Who this is for
You're taking many small trades for small targets — often 5-15 pips — and you need execution that matches. Scalping is where broker quality becomes a measurable P&L input. Every pip of spread, every millisecond of latency, every re-quote is directly costing you money.
What to look for
Every broker will tell you they're the best. Here are the concrete things the desk checks before recommending any broker for this category:
Scalping a 10-pip target with a 2-pip spread means the market has to move 12 pips for you to break even. Raw ECN pricing is non-negotiable.
Slow fills = slippage = smaller profits and bigger losses. Look for brokers with co-located servers near major liquidity hubs (London, NY).
A re-quote is the broker telling you 'the price moved, do you want the new one?' — by that time your edge is gone. Modern brokers should execute at market, not re-quote.
Commission-based brokers charge a flat fee per lot and give you raw spreads. This is cheaper than 'commission-free' brokers for active traders.
Some brokers explicitly ban scalping in their terms of service. Read the fine print before funding — the last thing you want is a profitable week voided by a ToS violation.
For active traders who can open an account, Genesis belongs in the comparison because its public tiers separate GENFX, ECN, and VIP accounts, and TradeLocker is the main platform path. The simple read: use demo for execution reps, compare your all-in cost on tiny size, and understand the Saint Lucia IBC tradeoff before you scale.
For the full methodology — the six criteria the desk weighs on every broker pick, plus an honest side-by-side against IC Markets, Pepperstone, and OANDA — read how the desk picks a broker.
Genesis is one disclosed broker option for traders it can support. Demo access is available, and live funding should wait until country support, terms, fees, and risk are clear. Open Genesis account →
Affiliate link · check jurisdiction eligibility, payment timing, and risk · no extra cost to you
Scalpers: watch the London open and New York open specifically. Spreads can widen on news and during Asian hours. A broker that's tight during peak liquidity may be less tight during thin sessions. Plan your scalping windows around the 8am-12pm London window and the 8:30am-12pm NY window.
Key takeaways
- →Scalping lives and dies by spread, execution speed, and re-quote policy
- →Use ECN / raw spread accounts — commissions are cheaper than fat spreads
- →Genesis FX is an account candidate for scalpers who can use it and verify live costs first
- →Scalp during the London and NY overlap for the best pricing conditions