Saxo Bank Review

Saxo Bank is an exclusive multi-asset broker with brilliant research and a superb trading platform experience – as well as a stunning selection of over 60,000 tradeable instruments.

For active traders (or those who can afford to maintain the steep account balance requirements), Saxo Bank provides an immersive, rich trading experience with a towering selection of tools, research, and premium features.

Saxo Bank pros & cons

Pros

• Founded in 1992, Saxo Bank operates three regulated banks and is licensed in six tier-1 jurisdictions, making it a safe broker (low-risk) for trading forex and CFDs.

• Saxo Bank delivers access to over 60,000 instruments, including crypto derivatives (depending on your location), micro-futures and forex options.

• Saxo Bank's flagship platform, SaxoTraderGo, includes everything that traders might need to navigate the market.

• Offers complex orders types and account protection features to seamlessly manage risk.

• Saxo publishes its average spread data not only across trading sessions each day, but by order size – highlighting its ability to deliver best execution at scale.

• The addition of Corellian Academy content for risk management is a great complement to Saxo Bank’s existing educational offering.

• Pricing for VIP and Platinum account holders is highly competitive, while Classic account holders pay closer to the industry average on pairs such as the EUR/USD.

Cons

• Though Saxo Bank produces high-quality videos for its research and education, it was not actively creating new video content in 2021.

• Educational content is great, but there remains room to improve – such as by adding progress tracking and quizzes and expanding the number of lessons in written and video format.

• Minimums are high: €2,000 minimum deposit to open an entry-level Classic account, whereas the Platinum and VIP accounts require minimums of $200,000 and $1,000,000. If you find the minimum deposit requirements to be too steep, consider IG or CMC Markets.

• The SaxoTraderPRO desktop platform is a trading powerhouse but takes time to fully customize; adding more predefined layouts would be a welcome feature.

Commissions and fees

Overall, Saxo Bank delivers excellent all-around pricing. For active traders, and those able to maintain large account balances, Saxo Bank offers the lowest pricing in the industry.

Pricing summary: In August 2020, the average EUR/USD spreads were 0.8, 0.7, and 0.6 pips, for the Classic, Platinum, and VIP accounts, respectively. Bottom line: pricing for the Platinum and VIP accounts ranks among the best forex brokers, while the Classic account is closer to the industry average.

Classic account minimums: The entry-level Classic account requires a €2,000 minimum deposit in most cases, though the minimum deposit may vary depending on your country of residence.

Platinum account minimums: The minimum deposit for the Platinum account is $200,000 – or AUD 300,000 if you reside in Australia. Traders with the Classic account can qualify to be upgraded to Platinum by earning volume-related Loyalty points through Saxo Bank’s Loyalty Program. For example, trading over $40 million worth of forex would earn you 120,000 points – which would be enough to upgrade from Classic to Platinum for 12 months.

VIP account minimums: For 2023, Saxo Bank won our award for Best VIP Client Experience. Saxo Bank’s VIP account, which offers the most savings on pricing, is reserved for elite investors who either deposit at least $1,000,000, or who qualify to be upgraded under Saxo Bank’s Loyalty Program. Traders looking to have their account tier upgraded to VIP would need to trade at least $167 million in forex volume – this upgrade would be valid for one year. The VIP account also provides access to exclusive events and connections to Saxo Bank analysts.

Commission-free: Saxo Bank is commission-free, which means it makes money off the spread. There is one exception; traders who trade less than 50,000 units (half of one standard lot) per month are charged a ticket-fee of $3 per side.

Best execution: Saxo Bank is committed to the FX Global Code, an evolving interbank standard focused on enhanced disclosures and execution best practices. The mission of the FX Global Code is to promote integrity and transparency across the global foreign exchange market.