Zero-commission brokers in South Africa

Affiliate links: we earn a commission; it never changes scores or order. CFDs are high-risk and leverage can lose you money rapidly.

Key facts (17 of 104 counts · 104 brokers onboarding South African residents)

17of 104

qualify for this ranking

16% of 104

7of 17

scored on all six axes

41% of 17

66of 104

publish a price

63% of 104

72of 104

publish a leverage figure for this country

69% of 104

Top 3 (of 3 ranked)

1Trade Nation3.98highest score of the three · locally licensed 2ActivTrades3.97offshore (bahamas scb); no fsca authoris 3Khwezi Trade3.96cheapest priced of the three · locally licensed

Zero-commission brokers in South Africa (17 of 104)

OrderBy slice score, formula v1.0.

Shown17 of 104 brokers in this ranking · all 17

#	Broker	Round turn, USDZA	Min deposit, USDZA	Leverage	Withdrawal, hZA	Score	Execution	Founded	Funding
1	Capital.com	6	20	—stated, not verified	—	4.6	Standard	2016	3 methods · local
2	AvaTrade	9	100	400ZA	—	4.55	Standard	2006	5 methods · local
3	Mitrade	8.5	20	200ZA	24	4.24	Standard	2011	4 methods
4	ATFX	12	500 group	400ZA	24	4.18	Standard	2017	3 methods · local
5	Plus500	8	750 ZAR	30ZA	72	4	Standard	2008	5 methods · local
6	Trade Nation	5	0 group	200ZA	120	3.98	Standard	2014	3 methods · local
7	ActivTrades	5	0 group	200ZA	—	3.97	Standard	2001	4 methods
8	Khwezi Trade	4	500 ZAR	400ZA	72	3.96	ECN/raw + standard	2013	1 methods · local
9	XTB	5	0	500ZA	72	3.83	Standard	2002	2 methods
10	LiteFinance	18	50	1000ZA	24	3.67	Standard	2005	3 methods
11	FXTM	16	10	2000ZA	24	3.6	Standard	2011	5 methods · local
12	Errante	—	50 group	1000ZA	24	3.58	ECN/raw + standard	2019	5 methods
13	T4Trade	—	50 group	1000ZA	—	2.99	—	2021	5 methods
14	Fortrade	20	—	—stated, not verified	120	2.48	Standard	2013	4 methods
15	Axiory	—	10 group	400ZA	240	—	—	2011	6 methods
16	Markets.com	—	100	300ZA	168	—	—	2008	5 methods · local
17	OctaFX	—	25	1000ZA	3	—	—	2011	3 methods · local

Ten are shown; the button opens the rest.

"group" marks a figure the broker publishes for the group rather than for this country. It is shown because the broker states it, and it is not ranked, averaged or used to sort.

— the broker does not publish this figure; it is not read as a zero and it is not scored.

LiteFinance publishes a retail leverage of 1:1000 without naming the entity that grants it, so the figure is marked group and left out of the leverage ranking and median.

Identical for every row, so it is stated once: Who onboards Local · FSCA · Swap-free fee none, no limit · ZAR account Yes.

1. Trade Nation — highest score of the three · locally licensed (score 3.98)

Round turn: 5 USD
Withdrawal: up to 5 business days
ZAR account: Native ZAR account available (plus GBP, EUR, USD, AUD), so ZAR deposits avoid conversion.
Leverage: 200ZA
Licence: FSCA 49846
Accepts residents: yes
Onboarding entity: South African clients are onboarded under the genuine LOCAL entity Trade Nation Financial (Pty) Ltd (reg. 2018/418755/07), not an offshore arm.
Founded: 2014
Register: https://tradenation.com/en-za · 09.07.2026
Group leverage: localgroup
Instruments: 1,000+ instruments - ~40 forex pairs, ~1,100 share CFDs, plus indices, commodities and crypto CFDs.
Platforms: MT5cTraderWebTradingView
Funding: Local ZAR bank transfer/EFT plus Visa/Mastercard; ZAR deposits credited without FX conversion.
Not served: United States, Canada, Belgium, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria

Reviews25%70
Round-turn cost20%100
Safety
Payouts15%0
Track record10%60
Platforms25

Why it ranks here

Round turn 5 USD against the slice median 7 USD. strongest axis round-turn cost 100 of 100. total score 3.98.

Watch for

Payouts axis 58 of 100; e-wallet times not published.

Full review of Trade Nation

2. ActivTrades — offshore (bahamas scb); no fsca authoris (score 3.97)

Round turn: 5 USD
ZAR account: USD, EUR, GBP, CHF; no ZAR account, deposits convert.
Leverage: 200ZA
Accepts residents: through an offshore entity
Onboarding entity: South African clients onboarded offshore under ActivTrades Corp (SCB Bahamas); no local entity.
Founded: 2001
Register: https://activtrades.com · 09.07.2026
Group leverage: unclear
Instruments: Forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, bonds, crypto CFDs.
Platforms: MT5MT4Web
Funding: Cards, bank wire, Skrill, Neteller; no local ZAR EFT rails verified at review.

Why it ranks here

Round turn 5 USD against the slice median 7 USD. strongest axis round-turn cost 100 of 100. total score 3.97.

Watch for

Min deposit 200 USD, double the South Africa median of 50; withdrawal time not published.

Full review of ActivTrades

3. Khwezi Trade — cheapest priced of the three · locally licensed (score 3.96)

Round turn: 4 USD
Withdrawal: 1-3 working days
ZAR account: ZAR
Leverage: 400ZA
Licence: 44816
Accepts residents: yes
Onboarding entity: Khwezi Trade (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town
Founded: 2013
Register: https://khwezitrade.co.za/ · 11.07.2026
Group leverage: uncleargroup
Instruments: Multi-asset CFDs: currency pairs (forex), indices, commodities, metals, energies
Platforms: MT5WebMobile
Funding: EFT / bank transfer; client funds held in segregated Standard Bank accounts in client's name

Why it ranks here

Round turn 4 USD against the slice median 7 USD. strongest axis round-turn cost 100 of 100. total score 3.96.

Watch for

Onboards South African residents through an offshore entity: no FSCA licence, no FSCA complaints route, no ZAR account.

Full review of Khwezi Trade

What the data shows(4 distributions · 104 brokers)

Swap-free availability (104 brokers)

Offered30Not offered14

Admin fee after the free period (17 of 104 swap-free)

Never16After 3–30 days9not published5

Who onboards South African residents (104 brokers)

Local FSCA entity20Offshore entity24

ZAR account (104 brokers)

Yes16No23not published5

Swap-free round turn, USD (66 of 104 priced · median 7)

7<5

455-10

810-15

515-20

120+

Retail leverage in South Africa (72 of 104 · 1 group excluded)

48<1000

151000-2000

42000-3000

43000-4000

14000+

Full list(17 of 104)

1Capital.com4.6
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
6
Min deposit, USD
20
ZAR
Yes
2AvaTrade4.55
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
9
Min deposit, USD
100
Leverage
400ZA
ZAR
Yes
3Mitrade4.24
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
8.5
Min deposit, USD
20
Leverage
200ZA
ZAR
Yes
4ATFX4.18
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
12
Min deposit, USD
500 group
Leverage
400ZA
ZAR
Yes
5Plus5004
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
8
Min deposit, USD
750 ZAR
Leverage
30ZA
ZAR
Yes
6Trade Nation3.98
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
5
Min deposit, USD
0 group
Leverage
200ZA
ZAR
Yes
7ActivTrades3.97
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
5
Min deposit, USD
0 group
Leverage
200ZA
ZAR
Yes
8Khwezi Trade3.96
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
4
Min deposit, USD
500 ZAR
Leverage
400ZA
ZAR
Yes
9XTB3.83
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
5
Min deposit, USD
0
Leverage
500ZA
ZAR
Yes
10LiteFinance3.67
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
18
Min deposit, USD
50
Leverage
1000ZA
ZAR
Yes
11FXTM3.6
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
16
Min deposit, USD
10
Leverage
2000ZA
ZAR
Yes
12Errante3.58
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Min deposit, USD
50 group
Leverage
1000ZA
ZAR
Yes
13T4Trade2.99
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Min deposit, USD
50 group
Leverage
1000ZA
ZAR
Yes
14Fortrade2.48
Onboards
Local · FSCA
Swap-free
none, no limit
Round turn, USD
20
ZAR
Yes

How to read this ranking

Start with the figure this page ranks on.
Every row here is ordered by computed score, highest first; unscored brokers follow. A broker that publishes no figure is shown without one rather than guessed at.
Check which company would onboard you.
The same brand can take a resident of South Africa through a locally licensed entity or an offshore one, and the leverage cap, the complaint route and the protection all follow the entity, not the brand.
Read the cost beside the deposit.
The median round turn across this country is 7.0 USD and the median minimum deposit 50.0 USD; a low deposit beside a wide spread takes the difference back on every trade.

Neighbouring slices(6 rankings · 6 explainers)

Same country

Explained

FAQ

How many brokers qualify for this ranking in South Africa?: 17 of 104 brokers measured for this country qualify.
Which broker leads it, and on what basis?: Trade Nation leads it with a score of 3.98. The order is computed score, highest first; unscored brokers follow.
What does a trade typically cost here?: The median round turn - spread plus commission for one standard lot, in and out - is 7.0 USD across the brokers that publish both parts.
Why do some rows show a dash instead of a figure?: Because the broker does not publish that figure for this country. A dash is a statement about what is published, and a figure is never filled in from a group-wide page as if it applied locally.

How this slice is scored

Slice score = 2 + 3 × weighted mean of the six axes; the swap-free fee and availability feed price and reliability. A missing axis drops out and weights are renormalised; group-wide figures never enter. Full methodology

Verified · What changed · Sources(17 of 104 broker records)

Verified01.10.2026

data re-captured 28.09.2026

Risk warning and affiliate disclosure

CFDs are complex instruments with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. A swap-free account removes overnight interest, not market risk. We earn a commission on some links; paid rows are marked and never ranked first.