Pros

• Regulated
• Very low minimum account size
• Stable platform
• Wide variety of ways to contact support

Cons

• Doesn’t accept US traders
• Still experiences a few requotes

 
InstaForex was founded in 2007 and since the start of their operations they have been able to acquire more than 500,000 individual and corporate customers. They have prioritized the importance in providing a full range of services to their clients starting from registration up to the withdrawal process. Sounds very promising but are they able to deliver?

I would say that InstaForex is one of the most convenient of all platforms that I’ve ever used. They rely on the popular MetaTrader 4 which is one of the most dynamic yet simplified trading platforms today. Aside from being able to execute deals on forex, there’s also an opportunity to receive quotations about the major currency pairs and global stock indexes including news updates and reviews that can be used for making technical analysis. All of these are provided for free even on the MultiTerminal and Mobile versions. Getting familiarized with the all the options is plain easy since there’s a demo account that features all the functions that are available in real market trading. This warrants InstaForex with a Platform score of 9/10.

The comfortable interface of the platform and the entire website is another advantage that I would like to commend this broker. They’ve done a great job with the design and layout which other brands are still struggling to emulate. It may not be the best but it’s certainly good. It’s easy to determine what to click or where to find what I was are looking for and this is definitely a major plus because I won’t be able to miss any trading opportunity that might come along the way. The sleek interface has a navigation system that is usable and easy to learn and for this I am giving them a Design score of 5/5.

One of the biggest advantages of InstaForex over its competitors is that they are very lenient with the minimum required deposits because it is possible to have an active account with funds as low as $1. They also offer different types of accounts that are designed to meet the experience and trading styles of their clients while still providing free access to all the available features regardless of how much was deposited in the account. Such universality is the reason why I am giving this broker a Minimum Deposit score of 5/5.

Depending on the type of account the minimum lot size is 0.01 for the Insta. Standard and Insta. Eurica account types while the Cent. Standard and Cent. Eurica accounts require 0.10 of the lot. These are ideal for those who would like to trade with a much smaller lot size since the risks are much lower and the opportunity to manage them is still open. This warrants InstaForex a Minimum Trade Score of 3/5.

This broker has a very wide asset index that consists not only of a diverse range of currency pairs but also other asset types such as commodities, indices and stocks. Currently they have a total of 72 assets that includes a number of exotic pairs such as the USD against East European, Latin American and American currencies. The numbers may not be that high but the diversity makes up for it which is why I am giving them a Tradable assets score of 3/5.

People want to make money and it’s generally the reason why a lot of them prefer to trade forex because it gives them a good opportunity to make a profit. This is also the reason why it is important to have a good spread or pip value which measures the possible profits that can be earned or lost on a trade. For the EUR/USD currency pair, the spread ranges is from 3 to 7 pips for the Insta. Standard and Cent. Standard account while the Insta. Eurica and Cent. Eurica accounts have a spread of 0 pips. The rate for the basic accounts are a little expensive but the more advanced account certainly has much better values and for this I am giving InstaForex a Payouts score of 7/10.
 

With InstaForex, the payment method used for making a deposit and withdrawal must be the same which is a standard that is followed by all brokers today. Usually it takes around 1 to 6 business days to process withdrawal requests which is a little more improved than what other brands can achieve. For this I am giving this broker a Withdrawal Time score of 8/10.

Making deposits and withdrawals to the InstaForex account is possible using various payment methods including BitCoin, Bank Card, Bank Wire, MoneyBookers/Skrill, Instaforex MasterCard, Neteller, FilsPay, EgoPay, EgoPay, Ukash, China Union Pay, PayCo, Paxum transfer, Webmoney, BPay.md and other payment systems. I do not know of a broker that has such wide coverage and for this I am giving them a Deposit and Withdrawal Methods score of 5/5.

Aside from great trading features and services, I prefer to be with a broker that is dependable in times that I need quick answers to my queries and immediate assistance to any issues that I might encounter from my account or trading platform. At InstaForex, I learned that there are plenty of ways to contact them and this includes a toll-free numbers for clients who are based in USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Ukraine. Alternatively, they can be reached via e-mail, live chat, Yahoo Messenger, Skype, ICQ, MSN and AOL IM.

In this review I tried contacting them using the live chat method because I find it to be the easiest among the choices especially since I was already in front of my PC. The discussion that I had with their live chat support agent was quite fast and pretty straightforward. He even provided me with a link for reference which is major plus for me. Such speed and straightforwardness deserves a Support score of 13/15.
 

The lack of slippage and swaps is another notable feature of this forex broker. This is a great benefit for me especially when prices are rapidly changing in the market and I need to execute an order immediately. I did experience a few requotes but these were minimal so I was still able to enter the market with the best available price thanks to the speedy execution of orders. This warrants InstaForex a Quote Accuracy Score of 8/10.

Currently, InstaForex is regulated by the Russian Association of Financial Market Members and the Federal Financial Markets Service in Russia which gives me a guarantee that my funds are safe and that all transactions are monitored by these financial watchdogs. Aside from this, the majority of the comments that can be found on various forex trading sites and forums were generally positive and in favor of this broker. I did find a few negative comments though but I noticed that most of them were isolated cases and some were already resolved. Such credibility deserves a Reputation score of 14/20.