IC Markets vs Interactive Brokers: Comparison and Analysis

IC Markets vs Interactive Brokers: A Comprehensive Comparison

When it comes to choosing a broker for trading, there are numerous factors that traders consider, including security, markets, fees, platforms, and education. In this comparison, we will be looking at IC Markets and Interactive Brokers, two of the most popular brokers in the market.

Security

Both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers are highly regulated, ensuring that traders’ funds are secure. IC Markets is regulated by CySEC, ASIC, FSA, and SCB, while Interactive Brokers is regulated by numerous EU regulators, ASIC, HKSFC, SEBI, IIROC, FFAJ, MAS, SEC, and CFTC. In terms of security rating, Interactive Brokers has a slight edge with a score of 95, while IC Markets has a rating of 93.

Demo Accounts

IC Markets and Interactive Brokers offer unlimited demo accounts with virtual funds. IC Markets allows traders to choose the amount of virtual funds they want (up to $5 million), while Interactive Brokers offers a fixed amount of $1 million. Both brokers also allow traders to restore their virtual funds by contacting customer support.

Account Opening

IC Markets has no minimum deposit in place, but suggests a minimum deposit of $200. The broker offers over 10 base currencies, including USD, EUR, AUD, and GBP, and accepts a wide range of payment methods, including wire transfers, credit/debit cards, eWallets, bitcoin deposits, and local payment methods such as Union Pay in China and POLi in Australia. IC Markets also offers standard, RAW Spread, and Professional accounts for advanced traders.

Interactive Brokers has no minimum deposit, but requires at least $2,000 to trade with margin. The broker offers over 25 base currencies, accepts a wide range of payment methods, and offers standard, Margin, Cash, and Professional accounts.

Social-Copy Trading

IC Markets allows traders to engage in copy trading through third-party platforms such as ZuluTrade. Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, does not offer social-copy trading.

Markets

IC Markets offers 63 forex pairs, 21 commodities, 25 indices, 63 cryptocurrencies, and over 1600 stocks for CFD trading only. This makes IC Markets a better option for short-term investing rather than long-term investing.

Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, offers a wider range of trading assets, including over 100 forex pairs, 10 commodities, 23 cryptocurrencies, 5000+ stocks, 50+ ETFs, and 20 futures and options. This makes Interactive Brokers a good option for every type of trader, as it can be suitable for both short and long-term investing on every market.

Trading Fees

IC Markets’ spreads are variable, starting from 0 pip on forex, with commissions per lot up to $7. The broker also charges variable spreads on stocks. These low spreads and commissions make IC Markets a good broker for scalpin

Interactive Brokers’ spreads are also variable, starting from 0.1 pip on forex, with commissions per lot up to $7. The broker has very low fees with financing rates from 0.75% and no commissions on stocks and ETFs with the IBKR Lite Plan. With the IBKR Pro Plan, commissions start from $0,0005 per share or ETF.

Platforms

IC Markets offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and cTrader, all available via webtrader, desktop, and mobile. All the platforms offered by IC Markets allow traders to engage in algo trading, and the broker also offers VPS services.

Interactive Brokers offers a proprietary trading platform available as desktop, webtrader, and mobile. The broker also allows traders to engage in algo trading, and offers VPS services, FIX API, and TWS API integration.

Education/Customer Care

Both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers offer a wide range of educational materials for traders, including webinars, podcasts, tutorial videos, and trader’s academy. In terms of customer care, both brokers are easy to contact via email, telephone, and live chat, and offer support in multiple languages. However, Interactive Brokers only offers support in 8 languages, while IC Markets offers support in over 18 languages.

Conclusion

Both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers have their own strengths and weaknesses, depending on the trader’s needs and preferences. IC Markets is a good option for short-term investing, with low spreads and commissions, and a wide range of forex, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, and stocks for CFD trading only. On the other hand, Interactive Brokers is a good option for every type of trader, with a wider range of trading assets, including forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, futures, and options, and very low fees with financing rates from 0.75% and no commissions on stocks and ETFs with the IBKR Lite Plan. Interactive Brokers also offers a proprietary trading platform and more regulatory oversight. Ultimately, it is up to the individual trader to decide which broker better suits their needs and preferences.