IC Markets vs IFC Markets 2024

Trust Score is a data-driven rating system that provides an at-a-glance rating of a broker’s overall trust by tracking 60+ brokers and over 100 regulatory jurisdictions across the globe. To make things clearer for everyday traders, we’ve created a five-tier system for regulators and Trust Score rating labels. Learn more about Trust Score, and check out our country guides to see the most trusted brokers in your country of residence.

IC Markets has a Trust Score of 84, giving it a "Trusted" Trust Score Label.

IFC Markets has a Trust Score of 73, giving it a "Average Risk" Trust Score Label.

IC Markets' low spreads, competitive pricing, and scalable execution policies make it a great choice for algorithmic traders. A trusted broker licensed in multiple Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions, IC Markets boasts support for a variety of social copy trading apps, including its IC Social mobile app. IC Markets consistently ranks near or at the top of our ratings for MetaTrader brokers (and was our top pick for MetaTrader brokers in 2023). Traders at IC Markets gain access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, as well as the Advanced Trading Tools package for desktop and support for third-party plugins from Autochartist and Trading Central. It's worth noting that the broker's research and educational offerings still have room to improve.

IFC Markets is a long-standing brand with 17 years of operation. Traders will appreciate that IFC Markets delivers a growing range of markets, numerous trading platforms, and a decent balance of research and educational resources.

Tier-1 is reserved for the strictest, most stringent regulatory jurisdictions in the world. Tier-1 regulators impose additional capital requirements and require a tougher initial screening process. IC Markets holds regulatory licenses in the following Tier-1 jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised). IFC Markets, on the other hand, is licensed in these Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions: none. Neither have Canada (CIRO Authorised), Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), New Zealand (FMA Authorised), Switzerland (FINMA Authorised), United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized)

Tier-2 and tier-3 licenses are still important in evaluating the overall trustworthiness of forex brokers. As far as tier-2 licenses go, IC Markets is Cyprus (CySEC Authorised), while IFC Markets is South Africa (FSCA Authorised).. Neither have China (CBRC Authorised), India (SEBI Authorised), Israel (ISA Authorised), Russia (CBR Authorised), Thailand (SEC Authorised) and UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised). When comparing tier-3 licenses IC Markets is Bahamas (SCB Authorised) and Mauritius (FSC Authorised), while IFC Markets is British Virgin Islands (FSC Authorised).. Neither have Belize (FSC Authorised), Bermuda (BMA Authorised), Cayman Islands (CIMA Authorised) and Vanuatu (VFSC Authorised).

Whether your broker develops its own proprietary platforms or provides access to popular third-party platforms, you should make sure you can use your preferred type of trading platform. In our testing, we found that IC Markets offers a Desktop Platform (Windows), cTrader and ZuluTrade, whereas IFC Markets supports a Proprietary Platform and Desktop Platform (Windows). Neither have DupliTrade

Both IC Markets and IFC Markets offer the whole MetaTrader suite, which consists of both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. If you’re new to MetaTrader 4 here’s our educational guide on how to use MT4.

IC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $200, while IFC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $1. It's also important to ensure your broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. In our research, we've found that IC Markets supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for funding and deposit methods, whereas IFC Markets supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)

When choosing a broker, it’s important to check the availability of your preferred investment products and asset classes. We’ve tested each broker’s individual offering of investments to help you pick the right broker for what you want to trade. We found that both IC Markets and IFC Markets offer Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals, ETF and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Neither have Spread Betting.

We also keep track of each broker’s total number of tradeable symbols; IC Markets offers 3583, and IFC Markets offers a total of 630 tradeable symbols.

Crypto trading has become popular among forex traders across a range of international jurisdictions. As a result, many forex brokers now offer crypto products to their clients; most crypto assets are offered either as an underlying physical asset (such as when you own actual bitcoin assets, for example) or as a derivative product like a CFD. If you are looking to trade physical cryptocurrencies, you’ll find that neither IC Markets nor IFC Markets allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

Market research plays a huge role in any forex trader’s ability to conduct analysis within the global forex market. We test each broker’s research offering to help you decide which broker is right for your technical or fundamental analysis needs. IC Markets delivers the following research tools: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. IFC Markets, on the other hand, provides the tools listed here: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts and Social Trading / Copy Trading

Broker Reviews