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Best Commodity Trading Brokers and Platforms

Written By

James Barra

Written By

James Barra

James is an investment writer with a background in financial services. As a former management consultant, he has worked on major operational transformation programmes at prominent European banks. James authors, edits and fact-checks content for a series of investing websites.

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Edited By

Michael MacKenzie

Edited By

Michael MacKenzie

Michael is a writer and editor with over a decade in journalism and publishing. His niche lies in editing and fact-checking content in the financial services sector, with a focus on online brokers and trading platforms. Michael previously reported on politics and economics in the Middle East and edits books for established publishers.

» Michael MacKenzie Profile Page

Fact Checked By

Jemma Grist

Fact Checked By

Jemma Grist

Jemma is a writer, editor and fact-checker focused on retail trading and investing. Jemma brings a unique perspective to the forex, stock, and cryptocurrency markets and works across several investment websites as a researcher and broker analyst.

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Updated

Dec 10, 2024

Commodity trading brokers enable retail investors to speculate on the price of popular markets like gold, oil, natural gas, corn and sugar. Commodities brokers typically offer a choice of investing vehicles, including CFDs, futures and stocks in companies involved in the manufacturing, sourcing, or processing of commodities.

In this guide, we rank the best brokers for trading commodities. Our team evaluated 100+ brokers to find the top platforms, taking into account the type of commodities available, fees, tools, plus the broker’s regulatory status.

List of 5 Best Commodities Trading Brokers 2024

These 5 commodity platforms stood out during our tests:

1. Pepperstone: Best Overall Broker For Trading Commodities
2. AvaTrade: Best Commodities Trading App
3. IC Markets: Best For High Leverage on Commodities
4. Vantage: Best MetaTrader Commodities Broker
5. FOREX.com: Best For US Commodities Traders

Comparison of Top 5 Commodity Trading Brokers

Pepperstone: Best Overall Broker For Trading Commodities

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Review

Pepperstone is a top-rated broker with 400,000+ clients and oversight from trusted regulators, including the FCA, ASIC and CySEC. The broker offers very low fees on commodities and reliable software.

Pros

We recommend Pepperstone for commodities due to several reasons:

• There is a wide range of 40 commodities available, including metals like gold and silver, energies like oil and natural gas, plus softs like soybeans and coffee.
• Spreads are some of the tightest we have seen, starting from 0.05 on gold with no commission.
• Commodity markets can be analyzed on best-in-class platforms, including MetaTrader 4.
• Pepperstone has a 99.99% fill rate with ultra-fast execution speeds of ~30ms.
• Commodity CFDs are available with leverage, amplifying profits by up to 1:20.

Cons

We found several drawbacks to commodities investing at Pepperstone:

• The sign-up process is slower than some alternatives, taking up to half an hour.
• The demo account for testing commodity strategies expires after 30 days.
• The range of deposit methods is narrow with limited support for e-wallets.

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AvaTrade: Best Commodities Trading App

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Review

AvaTrade is an award-winning CFD broker with a good range of commodity assets and high-quality tools. The firm is also widely respected and heavily regulated, with oversight from 5 financial bodies, including the ASIC.

Pros

We found several advantages to investing in commodities with AvaTrade:

• 19 commodities are available, including softs like corn, sugar, wheat and coffee, plus hards like gold, silver and oil.
• We enjoy using the AvaTradeGO app to trade commodities on the go – the interface is easy to navigate and trades can be managed in a few clicks.
• Automated investing is supported through Expert Advisors (EAs) on the DupliTrade and MetaTrader platforms.
• Fees on commodities are lower than many competitors, with a spread of $0.03 over the market on crude oil.
• Micro lots (0.01 lots) are available on commodities, serving beginners.

Cons

Downsides to investing in commodities at AvaTrade include:

• The range of metals trails alternatives, with just 5 instruments available.
• A $50 inactivity fee applies after three months if you don’t place any trades.
• Research and analyst insights into commodities markets fall short of competitors.

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IC Markets: Best For High Leverage on Commodities

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Review

IC Markets is an established broker with 180,000+ clients spanning 200 countries. The multi-regulated commodities broker offers tight spreads, low commissions and market-leading platforms, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader.

Pros

Our team rates IC Markets for commodities investing for several reasons:

• 22 commodities are available, including energies like brent and crude oil, metals like gold and platinum, plus softs like sugar and coffee.
• You can trade precious metals with very high leverage up to 1:500 and softs with leverage up to 1:100. This can significantly amplify profits (and losses).
• Spot and futures commodity CFDs are available, catering to different investing styles, including price speculation.
• Fees compare well to rivals, with an average spread of 1.350 on soybean futures during our evaluation.
• Commodities can be analyzed and traded on the powerful MT4 and MT5 platforms with advanced charting and drawing tools.

Cons

We also identified a few downsides to commodities at IC Markets:

• The $200 minimum deposit is higher than some alternatives we reviewed, though still accessible in our opinion.
• Customer support trails other commodities brokers with slow wait times during testing.
• There are limited educational materials for beginner traders.

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Vantage: Best MetaTrader Commodities Broker

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Review

Vantage is one of the best commodities brokers with strong regulatory oversight and a large client base of 900,000+ clients. You can open an account in less than two minutes and speculate on assets using the reliable MetaTrader software.

Pros

Vantage stood out during our assessment of commodity brokers due to multiple factors:

• 22 commodities are available, including metals like gold and copper, energies like natural gas and oil, plus softs like cotton and orange juice.
• MT4 and MT5 are two of the best platforms with dozens of technical indicators, a range of timeframes, multiple order types, and sophisticated risk management tools.
• ETFs are available for broader exposure to commodity markets, including VanEck: Gold Miners (GDX) and United States Oil Fund LP (USO).
• Precious metals like gold and silver can be traded against popular fiat currencies, including USD, AUD and EUR.
• Fees are on the low side, coming in at 1 pip on gold during our review.

Cons

We also identified several negatives to the commodities offering at Vantage:

• The best conditions are available in the Pro ECN account which requires a $10,000 deposit.
• There are fewer account and legal safeguards at the offshore entity.
• Withdrawal times are on the slow side, taking up to 5 days.

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Forex.com: Best For US Commodities Traders

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Review

Forex.com is a reliable commodities broker with over 20 years of experience in the online investing industry, regulated by the SEC and a member of the NFA and CFTC. The brokerage is also listed on the NASDAQ, adding to its credibility.

Pros

Our experts rate Forex.com for commodities traders due to a number of factors:

• US traders can take positions on spot gold (XAU/USD) and spot silver (XAG/USD).
• Regular news and analysis covering gold and silver markets are available to Forex.com clients.
• Investors can profit from rising and falling metal prices with competitive spreads from 4.2 on gold during our tests.
• The Small Global Oil Index (SMGO) offers broader exposure with crude oil benchmarks available in a single index.
• Forex.com’s platform is a great option for new traders with easy web access, 80 indicators, 14 timeframes and sophisticated charting from TradingView.

Cons

Drawbacks to investing in commodities with Forex.com include:

• Leveraged trades on commodities are not available – CFDs are not permitted in the US.
• The breadth of commodities is narrow compared to alternatives with no softs.
• You can only fund your account with ACH transfer, wire transfer or debit card.

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Comparing Commodities Brokers

To find the best commodities brokers and trading platforms, we looked at several key factors:

Commodity Assets

We consider a wide range of commodities a big advantage. It provides traders who understand how current events are shaping the supply and demand of different commodities more opportunities to profit from market movements. We also view a diverse portfolio as an effective way to manage risk.

Based on our assessment, the biggest brokers offer a good mix of hard and soft commodities spanning popular categories:

• Energies: Brent oil, crude oil, natural gas etc
• Metals: Gold, silver, platinum, palladium etc
• Agriculture: Wheat, sugar, coffee, soybeans, cocoa etc

Investment Vehicles

Investing in commodities directly involves moving and storing large quantities of materials and products, so most retail traders access these markets through derivatives products.

When analyzing commodities platforms, we look for popular investing vehicles:

• CFDs – These financial contracts allow traders to speculate on the direction the price of a commodity will take, without owning or storing the underlying asset. Typically, CFD brokers support leveraged trades, which can boost position sizes and profits with a small outlay.
• Futures – Brokers may also offer commodity futures. This investment vehicle involves an agreement to buy or sell a predetermined amount of a commodity at a precise price on a specific date. Similar to CFDs, brokers typically offer leverage so retail investors don’t need to invest the full amount of capital needed to open the contract.
• Stocks – You may also consider purchasing stocks in companies that are involved in extracting, processing and otherwise dealing commodities. Stocks are often linked to the physical commodity’s performance in the financial market. Examples of popular commodity stocks include mining companies like Freeport-McMoRan and Rio Tinto.
• ETFs – As well as individual companies, we rate brokers that offer exchange-traded funds ETFs or alternative funds that track a basket of commodity shares. These funds can provide exposure to a broad commodities-based sector such as mining or production, so they can be a great way to speculate on commodities while mitigating the volatility of following one specific company.

Fees

Fees are one of the most important factors when we compare commodity brokers. More than just the brokers that advertise the lowest fees, our team looks for firms with transparent pricing structures that give traders the full picture before they sign up.

Brokers typically offer two pricing structures:

• Commission-free with floating spreads
• Flat commission model with tighter spreads

Serious traders tend to favor the commission-based model as it offers the tightest spreads with fixed commissions, while spread-only accounts often appeal to beginners looking for a single, straightforward fee.

We also consider non-investing fees as part of our comparison, as these can have an impact on profit margins. This includes deposit and withdrawal fees, account inactivity charges, and costs for accessing premium tools.

Platforms

Brokers must offer at least one stable and powerful platform to rank in our list of the top commodities brokers.

The most popular platforms we came across during our review were MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer sophisticated analysis tools, custom charting with multiple timeframe views, and automated capabilities. Other popular terminals include cTrader and TradingView.

Some brokers also excel for their high-quality in-house platforms. We test these platforms to make sure they are well-designed with interactive charting and straightforward order management tools.

Regulation

The regulatory status of a firm is a significant factor when choosing a commodity broker because top-tier regulation is the best assurance that a company is legitimate and trustworthy.

Tier-one financial watchdogs, such as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), offer some of the strongest oversight and licensed brokers must adhere to customer safeguarding initiatives and provide financial protection measures for retail investors.

Our experts verify that a brokerage is regulated by checking the respective regulator’s database. Our team also research companies’ track record to make sure there aren’t complaints of scams or unfair operating practices.

FAQ

Which Is The Best Commodity Broker?

Based on our assessment, the best commodity broker is Pepperstone. 40 commodities are available with low fees and high-quality platforms in a secure investing environment.

Alternatively, AvaTrade, IC Markets, Vantage and FOREX.com offer excellent conditions for commodity investors.

What Is A Commodity Broker?

A commodity broker is an intermediary that processes buy or sell orders on behalf of retail traders for a fee. The top brokers provide a range of commodity assets such as energies, precious metals and softs, that can be traded via different vehicles, including CFDs or futures.