Forex Deposit Bonus: Which Broker’s Bonus to Choose and How to Use It

A forex deposit bonus adds money that you can trade with but never withdraw, and ForexFanClub recommends the bonuses of XM and HFM. Both brokers set the bonus by country, so your offer depends on where you live.

You can see the bonus for your own country on each broker’s page before you register.

Is a Deposit Bonus Worth More Than a Lower Trading Cost?

In our gold test, the XM deposit bonus left you more money than Exness’s lower cost, as long as you deposited in small parts. At XM, a loss comes out of your own money first, and the bonus then takes the next part of the loss, which you never pay back.

We worked this out in our XM vs Exness comparison for $100 of trading money and 50 gold trades of 0.01 lot, with half of the trades winning. Exness pays no bonus, but each lot of gold costs less there.

Small deposits of $10 leave you the most money, because the XM bonus starts taking losses early. One deposit of $100 leaves you the least, because the bonus waits behind all of your own money while you pay the higher cost on every trade.

So the bonus is worth more than the lower cost only when you use it the right way.

How Do You Use a Deposit Bonus the Right Way?

You use a deposit bonus the right way by depositing in small parts, keeping your usual trade size, and leaving your money in the trading account. Each of the three keeps the bonus working for you.

• Deposit in parts
  Ten deposits of $10 get the same bonus as one deposit of $100, because the bonus comes with each deposit up to the limit. With small deposits, the bonus starts taking losses sooner.
• Keep your usual trade size
  The bonus is extra margin for a trade that goes against you. With your usual trade size, it lets you keep the trade open through a bigger price move.
• Leave the money in
  A withdrawal removes the same share of the bonus as the share of your money that you take out. So the bonus works best on money that stays in the trading account.

These three habits only work with a bonus that comes with every deposit and can take a loss, and not every deposit bonus does both.

Which Deposit Bonuses Should You Avoid?

The deposit bonuses to avoid are the ones that come with your first deposit only and the ones that cannot take a loss. A good bonus comes with every deposit up to its limit, and it works as margin that can take your losses.

	Good bonus	Bonus to avoid
When you get it	Every deposit up to the limit	First deposit only
Losses	Can take a loss	Takes no loss
What it gives you	Margin that can take a loss	A bigger trade only

The XM bonus and the HFM Top-Up bonus are both the good kind. HFM also runs two bonuses of the other kind, however.

HFM’s limited-time 100% bonus, which ran in Thailand until 19 October, came with the first deposit only. Its SuperCharged bonus in South Africa and Nigeria doubles each deposit as credit that takes no loss.

HFM removes that credit once your losses reach your deposit. So SuperCharged only makes your trade bigger, and a losing trade still takes your own money.

Does a Bonus Raise Your Trading Cost?

Yes, a trading account with a bonus usually costs more to trade, but the ForexFanClub rebate lowers that cost. The rebate comes on top of the bonus, so you can keep both.

The rebate returns part of the spread and commission on every lot that you trade, on trading accounts that you open through ForexFanClub. It is paid in cash the day after you trade, and you can withdraw it.

When the bonus covers part of a trade’s margin, the rebate gets smaller. For example, with half of the margin from the bonus, the XM rebate on 1 lot of gold goes from $18.00 to $9.00.

Even then, you pay less than without the rebate, and the rebate has no downside. To receive the rebate with your bonus, register at XM (opens in a new tab) or at HFM (opens in a new tab) through ForexFanClub.

Which Broker’s Deposit Bonus Do We Recommend?

ForexFanClub recommends both the XM and HFM deposit bonuses, and in every country where both offer one, XM’s bonus is bigger at any deposit size. XM adds 100% or 50% at first, then 20%, while HFM adds 20%, or 10% in Indonesia.

For example, a $100 deposit in Malaysia or Thailand gets a $100 bonus at XM and a $20 bonus at HFM. A $1,000 deposit gets $360 at XM and $200 at HFM, because XM adds 100% on the first $200 and 20% on the rest.

So in these two countries, XM’s bonus stays $160 ahead of HFM’s however much you deposit. XM’s limit is higher too, at $5,000 of bonus every month, while HFM’s bonus stops at $5,000 in total, which takes $25,000 of deposits.

The table below shows the first bonus in the 9 countries where we checked both brokers.

	XM	HFM
Pakistan	50% up to $100, then 20%	Shield 500
South Africa	100% up to $100, then 20%	Shield 500 and SuperCharged
India	100% up to $100, then 50% and 20%	No bonus
Malaysia	100% up to $200, then 20%	20% Top-Up
Philippines	100% up to $100, then 20%	No bonus
Thailand	100% up to $200, then 20%	20% Top-Up
Indonesia	50% up to $100, then 20%	10% Top-Up
Sri Lanka	100% up to $100, then 20%	Shield 500
Bangladesh	50% up to $100, then 20%	Shield 500

With Shield 500, you trade with your own money first, and if you have lost money after 25 days, HFM pays back the losses up to $500 as a trading bonus. Our HFM bonus guide explains Shield 500 and SuperCharged in full.

Both brokers change these offers about once a month, and XM’s rate after its first level can differ by country. So the bonus you receive is the one on your own screen, and our XM bonus guide shows XM’s offer in more countries.

What Should You Watch Out For With the XM and HFM Bonuses?

At XM and HFM, a withdrawal removes part of the bonus, and a trading account without activity loses the bonus. The table below compares the rules of the two bonuses.

	XM	HFM
Trading account	Standard or Micro	Top-Up Bonus only
Bonus rate	100% or 50% at first, then 20%	10% or 20% on every deposit
Bonus limit	$5,000 every month	$5,000 in total
No activity	Bonus removed after 90 days	Account closed after 60 days

A withdrawal takes more from the money that you trade with than the money that you take out, because the bonus goes down by the same share as your own money.

A transfer between your own trading accounts can count as a withdrawal too. At XM, a transfer to an Ultra Low account removes the same share of the bonus. At HFM, a transfer from the Top-Up Bonus account back to your wallet does the same.

At HFM, you receive the bonus on a separate Top-Up Bonus account, and you can hold only one. If you hedge a trade on it with another HFM account or with another broker, HFM can cancel the bonus.

Questions People Ask About Forex Deposit Bonuses

Is there a forex bonus with no deposit?

Of the 15 countries that we checked, XM offered a bonus without a deposit only in the UAE, worth $50.

HFM offered a free trading account only on its Japanese site. XM’s promotions page (opens in a new tab) shows whether your country has an XM bonus without a deposit today.

Why does my screen show a different bonus?

Your XM Members Area or HFM Client Area shows the bonus for your profile and country, and that is the one you receive. The public pages show the offer for the country you browse from.

Which Page Do You Need Next?

For the full conditions of one broker’s bonus and how to claim it, start with the XM bonus guide or the HFM bonus guide.