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Interactive Brokers vs IC Markets 2026

ForexBrokers.com

Written by ForexBrokers.com

February 05, 2025

In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs IC Markets, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.

Interactive Brokers
5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • Trust Score: 99
  • Tradeable Symbols (Total): 8500
IC Markets
4.5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $200
  • Trust Score: 83
  • Tradeable Symbols (Total): 3583

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.

Regulation

Interactive Brokers (founded 1977) and IC Markets (founded 2007) are both not banks. Interactive Brokers is publicly traded, while IC Markets is not. On ForexBrokers.com’s 0–99 Trust Score, 90–99 means highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, and 59 or less not trusted. Interactive Brokers scores 99/99 (highly trusted); IC Markets scores 83/99 (trusted).

Regulation is the big divider. Interactive Brokers holds 8 Tier-1 licenses (from top-tier regulators) and 2 Tier-2 licenses (trusted regulators). IC Markets holds 2 Tier-1 licenses and no Tier-2 licenses. Put simply, Interactive Brokers offers deeper regulatory coverage and is a listed company, while IC Markets delivers a trusted profile without being publicly traded.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Year Founded info 1977 2007
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes No
Bank info No No
Tier-1 Licenses info 8 2
Tier-2 Licenses info 2 0
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 3

Fees

When comparing Interactive Brokers to IC Markets based on commissions and fees, both stand out with a five-star rating. Interactive Brokers, ranked #2 by ForexBrokers.com, offers competitive pricing for forex trades. However, their average spreads aren't publicly available, making direct comparisons challenging. The average spread for EUR/USD during Q3 2024 was about 0.59 pips, inclusive of commission. Forex commissions per side typically start at 0.2 basis points of the U.S. dollar trade value, with a $2 minimum per order. For active traders, these costs can reduce significantly, with the possibility of dropping to just $1 per order depending on monthly trade volume. Interactive Brokers aggregates prices from top interbank dealers and charges between $16 to $40 per million round turn.

IC Markets, ranked #5 in the same category, competes fiercely with other low-cost forex brokers, offering varied account types. Their Standard account is commission-free, with spreads averaging 0.62 pips. The commission-based Raw Spread account and the cTrader Raw Spread account charge $3.5 and $3.0 per side for every 100,000 units, respectively. Their effective spread for the EUR/USD is remarkably low at 0.02 pips before commissions, making the all-in cost around 0.62 pips on cTrader accounts. IC Markets is recognized for offering discounts to highly active traders who trade over 100 standard lots monthly.

While both brokers provide competitive forex trading options, each has distinct advantages depending on an investor's trading volume and platform preference. Interactive Brokers is a robust choice for those trading in large volumes due to its tiered discount structure, while IC Markets appeals to traders seeking low spreads and flexible account options.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Minimum Deposit info $0 $200
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info 0.226 info 0.62 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.226 info 0.62 info
Non-wire bank transfer info Yes No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Featured Offers


Range of investments

Interactive Brokers offers a wider range of investments than IC Markets. IB provides access to about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while IC Markets lists about 3,583 symbols and 61 forex pairs. Both brokers support forex trading (CFD or spot), and both provide access to exchange-traded securities on international exchanges; however, only Interactive Brokers lets you buy U.S.-listed shares like Apple directly (not as CFDs). For range of investments, ForexBrokers.com rates IB 5 stars and ranks it #1 out of 63 brokers; IC Markets earns 4.5 stars and ranks #22.

If you want the widest market access and the ability to own real stocks and real cryptocurrency, Interactive Brokers stands out. If you prefer features like copy trading and crypto exposure via CFDs, IC Markets fits well. Your choice comes down to whether you prioritize sheer market breadth and owning assets outright (IB) or copy trading and CFD-based flexibility (IC Markets).

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 3583
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 61
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info Yes No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info Yes Yes
Copy Trading info No Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info Yes No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info No 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). 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.

Trading platforms and tools

Interactive Brokers vs IC Markets: both brokers check key boxes for trading platforms and tools. Each offers free paper trading (demo accounts), a Windows desktop download, and a web-based platform. Interactive Brokers adds a proprietary, in-house platform, while IC Markets does not. On ratings, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers for Trading Platforms and Tools at ForexBrokers.com; IC Markets earns 4 stars and ranks #17.

Feature preferences may guide your choice. If you want copy trading or access to MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), IC Markets is the better fit. If you prefer an in-house platform backed by top-tier platform/tool ratings, Interactive Brokers stands out. Both let you trade directly from charts and offer demo accounts, so you can test-drive their platforms in your browser or on Windows before committing.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Virtual Trading (Demo) info Yes Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info Yes No
Desktop Platform (Windows) info Yes Yes
Web Platform info Yes Yes
Copy Trading info No Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info No Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info No Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 155 30
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and IC Markets both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, with stock and forex price alerts and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers’ app earns 5 stars and ranks 4th out of 63 brokers, while IC Markets earns 4 stars and ranks 22nd. One practical difference: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, but IC Markets does not.

For charting, Interactive Brokers includes 155 technical studies compared with 30 at IC Markets. IC Markets, however, auto-saves chart drawings, while Interactive Brokers does not. If you want a wider set of indicators and seamless watchlist syncing, Interactive Brokers is the better fit. If auto-saved drawings are more important and you’re fine with fewer indicators and no syncing, IC Markets can work well.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple iOS App info Yes Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info Yes Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info Yes No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info 155 30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info No Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers and IC Markets both deliver strong market research essentials. Each provides daily market commentary, forex news from top-tier sources (such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones), an economic calendar, sentiment tools that show long and short positioning, and research from Trading Central. That means traders at either broker can follow the news cycle, scan technical and fundamental insights, and plan around key economic events with confidence.

The standout differences come from add-on tools. IC Markets includes Autochartist for pattern recognition, while Interactive Brokers adds TipRanks for stock research plus Acuity Trading (Signal Centre). According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers, whereas IC Markets earns 4 stars and ranks #21. If you want Autochartist integrated with a MetaTrader workflow, IC Markets can be appealing; if you prefer broader third-party research and stock-focused insights, Interactive Brokers has the edge.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info Yes Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info Yes Yes
Autochartist info No Yes
Trading Central info Yes Yes
Client sentiment data info Yes Yes
TipRanks info Yes No
Acuity Trading info Yes No
Economic Calendar info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

For beginner traders comparing education at Interactive Brokers vs IC Markets, both brokers make it easy to get started. Each hosts online client webinars at least once per month and offers at least 10 beginner-friendly videos that explain trading basics across forex and CFDs. This steady mix of webinars and videos helps new traders learn step by step at their own pace.

As your skills grow, both brands also provide 10 or more advanced videos. That said, Interactive Brokers stands out: it holds a 5-star Education rating and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. IC Markets earns a strong 4-star rating and ranks #16. If top-tier education is your priority, Interactive Brokers is the front-runner, while IC Markets still delivers solid training for newcomers.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Webinars info Yes Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.

Winner

After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than IC Markets. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while IC Markets finished with an overall rank of #21.

Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. It delivers competitive fees and high-quality research and education, as well as a modern, institutional-grade trading platform suite.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
IC Markets logoIC Markets
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 83
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trading Fees 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Trading Platforms 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or IC Markets?

In this comparison of online brokers, Interactive Brokers allows the direct purchase of actual cryptocurrencies (not CFDs) but does not offer crypto CFDs, while IC Markets offers cryptocurrency CFDs but does not support buying the underlying coins.

What funding options does each broker offer?

Interactive Brokers vs IC Markets: for deposits and withdrawals, Interactive Brokers supports ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers but not PayPal or Skrill, while IC Markets supports PayPal, Skrill, and bank wires but does not offer ACH/SEPA.

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announcementPlease 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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Overall Rating Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trading Fees 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trading Platforms 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 83
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review IC Markets Review
Broker Screenshots Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info
IBKR mobile watchlist. IBKR Desktop platform charts. Interactive Brokers research Traders Insight daily analysis article detail Interactive Brokers IBKR Podcast video.
IC Markets cTrader mobile app charting IC Markets EU cTrader desktop trading platform layout IC Markets webinar IC Your Trade YouTube video series. IC Markets Educational content blog articles.
Regulation Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Trust Score info 99 83
Year Founded info 1977 2007
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes No
Bank info No No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info Yes info Yes info
Tier-1 Licenses info 8 2
Tier-2 Licenses info 2 0
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 3
Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info Yes Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info Yes No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info Yes No
Japan (FSA Authorised) info Yes No
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info Yes No
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info Yes
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info Yes No
USA (CFTC Authorized) info Yes No
New Zealand (FMA Authorised) info No No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info Yes info Yes info
Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info No No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info No No
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) info Yes No
India (SEBI Authorised) info Yes No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info
Investments Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 3583
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 61
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info Yes No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info Yes Yes
Copy Trading info No Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info Yes No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info No 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). 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 Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info 0.226 info 0.62 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.226 info 0.62 info
Inactivity Fee info No No
Order execution: Agency info Yes Yes
Order execution: Market Maker info No Yes
Funding Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Minimum Deposit info $0 $200
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info Yes No
Trading Platforms Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info Yes No
Desktop Platform (Windows) info Yes Yes
Web Platform info Yes Yes
Copy Trading info No Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info No Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info No Yes
cTrader info No Yes
Trading Tools Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Virtual Trading (Demo) info Yes Yes
Price Alerts info Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 155 30
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes Yes
Charts can be saved info Yes Yes
Mobile Trading Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple iOS App info Yes Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info Yes Yes
Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] info
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info Yes No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info 155 30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info No Yes
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Research Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info Yes Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info Yes Yes
Autochartist info No Yes
Trading Central info Yes Yes
TipRanks info Yes No
Client sentiment data info Yes Yes
Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Education Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Webinars info Yes Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Major Forex Pairs Interactive Brokers IC Markets
GBP/USD [DELETED] info
USD/JPY [DELETED] info
EUR/USD info Yes Yes
USD/CHF [DELETED] info
USD/CAD [DELETED] info
NZD/USD [DELETED] info
AUD/USD [DELETED] info
Review Interactive Brokers Review IC Markets Review
Overall Interactive Brokers IC Markets
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trading Fees 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trading Platforms 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 83
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review IC Markets Review
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