How much money do you need to start trading forex?

You can open an account with some brokers for $0 or $5, but the minimum deposit is not the same as a sensible starting balance. The useful number comes from how much you are willing to risk on each trade.

Minimum deposits at the brokers we review

These are the published minimums as checked on 3 November 2026. They vary by country and legal entity.

Start from risk per trade

Many traders risk 1% or 2% of their balance per trade, so a run of losses does not end the account. Work backwards from the smallest trade you can place:

With $100, a 20-pip stop and 1% risk you cannot place even a micro lot, the usual 0.01-lot minimum, so you would have to risk more per trade or use a cent account. Check your own numbers with the position size calculator.

Costs take a bigger share of small accounts

Commissions, spreads and any fixed fees, such as withdrawal or inactivity charges, weigh more heavily on a small balance. A $25 bank withdrawal fee would be a quarter of a $100 account. See how withdrawals work.

Only use money you can afford to lose

Leveraged forex and CFD trading is high risk. When the EU's markets regulator, ESMA, restricted retail CFDs in 2018, it found that between 74% and 89% of retail accounts lost money. Brokers in the UK and EU still publish their own percentage on their websites.