CMC Markets vs Skilling Compared 2026: Pros, Cons, and More!

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Ryan Hardy sitting before his forex trading desk
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CMC Markets and Skilling are Forex and CFD brokers offering online trading services to traders and investors worldwide. Both brokers are regulated by top-tier regulatory authorities. CMC Markets is regulated by 5 regulatory authorities , including the FCA, ASIC, BaFin, IIROC, FMA, MAS, . On the other hand, Skilling is regulated by 3 regulatory authorities, including CySEC, FSA, and FCA (recently deregistered from FCA). These two brokers offer almost similar services. However, each broker has its strengths and weaknesses.

In this article, we will compare CMC Markets with Skilling regarding trading platforms, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. We will also explore if CMC Markets is better than Skilling. This comparison lets you understand which broker is better for your trading style and preferences.

CMC Markets vs Skilling: In a Nutshell

CMC Markets

Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a publicly traded broker (Ticker: CMCX). The broker is regulated in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Singapore. It offers over 9800 trading instruments, including Forex, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, Shares & ETFs, and Commodities. There is no minimum deposit requirement on IC Markets; you may deposit as low as $1. CMC Markets allows EA trading and news trading. The broker uses the most popular trading platform, MetaTrader (MT4), as its trading platform. To learn more, you can read our review about CMC Markets.

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Skilling

Established in 2016 by Scandinavian entrepreneurs, Lennart Clausen, André Lavold, Henrik Ekdahl, and Mikael Harstad, Skilling is a regulated and innovative forex broker. It offers traders access to more than 900 forex and CFDs on its Skilling Trader, cTrader, and MT4 platforms. The broker’s Premium account features competitive spreads and low commissions, ideal for advanced traders. Skilling.com provides forex pairs, CFDs, commodities, shares, indices, gold, silver, oil, bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies for your personal investment and trading options. Additionally, Skilling provides tools like TradingView, an economic calendar, market news, and detailed analysis to enhance trading decisions.

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CMC Markets vs Skilling: Features

CMC Markets

  • Trading Instruments: 12000+ trading instruments including forex, indices, Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, Shares, Share baskets, Treasuries, etc 
  • Maximum leverage:  Up to 30:1 ( FCA, ASIC), up to 1:50 (IIROC), and up to 500:1 for a professional account.
  • Minimum Deposit: No Minimum Deposit. However, Pepperstone recommends $200 or equivalent for the margin requirement. 
  • Account Types: Three (Spread Betting Account, CFD Account, Corporate Account)
  • Trading Fees: only Spread is charged (Commission is only for Shares account). Variable spreads from 0.3 pips. A rollover commission is applied on open positions overnight. For the Shares account commission starts from $7. 
  • PAMM/ MAM:  Not Available 
  • Scalping: Allowed 
  • News Trading: Allowed
  • EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed

Skilling

  • Trading Instruments: 800+  forex, CFDs, commodities, shares, indices, and cryptocurrencies
  • Maximum leverage: up to 1:1000 for non-EU retail traders,1:30 for EU retail traders.  1:200 for professional traders
  •  Minimum Deposit: $25 for the Non-EU standard account, $100 for the EU standard account, and $5000 for the premium account. 
  • Account Types: Offers 3 account types: Standard, Premium MT4 
  • Fees: starting from 0.8  pips for a standard account,
  • Social Copy Trading:  Yes, 
  • Zulutrade: No
  • Scalping: Allowed 
  • News Trading: Allowed
  • EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed

CMC Markets vs Skilling: Side By Side Comparison

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CMC Markets vs Skilling: Pros and Cons

CMC Markets Pros & Cons

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Skilling Pros & Cons

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CMC Markets Vs Skilling: Our Scores and Ratings

We rated both brokers, CMC Markets and Skilling, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 0.1 increments. To achieve a comprehensive rating, we broadly grouped all services offered by brokers into 6 macro categories and assigned percentage weights to them. Each macro category is subdivided into several data points which contributes to the total score of 1.0-10.0 assigned to each macro category. Since all categories are not equally important, our weight percentage plays a significant role in assessing the broker accurately. For example, Regulation and Security contributes a total weight of 40% to the whole ratings because this is the most important rating category. To learn more, read our methodology.

CMC Markets:

9.0
CMC Markets Score
Regulation and Security (40%)9.7
Fees and Commissions (20%)8
Trading (15%)9
Trading tools (10%)8
Customer Support (10%)9.5
Trading Education (5%)9

Skilling

8.8
Skilling Score
Regulation and Security (40%)9
Fees and Commissions (20%)9
Trading (15%)9
Trading tools (10%)9
Customer Support (10%)8
Trading Education (5%)7

Final Verdict :

CMC Markets and Skilling are regulated forex and CFD brokers in the industry. They offer similar trading services. Both brokers allow scalping, hedging, EA trading, and Copy trading. The minimum order size for both of them is 0.01. 

However, there are a few areas where you may find some differences. For example, the minimum deposit for CMC Markets is $0., whereas the minimum deposit for Skilling is 25 € or equivalent. Additionally, the maximum leverage for CMC Markets is 30:1 (retail clients), 500:1 (Professional Clients). In contrast, the maximum leverage for Skilling is up to 1:1000 for non-EU retail traders, 1:30 for EU retail traders. 1:200 for professional traders. CMC Markets offers passive investment programs like MAM and PAMM, while Skilling does not have any passive investment programs.

Our score for CMC Markets is 9, and for Skilling, it is 8.8 So, if you are looking for the most trusted forex brokers with MAM and PAMM services, you may choose CMC Markets. However, if you prefer another forex brokers that offer similar services, you may choose Skilling.