In South Africa, mobile apps of the retail forex brokers are licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Any app promoted by unlicensed brokers should be considered unsafe.

We found 28 popular licensed brokers in South Africa. Then we narrowed down our research to only forex brokers, and downloaded & installed their Android apps of on our test device,

Here is the detailed test & review of the forex apps that we’ve checked for this guide.

Note: The apps listed in this research are only for South African traders. Any traders in other regions must check the local regulations related to forex & CFD trading and avoid apps of unlicensed brokers & instruments.

Best Forex Trading Apps in South Africa?

• HFM Android App - Best Forex Trading App in South Africa
• Exness Trade- Best Forex Trading App for Android
• Tickmill MT4 - Best Forex Trading App with ZAR Account
• FxPro - Best Forex App for Beginners with Tradingview Charting
• JustMarkets MT5 - Forex App for Demo Trading
• AvaTradeGo – Best Proprietary Forex App with Fixed Spreads
• FXTM - Forex Trading App by Licensed ODP

These forex trading apps weren’t determined by just how they looked alone (ease of use). The regulation, trading conditions such as total trading cost for highly traded instruments (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, XAU/USD) & support channels were also considered.

1. HFM Android App - Best Forex Trading App in South Africa

HFM App Safety: 10/10?

HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd is a licensed Financial Service Provider (FSP) under the FSCA in South Africa (authorization number 46632).?

The app producers have also integrated biometric fingerprint scanner & 2FA. A secure QR code scanner has been integrated when making deposits on the app.?

HFM In-App Account Opening – 7/10

You can upload self-identification documents in JPG or PDF format within the app, Registration process is lengthy as compared to other tested apps.

Trading Conditions- 10/10

CFDs on instruments like Forex, Metals, Energies, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Bonds, Crypto, and ETFs. You can edit/rearrange the order in which these instruments are shown on the app menu.

3 HFM accounts have no commission, while the Zero Account incurs a $3 per side commission. Leverage of up to 1:2000 is available depending on the instrument.?

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions – 10/10

For South African Banks, minimum deposit is R100, and the app redirects you to your bank's internet banking page & SMS code is sent to you for approval.?

The HFM app can also generate a QR scan code, so you make payments with it.

Supported banks include ABSA, Investec, African bank, Bidvest, Nedbank, Standard bank, FNB, Capitec, & Tyme Bank.

HFM doesn’t charge any fees on deposits/withdrawals. Deposits/withdrawals take place 24/5 but not on weekends.?

Education- 7/10

The HFM app offers a demo account and allows you to register for upcoming webinars. There are no in-app educational videos or welcome tour.?

Tools- 9/10

5 Calculators: Risk percentage, Multi-target, Pivot Points, Position size, & Pip value calculators.

4 inbuilt indicators: Moving Average, RSI, Bollinger bands, & MACD

Economic calendar: you can filter important news events to be shown.?

Chart rotation: you can rotate the chart to landscape or portrait orientation

Zoom scroll bar: you can zoom charts in and out?

9 chart time frames: 1M, 5M, 15M, 30M, 1H, 4H, 1D, 1W, 1Mo

3 chart types: candlestick, line, & bar charts.

News: inside the app you get market news and HFM analysis of market events.

Support – 9/10

South African phone support, 24/5 in-app support by Live chat, FAQs, callback request.?

Pros & Cons – HFM App

2. Exness Trade - Best Forex Trading App for Android

App Safety: 9/10?

Exness ZA (PTY) Ltd- providers of the Exness app, are FSCA regulated with license number 51024.

A 6-digit passcode and fingerprint scanner as well as 2FA security features are on the app.?

In-App Account Opening - 10/10

On the Exness app, all its accounts are compatible (meaning you can open any account type). You can deposit funds after registration but to actually start live trading, you need to upload a photo of relevant self-identification documents on the app.?

Trading Conditions – 9.5/10

CFDs on Forex, Metals, Energies, Indices, Stocks, and Crypto.?

On the app, Exness accounts come with extended swap meaning you are not charged swap for CFDs on major FX pairs, Gold, Energies, crypto, & Indices. However, you must trade regularly to maintain the offer.?

Exness charges no commission for Standard Accounts, but other Exness accounts incur up to a $3.5 per side commission. Leverage of up to 1:2000 is available as per instrument type.

Exness accounts have Negative Balance Protection.?

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions – 9/10

The Exness app allows you to fund your account all through the week 24/7. The minimum deposit is $1 or R18 (you can fund & withdraw via bank transfers in ZAR). All deposits/withdrawals on Exness are free of charge.?

Education- 6/10

Exness doesn’t have an education section on their app, but they do have an in-app help and support center.?

Tools - 8/10

7 chart time frames: 1M, 5M, 15M, 30M, 1H, 4H, & 1D

3 inbuilt Indicators: Moving Average, Bollinger bands, &parabolic SAR. For more indicators Exness requires you to switch to TradingView charts which will be automatically displayed.?

5 chart types: Candlestick, Bar, Line, Baseline, Heikini Ashi

Zoom scroll bar: zoom in and out of charts and rotate screen orientation

Performance statistics: shows your performance including profit/loss, orders, trading volume, for the last 7, 30, 90, & 365 days.?

Market reopen notification: get notified when the market reopens after a weekend

Customizable trading info: customize info such as spread, swap fee, commissions, profit/loss etc. to be shown in Amount, Percent, or Pips.

Custom price alerts: set alerts to be notified when the price of an instrument reaches a certain amount.?

Disable screenshots: you can choose to disable screenshots for security reasons

Support - 7/10

There is no South African phone number. The app has a help center & a LiveChat feature. You can also request a callback.

Pros & Cons of Exness App

3. Tickmill MT4 – Best Forex App with ZAR Account

App Safety: 9/10?

Tickmill South Africa (Pty) Ltd is regulated by the FSCA with FSP No. 49464. But they don’t have an ODP license.

The Tickmill app is secured with passcodes, facial/fingerprint recognition, and also supports 2FA.

In-App Account Opening – 8/10

Upload self-identification documents with a 4MB size limit on the app. Accounts are approved as soon as document verification is successful (normally within 48 hours max.).?

Trading Conditions – 8.5/10

Range of CFDs on instruments: Forex, Indices, Stocks, & Commodities, Bonds, and Crypto.?

All Tickmill accounts come with 1:500 leverage, and the Classic Account has zero commission. The VIP & Pro Tickmill Accounts have $1/$2 per side commissions respectively.?

All strategies such as hedging and scalping, are allowed on the TickMill app?

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions - 8.5/10

Tickmill accepts local payments in ZAR via bank.

Education- 6/10

The Tickmill app does not have much on inbuilt education, but they have an FAQ section in the app that answers queries.?

Tools- 7/10

The Tickmill app is built on the MT4 platform and has similar tools. You can also trade with Expert Advisors on the app.?

You get 4 Pending Orders, 30 inbuilt indicators, 31 graphical objects, 9 timeframes

Chart type: candle stick

Market news: get latest news about economic activities?

Account balance tab: shows equity, free margin, & real balance.

Zoom function/rotation: zoom in and out of charts and change chart layout orientation?

24 graphical objects: categorised into- channels, GANN, Fibonacci, Ellliott, & Shapes.

30 Indicators: grouped into Trend, Oscillators, Volume, & Bill Williams

Support -9/10

24/5 Live chat, South African phone support and links to FAQ from the Tickmill app. They also have local offices in Cape Town & Johannesburg.

Pros & Cons of Tickmill App

4. FxPro - Best Forex App for Beginners with Tradingview Charting

App Safety: 10/10?

FxPro Financial Services Ltd is registered with the FSCA, with authorization no. 45052. But they are not licensed as an ODP.

The mobile app has security measures in place including 2FA, passcode and biometric features.

In-App Account Opening process -7/10

Upload the necessary documents on the app after which your account will be approved within 48 hours.

Trading Conditions- 8/10

The FxPro app supports all 4 FxPro account variants. There are the Raw spread & Elite FxPro Accounts with spreads from 0 pips and $3.5 per side commissions.

You could also opt for the Standard & Pro Accounts that have no commissions, but spreads start from 1.2 and 0.6 respectively.?

You can trade CFDs on Forex, Metals, Futures, Indices, Share, Energies and Crypto while leveraging up to 1:200.?

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions-8/10

Manage deposit/withdrawal from the app with a minimum deposit of $100

Education -5/10

Inside the FxPro app there are no educational resources, but you can learn to trade with the demo account and contact live support for any queries.

Tools – 9/10

Inside the app you get an Economic calendar, chart types like candlestick & line charts, Custom notifications and alerts.?

Favorites: add new instruments into your favorites list

History- view a detailed history of closed trades

Instrument search: easily find instruments by typing their symbol and licking search

TradingView charts: easily switch to TradingView charts to access a higher number of technical indicators and advanced charting

10+ Graphical objects: such as GANN, Fib retracement, Trends etc.?

Support -8/10

24/5 support through live chat inside the app. But no local phone.

Pros & Cons of FxPro App

5. JustMarkets MT5– Forex App for Demo Trading

App Safety: 9/10?

Just Global Markets (PTY) Ltd are FSCA regulated with FSP number 51114.?

The JustMarkets app is secured with biometrics and 2FA as well as passcode.?

In-App Account Opening process- 9/10

You can open a trading account on the app by filling out KYC details and uploading relevant documents

Trading Conditions - 9/10

You trade CFDs on Forex, Metals, Energies, Indices, Stocks, and Commodities.

All accounts charge zero commission except the Raw Account with a 3 per side commission. Leverage of up to 1:3000 is available as per instrument.?

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions- 9/10

Account funding is managed in-app, but uploaded docs must be approved before you can deposit. Minimum deposit is $10 or R180.

Education- 5/10

There is no in-app education you need to visit the JM website.?

Tools- 8/10

When you click on the trade button the app takes you to an MT4 platform where you trade with full MT4 functionality such as market news, advanced charts and indicators.?

Support-10/10

There is a live chat that is responsive in-app and also a support email available 24/7.?

Pros & Cons of Just Markets App

6. AvaTradeGo – Best Proprietary Forex App with Fixed Spreads

App Safety: 8/10?

Ava Capital Markets Pty is regulated by the FSCA with FSP No.45984 and operates as AvaTrade. Its AvaTrade app has security features including 2FA and biometrics.

In-App Account Opening- 10/10

AvaTrade account opening process involves providing you with information and verifying your account by uploading the necessary documentation.?

Trading Conditions- 8/10

A minimum deposit of $100 gets you access to CFD markets with the following underlying assets: Forex, Bonds, ETFs, Stocks, Commodities, Crypto, and Indices.

The leverage is 1:400 max. but is lower for certain instruments.?

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions- 7/10

Fund your account right from the app but there is no ZAR trading account so if you deposit in ZAR currency conversion fees will be applied.

Education- 10/10

This section begins with a welcome tour video teaching you how to navigate the app, plus lots of other educational videos teaching you how to trade.?

Tools- 10/10

9 chart time frames: 1M, 5M, 10M, 30M, 1H, 4H, 1D, 1W, 1Mo.?

3 Chart types: Candle Stick, Line, and Area.?

Custom price alerts: create price alerts and specify by how many percent the price of an instrument should move, before you’re notified.

90+ technical indicators: Bollinger Bands, Relative Strength Index, MACD, Pivot, Average True Range, etc.?

Zoom scroll bar: Full screen charts are available, and you can minimize the chart window to view other information.

Buyer Seller Sentiment: this statistic shows you what percentage of the market is bearish and bullish?

Interactive Economic Calendar: you can navigate the calendar by filtering out countries. Calendar events are also ranked according to importance (low, medium, & high).?

AvaProtect: AvaTrade mobile app also has an insurance mechanism called AvaProtect which reimburses you for trades that end in losses.

Support- 8/10

AvaTrade has 24/5 customer support. This support is available through their live chat and email. The live chat takes approximately 2 minutes to get a response.?

Pros & Cons AvaTradeGo App

7. FXTM – Forex Trading App by Licensed ODP

App Safety: 8/10?

Exinity Limited trading as FXTM is licensed by the FSCA with FSP No. 50320. The app is protected by 2FA, Passcode, and Biometrics.

In-App Account Opening- 9/10

You can open these live accounts on the FXTM app: Advantage MT4, Micro, & Advantage Plus MT4. Leverage is up to 1:1000.?

Trading Conditions- 8/10

Trade CFDs on Forex, Metals, Indices, Commodities and Stocks, on the FXTM app. FXTM has low spread accounts that charge $2 per side commission. You also get commission free account with spread from 1.5 (generally it is high).

Deposit & Withdrawal Conditions- 8/10

Minimum deposit is $10. You can manage all your deposits on the app & via bank transfers.?

Education- 4/10

There is no in-app education, you have to visit the FXTM website for education.

Support-9.5/10

24/5 help via their live chat, email, telegram and WhatsApp contact. FXTM live chat is open on Saturday/Sundays at specific time to chat with a live agent.

Pros & Cons of FXTM App

How we rated the Trading Apps in South Africa

1. Broker Regulation (FSCA): We ensured the brokers were regulated by the FSCA and that the license status was ‘Active’ on the FSCA register.?
   We also checked their ODP licensing. Most of the brokers that we checked had a pending license.
2. App Technology: We chose forex trading apps with free download, forex trading apps with apk download; and the apps had to support biometric functions like fingerprint scanners.?
   We also considered the charting features of the app, and tested how user friendly and fast the functions were.?
3. ZAR Trading Accounts: Trading apps with ZAR trading accounts were considered because the absence of currency conversion fees lowers trading costs.

3. Commitment to Trader Education: We chose apps with in-built educational videos or demo accounts that can help beginners build their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved.?

5. Support: We chose apps that allow you access help without leaving the trading environment (within the app). Live chat inside an app is important so you don’t have to access multiple platforms.

How to download forex trading app in South Africa?

Visit the broker’s website and click on the Android or iOS icon to download the app. You get redirected to the relevant playstore where you can download.

1. Find the FSCA licensed brokers with relevant license for forex trading.?
2. Download their app from their website or verified app store. Make sure to verify the creator of the app.
3. Open Demo or Real Trading Account from within the app.
4. Select your Account currency (ZAR or USD)?
5. Verify your account with KYC documents.
6. Fund your account. Avoid using leverage on any real trades.

Some brokers have apk versions of their apps for those times you don't find the app on the app stores.

Forex Trading Apps in South Africa - FAQs

Which app is safest for forex trading in South Africa?

Only the apps which are from FSCA licensed forex brokers are safe. All other apps have a risk that the broker could be a scam.?

What is the best forex trading app for beginners?

No forex trading apps are suitable for beginners in general. CFD trading is very risky for inexperienced traders.?

But if you understand the risks, then HF Markets, AvaTrade, and Exness have account types with low spreads & straightforward costs.?

Which forex trading app has the lowest fees?

This depends on which instruments do you actively trade. For example, Exness has the lowest spreads of 0.5 pips for EUR/USD.

Which forex trading app have demo Account?

Almost all of the regulated forex brokers will allow you to trade demo through their app.

Disclaimer: The above is a sponsored post, the views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of Outlook Editorial.