OANDA review
OANDA is a forex and CFD broker founded in 1996, one of the older firms in online retail FX and an early publisher of widely used historical currency-rate data. In August 2025, FTMO Group, the prop trading firm best known for funded-trader challenges, announced its acquisition of OANDA from private-equity owner CVC Capital Partners — a notable pairing of a legacy retail broker with a prop-firm parent, and recent enough that downstream changes to entities or products aren't yet fully visible. OANDA operates through entities regulated by the CFTC/NFA in the US, the FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, CIRO in Canada, MAS in Singapore, Japan's FSA, an MFSA-licensed Malta entity for EU access, and a BVI FSC entity for other regions. Pricing runs on two tiers, a spread-only model and a Core Pricing model with tighter raw spreads plus a per-$100,000 commission, available through OANDA's own platform, TradingView integration, and MetaTrader 4.
OANDA key facts
- Website: www.oanda.com
- Category: Forex / CFD broker
- Founded: 1996
- Headquarters: New York, United States
- Ownership: Acquired by FTMO Group from CVC Capital Partners, August 2025
- Regulation: CFTC/NFA US, FCA UK, ASIC Australia, CIRO Canada, MAS Singapore, FSA Japan, MFSA Malta, FSC BVI
- Platforms: OANDA Trade, MetaTrader 4, TradingView integration, Algo Labs API
- Pricing: Standard spread-only, or Core Pricing with raw spreads plus commission
- Markets: 69 FX pairs plus CFDs on indices, commodities and crypto outside the US
- FYI Score: 93.4/100 (ranked #11 of the 136 CFD brokers we track)
Regulation & licences
- US clients are served by an NFA member firm regulated by the CFTC, and receive spot forex only — CFDs are not offered to US residents under US derivatives rules.
- UK clients trade through an FCA-authorised entity; Australian clients through an ASIC-licensed one; Canadian clients through a CIRO member firm.
- Further licences cover Singapore (MAS) and Japan (FSA), with EU access through an MFSA-regulated Malta entity passporting under MiFID.
- A British Virgin Islands FSC entity serves clients outside OANDA's main regulated markets — a materially lighter-touch licence than the others.
- OANDA's parent was acquired by FTMO Group, a large prop trading firm, from private-equity owner CVC Capital Partners in August 2025.
- OANDA also owns Polish brokerage TMS Brokers (acquired 2020), which operates as OANDA TMS Brokers S.A. under Poland's KNF.
Spreads & fees
- Standard pricing is spread-only, averaging roughly 1-1.7 pips on EUR/USD depending on the review source.
- Core Pricing offers tighter raw spreads, around 0.4 pips on EUR/USD, plus a commission of about $5 per $100,000 traded, and generally requires a materially higher account balance.
- An Elite Trader program offers volume-based rebates for high-volume clients.
Platforms & tools
- OANDA's own proprietary platform, available on browser, desktop and mobile.
- TradingView chart integration in the US, UK and Canada.
- MetaTrader 4 broadly, with MetaTrader 5 available in select locations including Japan, the UK, BVI and Europe.
- Algo Labs, giving API access (Python and C#) for automated trading strategies.
Markets & instruments
- 69 forex pairs, covering majors, minors and a range of exotics.
- CFDs on indices and commodities available outside the US, where CFDs are not permitted for retail clients at all.
- Crypto exposure differs by entity: US clients get spot crypto via Paxos Trust Company, while crypto CFDs are available in select non-US, non-UK-retail regions.
- No listed equities or ETFs — the core offering is forex and CFDs on financial instruments, not shares.
Account types
- Standard spread-only pricing for most retail clients.
- Core Pricing, a raw-spread-plus-commission tier aimed at active traders with a higher minimum balance.
- Elite Trader program for high-volume clients, offering rebates and discounted third-party platform access.
Markets
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Platforms
OANDA Trade, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView
Who OANDA is for
OANDA suits traders who value long operating history and broad regulatory coverage over the absolute tightest spreads, and who want a choice between a simple spread-only account and a raw-spread Core Pricing tier. US-based traders should note they get spot forex only, not CFDs.
Pros
- One of the longest operating histories in retail forex, dating to 1996.
- Regulated across multiple Tier-1 jurisdictions (US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, EU) rather than relying mainly on offshore entities.
- Two clear pricing tiers (Standard and Core Pricing) let traders choose between simplicity and tighter raw spreads.
- TradingView integration and an Algo Labs API give it stronger automated-trading support than many peers.
Cons
- Its August 2025 acquisition by FTMO Group is very recent; it isn't yet clear whether product range, entity structure or pricing will change under the new owner.
- US clients get spot forex only — no CFDs, indices or commodity CFDs — while non-US clients get the full CFD range, a material product gap by jurisdiction.
- Core Pricing's tighter spreads generally require a higher account balance to access.
- A British Virgin Islands FSC entity, with materially lighter oversight than OANDA's other licences, covers clients outside its core regulated markets.
OANDA FAQ
Is OANDA regulated?
Yes, across multiple jurisdictions: the CFTC/NFA in the US, the FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, CIRO in Canada, MAS in Singapore, and the FSA in Japan, plus an MFSA-regulated Malta entity for EU access via MiFID passporting. A separate, lighter-touch BVI FSC entity serves clients outside those core markets.
Who owns OANDA?
OANDA was acquired by FTMO Group, a large prop trading firm known for funded-trader challenges, from private-equity owner CVC Capital Partners in August 2025.
Can US clients trade CFDs with OANDA?
No. US derivatives rules don't permit retail CFD trading, so OANDA's US entity offers spot forex only. Clients in most other jurisdictions get CFDs on forex, indices and commodities in addition to spot forex.
What is OANDA's Core Pricing?
A pricing tier with tighter raw spreads, around 0.4 pips on EUR/USD, plus a per-volume commission of roughly $5 per $100,000 traded, aimed at more active traders than the spread-only Standard tier.
Compare OANDA with other CFD brokers
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