IC Markets Review 2020

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.

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

To get things rolling, let's go over some lingo 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.

In the sections below you will find the most relevant fees of IC Markets for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading spreads, commissions and financing rates are the most important fees.

We also compared IC Markets's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Pepperstone and Fusion Markets. 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.

To have a clear overview of IC Markets, let's start with the trading fees.

IC Markets trading fees

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

We know it's hard to compare trading fees for forex brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compare brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.

We have chosen popular instruments in each asset class usually provided by the forex brokers:

• Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP
• Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50

A typical trade means buying a leveraged product, holding it for one week and then selling. For the volume, we chose a $20,000 position for forex and a $2,000 position for stock index and stock CFD transactions. The leverage we used was:

• 30:1 for forex
• 20:1 for stock index CFDs

This catch-all benchmark fee includes spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let's see the verdict for IC Markets fees.

Forex fees

IC Markets forex fees are generally low, but in line with its main competitors.

CFD fees

IC Markets has generally low CFD fees.

The fees of stock index CFDs are built into spreads.

On the negative side, the financing rates are high.

Non-trading fees

IC Markets has low non-trading fees. There are no inactivity, account or withdrawal fees, similar to its main competitors.

The account opening process at IC Markets is user-friendly and fully digital. It was also very quick, as our account was approved within a day.

Can you open an account?

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

IC Markets accepts customers from all around the world. There a few exceptions, though, with some notable ones including the US, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.

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 fee structures and available trading platforms:

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

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

We also liked that you can have 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 in one business day. 

The five steps of IC Markets account opening:

1. Provide some contact information, like your email address.
2. Fill out your personal information, like your 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's depositing and withdrawal services are great. There are no fees for either and many options are available for moving your money in and out.

Account base currencies

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

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. Revolut or Transferwise both 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.

Compare digital banks

Deposit fees and options

IC Markets deposits are free of charge. There are many deposit options, although some don't support all account base currencies. For example, BPay accepts only AUD.

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

IC Markets withdrawal fees and options

IC Markets withdrawal is free for credit/debit cards, bank transfers to Australian bank accounts, and electronic wallets. Withdrawal by international bank transfer however has a quite high, AUD 20 fee.

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, scroll over 'Transfers' in the menu.
2. Select 'Withdraw Funds' from the drop-down menu.
3. Add your bank account information if you have not already. 
4. Select the amount you wish to withdraw and click 'Submit.'

Compare to other brokers

The web trading platform of IC Markets is provided by MetaTrader. It is highly customizable, available in a lot of 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.

IC Markets doesn't have its own self-developed trading platform. Its most used trading platform is MetaTrader 4, a third-party platform. It also has other platforms available 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.

Look and feel

The IC Markets web trading platform has great customizability. You can easily 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 until we found how to add an asset to the watchlist.

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.

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)

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 see your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports can be found under the 'History' tab, but we didn't find a way to download them.

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IC Markets has a great mobile trading platform, offered by MetaTrader 4. It is well-designed and user-friendly. However, it lacks a safe login.

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

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

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

Look and feel

IC Markets has a great mobile trading platform, we really liked its design and user-friendliness. You will easily find all the features.

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 the product or by navigating the category folders.

Placing orders

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

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications, although only on the desktop trading platform. It would be much easier if you could set these notifications on the mobile trading platform too.

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

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 you can set price alerts on it.

IC Markets offers MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform.

It has the same design, is available in the same languages, offers the same order types, has the same search functions, and the same portfolio and fee reports as the web trading platform.

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). You can add them if you go to 'Tools' and then 'Options.'

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

At IC Markets, you can trade only with forex, some CFDs, and crypto products, no other assets are available.

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

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74-89% 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 better, while its forex product lineup is smaller than at its closest competitors.

*Stock CFDs are available only on the MetaTrader5 platform.

We really liked that you can change the default leverage size of the products when trading. This is a great feature.

Changing the leverage manually is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. For example, instead of trading with 5:1 leverage, only trade with 2:1 leverage in case of stock CFDs.

IC Markets has great research tools. You can find trading ideas based on technical tools, read quality news, and use good charting tools. However, there are no fundamental data available.

IC Markets doesn't have its own research team, you can only use the MetaTrader 4 trading platform's research tools. Just like the MetaTrader trading platform, the research tools are also available in many languages.

Trading ideas

IC Markets provides trading ideas on the web platform under the 'Trading Central' menu. Trading ideas are based on technical indicators.

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 finding how we could remove an indicator from the chart.

News feed

IC Markets provides news feeds on the desktop trading platform. The quality of these news feeds is great, as you can find charts and the texts are easy to read.

Other research tools you will enjoy

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

Compare research pros and cons

IC Markets has great phone and email support. On the negative side, its live chat low-quality and slow.

You can contact IC Markets via:

• Live chat
• Phone
• Email

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

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

The live chat service however could be much better. It is slow, as we waited an average of more than 10 minutes. Also, the answers we received were not always relevant. For example, we had to ask several questions until we found out how theit financing rates work.

We also appreciated the 24/7 availability.

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IC Markets does a great job in education. It offers many great quality educational tools on its website. You can use a demo account, watch trading platform videos and read educational articles.

At IC Markets you can learn in the following ways:

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

Related content can be found on the website, in the 'Education' section and the IC Markets blog. These are well structured and cover useful topics like technical analysis and risk management.

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

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IC Markets is regulated by the top-tier ASIC, the Australian financial authority, so it is considered safe. On the negative side, there is no investor protection or negative balance protection.

IC Markets is an Australia-based broker established in 2007. Is IC Markets safe? To be certain, it is best to check two things: how you are protected if something goes wrong and what the background of the broker is.

How you are protected

IC Markets provides its services through an Australian legal entity, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This matters, as ASIC does not require Australian brokers to provide any monetary investor protection. 

IC Markets does not provide negative balance protection either.

Background

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

Being regulated by a top-tier regulator and having a long track record of operation are great signs for IC Markets's safety.

Find your safe broker

IC Markets is a great forex and CFD broker. 

Its forex fees are low and account opening is fast and easy. Deposits and withdrawals are free and user-friendly. The education section of its website is also a plus.

On the other hand, IC Markets offers only forex, CFD and crypto trading. It also does not provide any investor or negative balance protection.

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

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74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money