Pocket Option For Beginners

Binary options are favored by many traders Pocket Option Affiliate . Let's see which brokers offer the best binary options trading services.

Tim Fries

Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University .

Reviewed by Shane Neagle

Shane Neagle

Meet Shane Pocket Option Strategy 2024 . Shane first starting working with The Tokenist in September of 2018 — and has happily stuck around ever since . Originally from Maine, . Updated November 17, 2023

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Binary options are accessible and easy to understand compared to other options. They also have the potential to change your life. It’s no wonder so many people are looking to find a top-tier binary options broker so they can start working on their own trades and earning some money.

Yet binary options are also somewhat risky despite their apparent transparency. For instance, many binary options brokers aren’t very well regulated or are outright scams. Fortunately, we’ve already figured out the best binary options brokers for you to consider.

Top Online Binary Options Brokers

This is our top pick for the best binary options trading brokers:

1. Nadex
   Best Overall
2. Binary.com
   The Only Broker that Provides Multiple Trading Platforms
3. IQ Option
   Best Premium Service
4. RaceOption
   Biggest Variety of Funding Options
5. BinaryCent
   Best for Low Minimum Investment Amounts

Binary Options Brokers Compared

Before jumping into a deep dive of each binary options trading platform, here’s a quick overview of the top three platforms compared:

Account Info Min deposit Min trade size Max returns Assets and instruments

Stocks Indices, Forex, Commodities, Binary Options

Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Options, Indices, Stocks, CFDs, Binary Options

Payment methods

ACH (Bank Transfer), Paper Check, Debit Card, Wire Transfer (Telegraphic Transfer)

Visa, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Altcoin, Perfect Money

US traders? 8/10 Visit Nadex on Nadex's website 9/10 Visit BinaryCent on BinaryCent's website Account Info Min deposit Min trade size Max returns Assets and instruments

Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Options, Indices, Stocks, CFDs, Binary Options

Forex, Stocks, Crypto, Commodities, ETFs, CFDs, Binary Options, Digital Options

Payment methods

Visa, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Altcoin, Perfect Money

AdvCash, Neteller, Perfect Money, Skrill, Visa / Mastercard, WebMoney WMZ

US traders? 9/10 Visit BinaryCent on BinaryCent's website 8/10 Visit IQ Option on IQ Option's website Account Info

Assets and instruments

Stocks Indices, Forex, Commodities, Binary Options

Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Options, Indices, Stocks, CFDs, Binary Options

Forex, Stocks, Crypto, Commodities, ETFs, CFDs, Binary Options, Digital Options

ACH (Bank Transfer), Paper Check, Debit Card, Wire Transfer (Telegraphic Transfer)

Visa, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Altcoin, Perfect Money

AdvCash, Neteller, Perfect Money, Skrill, Visa / Mastercard, WebMoney WMZ

8/10 Visit Nadex on Nadex's website 9/10 Visit BinaryCent on BinaryCent's website 8/10 Visit IQ Option on IQ Option's website

Looking for more info? We’ve got you covered. The following explains everything you need to know about the leading binary options brokers.

Introduction Pocket Option For Beginners

1. Nadex – Best Overall

Nadex is the most regulated options trading platform out there.

Nadex is an important platform to consider if you plan to trade binary options in the US. From a certain point of view, it’s the only real licensed broker in the USA where you can trade binary options (see our guide on trading binary options in the US for more information). This exchange platform lets you take positions on all kinds of options or contracts, but everything is well-regulated thanks to the guidelines of the CFTC.

Pros

• Lots of market variety
• Only licensed binary options platform in the US
• Software is user-friendly
• Demo account with $10k in virtual funds
• Generally low fees
• No minimum initial deposit amount

Cons

• Limited research reports and tools

Visit Nadex on Nadex’s website

Thus, it’s a great choice if you want to ensure that your money is safe when you’re trading.

Account Info	Nadex
Minimum deposit:	N/A
Minimum trade size:	$1
Maximum returns:	Varies
Supported trading platforms:	Web browser platform can be used on PC, Mac and mobile browsers
Assets and instruments:	Stocks Indices, Forex, Commodities, Binary Options
Payment methods:	ACH (Bank Transfer), Paper Check, Debit Card, Wire Transfer (Telegraphic Transfer)
Regulation:	CFTC
US traders?	Yes
Demo account?	Yes

This platform allows you to place your orders directly to the exchange using their special software. It’s fairly user-friendly and easy to grasp, and it allows you to filter over 5000 contracts every day by various aspects like price, expiry time, or asset class.

Binary options only result in a $1 trading fee for entry and/or exit. These low fees make it a great platform in terms of accessibility alone.

Nadex also gives you a demo trading account with $10,000 in virtual money; it’s a perfect arena for you to practice your binary options trading skills. Actual accounts require a $0 deposit, as there is no longer a minimum deposit threshold.

Nadex’s other big positive is that it gives you access to a wide number of assets and commodities with which to buy or sell binary options. For more on this regulated exchange, see our detailed Nadex review.

2. Binary.com – Provides Multiple Trading Platforms

Binary.com is one of the rare brokers that provide multiple trading platforms.

This aptly-named online brokerage offers both CFD trading and binary options. It was founded in 1999, so the company is one of the oldest players in this market and has a long reputation. They have over 1 million registered users worldwide and are spread out across the world.

Pros

• Works well for beginning and advanced traders
• Lots of platforms to choose from
• Works with customers from most countries
• Have several rare options that other brokers don’t allow
• Multiple payment options

Cons

• Some offerings may not be seen as legal in most places

Visit Binary.com on Binary.com website

Unlike most other brokers, Binary.com provides you with multiple trading platforms to choose from, ranging between MT5 to Binary Bot to SmartTrader. This allows beginners and experts to take advantage of their network with the trading platform they prefer based on their experience level or ease-of-use.

Account Info	Binary.com
Minimum deposit:	$5 with e-wallet; $10 with debit and credit cards
Minimum trade size:	$1
Maximum returns:	91%
Supported trading platforms:	Proprietary Web, Android and iPhone
Assets and instruments:	Commodities, Forex, CFDs, Crypto, Binary Options, Stocks, Indices, and Synthetic Indices
Payment methods:	Visa, FastPay, Neteller, Perfect Money, Skrill, WebMoney, QIWI, Paysafecard, Jeton, STICPAY, Airtm Mastercard and Maestro (withdrawals are only available for UK Clients)
Regulation:	MFSA, VFSC, BVI Financial Services Commission, and Labuan FSA
US traders?	No
Demo account?	Yes

They also provide attractive return rates that can go as high as 1000% on certain binary options trades. Binary. com also offers great market options; you can trade with most major indices, commodities, currencies, and more. They also allow you the rare opportunity to sell your contract before the expiry time to lock-in profit or minimize your loss. Be aware that this may not be seen as legal depending on your home country.

3. IQ Option – Best Premium Service

IQ Option offers the most intuitive options trading platform

This Cyprus-based binary options broker is one of the most successful online options brokers you can find, with headquarters in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . They process over 1 million trades every day and have clients from multiple countries, including 43 million registered users.

Pros

• Very accessible
• Platform interface is easy to use
• Low deposits and fees
• Good maximum payouts
• Lots of option diversity account available
• Demo

Cons

• Limited market availability

Visit IQ Option on IQ Option’s website
“RISK WARNING: YOUR CAPITAL MIGHT BE AT RISK”

While they trade binary options, they also have over 300 assets to trade ranging from CFDs to commodities to EFTs. Thus, they’re a great platform if you want to start with binary options but maybe branch out into other choices later down the road.

Account Info	IQ Option
Minimum deposit:	$10
Minimum trade size:	$1
Maximum returns:	100% *
Supported trading platforms:	Proprietary Web, Android, iPhone iOS, Windows, and MacOS
Assets and instruments:	Forex, Stocks, Crypto, Commodities, ETFs, CFDs, Binary Options, Digital Options
Payment methods:	AdvCash, Neteller, Perfect Money, Skrill, Visa / Mastercard, WebMoney WMZ
US traders?	No
Demo account?	Yes

(*) In case of a correct prediction.

They offer a platform through the web, or you can use one of the trading applications for desktop computers or mobile phones.

Furthermore, IQ Option offers demo accounts, including $10,000 in “virtual cash” in order for you to experiment. It’s very user-friendly all in all, especially since the interface is easy to understand. They include several layout systems and financial information panels.

Determining the right technical analysis or alert systems to use is relatively simple, but there’s a layer of complexity hidden beneath that you can use to personalize your experience with a platform. Additionally, they provide new and experienced traders with risk-management functions like stop-loss options, trailing stops, and negative balance protection.

Their market options are quite diverse, with multiple different digital options available for trading. They’re also fairly accessible, with low minimum investments of one dollar and maximum returns at about 100% profit on your stake. Our comprehensive IQ Option review goes in more detail on how these traits may benefit you.

IQ Option does not accept traders from several countries. An up-to-date list of restricted countries can be found on the official website. They do see a lot of business in South African markets, however.

General Risk Warning: The financial products offered by the company carry a high level of risk and can result in the loss of all your funds. You should never invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Jurisdiction Warning: Binary options via IQ Option are not promoted or sold to retail EEA traders. If you are not a professional client, please do not proceed with IQ Option.

4. RaceOption – Great Availability for Foreign Customers

RaceOption has the best options trading offers for foreign customers.

This UK-based binary options broker was established in 2014 and currently processes well over 10,000 trades every day. More importantly, they’re one of the few binary options brokers that allow clients from Canada, the US, and Australia combined. They actually don’t have any restrictions based on your country of origin.

Pros

• Available in many highly regulated countries
• No restrictions based on customers’ home country
• Offers lots of funding options in different markets
• Allows deposit bonuses up to 100%

Cons

• Minimum deposit is $250
• Only 90% max payout

Visit RaceOption on RaceOption’s website

Other positive features include deposit bonuses up to 100%, weekend trading markets, and one-hour withdrawals.

Account Info	RaceOption
Minimum deposit:	$250
Minimum trade size:	$1
Maximum returns:	90%
Supported trading platforms:	SpotOption, iOS and Android
Assets and instruments:	CFDs, Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Binary Options
Payment methods:	Visa, MasterCard, Bitcoin, Altcoins, Ethereum, Perfect Money
Regulation:	Finance Group Corp
US traders?	Yes
Demo account?	Yes

Their platform is available for the web and mobile devices and they offer excellent CFD trading tools like life charts and instant trade execution.

Their downside is their high minimum deposit of $250 and 90% max payout. Still, given all the advantages, these are relatively small downsides to overlook.

5. BinaryCent – Best for Low Minimum Investment Amounts

This trading platform is primarily based on forex CFDs. You trade binary options with forex as the assets in question, which is a little unique compared to other trading platforms you can find. BinaryCent is seeing a lot of use because they have low minimum investment amounts; you only need about $0.10 to make an investment.

BinaryCent provides the lowest fees for options trading and high bonuses.

Pros

• Very accessible
• High bonuses allowed
• Low fees overall
• Lots of educational materials
• 24/7 customer support

Cons

• No trade signals offered

Visit BinaryCent on BinaryCent’s website

Use Tokenist code LIMBO20 to get a 200% bonus on your first deposit.

They offer three account types depending on your starting capital, ranging from Bronze to Silver to Gold. Minimum deposits range from $50-$3000, and all accounts get 24/7 live video support, 20% bonus offers, and copy trading tools. The Silver account gets access to additional training tools, a 50% bonus, and three risk-free trades.

Acount Info	Binary Cent
Minimum deposit:	$50
Minimum trade size:	$0.10
Maximum returns:	95%
Supported trading platforms:	Both desktop and mobile with an app available on iOS and Android
Assets and instruments:	Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Options, Indices, Stocks, CFDs, Binary Options
Payment methods:	Visa, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Altcoin, Perfect Money
Regulation:	Vanuatu Financial Services Commission
US traders?	No
Demo account?	Yes

Finally, the Gold account gets a personal success manager (think of them as a training guru) and a 100% bonus. As you can see, the profits from BinaryCent are potentially quite high.

They also offer a demo account for beginning traders and maximum revenues up to 95% profit; this will help rookie traders develop trading techniques for binary options and ultimately better their skills and profitability. The platform is fairly accessible through most mobile phones or Windows or Mac browsers.

The only downside is that they don’t offer trade signals; you’ll need to rely on the analysis of your forex assets in order to successfully make a trade. This leaves you somewhat in the blind compared to other trading platforms.

Still, we believe BinaryCent offers features, bonuses, and extras that you simply cannot find elsewhere. That’s why we believe it’s the top binary options platform available.

A Guide to Binary Options Brokers and Choosing One For You

What is Binary Trading?

To answer this, you first need to understand what a binary option is.

These are actually simple traded options that many low skilled traders can take advantage of. In a nutshell, binary options are financial options that come with either a fixed amount pay off or no pay off whatsoever. This is reflected in the name. On a deeper level, binary options ask the trader to bet on whether an underlying asset will be above a certain price at a particular time or not.

A binary options trader can place trades based on whether they think an asset will be higher or lower than a fixed price. Where things get a little complicated is that binary options are treated differently both inside and outside the US.

For a financial option to be a binary option, the expiration date, time, and strike price all need to be clearly stated so that there’s no wiggle room or confusion on the part of any trader. These options are attractive because of their simplicity, but they also come with relatively capped profits.

As an example, a trader can place a binary option for an asset that becomes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars… But if the binary option was set at $100, that’s all they’ll get. Of course, the reverse is also true, making these options relatively low risk compared to other options on the market. A trader that makes an unlucky trade will also only lose their investment.

It’s the job of binary options brokers (at least outside the US), to disclose the correct payouts, strike prices, and more. These “strike prices” are usually the current price of the underlying financial product (i.e. the actual perceived value of a thing).

One additional thing to note about binary options is that they are designed to be held until their expiration dates. Once you’re in, you’re in until the option expires.

Binary Options Traded Inside the US vs. Outside

Binary options that are traded outside the US have fixed payouts and risks but can be offered by individual brokers instead of being offered directly on an exchange. As a result, brokers can profit directly from the difference between what they pay or collect on winning and losing trades.

On the other hand, US binary options trading can only be traded via an exchange that has been approved by the CFTC. The majority of US binary options are traded on Nadex, which is used by US residents looking to get into this particular investing space.

Binary options trading is popular in other countries as well, particularly in Mexico. If you’re a resident of Mexico, be sure to learn about binary options trading in Mexico.

Why People Use Binary Options: The Pros and Cons

Given that the reward you can possibly get from “winning” on a binary options trade is rather limited compared to the explosive profit that you can make with other options, why do people even bother with this type of trading?

There are indeed only two outcomes with a binary options trade: win or lose and always with a fixed amount. But there are also generally no commissions or fees, as binary options brokers make their profits through other methods. These types of trades are also super simple and there’s only a single decision to make: judging whether an asset will go up or down.

Furthermore, binary options are attractive to many because there aren’t any liquidity concerns about the asset itself. No trader in the deal on the underlying asset, as everyone is just betting on expiration dates and times or strike prices. This makes binary options trading rather accessible from almost anywhere in the world.

The obvious negative is that the reward is almost always less than the risk, especially when you play “high-low” options – these are binary options where you place an option with an amount greater than what you could profit on. For instance, if your profit for a trade was $70 but your potential loss was $100… you’d better be sure that you’re making a good trade!

All this means that losing costs you more than winning, if your win/loss rate is 50%.

Finally, one last negative is that OTC (over the counter) binary options markets aren’t regulated outside the US, so if there is a trade discrepancy, you might be out of luck.

How Do Binary Options Brokers Make Money?

There are three main ways in which binary options brokers can make money:

• Taking price differences based on the trading activities of traders who use their platform
• cashing in money placed on losing trades
• working on exchange models

Let’s explain these one by one.

Binary options brokers can earn money via cashing in on money placed on losing trades; they do this when you place a bid and predicted wrongly and lose the money you invest in that trade. The money then goes to your broker who might give you some percentage of the money back based on your agreement or their policy.

They can also gain money by trading activities from their traders. For instance, if you place a bid and make the correct prediction, you can get your original money back plus an additional 80%.

The broker gets the remaining 20%. In this way, binary options brokers get richer regardless of whether their clients win or lose.

The exchange model method of profit works by allowing traders to bet against one another. In essence, a binary options broker can take money lost by one trader and give it to another trader, charging commissions based on contracts purchased by both.

Naturally, most of these profits aren’t very large by themselves, but they can add up to a lot over time.

Minimum Deposits and Demo Accounts

When you’re looking for a binary options trader, one of the biggest things you should keep an eye out for are low minimum deposits. This is particularly true if you are trying to get involved with binary options or start trading for the first time; you presumably don’t have a very large lump sum to trade with, nor the experience to protect it reliably.

Small initial deposits mean that your investment risk can be low and you can still learn the ropes of binary options trading. Some binary options brokers allow you to place minimum deposits at prices as low as $5: this is easily lower than almost any other type of brokerage minimum deposit save for those institutions that don’t charge any minimum deposit. Even brokers that have minimum deposits beneath 50 bucks might be worth your time.

You should also examine what the broker requirements are for minimum trades or trade amounts. For instance, some brokers will charge a minimum trade requirement of around $25. Others may be much lower, around $2. Naturally, traders that plan to make lots of trades will want the broker with the lowest minimum amount.

In addition, plenty of brokerages may offer demo accounts. These are free accounts you can sign up for to try out binary options trading and examine a broker’s software platform without needing to risk extra money. Of course, you do still need to deposit real money to make a trade.

You can even use demo accounts to try out some of the platforms that we’ve recommended above. Nonetheless, finding the top software for binary options trading is crucial – and demo accounts allow you to test them out.

Payouts with Binary Options

Binary option payouts can vary depending on your broker, specifically the percentage on offer.

Payouts can differ depending on the underlying asset that you trade in addition to the expiration time for the option in question. Payouts can also change on a trade by trade basis so the broker can maintain acceptable risk levels. What you want to do is look for general payout percentage ranges and make a decision based on that.

Once you choose a broker to investigate, you can look at their payouts for assets and expiration times and decide whether they’ll be worth your time and money in general. The top options trading platforms will feature demo accounts, and this is another aspect for which they are extremely useful.

You should also note that over-the-counter brokers and exchange trading options will have different payouts. Exchange-traded options are usually much better in terms of value for money, like using Nadex in the US.

Why Using Multiple Brokers is Advantageous

It might be smart to use multiple brokers at once or in rapid succession as you figure out which platform is your favorite. There’s no penalty for moving from broker to broker, so we’d very much recommend trying out each of their platforms individually to see which fits your trading style. Doing this early on is also great since you don’t spend too much time getting used to a single platform or building up an account balance that you’ll then need to transfer over.

You may also want a larger investment selection. Some of the best binary options brokers also function as the top CFD trading platforms, which can give you a greater exposure to assets.

However, as you gain experience with binary trading, you might actually decide to purposefully use multiple brokers at once. The payouts you can receive from binary options are rather limited unless you become very good at this type of trading, and some brokers are limited based on their markets and the assets they can provide options for.

Using multiple binary options brokers allows you to browse multiple markets at the same time and potentially increase your payouts. We would certainly not recommend this if you are a newcomer to binary trading (or any trading in particular), but those of you who want to juggle multiple accounts at once and potentially earn bigger money through binary options trading might consider this tactic.

💡 Want to learn about options? Learn about the synthetic long to see if it aligns with your trading strategy.

How Is Regulation Handled with Binary Trading? OTC vs Exchange Brokers

Besides the aforementioned potential payout, the big difference between trading binary options on an exchange or over-the-counter brokers is regulation.

OTC binary options first became fair game for most traders around 2008. These are available for virtually any tradable financial products, and allow individual traders to go long or short. Exchange-traded options can occur on several regulated exchange boards like Nadex or Daweda in the UK.

Where regulation was concerned, OTC binary options have a bit of a shady history. Many regulatory bodies originally didn’t (or still don’t) know how to deal with these types of options for whether they should regulate them as a type of gambling.

These days, exchange-based binary options are much more regulated because the exchanges themselves are regulated. Keep in mind that exchange-traded binary options also charge a commission because the exchange acts as a middleman.