IC Markets Forex Review 2026

IC Markets is one of the strongest forex brokers available and a benchmark for low-cost ECN trading. For active and high-frequency traders, it is one of the best in the market.

The reason is cost. The cTrader Raw account offers spreads from 0.0 pips and charges a $6 round-turn commission per standard lot, for an all-in cost of roughly $7.00 on EUR/USD ("all-in" meaning the spread plus the full round-turn commission, expressed in dollars per standard lot). The MT4 and MT5 Raw Spread accounts cost about $8.00 all-in. That is competitive with, and in some cases slightly below, Pepperstone's Razor account at $7.70 all-in, and costs less than half of what a spread-only broker like eToro charges. The premium Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ tiers further reduce costs to roughly $4.00 and $3.00 all-in, in exchange for minimum deposits of $5,000 and $100,000.

The platform and tooling match the pricing. IC Markets supports MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView simultaneously, with Expert Advisors, cTrader Algo, FIX API access, and free VPS hosting for qualifying clients. Its instrument range is broad, with 2,250+ CFDs, including 61 currency pairs, which is above the industry average.

The primary concerns are regulation and onboarding. IC Markets holds Tier 1 licenses from ASIC and CySEC. However, most clients outside the EU and Australia are onboarded through entities in the Seychelles (Raw Trading Ltd) or the Bahamas, which offer less investor protection. Additionally, IC Markets does not serve clients in key markets such as the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

Bottom Line

IC Markets is an excellent broker for active forex traders and merely adequate for beginners. Based on our assessment, its combination of low costs, a four-platform lineup, and full algorithmic support makes it one of the best choices in the market for anyone whose priority is trading costs and execution rather than hand-holding.

IC Markets is regulated across multiple jurisdictions, holding Tier 1 licenses from ASIC in Australia and from CySEC in Cyprus, along with additional authorizations from the FSA in the Seychelles, the SCB in the Bahamas, and the CMA in Kenya. It operates through a separate entity in each jurisdiction, and the level of protection a client receives depends heavily on which entity onboards them.

IC Markets was founded in 2007 and is one of the largest retail ECN brokers in the world, with daily trading volumes reported to exceed $20 billion. It is not publicly listed.

Investor protections vary by entity. Clients under the CySEC entity are covered by the Investor Compensation Fund up to €20,000 and receive negative balance protection. Australian retail clients under ASIC receive negative balance protection but are not covered by a statutory compensation scheme. Clients under Raw Trading Ltd in the Seychelles are covered by private indemnity insurance of up to $1 million but fall outside any statutory compensation fund. The Seychelles entity's own documentation states that clients are responsible for any negative balance. Client funds are held in segregated accounts across all entities.

Most international clients outside the EU and Australia are onboarded through the Seychelles or Bahamas entities, which offer higher leverage (up to 1:5000 on the Global entity) but weaker protections. Based on our assessment, this is the single most important point a prospective client should understand before opening an account because it significantly alters the regulatory framework.

Bottom Line

IC Markets holds genuine Tier 1 licenses in Australia and the EU, and its segregated funds and long operating history support its standing as a trustworthy broker. The ASIC and CySEC entities are tightly regulated, while the Seychelles and Bahamas entities offer higher leverage in exchange for materially weaker safeguards.

IC Markets' forex fees are among the lowest in the industry. Its commission-free Standard account has spreads from 0.8 pips, while Raw accounts offer spreads from 0.0 pips, with commissions ranging from $2 to $7 per round-turn standard lot, depending on the tier. The lowest commissions are on the premium Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ tiers, which require a higher minimum deposit for significantly lower commissions. For active traders, Raw accounts are always the more cost-effective option.

Translating spreads and commissions into an all-in cost for EUR/USD on a standard-lot round turn ("all-in" meaning the spread plus the full round-turn commission, expressed in dollars for a standard lot):

IC Markets Forex Cost Comparison - EUR/USD, 1 Standard Lot Round Turn:

For traders who meet the deposit thresholds, the Raw Pro tiers are among the cheapest available, with Raw Pro+ priced near $3.00 all-in. For everyone else, the cTrader Raw account remains the lowest-cost standard option at roughly $7.00 all-in, essentially neck-and-neck with Pepperstone's Razor account and well below the cost of a spread-only broker such as eToro. High-volume traders may also be eligible for additional rebates through the Raw Trader Plus program.

Non-Trading Fees

Swaps apply to positions held overnight, consistent with standard industry practice. Certain instruments, such as crude oil, natural gas, and exotic currency pairs, carry a flat overnight financing charge. Traders who need to avoid swaps can use the Islamic (swap-free) account, available across the account range.

Bottom Line

IC Markets has one of the lowest overall cost structures in the retail forex industry, and the addition of the Raw Pro tiers brings its best-case pricing to the forefront of the market for well-capitalized traders. Combined with no deposit, withdrawal, or inactivity fees, this cost structure is a major strength, especially for high-volume and algorithmic traders.

IC Markets offers more than 2,250 instruments, all traded as CFDs, including 61 forex currency pairs. The range is broad for an execution-focused broker, though it does not offer real (non-CFD) ownership of any asset.

IC Markets offers 61 currency pairs. Its forex offering exceeds the typical range of 50 to 60 pairs and includes majors, minors, and a solid set of exotics. On Raw accounts, EUR/USD spreads average close to 0.0 pips and are sourced from more than 25 institutional liquidity providers. Share CFD trading is available only on MT5 and is subject to a separate commission, starting at 0.1% per share.

All instruments are CFDs, so IC Markets is a pure derivatives broker. Traders who want to own actual stocks will need a different provider, such as Saxo or Interactive Brokers.

Bottom Line

IC Markets covers the major asset classes well, and its 61-pair forex range and deep liquidity are strong points for currency traders. The lack of real asset ownership is the main structural limitation, which matters only to traders who want to hold physical shares rather than trade on price movements.

IC Markets supports four trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView, plus web and mobile access. This is the industry's widest platform lineup, in contrast to the single-platform approach used by some competitors. It is one of the broker's defining strengths.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 remains the most widely used forex trading platform, and IC Markets hosts it on servers at the Equinix NY4 data center in New York to enable low-latency execution. It supports Expert Advisors for automated trading, custom indicators, and the full range of standard order types, making it the platform of choice for traders with established MT4 workflows or existing EAs.

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5 is the newer, multi-asset version of the platform and is required for share CFD trading at IC Markets. It offers more timeframes, additional order types, a built-in economic calendar, and a broader range of asset classes than MT4, while maintaining full Expert Advisor support. Like MT4, it runs on the Equinix NY4 data center.

cTrader

cTrader is IC Markets' platform of choice for depth-of-market trading and for the lowest commissions. It offers advanced order types, level II pricing, and cTrader Algo for automated strategies.

TradingView

IC Markets supports native TradingView integration, allowing traders to execute directly from TradingView's charting environment, one of the most advanced available.

Bottom Line

IC Markets' platform offering is nearly comprehensive, and the combination of MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView means almost any trader can work in an environment they already know. The only gap is the lack of a simplified proprietary platform, which matters mainly for beginners who would prefer a guided interface to the full TradingView, MetaTrader, or cTrader experience.

IC Markets' trading tools include Expert Advisor support, cTrader Algo, FIX API access, free VPS hosting, and Trading Central analysis. The toolkit is oriented toward active and algorithmic traders and is well equipped in the areas that matter to that audience.

• Expert Advisors and cTrader Algo: Full support for automated trading on MetaTrader and cTrader, including custom EAs and cBots.
• FIX API: Direct API access for institutional and high-frequency traders requiring low-latency execution outside standard platforms.
• Free VPS Hosting: Virtual private server hosting for qualifying clients, keeping automated strategies running 24/7 without an always-on local machine.
• Trading Central and IC Insights: Third-party technical analysis from Trading Central, plus IC Markets' own market analysis, delivering actionable chart signals and commentary.
• Copy and Social Trading: Available through IC Social, cTrader Copy, ZuluTrade, and Signal Start. Copy trading is offered, but it is not the platform's defining feature, as it is for a social-first broker like eToro.
• Forex Calculators: A full set of position, margin, pip, and swap calculators to size trades and estimate costs before entering the market.
• Economic Calendar: An integrated calendar of macroeconomic releases and events, filterable by currency and impact, to track market-moving data.

IC Markets’ toolkit is strong on execution and automation and lighter on the guided, educational tools that a beginner-focused broker would offer. For the active-trader audience IC Markets targets, this is the right balance.

Bottom Line

IC Markets is one of the best-equipped brokers for algorithmic and high-frequency trading, offering EAs, a FIX API, and free VPS hosting. Based on our assessment, its tooling is a clear strength for serious traders, and its multiple copy trading integrations accommodate followers of other traders, though less centrally than on a dedicated social platform.

IC Markets offers three standard account types (Standard, Raw Spread, and cTrader Raw), two premium Raw Pro tiers, and an Islamic swap-free option. The structure is deliberately simple, distinguishing accounts primarily by pricing model and platform rather than by client tier.

Account Types:

• Standard Account: Commission-free with a spread markup of about 0.8 pips on majors. The simplest to use and suitable for beginners or anyone trading small sizes where the absolute pip cost is trivial.
• Raw Spread Account (MT4/MT5): True ECN pricing from 0.0 pips, with a $3.50 per-side commission. Designed for scalpers, day traders, and Expert Advisor users.
• cTrader Raw Account: The same near-zero spreads on the cTrader platform, with a commission of $3.00 per side for every $100,000 traded, making it the lowest-cost standard option for most active traders.
• Raw Pro Account: A premium MetaTrader account tier with a $1.50 commission per side ($3.00 round turn), the second-lowest in the lineup, with a $5,000 minimum deposit. Suited to high-volume discretionary traders.
• Raw Pro+ Account: The lowest-commission MetaTrader tier at $1.00 per side ($2.00 round turn), with a $100,000 minimum deposit. It is designed for professional and high-capital traders.
• Islamic Account: A swap-free option compliant with Sharia law, available across the main account types.

The three standard accounts have no minimum deposit on the Global entity and offer the same range of instruments, whereas the premium Raw Pro tiers require $5,000 and $100,000, respectively. The choice comes down to platform preference and whether a trader's volume justifies paying a commission for tighter spreads, which it generally does above roughly five standard lots per month.

Bottom Line

IC Markets’ account structure is clear and offers traders a genuine choice between commission-free simplicity and raw ECN pricing, which goes beyond what a spread-only broker can offer. The Global entity imposes no minimum deposit on standard accounts, and the Raw Pro tiers extend the range upward for high-capital traders willing to pre-fund in exchange for the lowest commissions.

Opening an IC Markets account is a fully digital process that most clients complete in a day.

The onboarding process consists of three steps:

1. Online registration with personal details and selection of entity, platform, account type, base currency, and leverage.
2. Identity verification with a valid passport, national ID, or driver's license, plus proof of residence dated within the past 180 days.
3. Funding and activation. Typically approved within one business day.

The Global entity imposes no minimum first deposit on its standard accounts, so an account can be funded with any amount sufficient to open a position. However, a practical starting balance of a few hundred dollars is advisable. The premium Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ accounts are the exception, with $5,000 and $100,000 requirements, respectively. The account base currency, leverage, and platform are selected during signup and can be changed later.

A free demo account is available on every platform and for every account type, configured with the same instruments and Raw Spread pricing as a live account, making it an accurate testing environment for strategies and Expert Advisors.

Bottom Line

IC Markets' account opening is fast and straightforward, and the demo account faithfully replicates live trading conditions. The requirement to choose an entity, platform, and account type up front makes the process slightly less beginner-friendly than that of a broker built around a single guided account.

IC Markets supports over 15 funding methods across 10 base currencies (AUD, USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, HKD, and CHF), as well as cryptocurrency. Most deposits are instant and free, and the range of base currencies allows most clients to fund in their own currency, avoiding conversion costs.

Deposits

IC Markets charges no deposit fees for any funding method. Deposits made through the Secure Client Area are processed in real time, though in some cases they may take up to an hour. Client funds are held in segregated accounts at top-tier international banks. IC Markets does not accept third-party payments, and deposits must originate from an account in the client's name. Joint accounts are accepted only if the client is a named party.

Withdrawals

IC Markets does not charge withdrawal fees. Withdrawal requests submitted before the daily 12:00 AEST/AEDT cutoff are processed the same business day, and those submitted after the cutoff are processed the next business day. All withdrawals are submitted through the Secure Client Area.

Two conditions are worth noting. First, in line with anti-money-laundering rules, funds must generally be returned to the same method and source used for the deposit, and card withdrawals cannot exceed the amount originally deposited with that card. Deposit methods that cannot accept a direct return, such as local internet-banking options, are paid out by bank transfer instead, which is why the withdrawal methods are a subset of the deposit methods. Second, IC Markets may apply a processing fee to withdrawals if deposited funds have not been used for trading, discouraging the use of the account purely to move money. As with deposits, third-party withdrawals are not accepted.

Bottom Line

Funding and withdrawals with IC Markets are broad, fast, and free of broker-side fees, and same-day processing of withdrawal requests submitted before the midday AEST cutoff is a genuine strength. We would flag only the up-to-14-day timeline for international bank wires and the return-to-source withdrawal rules, both of which are standard industry practices rather than IC Markets-specific drawbacks.