Head to head
CMC Markets vs IC Markets — which broker is better?
CMC Markets or IC Markets? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.
Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
CMC Markets
One of the best charting packages in retail CFD trading, wrapped around a narrower product range than the market count suggests.
- Stocks (per order)
- Free (CFD)
- Minimum deposit
- None
- EUR/USD spread
- 0.7 pips
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
IC Markets
One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.
- Stocks (per order)
- 0.1 % (CFD)
- Minimum deposit
- €200
- EUR/USD spread
- 0.8 pips
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
The verdict in numbers
Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.
Overall CMC Markets takes it, 4.4 against 4.2 out of 5. The two pricing models cannot be converted like for like; the fee rows in the table carry the detail. CMC Markets scores 94 against 70 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. CMC Markets covers more ground with 10 of 14 asset classes against 9. On platform and app CMC Markets is ahead, 4.7 against 4.1 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
- CMC Markets
- 4.4 — Better
- IC Markets
- 4.2
- CMC Markets
- Free (CFD)
- IC Markets
- 0.1 % (CFD)
- CMC Markets
- 94 of 100
- IC Markets
- 70 of 100
- CMC Markets
- 10/14 — Better
- IC Markets
- 9/14
- CMC Markets
- 4.7 — Better
- IC Markets
- 4.1
Compare brokers side by side
Up to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | CMC Markets 4.4 Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | IC Markets 4.2 Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 4.4 — Better | 4.2 |
| Group index | 94 of 100 | 70 of 100 |
| Best for | Technical and chart-driven tradersUK and Irish spread bettingActive FX traders on FX ActiveShare CFD traders in UK and EuropeSmall starting balances | Algorithmic and EA tradersScalping and high-frequency FXcTrader usersHigh-volume tradersCopy trading |
| Regulation | FCAFCAFCAASICBaFinMAS | ASICCySECFSCAFSASCBCMA |
| Top-tier licences | 6 — Better | 1 |
| Investor protection | £85,000 — Better | €20,000 |
| Listed group | Yes | No |
| Banking licence | No | No |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 1 | 1 |
| Founded | 1989 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | London, GB | Sydney, AU |
| Fees | 4.3 | 4.7 — Better |
| Safety & regulation | 4.6 — Better | 3.9 |
| Trading platform | 4.8 — Better | 4.5 |
| Product range | 4.4 — Better | 3.7 |
| Mobile app | 4.5 — Better | 3.6 |
| Research | 4.4 — Better | 3.6 |
| Customer support | 4.1 | 4.5 — Better |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.0 | 4.4 — Better |
| Account opening | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Education | 4.2 — Better | 3.3 |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | Free (CFD) | 0.1 % (CFD) |
| Minimum deposit | None — Better | €200 |
| Stocks (per order) | Free (CFD) | 0.1 % (CFD) |
| US stocks | US$0.02/share (CFD) | US$0.02/share (CFD) |
| ETFs | Free (CFD) | Not offered |
| Options | Free | Not offered |
| Futures | Not offered | in the spread |
| Crypto | n/a | in the spread |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | in the spread |
| Funds (order) | n/a | n/a |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.7 pips — Better | 0.8 pips |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.7 % | n/a |
| Inactivity fee | £10 · after 12 months — Better | €10 · after 6 months |
| Custody fee | n/a | None |
| Withdrawal fee | free | free |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 10 — Better | 9 |
| Exchanges | n/a | n/a |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | No |
| Options | Yes | No |
| Futures | No | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | No | No |
| Commodities | Yes | Yes |
| Indices | Yes | Yes |
| Warrants | No | No |
| Spread betting | Yes | No |
| Social trading | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Next Generation (web)Next Generation desktopCMC mobile appMetaTrader 4TradingView | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5cTraderTradingViewIC Markets appFIX API |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | No | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 | 1:30 · Pro 1:500 |
| Account opening | Online application, usually approved the same day; funded and trading within 24 hours in most jurisdictions | Digital application, usually approved within one business day |
| Account types | Spread betting accountCFD accountFX ActiveCorporate accountProfessional account | Raw Spread (MT4/MT5)cTrader RawStandardRaw ProRaw Pro+Swap-free |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit card | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalSkrillNetellerApple PayGoogle PayCrypto |
| Account currencies | GBPEURUSDAUDCADNOKNZDPLNSEKSGD | EURUSDGBP |
| Deposit time | Instant by debit or credit card; up to 2 business days by bank transfer | Instant to 12 hours on cards and e-wallets, 1-3 business days by bank transfer |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days back to the original funding source | Same day to 1 business day on e-wallets and crypto, 2-5 business days by bank wire |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishGermanFrenchItalianSpanishPolishSwedishNorwegianChinese | EnglishGermanSpanishFrenchItalianPortugueseChineseVietnameseThaiArabic |
| Channels | PhoneEmailLive chat | PhoneEmailLive chat |
| Availability | 24/5, from the Sunday market open to the Friday close | 24/7 |
Strengths and weaknesses side by side
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
CMC Markets
One of the best charting packages in retail CFD trading, wrapped around a narrower product range than the market count suggests.
Pros
- Next Generation is one of the strongest charting suites bundled with a retail CFD account —115+ indicators, 70 chart patterns, 12 chart types and pattern-recognition scanners, at no extra cost
- 0% commission on UK and European share CFDs (Greece the sole exception at 0.45%), against IG's spread-plus-conversion model
- EUR/USD averages around 0.7 pips on the standard account, and FX Active delivers from 0.0 pips for USD/GBP 2.50 per side per 100,000 notional
- No minimum deposit at all — CMC only suggests around GBP 100 to cover margin, which makes it genuinely testable with small money
- Three FCA licences (173730, 170627, 948126) plus ASIC AFSL 238054, BaFin and MAS, with FSCS cover of GBP 85,000 and client money segregated at NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds under annual PwC audit
- Cash-settled OTC options, available as a spread bet or through the CFD account, carry no commission and no holding or financing charge — the whole cost is in the spread
- 12,029 instruments on Next Generation, all of which are also tradable from TradingView charts
- Ten account base currencies including NOK, SEK, PLN and SGD, which removes conversion drag for Nordic and Asian clients
Cons
- None of CMC's derivatives is exchange-traded: the options it quotes are OTC and cash-settled, and there are no cleared futures at all, so CMC is the counterparty on every derivative contract and no clearing house stands behind it
- The 0.7% FX conversion charge on realised profit, loss and costs is high; IG applies 0.8% on the equivalent CFD trades
- Inactivity fee of GBP 10 per month starts after just 12 months without trading activity
- ASIC required CMC to remediate Australian retail clients in 2023 over CFDs offered above the product intervention leverage limits, and an Australian class action over 2011–2021 marketing remains outstanding
- MT4 carries only about 220 instruments against 12,029 on Next Generation, so algo traders who need MT4 lose most of the product range
- CMC does not publish a fixed index spread table, which makes cost comparison against brokers that do quote fixed minimums harder than it should be
Best for
IC Markets
One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.
Pros
- All-in EUR/USD cost of roughly 0.6 to 0.8 pips on Raw Spread - a 0.0 to 0.1 pip raw spread plus USD 3.50 per lot per side
- Raw Pro at USD 1.50 per lot from a USD 5,000 balance and Raw Pro+ at USD 1.00 per lot from USD 100,000 - a real volume ladder rather than a marketing tier
- No withdrawal fee of IC Markets' own across roughly nineteen funding methods, and at Raw Trading Ltd (ic.com) no inactivity fee and no minimum deposit on the Standard, Raw Spread and cTrader Raw accounts; EU clients deposit at least EUR 200 and can be charged an inactivity fee after six months without a trade
- Four execution front-ends on one account: MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, with New York and London server hosting and FIX API for qualifying volume
- Genuinely 24/7 multilingual support - live chat responses are consistently measured in minutes, not hours
- 2,250 plus instruments including 2,100 stock CFDs, 94 crypto CFDs, 25 indices, 9 bond CFDs and 5 futures CFDs
- Accounts in EUR, USD or GBP at the EU entity, so deposits and withdrawals in those currencies need no conversion; Raw Trading Ltd (ic.com) offers ten base currencies including CHF
Cons
- Most non-EU, non-Australian clients contract with Raw Trading Ltd under Seychelles licence SD018 - an offshore regulator with no investor compensation scheme behind it
- Leverage advertised up to 1:5000 through that entity is a genuine hazard, not a feature; at that ratio a 2 pip move against a full-size position wipes the account
- International bank wires can still arrive short: IC Markets deducts nothing, but intermediary and beneficiary banks take their own cut, which no fee table here can predict
- No proprietary trading platform or flagship mobile app - the experience is whatever MetaTrader and cTrader give you, and ForexBrokers.com marks IC Markets down for exactly this
- Research is thin: daily commentary and a podcast rather than a staffed analyst desk, and education has no structured progression
- No ETFs, no options, no funds and no share ownership - stock exposure is CFD-only, so no voting rights and no transferable holdings
Best for
Open an account with either
A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
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