USD/JPY Spread Comparison UK: 10 Brokers Tested (2026)

Which broker has the lowest spreads for USD/JPY?

USD/JPY spreads compared from ten different brokers

Dollar yen doesn’t seem to get much love when it comes to tight spreads. 

All the brokers seem to be tight on the euro, maybe the FTSE, but then sneak a few tenths of a pip onto USD/JPY hoping we won’t notice…

So I wanted to spot check ten of the top brokers’ USD/JPY spreads.

A single point in time on a typical trading day… mirroring our trading process.

We scan the charts, see a setup, open a ticket and take a trade. As traders, we just assume the spread is going to be competitive, don’t we?!

Well, the differences between the best and worst spreads might surprise you. 

And here’s my take on it for what it’s worth… headline spreads get clicks, good for marketing.
But many brokers try to make up for revenue losses with wider spreads in the less-traded markets. 

And as much as I (maybe you) like the USD/JPY’s trading style, it’s often less loved than the Pound or Euro, so who’s going to notice an uncompetitive spread?

Me. And now you 😁

Lowest USD/JPY spread test

Here’s how I did my spread tests.

I took a typical Wednesday afternoon in April. 29th April 2026 at 15.35 BST to be precise.

Why did I choose this?

Well, it’s a typical time for most traders to trade. UK open, US open… and this day was like a usual Wednesday. Nothing spectacular, no economic data, no intervention from the BOJ… just normal price action, albeit a strong day.

And I picked ten brokers, either UK-based or FCA-regulated, that take UK clients.

Almost all of these offer spread betting and CFD trading, so I picked the quote that had no extra commission. So we could compare like for like. (Nothing worse than seeing a headline spread with a little asterisk telling you there’s commission on top)

The brokers in the test:

  • Forex
  • FXCM
  • City Index
  • Pepperstone
  • Plus500
  • IG
  • CMC
  • FX Pro
  • Oanda
  • Capital
So what were the results?
 
USD/JPY Price action during spread test

Lowest USD/JPY spreads

In no particular order, just how they happened to be on my screen during the screenshot, these were the USD/JPY spreads

City Index 1.2 pips
FXCM 0.7 pips
IG 1.0 pips
Pepperstone 0.7 pips
Plus500 1.9 pips
Oanda 1.9 pips
CMC 0.7 pips
Capital 1.2 pips
FX Pro 1.5 pips
Forex 1.2 pips

I then watched the prices for a bit to see if any of these brokers had a variable spread…

City Index went from 1 pip to 1.2 pips
FXCM 0.7 – 0.9 pips
Forex 1.2 – 1.5 pips
Oanda 1.3 – 1.8 pips

Others seem to be fixed spreads…

USD/JPY broker spreads ranked from best to worst

Ok, so let’s tidy up the results and see where we are:

  1. Pepperstone, CMC and FXCM 0.7 pips
  2. IG 1.0 pips
  3. Capital, Forex and City Index 1.2 pips
  4. FX Pro 1.5 pips
  5. Plus500 and Oanda 1.9 pips
As noted, FXCM did vary but only up to 0.9 pips. Pepperstone and CMC stayed locked in at 0.7 pips.
Nice and low, good stuff.
 

I’m pretty shocked at the difference between the best and worst brokers here on USD/JPY quotes.

If you trade USD/JPY twice a day, let’s say at £5 per pip (or point if you prefer).
That’s an extra £240 a month, or nearly 3 grand a year in your pocket from getting the best vs worst spread. I don’t even want to know the cost if you’re scalping 10 times a day with size… low spreads are a must.

Ok, so to double check things, I logged in a few days later to check the USD/JPY spreads again…

Now this time, things had gotten a bit more interesting…
USD/JPY had been smashed hard, (possible BOJ intervention) had its biggest range day for ages… and it was before 9.30 am BST… so a pretty good test for brokers.

USD/JPY spreads in a fast market

I looked at the top USD/JPY brokers and fair play to them…

  • Pepperstone was still quoting 0.7 pips
  • CMC was still quoting 0.7 pips
  • FXCM had widened to 1.2 pips

As a trader, that’s exactly what we want: tight spreads in all conditions. If there’s a trading opportunity, the likelihood is that volatility has picked up. So it’s good to see the top brokers staying tight on USD JPY.

Out of curiosity, I also checked Plus500, remember they came in worst at 1.9 pips, they had widened to 2.6 pips. (c’mon Plus 500!)

CMC Very tight spread on USD/JPY 👍🏻
IG widened spread after volatility 👎🏻

Summary: Which broker won the USD/JPY spread test?

The brokers with the lowest spread during my screenshot were:

Pepperstone, CMC and FXCM with 0.7 pips

FXCM did go slightly wider after the screenshot, but rules are rules!

Do your own due diligence, as I saw some brokers widen and narrow spreads under different market conditions.
So if you’re considering a specific broker, go to their website, open an account and check the spreads on the markets you trade at the time you typically trade. That gives you a decent representation of the spread costs to you.

Check out the brokers with the best USD/JPY spreads:

>> Pepperstone <<
>> CMC <<
>> FXCM <<

All of these offer both spread betting and CFD accounts. (explore the difference between spread betting and CFDs)

If you trade forex a lot, then check out my GBP/USD and EUR/USD spread checker pages, using the same method
Indices? I’ve checked DOW, Nasdaq, FTSE and Dax spreads.
Commodities, I’ve looked at Gold spreads.

Good trading.