The Best Binary Options Brokers in the USA

Out of an average of 100 binary options traders, a solid 26 make a profit. Most people would have a much lower estimate — and the more you learn, the likelier you are to profit. Where you trade matters too, with some of the best binary options brokers in the USA claiming that successful traders earn well over $10,000 per month, which makes the learning curve worth it. But which of these platforms are worth your money? We scrutinized a number of them to make the following list of the best of the best. 

The Leading Binary Options Brokers in USA

Quotex Logo

Quotex

An Innovative Platform for Online Investment

Despite being a new entry among trading providers, Quotex has already proven itself to be a highly trustworthy and reliable partner. The platform is licensed by IFMRRC, one of the most well-known regulators, and it has been offering top-notch services since 2019.

  • Trading platforms: MT4
  • Assets: Currencies, commodities, crypto, indices
  • Types of options: Digital
  • Maximum returns: TBD
  • Minimum deposit: $10
  • Licenses: IFMRRC
  • Signals service: Yes
  • Real-time portfolio monitoring: Yes
  • Mobile app: Yes
  • Demo account: Yes
Nadex Logo

Nadex

Trade Fast-Paced Markets

The CFTC giant offers arguably the most secure trading experience, trusted by many. While the minimum deposits start at $250, the guarantee of featuring no complex derivatives makes up for the steep entry fee.

  • Trading platforms: MetaTrader5
  • Assets: Money, gold, oil, bitcoin, commodities, stock, stock indices
  • Types of options: One-touch, no-touch, ladder, boundary, double-touch
  • Maximum returns: TBD
  • Minimum deposit: $250
  • Licenses: CFTC
  • Signals service: Yes
  • Real-time portfolio monitoring: Yes
  • Mobile app: No
  • Demo account: Yes
PocketOption Logo

PocketOption

Protection and visibility for your greatest cybersecurity risk.

PocketOption promises the most innovative trading experience of over 100 assets, along with a $1 minimum deposit and no withdrawal commission.

  • Trading platforms: MetaTrader 5
  • Assets: 100+ cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks, and currency pairs
  • Types of options: One-touch, no-touch, boundary, ladder
  • Maximum returns: 95%+
  • Minimum deposit: $50
  • Licenses: CySEC
  • Signals service: Yes
  • Real-time portfolio monitoring: Yes
  • Mobile app: Yes 
  • Demo account: Yes
BinaryCent Logo

BinaryCent

Forex, Binary Options and CFD Trading in Cents.

Despite being a relatively young platform, BinaryCent has managed to become one of the leading binary options brokers in USA. Established in 2017, the vendor operates with numerous assets, with the lowest minimum deposit in the industry — just $0.10, and is available on all continents.

  • Trading platforms: MetaTrader 5
  • Assets: 100+ cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks, and currency pairs
  • Types of options: One-touch, no-touch, boundary, ladder
  • Maximum returns: 95%+
  • Minimum deposit: $50

 

  • Licenses: CySEC
  • Signals service: Yes
  • Real-time portfolio monitoring: Yes
  • Mobile app: Yes 
  • Demo account: Yes

How We Made the Best US Binary Options Brokers List

Among the brokers we have chosen, you will likely encounter several familiar providers and services. We, however, didn’t take anything for granted but rather, focused on factors such as usability, user experience, quality of the human advisor program, fees, regulations, and much more. 

Regulations Are Key

Checking the legality and licenses was the starting point of selecting the best binary options brokers for USA traders. CFTC, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is the law enforcement body regulating all binary options trading bodies stateside. The governmental structure carefully carries out necessary activities to regulate rulemaking and fairness of binary options trading.  This is why it is often advised to work with CFTC regulated binary options brokers, whether they are American or international with a license to serve American traders as well.

User Interface and User Experience Mean Everything

Binary trading in the USA (and elsewhere, for that matter) is serious business, which is why it always deserves state-of-the-art platforms that are fully reliable, responsive, safe, and intuitive. With so many users trading on-the-go, mobile apps are practically a must. The user experience derived from the platforms’ interface, in many cases, is a deal or no-deal factor. The best US binary options brokers platforms typically come with a bug-free user experience and sleek design to match.

Convenience and Accessibility Features

Many factors determine a seamless trading experience. As small as they may seem, they are oftentimes key for broker platforms’ success. Some of them may include:

Making it Fair

Certain rules have to be established before trading. For instance, brokers should always transparently communicate minimum deposits and minimum trade, as well as trade duration and the maximum returns to every potential and current trader. Otherwise, brokers risk being misconstrued and seeming fraudulent.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Numerous traders have previously experienced scams and have lost serious amounts of money to hidden fees and untransparent broker policies. This list of best binary options brokers in the USA has a 0% fraudulence tolerance and features no platforms with suspicious history.

Staying Educated on the Topic Keeps You ‘in the Money’

Most new traders have no previous knowledge of trading and earning via binary options. This is why successful brokers feature free learning material, courses, webinars, and tutorials on how to approach the platform and earn through it. Such content should be regularly updated and kept relevant to the current state of the market.

Reviews of the Best Binary Options Brokers for USA Consumers

Quotex

Despite being a new entry among trading providers, Quotex has already proven itself to be a highly trustworthy and reliable partner. The platform is licensed by IFMRRC, one of the most well-known regulators, and it has been offering top-notch services since 2019. 

Pros 

Cons

Trading Offer Overview

Quotex made it to our list of the best binary options brokers in the USA courtesy of its digital options trades, accessible either through the website or the platform’s handy mobile app. The only trading platform available is MT4 and you can choose among currencies, commodities, crypto, and indices. Another thing worth mentioning is that Quotex boasts one of the lowest minimum deposit requirements we have ever seen, at only $10. 

Other Features 

What really stands out about Quotex is the design of the platform, which is not only incredibly intuitive and easy to familiarize with but also very pleasant to the eye. No matter if you’re a beginner or advanced trader, you will definitely enjoy the visual aspect of the platform. We further appreciated the option to rank top traders which adds a social element to trading and makes it stand out from other binary options brokers in the USA.  

Nadex

This platform is one of the few CFTC-regulated brokers, but it is primarily known as a single exchange. The self-proclaimed “premier US exchange for binary options” gives traders a regulated spot for safe trading of assets. It is proven to be trustworthy and is a choice of a selected clientele. 

Pros

Cons

Trading Offer Overview

Nadex does not operate with standard securities such as ETFs, stocks, or bonds; however, numerous different markets are accessible through option-based contracts. Binary options trading in the USA can be conducted via this platform for selling and buying major stock indices, macroeconomic events, currencies, commodities, and much more. 

While many other platforms, unfortunately, tend to harbor scams and fraudulent behavior, Nadex clients can have a good night’s sleep knowing that they are safe from complex derivatives, as the broker is one of the top regulated binary options brokers in the USA

For a fairly high initial deposit of $250, you can quickly start trading selected assets with entries or exits as low as $1. The account setup is free, and both deposits and withdrawals are free via ACH. With wire withdrawal, there is a $25 fee each time. 

Other Features

As Nadex’s platform was particularly built so it can trade binary options and spreads, the focus was put on simplifying such trades. Market data can be easily streamed and it’s possible to order straight from price ladder charts, a feature you would expect from one of the top binary options brokers in USA.

Economic events that can be traded include the Federal funds rate, monthly non-farm payrolls, weekly jobless claims, etc. Commodities, forex pairs, and call spreads are available as well. Traders should, however, know that existing users can reach customer service via phone or email only at selected times, and there are no dedicated options for hearing-impaired traders. 

PocketOption

This online broker, specializing in binary options and forex, is directly managed by Gembell Ltd., located in the Marshall Islands. As one of the best binary options brokers in the USA, it allows trading over 100 different assets, which allows versatility for traders in the US. While it was established in 2017, it quickly spread to over 95 countries and boasts over 20,000 active daily users.

Pros

Cons

Trading Offer Overview

The broker features a period of trading that can last from as little as one minute to over several days, which places it among the more versatile binary options brokers in the USA. This gives a sense of safety and comfort to both short- and long-term traders, and the platform reminds traders of expiry times and potential yields. 

Trading can be simulated with the vendor’s free $10k demo account. This practice account features ‘virtual’ money users can use to sharpen their skills before real trading. The minimum investment is $1 per trade, and the minimum deposit starts at only $50.

Other Features

One of the greatest aspects of this broker is its availability. Namely, investing in binary options and trading on this platform can be done through several ways — through a web app, over a downloadable PC app, mobile apps for every major platform, through a Telegram bot, or the MetaTrader 5. These are user-friendly, the tools feature a sharp overview, and multi-charting is available, too. PocketOption further offers 24/7 support via chat, email, phone, or in-app contact.

BinaryCent

The well-established broker, founded in 2017, soon enough became one of the top binary options brokers that accept US clients. While based in Vanuatu, the provider operates in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The platform is known to have the lowest ever minimum trade amount. Its expiry times start at one minute, and the payouts add up to as much as 95%.

Pros

Cons

Trading Offer Review

The platform is notable for its ease of navigating and simplicity that accommodates both beginners and experienced traders. The precise and clean chart applies to each of the many assets available for trading, including commodities, stocks, crypto, and forex pairs. 

These assets can be traded by turbo (one to thirty minutes), intraday (any time between one hour and one day), as well as long-term (between one and thirty days). Payouts vary from 60% to 80%.

Other Features

BinaryCent, as we previously mentioned, recognizes there are different types of traders out there, which is why they provide three different packages for trading — Bronze, Silver, and Gold. All of them include 24/7 support, one-hour withdrawals, bonuses (20%, 50%, and 100% respectively), demo accounts, and copy trading tools. Silver and Gold accounts feature masterclasses and the first three risk-free trades. Finally, the Gold account comes with a personal success manager at your service.

As one of the top US binary options brokers, BinaryCent offers a fair worth for each of the deals traders get to choose. With a solid mobile app available for Android and Apple devices, as well as PCs, it most certainly is a broker worth trying.

Are Binary Options Legal in the US?

Binary contracts were first introduced to the American monetary system back in 1973, as part of the OTC (over-the-counter) market. Initially, they were only legal for institutional traders, as opposed to retail investors. As of 2008, following the financial crisis, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) pursued legislative efforts towards allowing retail trading of binary options for the USA.

Current State of Events

Current laws explicitly say that, while binary options are legal and can be traded stateside, they must be under regulation of the United States Exchange for trading at all times. 

The trading market for binary options is changing and growing in the US, and brokers have affiliations with offshore companies to support the entire industry. The SEC regulations say that brokers must offer assets listed on US exchanges, such as NYSE, NASDAQ, commodity exchanges, CBOE, etc.

The Binary Options Controversy

Note that the laws regarding USA binary options brokers are strict and different from Europe and the rest of the world since aspects of online trading are similar to online gambling. This is why the United States insists that binary options trading is regulated.

A binary options broker in the USA can be licensed if:

For legal reasons, the United States has limited the number of currency pairs. For instance, on the binary currency trading giant Nadex, you can trade only 10 pairs. Also, most brokers opt-in for developing their own trading platforms, designed by some of the strongest software vendors on the market. 

The RED List

CFTC has a strict policy regarding their regulations and how brokers work with US citizens. To protect American traders, CFTC has created the RED List with potentially suspicious or fraudulent binary options platforms. Binary options brokers for US traders should never be on this list, and users are strongly advised to check whether the list contains their platform of choice. At this moment, the list contains nearly 200 brokers with less than satisfactory standards, which is why trading authorities ban them from accepting US clients. 

Types of Binary Trading Options

As the name suggests, binary options depend on two possible outcomes — the price of an asset either goes up or down. Your payout meanwhile is contingent on whether you had a correct prediction of the direction. 

Most US binary options brokers operate on pure Call and Put options; in case you buy a Call option, you bet that the price will rise. Otherwise, if you suspect that the price will go down, you choose a Put option. Still, this is not the end of these options, and those who are somewhat more advanced in trading know that several more exotic options stay at their disposal. Let’s break them down.

One Touch

This is one of the most popular options among seasoned and beginner traders alike, courtesy of its simple rules, which is why most binary options USA brokers support it. The investor’s profit is paid out as soon as the price of the chosen asset reaches a ‘trigger’ — a barrier that had previously been determined. As the trigger level is reached, the payout process is conducted automatically.

Most traders prefer to use this option if they feel secure about the direction of a certain move in the asset price. In such cases, they usually choose to disregard the potential retraction of the market or the sustainability of the price jump.

The predetermined direction and movement are normally shared with the traders — they only need to state whether the fulfillment of these conditions will take place. The risks are higher, which is why this option offers a much higher payout, reaching an astronomical 500% with selected brokers. Typically, such options can be bought over the weekends, and the condition for the trigger time frame is the following working week. All the vendors on our US binary options brokers list offer One Touch.

No Touch

This option is One Touch’s polar opposite — you state that an asset of choice will not reach the determined price levels. Similarly, you (or your broker) choose the price level above or below the current spot and state that the fulfillment of the price will not touch the chosen threshold. When you look for the best US binary options broker, make sure you find one that works with No Touch.

The distance to the chosen trigger value, as well as the time frame, can bring in some serious profit, also offering a yield of up to 500%. Take gold as an example: in the case of one-touch, if it trades at ~$1,300 per ounce, while a $1,350 trigger will grant a better return than, say, a $1,320. In the case of no-touch, the closer you get to the trigger, the more you can get. With the same example, you would turn a higher profit with a $1,320 threshold than with $1,350. 

Double One Touch

In this case, the One Touch mechanism is followed, but with two triggers on each end of determined spot prices. You will be in the money if you break one of the set thresholds, no matter the direction.

US-based binary options brokers advise using this method when the trader is certain that the assets’ prices will move, but not sure in which of the directions. 

The example of trading gold can be used here as well. If it trades at $1,300, with the predetermined lower trigger of $1,250 and the high trigger of $1,350, you will turn a profit no matter if the price jumps to $1,350 or falls to $1,250. If you fail to touch either threshold, you will be out of the money. The best binary options brokers for USA consumers should certainly have this option in store for their clients, as it is widely used among traders throughout the world.

Double No Touch

Following the logic of Double One Touch, this option works on the opposite principle. There are two triggers available too, but to be in the money, traders must wager that the underlying assets will not reach either of the thresholds within the determined period of expiration. When choosing binary options brokers, USA clients should pick ones that work with the Double No Touch option.

The loss of investments happens once the threshold has been hit, getting the trader to be out of the money. Appropriately, traders choose this option when they are certain that the assets’ market will remain solid within the trading range, most commonly following a severe price spike. 

Paired Options

This type is offered by only select binary options brokers. In this case, traders choose pairs of assets and determine which of the two will outperform the other. The categories of assets must be matched by their class and sector, as well as a relative price ratio.

How to Choose One of the Best Binary Options Brokers in the USA

Most traders have different standards and look for different things from a broker. Still, there are some common principles, which is why we’ve prepared a guide to help you find your perfect binary options trading broker.

Know Your (Binary) Options

In case binary options are not necessarily your cup of tea, know that other trading types are available. For instance, spread betting has very similar ways of putting wagers, except you do not necessarily have to own any underlying assets. This speculation on the price movement is nowhere nearly as risky, yet it brings a certain profit, especially with US binary options trading being so limited.

Make Sure the Broker Is Regulated

In most cases, when traders look for American binary option brokers, they only check whether the broker is licensed. This does not cut it. Being licensed is a must at this point, but regulations are the ones that prevent fraudulent activity. Always go one step further and check if you are opting to work with a binary options US regulated broker.

Read Your Contracts

It is a beginner’s mistake to not pay attention to the terms and conditions when signing up. This happens most of the time, as this means reading pages upon pages of boring content. Still, botched binary options brokers use this human trait as a way to scam traders and take their money. 

Be Assured That the Broker Is Experienced

Generally, the more years in the business the broker has, the likelier the odds that it is reliable and worth your trust. Some of the best binary options brokers in the USA pride themselves on being successful on the market for years. By rendering their services for a longer period, and having a large and loyal customer base, it means that traders are getting what their money is worth.

Taking up offers from newer brokers is and will remain a gamble. There are odds that the broker could suddenly disappear with all of your invested money. Most people who are considered experts say that you should go for ones that have been on the market for no less than five years. Binary options US brokers, especially those certified by CFTC, have decades of experience.

Trading Tools Are Essential

If you wish to find a broker that is truly genuine, respectable, and reputable, as well as the one who cares about their clients, you should most definitely include the parameter of trading tools.

Such tools are crucial for helping traders in making wise decisions while putting their wagers on certain underlying assets. Instinct is great for trading; however, tools are the ones that keep traders from making wrong decisions that cost vast amounts of money. When it comes to binary options trading, USA clientele normally seeks at least 4 or 5 tools to even start considering a broker.

Some of the most useful tools offered by United States binary options brokers include live stocks, currency data streams, and indices. Such tools help traders analyze the current market values and make smart, well-informed decisions prior to trading. It is vital to collaborate with brokers who offer a plethora of trading tools. 

Sharpen Your Skills With Your Chosen Broker

Novice traders need the experience to become better — and without demo accounts, it would take tens of thousands of lost dollars to learn some rules of the game. Luckily, some brokers offering binary options in the US feature simulations of the market that use virtual money. By going with this program, traders can have unlimited losses before putting a dime in a real-world account.

See How You Can Withdraw And Deposit

In this industry, binary options brokers for US residents normally offer predetermined deposit and withdrawal limits, meaning you will be unable to withdraw or deposit prior to reaching this set limit. On the market of US binary options, low deposit plays a great role when picking a broker. Before joining a binary options platform, know what the limit exists. In case it does, see if you find it manageable; if you do not, seek another one with a limit you can bear. The process of extending and receiving funds should be straightforward and simple. 

Expand The Margins of Your Potential Profit

In many cases, brokers offer only a couple of tradable assets. Within the plethora of choices for binary options brokers, US clients pick those who offer crypto, gold, currency pairs, oil, coffee, corn, major events, and so forth. When seeking the best of the best, try and find the one who operates with as many assets as possible, as this gives you more chances to profit and expand your asset portfolio. 

Support Is Everything

Customer support, needless to say, plays an enormous role in the professional life of every successful trader. Not only does a quality customer support service show that the broker cares about their clients, but gives a nod to their professionalism and trustworthiness. In the industry of binary options, United States brokers are often very responsive and offer numerous ways to get the best service possible. Naturally, traders should seek out ones that offer contact via email, Skype, toll-free phone lines, live chat, etc. Some brokers offer special contacts for customers who have impaired sight, speech, or hearing, which is always a plus. 

Pay Attention to the Trading Experience on the Platform

User interface and user experience (UI/UX) can be crucial in trading, especially when it comes to short-expiration trading. A user-friendly interface leads towards a seamless experience, which is necessary for this industry. Traders are always advised to pick a broker whose web or mobile platforms are sleek, simplified, and not too complicated. When choosing binary brokers, USA traders prefer those which offer both mobile and web trading with no hassle. 

Return and Payments Are Where It Is At

Having higher payout and return rates is what it all comes down to when picking one of the best binary options brokers in the USA. There is a huge difference between brokers who offer 95% payouts and 80% payouts, respectively. Trading is conducted with often incredibly large sums of money, so this percentage difference of 15% usually converts to thousands upon thousands of dollars.