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Alison Heyerdahl is the Head of Content at FxScouts, a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), and an experienced trader, as well as a financial writer with extensive expertise 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.
In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. IC Markets and IronFX 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 IC Markets and IronFX 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 IC Markets and IronFX, 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, IronFX 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 IC Markets has overall lower trading costs than IronFX.
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 IronFX offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. IronFX offers a greater variety of instruments compared to IC Markets:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, IC Markets offers 18 cryptocurrencies, while IronFX offers 0 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 both IC Markets and IronFX charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IC Markets has better deposit and withdrawal processes than IronFX.
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 IronFX both have very good educational support. Both IC Markets and IronFX offer educational support for more experienced traders.Access to frequent and high-quality market research and analysis is crucial.
We found that IC Markets offers better research analysis than IronFX and that both IC Markets and IronFX offer frequent webinars.
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.
With oversight from some of the top international regulators, enhanced platform functionality, and a wide range of flexible account choices, IronFX appeals to traders looking for a well-regulated MetaTrader 4 broker with a low-deposit Cent Account and a large number of Forex pairs.
Founded in 2010, IronFX maintains regulatory oversight from CySEC, ASIC, the FCA, and the FSCA, an impressive list of highly regarded regulators. Trading is offered on multiple assets, including commodities, indices, metals, futures, shares, and over 80 Forex pairs, a larger range than is typically seen at other brokers.
Platform support is limited to MetaTrader 4, but IronFX offers an upgraded package labeled MT4 Advanced, which transforms MetaTrader 4 into a state-of-the-art trading terminal. Traders can also choose between nine live flexible accounts, including a low-deposit Cent Account that appeals to beginners who prefer to make smaller trades measured in micro-lots.
A drawback for beginner traders considering IronFX is the lack of educational and market analysis materials available, forcing traders to self-educate with other third-party platforms.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of IC Markets and IronFX.
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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.
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