Between 54-87% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Based on 69 brokers who display this data.
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BrokerDNA™
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
IC Markets
9.1
/10
VISIT IC MARKETS
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
Darwinex
7.9
/10
VISIT DARWINEX
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
Pepperstone
9.3
/10
VISIT PEPPERSTONE
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
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About |
IC Markets is regulated by ASIC. IC Markets have provided Forex trading services since 2007. |
Darwinex is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Darwinex have provided Forex, Spread betting trading services since 2012. |
Pepperstone is regulated by ASIC. Pepperstone have provided Forex trading services since 2010. |
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Why choose them? |
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Headquarters | Sydney, Australia | London, UK | Melbourne, Australia | |
TRADING SERVICES OFFERED |
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Spot Forex | ||||
Forex (CFD) | ||||
CFD | ||||
Spread Betting | ||||
Social Trading | ||||
MARKETS & INSTRUMENTS | ||||
Forex (currency pairs) | 60 | 40 | 61 | |
Commodities Offered | 19 | 12 | ||
Stocks Offered | 120 | 60 | ||
Bitcoin | ||||
Majors | ||||
Indices | ||||
US Stocks | ||||
Penny stocks | ||||
Energies | ||||
Metals | ||||
Agriculturals | ||||
FTSE | ||||
Dow Jones | ||||
Dax | ||||
Nikkei | ||||
ETFs | ||||
IPO | ||||
See all instruments
Losses can exceed deposits |
See all instruments
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See all instruments
78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs |
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PLATFORM & FEATURES |
See the platforms and features offered by each broker |
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Screenshot |
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MT4 | ||||
MT5 | ||||
MT4 Mac | ||||
WebTrader | ||||
Mirror Trader | ||||
ZuluTrade | ||||
Sirix | ||||
cTrader | ||||
PAMM | ||||
Custom Platforms | No | Social Trading | No | |
APPS |
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iOS |
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Android |
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Windows |
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Available Languages |
English, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Afrikans, Danish, Dutch, and German |
English, Spanish, Chinese, and French |
English, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Arabic |
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See platform & features
Losses can exceed deposits |
See platform & features
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See platform & features
78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs |
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ACCOUNT INFORMATION |
From micro accounts to ECN accounts, compare the accounts offered by IC Markets and Darwinex |
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Demo account | ||||
Mini account | ||||
Micro account | ||||
Standard account | ||||
ECN Account | ||||
Islamic account | ||||
Zero spread account | ||||
VIP account | ||||
Fixed spreads | ||||
Variable spreads | ||||
See account options
Losses can exceed deposits |
See account options
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See account options
78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs |
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TRADING CONDITIONS |
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Scalping | ||||
Hedging | ||||
Expert advisors (EAs) | ||||
Virtual private server | ||||
Direct market access | ||||
STP broker | ||||
Market maker | ||||
Min trade | 0.01 Lot | 0.01 Lot | 0.01 Lot | |
Max trade | None | None | None | |
Min deposit | $200 | $500 | $200 | |
RISK MANAGEMENT |
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Stop losses | ||||
Limit orders | ||||
One-click trading | ||||
Trailing stops | ||||
Price alerts | ||||
Signal trading | ||||
FUNDING METHODS |
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Credit card | ||||
Bank transfer | ||||
Standard account | ||||
Paypal | ||||
Neteller | ||||
Skrill | ||||
Payment processing time | Varies | 1-3 business days | Varies | |
Withdrawal processing time | Varies | 1-3 business days | Varies | |
See all funding options
Losses can exceed deposits |
See all funding options
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
See all funding options
78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs |
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DETAILED INFO |
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Excluded countries | US | US | KR, IR, IQ, SY, JP, US | |
Contact email | Send Email | Send Email | Send Email | |
Phone number | +44 800 014 8775 | 44 20 7193 1232 | 61 3 9020 0155 | |
Live Chat | ||||
Website | http://www.icmarkets.com/ | https://www.darwinex.com | https://pepperstone.com/ | |
Spreads: | ||||
EUR/USD (Average: 0.7 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 0.13 pips + $5.00 | |
GBP/USD (Average: 1.1 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 0.49 pips + $5.00 | |
USD/JPY (Average: 1.1 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 0.25 pips + $5.00 | |
AUD/USD (Average: 0.8 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 0.27 pips + $5.00 | |
USD/CHF (Average: 2.3 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 0.64 pips + $5.00 | |
USD/CAD (Average: 2.9 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 0.47 pips + $5.00 | |
NZD/USD (Average: 3.6 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 1.1 pips + $5.00 | |
EUR/GBP (Average: 2.4 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | Not offered | 1.0 pips + $5.00 | |
View all spreads
Losses can exceed deposits |
View all spreads
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
View all spreads
78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs |
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FEES |
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Inactivity Fee | No | No | No | |
Commission | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Deposit Fee | Varies | No | No | |
Withdrawal Fee | No | Yes | No | |
View All Fees
Losses can exceed deposits |
View All Fees
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider |
View All Fees
78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs |
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Featured In | Best MT5 BrokersBest cTrader BrokersBest Brokers For Major PairsBest Brokers For EUR/USDBest Brokers For Gold | Best Brokers For Expert AdvisorsBest 5 Digit BrokersBest Brokers With VPSBest Brokers For IndicesBest FCA Regulated Brokers | Best cTrader BrokersBest Brokers For CocoaBest Brokers For MetalsBest Dow Jones BrokersBest DAX Brokers | |
Last update |
All information collected from http://www.icmarkets.com/. Last updated on 01/12/2019. |
All information collected from https://www.darwinex.com. Last updated on 01/12/2019. |
All information collected from https://pepperstone.com/. Last updated on 01/12/2019. |
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Company |
IC Markets is an online forex trading service provider who are regulated by the ASIC. To open an account with IC Markets, minimum deposits start from $200. |
Darwinex is an online forex trading service provider who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. To open an account with Darwinex, minimum deposits start from $/£500. |
Pepperstone provide a trading platform for retail and institutional investors looking for a broker that provides fast execution, reliable technology, award winning customer service all at superior competitive pricing. |
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Popular comparisons |
Popular comparisons feat. IC Markets
IC Markets vs XM |
Popular comparisons feat. Darwinex
Darwinex vs ZuluTrade |
Popular comparisons feat. Pepperstone
Pepperstone vs IC Markets |
If you’re a trader looking for a broker that offers ECN execution (as opposed to a market maker), IC Markets is likely the better choice. However, if you want a broker with lower spreads on currency pairs like EUR/USD, Darwinex may be more appropriate.
You can determine a broker’s reliability & trustworthiness by looking at eight factors:
Based on these eight factors, we consider IC Markets and Darwinex to be equally reliable. We’ve broken down why below:
IC Markets is regulated by ASIC, while Darwinex is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority.
Pepperstone are also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
If a broker has been around for a long period of time, they’re likely to be more reliable (in comparison, most scam brokers only exist for several years before they disappear).
This also suggests that a broker has good risk management processes that have prevented them being caught out by major financial events, as was the case with Alpari UK going bust when they were there was a policy reversal of capping the Swiss Franc against the Euro.
IC Markets has been around for 12 years, while Darwinex have been around for 7 years. Our third alternative broker, Pepperstone, have been around for 9 years.
You wouldn’t want your broker paying their staff out of the same bank account account that you’re depositing your trading funds into, would you?
Fortunately, all regulated brokers must use segregated bank accounts to hold client money. This is one of the reasons why we only feature regulated brokers here on BrokerNotes.
All three brokers above will hold your money in a separate bank account.
Most tier-1 banks like Barclays and HSBC have been around for over 100 years and manage trillions of dollars of assets, proving that they have stood the test of time.
IC Markets uses tier one banks as their banking partner.Darwinex does not use tier one banks as their banking partner.
If a broker has been penalised by a regulator in the past five years, it may mean that they were caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing - which may be of concern to you as an end client.
We’re not aware of any penalties or fines imposed by regulators on IC Markets or Darwinex in the past five years.
While not always the case, the number of traders a broker has can be a good metric for understanding how reputable a brokers is.
Companies that are publicly listed on a stock exchange tend to be considered more reputable as they will be required to disclose their financials, and aspects of their operations, to the public.
Both IC Markets and Darwinex are privately owned companies.
Most reputable brokers tend to be headquartered in a major capital city or a financial hub such as Cyprus.
IC Markets are based in Sydney, Australia, while Darwinex are based in London, UK .
Assuming the brokers you’re choosing between are reputable, the next point to consider is whether they offer all of the features you require to trade.
This can be broken down into three categories:
If you’re looking to trade currency pairs, both IC Markets and Darwinex offer forex trading. IC Markets have a slightly larger variety of currency pairs with 60 pairs, compared to 40 offered by Darwinex. Also, if you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies, IC Markets offers a handful of cryptocurrency CFDs to trade, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
neither IC Markets nor IC Markets offer commodity trading.
IC Markets and Darwinex both offer social trading, which is a modern approach to trading that allows you to follow like-minded traders, copy their trading activity, and engage in discussion around trading strategies.
If you trade forex, there’s a good chance you might want a broker that offers the popular MT4 trading platform. If that’s the case, both IC Markets and Darwinex offer this. IC Markets also offer the new & improved MT5 platform. Our alternative broker, Pepperstone, also offers MT4 and MT5.
In addition to the platform, you’ll also want to ensure that the broker you choose offers the account type best suited to your needs.
If you have a certain trading style (e.g. scalping, hedging, or using EAs), you’ll want to double check that the broker you choose allows this, as not all of them do.
IC Markets does allow scalping and hedging. While Darwinex also allows scalping and hedging. You can trade with EAs (expert advisors) on both IC Markets and Darwinex.
In terms of risk management tools, neither IC Markets or Darwinex offers negative balance protection. Negative balance protection prevents you owing your broker more than you’ve deposited.
IC Markets also offer stop losses, limit orders, and price alerts to help you automate aspects of your trading strategy.
IC Markets accept Paypal while Darwinex accept Payoneer.
Comparing the fee structures of different brokers can be a minefield at times. The important thing to consider is what the spreads & fees are on the specific instruments and account type that you will be using.
For trading EUR/USD, IC Markets charges 0.00 points, while Darwinex charges 0.20 points. Therefore, IC Markets is the more affordable for this instrument. If you want to compare their spreads across more instruments, You can jump back up to our comparison of their currency pair & indice spreads above.
Another consideration is whether or not your broker charges inactivity, deposit/withdrawal fees, or commissions on trades. If you’re a frequent trader, inactivity fees are unlikely to be an issue.
There’s no such thing as a perfect broker, but some are going to be a better fit for you than others.
Objectively, Darwinex is more reliable based on our criteria above. Darwinex has a wider range of instruments to trade. IC Markets offer lower spreads on popular forex instruments like EUR/USD and are used by more traders.
Both brokers offer demo accounts, allowing you to test their platforms to see which is suitable for you. You can test drive their demos using the links below:
Finally, if you’re really not sure you can always use our free tool (takes 15 seconds) that will help you find a suitable broker based on your precise requirements here.