IC Markets Review Australia 2026

Verdict

IC Markets sits at #2 in our Australian rankings and the gap to #1 (Pepperstone) is narrow. The pitch is simple. Spreads on the Raw Spread account are among the lowest of any ASIC-regulated broker, the commission on the AUD account ($7 round-turn per standard lot) is competitive, cTrader and MT5 both run cleanly with deep liquidity, and execution speed is consistently in the top three of our latency tests. For active forex traders running EAs or scalping strategies, IC Markets is on the shortlist alongside Pepperstone and Fusion Markets.

What knocks it down from #1? Slightly fewer platform options (MT4, MT5, cTrader, no native TradingView), a $200 minimum deposit (not deal-breaking, but $0 elsewhere), and a customer support layer that rates a notch below Pepperstone’s in our testing. None of these matter much if you’re an experienced forex trader after the cheapest and fastest execution. They might tip the balance if you’re newer or if you value broader product coverage.

Quick facts

Trading costs and fees

Raw Spread account, IC Markets’ headline product

Raw Spread is what IC Markets is known for. Spreads on EUR/USD start from 0.02 pips during liquid sessions, with an average across the trading day of around 0.10 pips. Add the AUD 7 round-turn commission per standard lot ($3.50 per side) and your total cost equivalent at AUDUSD 0.65 is approximately 0.55 pips on EUR/USD. That puts IC Markets within 0.05 pips of Pepperstone’s Razor and Fusion’s Zero account on a like-for-like basis.

Standard account for casual traders

Spread-only pricing, no commission. EUR/USD spreads typically 1.0 to 1.2 pips. Use this if you trade infrequently and don’t want to track commissions. Active traders save with Raw Spread.

cTrader account

Same pricing as Raw Spread but on the cTrader platform. Commission is AUD 6 round-turn per standard lot, slightly cheaper than Raw Spread on MT4/MT5. For cTrader users this is the obvious choice.

Other fees

• Overnight swaps are competitive, especially on AUD pairs.
• Currency conversion is applied at interbank plus spread when trading non-base-currency instruments.
• Withdrawal fees are $0 on most methods.
• Inactivity fee: none.
• VPS: free for clients depositing AUD 5,000+ and trading 15+ standard lots/month.

Trading platforms

cTrader (the IC Markets pick)

Our recommended platform with IC Markets. cTrader’s level 2 depth-of-book pricing pulls directly from IC’s liquidity providers (25+ banks plus non-bank market makers). Order types include market range, OCO, stop limit and trailing stop. cTrader Copy is integrated. cTrader Automate (formerly cAlgo) handles algo development.

MetaTrader 5

MT5 connects to the same liquidity engine as cTrader. The right pick if you have existing MT5 EAs or want native equity, futures and indices alongside forex.

MetaTrader 4

Still supported. Default for legacy EAs and traders who learned forex on MT4. New users should default to MT5 or cTrader.

Execution speed and slippage

IC Markets ranks consistently top-three for execution speed in our quarterly latency cycles.

Tests run from a London VPS (LD4 co-location). IC Markets’ AU clients can opt into NY4-routing for US session trading, which often delivers a small latency improvement on USD pairs during US hours.

Trust and safety

Trust score: 8.7/10.

Regulation

International Capital Markets Pty Ltd holds AFSL 335692 with ASIC, continuously since 2007. No material ASIC enforcement actions in the last 36 months.

Globally:

• CySEC (Cyprus, EU), Tier 1
• SCB (Bahamas), Tier 3, used for offshore wholesale
• FSA (Seychelles), Tier 3, offshore wholesale

Wholesale clients meeting the Corporations Act criteria can request offshore onboarding for higher leverage. Retail clients are placed on the ASIC entity by default.

History and ownership

Founded by Andrew Budzinski in Sydney in 2007. Privately held. Reported daily turnover of US$1.4 trillion+ across the group as of 2024, among the top global forex brokers by volume. Australian-headquartered and continuously Australian-regulated since launch.

Public reviews

TrustPilot 4.9/5 from 35,000+ reviews, among the highest-rated brokers globally. Common positives: spreads, execution, support. Common negatives: occasional withdrawal verification delays.

Account types and minimum deposit

Funding and withdrawals

Deposit methods (AU clients)

Withdrawals

$0 fee on most methods. AML compliance requires withdrawals to use the same source as deposits where possible. Card refund 1 to 3 business days. Bank transfer 1 to 2 business days. Neteller/Skrill same day.

Account opening

Fully online. One ID and one proof of address. Most AU applications approved within hours. Onboarding score: 12/15.

Product range

• Forex: 60+ pairs including major and minor AUD crosses
• Indices: 25+ including ASX 200, S&P/ASX SPI 200
• Shares CFDs: approximately 2,000 across ASX, NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE
• Commodities: gold, silver, oil, gas, soft commodities
• Cryptocurrencies: 18+ crypto CFDs
• Bonds / treasuries: limited

Product range is solid for forex traders, narrower than CMC or IG for multi-asset CFD traders.

Customer service

24/7 phone, live chat and email. Sydney-based support team during AU business hours, global team overnight. Average live chat response: under 90 seconds. Knowledge of platforms: strong, especially cTrader.

Languages: English, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai.

Research and education

• IC Markets Insights blog with daily and weekly market analysis
• Webinars on platform use and trading topics
• Smart Trader Tools for MT4 and MT5
• Free VPS for qualifying clients
• Trading Central daily research
• Autochartist pattern recognition

Research stack is solid for active traders, less beginner-focused than Plus500 or eToro.

How IC Markets compares to alternatives

Bottom line

IC Markets is one of the two or three brokers we’d put on any Australian active forex trader’s shortlist. Sydney-founded, ASIC-supervised since 2007, with raw spreads and execution speed that consistently rank at the top of our testing. The $200 minimum is a small friction next to Pepperstone’s $0. The lack of TradingView integration is the more meaningful gap for traders who do their charting on TradingView. If you trade primarily on cTrader or MT5 and care most about cost-per-pip and execution quality, IC Markets is hard to beat in Australia.

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