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. |
Interactive Brokers
8.3
/10
VISIT INTERACTIVE BROKERS
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. |
AvaTrade
9.7
/10
VISIT AVATRADE
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. |
Interactive Brokers is regulated by NFA 0258600. Interactive Brokers have provided Forex, CFD trading services since 1977. |
AvaTrade is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC (Australia), FSA (Japan), FSB (South Africa) and BVI. AvaTrade have provided Forex trading services since 2006. |
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Why choose them? |
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Headquarters | Sydney, Australia | Level 20 Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY | Dublin, Ireland | |
TRADING SERVICES OFFERED |
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Spot Forex | ||||
Forex (CFD) | ||||
CFD | ||||
Spread Betting | ||||
Social Trading | ||||
MARKETS & INSTRUMENTS | ||||
Forex (currency pairs) | 60 | 22 | 59 | |
Commodities Offered | 19 | 16 | ||
Stocks Offered | 120 | 99 | ||
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
Losses can exceed deposits |
See all instruments
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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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 | IB Trader Workstation | AvaTradeAct, AVAOptions | |
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, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese |
English, Italian, German, French, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic, Malay, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch |
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See platform & features
Losses can exceed deposits |
See platform & features
Losses can exceed deposits |
See platform & features
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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ACCOUNT INFORMATION |
From micro accounts to ECN accounts, compare the accounts offered by IC Markets and Interactive Brokers |
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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
Losses can exceed deposits |
See account options
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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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 | None | 0.01 Lot | |
Max trade | None | None | None | |
Min deposit | $200 | 10,000 | $100 | |
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 business day | Varies | |
Withdrawal processing time | Varies | 1-3 business days | Varies | |
See all funding options
Losses can exceed deposits |
See all funding options
Losses can exceed deposits |
See all funding options
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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DETAILED INFO |
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Excluded countries | US | US | BE,BR,NZ,US,KE,IN,GH | |
Contact email | Send Email | Send Email | Send Email | |
Phone number | +44 800 014 8775 | +44 207-710-5695 | (44) (0) 8005200423 | |
Live Chat | ||||
Website | http://www.icmarkets.com/ | https://www.interactivebrokers.com/ | http://www.avatrade.com/ | |
Spreads: | ||||
EUR/USD (Average: 0.7 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 0.9 pips | |
GBP/USD (Average: 1.1 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 1.6 pips | |
USD/JPY (Average: 1.1 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 1.1 pips | |
AUD/USD (Average: 0.8 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 1.1 pips | |
USD/CHF (Average: 2.3 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 1.6 pips | |
USD/CAD (Average: 2.9 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 2.0 pips | |
NZD/USD (Average: 3.6 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 1.8 pips | |
EUR/GBP (Average: 2.4 pips) | 1.0 pips + $4.00 | 0.1 pips + $2/lot | 1.5 pips | |
View all spreads
Losses can exceed deposits |
View all spreads
Losses can exceed deposits |
View all spreads
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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FEES |
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Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | No | |
Commission | Yes | Yes | No | |
Deposit Fee | Varies | No | No | |
Withdrawal Fee | No | No | No | |
View All Fees
Losses can exceed deposits |
View All Fees
Losses can exceed deposits |
View All Fees
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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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 IndicesBest FTSE100 BrokersBest Dow Jones BrokersBest DAX BrokersBest FCA Regulated Brokers | Best MT4 BrokersBest Bitcoin BrokersBest Ethereum BrokersBest Ripple BrokersBest Litecoin Brokers | |
Last update |
All information collected from http://www.icmarkets.com/. Last updated on 01/01/2021. |
All information collected from https://www.interactivebrokers.com/. Last updated on 01/01/2021. |
All information collected from http://www.avatrade.com/. Last updated on 01/01/2021. |
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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. |
Interactive Brokers is an online forex trading sevice provider who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. To open an account with Interactive Brokers, minimum deposits start from $10,000. |
Since 2006, Avatrade have attracted over 20,000 traders to their platform. While their spreads are not the most competitive, they do offer traders a range of great features, such as guaranteed stop losses, the ability to hedge / scalp, and low margins. |
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Popular comparisons |
Popular comparisons feat. IC Markets
IC Markets vs XM |
Popular comparisons feat. Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers Alternatives
Interactive Brokers vs IG |
Popular comparisons feat. AvaTrade
Avatrade vs LCG |
If you’re a trader looking for a broker that offers the popular MT4 trading platform, IC Markets is likely a better fit. However, if you want a broker with lower spreads on currency pairs like EUR/USD, Interactive Brokers 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 to be the more reliable broker. We’ve broken down why below:
IC Markets is regulated by ASIC, while Interactive Brokers is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority.
AvaTrade are regulated by Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, IIROC, FSA, FSB, UAE and BVI
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 14 years, while Interactive Brokers have been around for 44 years. Our third alternative broker, AvaTrade, have been around for 15 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.
Both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers use tier one banks, but we are not sure of which bank specifically.
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 Interactive Brokers 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.
IC Markets is a privately owned company, while on the other hand Interactive Brokers is still a publicly listed company.
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 Interactive Brokers are based in Level 20 Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY .
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 Interactive Brokers offer forex trading. IC Markets have a slightly larger variety of currency pairs with 60 pairs, compared to 22 offered by Interactive Brokers. 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 also offer social trading, which allows you to follow the trading activity, engage in discussion, and even copy the trades of other traders.
IC Markets also offer social trading, which allows you to follow the trading activity, engage in discussion, and even copy the trades of other traders.
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. Interactive Brokers, for example, offer a mini account, standard account and VIP account.
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 Interactive Brokers also allows scalping and hedging. You can trade with EAs (expert advisors) on both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers.
In terms of risk management tools, neither IC Markets or Interactive Brokers 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.
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 and Interactive Brokers both charge points. Therefore, both brokers are equally affordable for this instrument. 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, IC Markets is more reliable based on our criteria above. Interactive Brokers 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.