FXCM vs IC Markets 2023

FXCM has a trust score of 96, giving it a "Highly Trusted" trust label. Here's what each trust score label means:

• "Highly Trusted" (90-99) - These brokers are considered the most trustworthy firms in the industry. Simply put, we would not hesitate to open and fund an account with a Highly Trusted broker.
• "Trusted" (80-89) - These brokers are reliable and trustworthy. "Trusted" firms are a solid choice, and may simply hold fewer regulatory licences or feature different corporate structures than those brokers that have earned our top Trust Score rating.
• "Average Risk" (70-79) - Average Risk brokers are firms we generally consider to be safe, but that may warrant a closer inspection before you open and fund a live trading account. At the least, we always encourage traders to check the regulatory licenses for Average Risk firms to verify that they are regulated in their own country of residence.
• "High Risk" (60-69) - High-risk firms should be scrutinized and carefully reviewed before opening an account. These forex brokers are – in most cases – operating without credible regulatory licensing, and likely have a history of legal or financial issues. Before considering an account with a high-risk firm, we recommend checking our country guides for your country of residence to see if a more trusted broker is available.
• "Do Not Trust" (<59) - We do not recommend opening an account of any kind with a broker that earns a “Do Not Trust” rating.

IC Markets has a trust score of 86, giving it a "Trusted" trust label.

FXCM, a Jefferies Group company, is a long-standing brand that caters to global forex and CFD traders. It offers multiple trading platforms for alogrithmic trading and social copy-trading alongside it's flagship platform suite. The range of markets available at FXCM has increased following the addition of its share trading feature, and its known for providing robust market research – though pricing at FXM is just average.

IC Markets' combination of low spreads and commissions, as well as its supportive execution policies that accomodate algorithmic traders make it our pick for the best MetaTrader broker. In addition, IC Markets recently bolstered its range of markets, sending the total available to over 3,000. It's worth noting, however, that its reserach and educational offerings still have lots of room to improve.

Tier-1 regulators go above and beyond by requiring additional capital requirements, checking in on brokers more frequently, and putting brokers through a tougher screening process. FXCM is ASIC Authorised (Australia), IIROC Authorised (Canada) and FCA Authorised (U.K.), while IC Markets is ASIC Authorised (Australia)., neither have SFC Authorised (Hong Kong), CBI Authorised (Ireland), FSA Authorised (Japan), MAS Authorised (Singapore), FMA Authorised (New Zealand), FINMA Authorised (Switzerland) and CFTC Registered (USA)

Tier-2 and tier-3 licenses are still important in evaluating the overall trustworthiness of forex brokers. As far as tier-2 licenses go, FXCM is CySEC Authorised (Cyprus), ISA Authorised (Israel) and FSCA Authorised (South Africa), while IC Markets is CySEC Authorised (Cyprus)., neither have CBRC Authorised (China), SEBI Authorised (India), CBR Authorised (Russia), SEC Authorised (Thailand) and DFSA / Central Bank Authorised (UAE). When comparing tier-3 licenses FXCM is none, while IC Markets is SCB Authorised (Bahamas)., neither have IFSC Authorised (Belize), BMA Authorised (Bermuda), FSC Authorised (British Virgin Islands), CIMA Authorised (Cayman Islands), FSC Authorised (Mauritius) and VFSC Authorised (Vanuatu).

For trading platforms FXCM supports a Proprietary Platform, Desktop Platform (Windows) and ZuluTrade, whereas IC Markets supports a Desktop Platform (Windows), cTrader and ZuluTrade., neither have DupliTrade

For MetaTrader FXCM provides MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while IC Markets provides MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). If MetaTrader is a must for you, read our guides on the best MT4 brokers or best MT5 brokers.

FXCM requires a minimum deposit of Starts from $50, while IC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $200. From our testing we found FXCM offers spreads of 1.38 (Q2 2022), while IC Markets offers spreads of 0.62 (August 2022). FXCM supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for popular funding options, where IC Markets supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw).

FXCM offers a more diverse selection of investment options than IC Markets allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Spread Betting, Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Looking at total tradeable symbols, FXCM has 441, compared to 3583 from IC Markets.

Crypto trading is popular with forex traders. Most crypto assets are offered either as the underlying physical asset or as a CFD or other derivative — including spot forex contracts. In terms of trading physical cryptocurrency neither FXCM nor IC Markets allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

Both FXCM and IC Markets offer a complete suite of research, providing traders with these tools: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading.

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