Saxo Bank review

Spread from

0.7 pips

EUR/USD spread

Approx. 1.0 pip, Classic

GBP/USD spread

Approx. 1.1 pips, Classic

Commission

$0 on spot forex

All-in cost, EUR/USD

Approx. 1.0 pip

Spread type

Variable

Overnight swap

Both: FX rollover/financing charged or credited

Currency conversion

0.25%

Cost is where brokers in the same regulatory bracket actually differ.

Spreads from 0.7 pips suggest an all-in account, where the broker's fee is built into the price rather than charged separately. There is usually no commission on top, which makes the cost easier to predict.

Quoted spreads are best-case figures on the most liquid pair, in normal conditions. What you actually pay widens around news and at the session open.

Saxo Bank lists a minimum deposit of $0. Treat it as the cost of opening an account, not the cost of trading one - position sizing on a small balance is what tends to cause damage.

Markets

Forex, FX Options, Stocks, ETFs, Bonds, Mutual Funds, CFDs, Futures, Listed Options, Commodities, Crypto ETPs

Currency pairs

185+

Total instruments

71,000+

Crypto CFDs

Yes, jurisdiction-dependent

Maximum leverage

1:30

Execution model

Agency/principal hybrid with direct market access

Execution speed

Approx. 50ms

Order types

Market, limit, stop, stop-limit, trailing stop, OCO, algorithmic orders

Servers

Global institutional data-centre infrastructure including London

Leverage is capped at 1:30, which is the retail limit under tier-one regulation. It is a protection rather than a restriction: it caps how quickly a position can move against your balance.

Saxo Bank covers forex, fx options, stocks, etfs, bonds, mutual funds, cfds, futures, listed options, commodities, crypto etps. A wider range matters less than depth in the instruments you actually trade.

Funding options: bank transfer, credit/debit card and portfolio transfer. Check withdrawal routes as well as deposit ones - they are often not the same, and the difference only becomes apparent when you try to take money out.

Platforms

SaxoInvestor, SaxoTrader, SaxoTraderPRO, TradingView

Own platform

Yes

Mobile app

Both proprietary and third-party

Browser trading

Yes

Automated trading

Yes, through API/OpenAPI integrations; no MetaTrader EAs

Copy trading

No

Indicators

50+ native; 100+ through TradingView

Third-party tools

TradingView, Autochartist, TipRanks and integrated trade signals

API access

Yes, OpenAPI and FIX API

TradingView integration lets you trade from charts you may already use, removing the need to run a second platform for analysis.

Regulated by

Danish FSA; FCA; ASIC; FINMA; MAS; JFSA; SFC Hong Kong; DFSA; AMF/ACPR and other European regulators

Regulator tier

Tier 1

Register entry

Danish Financial Supervisory Authority register

Client money segregated

Yes

Held at

Segregated bank/custodian accounts with regulated financial institutions

Negative balance protection

Yes, retail clients

Compensation scheme

Danish DGS: cash deposits up to €100,000 and unreturned securities up to €20,000

Audited by

Deloitte

Not available to

United States, Canada and sanctioned/restricted jurisdictions, plus countries where Saxo does not offer retail accounts

Across a hundred brokers, the licence is what separates the field fastest.

Saxo Bank holds tier-one authorisations from ASIC, FCA, MAS and FINMA. That matters more than any headline spread: it determines your leverage cap, whether losses can exceed your deposit, and what happens to your money if the firm fails.

It also operates an offshore entity (FSA). Which one you are onboarded to depends on where you live, and the two carry very different protections - worth confirming before you deposit.

ASIC caps retail leverage at 1:30, requires negative balance protection, and obliges the broker to hold client money in a separate trust account.

The FCA caps retail leverage at 1:30, mandates negative balance protection, and covers eligible clients under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

The DFSA regulates from the Dubai International Financial Centre, a separate legal jurisdiction from the wider UAE.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own money, at Segregated bank/custodian accounts with regulated financial institutions. That separation is what makes your balance recoverable if the company fails, rather than part of the pool its creditors divide up.

Negative balance protection applies, so a losing position cannot take the account below zero and leave you owing the broker money.

Covered by Danish DGS: cash deposits up to €100,000 and unreturned securities up to €20,000, which pays eligible clients up to its limit if the firm fails owing client money.

Check the licence yourself: the FCA Register, ASIC Connect, the MAS Financial Institutions Directory, the SFC public register, the DFSA public register.

Minimum deposit

$0

Account types

Classic, Platinum, VIP, Professional, Corporate, Joint, Demo

Account currencies

AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD and other regional currencies

Islamic account

No

Demo account

Yes

Professional account

Yes

Minimum trade size

1,000 currency units / 0.01 lot equivalent

Time to open

Usually a few minutes

Saxo Bank runs 7 account types. More choice is not automatically better: the tightest headline spread almost always sits on the account that also charges a commission, so the comparison that matters is the two added together.

Base currencies: AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD and other regional currencies. Holding the account in the currency you fund it with avoids a conversion charge on every deposit and withdrawal - a cost that never shows up in a spread comparison.

The smallest position is 1,000 currency units / 0.01 lot equivalent. For anyone starting carefully this matters more than the minimum deposit, because it sets the least you can put at risk on a single trade.

A demo account is available. Worth using for the platform rather than the results: fills are simulated, so it tells you how the software behaves but very little about execution.

Deposit methods

Bank transfer, credit/debit card and portfolio transfer

Withdrawal methods

Bank transfer to verified external bank account

Deposit time

Cards generally instant; bank transfer typically 1-3 business days

Withdrawal time

Typically 1-3 business days

Minimum withdrawal

No minimum

Local payment methods

Local bank transfer options vary by country

Withdrawals are stated at Typically 1-3 business days, against Cards generally instant; bank transfer typically 1-3 business days for deposits. A gap between the two is normal and not in itself a warning sign - identity checks are a legal obligation, not obstruction. What is worth noticing is a withdrawal that keeps meeting new conditions after those checks are done.

Withdrawal routes: bank transfer to verified external bank account. Money is usually returned by the route it arrived on, so the deposit method you pick is in effect the withdrawal method you are picking too.

The minimum withdrawal is No minimum - relevant if you intend to fund the account lightly, since it sets the smallest amount you can take out at a time.

Support hours

24/5

Contact channels

Phone, support ticket, platform chat/help centre

Languages

Multilingual

Telephone

+45 3977 4000

Email

support@saxobank.com

Live chat response

Typically under 5 minutes

Education

Extensive: platform tutorials, trading guides, webinars, videos, investment education and Saxo Academy

Research

Extensive: SaxoStrats, daily market analysis, analyst research, trade signals, fundamental data and market commentary

Support runs 24/5. Round-the-clock cover matters more than it sounds: a position held over a weekend or through an unexpected halt is exactly when you need somebody to answer.

Reachable by phone, support ticket, platform chat/help centre. A published telephone number is the one channel that is hard to fake and hard to ignore, so whether there is one says more than the number of channels does.

Languages: Multilingual. Being able to raise a complaint in your own language is worth more than it appears, because complaints are where precision matters most.

Education: extensive: platform tutorials, trading guides, webinars, videos, investment education and saxo academy. Treat broker-published material as an introduction rather than as advice - it is produced by a firm whose revenue rises when you trade more.

Legal entity

Saxo Bank A/S

Company number

15731249

Headquarters

Hellerup, Denmark

Founded

1992

Publicly listed

No

Parent company

Independent

Employees

2,600+

Also trades as

Saxo; Saxo Markets

Saxo Bank has been trading for around 34 years, through at least one full market cycle. Longevity guarantees nothing on its own, but a firm that came through 2008 and 2015 has been tested in a way a recent entrant has not.

The contracting entity is Saxo Bank A/S. This is the company you would actually have a relationship with, and it is worth checking that it is the same one named on the licence you are relying on: large brokers commonly operate several, and they are not equally protected.

Part of Independent. A parent adds resources, but the protections that apply to you are the ones attached to the entity that holds your account, not to the group.