March 2025 Forex Spread Assessment by Brokersview: How Competitive Are Trading Costs?

Spreads remain one of the most critical factors in evaluating the competitiveness of forex brokers, directly influencing trade profitability—especially for short-term traders. Brokersview’s March 2025 spread report provides an in-depth look at trading costs across major brokers, focusing on three popular instruments: EURUSD, GBPUSD, and XAUUSD.

Top 3 Brokers by Average Spreads

1. Decode Global

EURUSD: 11 points
GBPUSD: 12.3 points
XAUUSD: 17.7 points

While Decode Global’s spreads were slightly higher than EightCap’s for XAUUSD, its performance remained solid across the board with no extreme deviations.

2. EightCap

EURUSD: 11.4 points
GBPUSD: 13.4 points
XAUUSD: 15 points

EightCap delivered particularly competitive pricing for XAUUSD trading, making it a viable option for traders focusing on precious metals.

3. ACY Securities

EURUSD: 10.5 points
GBPUSD: 11.7 points
XAUUSD: 21.7 points

ACY Securities offered the most balanced spread offering among the top three brokers reviewed, with competitive pricing across all major instruments. However, volatility analysis shows that its spreads can widen significantly during market stress, especially in XAUUSD.

EURUSD Spread Analysis: 

IC Markets dominated the field in EURUSD spreads with an industry-leading average of 0.6 points, though the worst-case spread reached 200 points, indicating susceptibility to major market fluctuations.

AUS Global offered the second-lowest average at 1.3 points, with a maximum spread of 150 points, providing an effective balance between low cost and spread stability.

Meanwhile, brokers such as FxPro (17.2 avg / 250 worst)  had notably higher variability, increasing slippage risk during news events.

GBPUSD Spread Analysis: 

IC Markets once again stood out with a 2.5-point average spread, and although its maximum spread hit 186 points, it still ranked among the most favorable for GBPUSD trading.

AUS Global followed with a 6.8-point average, offering consistency across both major currency pairs. On the flip side, ACY Securities (11.7 / 355) and Windsor Brokers (15.9 / 336) showed significant spread spikes, raising concerns about execution costs in volatile sessions.

XAUUSD Spread Analysis: 

In March 2025, AUS Global set the benchmark for XAUUSD trading with an exceptionally low average spread of 5.7 points, accompanied by a relatively moderate worst-case spike of 190 points. IC Markets followed closely with a 10.6 average, though its peak spread reached 192 points, indicating potential volatility during high-impact events.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, FXTM (46.5 avg / 225 worst) and FxPro (36.1 / 150) posted the highest trading costs, making them less favorable for short-term or scalping strategies. Meanwhile, ACY Securities showed the most severe volatility, with a spread spike of 600 points, despite a more moderate average of 21.7, raising concerns about slippage and trade execution risk.

High Spread Brokers – Costly for Active Trading

At the higher end of the spectrum, several brokers report spreads that could significantly erode trading profits:

WeTrade, FXTM, and FxPro also reported:

EURUSD: 17.2–18.8 pts

GBPUSD: 19.6–22.8 pts

XAUUSD: 35–46 pts

These figures may deter traders with tighter cost sensitivity.

Instrument-Specific Observations

EURUSD remains the most competitive pair, with spreads starting from 0.6 pts (IC Markets) and peaking at 18.8 pts (Swissquote).

GBPUSD displays more spread variability, showing that fewer brokers prioritize competitive pricing for this pair.

XAUUSD shows the widest spread gaps, underscoring the importance of broker selection in XAUUSD trading.

Conclusion

For March 2025, Decode Global, ACY Securities and EightCap also demonstrated solid cost structures, though spread spikes under pressure should not be ignored.

Traders are advised to evaluate not only average spreads but also worst-case scenarios, as volatile spread behavior can have a substantial impact on trade execution, especially during major news releases. A broker with a slightly higher average but tighter max spread may offer better long-term value than one with low averages and high volatility.

Data Source: Brokersview Spread Ranking

Note: Spreads are subject to change based on market conditions and broker policies. Traders are encouraged to verify real-time spread data directly with their chosen brokers.