How to Choose a Gold Broker: A 15-Point Checklist for XAUUSD Traders

The short answer

Choose a broker by checks, not by adverts. Before you deposit, run these 15 checks:

1. Licence on the regulator’s own register
2. Which company your account is really with
3. Client money kept separate (segregated)
4. Negative balance protection
5. The real gold spread at a busy hour
6. The real gold spread at a quiet hour
7. Commission
8. Swap (the overnight fee)
9. Contract size and minimum lot
10. Margin and leverage
11. Margin call and stop-out levels
12. Execution type
13. Deposit and withdrawal methods and fees
14. Withdrawal track record
15. Support, platform, account types, bonuses, and a small test deposit

The first four protect your money. Checks 5 to 12 decide what each trade costs and how your account behaves when gold moves fast. Checks 13 to 15 decide whether you can get your money out.

We never name or rank brokers, and we earn nothing from any of them (how we make money). This page teaches you to judge any firm yourself.

Part 1: is your money safe?

Check 1: the licence

A licence number on a website proves nothing until you find it on the regulator’s own website. Type the regulator’s address yourself. Search its register. Match the company name, licence number, website address and phone number.

Our step-by-step guide shows how: how to check a broker’s licence. Regulators are not all the same, so also read regulation tiers explained.

Check 2: which company holds your account

Many brands run several companies in different countries. You might see one regulator in the advert and sign up with a different company in another country.

• Look at the client agreement and the account-opening email. Both name one legal company.
• Make sure that company is the one on the register you checked.

If the names don’t match, ask before you deposit.

Check 3: segregated client money

“Segregated” means your money is kept in a separate client account, not mixed with the broker’s own money. In the UK, for example, the FCA says a fundamental requirement of its client-money rules (called CASS) is that firms keep client money separate from firm money, so client assets are protected if a firm fails (FCA).

Rules differ between regulators. Ask the broker in writing: “Is my money held in a segregated client account, and under which regulator’s rules?”

Check 4: negative balance protection

On a fast gold move, an account can fall below zero. Negative balance protection means you can’t lose more than the money in your account. The EU, UK and Australian regulators require it for retail CFD clients. Many other firms don’t have to offer it.

Read negative balance protection on gold for how a deficit happens.

Part 2: what does each gold trade really cost?

On gold, 1 lot = 100 ounces at most brokers, so 0.10 lot = 10 ounces. Every $1 gold moves is worth $10 on 0.10 lot. Always check the contract size first (check 9), because the maths below depends on it.

Checks 5 and 6: the real spread, busy and quiet

The spread is the gap between the buy and sell price. It is your first cost on every trade. The advert usually shows the lowest spread. What matters is the spread you see when you trade.

Open a demo or watch the live price, and write down the XAUUSD spread:

• at a busy hour (for example, when London and New York are both open)
• at a quiet hour (for example, just after the daily rollover, or late on a Friday)
• around a big news release, such as US jobs or inflation data

Example numbers (not from any real broker):

Same trade, more than three times the cost. More on this in why the spread widens on news and spread widening at rollover.

Check 7: commission

Some accounts charge a commission on top of a smaller spread. Brokers usually quote it per lot, per side, or per lot, round turn (open and close together). Ask which one.

Example: $7 per lot round turn means $0.70 on 0.10 lot. Our account types guide works out when commission is cheaper than a wider spread.

Check 8: swap (the overnight fee)

If you hold a gold trade past the daily rollover, you pay (or rarely receive) a swap. On many platforms, Wednesday’s swap is charged three times to cover the weekend.

Example: a swap of -$45 per lot per night costs $4.50 a night on 0.10 lot, and $13.50 on a triple-swap night. Find the real figure in the platform’s contract specification, or use our gold swap calculator. The full cost guide is spreads, commissions and swaps on gold.

Check 9: contract size and minimum lot

Open the contract specification for XAUUSD in MT4 or MT5 (right-click the symbol, then Specification). Write down:

• contract size (often 100 oz, but not always)
• minimum lot and lot step (for example 0.01)
• maximum lot
• trading hours and the daily break

If the contract size is different, every number on this page changes. See how much is 1 lot of gold.

Check 10: margin and leverage

Margin is the money your broker locks up to keep a trade open. For 0.10 lot of gold at an example price of $4,000:

• at 1:100 leverage: 10 oz × $4,000 ÷ 100 = $400 margin
• at 1:20 leverage: 10 oz × $4,000 ÷ 20 = $2,000 margin

Higher leverage does not make a trade riskier by itself; the lot size does. But it lets you open far more than you should. Read gold leverage explained and try the margin calculator.

Check 11: margin call and stop-out levels

The stop-out level is the margin level at which the broker starts closing your trades by itself. Using the $400 margin example:

• stop-out at 50%: trades start closing when equity falls to $200
• stop-out at 20%: trades start closing when equity falls to $80

A lower stop-out sounds kind, but it means you can lose more before anything stops you. Read margin call and stop-out and balance, equity and margin explained.

Brokers can also change margin and leverage, often before big events. See broker changed my margin or leverage.

Check 12: execution type

Ask how your orders are filled. Brokers describe this in different ways (“market maker”, “STP”, “ECN”). In simple words: does the broker take the other side of your trade, or pass it on to other firms? Neither is wrong in itself, but it affects conflicts of interest, requotes and slippage.

Our plain-words guide: how retail trading actually works. Once you trade, measure your own fills with the execution quality checklist.

Part 3: can you get your money out?

Check 13: deposit and withdrawal methods and fees

Before you deposit, find out:

• which methods are offered (card, bank transfer, e-wallet, crypto)
• fees for deposits and withdrawals, including currency conversion
• whether withdrawals must go back to the same method you used to deposit (common, because of anti-money-laundering rules)
• how long withdrawals usually take

Our guide: deposit methods: card, bank transfer, e-wallet and crypto.

Check 14: the withdrawal track record

You can’t see inside a broker, but you can research safely:

• Search the regulator’s website for warnings, fines or notices about the exact company name.
• Search IOSCO’s I-SCAN alerts portal and your own regulator’s warning list.
• Read complaints with care. Reviews can be fake in both directions. Look for patterns over months, not one angry post.
• Never pay anyone who offers to “check” or “recover” a broker for a fee.
• Never share your login with anyone who says they will look into your account.

If a withdrawal is already stuck, see broker won’t process my withdrawal.

Check 15: support, platform, account types, bonuses and a small test

• Support: send a question by email and by chat. Do you get a clear written answer?
• Platform: MT4, MT5 or the broker’s own app? Can you find XAUUSD and its specification easily?
• Account types: cent, standard and raw-spread accounts cost different amounts on gold. See account types explained.
• Bonuses: read the conditions before you accept anything. Many bonuses lock your withdrawals. See deposit bonuses: the conditions that trap you.
• KYC: expect to send ID and proof of address. See KYC explained.

Then test with a small amount. For example: deposit $100, place a few 0.01-lot trades, then withdraw $50. Note how long it takes and what fees appear. Only if all of that is clean do you think about more. Before any real money, practise on a demo account.

Red flags that end the checklist early

Stop if any of these happen:

• The licence or website doesn’t match the regulator’s register. It may be a clone firm.
• You are told to pay into a personal bank account, UPI ID or wallet.
• Someone offers to trade for you if you share your login. See copy trading and “account management” offers.
• A “mentor” insists on one broker and won’t say why. See why a mentor pushes one broker.
• You must pay a fee or “tax” before you can withdraw.

The printable checklist

Print this, or copy it into your notes. Tick each line for every broker you check.

Protection

• ☐ 1. Licence found on the regulator’s own website; name, number, website and phone all match
• ☐ 2. The company in my client agreement is the company on that register
• ☐ 3. Client money is held in a segregated account (answer in writing)
• ☐ 4. Negative balance protection applies to my account

Costs (write the numbers)

• ☐ 5. XAUUSD spread at a busy hour: ______
• ☐ 6. XAUUSD spread at a quiet hour: ______ and around news: ______
• ☐ 7. Commission per lot, per side or round turn: ______
• ☐ 8. Swap per lot, buy: ______ sell: ______ triple-swap day: ______
• ☐ 9. Contract size: ______ minimum lot: ______ lot step: ______
• ☐ 10. Leverage on gold: ______ margin for 0.10 lot: ______
• ☐ 11. Margin call level: ______ stop-out level: ______
• ☐ 12. Execution type explained in writing

Money out

• ☐ 13. Deposit and withdrawal methods, fees and refund-to-source rule understood
• ☐ 14. No regulator warnings or I-SCAN alerts for this exact company
• ☐ 15. Support answered in writing; bonus terms read (or bonus declined); small test deposit and withdrawal done

Score: any “no” in checks 1 to 4, or any red flag above, means stop. Lower costs never make up for missing protection.

Sources

• FCA, client money rules (CASS) and the requirement to keep client money separate from firm money: FCA press release
• ESMA retail CFD measures (gold 20:1, 50% margin close-out, negative balance protection, restriction on incentives): ESMA, 27 March 2018
• FCA rules for retail CFDs (30:1 to 2:1 leverage, 50% close-out, negative balance protection, ban on inducements): FCA PS19/18
• ASIC CFD product intervention order (leverage limits, margin close-out, negative balance protection, ban on certain inducements): ASIC 22-082MR
• IOSCO: I-SCAN alerts portal
• All spread, commission, swap and margin numbers on this page are examples, not quotes from any broker. The maths was checked by script.

Educational content only, not financial or legal advice. We never name, rank or recommend brokers.

Frequently asked questions