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IC Markets vs OctaFX: Comparison and Analysis

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

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for CFD trading by a small margin, because it has a lower EUR/USD cost (7.80 USD per lot against 9.00 USD), TradingView and ETFs to trade, and it leads in faster execution (66 ms against 100 ms). IC Markets offers more account base currencies (10 against 2) and faster withdrawals (1 day against 3 days). OctaFX, on the other hand, offers micro accounts and fixed spread accounts. IC Markets is regulated by CySEC and ASIC, with an offshore company regulated by the FSA (Seychelles), while OctaFX is regulated by CySEC, with an offshore company registered in Saint Lucia. IC Markets and OctaFX both offer a demo account and crypto CFDs at all their companies. OctaFX asks for 5.00 USD at all of its companies, while IC Markets asks for 224.00 USD at its European company, 200.00 USD at its Australian company and no minimum deposit at its offshore company.

Best overall

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.

OctaFX

CFDCFD OctaFX 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 OctaFX offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
OctaFX review ›
80CFD/FXOverall score OctaFX scores 80/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

Best for

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

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for professional traders. Both are a good fit for scalpers, swing traders and news traders.

Best for
Overall score IC Markets 87 Best OctaFX 80 -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 OctaFX.
2 / 12

IC Markets and OctaFX are both regulated by top-tier authorities, IC Markets by CySEC and ASIC (Australia) and OctaFX by CySEC.

Regulation
Section score IC Markets 100 Best OctaFX 85 -15
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i CySEC (Cyprus) 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 OctaFX have in place to protect your money in .
3 / 12

IC Markets and OctaFX both offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score IC Markets 78 OctaFX 78
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2007 2011
Parent company i International Capital Markets Pty Ltd Octa Markets Incorporated
CEO i Andrew Budzinski Pavel Prozorov
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 40,000,000
Annual revenue i
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 OctaFX in , both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

OctaFX is better than IC Markets for costs, since OctaFX does not charge forex commissions (against IC Markets' 7 USD per lot), and does not charge inactivity fees or currency conversion fees, unlike IC Markets. Neither IC Markets nor OctaFX charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score IC Markets 65 -10 OctaFX 75 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
0.9 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 9
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.36 points 1.5 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.08 points 0.2 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 6.46 USD 25
US stocks fees (CFD) i 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
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 OctaFX in , and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

There is little between IC Markets and OctaFX on available markets. Both IC Markets and OctaFX offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks. IC Markets has a slight edge, as it offers CFDs on ETFs, and gives access to 2,850 tradable symbols (against OctaFX's 270).

Available markets
Section score IC Markets 75 OctaFX 75
Total tradable symbols i 2,850 270
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, ETF, 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 OctaFX make available to their clients in .
6 / 12

IC Markets and OctaFX are equally good for platforms, as IC Markets offers TradingView and ZuluTrade while OctaFX offers AutoChartist. IC Markets and OctaFX both offer cTrader and MetaTrader 5.

Platform
Section score IC Markets 89 OctaFX 89
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 OctaFX in , and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

OctaFX is better than IC Markets for mobile trading, because OctaFX offers a social trading app and a copy trading app, which IC Markets does not. Both IC Markets and OctaFX offer a proprietary mobile app and the cTrader app.

Mobile
Section score IC Markets 93 -7 OctaFX 100 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 IC Markets and OctaFX allow on their platforms in .
8 / 12

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for trading features, because IC Markets executes orders faster, within 66 ms (against OctaFX's 100 ms), and allows for high-frequency trading. Both IC Markets and OctaFX offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Trading features
Section score IC Markets 93 Best OctaFX 83 -10
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD NDD
Average execution time i 66 ms 100 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i
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 IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 30:1 (Australia), 5000:1 (other accepted countries). 30:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 1000:1 (other accepted countries).
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 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). 20:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 1000:1 (other accepted countries).
Major indices leverage i 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). 20:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 400:1 (other accepted countries).
Minor indices leverage i 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). 10:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 400:1 (other accepted countries).
Gold leverage i 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). 20:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 1000:1 (other accepted countries).
Commodities leverage i 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). 10:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 400:1 (other accepted countries).
Equities leverage i 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). 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i 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). 2:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (CySEC). At OctaFX's other companies: 200:1 (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 IC Markets and at OctaFX in , and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for account types, as IC Markets offers a professional traders account, a corporate account and a copy trading account, which OctaFX does not. IC Markets and OctaFX both offer a demo account and a managed account.

Account types
Section score IC Markets 79 Best OctaFX 72 -7
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 OctaFX in .
10 / 12

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for account opening, given that IC Markets offers 10 account base currencies (against OctaFX's 2), supports e-wallets, which OctaFX does not, and credits deposits faster, within the same day (against OctaFX's 3 days). However, the minimum deposit is lower at OctaFX, at 5 USD (against IC Markets' 224 USD).

Account opening
Section score IC Markets 85 Best OctaFX 65 -20
Minimum deposit i 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). USD 5
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 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. EUR, USD
Deposit waiting time i Instant up to 3 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 3 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

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

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for customer care, given that IC Markets offers customer support in 17 languages (against OctaFX's 11), has a website in 17 languages (against OctaFX's 11), and offers a dedicated account manager, which OctaFX does not. IC Markets and OctaFX both offer phone support and live chat.

Customer care
Section score IC Markets 87 Best OctaFX 67 -20
Number of languages supported i 17 11
Website languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese Bangla, German, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, 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 Bangla, German, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Urdu, 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 IC Markets and OctaFX provide to their clients in .
12 / 12

IC Markets is better than OctaFX for learning, given that IC Markets offers professional reports, daily market commentary and traders' sentiment, which OctaFX does not. Both IC Markets and OctaFX offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score IC Markets 100 Best OctaFX 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.
OctaFX
Open Account 73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Our verdict

IC Markets vs OctaFX: which one should you choose?

IC Markets

CFD/FX Choose IC Markets if you want a forex broker with low trading costs, TradingView and ETFs.

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

CFD/FX Choose OctaFX if you want an online CFD broker with a small minimum deposit and micro accounts.

Open Account 73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

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