XM Group 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.

XM Group has a Trust Score of 88, giving it a "Trusted" Trust Score Label.

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

Founded in 2009, XM Group is a trusted broker that holds licenses in multiple Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions. Known for its robust educational materials and quality market research, XM Group publishes high-quality videos, podcasts, and articles. Traders at XM Group gain access to the full MetaTrader platform suite (including MetaTrader 5) along with trading tools provided by Trading Central. That said, XM Group doesn't yet offer any proprietary platforms, and its range of markets and trading costs trail behind the best MetaTrader brokers.

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. XM Group holds regulatory licenses in the following Tier-1 jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised), United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized). IC Markets, on the other hand, is licensed in these Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised). Neither have Canada (CIRO Authorised), Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), New Zealand (FMA Authorised) and Switzerland (FINMA Authorised)

Tier-2 and tier-3 licenses are still important in evaluating the overall trustworthiness of forex brokers. As far as tier-2 licenses go, XM Group 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 XM Group is Belize (FSC Authorised), while IC Markets is Bahamas (SCB Authorised).. Neither have 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 XM Group offers a Desktop Platform (Windows), whereas IC Markets supports a Desktop Platform (Windows), cTrader and ZuluTrade. Neither have Proprietary Platform and DupliTrade

Both XM Group 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.

XM Group requires a minimum deposit of $5, while IC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $200. It's also important to ensure your broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. In our research, we've found that XM Group supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for funding and deposit methods, whereas IC Markets supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)

When choosing a forex broker, it’s important to consider each broker’s available investment products and tradeable asset classes. We’ve researched each broker’s individual offering of investments to help you pick the right broker for what you want to trade. During our testing, we found that XM Group delivers a more diverse selection of investment options than IC Markets, offering tradeable asset classes and investment types such as Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Neither have Spread Betting.

We also keep track of each broker’s total number of tradeable symbols; XM Group offers 1429, 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 XM Group nor IC Markets allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

Market research plays a huge role in any forex trader’s ability to conduct analysis within the global forex market. We test each broker’s research offering to help you decide which broker is right for your technical or fundamental analysis needs. XM Group delivers the following research tools: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. IC Markets, on the other hand, provides the tools listed here: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading

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