XM Review 2026

The $5 minimum deposit is the headline, but the real story is the Micro account. It lets you trade lots as small as 0.01 (1,000 units) — meaning a single pip move on EUR/USD costs roughly $0.10. For a beginner learning to manage risk with real money, this is genuinely valuable. You can trade with authentic market conditions without the psychological distortion of paper trading, while keeping actual risk to single-digit dollars per trade.

XM's education programme stands out because it goes beyond pre-recorded videos. Their daily webinars feature live market analysis with actual analysts taking questions. The structured learning paths progress from forex basics through to advanced strategies. We attended several sessions and found the quality comparable to paid courses from independent educators. For traders who learn by doing, this matters more than having the tightest spreads.

The tradeoff for accessibility is cost. XM's spreads on the Standard account average 1.6-1.7 pips on EUR/USD — competitive for a market maker but noticeably wider than ECN brokers like <a href="/brokers/ic-markets">IC Markets</a> or <a href="/brokers/pepperstone">Pepperstone</a>. High-volume traders will pay more here. XM has positioned itself clearly: this is the broker for getting started and learning, not necessarily where you'll end up as a professional scalper.

On the Standard account, EUR/USD typically trades at 1.6-1.7 pips during major sessions. For comparison: IC Markets' Raw account averages 0.1-0.2 pips plus $7 commission (about 0.8 pips equivalent), and Pepperstone's Razor account is similar. XM's Standard account costs roughly double on a per-trade basis for major pairs. For a beginner trading a few times per week, the difference is negligible. For a scalper trading 50+ times daily, it adds up fast.

The Ultra Low account meaningfully closes the gap at 0.6-0.8 pips on EUR/USD with no commission. This is competitive with many spread-only accounts at other brokers and represents genuine value for intermediate traders who want tighter pricing without switching to a commission-based model. It's available from the same $5 minimum deposit, so there's little reason not to choose it if you're comfortable with the slightly different contract sizes.

The inactivity fee ($15/month after 90 days of no trading) is the main cost trap. If you open an XM account to try it out and then forget about it, fees will slowly drain your balance. Set a calendar reminder to either trade or withdraw your funds within 90 days. Deposit and withdrawal fees are genuinely zero on XM's side, though your payment provider may charge their own fees for bank wires.

MetaTrader 4 remains XM's flagship and is where the majority of their clients trade. XM has optimized their MT4 server infrastructure for their user base — execution speed averaged 0.3 seconds in our testing, which is acceptable for most styles but not ideal for latency-sensitive scalpers. The platform is stable, well-documented, and has the largest ecosystem of EAs and custom indicators. For forex-focused traders, MT4 remains the practical choice.

MetaTrader 5 is worth considering if you want to trade XM's full stock CFD range or need the additional timeframes (21 vs MT4's 9). The Depth of Market feature and built-in economic calendar add genuine utility. However, many existing MT4 EAs are not compatible with MT5 without modification, so if you have a library of MT4 strategies, switching has a real cost.

The XM mobile app and WebTrader serve their purpose for monitoring positions and placing simple trades on the go. Neither replaces MT4/MT5 for serious analysis or strategy execution. The mobile app does have one useful feature: integrated deposit and withdrawal management, which saves switching between the trading platform and XM's website. Overall, XM's platform offering is solid and familiar, if not groundbreaking.

If you're starting out in forex trading or working with a limited budget, XM removes nearly every barrier. The $5 deposit, Micro lots, free education, and multilingual support create a complete package that no other similarly regulated broker matches. You can genuinely learn to trade here without risking meaningful capital — and the education programme accelerates that learning curve in ways that YouTube tutorials and forum posts cannot.

For intermediate traders, the Ultra Low account is the sweet spot. At 0.6 pips on EUR/USD with no commission, it's competitive enough for active trading while keeping the simplicity of spread-only pricing. Combined with the broad 1,000+ instrument range, most trading strategies can be executed here. The inactivity fee is the main nuisance — set a reminder if you plan to take breaks.

Where XM falls short is at the advanced end. Professional scalpers will find better execution and tighter spreads at ECN brokers. The lack of TradingView integration is a gap for chart-heavy traders. Research tools are adequate but won't satisfy fundamental analysts. The 4.0/5 rating reflects strong scores in education (4.5), safety (4.5), and platforms (4.3), balanced against higher-than-ECN costs and limited advanced tooling. For the 80% of retail traders who are still learning, XM is a genuinely excellent choice.