Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IFC Markets vs Earn, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Both IFC Markets and Earn provide online brokerage services with different regulatory strengths. IFC Markets, established in 2006, holds one Tier-2 license, suggesting a generally trusted status. With a Trust Score of 73 from ForexBrokers.com, it falls into the average risk category. Conversely, Earn, operating since 1994, holds one Tier-1 license, marking it as highly trusted, though its overall Trust Score of 71 also places it in the average risk category. Neither company is publicly traded or operates as a bank, highlighting similarities in their organizational structures.
Despite IFC Markets' and Earn's long histories in the brokerage industry, the slight difference in their Trust Scores indicates similar levels of trust but different approaches to regulation. IFC Markets is backed by a Tier-2 license, while Earn relies on its Tier-1 licensing for credibility. Their Trust Scores reflect moderate reliability, so potential investors should consider these scores alongside the specific licenses each broker holds when deciding between them.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2006 | 1994 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of IFC Markets and Earn, both brokers achieve a commendable 4-star rating. This indicates competitive pricing structures that cater to a variety of traders. However, it's worth noting that there is no average spread data available for either broker, which can affect the overall cost assessment for trading activities.
In terms of industry rankings by ForexBrokers.com, IFC Markets stands slightly ahead at 39th place out of 62 brokers in the Commissions and Fees category. This suggests that while their pricing is favorable, there might be areas for improvement compared to some competitors. Meanwhile, Earn holds the 46th position on the same list, indicating a similar level of competitivity in their fee structures, albeit slightly lower in comparison to IFC Markets.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $1 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.44 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When it comes to comparing the investment options available through IFC Markets and Earn, both brokers offer forex trading as a CFD or spot contract, making them appealing to forex traders. IFC Markets provides access to 630 tradeable symbols, surpassing Earn's 500 symbols, which might appeal to traders seeking a broader variety of investment options. However, Earn takes the lead in offering more tradeable forex pairs, with 61 pairs compared to IFC Markets' 49 pairs. Neither platform provides the ability to buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. exchanges, but IFC Markets allows clients to purchase international exchange-traded securities like Vodafone shares, which Earn does not offer.
In terms of additional features, both platforms support copy trading and offer the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives, though neither offers actual cryptocurrency purchases. Both brokers receive a 3.5-star rating for their range of investments, reflecting a comparable breadth of offerings. According to ForexBrokers.com, IFC Markets is slightly ahead of Earn in the Range of Investments category, ranking #43 compared to Earn's #45 out of 62 brokers. This suggests a minor edge for IFC Markets in diversity and investment access, but overall, both brokers have similar standings in the investment community.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 630 | 500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 61 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing trading platforms and tools, IFC Markets and Earn present similar offerings in several areas. Both brokers provide simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts and offer Windows-based desktop and web-based browser platforms. While both platforms support MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), only IFC Markets provides a proprietary platform developed in-house, giving it a unique edge. Conversely, Earn offers ZuluTrade for copy trading, setting it apart from IFC Markets, which does not provide this feature. Both brokers offer 15 drawing tools for charting, allow trading directly from stock charts, and provide watch lists with 7 columns. However, despite these similarities, the brokers differ in their overall ranking, with IFC Markets securing the 36th spot and Earn the 51st spot among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
In terms of user experience and ease of use, both platforms have been rated 4 out of 5 stars for their trading platforms and tools. This parity suggests that whichever broker you choose, you're likely to encounter a well-regarded and user-friendly trading environment. IFC Markets, with its proprietary platform and top 40 ranking, offers a slightly more tailored experience, whereas Earn’s inclusion of ZuluTrade caters specifically to those intrigued by social trading. While both platforms cater to various trading needs, prospective users may find a detailed evaluation of each broker's additional features beneficial before making a decision.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 35 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both IFC Markets and Earn provide mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android devices, offering users comprehensive tools for trading on the go. They both include features such as price alerts for stocks or forex and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Moreover, traders can easily access multiple time frames on stock or forex charts within each app. Additionally, each app allows users to create watchlists with real-time quotes and automatically saves chart drawings. However, when it comes to syncing watchlist symbols between the mobile app and the online account, only IFC Markets offers this functionality, streamlining the user experience.
Despite offering slightly fewer technical studies for charting—30 compared to Earn's 35—IFC Markets maintains parity with Earn in overall mobile app ratings, both receiving 4 stars. However, in rankings by ForexBrokers.com among 62 brokers, Earn is positioned significantly higher, coming in at 26, while IFC Markets ranks at 52. These rankings might reflect differences in user experience, additional features, or other criteria that users have found favorable when compared to their options in Earn's app. Overall, both brokers deliver a diverse range of features ideal for mobile traders, each with its own unique strengths.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 35 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When it comes to market research, both IFC Markets and Earn provide daily market commentary, offering valuable insights to traders. However, while Earn delivers forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, IFC Markets lacks this feature. On the flip side, IFC Markets stands out with its sentiment-based trading tool, which Earn does not offer, giving traders a unique insight into market emotions. Both platforms, however, do not employ Autochartist or Trading Central tools for technical analysis, nor do they feature market research from TipRanks or Acuity Trading's Signal Centre.
Both IFC Markets and Earn offer an economic calendar to keep traders informed about significant global news events. Despite these similarities and differences, each platform currently holds a research rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Interestingly, when ranked by ForexBrokers.com, Earn slightly edges out IFC Markets by securing the 38th position compared to IFC Markets' 40th among 62 brokers. This subtle distinction reflects Earn's strengths in certain areas of market research, particularly with its affiliation with top-tier news providers.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, IFC Markets and Earn present distinct offerings for budding traders. IFC Markets provides a wealth of over ten educational materials including articles, videos, and content focused on forex and CFDs, which makes it a great choice for those starting out. Additionally, they have over ten beginner-focused educational videos that cover essential trading topics. For those looking to deepen their understanding, IFC Markets also offers advanced educational videos and a comprehensive investor dictionary with definitions for over 50 investing terms. On the other hand, Earn falls short in these areas, lacking the minimum of ten educational pieces, beginner-friendly videos, advanced content, and an extensive investing term dictionary.
Neither IFC Markets nor Earn offers online educational client webinars or a searchable archive of recorded webinars, highlighting a gap in real-time and interactive educational opportunities. Despite this, IFC Markets is a more resource-rich platform for educational content, earning a 3.5-star rating in education compared to Earn. In the industry ranking by ForexBrokers.com, IFC Markets stands at #30, significantly surpassing Earn, which is ranked at #61 out of 62 brokers. This emphasizes IFC Markets as a more suitable platform for beginners eager to learn and expand their trading knowledge.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | No | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that IFC Markets is better than Earn. IFC Markets finished with an overall rank of #45, while Earn finished with an overall rank of #50.
IFC Markets is a well-established broker that has been in operation for 17 years. Forex traders at IFC Markets gain access to multiple trading platforms, a growing range of tradeable markets, and a balanced offering of research and educational content. However, IFC Markets’ Trust Score suffers due to the broker’s limited range of regulatory licenses.
| Feature |
IFC Markets
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 73 | 71 |
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Both IFC Markets and Earn do not provide the option to purchase actual, delivered cryptocurrency, but they do offer the ability to buy cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing the online brokers IFC Markets and Earn in terms of deposit and withdrawal options, both platforms provide support for Visa or Mastercard and bank wire transactions, but only Earn offers the option to use Skrill, while neither supports ACH, SEPA, or PayPal transfers.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | IFC Markets | Earn | |
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| Trust Score | 73 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
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| Broker Screenshots | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Platforms Gallery (click to expand) | |||
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| Regulation | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 73 | 71 | |
| Year Founded | 2006 | 1994 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 0 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 630 | 500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 49 | 61 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.44 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $1 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 35 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 35 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | No | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | IFC Markets | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review |
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| Trust Score | 73 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review |
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