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IC Markets Review 2023

  • 9

  • Best online broker
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IC Markets review summary

If low-cost forex/CFD trading is all you’re after and you’re not very picky about your choice of platform, Australia’s IC Markets is a worthy option. It has a competitive product selection that includes crypto; and a flexible fee structure offering very tight spreads with a reasonable commission. You can set up your account in no time and enjoy various deposit and withdrawal options, all free of charge. IC Markets is not recommended for long-term investors, as you can’t trade stocks, ETFs or funds. The MetaTrader platform used by IC Markets has its limitations in design and functionality but will be familiar to many forex traders.

IC Markets has a reasonably long track record and is overseen by quality regulators globally, including Australia’s ASIC. In addition, investor protection is provided for most European clients.

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IC Markets pros and cons

Pros Cons
• Low forex fees • Limited product selection
• Easy and fast account opening • Slow live chat support
• Free deposit and withdrawal • No investor protection for non-EU clients
• Offer standard accounts and raw spread accounts

IC Markets main highlights

🗺️ Country of regulationCyprus, Australia, Seychelles
💰 Trading fees classLow
💰 Inactivity fee chargedNo
💰 Withdrawal fee amount$0
💰 Minimum deposit$200
🕖 Time to open an account1 day
💳 Deposit with bank cardAvailable
👛 Depositing with electronic walletAvailable
💱 Number of base currencies supported10
🎮 Demo account providedYes
🛍️ Products offeredForex, CFD, Crypto

To read much more details about the broker’s services and features, expand on the sections below.

Our overall TD Ameritrade Review rating
  • 9

  • Fees
    9.2
  • Account opening
    10
  • Deposit and withdrawal
    9.8
  • WebTrading platform
    5.6
  • Mobile trading platform
    7.6
  • Desktop trading platform
    6.8
  • Markets and products
    4.4
  • Research
    7.6
  • Customer service
    9
  • Education
    9
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IC Markets review

Fees

IC Markets has low trading and non-trading fees. There is no inactivity or withdrawal fee. On the negative side, financing rates for CFDs are high.

Pros Cons
• Low trading fees • High financing rate for CFDs
• Low non-trading fees
• Low forex fees
IC Markets fees snapshot
AssetsFee levelFee terms
EURUSDLowMetaTrader raw spread account: $3.50 commission per lot per trade plus spread cost. 0 pips is the
average spread cost during peak trading hours.
GBPUSDLowMetaTrader raw spread account: $3.50 commission per lot per trade plus spread cost. 0 pips is the
average spread cost during peak trading hours.
S&P 500 CFDLowThe fees are built into the spread, 0.2 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours.
Inactivity feeLowNo inactivity fee

IC Markets trading fees are low. There are different cost structures for different account types. We tested the ‘True ECN with MetaTrader’ account, which charges a commission but offers tight spreads.

We compare IC Markets’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Pepperstone and Vantage FX. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of IC Markets alternatives.

Forex fees

IC Markets forex fees are generally low.

IC Markets forex fees
 IC MarketsPepperstoneVantage
Forex fee classLowLowLow
FX commission per lot$3.50 commission per lot per trade$3.50 commission per lot per trade$3.00 commission per lot per trade
EURUSD spread0.00.80.1
GBPUSD spread0.00.40.3
AUDUSD spread0.00.20.2
EURCHF spread0.00.70.6
EURGBP spread0.00.40.3

Stock index CFD and stock CFD fees

IC Markets has generally low CFD trading fees. The fees of stock index CFDs are built into the spreads. On the negative side, the financing rates are high.

IC Markets stock index CFD and stock CFD fees
 IC MarketsPepperstoneVantage
CFD fee classLowLowAverage
S&P 500 CFD spread0.20.40.3
Europe 50 CFD spread1.61.51.4
Apple CFD fee$1.8$3.0$14.6
Vodafone CFD fee$6.0$22.6$30.3

Non-trading fees

IC Markets has low non-trading fees. There are no inactivity, deposit or account fees.

There is no fee for withdrawing funds when using credit/debit cards, electronic wallets or international bank transfers.

IC Markets non-trading fees
IC Markets Pepperstone Vantage
Account fee No No No
Inactivity fee No No No
Deposit fee $0 $0 $0
Withdrawal fee $0 $0 $0

How we ranked fees

We ranked IC Markets’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

Let’s go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

  • Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
  • Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.
IC Markets review

Account opening

The account opening process at IC Markets is user-friendly and fully digital. Our account was approved within a day, which is very fast.

Pros Cons
• Fast None
• Fully digital
• Low minimum deposit
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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets accepts customers from all around the world. A few notable exceptions include the US, Canada and Israel.

What is the minimum deposit at IC Markets?

The minimum deposit at IC Markets is $200. This is considered low, since other CFD brokers usually require a minimum of around $2,000.

Account types

There are three account types at IC Markets, which differ in their fee structure and the available trading platform:

IC Markets account types
 True ECN with cTraderTrue ECN with MetaTrader – Tested AccountStandard
Commission per lot (round turn*)$6$7No commission
SpreadLow spreadsLow spreadsHigh spreads
Trading platformcTraderMetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5
Available accounts by ownershipIndividual, joint, corporateIndividual, joint, corporateIndividual, joint, corporate
Islamic account available**YesYesYes

*Round turn means that you open and close the position.

**Islamic accounts are also called swap-free accounts. With Islamic accounts, a flat commission is charged if you hold your leveraged position overnight instead of percentage-based financing rates.

We liked that one can open several sub-accounts with different base currencies.

How to open your account

The IC Markets account opening process is easy and fully digital.  The online application takes roughly 10-15 minutes and our account was approved within one business day. 

The five steps of the IC Markets account opening:

  1. Provide contact information, such as your email address.
  2. Enter your personal information, i.e. date of birth and address.
  3. Choose the account type and the base currency.
  4. Complete a survey about your trading experience.
  5. Verify your identity and residency by uploading a copy of your passport or ID, and a bank statement or utility bill. 

IC Markets review – Account opening

Our best alternatives to IC Markets are:

The highest ranking competitors are:

  1. Pepperstone full review
  2. Vantage full review
  3. Axi full review
  4. Eightcap full review
IC Markets review

Deposit and withdrawal

IC Markets’s deposit and withdrawal services are great, with many options available, mostly free of charge. On the negative side, withdrawal can only be made in the way that funding happened.

Pros Cons
• Credit/Debit card available • Some restrictions apply to withdrawals
• No deposit fee
• Several account base currencies

Account base currencies

At IC Markets, you can choose from 10 base currencies: EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, CAD.

Base currencies at IC Markets vs similar brokers
IC Markets Pepperstone Vantage
Number of base currencies 10 9 8

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your account base currency, you don’t have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

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Deposit fees and options

IC Markets deposits are free of charge. There are many ways to add money to your account, although some of the deposit options are not available for each account base currency. For example, BPay accepts only AUD payments.

IC Markets deposit options
IC Markets Pepperstone Vantage
Bank transfer Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card Yes Yes Yes
Electronic wallets Yes Yes Yes

A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with credit/debit card is instant. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

IC Markets review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit

IC Markets withdrawal fees and options

Withdrawing funds from IC Markets is free for credit/debit cards, bank transfers and electronic wallets. 

IC Markets withdrawal fees and options
 IC MarketsPepperstoneVantage
Bank transferYesYesYes
Credit/debit cardYesYesYes
Electronic walletsYesYesYes
Withdrawal fee$0$0$0

How long does it take to withdraw money from IC Markets? We tested withdrawal by bank transfer and it took 2 business days.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from IC Markets?

  1. Once logged in to your account, go to ‘Transfers’.
  2. Select ‘Withdraw Funds’ from the drop-down menu.
  3. Add your bank account information if you have not done so already. 
  4. Select the amount you wish to withdraw and click ‘Submit’
IC Markets review

Web trading platform

The web trading platform of IC Markets is provided by MetaTrader. The platform is highly customizable, available in many languages, and has a clear fee report. On the other hand, it lacks a two-step login and price alerts, and the design is outdated.

Pros Cons
• Clear fee report • No two-step (safer) login
• Good customizability (for charts, workspace) • No price alerts
• Order confirmation • Poor design
IC Markets platforms to choose from
Trading platformScoreAvailable
Web
2.8
stars
Yes
Mobile
3.8
stars
Yes
Desktop
3.4
stars
Yes

IC Markets doesn’t have its own self-developed trading platform. Its most used trading platform is MetaTrader 4, a third-party platform. The broker has other platforms as well, such as MetaTrader 5 and cTrader, which come with their own commission structures. We reviewed MetaTrader 4 because it is the most widely used.

MetaTrader 4 is available in an exceptionally large number of languages.

IC Markets web trading platform languages
ArabicBulgarianChineseCroatianCzechDanish
Dutch    EnglishEstonianFinnishFrenchGerman
GreekHebrewHindiHungarianIndonesianItalian
JapaneseKoreanLatvianLithuanianMalayMongolian
PersianPolishPortugueseRomanianRussianSerbian
SlovakSlovenianSpanishSwedishTajikThai
Traditional ChineseTurkishUkrainianUzbekVietnamese 

Look and feel

The IC Markets web trading platform has great customizability. It is easy to change the size and the position of the tabs.

However, the platform feels outdated and some features are hard to find. For example, it took some time to figure out how we can add an asset to the watchlist.

IC Markets review – Web trading platform

Login and security

IC Markets provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure.

Search functions

The search functions are OK. You can find the assets listed by category. However, we missed the usual search function where you can type in the asset’s name manually.

IC Markets review – Web trading platform – Search

Placing orders

You can use the basic order types, but you will not find very sophisticated orders like ‘one cancels the other.’ The following order types are available:

  • Market
  • Limit
  • Stop-loss

If you are not familiar with order types, read this overview.

There are also order time limits you can use:

  • Good ’til canceled (GTC)
  • Good ’til time (GTT)

IC Markets review – Web trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can’t set alerts and notifications on the IC Markets web trading platform. This feature is available only on the desktop trading platform.

Portfolio and fee reports

IC Markets has clear portfolio and fee reports. You can easily find your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports are located under the ‘History’ tab, but we didn’t find a way to download them.

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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets review

Mobile trading platform

IC Markets has a great mobile trading platform offered by MetaTrader 4. It has a catchy design and it’s easy to use. Nevertheless, the platform lacks a safe login.

Pros Cons
• User-friendly • No two-step (safer) login
• Good search function • No Touch/Face ID login
• Price alerts

Similarly to the web trading platform, IC Markets offers MetaTrader 4 as its mobile trading platform. MetaTrader 4 is available for both iOS and Android, and we tested it on both.

After downloading the MT4 mobile trading platform, you have to access the ICMarkets-Live server. 

Just like on the web trading platform, you can choose from many languages. Changing the language is a bit tricky on Android devices: you can only do it if you change the default language of your mobile device.

IC Markets mobile trading platform languages
ArabicChinese (Simplified)Chinese(Traditional)CzechEnglish
FrenchGermanGreekHindiIndonesian
ItalianJapaneseKoreanPolishPortuguese
Portuguese (Brazil)RussianSpanishThaiTurkish
UkrainianVietnamese   

Look and feel

IC Markets has a great mobile trading platform, we really liked the design and the user-friendly features that are easy to find.

IC Markets review – Mobile trading platform

Login and security

Similarly to the web trading platform, IC Markets provides only a one-step login. A two-step login would be safer.

You can’t use fingerprint or Face ID authentication. Providing this feature would be more convenient.

Search functions

The search functions are good. You can search by typing the name of a product or by navigating the category folders.

IC Markets review – Mobile trading platform – Search

Placing orders

You can use the same order types and order time limits as the ones on the web trading platform. 

IC Markets review – Mobile trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can only set alerts and notifications on the desktop trading platform. Developing this feature for the mobile trading platform as well would be much appreciated.

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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets review

Desktop trading platform

In design and functionality, IC Markets’s MetaTrader 4 desktop platform is almost the same as the web trading platform. One major difference is that here you can set price alerts.

Pros Cons
• Clear fee report • No two-step (safer) login
• Good customizability (for charts, workspace) • Poor design
• Price alerts

IC Markets offers MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform.

It has the same design, it is available in the same languages, offers almost the same order types (trailing stop is also available), has the same search functions, and features the same portfolio and fee reports as the web trading platform. These reports can be found under the ‘Account History’ tab: right click on one position and choose ‘Save as Detailed Report’.

The major difference is that you can set alerts and notifications in the form of mobile push or email notifications on the desktop trading platform. To set email or mobile notifications, you have to add your email address and mobile MetaQuotes ID (you can find it in the MT4 app’s settings). To add them, go to ‘Tools’ and select ‘Options’.

IC Markets review – Desktop trading platform

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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets review

Markets and products

At IC Markets, you can trade only forex and CFDs. In other words, many popular asset classes, such as real stocks and ETFs, are not available.

IC Markets is primarily a forex broker, but it also provides some CFDs. To learn more about CFDs, check out our CFD trading tips.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74.32% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

IC Markets’s CFD and crypto selection is wider than that of its closest competitors, while its forex product lineup is similar.

C Markets product selection
IC Markets Pepperstone Vantage
Currency pairs (#) 61 62 45
Stock index CFDs (#) 25 25 17
Stock CFDs (#) 2,100 1,400 750
ETF CFDs (#) 40 110 51
Commodity CFDs (#) 22 32 20
Bond CFDs (#) 10 – –
Cryptos (#) 23 21 34

Bear in mind that the FCA banned the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers as of January 2021.

Stock CFDs are available only on the MetaTrader 5 platform.

The fact that you can change the default leverage of the products when trading is a great feature. 

Changing the pre-set leverage manually is very useful if you want to lower the risk of your trade.

Social Trading

IC Markets offers social trading through ZuluTrade.

ZuluTrade allows you to identify successful traders (as ranked by ZuluRank, a proprietary performance evaluation algorithm), and follow their trades, which are then translated into real trades in your own broker account.

Should you decide to give ZuluTrade a try, note that there’s a tool called ZuluGuard that can help you monitor the volatility of the various available autotrading strategies.

IC Markets review

Research

IC Markets has great research tools, including trading ideas based on technical tools, quality news, and good charting tools. However, fundamental data is not provided.

Pros Cons
• Trading ideas • No fundamental data available
• Quality news flow
• User-friendly

You can find research tools in different places at IC Markets:

  • in Client Login, under ‘Trading Tools’
  • in the MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading platforms

Except for charting, we tested the research tools featured under ‘Trading Tools’. For charting, we tested the MetaTrader charting tools.

Trading ideas

IC Markets provides various trading ideas based on technical tools like indicators and price levels.

You can access these research tools by clicking on ‘Trading Central’ or ‘Featured Ideas’.

IC Markets review – Research – Recommendations

Fundamental data

IC Markets does not offer fundamental data.

Charting

IC Markets has OK charting tools. You can use 31 technical indicators and other technical tools, such as trendlines and Fibonacci retracement.

On the other hand, the design is outdated and some features are hard to use. For example, we had difficulty figuring out how to remove an indicator from the chart.

IC Markets review – Research – Charting

News feed

The news feed, called ‘Market Buzz‘, is a visually appealing interface that offers news analytics and sentiment indicators. Individual news stories, provided by third-party news sites such as ForexLive or tickerreport.com, open on a new page, which is rather cumbersome. The news feed is also cluttered with Twitter messages. 

IC Markets review – Research – News

Other research tools you will enjoy

If you are into API trading, IC Markets offers cAlgo, which uses the C# language.

Compare Research Pros and Cons
IC Markets review

Customer service

IC Markets has great phone and email support and has a 24/7 availability. On the negative side, its live chat is not the best quality and slow.

Pros Cons
• Phone support • Slow and not very useful live chat
• Live chat
• Fast response time
• 24/7 availability

You can contact IC Markets via:

  • Live chat
  • Phone
  • Email

IC Markets has great phone support. We were connected to the customer service representative within a minute and we received relevant answers.

The email support works very well. We sent four emails and got answers within a day to all of them. The answers were helpful and relevant. We also liked that they asked for feedback about the support service.

The live chat service, however, could be much better. It is slow, the average wait time for an answer was more than 10 minutes. Also, the responses were not always relevant. For example, we had to ask several questions until we got information on how their financing rates work. On the other hand, we experienced a slight improvement in the last few months. 

We appreciated the 24/7 availability of customer support.

IC Markets review – Customer Service

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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets review

Education

IC Markets does a great job when it comes to education services. It offers great quality tools on its website including a demo account, trading platform videos and educational articles.

Pros Cons
• Demo account • Videos are hard to find on the site
• Trading platform tutorial
• Educational videos

At IC Markets you can learn in the following ways:

  • Demo account
  • Platform tutorial videos
  • General educational videos
  • Webinars
  • Quality educational articles

Relevant content can be found in the ‘Education’ section and the IC Markets blog. Both are well-structured and cover useful topics like technical analysis and risk management.

The general educational videos are very high-quality. However, these can only be found on IC Markets’s Vimeo channel, they are not available on the website or the trading platform.

IC Markets review – Education

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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets review

Safety

IC Markets is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the top-tier ASIC. On the negative side, the company is not listed on any stock exchange and does not disclose financial information publicly.

Pros Cons
• Negative balance protection • Not listed on stock exchange
• Long track record • Financial information is not publicly available

Is IC Markets regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

IC Markets is based in Australia and was founded in 2007.

Is IC Markets safe?

To be certain if a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

  • how you are protected if something goes wrong
  • what the background of the broker is
How you are protected

Depending on your country of residency, you can open an account at one or more of IC Markets’s legal entities. 

This is important for you because the investor protection amount and the regulator differ based on which entity you belong to. 

IC Markets investor protection
Country of clientsProtection amountRegulatorLegal entity
EEA, excluding Belgium, Switzerland, Latvia€20,000Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)IC Markets (EU) Ltd
All other countries, except AustraliaNo protectionSeychelles Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA)IC Markets (SC) Ltd
AustraliaNo protectionAustralian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)International Capital Markets Pty Ltd

IC Markets provides negative balance protection for retail customers. If the balance on your account goes into negative, you will be protected.

Background

IC Markets was established in 2007. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

Find Your Safe Broker
IC Markets review

Bottom line

IC Markets is a great forex broker.

Its forex fees are low and opening an account is fast and easy. Deposits and withdrawals are free of charge and the process is user-friendly. The education section on the website is great.

On the other hand, IC Markets offers only forex and CFD products for trading. In addition, live chat support could be better, and non-EU clients are not covered by any investor protection scheme.

Feel free to try IC Markets as you can open an account within a day and there is no inactivity fee.

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74.32% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets review

FAQ

Below you can find links to all aspects of IC Markets in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our IC Markets fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the IC Markets minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your IC Markets account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the IC Markets account opening.

How’s their trading app?

Here’s our expert view after checking the IC Markets trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the IC Markets customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is IC Markets legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether IC Markets is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is IC Markets good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on IC Markets?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on IC Markets guide

I want to trade options, are they available at IC Markets?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on IC Markets?

What is the minimum account balance at IC Markets?

Check out the current account balance requirements at IC Markets in our What is the minimum account balance at IC Markets article.

Looking for commission and fees data for IC Markets?

We collected them in IC Markets commissions and fees.

How do you withdraw money from IC Markets?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on IC Markets.

What types of accounts does IC Markets offer? 

IC Markets offers two main account types: Standard and Raw Spread. The commission fees can be found on the IC Markets commissions and fees.

Related articles

  • Does IC Markets allow scalping?
  • How to delete account on IC Markets
  • How to change leverage IC Markets
  • How to withdraw on IC Markets
  • Is IC Markets an ECN broker?

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