Broker bonus

Very simply, a no deposit bonus is an amount of money which is given to you as a trader just for completing the broker registration process.

Top forex bonus list

Top 6 Best Forex Brokers with No Deposit Bonus for 2021, broker bonus.

This means that you do not have to deposit any of your own real funds to gain access to this no deposit bonus. What better way to start trading than with a no deposit bonus forex broker? This should give you the perfect start to trading with some risk-free funds. To help you achieve that goal, we have put together a collection of the best regulated forex brokers in the market who offer a no deposit bonus to traders.

Top 6 best forex brokers with no deposit bonus for 2021

Top rated:

What better way to start trading than with a no deposit bonus forex broker? This should give you the perfect start to trading with some risk-free funds. To help you achieve that goal, we have put together a collection of the best regulated forex brokers in the market who offer a no deposit bonus to traders.

Beyond looking at more details of these top brokers, we will also provide more information on no deposit bonus availability, and how you can use these bonuses to your advantage when trading.

What is a no deposit bonus?

Very simply, a no deposit bonus is an amount of money which is given to you as a trader just for completing the broker registration process. This means that you do not have to deposit any of your own real funds to gain access to this no deposit bonus.

No deposit bonus: are they available in the EU?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. The no deposit bonus offers are not available in the EU. This is due to the fact that the european market regulator, ESMA, has banned certain types of forex broker bonus offers under the mifid II regulations.

The result is that forex brokers’ no deposit bonus offers, and any kind of registration bonus offers are not allowed for traders who are in the EU.

Please note that the following bonuses are available only to people based outside the EU. Moreover, we do strongly suggest to not judge the broker based solely on the no deposit bonus, but on the suitability to your trading goals and preferences.

Top 6 best brokers with no deposit bonus

Here is a closer look at the top brokers we have selected who do offer a no deposit bonus.

Broker bonus

Deposit bonus – A bonus on funding a live account. The bonus credited on percentage of the deposit amount.

No deposit bonus – free bonus on account registration for the new clients to trade live without any risk.

Tradable bonus: A deposit bonus that can be lost and traded as the part of your trading equity.

Volume bonus – most common type of deposit bonus, it allows you to increase your trading volume. Often the bonus can be cashed on trading lot requirement.

Forex gift – A gift for the clients for completing certain requirements, everything from bonus to latest gadget

Freebies – free stuff by forex brokers like ebook, courses, trading materials etc.

Rebate – cash-back withdrawable bonus on each lot traded.

Demo contest – contests held on demo account, win cash/tradable money with no-risk involve!

Live contest – contest held on live account, deposit requires. Win bigger cash/prizes.

Refer – a-friend– refer your friend to your broker, when your friend deposit you will get a special bonus

Free signals – get free trading signals from the broker.

Free VPS – get access to an optimized forex virtual private server for free on maintaining a certain amount of trading balance.

Binary options – binary bets trading on forex instruments

Forum posting: get a small trading bonus for each of your post in forms.

3 affiliate IB: receive a commission from your fellow traders, specially design for the marketers.

Draw bonus: the winners chosen by a draw

Seminars webinars: find the schedule to participate in the online/offline events.

Expos events: inviting to attend the forex events & expos globally.

Top 10 best forex brokers with bonus and promotions for 2021

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Are you on the lookout for the best forex brokers with bonus and promotions to offer?

They can be tricky to find, but if the answer is yes, then you are certainly in the correct place. Here we will give you all of the information you need, not only on the top recommended brokers if you are looking for a bonus, but also what these promotions mean, and how they can best work to your benefit as a trader.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the best brokers we have found that can offer bonus and promotions to you as a trader.

Are these bonuses really free money?

Although it may be hard to believe at first, it is true. The bonuses really are free money that is sent to your account by the broker. Now what is often asked is, can I withdraw these bonus funds?

Generally, the answer is yes with most top brokers. Their policy will vary though and in many cases, there are certain trading criteria that you must meet in order to withdraw the bonus funds from your account.

What should I check when choosing a bonus?

There are a couple of very important steps that you must run through when checking the bonus that you should choose, and the broker who is providing that bonus.

First off, it is vital that you read the terms and conditions carefully, so you know exactly what is on offer. Added to that, it is important to consider the whole offering of a broker. This means not only the bonus amounts, but what else they have to offer such as spreads, minimum deposits, and more.

Please note that the following bonuses may not be available in every country, and that brokers are not allowed to offer these to customers based in the EU or UK due to local regulatory restrictions. Read T&C before applying to a bonus.

Top 9 forex brokers with bonus and promotions

Here are the top 9 forex broker bonus and promotion offers we have found available:

1. FBS

FBS is the first broker to make our listing for having some of the top promotions and bonus offers in the industry. They are well-known as being a very respected broker around the world, and they have a huge amount of bonuses on offer.

At FBS you can win a wide range of prizes from holidays to new cars, and you can also double your deposit with the great FBS 100% deposit bonus they have in place. An FBS no deposit bonus is also available at no-risk at all to your funds as well as a cashback bonus if certain conditions are met. The FBS bonus offering continues to grow and expand with many contests and challenges also available where you can win cash, trips, and VIP event invites. They also run contests directly on social media like facebook where all you need to do is share posts with your friends. These are just some of the reasons why FBS is a top bonus broker for all traders.

XM is another top international broker, and one of the most easily recognizable in the industry. They too offer a strong range of bonuses and promotions. These start with an excellent $30 no deposit bonus which you can use for completely risk-free, real money trading.

Beyond this you will also find a deposit bonus of up to $4500 which means your deposit will be matched by the broker with free money up to this high value. Aside from those regular types of bonus offerings, XM also runs a lucky draw which has a huge total value of $1,000,000. As a regular trader with the broker you can also join their loyalty program which is points based. You can redeem these points through your trading actions to obtain a wide range of great benefits with the broker.

Please note that these bonuses may not be available with every XM entity

3. Instaforex

Instaforex is the next broker to make the top list of brokers providing bonuses and promotions. They too are very well-trusted by a broad range of traders across the industry. They start their bonus offering with one of the very best no deposit bonus offers in the sector. This is the instaforex $1,000 no deposit bonus.

Further to this monster bonus offer, the broker also provides a deposit bonus of 30% so you can always receive an additional 30% on top of your initial deposit as risk-free bonus funds to trade with the broker. Added to this, instaforex makes a huge range of contests and challenges available where you only need to have a demo account to participate and win. Here you can win a great range of physical prizes including cars, money, and much more.

4. Fxopen

The next broker on the list offering top promotions and bonuses is fxopen. They kick their bonus offering off with a $10 no deposit bonus. This is great if you are new to trading and looking to try out the broker with no risk at all to your own money.

Another great offer for beginners is the $1 welcome bonus on micro accounts. This makes sure you are covered to trade with free money, even at lower risk levels. Like many of the other brokers they also provide access to a large number of trading contests with a unique prize attached. This prize is that if you reach a certain benchmark of profit in the contest with virtual funds, they will then turn 10% of these funds into real money for you to trade with. A very attractive bonus proposition indeed from this popular broker.

5. Roboforex

Roboforex are in on the act too as another respected top broker offering bonuses and promotions to their traders. The excellent bonus infrastructure here starts with a deposit bonus that can be either 10%, 60%, or a huge 120% depending on how much you are depositing.

The offers do not stop there with roboforex either. Just for joining the broker, you will be entitled to a $30 welcome bonus. This can be used for completely risk-free trading on the markets of your choice. You will also be entered into weekly and monthly contests which are free to enter but where you can win real prizes on both demo, and live accounts. Regular traders are not forgotten either with cash rebates stretching up to 15% based on how much you trade.

6. Hotforex

Hotforex are one of the cornerstones of the industry and regularly feature as a top broker in many listings. They too have a very strong bonus infrastructure though it may not be available in every country the same. This is particularly true in europe.

Outside of that though, their offer is strong. They provide a number of unique bonuses the first of which is a 100% credit bonus. This acts to double your deposit with completely free bonus funds. They also offer a very unique 30% rescue bonus. This bonus protects your funds from drawdowns up to $7,000. The 100% supercharged bonus is one of their most popular though. This provides for a huge amount in cash rebates that can reach up to $8,000, on top of a 100% deposit bonus. All of these great offerings maintain hotforex as a very popular bonus broker of choice.

Please note that these bonuses may not be available with every XM entity

7. Octafx

Octafx is another popular, and rapidly growing name in the sector. They are not stepping back when it comes to offering a bonus either. If you are trading with this broker, the first thing you may want to try out are some of the demo account contests.

These great contests come with prizes of up to $500 real cash if you are trading through metatrader, and $150 if you are using ctrader. If these pique your interest, then you can decide to deposit for real, and benefit more from a 50% deposit bonus which is on offer. On top of this, there are many other prizes including merchandise to be won from a broker who is strong, trusted, and growing all the time.

8. FXTM

FXTM is one of the biggest names in the industry. They have also not forgotten a strong bonus infrastructure, and for this reason, they too feature on our list of the best brokers for bonus offers and promotions.

At the core of the FXTM bonus offering is their excellent loyalty program. Here, the more you trade, the more you can get paid. At the maximum level you have the ability to earn as much as $10,000 from the program. Also offered by the broker are a great range of both demo and live trading contests where you can compete against your fellow traders to win top prizes.

9. Vantage FX

Vantagefx is next in our selection of the best forex brokers who offer a good range of bonus systems. Here you will be able to take advantage of a 50% deposit bonus that will allow you to trade risk-free with bonus cash from the broker based on how much you deposit.

Vantagefx also offers a great and very rewarding loyalty program where you can avail of 10% rebates on your trades up to $2 per lot traded when you deposit at least $1,000. With the broker and this program, there is no limit on the trade size at all. The higher the lot size you trade, the higher your bonus will be.

Different type of bonuses

When choosing your forex broker bonus, it is also important to keep in mind that there are many different bonus types available. Here is a more detailed look at exactly the kind of bonuses that are offered by brokers:

Forex deposit bonus: the forex deposit bonus is a certain amount of money offered as a bonus based on the amount which you deposit. In the case of many brokers, this can mean matching your deposit amount with an equal bonus amount.

Forex no deposit bonus: A forex no deposit bonus, as you might gather from the name, is a bonus which is offered to you with no deposit required. In most cases, you simply have to complete the registration process. This money is free and can be used in real trading at no risk to your own money.

Welcome forex bonus: the welcome bonus can be similar to a no deposit bonus. You will get a bonus money amount for completing registration, and in some cases based on the amount of your first deposit.

Loyalty program: A forex broker loyalty program, just like any other, is usually based on how much you use the service. In this case, the more you trade, the more you will be rewarded by such programs. These rewards could come in the form of lower trading costs, additional premium trade tools, physical prizes, access to live events and meetings, and much more.

Points system: the forex broker point systems can also be based on loyalty programs. With these systems, the more you trade, the more points you will earn. These points can then be used to access monetary prizes, cars, vacations, and more.

Cash back and rebates: cash back and rebate programs are also a very common form of bonus. Just as the name suggests, with this form of bonus, you can earn money back for each lot you trade.

Money protection bonus: this is not a very common form of forex broker bonus, though it exists, nonetheless. This kind of bonus from your broker actually protects your funds from reaching a certain negative level, and in some cases, anything beyond this negative point can be refunded.

Forex contest prize: there are a wide range of brokers who organize contests which you can participate in with virtual funds against other traders. If you win some of these contests through making the most profit from virtual funds, then you can win all kinds of great prizes including cash, cars, and more.

Why do brokers offer forex no-deposit bonuses and other bonuses?

There are several reasons why your broker may offer a no deposit, or other type of bonus. One of the primary reasons for this is to create value for you as a trader, and to attract new traders to the industry and that broker.

This method is accepted in many parts of the world, though not in europe. Within the EU, the offering of the majority of these kinds of bonuses is not allowed by the regulator. ESMA does this in a large part to protect beginners from getting involved in trading without the proper knowledge and ultimately losing their money.

Tips on how to choose a bonus and a broker

If you are thinking about choosing a forex broker, the bonus is just one element of this choice, and it should not be a large factor in your decision-making process. First and foremost, you have to choose a broker who is trustworthy, and well-regulated. Luckily all of the brokers on our listing are both of these things.

Once you have done this, then you can think about the bonus they are offering, but do not make your choice based on the broker bonus alone. You have to consider all of your trading needs. In this case, you may want to try out a broker first. This would be a great time to select a no deposit bonus broker so you can try out their real trading at no risk to you.

The 14 best brokerage account promotions and bonuses for 2021

Jim wang
updated january 12, 2021
some links below are from our sponsors. Here's how we make money.

Are you looking to open a new brokerage account to manage your portfolio of investments but aren't sure which one?

Many online investment platforms compete for business by offering new account promotions based on the assets you can transfer to their platform. While promotions shouldn't be the only consideration, these promotion/bonus amounts are too hard to look past.

There are a range of bonuses listed below, whether you have an established portfolio and looking to transfer stocks, or starting new.

Continue reading to review the best brokerage account promotions for new accounts.

Our picks:

Webull – 4 free stocks worth up to $1,600

Webull is a free trading app from webull financial. They are a brokerage based out of new york city and regulated by FINRA, you can look them up on brokercheck. We have a full review of webull and their offer here.

For new signups, open and fund an account with $100 and they will give you 4 free stocks worth up to $1,600. They have no fees and no account minimums so it's truly free stock.

Robinhood is a relatively new brokerage that will give you a free share of stock when you open an account. There are no other requirements of the offer, you just need to open an account. No deposit, no transfer, no nothing. You can read more about the free share of stock promotion here.

Ally invest – up to $3,500

Ally invest is the online brokerage account I use because they offer free trades (U.S. Stock, etfs, and options) with no minimums and monthly balance requirements. I have an ally bank account so managing it all with one login is convenient too. I wish I would've taken advantage of their new account bonuses for transfers because it's one of the most generous, here is the schedule based on how much you deposit within 60 days of account opening:

Here is the ally invest bonus structure:

Deposit $10,000 – $24,999, get $50 cash

Deposit $25,000 – $99,999, get $200 cash

Deposit $100,000 – $249,999, get $300 cash

Deposit $250,000 – $499,999, get $600 cash

Deposit $500,000 – $999,999, get $1,200 cash

Deposit $1,000,000 – $1,999,999, get $2,500 cash

Deposit $2,000,000 or more, get $3,500 cash

They will also credit transfer fees if you move your account from another brokerage. Whatever the other brokerage charges, up to $150, they will reimburse you.

NVSTR –

NVSTR has a referral program where you can get up to $1,000 (but at least $10) when you sign up. The referring customer gets $10 to $1,000 too – and it's a limited time offer. If you've never heard of them before, our NVSTR review can get you up to speed.

The only requirement is that you make one trade within a year and you can keep the bonus. There are no other requirements for the new account bonus.

There is also a deposit bonus. For a limited time, after you open your account, you can get a bonus based on what you deposit. You need to maintain this amount for one year to keep the deposit bonus.

Tastyworks

Tastyworks will give you 100 shares of a “highly liquid stock” when you open and fund a new cash or margin account with $2,000. The shares will be selected at random from a list of eleven stocks priced between $1 and $6, so you can get anywhere from $100 to $600 in this promotion with a stated average bonus of $200 – $220. There is a 70% chance of getting a stock priced under $2 and a 30% chance of getting a stock priced over $2.

You must keep the initial value of the stock, less any loss in value, in the account for a minimum of three months.

The referral/promotion code for this offer is “STOCK_AWARD_20” and you must put it in the referral code field when applying.

Sofi invest – $50

Sofi invest is the brokerage arm of sofi, the student loan refinancing company. They've recently branched out into other areas, including sofi money (banking), and they are now offering a $50 bonus if you sign up and deposit at least $25.

With sofi invest, you can manage your portfolio (active investing) or go with a roboadvisor approach (auto investing). With active investing, you can invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies, and etfs without paying a trading commission.

For a limited time, get $50 in stock from sofi invest if you sign up with a referral link and deposit at least $1,000. There's no trading requirement.

Betterment

Betterment is one of the largest and most respected robo-advisors, you can see our review of betterment for a closer look at their service.

For new accounts, they will waive the management fee of 0.25% depending on how much you transfer:

Deposit $15,000 – $99,999, get 1 month managed free

Deposit $100,000 – $249,999, get 6 months managed free

Deposit $250,000+, get 12 months managed free

Citi personal wealth management

Citi personal wealth management has a juicy bonus offer when you transfer new-to-citibank funds within 2 months of opening an account. You also will need to enroll in e-delivery of statements and then keep those funds in the account through the end of the next month (or three months after the month of account enrollment). Bonus will be credited three months after you meet the maintenance requirement.

Here's the citi bonus transfer schedule:

Fund with $50,000 – $199,999: $500

Fund with $200,000 – $499,999: $1,000

Fund with $500,000 – $999,999: $1,500

Fund with $1,000,000 – $1,999,999: $2,500

Fund with $2,000,000+ $3,500

Merrill edge – up to $600

Merrill edge, a bank of america company, will give you up to $1,000 if you open a new merrill edge account using the offer code 600ME. You just need to transfer your funds within 45 days, maintain that balance for 90 days, and you will get the cash bonus in 2 weeks. This bonus applies to individual merrill edge iras or cash management accounts, which is what they call their taxable brokerage accounts.

Here's the merrill edge bonus transfer schedule:

Fund with $20,000 – $49,999: $100

Fund with $50,000 – $99,999: $150

Fund with $100,000 – $199,999: $250

Fund with $200,000+ $600

If you are a preferred reward client, you may get up to $900 with this alternative offer.

Charles schwab – up to $500

Charles schwab will give stock plan services clients a bonus of up to $500 when you open a new account and transfer in new funds with 45 days. If you are not a stock plan service, they won't give you this promotion (they will even let you apply and enter in a promotion code, but they won't give you the bonus).

Here's charles schwab's bonus transfer schedule:

Fund with $10,000 – $24,999: $100

Fund with $25,000 – $45,999: $200

Fund with $50,000 – $99,999: $300

Fund with $100,000+ $500

Update: I have received reports from readers that you don't get cash but instead get “trade credits” which can be used to pay the commission for trades. If you are considering this offer, call to confirm the details.

E*TRADE – up to $2,500

When I think of new account promotions, I think of E*TRADE. For years, they had an offer where you could get up to $3,000 (if you had over a million dollars in assets to transfer!) and 60 days of free trades if you open a non-retirement brokerage account.

With the recent rush of brokerages offering free trades, the promotion is now just cash.

You can find the full details here but this is the offer:

Deposit $5,000 – $9,999, get $50 cash

Deposit $10,000 – $19,999, get $100 cash

Deposit $20,000 – $24,999, get $150 cash

Deposit $25,000 – $99,999, get $200 cash

Deposit $100,000 – $249,999, get $300 cash

Deposit $250,000 – $499,999, get $600 cash

Deposit $500,000 – $999,999, get $1,200 cash

Deposit $1,000,000 or more, get $2,500 cash

Fidelity – expired promotion

Fidelity doesn't offer any cash bonus but if you open a new account, they will give you free trades. It's less sexy than some of the other offers on this list but that's the only thing they offer so there you have it!

If you deposit $50,000 to $99,999 then you get 300 free trades over the next two years.

If you deposit $100,000 then you get 500 free trades over the next two years.

This offer has expired. We will update it when fidelity issues a new promotion.

Tradestation – $100 – expired promotion

Tradestation has a “cash madness” promotion where you can get $100 when you open and fund a tradestation securities account with $500 or more. All you have to do is open a new tradestation securities account using the offer code ZINGAFOG, deposit at least $500 within thirty days of opening your account, and then maintain the balance for one month after the funding date.

The promotion expired on july 1st, 2020. We will update this section when a new promotion arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about bonuses and the brokerage transfer process.

How do transfers work?

Almost every brokerage firm supports ACATS, which stands for automated customer account transfer service, which lets you transfer your assets in-kind. This means that it transfers your assets as they are without you having to sell them. So if you have big gains in the stock, the shares just get transferred without you having to sell them, transfer the cash, and then buy them again.

You may run into hiccups if some items can't be transferred. One common example is vanguard admiral shares of their mutual funds. Some brokerages will take them, others won't. In these cases, you may have to transfer them to another asset type (like the ETF version), which will accept them.

ACATS does take a week or two to complete the transfer.

Is this worth it?

I don't know if it's worth hopping around from broker to broker, grabbing up the bonuses, but the process isn't difficult. If you're looking to make a move anyway, getting paid a little for the effort is better than not being paid. Some brokers may charge you to leave, which is something you'd be paying anyway, so hopping around may reduce your returns from the bonus perspective.

How do the taxes work?

If you are creating new taxable brokerage accounts, the bonuses will be reported and you will have to claim them on your taxes as income.

If you are creating retirement accounts, like an IRA, the bonuses are going into those accounts so you won't owe taxes on them. For traditional iras, you'll just be taxed when you start taking distributions. Roth iras will never be taxed. For each account, review the terms and conditions to see how the brokerage is treating it and you'll know for certain.

Top 6 best forex brokers with no deposit bonus for 2021

Top rated:

Beyond looking at more details of these top brokers, we will also provide more information on no deposit bonus availability, and how you can use these bonuses to your advantage when trading.

What is a no deposit bonus?

No deposit bonus: are they available in the EU?

The result is that forex brokers’ no deposit bonus offers, and any kind of registration bonus offers are not allowed for traders who are in the EU.

Please note that the following bonuses are available only to people based outside the EU. Moreover, we do strongly suggest to not judge the broker based solely on the no deposit bonus, but on the suitability to your trading goals and preferences.

Top 6 best brokers with no deposit bonus

Here is a closer look at the top brokers we have selected who do offer a no deposit bonus.

Best brokerage account bonuses in january 2021

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Brokerages are aggressively competing for your money. One way they do so is by offering competitive bonuses that you can add right to your brokerage account. It’s important to know the best offers so that you can decide whether it’s a good time to open a brokerage account and take advantage of what is often risk-free cash.

Here bankrate tracks the best brokerage account bonuses to help you compare active offers.

Best brokerage account bonuses in january 2021

Ally invest: $50 to $3,500

Merrill edge: $150 to $900

Charles schwab: $100 to $500 (personally referred friend offer)

E-trade: $50 to $2,500

Ally invest: $50, $200, $300, $600, $1,200, $2,500 or $3,500 bonus

New ally invest clients can earn up to a $3,500 cash bonus if they open a new account by march 31, 2021. The qualifying deposit must contain funds from outside of ally financial, and a person can only get the offer on one new ally invest securities LLC account. As an extra incentive, ally will credit your transfer fees from another brokerage, up to $150 as long as you bring at least $2,500 over to the new account.

Ally invest checks your deposit 60 days after your account is opened to determine the total qualifying deposit. You’ll receive your cash bonus within 10 business days after this review.

To receive a cash bonus, you must:

Deposit at least $10,000 in a new ally invest account.

Be a U.S. Resident.

Not be an existing ally invest account holder or a former ally invest account holder (which includes former tradeking securities LLC account holders). You’re not eligible to receive the cash bonus if you closed one of these ally invest accounts within the past 90 days.

You must use the “open account” button associated with this offer on ally invest’s site for opening your account to be eligible for this offer.

Here are the bonus tiers for this offer:

To receive the $50 bonus, deposit or transfer $10,000-$24,999.

To receive the $200 bonus, deposit or transfer $25,000-$99,999.

To receive the $300 bonus, deposit or transfer $100,000-$249.999.

To receive the $600 bonus, deposit or transfer $250,000-$499,999.

To receive the $1,200 bonus, deposit or transfer $500,000-$999,999.

To receive the $2,500 bonus, deposit or transfer $1 million -$1,999,999.

To receive the $3,500 bonus, deposit or transfer $2 million or more.

Once you receive your bonus, both the cash bonus and your qualifying deposit (minus any trading losses that are incurred) can’t be withdrawn for 300 days. A withdrawal may cause ally invest to revoke your bonus.

Read bankrate’s ally invest review to learn more.

Merrill edge: $150, $225, $375 or $900 bonus

When you open a merrill edge IRA or cash management account and make a qualifying deposit within 45 days of opening you can earn up to a $900 bonus. You need to use offer code 900ME during the account opening. This can be done while applying online or using it when speaking to a merrill edge financial adviser on the phone or at select bank of america branches. This offer expires april 15, 2021.

To receive a cash reward, you must:

Enroll for the offer at the time of account opening.

Deposit net new assets of at least $20,000 into your merrill edge account within 45 days of opening the account.

You must be enrolled in the preferred rewards program within 90 days of making the deposit.

Maintain that balance for at least 90 days.

The offer limits you to one IRA — rollover, traditional, roth and sole-proprietor SEP only — and one cash management account. Each account holder can’t have more than two enrolled accounts.

Assets from bank of america, merrill lynch, pierce, fenner & smith incorporated (MLPF&S), U.S. Trust, or 401(k) accounts administered by MLPF&S aren’t qualifying net new assets.

You’ll receive your cash reward two weeks after the initial 90-day period, assuming you meet eligibility requirements.

Business/corporate accounts, investment club accounts, partnership accounts and certain types of fiduciary accounts held at merrill edge aren’t eligible for this offer. The offer also doesn’t apply to accounts, which include iras or cmas, held with other business units of MLPF&S.

Here are the bonus tiers:

To receive the $150 cash reward, deposit $20,000 to $49,999.99.

To receive the $225 cash reward, deposit $50,000 to $99,999.99.

To receive the $375 cash reward, deposit $100,000 to $199,999.99.

To receive the $900 cash reward, deposit $200,000 or more.

Read bankrate’s merrill edge review to learn more.

Charles schwab: $100, $200, $300 or $500 (if you’re referred by a friend)

Schwab is offering personally referred friends the opportunity to earn up to $500 when they use a referral code, given to you by a current schwab customer, and open an eligible account at schwab.

To receive the bonus award, you must:

Receive a referral code from a friend or family member.

Be a new schwab client and make a qualifying net deposit within 45 days of both becoming a schwab customer and opening an eligible retail brokerage account.

You’re limited to one per account and only one account per client when you receive a referral.

Schwab retail brokerage accounts and iras are eligible for this offer. This includes accounts that are enrolled in schwab-sponsored investment advisery programs, such as schwab intelligent portfolios, schwab managed portfolios, schwab managed account select and connection and schwab private client.

You’ll receive your bonus approximately a week or two after the 45-day period ends if you made a qualifying deposit when becoming a new schwab customer and enrolling in the referral offer.

Schwab may charge back its bonus award if taxable accounts aren’t kept at schwab for at least one year.

Here are the bonus tiers for this offer:

To receive a $100 bonus, deposit $1,000-$24,999.

To receive a $200 bonus, deposit $25,000-$49,999.

To receive a $300 bonus, deposit $50,000-$99,999.

To receive a $500 bonus, deposit $100,000 or more.

Read bankrate’s charles schwab review to learn more.

E-trade: $50, $100, $150, $200, $300, $600, $1,200 or $2,500 bonus

You can earn a cash bonus if you open a retirement or brokerage account and fund it with $5,000 or more within 60 days of account opening. Your account must be opened by jan. 31, 2021.

To receive a cash bonus, you must:

Use promo code WINTER21 when opening the account.

Open your new account with funds or securities from accounts outside of E-trade. You need to also keep the new account (minus any trading losses) for at least 12 months to keep the cash bonus.

Here are the cash bonus tiers for this offer:

To receive a $50 bonus, deposit or transfer $5,000-$9,999.

To receive a $100 bonus, deposit or transfer $10,000-$19,999.

To receive a $150 bonus, deposit or transfer $20,000-$24,999.

To receive a $200 bonus, deposit or transfer $25,000-$99,999.

To receive a $300 bonus, deposit or transfer $100,000-$249,999.

To receive a $600 bonus, deposit or transfer $250,000-$499,999.

To receive a $1,200 bonus, deposit or transfer $500,000-$999,999.

To receive a $2,500 bonus, deposit or transfer $1 million or more.

Read bankrate’s E-trade review to learn more.

Best no deposit bonus forex brokers 2021

The brokers below represent the best no deposit bonus forex brokers.

Cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 79.27% and 73.32% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds with tickmill UK ltd and tickmill europe ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how cfds work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Cysec, FCA, FSA(SC), FSCA, labuan-fsa

Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment. It is not suitable for everyone. Before you make any decision in relation to a financial product you should obtain and consider our product disclosure statement (PDS) and financial services guide (FSG) available on our website and seek independent advice if necessary.

Your capital is at risk

Ctrader, MT4, MT5, proprietary

Dealing desk, ECN, market maker, no dealing desk, STP

Your capital is at risk

Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.

Your capital is at risk

ECN, no dealing desk, STP

Your capital is at risk

Note: not all forex brokers accept US clients. For your convenience we specified those that accept US forex traders as clients.

Tickmill

Regulated by: cysec, FCA, FSA(SC), FSCA, labuan-fsa

Headquarters : 3rd floor, 27 - 32 old jewry, london, england, EC2R 8DQ.

Tickmill was founded in 2014 and is regulated by the UK financial conduct authority (FCA), the cyprus securities and exchange commission (cysec) and the seychelles financial services authority (FSA).

The broker provides more than 80+ CFD instruments to trade on covering forex, indices, commodities and bonds through three core trading accounts called the pro account, classic account and VIP account. They also offer a demo trading account and islamic swap-free account.

GO markets

Regulated by: ASIC, cysec

Headquarters : level 22, 600 bourke street, melbourne, VIC 3000, australia

Australian brokers are definitely making a name for themselves in the trading arena as some of the most reliable, intuitive and forward thinking firms around. This broker is no different with a wide variety of tools, assets and reasonable trading conditions.

GO markets pty ltd an ASIC regulated broker has been in operation since 2006. The head office is located in melbourne, australia. With over a decade of experience, GO markets has grown to become a leading broker with a huge client base from over 150 countries. GO markets offers forex, share cfds, indices, metals and commodities for trading on the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms.

Roboforex

Headquarters : 2118 guava street, belama phase 1, belize city, belize

Your capital is at risk

The roboforex brand is operated by the roboforex group, and is located in belize. Roboforex began operations in 2009 and has grown in size and capacity. The brand offers over multiple trading instruments which include forex, stocks, indices, etfs, commodities, energies, metals and cryptocurrencies.

They also offer cutting edge platforms. Roboforex boasts of over 800,000 clients from 169 countries. They are both a dealing desk and non dealing desk broker offering ECN and STP trading accounts through their platforms. This means a different payment model to you the trader eg. Lower spreads for ECN accounts with some commissions to pay.

*leverage depends on the financial instrument traded and on the client’s country of residence.

Axiory

Headquarters : no.1 corner of hutson street and marine parade belize city, belize

Axiory was founded in 2012 and is a trading name of axiory global ltd which is authorised and regulated by the international financial services commission (IFSC) of belize. The broker segregates client funds from their own and offers negative balance protection. The company is also audited by pricewaterhousecoopers and is a member of the financial commission.

Users can choose from three types of trading accounts called nano, standard and max to trade on 80 different markets covering forex and cfds on indices, energies, stocks and metals. Axiory offers maximum leverage of up to 1:500 and also provides access to islamic swap-free accounts and a demo trading account. Users can also access data regarding execution times and slippage distribution for even more transparency.

Justforex

Regulated by: not a regulated broker

Headquarters : suite 305, griffith corporate centre, P.O. Box 1510, beachmont, kingstown, st. Vincent and the grenadines

Your capital is at risk

Justforex was founded in 2012 and is a brand name of JF global limited which is a registered company in st. Vincent and the grenadines. The broker offers 7 different types of trading accounts ranging from commission-free to commission-based accounts, islamic swap-free accounts and even ECN trading accounts.

While the broker offers more than 150+ asset classes to trade on, covering forex ECN, stocks, indices, commodities and bonds, access to certain markets depends on the account type opened. Justforex provides users with the globally-recognised metatrader 4 and metatrader 5 trading platform for PC, as well as the metatrader mobile trading app for android and ios users.

What is a no deposit forex bonus?

A no deposit forex bonus is a cash award that is deposited by the broker into the forex trader’s account, without requiring an initial deposit into the trading account by the trader.

Just like the deposit bonuses in forex (which require you to deposit first), the no-deposit bonus is used strictly for trading purposes and can only be withdrawn from the account on fulfillment of the broker’s trade volume requirements.

Typically, the no-deposit forex bonuses are not as large as the deposit bonuses. They range from between $10 and $200, depending on the broker. They are actually meant to introduce new traders into the world of real money trading and are not meant to be used for profit-oriented trading. Think of it as a form of live, real money practice account where you keep all the gains. If you lose money, you have lost nothing.

What should I do to get my bonus?

Most of the no-deposit forex bonuses in the market can be obtained as exclusive offers through affiliate partners of the forex brokers that offer them. The forex brokers who award the no-deposit forex bonuses directly are typically in the minority.

What is the difference between no deposit bonuses and deposit bonuses?

No-deposit forex bonuses do not require an initial deposit into the trading account before they are awarded. This factor distinguishes the no-deposit forex bonus from deposit bonus, which like the name implies, requires a deposit from the trader before it is awarded.

No-deposit forex bonuses are smaller in size as they mostly serve for live account practice.

What other bonus and promotion types do brokers offer?

Other bonuses and promotions may be given out by brokers occasionally.

The cashback is the commonest bonus which a trader can get. Although this requires that some previous deposit would have been made by the trader, cashbacks are a good way to earn back any money that has been lost in previous trades. These are provided by brokers automatically without requiring further deposits.

Trade contest awards do not require a previous deposit. You can participate in various trade contests on broker platforms for a share of the prizes. Cash prizes are usually awarded to traders as a no-deposit bonus. All you need is to ensure your account KYC documents are in place and you can claim your award if you win.

Some brokers provide traders with tools they need to trade with on fulfillment of certain conditions such as attaining certain trade volumes within a specified time frame.

Conclusion

Are you looking for the best no deposit bonus forex brokers for 2017? Here we show a list of these brokers which we have compiled after careful evaluation of various candidates. Ensure you use the no-deposit forex bonus wisely and use it to enhance your live account trading experience.

The 14 best brokerage account promotions and bonuses for 2021

Jim wang
updated january 12, 2021
some links below are from our sponsors. Here's how we make money.

Are you looking to open a new brokerage account to manage your portfolio of investments but aren't sure which one?

There are a range of bonuses listed below, whether you have an established portfolio and looking to transfer stocks, or starting new.

Continue reading to review the best brokerage account promotions for new accounts.

Our picks:

Webull – 4 free stocks worth up to $1,600

For new signups, open and fund an account with $100 and they will give you 4 free stocks worth up to $1,600. They have no fees and no account minimums so it's truly free stock.

Ally invest – up to $3,500

Here is the ally invest bonus structure:

Deposit $10,000 – $24,999, get $50 cash

Deposit $25,000 – $99,999, get $200 cash

Deposit $100,000 – $249,999, get $300 cash

Deposit $250,000 – $499,999, get $600 cash

Deposit $500,000 – $999,999, get $1,200 cash

Deposit $1,000,000 – $1,999,999, get $2,500 cash

Deposit $2,000,000 or more, get $3,500 cash

They will also credit transfer fees if you move your account from another brokerage. Whatever the other brokerage charges, up to $150, they will reimburse you.

NVSTR –

The only requirement is that you make one trade within a year and you can keep the bonus. There are no other requirements for the new account bonus.

There is also a deposit bonus. For a limited time, after you open your account, you can get a bonus based on what you deposit. You need to maintain this amount for one year to keep the deposit bonus.

Tastyworks

You must keep the initial value of the stock, less any loss in value, in the account for a minimum of three months.

The referral/promotion code for this offer is “STOCK_AWARD_20” and you must put it in the referral code field when applying.

Sofi invest – $50

For a limited time, get $50 in stock from sofi invest if you sign up with a referral link and deposit at least $1,000. There's no trading requirement.

Betterment

Betterment is one of the largest and most respected robo-advisors, you can see our review of betterment for a closer look at their service.

For new accounts, they will waive the management fee of 0.25% depending on how much you transfer:

Deposit $15,000 – $99,999, get 1 month managed free

Deposit $100,000 – $249,999, get 6 months managed free

Deposit $250,000+, get 12 months managed free

Citi personal wealth management

Here's the citi bonus transfer schedule:

Fund with $50,000 – $199,999: $500

Fund with $200,000 – $499,999: $1,000

Fund with $500,000 – $999,999: $1,500

Fund with $1,000,000 – $1,999,999: $2,500

Fund with $2,000,000+ $3,500

Merrill edge – up to $600

Here's the merrill edge bonus transfer schedule:

Fund with $20,000 – $49,999: $100

Fund with $50,000 – $99,999: $150

Fund with $100,000 – $199,999: $250

Fund with $200,000+ $600

If you are a preferred reward client, you may get up to $900 with this alternative offer.

Charles schwab – up to $500

Here's charles schwab's bonus transfer schedule:

Fund with $10,000 – $24,999: $100

Fund with $25,000 – $45,999: $200

Fund with $50,000 – $99,999: $300

Fund with $100,000+ $500

E*TRADE – up to $2,500

With the recent rush of brokerages offering free trades, the promotion is now just cash.

You can find the full details here but this is the offer:

Deposit $5,000 – $9,999, get $50 cash

Deposit $10,000 – $19,999, get $100 cash

Deposit $20,000 – $24,999, get $150 cash

Deposit $25,000 – $99,999, get $200 cash

Deposit $100,000 – $249,999, get $300 cash

Deposit $250,000 – $499,999, get $600 cash

Deposit $500,000 – $999,999, get $1,200 cash

Deposit $1,000,000 or more, get $2,500 cash

Fidelity – expired promotion

If you deposit $50,000 to $99,999 then you get 300 free trades over the next two years.

If you deposit $100,000 then you get 500 free trades over the next two years.

This offer has expired. We will update it when fidelity issues a new promotion.

Tradestation – $100 – expired promotion

The promotion expired on july 1st, 2020. We will update this section when a new promotion arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about bonuses and the brokerage transfer process.

How do transfers work?

ACATS does take a week or two to complete the transfer.

Is this worth it?

How do the taxes work?

If you are creating new taxable brokerage accounts, the bonuses will be reported and you will have to claim them on your taxes as income.

Bonuses and incentives

Let's be honest, if you are looking to open an account and start trading today why wouldn't you want to take advantage of the best bonus on offer to increase your potential profits and give yourself extra cash to trade with? With brokers offering an array of different deals, it can be confusing to know which one you should choose and why.

With the trading marketplace being hugely competitive, many brokers are competing for their share of the market and trying to entice you in. Not only do they want you to trade with them but, they want you to keep coming back and so, nearly all regulated binary options brokers offer attractive bonuses.

How do you find them? Well, we have done the hard work for you and can share our extensive research and findings to help make your decision a less complicated one. Our experienced team have looked at what the market has to offer and drilled deep into each site to come up with a list of trusted brokers.

In this article, you will learn:

Top rated options sites

Risk warning: the products offered by the companies listed on this website carry a high level of risk and can result in the loss of all your funds. You should never risk money that you cannot afford to lose.

Ad disclosure: some of the links that you will find on this website are advertisements for which we do receive financial gain for referring new customers.

Various types of bonuses

Binary options bonuses come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here we show you the main types offered by many of the top brokers.

Welcome bonus

New users that set up an account and make their first deposit will get a welcome bonus. Often the welcome bonus is the same as your initial deposit or a set figure. It is excellent for the first time trader because you can use the extra funds to gain some valuable experience.

Deposit bonus

When you make a deposit this type of bonus is activated. Users won’t be offered a fixed sum because the premium is a percentage of the deposit. This type of reward is offered to both new and existing customers.

No deposit bonus

Quite simply it is what it says, a no deposit bonus. No deposit bonuses are very popular with newer traders in that there is no financial risk. You register an account and get free money to trade. The broker hopes that once you try it out and enjoy the experience, you will want to continue trading and will make a further deposit so you can increase your scope.

Mobile bonus

In this fast moving technologically advancing industry the race to keep up with the pace of the market means that most brokers now have developed a mobile offering that includes a responsive mobile site and an app. To ensure that use of these trading methods is taken up some brokers offer incentives to customers who trade using the mobile applications.

Alongside these popular options are also loyalty schemes, referral bonuses, retention and re-activation bonuses. All are intended to provide an incentive to attract new customers and keep them coming back to trade.

I'll find you an awesome options site in seconds. Ready to go?

What type of device do you trade on?

What style of financial bonus suits you best?

How fast do you want to withdraw profits?

What amount are you thinking to deposit?

I'm checking 75+ sites to find your best match.

Ad disclosure: some of the links that you will find on this website are advertisements for which we do receive financial gain for referring new customers.

How a bonus helps you

Quite simply the best binary options bonus will help everyone from the novice to the seasoned professional when it comes to trading. Ok so it won't give you a magic crystal ball to predict the outcome, but it does give you a very nice cushion of added money to trade. If you deposit $250 and play with 250 dollars at $2 per trade that's 125 trades. While that is a fair amount of trades imagine how much experience you will gain with double that amount. If you are new to binary options trading, you could use the free 250 dollars to practise with before you start risking your own money.

Once you start trading for the first time or even in a new market, you may make mistakes and make the wrong choices. Once you get used to the site and get more confident in what you are doing the mistakes you make will be less, and you will start to get used to what you are doing.

Now that's not saying that you will be successful every time but making mistakes is ok especially if you have a bonus to fall back on. Making mistakes with the bonus means that when it comes to spending the real money, you should have got most of the beginner mistakes out of the way. We all know that from mistakes come successes, so it's not a bad thing to make them early on.

Bonus cash is excellent to have if you want to experience trading in new markets. You may have experience of dealing in stock but fancy your hand at currency. You can use your own money to do what you know and use the bonus money to experiment in a new market. The only real exclusion is tournaments; in most cases, you can't use bonuses to stake your entry fee there. However, by strategically using your free money to get the new experience you are opening yourself up to a whole new potential profit stream.

Which forex brokers offer a welcome bonus and won’t scam me?

A reader has asked: which forex brokers offer a welcome bonus and won’t scam me?

The quick answer is this, none. No decent broker will offer you a welcome bonus for signing up. If they are it is likely a scam so stay well away from them.

Why are welcome bonuses in forex trading a scam now?

Welcome bonuses being offered by spread betting brokers in the UK started innocently enough. I think it was city index that offered £100 if you opened an account with them. Much the same as the new account incentives from the high street banks. However, over time as competition hotted up within the derivatives trading section, the bonuses got bigger and the criteria for getting them became more stringent.

For a while, there were good opportunities for taking advantage of welcome offers from reputable brokers. You could arbitrage trades between brokers, and switch brokers to execute trader you would be doing anyway to claim a welcome bonuses. Which was essentially a rebate based on volume.

Then it all got out of hand as binary options brokers started setting up offshore and fleecing people. Essential making the criteria to withdraw the bonus so impossible to achieve that in order to fill it they would have B-booked any funds deposited.

It was a very dark time for the industry.

Regulators and welcome bonuses for trading accounts

Regulators such as ESMA and the FCA have been cracking on incentives including welcome or trading bonuses, as they are seen by the regulators as encouraging clients to overtrading, or undertake actions that they wouldn’t have taken in the absence of that incentive.

Particularly where the bonus offer is volume related i.E. You have to trade a certain number of lots in a fixed time frame to access the bonus.

Bonus incentives are a form of marketing and CFD brokers that offer them have taken a decision to spend their marketing budget in this way to attract new customers, and to do so they will make the offer sound as attractive as possible.

However, those brokers would rather not payout that bonus if they can help it. And they will often attach a long list of conditions that have to be met before you qualify for the bonus.

Even if you meet those conditions and get the bonus you may not be able to withdraw those funds from your trading account. If you do open an account because of a bonus offer then make sure you understand exactly how the bonus offer works and as ever only trade with reputable and regulated brokers. You can compare FX brokers on the good money guide by clicking this link

Finally, I am sorry to say that if a bonus is important to you then it may be that you are undercapitalised for trading and should wait until you are in a better financial position and have more risk capital available to you.

Richard founded the good money guide (previously good broker guide) in 2015 and has been a broker for 20 years most recently at investors intelligence and previously a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF global (man financial). Richard started his career working as a private client stockbroker at walker crips and phillip securities (now king and shaxson) after interning on the NYMEX oil trading floor in new york and london IPE in 2001 & 2000.

So, let's see, what we have: are you a looking for the best forex no deposit bonus? Discover what are the best no deposit bonuses on the market, and much more! At broker bonus