IC Markets and XM are online Forex and CFD brokers that offer online trading services globally. Both brokers are regulated by top-tier regulatory authorities. IC Markets is regulated by two Tier-1, one Tier-2, and two Tier-4 jurisdictions, including ASIC, CySEC, SCB, FSA-S, and FSCA. On the other hand, the XM is regulated by Two Tier-1 jurisdictions, one Tier-2 jurisdictions, and one Tier 4 including ASIC, CySEC, FSC-Belize, and DFSA. These two brokers offer almost similar services. However, each broker has its strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, we will compare and contrast IC Markets with XM regarding pros, cons, trading platforms, 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 XM: 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 about IC Markets, you can read our review.
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
XM
Founded in 2009, XM is a forex and CFD broker that offers online trading services globally. It provides access to over 1000+ trading instruments including forex, cryptocurrencies, stock CFDs turbo stocks, commodities, equity indices, thematic indices, precious metals, energies, and shares. The broker is regulated by multiple reputable regulatory authorities, including FSC, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, and FSCA. The broker offers a full edition of the popular MT4 and MT5 platforms, which include numerous proprietary indicators. XM offers a maximum leverage of 1:1000 to its clients. It is a low-cost broker with spreads starting from as low as 0.6 pips. To learn more, you can read our review on XM.
XM Overview
- Founded In: 2009
- Founder: Constantinos Cleanthous
- Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus.
- Trading Instruments: 1000+ trading instruments including forex, cryptocurrencies, stock CFDs turbo stocks, commodities, equity indices, thematic indices, precious metals, energies, shares
- Minimum Deposit: $5 for Micro, Standard, Ultra low accounts, and $10,000 for share accounts
- Maximum Leverage: up1000:1 for Standard, Micro, and Ultra-low accounts, No leverage for share account
- Regulations: FSC, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, FSCA
- Trading platform: MT4, MT5, XM trading apps
- Spreads: As low as 0.6pips
- Account Types: Standard, Micro, Ultra-low, Share accounts
- Trading Styles: Allows all trading styles including scalping, news trading, copy trading, EA trading
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill
- Funding Currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF, AUD, HUF, PLN, SGD, ZAR
- US Traders: Not Accepted
IC Markets vs XM : 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
XM
- Trading Instruments: 1000+ including Forex, Crypto CFDs, Indices CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Stocks CFDs, Turbo Stocks CFDs, Metals CFDs, Energies CFDs
- Maximum leverage: up to 1000:1
- Minimum Deposit: $5 or Equivalent
- Account Types: Micro, Standard, Ultra Low, Shares Accounts
- Fees: Starting from 0.6 in Ultra-low account, 1 Pips for standard account, and 1 Pips for Micro account
- PAMM/ MAM: Not Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed
IC Markets vs XM: 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
XM
- Regulated by CySEC, ASIC, DFSA in UAE, and FSC Belize.
- Easy and fast account opening
- Minimum deposit is $5
- Over 1000 forex/CFDs are available for trading.
- MT4 and MT5 are the available trading platforms.
- Quality research, market analysis, and access to trading tools like Autochartist.
- Quality training for newbies and ‘ultra-low micro account’ for beginners.
- High leverage up to 1000:1 (this leverage is not available to all the entities of the Group)
- Dormant fees are charged after 3 months of no account activity.
- Trading of real stocks is not available to European traders.
- Traders have no other choice apart from the MetaTrader platforms.
- Limited tradable assets.
- No passive investment services (social trading platform, PAMM accounts);
- Funding with PayPal is unavailable
IC Markets vs XM: Side-by-Side Comparison
IC Markets Vs XM: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, IC Markets and XM, 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 :
XM:
Final Verdict :
IC Markets and XM are regulated forex and CFD brokers in the industry. They offer similar trading services including forex and CFD trading. They both allow scalping, hedging, EA trading and Copy trading. Neither of these brokers accept US Clients. 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 IC Markets is $200, whereas the minimum deposit for XM is $5. Additionally, the maximum leverage for the IC Market is generally 500:1. However, In FSA jurisdiction, IC Markets offers 1000:1 leverage. Similarly, the maximum leverage for XM is 1000:1. IC Market offers passive investment programs or copy trading programs like MAM, and Zulutrade. In contrast, XM does not have any passive investment programs.
Our score for both the brokers is 9.3. So, if you are looking for the most trusted forex brokers with tight spread and MAM account services, you may choose IC Markets. However, If you prefer a forex broker with a lower minimum deposit, and offering a similar trading service to IC Markets, you may choose XM.
