IC Markets vs ThinkMarkets 2024

IC Markets is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. IC Markets is authorised by two Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and two Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). IC Markets is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

ThinkMarkets is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. ThinkMarkets is authorised by five tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), two tier-2 regulators (Average Risk), zero tier-3 regulators (low trust), and two tier-4 regulators (High Risk). ThinkMarkets is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

IC Markets’ competitive pricing and scalable execution make it an excellent option for algorithmic traders. Though it supports an impressive range of third-party tools and plugins, IC Markets’ research and education offerings are not as impressive as those offered by industry leaders.

ThinkMarkets has multiple regulatory license and offers a proprietary trading platform, as well as the entire MetaTrader suite. The broker has made progress in key areas, such as research and education, and the range of markets available, although trails behind the best brokers in these categories.

To open a trading account with IC Markets, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $200.

ThinkMarkets requires a minimum deposit of $0 before you can open an account and start trading.

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. IC Markets offers Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas ThinkMarkets provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that IC Markets offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that ThinkMarkets holds 5 global Tier-1 licenses, while IC Markets holds 2. ThinkMarkets holds 2 global Tier-2 licenses, while IC Markets holds 0.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that ThinkMarkets (92) earned a higher Trust Score than IC Markets (84).

To compare the trading platforms of both IC Markets and ThinkMarkets, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, IC Markets offers a better experience. With research, IC Markets offers superior market research. Finally, we found ThinkMarkets to provide better mobile trading apps.

Here’s what trading platforms are available at IC Markets:

• Proprietary Platform - No
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - Yes
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - Yes
• TradingView - Yes

Here’s what trading platforms are available at ThinkMarkets:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - Yes
• MT5 - Yes
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Both IC Markets and ThinkMarkets offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. IC Markets and ThinkMarkets both offer copy trading.

IC Markets provides traders 61 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to ThinkMarkets's 46 available pairs. If you are interested in trading CFDs, ThinkMarkets offers traders access to 4000 CFDs, while IC Markets offers access to 3583 CFDs; so ThinkMarkets offers 417 more CFDs than IC Markets.

We found in our testing that ThinkMarkets offers a more diverse selection of investment options than IC Markets, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD), Cryptocurrency (Derivative) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical).