Swissquote vs IC Markets 2023

Trust Score is a data-driven rating system that provides an at-a-glance rating of a broker’s overall trust by tracking 60+ brokers and over 100 regulatory jurisdictions across the globe. To make things clearer for everyday traders, we’ve created a five-tier system for regulators and Trust Score rating labels. Learn more about Trust Score, and check out our country guides to see the most trusted brokers in your country of residence.

Swissquote has a Trust Score of 99, giving it a "Highly Trusted" Trust Score Label.

IC Markets has a Trust Score of 84, giving it a "Trusted" Trust Score Label.

Traders at Swissquote gain access to a balanced offering of easy-to-use proprietary trading platforms and popular third-party platforms like MetaTrader (both MT4 and MT5) and TradingView. Swissquote also delivers access to a staggering 3 million financial products, including stocks, options, futures, derivatives, ETFs, and structured products (though only a few hundred CFDs). With multiple Tier-1 regulatory licenses and a Trust Score rating of 99 (as well as the rare distinction of operating three banks), we consider Swissquote to be a highly trusted broker. It's worth noting that Swissquote's pricing is more expensive than what you'd find with low-cost forex brokers, and its forex account offers far fewer markets than Swissquote's eTrading account for share dealing.

IC Markets' low spreads, competitive pricing, and scalable execution policies make it a great choice for algorithmic traders. A trusted broker licensed in multiple Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions, IC Markets boasts support for a variety of social copy trading apps, including its IC Social mobile app. IC Markets consistently ranks near or at the top of our ratings for MetaTrader brokers (and was our top pick for MetaTrader brokers in 2023). Traders at IC Markets gain access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, as well as the Advanced Trading Tools package for desktop and support for third-party plugins from Autochartist and Trading Central. It's worth noting that the broker's research and educational offerings still have room to improve.

Tier-1 is reserved for the strictest, most stringent regulatory jurisdictions in the world. Tier-1 regulators impose additional capital requirements and require a tougher initial screening process. Swissquote holds regulatory licenses in the following Tier-1 jurisdictions: Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised) and United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised). IC Markets, on the other hand, is licensed in these Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised). Neither have Canada (CIRO Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), New Zealand (FMA Authorised), Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized)

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

Whether your broker develops its own proprietary platforms or provides access to popular third-party platforms, you should make sure you can use your preferred type of trading platform. In our testing, we found that Swissquote offers a Proprietary Platform and Desktop Platform (Windows), whereas IC Markets supports a Desktop Platform (Windows), cTrader and ZuluTrade. Neither have DupliTrade

Both Swissquote and IC Markets offer the whole MetaTrader suite, which consists of both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. If you’re new to MetaTrader 4 here’s our educational guide on how to use MT4.

Swissquote requires a minimum deposit of $1000, while IC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $200. You'll also want to make sure that your broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. In our testing, we've found that both Swissquote and IC Markets offer Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for deposits

When choosing a broker, it’s important to check the availability of your preferred investment products and asset classes. We’ve tested each broker’s individual offering of investments to help you pick the right broker for what you want to trade. We found that both Swissquote and IC Markets offer Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals, ETF and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Neither have Spread Betting.

We also keep track of each broker’s total number of tradeable symbols; Swissquote offers 472, and IC Markets offers a total of 3583 tradeable symbols.

Crypto trading has become popular among forex traders across a range of international jurisdictions. As a result, many forex brokers now offer crypto products to their clients; most crypto assets are offered either as an underlying physical asset (such as when you own actual bitcoin assets, for example) or as a derivative product like a CFD. If you are looking to trade physical cryptocurrencies, you’ll find that neither Swissquote nor IC Markets allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

The best forex brokers arm their clients with a variety of research tools and resources. Market research plays a huge role in any forex trader’s ability to conduct analysis within the global forex market. In our testing, we discovered that both Swissquote and IC Markets offer the same suite of research tools and resources. Here’s a comprehensive list of the tools provided by both brokers: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading.

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