How to read the directory
- Company that holds a Kenyan account. The company your client agreement is with, which is often not the brand on the app. Where our sign-up was opened with a different company in the group from the one holding the CMA licence, the cell names the company and says so.
- CMA licence. The licence number on the CMA register and its category. A non-dealing broker is licensed as a link to the market, not as a market maker, and each review checks what the client agreement says.
- M-Pesa, KES account and swap-free. What our record confirms, from our own deposits and withdrawals where we made them. "Not verified" means we have not confirmed it, not that it is missing.
How the selector decides
- The account holder comes first. Where our sign-up was opened with a different group company from the CMA licensee, or we have not confirmed which company holds a Kenyan account, the broker is shown separately with a note, not among the results.
- Your answers narrow the list. What you trade, how you fund and swap-free filter the brokers; a KES account moves a broker up.
- Only finished reviews are matched. A broker joins once its review is done: written from a funded account we opened ourselves, and scored.
- Commission does not move a broker up. We may earn a commission from some brokers we review. If we do, a partner never appears above a broker that meets your filters as well or better. Otherwise ties are alphabetical.
- Review scores do not set the order. The selector only checks that a review has been scored; the score itself stays on each review.
- We do not force a result. If no broker meets every filter, we drop the softest one, say which, and show the closest options.
Frequently asked questions
Does this tool rank brokers by score?
No. Every scored review carries its score, and it stays on the review. This tool ranks on what one number cannot express: which company opens your account and whether the CMA licence covers it, what you can trade, how you can fund in KES and whether swap-free is offered. Each can be checked on the CMA register or in a client agreement. Where brokers tie on all of that, they are listed alphabetically.
Why does it check which company holds my account?
Because a CMA licence covers the company that holds it, not the brand. A group can hold a licence in Kenya through one company and also have others abroad. Where our own sign-up was opened with one of those other companies, or we cannot confirm which company holds the account, the broker is named under the results with a note rather than included in the results.
Why are some brokers not matched?
A broker is matched only once our review of it is finished: written from a funded account we opened ourselves, and scored. Until then it appears in the directory with its licence and is marked as a review in progress, and it joins the matches when the review is done.
Is a swap-free account the same as a Sharia-endorsed one?
No, and the tool does not treat them as the same. Swap-free removes the overnight interest charge on a leveraged position. Sharia endorsement means an independent board has ruled on the product and supervises the firm against that ruling. On some swap-free accounts a fee replaces the swap after a set number of days, so get the terms in writing before funding.
Am I protected if the broker fails?
Not by a compensation scheme. The CMA's Investor Compensation Fund covers the failure of a licensed stockbroker or dealer, not an online forex broker (Capital Markets Act, section 18). A licensed broker must keep client money segregated from its own, which is meant to keep it out of the firm's assets if it is wound up, but segregation is not compensation. Each result states the position our record gives for that broker.
Do you earn a commission if I open an account?
We may earn a commission from some brokers we review. If we do, it makes no difference to the order results appear in: where a partner and a non-partner meet your filters equally well, the non-partner is shown first. Our commercial arrangements are on the how we make money page.
Are my answers saved?
No. They live in the page and in the address bar, so you can share a result by copying the link. Nothing is written to your browser's storage or sent to us.
Where to go next
- Best forex brokers in Kenya, our ranking on overall score.
- CMA explained, including how to check a licence on the register.
- Broker warning list: the firms the CMA has warned about.
- All our tools, including the pip, margin and position size calculators.
