Hello, fellow investor! This review will give our honest opinion of OspreyFX, a broker specialising in high-leverage forex trading.
OspreyFX offers trading in currency, commodity, stock, index, and crypto assets. While not explicitly stated, we reckon these assets are, in fact, contracts for difference (CFD). As such, the broker does not seem to provide access to real stocks or share ownership (more about the differences between CFDs and real products).
Furthermore, the jurisdiction under which OspreyFX is registered, the Financial Services Authority of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, does not regulate Forex brokers. In addition, OspreyFX explicitly states that it does not solicit U.S. residents.
The light regulatory environment also raises some concerns about the security of your investments compared to more established brokers supervised by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or those accepting retail clients in the European Union.
Overview
OspreyFX offers high-leverage trading in instruments such as:
- Currencies
- Commodities
- Stocks
- Indices
- Crypto
With four distinctive account types to suit your needs – Standard, PRO, VAR, and Mini. The specific trading conditions will vary depending on which account type you choose:
The table above shows spreads in pips, a standard forex measure, best explained with an example. If the EUR/USD exchange rate moves from 1.1100 to 1.1101, the difference of 0.0001 is one pip.
OspreyFX offers trading with its proprietary TradeLocker platform. TradeLocker is web-based and fully compatible with mobile, meaning you can place sophisticated trades on your desktop computer or take advantage of rapid market moves while on the go. The platform’s numerous charting capabilities come from industry leader TradingView.
To help novice traders, OspreyFX has partnered with Forex Squad to provide free training resources for its verified customers, covering topics such as technical and fundamental analysis, trading psychology, and more! You can learn all about the education offered here.
The broker’s news section is not very up-to-date, with the latest news as of the time of writing this article some three months old.
Highlights
🌎 Supported countries | Over 150 (but not Spain or Japan) |
📈 US stocks CFD and indices CFD fees | $7 per lot of 100 shares |
💵 Currency conversion fee | Not specified |
💰 Inactivity fee | Inactivity fee |
💰 Withdrawal fee | 0% for credit/debit cards, 0% for crypto coins |
💸 Minimum deposit | Mini $25 · Standard $50 · VAR $250 · PRO $500 |
🛒 Products offered | Currencies, Commodities, Stocks, Indices, and Crypto |
🎮 Demo account | Yes |
📜 Regulatory entities | Registered, but not regulated, by the Financial Services Authority of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Demo account
- Education resources
- Crypto funding
Cons
- Tax-haven registration only
- Focus on high leverage and Forex
- Limited trading offering outside Forex
- No real asset offering
- Very high stock trading fee
Trading platform
OspreyFX has chosen to rely solely on its proprietary web-based TradeLocker trading platform.
Integrated with charting solutions provider TradingView, TradeLocker offers a myriad of customisable charts and indicators. The platform boasts features such as on-chart trading and one-click trading.
Trading is executed through an electronic communications network (ECN) environment, with OspreyFX boasting the largest banks as liquidity providers.
The broker employs straight-through processing (STP), ensuring fast execution of client orders. However, without a proper regulator, one cannot be assured that trades are executed on the best terms for clients.
Products & markets
OspreyFX only offers trading in 55 currency pairs, 13 indices, 9 commodities, 31 crypto assets, one futures contract, and 37 stocks. While not explicitly stated, we reckon the products offered are, in fact, CFDs, and hence OspreyFX offers no real stocks or shares ownership (more about the differences between CFDs and real products).
We will now highlight each type of product present on the platform. If you are interested in a specific instrument, you can review the complete list here.
Forex
Forex trading is available in a total of 55 currency pairs, with most of them enabled on every account type.
Commodity
Commodity trading is available across 9 commodities, including key metals such as gold (including in EUR), silver, platinum, etc., and energy products such as oil and natural gas. More niche commodities, such as grains, are unavailable.
Stock
Stock trading is available on select large-cap stocks primarily domiciled in the United States (27 stocks) and Europe (10 stocks).
Index
Index exposure can be acquired via 13 of the largest world indices, offering a broad geographic diversification despite the small number of available indices.
Crypto
Crypto trading is very diverse, spanning some 31 crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and more!
Last but not least, you can even trade US dollar futures.
Fees
OspreyFX trading fees largely depend on the trading plan you choose. As a general rule, plans with a high fixed commission offer a low bid-ask spread, while plans with no commission rely on a wide bid-ask spread to make money. Stock and index trading fees are nevertheless prohibitively high, at $7 per lot. You can review all fees here.
Most deposit and withdrawal methods come with a 0% fee on OspreyFX’s side.
Safety and red flags
OspreyFX offers trading in what we believe to be CFDs, which, as instruments, are widely accepted in the financial industry. That said, CFDs do not have the track record that trading on organised securities exchanges has. As a result, we reckon trading in CFDs, by the very nature of the instrument, implies a higher level of operational risk compared to common stocks traded on U.S. exchanges, for example.
Furthermore, OspreyFX is registered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which many consider a tax haven destination. However,
When you visit the FSA’s website, you get the following warning:
You can read the full warning message here. In a nutshell, it states that while the FSA can register Forex companies, it does not actually issue a licence and, hence, does not provide regulation over such activities. Trading with such brokers is done at the investor’s own risk. This is a glaring warning flag for us.
Furthermore, while the United States is not on OspreyFX’s prohibited countries list, the broker states on its webpage that “any information on this site is not directed at and does not intend to elicit citizens and/or residents of the USA”, strengthening the case for U.S. citizens to be cautious about opening an account with OspreyFX.
That said, the company earns an average score of 3.0/5 on Trustpilot, based on over 130 reviews, marginally below some of the world’s most trusted brokers (Interactive Brokers is rated 3.7, eToro is at 4.2). We do not think those reviews can be trusted.
Supported countries
OspreyFX conducts business in over 150 countries, with residents of all countries except those on its restricted country list able to open accounts. Most of the countries on the list have low-to-middle incomes, with the notable exceptions of Spain and Japan.
Account opening
OspreyFX boasts a quick account opening process, with the platform offering four distinct types of accounts – Standard, PRO, VAR, and mini. You can compare the four account types here. The broker only differentiates accounts when it comes to currency trading, with all other instruments shared between accounts.
Mini
Miniaccounts require only a $25 deposit to get started but offer a more limited array of trading instruments – 29 currency pairs. Spreads average 1 pip with a $1 commission per lot. Contract sizes are also smaller.
Standard
Standard accounts offer the full array of 55 currency pairs for a minimum deposit of only $50. The average spread is 0.8 pips with a $7 commission.
VAR
VAR accounts again offer the full 55 currency pair selection but with a $250 deposit. VAR accounts come with no commission but the highest average spread of 1.2 pips.
PRO
PRO accounts naturally offer all 55 currency pairs for a $500 deposit. The commission jumps to $8 but comes with the tightest spreads of 0.4 pips.
Sign up
- The account opening process is really intuitive, with a demo account available after confirming your name and email address:
- Once you have set up your account, you can explore TradeLocker’s functionality. If you like the platform and OspreyFX’s trading terms, you can deposit money and open a live trading account:
OspreyFX alternatives
If you are unhappy with what you have read on OspreyFX, don’t worry; we have you covered! You can read all our broker reviews here, including some of our top picks for CFD brokers, such as XTB and Plus500. Furthermore, if you want to consider a broker offering a wider variety of products outside CFDs, look no further than Interactive Brokers and Saxo Bank.
OspreyFX alternatives for 2025
Bottom line
After going through all OspreyFX has to offer, we reckon that there are better alternatives available to investors.
Our concerns lie primarily in its tax haven registration and lack of real regulatory entities. Without a regulator, investors cannot be assured their trades are dealt with according to the best industry practice. At the end of the day, who will you raise your concerns with if things go wrong?
Considering the regulatory issues, excessive stock and index trading fees, and limited product offerings outside of forex, we strongly suggest you consider alternative brokers to OspreyFX or at least compare their terms and conditions.
Even with the best brokers, it is a wise choice to diversify your trading exposure with competitors. In that way, should one broker fail, you will still have access to your other broker’s account!