FOREX.com vs IC Markets: Honest 2026 Comparison

Affiliate disclosure: this article contains partner links. KenMacro may earn a commission when you open an account through these links, at no additional cost to you. The desk only partners with brokers that pass our regulatory and execution-quality screen.

FOREX.com and IC Markets both target the raw-spread CFD retail archetype but with different trade-offs. FOREX.com carries NFA, CFTC, FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MAS, JFSA, CIMA oversight, founded 2001, with nasdaq-listed parent (stonex), cftc and nfa registered for us clients, full fca and asic stack outside us. IC Markets runs ASIC, CySEC, FSA Seychelles, founded 2007, with tight raw spreads and ctrader native. For the raw-spread CFD retail archetype, IC Markets is the cleaner fit.

By Ken Chigbo, Founder, KenMacro, 18-plus years in markets, London trading floor and institutional FX. The framework runs daily inside the MACRO MASTERY desk.

At a glance

Variable	FOREX.com	IC Markets
Founded	2001	2007
Regulation	NFA, CFTC, FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MAS, JFSA, CIMA	ASIC, CySEC, FSA Seychelles
Min deposit / fee	$100 (US, UK, Canada), $0 technical in some jurisdictions	$200
EUR/USD spread	0.0 pips raw plus commission (RAW Pricing), 0.8 to 1.0 pips typical (Standard, spread-only)	0.0 to 0.1 pips raw (Raw Spread)
Commission	RAW Pricing $7 round-turn per standard lot. Standard zero commission.	$7 round-turn (Raw Spread)
Max leverage	1:50 NFA US majors, 1:30 FCA, ASIC retail, up to 1:400 CIMA offshore	1:30 ASIC retail, up to 1:500 FSA offshore
Platforms	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, FOREX.com WebTrader (proprietary), Web Trading and Mobile App, TradingView (charting), advanced trading platform	MT4, MT5, cTrader
Payment / payouts	Bank wire, debit cards, ACH (US), Skrill, Neteller (region-dependent). Free on most methods.	Bank wire, cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller. Free on most methods.
Trustpilot 2026	3.9 / 5	4.8 / 5
Key strength	NASDAQ-listed parent (StoneX), CFTC and NFA registered for US clients, full FCA and ASIC stack outside US	Tight raw spreads and cTrader native

Regulation and trust

FOREX.com carries FOREX.com is a brand of StoneX Group Inc, a publicly listed US financial-services group (NASDAQ: SNEX). GAIN Capital Group LLC is registered with the NFA (member ID 0339826) and CFTC as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer and Futures Commission Merchant. GAIN Capital UK Ltd is FCA-authorised under firm reference 113942. StoneX Australia Pty Ltd holds ASIC AFSL 345646. StoneX Financial Ltd (Canada) is regulated by IIROC. StoneX Financial Pte Ltd is licensed by MAS Singapore. StoneX Financial Securities (Japan) is regulated by JFSA. CIMA Cayman Islands oversees the offshore entity. Founded 2001, acquired by StoneX in 2020. IC Markets runs ASIC Australia licence 335692, CySEC Cyprus licence 362/18, and FSA Seychelles licence SD018. One of the largest retail forex brokers globally by reported trading volume. Regulator depth is one of the cleanest filters when picking a broker, the deeper the audited stack the better the recourse if anything goes wrong. Neither broker is in the partner stack the desk runs daily. Vantage Markets is the partner alternative the desk routes to: FCA UK plus ASIC Tier-1 stack with raw-spread economics, plus Lloyd’s of London supplementary insurance and the bundled MACRO MASTERY desk overlay.

FOREX.com, the regulator footprint runs FOREX.com is a brand of StoneX Group Inc, a publicly listed US financial-services group (NASDAQ: SNEX). GAIN Capital Group LLC is registered with the NFA (member ID 0339826) and CFTC as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer and Futures Commission Merchant. GAIN Capital UK Ltd is FCA-authorised under firm reference 113942. StoneX Australia Pty Ltd holds ASIC AFSL 345646. StoneX Financial Ltd (Canada) is regulated by IIROC. StoneX Financial Pte Ltd is licensed by MAS Singapore. StoneX Financial Securities (Japan) is regulated by JFSA. CIMA Cayman Islands oversees the offshore entity. Founded 2001, acquired by StoneX in 2020.

IC Markets, by contrast, operates under ASIC Australia licence 335692, CySEC Cyprus licence 362/18, and FSA Seychelles licence SD018. One of the largest retail forex brokers globally by reported trading volume.

Spreads and commission

On the headline raw account tier, FOREX.com posts 0.0 pips raw plus commission (raw pricing), 0.8 to 1.0 pips typical (standard, spread-only) on EUR/USD with raw pricing $7 round-turn per standard lot. standard zero commission.. IC Markets posts 0.0 to 0.1 pips raw (raw spread) with $7 round-turn (raw spread). All-in cost is the relevant comparison rather than the headline raw spread on its own, the commission rate per round-turn lot can flip the verdict for high-frequency traders. On the raw-spread CFD retail archetype, IC Markets edges the cost stack.

On the headline raw account tier, FOREX.com posts 0.0 pips raw plus commission (raw pricing), 0.8 to 1.0 pips typical (standard, spread-only) on EUR/USD with raw pricing $7 round-turn per standard lot. standard zero commission.. IC Markets posts 0.0 to 0.1 pips raw (raw spread) with $7 round-turn (raw spread). Both numbers are sourced from the brokers’ published spread sheets and cross-referenced against live execution windows during NFP and FOMC.

Platforms

FOREX.com’s platform stack runs metatrader 4, metatrader 5, forex.com webtrader (proprietary), web trading and mobile app, tradingview (charting), advanced trading platform. IC Markets covers mt4, mt5, ctrader. Platform fit is rarely the differentiator on its own, the question is which stack lines up with the trader’s existing chartwork and automation. For traders running MetaTrader expert advisors or TradingView native chartwork, both brokers cover the standard set, the differentiator lives in any proprietary platform extension on each side.

FOREX.com’s platform stack covers metatrader 4, metatrader 5, forex.com webtrader (proprietary), web trading and mobile app, tradingview (charting), advanced trading platform, while IC Markets runs mt4, mt5, ctrader. Platform fit is rarely the differentiator on its own, the differentiator is how the platform set lines up with the trader’s existing chartwork and automation set.

Payments and withdrawals

FOREX.com: Bank wire, debit cards, ACH (US), Skrill, Neteller (region-dependent). Free on most methods. IC Markets: Bank wire, cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller. Free on most methods. Withdrawal infrastructure is a quiet but high-impact layer. The cleanest brokers process broker-side withdrawals same-day on most methods with zero broker-side fees, intermediary-bank delays are the variable element on bank-wire withdrawals.

FOREX.com: Bank wire, debit cards, ACH (US), Skrill, Neteller (region-dependent). Free on most methods.

IC Markets: Bank wire, cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller. Free on most methods.

Who should pick FOREX.com

Who should pick IC Markets

The desk’s verdict

The MACRO MASTERY angle

Broker selection is one piece of the framework. Macro positioning is what compounds across cycles, irrespective of the execution venue. The MACRO MASTERY desk runs daily macro pulses, NFP and FOMC and CPI live coverage, BTC whale-flow signals, weekly performance scorecard, and the live MT5 signal bridge.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, FOREX.com or IC Markets?

For the raw-spread CFD retail archetype: IC Markets, on tight raw spreads and ctrader native. Both are credible options inside their respective regulator stacks.

Is FOREX.com safer than IC Markets?

FOREX.com runs NFA, CFTC, FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MAS, JFSA, CIMA. IC Markets runs ASIC, CySEC, FSA Seychelles. Both segregate client funds per regulator rules. The deeper the audited stack the cleaner the recourse if anything goes wrong, NASDAQ-listed vs ASIC plus CySEC is the differentiator on this pair.

Are FOREX.com spreads tighter than IC Markets?

FOREX.com posts 0.0 pips raw plus commission (raw pricing), 0.8 to 1.0 pips typical (standard, spread-only) with raw pricing $7 round-turn per standard lot. standard zero commission.. IC Markets posts 0.0 to 0.1 pips raw (raw spread) with $7 round-turn (raw spread). All-in cost is the operationally relevant comparison rather than the headline raw spread on its own.

Which has lower minimum deposit, FOREX.com or IC Markets?

FOREX.com: $100 (US, UK, Canada), $0 technical in some jurisdictions. IC Markets: $200. The lower minimum is the cleaner door-opener for early-stage traders, but capital should match the trader’s risk-management plan rather than the broker’s floor.

Which has the bundled MACRO MASTERY desk overlay?

Neither broker is in the partner stack the desk runs. Vantage Markets is the partner alternative the desk routes to: FCA UK plus ASIC Tier-1 stack with raw-spread economics, plus Lloyd’s of London supplementary insurance and the bundled MACRO MASTERY desk overlay.

Can I run both FOREX.com and IC Markets accounts?

Yes. Many traders run more than one broker account in parallel, eg one for ECN raw execution and one for spread-only proprietary platforms. Both brokers segregate client funds per their respective regulator rules, so capital is protected on each entity’s terms even if one entity fails.

Related reading

• Best forex brokers 2026, the institutional verdict
• How to choose a forex broker, the desk’s framework
• Vantage vs Blueberry vs Star Trader, three-way verdict

Educational analysis only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Manage risk against your own portfolio. CFD and margin trading carry significant risk of loss. Verify current FOREX.com and IC Markets terms against each official documentation before opening an account.

Sources cross-referenced for this FOREX.com vs IC Markets comparison: https://www.forex.com/en/about-us/regulatory-information/, https://register.fca.org.uk/, https://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/, https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/forex.com, https://www.icmarkets.com/global/en/about-us/regulation, https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/RegistrySearch/, https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/icmarkets.com, Trustpilot aggregations 2026.