Against the tactics
Alpari review
Which common trading scams Alpari's structure makes difficult, and which it does not.
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Alpari is a real firm, though it operates in a way that makes the usual warning signs harder to read, and the sections below explain which of them still apply. Regulated by Mwali International Services Authority (MISA), T2023236, offering MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Alpari Mobile.
Our rating
One rating, identical across our sites - only the way it is shown changes. It averages six assessments: regulation, trading costs, platforms, markets, support and education.
Regulation and safety
- Regulated by
- Mwali International Services Authority (MISA), T2023236
- Regulator tier
- Tier 3
- Register entry
- MISA International Brokerage and Clearing Company register
- Client money segregated
- Yes
- Held at
- Regulated banking institutions
- Negative balance protection
- Yes
- Compensation scheme
- No statutory investor compensation scheme
- Audited by
- Independent external auditor
- Not available to
- United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, North Korea, European Union, United Kingdom, Syria, Sudan, Cuba
Check the licence on the regulator's own site, not on a link somebody sent you.
Alpari lists its regulation as Mwali International Services Authority (MISA), T2023236.
The company behind the brand
- Legal entity
- Parlance Trading Ltd
- Company number
- HY00423015
- Headquarters
- Fomboni, Moheli, Comoros Union
- Founded
- 1998
- Publicly listed
- No
- Parent company
- Independent
- Employees
- 200+
- Also trades as
- Alpari
Deposits and withdrawals
- Deposit methods
- Bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, e-wallets, cryptocurrency and regional payment methods
- Withdrawal methods
- Bank transfer, cards, e-wallets, cryptocurrency and supported local payment methods
- Deposit time
- Instant for most electronic methods; bank transfer typically 1-3 business days
- Withdrawal time
- Electronic methods generally within 24 hours; bank transfers typically 1-5 business days
- Minimum withdrawal
- $1 equivalent
- Local payment methods
- Multiple local bank transfers, mobile-money services and region-specific payment methods
What it costs to trade
- Spread from
- 0.0 pips
- EUR/USD spread
- Approx. 0.1 pips, Pro ECN
- GBP/USD spread
- Approx. 0.3 pips, Pro ECN
- Commission
- $2.50 per lot traded, Pro ECN FX
- All-in cost, EUR/USD
- Approx. 0.35 pips
- Spread type
- Variable
- Overnight swap
- Both: overnight swaps may be charged or credited
- Inactivity fee
- $5/month after 6 months inactivity
- Deposit fee
- Generally none; method-dependent
- Withdrawal fee
- Method-dependent
- Currency conversion
- Conversion at applicable exchange rate
An offer that beats the market by a wide margin is the most reliable warning sign there is.
A quoted spread from 0.0 pips is a raw-spread figure, which almost always means a separate commission per lot. Compare the two together - a "zero spread" account with a high commission can cost more than a wider spread with none.
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.
Alpari lists a minimum deposit of $50. 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 and execution
- Markets
- Forex, Metals, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies
- Currency pairs
- 60+
- Total instruments
- 750+
- Crypto CFDs
- Yes
- Maximum leverage
- 1:3000
- Execution model
- Hybrid market maker / ECN
- Execution speed
- Under 100ms
- Order types
- Market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit, trailing stop
- Servers
- Global financial data-centre infrastructure
Leverage up to 1:3000 is available on this entity. High leverage does not increase your expected return - it increases position size for the same deposit, and shortens the move needed to close you out.
Alpari covers forex, metals, commodities, indices, stocks, etfs, cryptocurrencies. A wider range matters less than depth in the instruments you actually trade.
Funding options: bank transfer, visa, mastercard, e-wallets, cryptocurrency and regional payment methods. 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 and tools
- Platforms
- MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Alpari Mobile
- Own platform
- Yes, Alpari Mobile
- Mobile app
- Both proprietary and third-party
- Browser trading
- Yes
- Automated trading
- Yes, MT4/MT5 Expert Advisors and automated trading
- Copy trading
- Yes, PAMM
- Indicators
- 30+ MT4; 38+ MT5; advanced TradingView charting available through Alpari tools
- Third-party tools
- MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, VPS
- API access
- Yes, institutional/partner connectivity
MetaTrader 4 remains the most widely supported platform for expert advisors. If you rely on an existing EA, this is usually the deciding factor.
MetaTrader 5 handles more asset classes and order types than MT4, but expert advisors are not compatible between the two - an MT4 EA will not run on it.
Accounts
- Minimum deposit
- $50
- Account types
- Standard, ECN, Pro ECN, Demo
- Account currencies
- USD, EUR, GBP, NGN
- Islamic account
- Yes
- Demo account
- Yes
- Professional account
- Yes, Pro ECN
- Minimum trade size
- 0.01 lots
- Time to open
- Typically a few minutes
Support and education
- Support hours
- 24/5
- Contact channels
- Live chat, email, phone, Help Centre
- Languages
- Multilingual
- Telephone
- +44 204 577 9510
- customersupport@alpari.com
- Live chat response
- Typically under 2 minutes
- Education
- Extensive: Alpari Academy, educational articles, trading guides, webinars, tutorials and beginner education
- Research
- Market analysis, daily trade ideas, analyst insights, technical/fundamental analysis and market news
Questions people ask about Alpari
Which website is really Alpari?
Alpari trades at alpari.com. Anything on a lookalike domain is not the broker, however closely the page copies it, and a link that arrives in a message is the one worth checking character by character.