IC Markets vs Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers is the better choice for most investors and multi-asset traders. IC Markets is the better choice for traders primarily focused on leveraged forex and CFDs using MetaTrader, cTrader or TradingView.

The reason is simple. Interactive Brokers provides access to actual stocks, ETFs, options, futures, bonds, funds and currencies across more than 170 global markets. IC Markets is primarily a forex and CFD broker built around tight spreads, leverage, MetaTrader automation and short-term trading.

If you want to build a diversified investment portfolio or trade several asset classes from one account, Interactive Brokers wins.

If you mainly scalp forex, run Expert Advisors, trade CFDs or specifically want MT4, MT5 or cTrader, IC Markets wins.

IC Markets vs Interactive Brokers at a glance

Interactive Brokers currently advertises access to more than 170 markets in 40 countries and 29 currencies. IC Markets' global account page lists 2,250 tradable instruments on its MetaTrader Raw Spread and Standard accounts, although product availability varies by platform and legal entity.

What is the main difference between IC Markets and Interactive Brokers?

That distinction matters more than any generic broker rating.

With an IC Markets stock CFD, you are trading a derivative based on the movement of the underlying share. You do not own the underlying share itself. IC Markets' Australian product disclosure documentation explicitly states that CFD holders do not have a beneficial interest in the underlying instrument.

Interactive Brokers, by contrast, lets eligible clients buy and hold actual stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds and other exchange-traded products alongside options, futures and currencies.

So the choice can be reduced to one question:

Do you primarily want to trade price movements with leverage, or do you want a brokerage account capable of holding and trading a broad portfolio of financial assets?

Choose IC Markets for the first. Choose Interactive Brokers for the second.

Which has lower fees, IC Markets or Interactive Brokers?

IC Markets' current global Raw Spread MetaTrader account advertises spreads from 0.0 pips, an average EUR/USD spread of 0.1 pips and a commission of $3.50 per standard lot per side. That produces a $7 round-turn commission before accounting for the spread, slippage or overnight financing. Its Standard account charges no separate trading commission but advertises spreads from 0.8 pips.

Interactive Brokers prices spot currencies differently. At its lowest volume tier, IBKR currently charges 0.20 basis points of trade value, with a $2 minimum commission per order. It says currency quotes are provided without added price spreads or mark-ups.

For example, a $100,000 spot currency order at Interactive Brokers hits the $2 commission level. Opening and closing the same notional position would therefore mean at least $4 in commissions, plus the market spread and any relevant financing costs.

But there is an important catch.

Interactive Brokers' standard spot currency venue has comparatively large minimum order sizes. The current table lists a minimum of USD 25,000 for orders denominated in US dollars and EUR 20,000 for euros. IC Markets supports micro-lot trading on its MetaTrader accounts, making it much more accessible for smaller speculative forex positions.

Which is cheaper for forex?

Do not compare IC Markets' “0.0 pip spread” with Interactive Brokers' spot FX pricing in isolation. Commission, order size, actual spread, financing, slippage and position size all affect the real trading cost.

What is the minimum deposit?

Interactive Brokers currently lists a $0 account minimum and no inactivity fee for standard individual accounts.

IC Markets' global account overview also currently lists a $0 minimum deposit for its standard MetaTrader Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread and Standard accounts. This is worth checking directly because many older broker-comparison pages still quote a $200 minimum.

Account requirements can vary by jurisdiction and account type, so the figure shown during your actual application takes precedence.

Which broker has more markets and investment products?

Interactive Brokers supports stocks, ETFs, options, futures, currencies, bonds, mutual funds and additional products through a single brokerage relationship. Its current materials advertise access to more than 170 markets across 40 countries.

IC Markets concentrates on derivative trading. Depending on the entity and platform, its CFD range covers:

• forex
• stocks
• stock indices
• commodities
• bonds
• cryptocurrencies
• futures-based CFDs

IC Markets' Australian documentation confirms that its CFDs reference underlying assets including forex, indices, commodities, stocks, cryptocurrencies and bonds.

This makes IC Markets perfectly viable if you want to speculate on several markets through CFDs. It does not make it a substitute for Interactive Brokers if your objective is to own shares, build an ETF portfolio, trade listed options or hold bonds.

For investment breadth, Interactive Brokers is in a different league.

Which trading platform is better?

IC Markets platforms

IC Markets supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView connectivity, along with web and mobile trading options. Its account structure is explicitly designed around different platform ecosystems.

The Raw Spread MetaTrader account is especially relevant to:

• forex scalpers
• Expert Advisor users
• automated MT4 and MT5 strategies
• traders already using MQL4 or MQL5
• traders wanting small forex position sizes

IC Markets also supports cTrader Algo and cTrader Copy, while TradingView can be connected to compatible cTrader accounts.

If your trading system already lives inside MetaTrader, moving to Interactive Brokers purely because it is the “better broker overall” could make your workflow worse.

Interactive Brokers platforms

Interactive Brokers offers IBKR Desktop, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, GlobalTrader and its professional Trader Workstation platform.

Trader Workstation, usually called TWS, is the standout for advanced traders. It combines global equities, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds with complex order types, market data and portfolio tools in one interface.

The trade-off is complexity. TWS is substantially more sophisticated than the standard retail forex platform experience.

For investors who do not need everything inside TWS, IBKR Desktop provides a more streamlined interface while retaining multi-asset access.

Which broker is better for algorithmic trading?

IC Markets supports MQL4, MQL5 and cTrader's C# environment.

Interactive Brokers provides APIs using REST, Python, FIX and its native API infrastructure. That makes IBKR considerably more flexible for developers building bespoke quantitative systems that need to interact with multiple asset classes or exchanges.

Is Interactive Brokers safer than IC Markets?

Interactive Brokers Group is publicly listed on Nasdaq under the ticker IBKR and became an S&P 500 constituent in 2025. Interactive Brokers reported $22.3 billion of equity capital and $13.9 billion of excess regulatory capital for Q2 2026.

Its operating entities are regulated in major financial jurisdictions. For example, Interactive Brokers LLC in the United States is regulated by the SEC and CFTC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

IC Markets is also regulated, but the entity matters.

International Capital Markets Pty Ltd in Australia is regulated by ASIC under Australian Financial Services Licence 335692. IC Markets (EU) Ltd is regulated by CySEC under licence 362/18. The global operation, Raw Trading Ltd, is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority under Securities Dealer licence SD018.

This means a statement such as “IC Markets is ASIC regulated” does not automatically mean your account is held under the Australian entity.

Check the legal entity shown during registration, then assess its regulator, client-money arrangements, negative balance rules and compensation protection.

For corporate transparency, capital disclosure and regulatory breadth, Interactive Brokers gets the edge.

IC Markets or Interactive Brokers for forex trading?

IC Markets' Raw Spread account was explicitly designed around day traders, scalpers and Expert Advisors. The global Raw Spread MetaTrader account advertises spreads from zero, micro-lot trading and leverage that can be substantially higher than conventional securities brokerage margin, subject to jurisdiction and dynamic leverage rules.

Interactive Brokers offers competitive spot currency execution and transparent commissions, but it is not trying to recreate the MT4 retail forex environment. Standard spot FX minimum order sizes also make it less natural for traders wanting very small positions.

For a dedicated retail forex trader, I would pick IC Markets.

For a trader who wants currencies alongside stocks, futures, options and bonds, I would pick Interactive Brokers.

IC Markets or Interactive Brokers for stocks and long-term investing?

The key difference is ownership.

Interactive Brokers allows eligible clients to buy actual exchange-traded shares and ETFs. IC Markets mainly provides leveraged CFDs whose value tracks underlying shares but do not give the CFD holder ownership of those shares.

Interactive Brokers also offers fractional shares, extensive international market access, bonds and mutual funds, making it much better suited to portfolio construction rather than short-term price speculation.

If your objective is to buy companies or ETFs and hold them for years, there is very little reason to choose IC Markets over Interactive Brokers for that job.

Who should choose IC Markets?

IC Markets is the stronger choice if you:

• primarily trade forex or CFDs
• use MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5
• run Expert Advisors
• prefer cTrader
• trade through TradingView
• scalp or day trade frequently
• need micro-lot forex sizing
• specifically value higher leverage, where legally available

The strongest case for IC Markets is not that it beats Interactive Brokers at everything. It is that IC Markets is more specialised for exactly this type of trader.

Who should choose Interactive Brokers?

Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice if you:

• buy actual stocks or ETFs
• trade listed options or futures
• invest internationally
• want bonds or mutual funds
• hold positions for the long term
• manage several asset classes from one account
• need professional portfolio and risk tools
• build custom algorithmic systems using APIs
• place significant value on regulatory breadth and corporate transparency

For anyone whose requirements extend materially beyond leveraged forex and CFDs, Interactive Brokers becomes the more complete platform.

Can US residents use IC Markets?

Raw Trading Ltd, the IC Markets Global entity, explicitly lists the United States among its restricted countries. Interactive Brokers LLC operates as a US broker-dealer and is regulated by the SEC and CFTC.

For a US resident comparing these two firms, that largely ends the comparison.

Is IC Markets better than Interactive Brokers for beginners?

IC Markets can be simpler if the beginner specifically wants to learn forex through familiar MetaTrader-style software, but leveraged CFDs carry substantial risk.

Interactive Brokers has simplified platforms such as IBKR Desktop and GlobalTrader, but its enormous product range and professional features can still feel complex to someone opening their first brokerage account.

The better question is what the beginner wants to do. A new long-term ETF investor and a new forex trader have completely different requirements.

IC Markets vs Interactive Brokers: final verdict

Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a serious global brokerage account for stocks, ETFs, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds. Its product breadth, market access, regulatory footprint and professional trading infrastructure make it the stronger all-round platform.

Choose IC Markets if your strategy revolves around forex and CFDs, particularly if you rely on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, Expert Advisors, scalping or smaller FX trade sizes.

The mistake is choosing on a generic broker score.

Interactive Brokers is the better brokerage. IC Markets is the more specialised retail forex and CFD trading environment. Pick the one built for the job you actually intend to do.

Broker products, leverage, fees, investor protection and availability vary by country and legal entity. CFDs and leveraged trading can result in substantial losses.