Do I need a broker to trade forex?

Yes, you need a broker to trade forex. The currency market is decentralised and trades over the counter between banks on the interbank market, with no central exchange a retail trader can connect to directly. A forex broker is your access point: it aggregates currency-pair quotes from banks and other liquidity providers, then gives you the platform, live bid and ask prices, leverage, and order execution to trade those pairs.

Most forex brokers offer free demo accounts that run on live market conditions. Use that environment to study how currency pairs move, how the spread on a pair widens around news, and how to build a strategy you can run consistently before you commit real money. When you go live, choose a regulated broker, start with the smallest lot sizes available, and treat your first months as an extension of teaching yourself the fundamentals rather than an income source.