Forex traders always look for trusted and reliable forex brokers that suit their trading styles and preferences. IC Markets and TD Ameritrade are top-tier regulated forex brokers offering online trading services globally. IC Markets is regulated in two Tier-1, one Tier-2, and two Tier-4 jurisdictions, including ASIC, CySEC, SCB, FSA-S, and FSCA. On the other hand, TD Ameritrade is regulated in three Tier-1 jurisdictions including SEC, FINRA, and SIPC. These two brokers offer almost similar services. However, each broker has its strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, we will compare IC Markets with TD Ameritrade regarding trading platforms, Pros, Cons, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. This comparison lets you understand which broker is better for your trading style and preferences.
IC Markets vs TD Ameritrade: In a Nutshell
IC Markets:
Founded in 2007 by Andrew Budzinksi, IC Markets is an Australian-based forex and CFD broker offering trading services to institutional and retail traders worldwide. The broker offers 2250+ trading instruments including Forex, commodities, indices, bonds, stocks, futures, and cryptocurrencies. Over the years, the broker has improved in quality and services. It offers true ECN trading with low spreads, high leverage, and fast executions to a global clientele. IC Markets is a multi-asset trading platform of choice for high-volume traders, scalpers, and robots. To learn more, you can read our review on IC Markets where we have covered its features, pros, cons, ratings, and more.
ICMarkets Overview
- Founded In: 2007
- Founder: Andrew Budzinksi
- Headquarters: Australia
- Minimum Deposit: $200
- Maximum Leverage: Upto 1000:1 for FSA Jurisdiction, 30:1 for ASIC, CySEC clients.
- Regulations: ASIC, CySEC, and FSA
- Trading platform: MT4, MT5 and cTrader
- Trading Instruments: 2150+ Trading Instruments including Forex, Crypto, Stock, Commodity Indices, Bonds, Futures.
- Account Types: Standard, Standard, Raw (Metatrader, Ctrader)
- Fees: Spread starting from 0.8 Pips(Standard Accounts) or $3 to 3.5 Commission (Raw Accounts)
- Payment Options: bank/wire transfer, Paypal, credit card, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, Bpay, FasaPay and Poli.
- US Traders: Not Accepted
TD Ameritrade:
TD Ameritrade was a well-known stockbroker offering a user-friendly electronic trading platform for various financial assets like common and preferred stocks, futures, ETFs, forex, options, mutual funds, fixed-income investments, margin lending, and cash management services. It made money through interest on margin balances, commissions, and payments for order flow.
Founded in 1975 as First Omaha Securities, the company took a major step in 2006 by acquiring the U.S. operations of TD Waterhouse from TD Bank Group, rebranding itself as TD Ameritrade. This deal also gave TD Bank Group a substantial ownership stake. In 2020, Charles Schwab Corporation acquired TD Ameritrade, and by 2024, all accounts were transitioned to Schwab. To learn more, you can read our review about TD Ameritrade.
TD Ameritrade At a Glance
- Founded In: 1978
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Maximum Leverage: 1:50
- Regulations: SEC , FINRA , SIPC
- Trading platform: Web Platforms, thinkorswim desktop, thinkorswim® web, Mobile Trading
- Account Types: Standard, Retirement, Education and Specialty accounts.
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), ACH (Automated Clearing House), Check, Physical Stock Certificates, Transfer from Existing Broker
- US Clients : Accepted
IC Markets vs TD Ameritrade : Features
IC Markets:
- Regulations: ASIC, CySEC, and FSA
- Trading Instruments: 2150+ including Forex, commodities, indices, bonds, stocks, futures, cryptocurrencies
- Minimum Deposit: $200 or Equivalent
- Maximum leverage: up to 1000:1 in FSA jurisdiction, in some countries, it offers 500:1 leverage, for ASIC, and CySEC entity the brokers offers up to 1:30 leverage.
- Account types: Standard Account and Raw Account (Metater, Ctrader)
- Fees: Spread starting from 0.8 pips for Standard Account or 3.00 to 3.50 per lot for Raw Account on a single Trip.
- PAMM/ MAM: Not Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed
TD Ameritrade
- Trading Instruments: 4,700+ trading instruments including Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, fixed income, futures, and forex, as well as margin lending and cash management services
- Maximum Leverage: 50:1. Offers both leverage and non-leverage assets.
- Minimum Deposit: TD Ameritrade does not require a minimum deposit to open a trading account
- Account Type: Brokerage and Trading, Retirement Account, Education and Custodian, charitable giving, lending, Small business retirements, Checking and Savings, Robo and Dedicated Advice, credit cards, Annuities, Trust and Estate, Insurance
- Trading Fees: TD Ameritrade offers a $0 account minimum with no charges for trading stocks and ETFs. Bond trades are $1 per bond, and most options contracts cost $0.65 each. Mutual fund trades typically cost around $50, but the firm also provides access to over 3,600 no-transaction-fee funds
- PAMM/MAM: Not Available
- News Trading: Allowed
- Scalping: Allowed
- Automated Trading: Allowed
IC Markets vs TD Ameritrade: Pros and Cons
IC Markets:
- Fully Regulated broker, ( One tire-1 , jurisdiction, one tire-2 jurisdiction)
- Super fast trade execution speed
- Straightforward registration process
- Low spread, starting from 0 pips.
- Easy and Fast Account Opening
- Free deposit and withdrawal
- Offers standard and raw spread account
- Trading EA is Allowed
- Ability to trade from a mobile device
- A demo Account is available
- Higher minimum deposit
- No investor protection for non-EU Clients
- Limited Product Selection
- No weekend Trading
- US Traders are not accepted
TD Ameritrade
- ETF, non-penny stock, and options trades are commission-free
- Expansive trading tools and resources for all types of investors
- Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading)
- Regulated by FINRA, SIBC
- Part of Charles Schwab Corporation since October 2020, with a combined 28 million clients and $6 trillion in assets.
- The company does not charge fees for trading in American and Canadian stocks, options, and ETFs.
- There is a large selection of investments from which to choose
- Broker-assisted trades are somewhat costly
- No direct crypto Trading
- Forex trading via thinkorswim, a trading platform where you can trade forex
- No MT4, MT5, cTraders trading platforms are offered
- Fractional shares are not offered
- Accounts mostly limited to US residents
- As a U.S.-only forex broker, TD Ameritrade does not offer copy trading or MetaTrader (MT4).
IC Markets vs TD Ameritrade: Side-by-Side Comparison
IC Markets Vs TD Ameritrade: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, IC Markets and TD Ameritrade, 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.
IC Markets:
TD Ameritrade:
Final Verdict:
IC Markets and TD Ameritrade are regulated forex and CFD brokers in the industry. They offer similar trading services, including forex and CFDs. Both allow scalping, hedging, EA trading and Copy trading, with a minimum order size of 0.01.
However, there are a few areas where you may find some differences. For example, the minimum deposit for IC Markets is $200, whereas the minimum deposit for TD Ameritrade is $0. The maximum leverage for IC Markets is generally from 500:1. However, the broker offers 1000:1 in FSA Jurisdiction. In contrast, the maximum leverage for TD Ameritrade is 50:1. IC Markets offer passive investment programs or copy trading programs like MAM and Zulutrade. At the same time, TD Ameritrade does not have any passive investment programs.
Our score for IC Markets is 9.3, and for TD Ameritrade, it is 8.8. If you are looking for the most trusted forex brokers with tight spreads and MAM account services, you may choose IC Markets. However, if you prefer a US-regulated forex broker, or if you are a trader from the USA, you may choose TD Ameritrade
