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IC Markets vs Plus500: 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 Plus500 for CFD trading by a small margin, because it has MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView, and it allows scalping, hedging, expert advisors, high-frequency trading strategies, VPS and API access. Plus500, on the other hand, has a proprietary trading platform and guaranteed stop-loss orders. IC Markets is regulated by CySEC and ASIC, with an offshore company regulated by the FSA (Seychelles), while Plus500 is regulated by CySEC, the FCA, ASIC and the DFSA, with an offshore company regulated by the FSA (Seychelles). IC Markets charges 7.80 USD per lot to trade EUR/USD, against 8.00 USD at Plus500, and both offer a demo account. IC Markets has 2,850 tradable symbols, against 2,800 at Plus500. 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, while Plus500 asks for 100.00 USD at most of its companies and 70.00 USD at its Australian company. IC Markets offers crypto CFDs at all its companies, while Plus500 offers them except at its UK company.

Our verdict · Real stock investing

IC Markets and Plus500 cannot be compared for real stock investing, because IC Markets is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks to buy. If you are choosing between IC Markets and Plus500 for real stocks, Plus500 is the better option of the two, because it lets you own stocks outright.

Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD/FX brokers (leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto), using the data of IC Markets' Cyprus entity and Plus500's Cyprus entity. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers (real shares and ETFs you own outright), using the data of IC Markets' Cyprus entity and Plus500's Cyprus entity.

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. not offeredStocksOverall 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.

Best overall

Plus500

CFDCFD Plus500 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 Plus500 offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side. StocksStocks Plus500 lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that.
Plus500 review ›
77CFD/FXOverall score Plus500 scores 77/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas. 74StocksOverall score Plus500 scores 74/100 for stock investing. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
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 .
1 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for professional traders, scalpers and algo traders. Plus500, on the other hand, is better for long-term investors. Swing traders, news traders and CFD stock traders can choose either IC Markets or Plus500.

Best for
Overall score IC Markets 87 Best not offered Plus500 77 -10 74
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

IC Markets and Plus500 are both regulated by top-tier authorities, IC Markets by CySEC and ASIC (Australia) and Plus500 by CySEC, ASIC (Australia) and the FCA (United Kingdom).

Regulation
Section score IC Markets 100 not offered Plus500 100 100
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 Plus500 have in place to protect your money in .
3 / 12

Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score IC Markets 78 -7 not offered Plus500 85 Best 85
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 , both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

IC Markets and Plus500 are equally good for CFD/FX costs, as IC Markets is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 7.8 USD per lot (against Plus500's 8 USD), and has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.36 points (against Plus500's 0.7 points). On the other hand, Plus500 does not charge forex commissions (against IC Markets' 7 USD per lot), and does not charge US stock CFD fees (against IC Markets' 0.02 USD). Neither IC Markets nor Plus500 charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be compared for real stock costs, because Plus500 is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while IC Markets is a CFD broker.

Costs
Section score IC Markets 65 not offered Plus500 64 -1 80
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 0.36 points 0.7 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.08 points 0.75 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 6.46 USD 118.34
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.02 Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Commission, Percentage, Spread
US stocks fees (real) i USD 0.12
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 , and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

IC Markets and Plus500 are equally good for CFD/FX markets, as IC Markets gives access to 2,850 tradable symbols (against Plus500's 2,800). On the other hand, Plus500 lets you own stocks outright. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, ETFs, forex, indices and stocks.

Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be compared for real stock markets, because Plus500 is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while IC Markets is a CFD broker.

Available markets
Section score IC Markets 75 not offered Plus500 75 15
Total tradable symbols i 2,850 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, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i Stocks

Platform

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

IC Markets does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be compared for platforms.

Platform
Section score IC Markets 89 Best not offered Plus500 75 -14 75
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 , 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.

Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be set side by side for mobile trading, as IC Markets is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Plus500.

Mobile
Section score IC Markets 93 Best not offered Plus500 80 -13 80
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 .
8 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for CFD/FX 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 negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be set side by side for real stock trading features, as IC Markets is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Plus500.

Trading features
Section score IC Markets 93 Best not offered Plus500 67 -26 76
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 30:1About 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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 30:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 300:1 (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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 20:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 300:1 (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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 20:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 150:1 (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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 10:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 150:1 (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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 20:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 150:1 (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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 10:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 150:1 (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). 5:1About this value. This is the equities leverage at Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 5:1 (the UAE, Australia, the UK), 20:1 (other accepted countries).
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 Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: 2:1 (the UAE, Australia), 5:1 (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 Plus500 in , and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for CFD/FX 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.

Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be compared for real stock account types, because Plus500 is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while IC Markets is a CFD broker.

Account types
Section score IC Markets 79 Best not offered Plus500 38 -41 25
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 .
10 / 12

IC Markets is better than Plus500 for account opening, given that IC Markets offers 10 account base currencies (against Plus500's 3), supports 3 e-wallets (against Plus500's 2), and has no minimum withdrawal (against Plus500's 100 USD). However, the minimum deposit is lower at Plus500, at 100 USD (against IC Markets' 224 USD).

Plus500 and IC Markets cannot be set side by side for account opening, as IC Markets is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Plus500.

Account opening
Section score IC Markets 85 Best not offered Plus500 69 -16 69
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 100About this value. This is the minimum deposit at Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). At Plus500's other companies: USD 100 (the UAE, other accepted countries, the UK), USD 70 (Australia).
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 100
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal, Neteller, Skrill PayPal, SkrillAbout this value. This is the ewallets at Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). It is different at Plus500's companies in the UAE and the UK.
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. AUD, EUR, USDAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC). It is different at Plus500's companies in Australia.
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 , 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.

Only Plus500 can be assessed for customer care, since IC Markets is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Customer care
Section score IC Markets 87 Best not offered Plus500 58 -29 58
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 .
12 / 12

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

There is no like-for-like comparison for learning, as IC Markets is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Learning
Section score IC Markets 100 Best not offered Plus500 80 -20 80
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/FX Choose IC Markets if you want a CFD and forex broker for scalping and automated trading with a choice of trading platforms.

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

CFD/FX Choose Plus500 if you want an online CFD broker with a proprietary trading platform and guaranteed stop-loss orders.

Stocks Choose Plus500 if you want a stock brokerage service with outright ownership of the shares you buy.

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

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