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CMC Markets vs IC Markets: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD/FX trading

CMC Markets and IC Markets are two great brokers for scalping. However, IC Markets is the better choice if you are looking for cTrader, ETFs among its CFD markets, and trading conditions that allow expert advisors, high-frequency trading strategies, VPS and API access. CMC Markets, on the other hand, is better because it has a lower EUR/USD cost (7.00 USD per lot against 7.80 USD), a proprietary trading platform and faster execution (9 ms against 66 ms). CMC Markets is regulated by BaFin, the FCA, ASIC and CIRO, while IC Markets is regulated by CySEC and ASIC, with an offshore company regulated by the FSA (Seychelles). CMC Markets and IC Markets both offer a demo account with no expiry and allow scalping and hedging. CMC Markets asks for no minimum deposit, while the minimum deposit at IC Markets is 224.00 USD at the European company, 200.00 USD at the Australian company and none at the offshore company. Crypto CFDs are offered at all IC Markets companies and at every CMC Markets company except the UK one.

CMC Markets

CFDCFD CMC Markets offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX CMC Markets offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
CMC Markets review ›
85CFD/FXOverall score CMC Markets scores 85/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

IC Markets

CFDCFD IC Markets offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX IC Markets offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
IC Markets review ›
87CFD/FXOverall score IC Markets scores 87/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

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

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders CMC Markets and IC Markets are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in .
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CMC Markets is better than IC Markets for day traders and high-volume traders, while IC Markets is better for professional traders. Scalpers, swing traders and news traders can choose either CMC Markets or IC Markets.

Best for
Overall score CMC Markets 85 -2 IC Markets 87
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 CMC Markets and the ones that supervise IC Markets.
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CMC Markets and IC Markets are both regulated by top-tier authorities, CMC Markets by BaFin, ASIC (Australia) and the FCA (United Kingdom) and IC Markets by CySEC and ASIC (Australia).

Regulation
Section score CMC Markets 100 IC Markets 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i BaFin (Germany) 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 CMC Markets and IC Markets have in place to protect your money in .
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Both CMC Markets and IC Markets offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme. CMC Markets also offers additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score CMC Markets 95 Best IC Markets 78 -17
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1989 2007
Parent company i CMC Markets plc International Capital Markets Pty Ltd
CEO i Peter Cruddas Andrew Budzinski
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i Barclays Bank Ireland, J.P. Morgan SE Eurobank
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 1,000,000
Annual revenue i USD 324,700,000
Monthly website search traffic i 10.5M monthly visits 2.2M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with CMC Markets and with IC Markets in , both on each trade and on holding the account.
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CMC Markets is better than IC Markets for costs, as CMC Markets is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 7 USD per lot (against IC Markets' 7.8 USD), does not charge inactivity fees, unlike IC Markets, and offers volume discounts, which IC Markets does not. Neither CMC Markets nor IC Markets charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score CMC Markets 81 Best IC Markets 65 -16
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 5 USD 7
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.7 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 USD 7.8
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.5 points 0.36 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.2 points 0.08 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 15 USD 6.46
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.02 USD 0.02
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage
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 Free
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 CMC Markets and with IC Markets in , and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
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CMC Markets and IC Markets are equally good for available markets, since CMC Markets gives access to 12,000 tradable symbols (against IC Markets' 2,850). On the other hand, IC Markets offers CFDs on ETFs. Both CMC Markets and IC Markets offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks.

Available markets
Section score CMC Markets 75 IC Markets 75
Total tradable symbols i 12,000 2,850
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, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that CMC Markets and IC Markets make available to their clients in .
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CMC Markets is better than IC Markets for platforms, since CMC Markets offers a proprietary platform, which IC Markets does not. CMC Markets and IC Markets both offer MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4.

Platform
Section score CMC Markets 97 Best IC Markets 89 -8
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 CMC Markets and IC Markets in , and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
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IC Markets is better than CMC Markets for mobile trading, given that IC Markets offers the cTrader app, mobile trading signals and mobile charting tools, which CMC Markets does not. CMC Markets and IC Markets both offer a proprietary mobile app and the MetaTrader 5 app.

Mobile
Section score CMC Markets 73 -20 IC Markets 93 Best
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 CMC Markets and IC Markets allow on their platforms in .
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IC Markets is better than CMC Markets for trading features, as IC Markets offers tier-1 liquidity providers, VPS hosting and API access, which CMC Markets does not. Both CMC Markets and IC Markets offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Trading features
Section score CMC Markets 69 -24 IC Markets 93 Best
Trade execution
Broker type i Agency NDD
Average execution time i 9 ms 66 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0.08%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at CMC Markets Germany GmbH (BaFin). At CMC Markets' other companies: 30:1 (Australia, the UK), 50:1 (Canada). 30:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 30:1 (Australia), 5000:1 (other accepted countries).
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at CMC Markets Germany GmbH (BaFin). At CMC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia, the UK), 33:1 (Canada). 20:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia), 5000:1 (other accepted countries).
Major indices leverage i 20:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at CMC Markets Germany GmbH (BaFin). At CMC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia, the UK), 10:1 (Canada). 20:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia), 200:1 (other accepted countries).
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 10:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 10:1 (Australia), 200:1 (other accepted countries).
Gold leverage i 20:1 20:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia), 2000:1 (other accepted countries).
Commodities leverage i 10:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at CMC Markets Germany GmbH (BaFin). At CMC Markets' other companies: 10:1 (Australia, the UK), 30:1 (Canada). 10:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 10:1 (Australia), 1000:1 (other accepted countries).
Equities leverage i 5:1About this value. This is the equities leverage at CMC Markets Germany GmbH (BaFin). At CMC Markets' other companies: 5:1 (Australia, the UK), 3:1 (Canada). 5:1About this value. This is the equities leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 5:1 (Australia), 20:1 (other accepted countries).
Cryptocurrency leverage i 2:1 2:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 2:1 (Australia), 500:1 (other accepted countries).
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 CMC Markets and at IC Markets in , and of who each one is meant for.
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IC Markets is better than CMC Markets for account types, as IC Markets offers a managed account, an ECN account and a copy trading account, which CMC Markets does not. CMC Markets and IC Markets both offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Account types
Section score CMC Markets 48 -31 IC Markets 79 Best
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 CMC Markets and with IC Markets in .
10 / 12

IC Markets is better than CMC Markets for account opening, as IC Markets offers 10 account base currencies (against CMC Markets' 2), supports e-wallets, which CMC Markets does not, and credits deposits faster, within the same day (against CMC Markets' 2 days). However, CMC Markets does not require a minimum deposit at all (against IC Markets' 224 USD).

Account opening
Section score CMC Markets 65 -20 IC Markets 85 Best
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 224About this value. This is the minimum deposit at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: USD 200 (Australia), USD 0 (other accepted countries).
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal, Neteller, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i EUR, USDAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at CMC Markets Germany GmbH (BaFin). It is different at CMC Markets' companies in Australia. AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USDAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). It is different at IC Markets' companies in Australia.
Deposit waiting time i up to 2 business days Instant
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

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

IC Markets is better than CMC Markets for customer care, since IC Markets offers customer support in 17 languages (against CMC Markets' 9), and has a website in 17 languages (against CMC Markets' 9). CMC Markets and IC Markets both offer a dedicated account manager and phone support.

Customer care
Section score CMC Markets 73 -14 IC Markets 87 Best
Number of languages supported i 9 17
Website languages i German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i German, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, 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 CMC Markets and IC Markets provide to their clients in .
12 / 12

CMC Markets and IC Markets are equally good for learning, as both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score CMC Markets 100 IC Markets 100
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
CMC Markets
Open Account 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
IC Markets
Open Account 72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

CMC Markets vs IC Markets: which one should you choose?

CMC Markets

CFD/FX Choose CMC Markets if you want a forex broker with low trading costs and fast order execution.

Open Account 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
IC Markets

CFD/FX Choose IC Markets if you want an online CFD broker with cTrader, ETFs and automated trading.

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

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