IC Markets vs Alpari 2024

IC Markets is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. IC Markets is authorised by two Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and two Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). IC Markets is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

Alpari is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. Alpari is authorised by zero Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk).

IC Markets’ competitive pricing and scalable execution make it an excellent option for algorithmic traders. Though it supports an impressive range of third-party tools and plugins, IC Markets’ research and education offerings are not as impressive as those offered by industry leaders.

Alpari is one of the first brokers to offer the MetaTrader platform glopbally before it became popular. The Alpari group of companies are regulated only in a few jurisdictions, putting the broker at a disadvantage compared to the most trusted brokers.

To open a trading account with IC Markets, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $200.

Alpari requires a minimum deposit of $20 before you can open an account and start trading.

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. IC Markets offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Alpari provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that IC Markets offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that IC Markets holds 2 global Tier-1 licenses, while Alpari holds 0. Both IC Markets and Alpari hold 0 global Tier-2 licenses.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that IC Markets (84) earned a higher Trust Score than Alpari (68).

To compare the trading platforms of both IC Markets and Alpari, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, IC Markets offers a better experience. With research, IC Markets offers superior market research. Finally, we found IC Markets to provide better mobile trading apps.

Here’s what trading platforms are available at IC Markets:

• Proprietary Platform - No
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - Yes
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - Yes
• TradingView - Yes

Here’s what trading platforms are available at Alpari:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Both IC Markets and Alpari offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. IC Markets and Alpari both offer copy trading.

IC Markets provides traders 61 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Alpari's 46 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, IC Markets offers traders access to 3583 tradeable symbols, while Alpari offers access to 105 tradeable symbols; so IC Markets offers 3478 more tradeable symbols than Alpari.

We found in our testing that IC Markets offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Alpari, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD), Cryptocurrency (Derivative) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical) and Spread Betting.