Page Summary
Interactive Brokers and IC Markets are leading online brokers offering impressive trading experiences. Interactive Brokers is a secure broker with licenses from the IIROC, FCA, FSA, SFC, MAS, CFTC, and FINMA. It offers a proprietary platform and a professional app with access to a demo account. Interactive Brokers is a recommended choice for professional traders.
IC Markets is a top forex broker with 0.8 pip spreads. It has a versatile portfolio, including auto-trading and the MetaTrader suite. IC Markets has excellent tools, like trading videos, educational articles, and a demo account. This broker is a good fit for traders of all levels of experience.
This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Interactive Brokers and IC Markets.
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Interactive Brokers
All trading involves risk. More than 80% of investors lose in spread bet and CFD trading. As these complex instruments allow for the use of leverage, there is a high risk of losing more money than you have deposited. Before attempting to participate in spread bets and CFDs, consider how well you understand them and if you can afford to lose your money.
IC Markets
Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71,65% 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.
BROKER COMPARISON
Trading Platform & Tools
| Automated Trading | ||
| Charting Tools | ||
| Conditional Orders | ||
| cTrader | ||
| Demo Account | ||
| Desktop Platform | ||
| Max Leverage | 1:20 | 1:500 |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | ||
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | ||
| Mobile Version | ||
| Mutual Fund Management | ||
| Proprietary Platform | ||
| Social/Copy Trading | ||
| Trading Alerts | ||
| Trading signals | ||
| Watchlist | ||
| Web Version |
Fees
| Withdrawal Fee | 0 | No |
| Deposit Fee | 1% | No |
| Inactivity Fee | 0 | 0 |
| Cost Per Trade | 0 | $3.5 per lot |
| Cost Per Month | 0 | 0 |
| Forex (EUR/USD) | 0.2 pips + 0.08 to 0.20 bps times trade size comission | 1.2 pips |
| Stocks & ETF | $ 0.005 per share | 0 |
| CFD (Gold) | 0.02% | 0 |
| Crypto | 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value | 0 |
| Options | 0 | |
| Conversion Fees | 0 | 0.01% |
| Misc. Fees | 0 | |
| Overnight Fees | Yes on CFD’s | 0 |
Deposit & Withdrawal
| Minimum deposit (in UAE) | $0 | $200 |
| Bank Wire | ||
| Credit/Debit Card | ||
| Cash | ||
| Check | YES from US bank account | |
| Islamic Account Transfer | ||
| E-payments | ||
| Paypal | ||
| Skrill | ||
| Neteller |
Assets
| Shares | 16.500 | 0 |
| ETF & Funds | 35.000 | 40 |
| Crypto | 4 | 0 |
| Commodities | 1 | 0 |
| Indices | 3052 | 0 |
| Options | 50.000 | 0 |
| Futures | 245 | 0 |
| Bonds | 1.000.000 | 0 |
| Forex Instruments | 115 | 75 |
| CFD Indices & Funds | 13 | 25 |
| CFD Stocks | 8.000 | 2100+ |
| CFD Commodities | 2 | 28 |
| CFD Crypto | 0 | 13 |
| CFD Bonds | 0 | 9 |
| Binary Options | 0 | 0 |
| SWAPS | 0 | 0 |
| Saving Plans | 0 | 0 |
Research & Education
| Webinars | ||
| Educational Resources | ||
| Daily News Updates | ||
| Market Indepth Analysis | ||
| Pers. Training & Room | ||
| Market Research |
Customer Support
| Phone | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| 24/7 support | ||
| Multilingual | ||
| Personal Account Manager |
Winner
Top findings from the Interactive Brokers vs. IC Markets review:
- Interactive Brokers is a top brokerage firm with both beginner-friendly and advanced tools.
- IC Markets is a top forex broker with impressive learning tools for new investors.
- Both brokers offer a demo account to test their offering.
We recommend Interactive Brokers to traders of all levels of experience. It has premium tools and platforms, including advanced research data. IC Markets is a top choice for traders who want to improve their trading skills.
Level of experience
Interactive Brokers offers many professional trading tools. It has excellent research data, including Trading Central and forex news. This broker has some educational materials, including webinars.
IC Markets has valuable educational and research materials. It has forex education, webinars, and an investor dictionary. IC Markets offers trading ideas, charting tools, and sentiment indicators.
Fees
The minimum initial deposit at Interactive Brokers is $0, while at IC Markets is $200. Both brokers offer an active trader discount.
Assets
Interactive Brokers has 105 forex currency pairs, while IC Markets provides access to 61 pairs. Interactive Brokers offers 7400 CFDs, while IC Markets has 230 available CFDs.
Trading platform
Interactive Brokers is a top choice among professionals because of its impressive desktop and web platforms. It offers standard educational tools, including professional trading videos. Interactive Brokers is a good fit for traders at all levels who want to improve their knowledge.
IC Markets has the MetaTrader suite as its web and mobile platforms. Both have a user-friendly design. IC Markets has impressive customizability and clear fee reports. It is an excellent choice for new traders, as it has a dedicated learning center.
Banking services
Banking services are key for a good online trading experience. Interactive Brokers has bank transfers as its funding option. IC Markets offers bank transfers, credit/debit cards, PayPal, and Skrill.
Final verdict
Interactive Brokers and IC Markets are leading online brokers. Both have advantages and disadvantages depending on your skills and trading experience. Interactive Brokers is a good fit for professionals as it has premium tools. We recommend IC Markets to new investors because of its useful learning center.
Interactive Brokers compared to other brokers: