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InvestinGoal » IC Markets vs Plus500: Comparison and Analysis

IC Markets vs Plus500: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD trading

IC Markets has a small advantage over Plus500 for CFD trading in the UK, thanks to a lower minimum deposit (none against 100.00 USD), MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView alongside its own platform, and the room it gives to scalping, hedging, expert advisors, high-frequency trading strategies and VPS hosting. It offers copy and social trading, opens raw spread, ECN and managed accounts, holds the account in 10 currencies against 3 and credits deposits on the same day against 1 day. Plus500 gives access to more tradable symbols (2,800 against 180), offers a guaranteed stop loss on CFDs and opens accounts for professional traders. Plus500 is regulated in the UK by the FCA, while IC Markets is not regulated in the UK but holds licences from CySEC and ASIC. Their EUR/USD costs are close (IC Markets 7.80 USD per lot, Plus500 8.00 USD), and both cover CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and shares, offer a demo account with no expiry, open Islamic accounts and allow API access.

Best overall

IC Markets

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Not regulated in your country IC Markets has no licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections do not apply.
IC Markets review ›
85CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Plus500 holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Plus500 review ›
78CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders IC Markets and Plus500 are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.
1 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for scalpers, news traders and algo traders. Plus500, on the other hand, is better for high-volume traders. Professional traders, swing traders and CFD stock traders can choose either IC Markets or Plus500.

Best for
Overall score IC Markets 85 Best Plus500 78 -7
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise IC Markets and the ones that supervise Plus500.
2 / 12

Only Plus500 is regulated in the UK, by the FCA. IC Markets holds no licence in the UK and is regulated by CySEC and ASIC (Australia).

Regulation
Section score IC Markets 100 Plus500 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i CySEC (Cyprus)
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that IC Markets and Plus500 have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
3 / 12

Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication. Plus500 also offers an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score IC Markets 65 -20 Plus500 85 Best
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2007 2008
Parent company i International Capital Markets Pty Ltd Plus500 Ltd.
CEO i Andrew Budzinski David Zruia
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i Eurobank N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 30,000,000
Annual revenue i USD 768,300,000
Monthly website search traffic i 2.2M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with IC Markets and with Plus500 in United Kingdom, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Plus500 is better than IC Markets for costs, as Plus500 does not charge forex commissions (against IC Markets' 7 USD per lot), does not charge US stock CFD fees (against IC Markets' 0.02 USD), and offers volume discounts, which IC Markets does not. Neither IC Markets nor Plus500 charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score IC Markets 65 -4 Plus500 69 Best
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i USD 7 Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.8 pips
0.8 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.06 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 7.8 USD 8
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.492 points 0.7 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.09 points 0.75 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 12.01
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.02 Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Spread
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i Free
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with IC Markets and with Plus500 in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

There is little between IC Markets and Plus500 on available markets. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks. Plus500 goes a step further, as it gives access to 2,800 tradable symbols (against IC Markets' 180).

Available markets
Section score IC Markets 75 Plus500 75
Total tradable symbols i 180 2,800
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that IC Markets and Plus500 make available to their clients in United Kingdom.
6 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for platforms, since IC Markets offers cTrader, MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4, which Plus500 does not. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer one-click trading and real-time pricing.

Platform
Section score IC Markets 89 Best Plus500 72 -17
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of IC Markets and Plus500 in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for mobile trading, because IC Markets offers the cTrader app, the MetaTrader 5 app and the MetaTrader 4 app, which Plus500 does not. IC Markets and Plus500 both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Mobile
Section score IC Markets 93 Best Plus500 80 -13
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that IC Markets and Plus500 allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.
8 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for trading features, because IC Markets offers tier-1 liquidity providers, which Plus500 does not, and allows for scalping and automated trading. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer trailing stops and API access.

Trading features
Section score IC Markets 83 Best Plus500 72 -11
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD Agency
Average execution time i 66 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1 30:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1 20:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1 20:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 10:1
Gold leverage i 20:1 20:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1 10:1
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i 2:1
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 0 USD 0
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at IC Markets and at Plus500 in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for account types, since IC Markets offers a corporate account, a managed account and an ECN account, which Plus500 does not. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Account types
Section score IC Markets 92 Best Plus500 51 -41
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with IC Markets and with Plus500 in United Kingdom.
10 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for account opening, given that IC Markets does not require a minimum deposit (against Plus500's 100 USD), offers 10 account base currencies (against Plus500's 3), and supports 3 e-wallets (against Plus500's 2). IC Markets and Plus500 both offer credit cards and debit cards.

Account opening
Section score IC Markets 90 Best Plus500 72 -18
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 100
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal, Neteller, Skrill PayPal, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD AUD, EUR, USD
Deposit waiting time i Instant up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of IC Markets and Plus500 in United Kingdom, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for customer care, because IC Markets offers a dedicated account manager, phone support and priority support, which Plus500 does not. IC Markets and Plus500 both offer live chat and email support.

Customer care
Section score IC Markets 87 Best Plus500 58 -29
Number of languages supported i 17 29
Website languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that IC Markets and Plus500 provide to their clients in United Kingdom.
12 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for learning, since IC Markets offers professional reports, daily market commentary and an economic calendar, which Plus500 does not. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score IC Markets 100 Best Plus500 75 -25
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
IC Markets
Open Account 72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500
Open Account CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money
Our verdict

IC Markets vs Plus500: which one should you choose?

IC Markets

CFD Choose IC Markets if you want a CFD and forex broker with a choice of trading platforms, room for automated strategies, and copy and social trading.

Open Account 72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500

CFD Choose Plus500 if you want an online CFD broker regulated in the UK by the FCA, with a guaranteed stop loss and accounts for professional traders.

Open Account CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

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