Select a different country or region to view content tailored to your location.
Alison Heyerdahl is the Head of Content at FxScouts and a financial writer with extensive experience in Forex trading, broker analysis, and market research. She has reviewed 100+ brokers, publishes weekly YouTube trading videos, and co-hosts the “Let’s Talk Forex” podcast to help traders make informed, safe decisions.
In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. IG and IC Markets are two popular options, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. This comparison will dive into the key features of both platforms,helping you decide which one best suits your trading style and goals.
The radar chart above illustrates the comparison between IG and IC Markets across several key metrics, with the highest possible score being 100 in each category.
At FxScouts, our mission is to assist traders in finding the broker that best suits their needs. Comparing brokers side-by-side is an effective method to achieve this goal. We evaluated IG and IC Markets, using our standard criteria: trust and regulation, trading platforms, costs and trading conditions, and educational and market analysis resources.
Trust and regulation are crucial when selecting a Forex broker. A broker’s credibility is largely built on its regulatory status. We spend considerable time verifying the safety of each broker by examining their regulatory licenses. We also consider numerous factors when deciding which tier a regulator belongs to. Regulators that we rank as the world’s top regulators, gets a tier 1 rank, while regulators who only scores a tier 5-rank, provide virtually no regulatory oversight. The more top-tier authorities regulating a broker, the higher its trust rating. Read more about regulation and our tier system here.
In our comparison:
Based on these findings, IG earned a higher trust rating than IC Markets.
When comparing brokers, trading costs are a significant factor. We consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and ongoing costs, including spreads and commissions. We measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit, including both the spread and any commission charged.
We found that IG has overall lower trading costs than IC Markets.
Trading Platforms Offered Traders prefer brokers that offer a variety of trading platforms. We rate brokers higher if they support multiple platforms like MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, and proprietary platforms.
Copy trading is beneficial for beginner traders or those unable to trade full-time. In this case both IC Markets and IG offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. IG offers a greater variety of instruments compared to IC Markets:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, IC Markets offers 18 cryptocurrencies, while IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, IC Markets is the better choice for cryptocurrency trading.
Traders prefer brokers with quick and cost-effective deposit and withdrawal processes. We favor brokers that process withdrawals within 24 hours using multiple methods without charging fees.We found that IC Markets charges a withdrawal fee and IG does not. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than IC Markets.
We often find that brokers offer very little in the way of educational materials, forcing traders to use other third-party sites or self-educate elsewhere. Beginner traders need well-structured, well-presented materials in multiple formats to get a good start at trading. More experienced traders also benefit from webinars led by experts in the field and advanced trading strategy sections with new trading ideas.
IC Markets and IG both have very good educational support. Both IC Markets and IG offer educational support for more experienced traders.Access to frequent and high-quality market research and analysis is crucial.
We found that IG offers better research analysis than IC Markets and that both IC Markets and IG offer frequent webinars.
Founded in London in 1974, IG is a global leader in online trading, known for its competitive pricing, powerful platforms, and access to over 17,000 markets. While IG holds licences from top-tier regulators, Filipino traders are onboarded through IG International Limited, regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).
Trading under the Bermuda entity gives Filipino clients access to IG’s full global product range, including forex, indices, shares, commodities, ETFs, and bonds—often with higher leverage limits than are available under stricter regulatory jurisdictions. All instruments are accessible through IG’s award-winning proprietary platforms, MetaTrader 4, L2 Dealer for direct market access, and TradingView integration.
IG offers a single multi-asset account with no minimum deposit requirement and spreads starting from 0.6 pips on EUR/USD. Traders also benefit from advanced tools such as ProRealTime charting, Autochartist, and integrated Reuters news, alongside a comprehensive library of educational resources and market analysis. However, Filipino traders should be aware that offshore regulation provides few investor protections.
Founded in 2007 in Australia, IC Markets is a globally recognised Forex and CFD broker known for its ultra-low trading costs, high-speed execution, and institutional-grade trading environment. The company is regulated by several top-tier authorities, including ASIC (Australia), CySEC (Cyprus), SCB (Bahamas), and the FSA of Seychelles. While IC Markets is not regulated by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), traders from the Philippines can legally open accounts under its offshore entities.
IC Markets is widely considered one of the most cost-effective brokers in the world. Its Raw Spread Account offers average spreads of just 0.10 pips on the EUR/USD and a low round-turn commission of 6 USD per lot. It also supports all four major trading platforms—MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView—making it suitable for traders of all strategies and experience levels.
Filipino clients gain access to a wide range of trading tools, including VPS hosting, advanced analytics from Trading Central, and multiple copy trading services such as Myfxbook AutoTrade and ZuluTrade. With 24/7 customer support and a streamlined onboarding process, IC Markets is a strong option for traders in the Philippines. However, while the broker provides high-quality educational resources, its market analysis coverage is relatively limited compared to some competitors.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of IG and IC Markets.
You can either use the arrow button or swipe on mobile
Broker | Countries Regulated | Minimum Spread EUR/USD | Minimum Deposit | Trading cost/lot EURUSD Total trading cost at the time of last update, for 1 lot of EUR/USD using the account with the lowest minimum deposit. Includes spread and commission. | Broker Score | Broker Website | Select and Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |    | 0.10 pips | USD 3 | USD 7 | |||
 | | 0 pips | USD 0 | USD 10 | |||
 | | 0.10 pips | USD 200 | USD 8 | |||
 | | 0.70 pips | USD 10 | USD 17 | |||
 |  | 0 pips | AUD 0 | USD 4.50 | |||
 |   | 0.90 pips | USD 100 | USD 9 | |||
|  | 0.60 pips | USD 5 | USD 6 | |||
 | | 0 pips | USD 0 | USD 10 | |||
 | | 0.70 pips | USD 5 | USD 7 | |||
 |  | 0 pips | USD 100 | USD 6 |
Select another broker to another broker to compare features, fees, and platforms side by side.
Alison and Chris cover a range of topics, including how to choose a Forex broker, safety and regulation, how to reduce your risk, trading psychology, trading platforms, and trading strategies, among others.
The FxScouts podcast helps beginner Forex traders get the best start to their trading careers.
