More than just a source of data releases, the Forex Factory calendar is known as a real-time trading edge for all types of traders. It doesn’t matter if you are a trader who has just heard of a Forex Factory or a professional one who needs to understand what’s so good about the factory of forex.
With millions of monthly users, the Forex Factory calendar is a free tool that shows every major economic event the moment it happens. Even those who are simply testing the waters in the forex financial market need to know what the Forex Factory calendar is and how to use it strategically.
In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive answer, including all the essential information about the Forex Factory calendar and how to use it strategically. By the end of this blog, you’ll learn how to plan your week’s trades, read market expectations, and of course, manage potential risks. Think of mastering the Forex Factory calendar as a first step toward a more informed, systematic trading routine.
Let us begin, shall we?
What Is Forex Factory?
Forex Factory is a comprehensive online platform designed to monitor economic data for Forex traders at all levels. The users can read opinions, trading forecasts, and economic calendars, and share their trading knowledge with other traders.
The platform consists of many sections that allow successful traders to communicate with each other and benefit from each other’s knowledge. In fact, Forex Factory is a community that connects all traders and market participants in the era of pervasive social media.
The platform features many resources, including active forums for trader discussion, a highly functional economic calendar for sharing up-to-date economic data, and other investor and trader trades. You can also learn about the latest news of international markets and trade using the trading systems provided on the website.
We have reviewed various sections of the Forex Factory website and mentioned them below to help you learn more about it.
- Forums or Forex Factory forums
- Traders Section
- News Section
- Calendar Tab
- Market Section
- Brokers Section
- Login and Registration section of the site
- Scanner Section Scanner
- Calendar Box
How To Register on Forex Factory
To register on the Forex Factory website, you need to enter Forexfactory.com in the first step. Many traders complete their registration on the Forex Factory website to personalize their profiles. This means that any changes will be saved and personalized to the user’s liking.
As shown in the image below, click on the Join button, fill in the boxes, including email, password, and country, and then tick the button to accept the terms. After completing your registration, you can use the Login info to access your profile.
How To Use the Forex Factory Calendar?
To use the Forex Factory calendar, visit forexfactory.com/calendar. Click on the clock button and select your preferred time zone. By choosing this option, you will have all economic events at the time in your living area. By using the calendar news filter, you’ll be able to remove any event that is not relevant to your needs and view only the critical economic events related to the trading symbol you are interested in.
To customize, go to the calendar as shown below and select the “Filter-icon” tab at the top of the calendar toolbar on the right.
The first tool you should pay attention to is the Forex Factory calendar. This helpful calendar contains a prominent list of high-importance news items.
The Forex Factory calendar is used for all types of investment and trading, including daily, short-term, long-term, etc. By looking at the image below, you will get to know the details about the Forex Factory economic calendar.
- timetable
- Day and date of events
- Times of events
- Currency influenced by economic data
- Importance of economic events (red color indicates the most important, orange indicates medium importance, yellow indicates the least important events, and gray refers to holidays)
- Titles of events
- Details related to economic events
- The actual number of economic data
- Index prediction number and data
- previous number
- Graphic display and history of events
Getting To Know About the Scanner Section of the Forex Factory
Using the Forex Factory Scanner section, you can have an overview of the market at a glance. The image below shows the description of the scanner section of the Forex Factory website.
Titles selected to display: In this section, you can add or remove your favorite options to display what you need. Just click on the options to change your profile.
Forex currency pairs: In this section, you can set an alarm to learn about price changes in selected currency pairs.
Live display of the market: by clicking on the Live option, you can see the movement of the price and its numbers live.
About section: Read what you will know about the Scanner section in this section.
Settings: By clicking this button, you can edit the scanner section to your liking.
Getting To Know the Working Hours Section of the Forex Market (trading session)
One important thing that every trader should be thoroughly familiar with is the trading session section or the working hours of the forex market. There are 4 main trading sessions in the Forex market, which can be easily viewed on the Forex Factory website.
In order to see the Forex working hours, you need to enter the Forex Factory website and look for the Sessions section on the first page of this website. As you can see in the image below, the trading sessions are displayed for you in an accurate and specific way. By moving the mouse over them, you can find out about the opening and closing times of global markets and their timing.
Global financial markets operate in four main areas: Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York. If the market is open, the related section will be green; if it is closed, it will be gray.
The meeting hours of the two markets are of particular importance due to the increase in the volume of transactions.
Forums Section of Forex Factory
One of the very useful features on the Forex Factory website is the Forums section. In this section, countless beginner and professional traders have gathered to share their information and knowledge and help others expand and increase their knowledge.
Although you can join and follow different groups, you can create your own communities and have your own followers. Of course, it should be noted that in order to create a forum, you must go through a filtering system and all members of the forum must share their level with others. This means that if you are a newbie in this field, you will not be able to create a personal forum and you will need to be active in other groups first.
Trades Section
The trading section in Forex Factory is of great importance for traders and analysts of the Forex market. After clicking on the Trades option, you will be faced with 4 sections of trades: scoring table, trade volume, and resources. In the following, we have examined each of these sections.
Trades Feed Section
In this section, you can see a complete list of other traders’ transactions. One of the things you need to do is to go to the filter section and select the assets you want from there to personalize this section to your taste. It is necessary to know that the trades of traders marked with a red tick are of the highest quality.
Leaderboard Scoring Section
In this section, you can check the ranking of the present traders based on their profit. By clicking on the Leaderboard option, you can see all the rankings in yearly, monthly, and weekly times on real and demo accounts. In addition, by clicking on the profile of a particular trader, you will enter his page and you will have more details about him.
Positions Trading Volume Section
In this section, you can see the buying or selling positions of other traders in different symbols. One of the very important points you should know about this is that all the statistics published in the Forex Factory trading volume section are specific to people who have registered on this site and do not include other traders outside this environment.
Data Resource Section
In this section, it is mentioned that the sources of information are from the site itself and based on the data of the Trade Explorer section inside the site.
In this section of Forex Factory, an announcement has been published that the information sources are from the site itself and based on the data of the Trade Explorer section inside the site. You can complete your profile from your personal profile section or the Create a Trade Explorer option in this section to share your trade details with others.
News Section
Another feature of the Forex Factory website is the publication of up-to-date world news about the economy and factors affecting price changes in the financial markets. In this section, which is possible by entering the Forex Factory website and clicking on the News option, you can see a list of important news of the day. The image below shows how to access the Forex Factory news section.
Forex Brokers in Forex Factory
In the Brokers section of the Forex Factory website, you can see a list of the best Forex brokers with their details. Just enter the site and access the list of brokers from the Brokers option at the top of the page. In this section, as you can see in the image below, there are the names of brokers, trading conditions, amount of commission and spread received, and support information. Here, you can easily choose a great broker that suits your needs.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Forex Factory
These advanced Forex Factory calendar strategies are ideal for traders who want to plan their trades more strategically, manage risks effectively, and make informed decisions during high-impact events. The following section explains these strategies in detail, showing who can benefit most from them and how to apply them.
Planning Your Trading Week
Starting with the basic strategies of the calendar, the first step is to plan each week by scanning the upcoming high-impact events. This means you need to set your time zone and filter the calendar based on the currencies you trade.
- Identify Key Events. Use the filter panel to select your currencies and red/orange impact levels. Mark any multi-event days (e.g. Fed + GDP on Friday) as caution days.
- Session Focus: Check which trading session each event falls into (FF’s Session Map or clock helps here). For example, a U.S. jobs report at 8:30am New York is a New York session event. Plan around your active hours.
- Beginner Tip: If you’re new, simply sit out the largest events. Experienced traders often prefer no new trades during the actual release spike, treating those days as preparation or exit days.
For instance, if you focus on USD pairs, watch for major news like Nonfarm Payrolls or Federal Reserve rate decisions. At the same time, if you’re trading EUR/GBP, watch Eurozone and UK announcements. Traders often mark these “red-flag” days in their schedule. We recommend you to review the calendar daily to spot exactly which events could drive volatility in your markets.
Although beginners should be careful they can start by avoiding new positions on busy news days. Some traders may instead tighten their stops or reduce position sizes.
Use Forex Factory’s impact filters (red/orange boxes) to highlight big events. Then, plan (or pause) your trades around them. Being aware of the events allows you to plan your trades accordingly and manage risk.
The “Whisper Number” Phenomenon
Not all forecasts are written on paper. Often, traders have an unofficial expectation, which is known as a “whisper number”, a prediction that’s different from the official estimate. Keep in mind that the Forex Factory doesn’t show whisper numbers directly. Rather, smart traders can often pick up hints from the discussion threads.
If the actual data “beats the published forecast but falls short of the market’s whisper number, the reaction might be surprisingly muted”. In practice, this means a reported “beat” can still disappoint if traders were hoping for even better news.
Since the forums are well-moderated for quality, these threads are a relatively reliable place to scan sentiment. For example, before a big jobs report you might see traders arguing whether it will come in at +180K or +220K. If the official number is 210K, higher than the 180K consensus but below the 220K “whisper”, you might see muted market response.
Simply put, use forum threads and even chat rooms as a sentiment gauge: they often “whisper” whether traders collectively expect more than the printed forecast or not.
Trading the Volatility (Before, During, After)
When volatility is coming, you have a few choices:
- Pre-News Positioning (Straddles/Breakouts): In the Forex Factory calendar, traders often watch a pair’s behavior in the hours before a release. Prices usually move sideways in a narrow range, letting you place pending orders above and below the range and trade whichever side triggers. To do this, identify the top and bottom of the pre-news range, and place a stop just beyond the opposite side. If both orders are triggered, take profit on the winning side and close the losing one.
- Avoid the Spike: Short-term traders often avoid trading right at a news release, which makes sense since it carries higher risk. Many believe the initial release causes a brief spike in spreads and volume that can distort the market. This spike can reverse quickly as speculators exit. If you trade during the event, widen your stops and use very low leverage to handle the initial volatility safely.
- Trade the Retracement or Continuation: After the opening surge, markets often retrace or settle into a trend. One strategy is to fade the exaggerated first move. For example, if USD jumps 2% on a strong report, you could enter a pullback trade, expecting a return toward pre-news levels. This “fade” approach waits for the initial surge to lose steam, then trades the pullback to capture profits as prices normalize.
Remember that none of these approaches are fully guaranteed. However, using these general methods prepare you for the breakouts ahead of time.
Advantages of Forex Factory
Any source that provides complete information about financial transactions and the economic cycle in the world is not necessarily helpful and sometimes you can suffer irreparable losses in different financial markets by using them. So before you choose a particular site as your source of information, do your research. The Forex Factory website also has many advantages and disadvantages that we have mentioned below.
- Having a comprehensive economic calendar: This website provides a detailed economic calendar that shows global data on upcoming economic events. This information is very valuable for forex traders in predicting market movements.
- Live Market Updates: Forex Factory shares market updates and news in real-time, helping many traders stay up-to-date with market developments.
- Forex Forums: The Forex Factory platform provides a platform for discussion among traders around the world. These forums are a place to share strategies, ask questions, and get advice from experienced traders.
- Trade Explorer: This feature allows traders to connect their brokerage accounts and provide proper analysis and insight into their trading performance.
- Broker Reviews: This website hosts reviews of various forex brokers, which help traders make informed decisions when choosing their broker.
- Market Scanner: A tool that provides an overview of what is happening in the market and allows traders to spot opportunities quickly.
- Free access: Forex Factory offers its users a lot of information and tools for free, which is a significant advantage for both beginners and professionals.
- Educational Resources: There are numerous articles and guides available for beginners to learn about trading and the profession of forex trading.
- User-friendly interface: The website is designed to be user-friendly, allowing traders to find what they are looking for quickly.
- Having the possibility of copy trading: live updates from the connected trading accounts of members can be seen on the Forex Factory website, and so to speak, behind the hands of other traders, they entered and exited various transactions.
- Availability: The website is available 24 hours a day, making it suitable for the 24/7 nature of Forex trading.
- Validation: Forex Factory is known as one of the oldest and most reliable forex trading sources and has been operating efficiently for several years.
Disadvantages of Forex Factory
Too much information: While Forex Factory offers a lot of information, it can be overwhelming for beginners. This website contains many topics, discussions, and data that may confuse novice traders.
- Unverified Content: Since ForexFactory is a user-driven platform, it is essential to exercise caution regarding the accuracy and reliability of information shared by users. Traders should check information from reliable sources before making a trade decision.
- Focus on short-term trading: Forex Factory focuses primarily on short-term trading strategies, such as scalping and day trading. If you are interested in long-term investing or swing trading, you may need to look elsewhere for additional fundamental sources.
- Lack of educational resources: Although Forex Factory offers forums, it may not provide comprehensive educational resources for beginners. Traders new to the forex market may need to rely on other sources to gain a thorough understanding of the market and trading principles.
It is important to note that the pros and cons listed above are subjective and may vary depending on individual preferences and types of trading styles.
Forex Factory Mobile App: Trading On The Go
Unfortunately, there isn’t an independent Forex Factory app. But you access the site through your phone’s browser. Luckily enough, the mobile-friendly interface includes all the essentials. As one guide notes, the mobile site provides “real-time updates, economic calendar events, news, and essential market data right at your fingertips.
Forex Factory calendar in mobile keeps the main desktop features in a smaller, easy-to-use layout. Each row shows the currency flag, event name, impact marker (red or yellow), and actual/forecast values. You can use navigation links like “Today,” “This Week,” and filters from the top menu. The color coding makes it easy for traders to spot high-impact events quickly, even on a small screen.
On mobile, you can view the full calendar, use filters, read news stories, and even browse forums. Simple tasks like quickly filtering by tapping a flag or impact box, and scanning top events, are easy. Harder tasks, like managing many alert subscriptions or reading long forum threads, are better done on a desktop. Still, for alerts and quick news checks, the mobile version is surprisingly powerful.
Setting Up Alerts on Mobile
To never miss an important release on your phone, use the Forex Factory calendar alerts system. Here’s a step-by-step guide of how to set it up:
- On the mobile site, go to “Calendar”,
- Tap the filter icon, and select your currencies/countries of interest and high (red) impact. This ensures you only see events you care about.
- Next, navigate to the event (or at the top of the calendar),
- Tap the bell/subscribe symbol. A Subscription option’s pop-up appears.
- Select “Calendar Events” and then your specific event or currency. For example, you could subscribe to all USD high-impact events.
- In the pop-up, make sure push/browser alerts are enabled. You can opt for alerts 2 hours, 1 hour, or 10 minutes before each release, and/or when data is out.
Once you’ve set it up, your phone will alert you for those events. To get a buzz on your phone, make sure to tap the bell next to a filtered event, configure it, and turn on notifications.
Tips for Using the Mobile Calendar
Here are some tips for using the mobile calendar:
- Color-Coding at a Glance: Even on a small screen, the impact colors (red/orange) and flags are prominent. To help you identify the busy day at one glance.
- Navigation Links: Use the Today/This Week/Next Week links (often at the top) to jump the view to the desired dates.
- Session Awareness: Remember to note which market session is active (GMT time is shown). This is useful for day traders using mobile.
Conclusion
As one of the most influential forex trading free tools, the Forex Factory economic calendar helps you trade safely during volatile periods. Its forums let you learn from others, and its news/sentiment features keep you aware of the market mood. According to experienced traders, the Forex Factory’s resources are “unmatched for free, crowd-sourced forex intel,” with its calendar and forums acting as “lifelines for tactical traders.”
To include it in your trading routine, start by mastering the filters and alerts. Use the Forex Factory news and calendar to schedule your trades and the community to see what people expect. In doing so, the Forex Factory becomes a regular part of your trading strategy. For more courses and updated on the forex market, follow ITBFX’s blog.
Forex Factory is an online platform that provides real-time forex trading data, as well as news, analysis, and economic calendars.
The Forex Factory Calendar is a tool that lists upcoming economic events and their potential impact on the forex market.
Yes. The Forex Factory Calendar and website are free for everyone. However, some advanced features may require registration.
Yes. All major features of the Forex Factory, including the Forex Factory economic calendar, news, forums, and trade explorer are available at no cost. The site is completely free to use.
Continuously. The calendar is updated in real time as soon as data is released. In fact, the site itself notes that its calendar changes frequently to reflect the latest information. In practice, forecasts, actual figures, and revisions appear on Forex Factory almost instantly.
Generally yes, but always approach with caution. Forex Factory news gets information from trusted sources. It also lets users share news, but these posts are checked to make sure they are correct. Traders should always check important news with an official source, but Forex Factory is generally seen as reliable.
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