faster trading platform when it comes to back-testing functionality for automated trading algorithms. Additionally, we enjoy MT5 for its depth of market display, additional technical indicators, and analytical tools.
Mobile Trading
Zero Markets mobile trading platforms are average when compared to other brokers. Zero Markets offers mobile versions of MT4 and MT5, available on both Android and iOS.
We downloaded both the MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS. We found that there was some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platforms, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options, but we were able to close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts.
However, unlike the desktop version of the platform, the design is clean and it is easy to use. Additionally, the search functionality is far superior – you can search for products easily by typing the name of the product or by navigating the category folders.
Zero Markets’ range of trading tools and research are limited compared to other brokers
We were disappointed at the lack of research materials and analysis tools available at Zero Markets. Zero Markets offers research in the form of a daily blog, and a markets daily review, which contains a brief summary of the market movements of the day, however, these have not been updated in many months:
Additionally, it is clear that Zero Markets has not invested in any analysis tools to help traders make trading decisions. Zero Markets trading tools are limited to an Economic Calendar, a VPS service, a copy trading service, and PAMM/MAM Investor. See below for more details on the various tools:
Managed accounts are great for beginner traders who have limited experience with trading.
Overall, Zero Markets offers a disappointing research section that seems like it has not been updated in many months. Additionally, it offers no analytical tools, and while it offers a VPS service, this comes at an extra cost to the trader. Traders will have to supplement this data by performing their own research using the materials provided on other larger broker sites or using independent third-party tools.
However, we can recommend that beginner traders make use of the copy trading services, especially if they lack trading knowledge or experience.
Like the research section, education at Zero Markets is limited in scope compared to other brokers.
Our review noted that Zero Markets only offers a selection of written materials divided into fundamental and technical analysis and a forex glossary. We found that while these materials were well-written, they are neither in-depth nor comprehensive. They are also unstructured, making it difficult to find what you are looking for. On a positive note, Zero Markets offers an unlimited demo account that is available for all account types on both the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. See below for more details:
Overall, we feel that the education section could be improved with a greater variety of materials in addition to providing sections for beginner and more experienced traders. Beginner traders would also benefit greatly from being able to attend webinars on CFD trading basics and risk management.
Zero Markets offers an average range of tradable assets compared to other large international brokers, but its share CFD offering is decent.
In our review of Zero Markets, we found that it offers a reasonable range of Forex pairs and cryptocurrencies, a large range of share CFDs, but a small range of commodities and metals.
We also detailed the leverage for each asset class. See below for more details:
Forex: Zero Markets has 45 currency pairs available for trading which is an average range compared to what is offered at other CFD brokers, including majors (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY) and minors (NZD/CAD, EUR/JPY, and USD/ZAR), and exotics.
Share CFDs: Zero Markets offers 813 share CFDs, which is a wider range than most other brokerages, but this is only on the MT5 platform. The selection available includes some of the major US, UK, and European Exchanges.
Indices: Limited compared to other brokerages, there are only 14 indices available for trading at Zero Markets. The most popular indices are those that combine the shares of some of the largest and globally acknowledged companies.
Commodities: Zero Markets offers trading on 9 commodities, which is average compared to other brokers. Commodities include energies such as natural gas and oil and softs such as cotton and wheat.
Metals: Zero Markets offers trading on five metals, which is average compared to other similar brokers. These include gold and silver crossed with the Dollar, Australian Dollar, and Euro.
Cryptocurrencies: Zero Markets offers 11 cryptocurrencies for trading, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple, an average range compared to other brokers.
Overall, Zero Markets offers a well-rounded range of financial instruments, including all the most popular asset classes.
Zero Markets customer support is average compared to other similar brokers.
ZeroMarkets offers multilingual (English, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese) 24/5 customer support via email, phone and live chat. There is also a FAQ section that covers Account Opening, Company Information, Funding and Withdrawals, Trading, and Partners.
For the purposes of the review, we tested the live chat service and email. Our email was answered within a couple of hours and the answer was relevant and to the point. We found the live chat agents were polite, but they seemed to revert to other agents if they could not answer our questions. However, they were highly responsive. After logging into the live chat we were connected to an agent who replied to our message within 1 minute, as shown below:
We consider Zero Markets is a safe broker for Ugandans to trade with. Although Ugandans will be trading with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which applies very little regulatory oversight, it is also regulated by a top-tier authority, ASIC. On this basis, we consider Zero Markets a safe broker to trade with.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Australia, Zero Markets has continuously expanded in the CFD trading sector. Zero Markets is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC), and is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. See below for details on Zero Markets registered companies:
On signing up, we noted that Zero Markets clients in Uganda will be trading with Zero Markets LLC, registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG FSC). For all intents and purposes, the SVG FSC is not considered a forex broker regulator and does not supervise any trading-related activities. Clients must rely solely on the reputation of Zero Markets, as no additional measures exist to ensure client protection. However, in a show of good faith, we noted that Zero Markets segregates all funds from the company’s operating capital at AA-rated Australian banks.
While traders may be apprehensive about trading under a subsidiary that is essentially unregulated, Zero Markets’ subsidiaries in Australia are regulated by ASIC, a top-tier authority. Additionally, Zero Markets offers its clients account statements that are regularly audited by external audit firms.
Overall, because of its long history of responsible behaviour, ASIC regulation, and strict auditing processes, we consider Zero Markets a trustworthy broker.
We value transparency and openness in the way we review the partners. To bring transparency to the forefront, we have published our review process that includes a detailed breakdown of the Zero Markets offer. Central to that process is the evaluation of the reliability of the broker, the platform offering of the broker, and the trading conditions offered to clients, which are summarised in this review. Each one of these is graded, and an overall score is calculated and assigned to the broker.
According to regulation, brokers are required to be transparent with Forex traders about the complexity of financial products and also disclose the extent to which traders can lose their money. Zero Markets wants you to know: Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are derivatives and can be risky; losses can exceed your initial payment and you must be able to meet all margin calls as soon as they are made. When trading CFDs you do not own or have any rights to the CFDs underlying assets.
A well-regulated STP/ECN broker, Zero Markets offers two simple account options and a VPS service for traders who deposit over 2,000 USD. Support is offered for MT4 and MT5, and trading costs are around the industry average on its commission-free account and lower than average on its Super Zero Account. Although Zero Markets allows all trading strategies, its education and market analysis materials are severely limited, but it offers an unlimited demo account available for both trading platforms.
Chris joined the company in 2019 after ten years experience in research, editorial and design for political and financial publications. His background has given him a deep knowledge of international financial markets and the geopolitics that affects them. Chris has a keen eye for editing and a voracious appetite for financial and political current affairs. He ensures that our content across all sites meets the standards of quality and transparency that our readers expect.
Alison joined the team as a writer in 2021. She has a medical degree with a focus on physiotherapy and a bachelor’s in psychology. However, her interest in forex trading and her love for writing led her to switch careers, and she now has over eight years experience in research and content development. She has tested and reviewed 100+ brokers and has a great understanding of the Forex trading world.
Ida joined our team as a financial writer in 2023. She has a degree in Digital Marketing and a background in content writing and SEO. In addition to her marketing and writing skills, Ida also has an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Her interest in crypto trading led to a wider fascination with Forex technical analysis and price movement. She continues to develop her skills and knowledge in Forex trading and keeps a close eye on which Forex brokers offer the best trading environments for new traders.
Find out how Zero Markets stacks up against other brokers.
This form has double opt in enabled. You will need to confirm your email address before being added to the list.