Easy Forex (now operating as easyMarkets) is one of the longer-running brokers in the retail forex landscape, founded in 2001 in Cyprus and London. The brand rebranded from "Easy-Forex" to "easyMarkets" in 2016 but search traffic for the original brand name persists. The broker holds CySEC authorization and ASIC registration for its Australian entity, positioning it solidly in the Tier 1 regulated broker tier.
Risk disclosure: All forex/CFD brokers carry execution and counterparty risks. Tier 1 regulation reduces but doesn't eliminate operational risk. See our full risk disclosure before opening any account.
What easyMarkets (formerly Easy Forex) Offers
easyMarkets' product range:
Asset classes:
- Forex (140+ currency pairs)
- Indices CFDs
- Commodities (gold, silver, oil, agricultural)
- Cryptocurrencies CFDs
- Stocks CFDs
- ETFs
Account types:
- Standard account: simple spread-based pricing
- Premium account: higher tier features
- VIP account: highest tier with personal account manager
Platforms:
- easyMarkets proprietary platform (web + mobile)
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5 (selected entities)
The proprietary platform is the broker's distinctive offering — it includes built-in risk management features (Deal Cancellation, Freeze Rate, Guaranteed Stop Loss) that aren't standard on MT4/MT5.
Distinctive Features
easyMarkets has built distinctive product features:
Deal Cancellation:
- Allows traders to cancel a losing trade within 6 hours of opening
- Cost is a small fee per cancellation
- Useful for risk management on trades that turn against the trader quickly
- Not available on MT4/MT5 — only on proprietary platform
Freeze Rate:
- Allows traders to "freeze" the current market price for a few seconds while deciding to trade
- Useful during volatile market conditions
- Reduces slippage risk on entry
Guaranteed Stop Loss (GSL):
- Stop loss orders that execute at the exact specified price even during gaps
- Cost is a small premium added to the spread
- Traditional stop losses don't guarantee execution price during gaps
These features are unusual in the retail forex landscape and provide genuine value for traders who understand and use them appropriately. They are not available on the standard MT4/MT5 platforms — only on easyMarkets' proprietary platform.
Regulatory Profile
easyMarkets operates through multiple regulated entities:
- CySEC (Cyprus) — easyMarkets Trading Ltd, license 079/07
- ASIC (Australia) — Easy Markets Pty Ltd, AFSL 246566
- FSC (British Virgin Islands) — for some international clients
- FSA (Seychelles) — additional offshore entity
Tier 1 regulatory coverage through CySEC and ASIC. Different geographic markets are served by different entities — verify which entity holds your account during onboarding.
Compensation schemes:
- CySEC entity: ICF protection up to €20,000 per client per firm
- ASIC entity: AFCA dispute resolution, but no compensation scheme
- BVI/Seychelles entities: minimal protection
Account Structure and Costs
Minimum deposits:
- Standard account: $25 minimum (notably low for a Tier 1 regulated broker)
- Premium account: typically $200+
- VIP account: typically $5,000+
Cost structure:
Standard account on proprietary platform:
- Fixed spreads (no slippage)
- EUR/USD spread: 0.9-1.0 pips fixed
- Gold spread: typically 40 cents fixed
- Fixed spreads are unusual — most brokers use variable
MT4/MT5 accounts:
- Variable spreads
- EUR/USD typical: 1.0-1.5 pips
- Standard ECN-style execution
Leverage:
- EU/UK retail: 1:30 (ESMA cap)
- Australian retail: 1:30 (ASIC cap)
- International offshore entities: up to 1:400
- Professional client classification available
Funding:
- Bank transfer, credit/debit cards, e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller)
- Withdrawal processing typically 1-3 business days
EA Trading Suitability
For algorithmic / EA traders:
Pros:
- MT4/MT5 native support
- Tier 1 regulatory backing (rare combination with low minimum)
- Multiple regulatory entities for geographic flexibility
Cons:
- Proprietary platform features (Deal Cancellation, Freeze Rate, GSL) don't transfer to MT4/MT5
- Spreads on MT4/MT5 wider than premium ECN brokers (IC Markets, Pepperstone)
- Account types optimized for discretionary trading more than EA workflows
For traders prioritizing pure EA deployment with tight spreads, IC Markets Raw or Pepperstone Razor offer better economics. For traders combining discretionary trading (with use of proprietary platform features) and EA deployment, easyMarkets' combination of features can be valuable.
Who easyMarkets Suits
easyMarkets is the right broker for:
- New traders wanting Tier 1 regulation with $25 minimum entry
- Discretionary traders who value the Deal Cancellation / Freeze Rate / GSL features
- Multi-asset traders wanting forex + CFDs through one regulated account
- Risk-conscious traders who want built-in risk management features
easyMarkets is the wrong broker for:
- Pure EA scalpers — wider spreads vs premium ECN alternatives
- Large account sizes where proprietary platform features matter less
- Traders specifically wanting MetaTrader-only workflows — half the platform value is in the proprietary platform
How to Evaluate easyMarkets Specifically
Step 1 — Choose platform based on use case:
- Discretionary trading with risk management features → proprietary platform
- Pure EA deployment → MT4/MT5
- Hybrid → consider both account types
Step 2 — Verify your regulating entity based on residence (CySEC for EU, ASIC for Australia, etc.)
Step 3 — Test the proprietary platform with demo before live deployment if you intend to use Deal Cancellation / Freeze Rate / GSL features
Step 4 — Compare MT4/MT5 spreads to alternatives if EA trading is primary use case
Step 5 — Test withdrawal with minimum deposit before scaling
Alternatives in Similar Tier
Tier 1 alternatives:
- IC Markets (ASIC + CySEC) — premier ECN execution
- Pepperstone (FCA + ASIC + CySEC + DFSA) — multi-Tier 1
- FXPro (FCA + CySEC + DFSA + FSCA + SCB) — established multi-asset
- Tickmill (FCA + CySEC + FSA Seychelles) — competitive pricing
- ATFX — see ATFX broker review
Distinctive feature alternatives:
- Plus500 — proprietary platform with similar built-in risk features
- eToro — proprietary platform with social trading
- AvaTrade — proprietary platform with broad asset coverage
Verdict
easyMarkets (formerly Easy Forex) is a substantive Tier 1 regulated broker with distinctive proprietary platform features (Deal Cancellation, Freeze Rate, Guaranteed Stop Loss) that provide genuine value for discretionary traders. The combination of regulatory backing, low minimum, and risk-management features makes it a reasonable choice for new and discretionary traders.
For pure EA trading, premium ECN alternatives (IC Markets, Pepperstone) offer tighter execution economics. For combined discretionary + EA trading, easyMarkets' feature set may justify the slightly wider MT4/MT5 spreads.
For prerequisite literacy on broker evaluation, our guides on Coinexx broker review, Exante broker review, ATFX broker review, and CapitalXtend broker review cover the broader broker-evaluation framework.
_Disclosure: forexroboteasy.com is operated by the team behind fxroboteasy.com, a vendor of MT5 trading bots. We have no commercial relationship with easyMarkets. This review presents publicly-available information about the broker's regulatory status, account structure, and platform features._
William Harris is the founding editor of Forex Robot Easy. He has spent over a decade building and reviewing algorithmic trading systems on MetaTrader 4 and 5, with a focus on machine learning, walk-forward validation, and execution mechanics.