Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Trade Nation vs IFC Markets, 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.
Trade Nation, established in 2014, is an online broker known for its trustworthiness, reflected by a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 85, signifying a trusted status. This broker holds two Tier-1 licenses, marking it as highly trusted, and one Tier-2 license. Though not publicly traded or a bank, Trade Nation’s regulatory framework offers peace of mind for potential investors seeking a reliable platform.
Founded in 2006, IFC Markets holds a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 73, placing it in the average risk category. This broker maintains one Tier-2 license but lacks Tier-1 licensure, which are indicators of higher trust. Like Trade Nation, IFC Markets is neither publicly traded nor a bank. Investors interested in IFC Markets should be aware of its lower, yet still respectable, trust score when compared to other brokers.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2006 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
Trade Nation stands out with its competitive fixed-spread pricing across all tradeable symbols on its proprietary platform, setting it apart from the common variable pricing offered by many brokers. By maintaining a fixed spread, Trade Nation simplifies the trading process as no additional calculations are required, with the exception of a brief period each day when spreads widen. For the EUR/USD pair, the spread can be as low as 0.6 pips, although it temporarily widens to a maximum of 1.4 pips during the rollover period, resulting in a true average closer to 1 pip. The broker offers three primary account types: two based on MetaTrader, including a Raw Spread account with a $7 round-trip commission per standard lot and a commission-free option, and one with its TN Trader web platform, which features the lowest all-in costs and higher spreads in its commission-free MetaTrader account. Trade Nation's consistent spread structure earns it a high rating.
In contrast, IFC Markets does not provide detailed average spread data, making direct comparisons challenging. Despite this lack of transparency, IFC Markets is rated commendably, though it does fall short of Trade Nation's performance. Investors considering costs will find less clarity with IFC Markets regarding expected spread conditions in regular trading environments.
According to ForexBrokers.com, Trade Nation receives a top-tier rating of 5 stars in the commissions and fees category, ranking 7th out of 62 brokers. This accolade reflects Trade Nation's advantageous pricing model and cost-effectiveness. Conversely, IFC Markets is rated 4 stars and is ranked 39th, indicating a respectable but less competitive standing in terms of cost efficiency compared to Trade Nation.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.6 | 1.44 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.6 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When considering online brokers for investment opportunities, both Trade Nation and IFC Markets offer forex trading as both CFD and spot contracts. Trade Nation boasts a slightly larger pool of tradeable symbols, totaling 1000, while IFC Markets offers 630. In terms of forex pairs, IFC Markets edges out Trade Nation with 49 available pairs compared to Trade Nation's 46. However, neither broker provides the option to buy exchange-traded securities (not CFDs) on U.S. exchanges, such as Apple shares.
In contrast, only IFC Markets offers the opportunity to purchase international exchange-traded securities, like Vodafone shares. Both platforms support copy trading and offer cryptocurrency derivatives, though neither allows the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. With both brokers receiving a 3.5-star rating for Range of Investments, Trade Nation is ranked slightly higher at #38 compared to IFC Markets at #43 according to ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1000 | 630 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 49 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes |
| 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.
Trade Nation and IFC Markets both cater to traders looking for comprehensive trading platforms and tools, with each offering a variety of features to enhance the trading experience. Both brokers provide free virtual demo accounts, allowing users to simulate trading before committing real funds. They also each offer their own proprietary platforms, complemented by Windows-based desktop downloads and web-based trading platforms accessible from any browser. Importantly, both brokers provide the popular MetaTrader 4, though only IFC Markets offers the newer MetaTrader 5 version. Copy trading is available with both brokers, but neither supports DupliTrade or ZuluTrade.
When it comes to charting tools, Trade Nation excels with 39 drawing tools compared to IFC Markets' 15. However, IFC Markets allows trading directly from stock charts, a feature absent in Trade Nation. Watch lists are more extensive with Trade Nation, offering 14 columns compared to IFC Markets' 7. Despite these differences, both brokers have earned four-star ratings for their platforms and tools, though IFC Markets holds a slightly higher ranking, coming in at #36 out of 62 brokers in this category, while Trade Nation is ranked #44 by ForexBrokers.com. These distinctions make both brokers appealing, with specific strengths that may suit different trading preferences.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 39 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 14 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
If you're deciding between Trade Nation and IFC Markets for mobile trading, both platforms have a lot to offer. Whether you're using an iPhone or Android device, each provides a dedicated app for seamless trading experiences. Both platforms support important features like price alerts for stocks and forex, watchlist syncing across devices, and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Moreover, they both allow traders to view stock and forex charts in various time frames, such as daily, weekly, or intraday, and even auto-save your drawings. Creating watchlists with real-time quotes is another shared capability, giving you up-to-the-minute market data at your fingertips.
When it comes to technical studies offered within their charting tools, Trade Nation stands out with 99 options compared to IFC Markets' 30. Both apps are well-regarded, earning four-star ratings; however, Trade Nation slightly edges ahead in the rankings by ForexBrokers.com, standing at #45, as opposed to IFC Markets' #52. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned trader, these features make both Trade Nation and IFC Markets competent choices for mobile trading, though Trade Nation might offer a bit more in technical analysis tools.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 99 | 30 |
| 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.
Both Trade Nation and IFC Markets provide traders with daily market commentary, ensuring that users are kept informed on the latest market movements. However, when it comes to sourcing forex news from top-tier providers like Bloomberg and Reuters, Trade Nation stands out by offering this valuable feature, whereas IFC Markets does not. Despite both platforms lacking technical and fundamental analysis tools from Autochartist and Trading Central, they successfully integrate sentiment-based trading tools, enhancing the traders' understanding of market trends through the ratio of long and short positions.
In terms of additional research tools, Trade Nation utilizes select resources from Acuity Trading, providing users with the Signal Centre's insights, a feature IFC Markets does not offer. Conversely, IFC Markets includes an economic calendar to display current and upcoming global news events, whereas Trade Nation does not have this feature. Both brokers receive an identical rating for research at 3.5 stars, but their ranking slightly differs; IFC Markets is placed at #40 and Trade Nation at #42 among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources, both Trade Nation and IFC Markets provide a suite of materials designed to help beginners get started with forex and CFDs. Trade Nation and IFC Markets each have more than 10 educational pieces such as articles and videos. They also cater to those at the beginning of their trading journey by offering at least 10 beginner-focused videos. Furthermore, both platforms supply over 10 advanced educational videos for experienced traders and maintain comprehensive investor dictionaries with over 50 key investing terms. However, neither of these brokers host regular monthly webinars or offer a searchable archive of past sessions.
In a head-to-head educational category comparison, Trade Nation and IFC Markets both receive a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Despite this similarity in ratings, IFC Markets edges out Trade Nation in the ForexBrokers.com rankings, coming in at number 30 out of 62 brokers, while Trade Nation is placed at number 41. This ranking might suggest a slight advantage for IFC Markets in the breadth or quality of its educational offerings, even though both brokers provide adequate resources for newcomers to get started with confidence.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | No | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Trade Nation is better than IFC Markets. Trade Nation finished with an overall rank of #34, while IFC Markets finished with an overall rank of #45.
Trade Nation’s well-designed, easy-to-use trading app is an innovative trading platform that’s great for beginner forex and CFD traders. However, if you’re a seasoned trader, you may find that Trade Nation lacks advanced features compared to the best trading platforms.
| Feature |
Trade Nation
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IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 73 |
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Both Trade Nation and IFC Markets provide traders with the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither platform offers the option to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency.
Both Trade Nation and IFC Markets do not support ACH, SEPA, or PayPal transfers for account funding, with Trade Nation offering Skrill as an additional option compared to IFC Markets, while both brokers provide Visa/Mastercard and bank wire options for deposits and withdrawals.
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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2 of 5| Overall Rating | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Trade Nation Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
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| Regulation | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 85 | 73 | |
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2006 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | 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) | Yes | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1000 | 630 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 46 | 49 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | Yes | |
| 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 | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.6 | 1.44 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 14 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 39 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | No | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 99 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | No | Yes |
| Research | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | No | Yes |
| Education | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | No | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Trade Nation Review |
| Overall | Trade Nation | IFC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Trade Nation Review |
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