What does the EU Broker Trust Signals page measure?

It compares objective, verifiable trust indicators across all brokers in our database: number of regulatory licences, years of operation, EU entity status, ESMA compliance, fund segregation, negative balance protection, and investor compensation scheme coverage.

How is the trust score calculated?

The trust score is a weighted composite. Regulator count (up to 4 licences), operating history (up to 20 years), EU entity presence, ESMA compliance, negative balance protection, segregated funds, and compensation scheme quality each contribute points. The methodology is fully transparent on this page.

Is a higher trust score always better?

The score measures regulatory standing and investor protection signals — not trading quality, fees, or platform features. A high trust score means the broker has strong regulatory coverage and protection infrastructure. Pair this with our Spread Index for a cost + trust picture.

Why do some brokers lack an EU entity?

Brokers without an EU/EEA-regulated legal entity cannot onboard EU retail clients directly. They may serve EU clients through other jurisdictions or may not target the EU market. They appear in the comparison for transparency.

Can I cite this comparison?

Yes. This page is published under CC BY 4.0. Link to the specific edition URL for reproducibility. See the citation block at the bottom of the page.

June 2026 Edition

EU Broker Trust Signals Comparison

Side-by-side comparison of regulation, investor protection, and entity status across 30EU-accessible forex brokers. Every data point is publicly verifiable against the named regulator’s register.

Brokers compared

With EU entity

23 of 30

Avg. regulators

3.2

Full EU protection

ESMA + NBP + seg. funds + EU entity

Reviewed by

Markets Desk

Markets desk

Trust Signals Matrix

#	Broker	Regulators	Years	EU Entity	Compensation	Score
1	CMC Markets	4	37	BaFin	ICF up to EUR 20,000	18
2	Forex.com	4	25	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	18
3	Interactive Brokers	4	48	CBI	Irish Investor Compensation Scheme up to EUR 20,000	18
4	AvaTrade	5	20	CBI	Irish Investor Compensation Scheme up to EUR 20,000 / ICF up to EUR 20,000 (CySEC)	18
5	Axi	4	19	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000 (CySEC entity)	17.8
6	Pepperstone	4	16	CySEC	ICF (Investor Compensation Fund) up to EUR 20,000	17.2
7	XTB	3	24	KNF	KDPW up to EUR 20,100 / ICF up to EUR 20,000	16.5
8	IG	3	52	BaFin	ICF up to EUR 20,000 (Germany), FSCS up to GBP 85,000 (UK)	16.5
9	FxPro	3	20	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	16.5
10	FXCM	3	27	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000 (CySEC entity)	16.5
11	Trading 212	3	22	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000 (CySEC) / FSCS up to GBP 85,000 (UK)	16.5
12	eToro	3	19	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	16.3
13	IC Markets	3	19	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000 (via CySEC entity)	16.3
14	Plus500	3	18	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	16.1
15	Saxo Bank	3	34	Danish FSA	Danish Guarantee Fund up to EUR 100,000	16
16	Capital.com	5	10	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	16
17	XM	3	17	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	15.9
18	Eightcap	3	17	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000 (CySEC entity)	15.9
19	Trade Nation	5	12	CMVM	Investor Compensation Scheme up to EUR 25,000 (CMVM, Portugal)	15.9
20	Admirals	2	25	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	15
21	Tickmill	3	12	CySEC	ICF up to EUR 20,000	14.9
22	OANDA	3	30		Polish investor-compensation scheme for EU clients (via OANDA TMS Brokers S.A. / KNF); FSCS up to GBP 85,000 for the UK entity	13.5
23	Swissquote	3	30		Swiss Banking Deposit Guarantee up to CHF 100,000	13.5
24	Exness	3	18	CySEC	None at EU/UK level — Exness (Cy) Ltd holds CySEC 178/12 but closed EU/EEA/UK retail onboarding in 2019; retail service runs through the offshore FSA Seychelles entity, outside EU/UK investor-compensation schemes	13.1
25	Fusion Markets	3	9	None (no EU entity)	None (no EU/UK scheme; ASIC/VFSC/FSA only)	11.3
26	Equiti	4	18		None for EU/UK retail — the CySEC (Equiti Global Markets Ltd, 415/22) and FCA (Equiti Capital UK Ltd, 528328) entities serve professional and eligible-counterparty clients only; EU/UK retail access is via the Seychelles FSA offshore entity, outside the ICF	11.1
27	Vantage Markets	3	17		None at EU level — CIMA/VFSC entity is outside the EU compensation framework	10.9
28	FXTM	2	15		None at EU level — FXTM surrendered its CySEC licence (185/12) in May 2024 and no longer serves EU retail clients	9
29	BlackBull Markets	2	12		No EU compensation scheme (NZ-regulated)	8.4
30	RoboForex	1	17		None — RoboForex Ltd operates under FSC Belize, outside EU/UK investor-compensation schemes	7.9

EU Legal Entities

The legal entity that serves EU/EEA retail clients, its primary EU regulator, and licence number. Brokers without an EU entity cannot onboard EU retail clients.

CMC Markets

CMC Markets Germany GmbH

BaFin · Licence 154814

Forex.com

StoneX Europe Ltd

CySEC · Licence 400/21

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers Ireland Ltd

CBI · Licence C423427

AvaTrade

Ava Trade EU Ltd

CBI · Licence C53877

Axi

Solaris EMEA Ltd

CySEC · Licence 433/23

Pepperstone

Pepperstone EU Ltd

CySEC · Licence 388/20

XTB

XTB S.A.

KNF · Licence DDM-M-4021-57-1/2005

IG Europe GmbH

BaFin · Licence 148759

FxPro

FxPro Financial Services Ltd

CySEC · Licence 078/07

FXCM

Stratos Europe Ltd (formerly FXCM EU Ltd)

CySEC · Licence 392/20

Trading 212

Trading 212 Markets Ltd

CySEC · Licence 398/21

eToro

eToro (Europe) Ltd

CySEC · Licence 109/10

IC Markets

IC Markets (EU) Ltd

CySEC · Licence 362/18

Plus500

Plus500CY Ltd

CySEC · Licence 250/14

Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank A/S

Danish FSA · Licence Bank License

Capital.com

Capital Com SV Investments Ltd

CySEC · Licence 319/17

Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd

CySEC · Licence 120/10

Eightcap

Eightcap EU Ltd

CySEC · Licence 246/14

Trade Nation

Trade Nation Europe Empresa de Investimento, S.A.

CMVM · Licence 601

Admirals

Admirals Europe Ltd

CySEC · Licence 201/13

Tickmill

Tickmill Europe Ltd

CySEC · Licence 278/15

Exness

Exness (Cy) Ltd

CySEC · Licence 178/12

Fusion Markets

—

None (no EU entity) · Licence —

Methodology

Data sources

Every data point is sourced from the named regulator’s public register or the broker’s own regulatory disclosure page. Regulator counts include all licences held by the group, not just the EU entity. “Years regulated” is calculated from the broker’s founding year.

Trust score calculation

The composite trust score weights: regulator count (up to 4 licences, 1.5 pts each, max 6), operating history (0.2 pts per year, max 4), EU entity presence (2 pts), ESMA compliance (2 pts), negative balance protection (1.5 pts), segregated funds (1.5 pts), and compensation scheme quality (up to 1 pt). Maximum possible score: 18.

Limitations

The score measures regulatory infrastructure, not trading quality or execution. A high score does not guarantee solvency or absence of misconduct. Past regulatory standing does not predict future compliance. Pair with our Spread Index for a cost dimension.

Affiliate disclosure

FX-Brokers.eu earns commission from some brokers listed on this page. Trust scores are computed algorithmically from public regulatory data; affiliate status does not influence ranking or scoring. See our full disclosure.

Citation

This page is published under CC BY 4.0. Recommended citation:

FX-Brokers.eu, “EU Broker Trust Signals Comparison — June 2026”, published 2026-06-13, https://fx-brokers.eu/research/eu-broker-trust-signals

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