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Alison Heyerdahl is the Head of Content at FxScouts, a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), and an experienced trader, as well as a financial writer with extensive expertise in Forex trading, broker analysis, and market research. She has reviewed 100+ brokers, publishes weekly YouTube trading videos, and co-hosts the “Let’s Talk Forex” podcast.
In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. IC Markets and XM are two popular options, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. This comparison will dive into the key features of both platforms,helping you decide which one best suits your trading style and goals.
The radar chart above illustrates the comparison between IC Markets and XM across several key metrics, with the highest possible score being 100 in each category.
At FxScouts, our mission is to assist traders in finding the broker that best suits their needs. Comparing brokers side-by-side is an effective method to achieve this goal. We evaluated IC Markets and XM, using our standard criteria: trust and regulation, trading platforms, costs and trading conditions, and educational and market analysis resources.
Trust and regulation are crucial when selecting a Forex broker. A broker’s credibility is largely built on its regulatory status. We spend considerable time verifying the safety of each broker by examining their regulatory licenses. We also consider numerous factors when deciding which tier a regulator belongs to. Regulators that we rank as the world’s top regulators, gets a tier 1 rank, while regulators who only scores a tier 5-rank, provide virtually no regulatory oversight. The more top-tier authorities regulating a broker, the higher its trust rating. Read more about regulation and our tier system here.
In our comparison:
Based on these findings, XM earned a higher trust rating than IC Markets.
When comparing brokers, trading costs are a significant factor. We consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and ongoing costs, including spreads and commissions. We measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit, including both the spread and any commission charged.
We found that XM has overall lower trading costs than IC Markets.
Trading Platforms Offered Traders prefer brokers that offer a variety of trading platforms. We rate brokers higher if they support multiple platforms like MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, and proprietary platforms.
Copy trading is beneficial for beginner traders or those unable to trade full-time. In this case both IC Markets and XM offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. IC Markets offers a greater variety of instruments compared to XM:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, XM offers 60 cryptocurrencies, while IC Markets offers 18 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, XM is the better choice for cryptocurrency trading.
Traders prefer brokers with quick and cost-effective deposit and withdrawal processes. We favor brokers that process withdrawals within 24 hours using multiple methods without charging fees.We found that IC Markets charges a withdrawal fee and XM does not. Overall, XM has better deposit and withdrawal processes than IC Markets.
We often find that brokers offer very little in the way of educational materials, forcing traders to use other third-party sites or self-educate elsewhere. Beginner traders need well-structured, well-presented materials in multiple formats to get a good start at trading. More experienced traders also benefit from webinars led by experts in the field and advanced trading strategy sections with new trading ideas.
IC Markets and XM both have very good educational support. Both IC Markets and XM offer educational support for more experienced traders.Access to frequent and high-quality market research and analysis is crucial.
We found that IC Markets offers better research analysis than XM and that both IC Markets and XM offer frequent webinars.
Founded in 2007 in Australia, IC Markets is a globally respected broker known for its transparent pricing, low trading costs, and institutional-grade trading conditions. It is regulated by several leading financial authorities, including ASIC, CySEC, SCB, the FSA of Seychelles, and the CMA of Kenya.
IC Markets is best known for its exceptionally low-cost trading environment. On its Raw Spread Account, average spreads are just 0.10 pips on the EUR/USD, paired with a round-turn commission of only 6 USD per lot. It is one of the few brokers to support all four major trading platforms—MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView—making it an excellent choice for traders with diverse strategies and technical preferences.
IC Markets clients also benefit from a broad suite of professional trading tools, including VPS hosting, Trading Central analytics, advanced charting, and popular copy trading platforms such as Myfxbook AutoTrade and ZuluTrade. New traders will appreciate IC Markets’ 24/7 customer support and straightforward account setup. While the broker’s educational resources are stronger than most, its market analysis content remains relatively limited.
A popular global broker with a large customer base and a good reputation, XM has some of the lowest fees in the industry, provides excellent research and education, and has a beginner-friendly trading app. It also has an outstanding range of trading tools and its customer service is responsive and well-trained.
XM’s account structure is designed to accommodate a variety of trading strategies and experience levels, featuring four accounts with a minimum deposit starting from 5 USD. The Ultra Low Account offers spreads as tight as 0.6 pips on EUR/USD without commission, ensuring cost-effective trading. However, XM’s leverage, peaking at 1000:1, requires cautious management due to the amplified risk of significant losses. Traders will also appreciate XM’s comprehensive range of trading tools, copy trading service, and generous bonus scheme. Finally, XM’s educational offerings are top-tier and aimed at enhancing the trading skills of beginners and seasoned traders alike.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of IC Markets and XM.
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Broker | Overall Rating Our overall rating evaluates brokers on platform quality, fees, service, regulation, and instruments. Higher scores reflect better performance and reliability. | Official Site Click to visit the broker’s official website for more information and to open an account. | Min. Deposit The minimum amount of money required to open an account with this broker. | Min. Spread | Trading Cost | Licenced by Displays the financial regulators licensing the broker, shown by national flags, ensuring compliance with financial standards for safer trading. | Accepts Traders from %s | Compare Select two brokers using the checkboxes to compare their features, fees, platforms, and more side by side. |
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 | USD 0 | 0 pips | USD 7 |    | jp, es, us, ca | |||
 | USD 3 | 0.10 pips | USD 7 |     | at, be, bg, cy, cz, de, dk, ee, el*, es, fi, fr, hr, hu, ie, it, lt, lu, lv, mt, nl, pl, pt, ro, se, si, sk, us, ca, au, nz, il, iq, sy, ir, kp, my, ye, sg, pr, gu | |||
 | USD 0 | 0 pips | USD 10 | | jp, be, el, lt, pt, bg, es, lu, ro, cz, fr, hu, si, dk, hr, mt, sk, de, it, nl, fi, ee, cy, at, se, ie, lv, pl | |||
| USD 5 | 0.60 pips | USD 6 | | us, es, ca, ir, il | |||
 | USD 100 | 0.90 pips | USD 9 |     | es, be, cu, ir, kp, sy, us, nz, ru, by, lb, ye, im, uk, je, gg, af, dz, iq, ps, in | |||
 | USD 100 | 1 pips | USD 10 |  | jp, es | |||
 | USD 100 | 0.40 pips | USD 14 | | es | |||
 | USD 100 | 0 pips | USD 6 | | jp, es | |||
 | USD 200 | 0.10 pips | USD 8 | | jp, es | |||
 | USD 0 | 0.80 pips | USD 7 |  | us, es |
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Alison and Chris cover a range of topics, including how to choose a Forex broker, safety and regulation, how to reduce your risk, trading psychology, trading platforms, and trading strategies, among others.
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