AvaTrade vs IC Markets
Compare AvaTrade and IC Markets across account entities, regulation, editorial scores, user ratings, costs, platforms and markets. Review the entity, regulation, costs and account terms that would apply before opening an account.
Comparison data checked 26 August 2026
Comparison summary
Start with the major differences, then review the detailed sections below. A higher score or lower displayed cost does not establish suitability for every trader.
| Field | AvaTrade | IC Markets |
|---|---|---|
| Comparison summary | ||
| Editorial score | 9.2 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 |
| User rating | No user ratings yet | No user ratings yet |
| Regulatory status | Regulated | Regulated |
| Relevant entity | Ava Trade Markets Ltd | Raw Trading Ltd |
| Minimum deposit | $100 | $200 |
| Typical spread | 0.9 pips for EUR/USD | 0.1 pips (Raw Spread) for EUR/USD |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5Proprietary platform | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5cTraderTradingView |
| Markets | 1,250+ instruments across 7 categories | 2,250+ instruments across 7 categories |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 | 1:30 (varies by entity) |
| Complaint cases | 0 published cases | 0 published cases |
| Regulation and account entities | ||
| Country account entity | Ava Trade Markets Ltd | Raw Trading Ltd |
| Regulatory status | Regulated | Regulated |
| Regulator | Central Bank of Ireland | Australian Securities and Investments Commission |
| Licence type | Tier 1 financial-services licence | Tier 1 financial-services licence |
| Licence number | C53877 | AFSL 335692 |
| Record status | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | Australia |
| Client-money rules | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Negative balance protection | Available | Limited |
| Compensation arrangement | Potentially eligible | Potentially eligible |
| Complaint route | Not confirmed | Authority or dispute route |
| Official warnings | 0 active or relevant notices | 0 active or relevant notices |
| Last verified | Not confirmed | 26 August 2026 |
| Editorial scores and user ratings | ||
| Overall editorial score | 9.2 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 |
| Regulation and safety | 9.8 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 |
| Trading costs | 8.9 / 10 | 9.8 / 10 |
| Platforms and tools | 9.3 / 10 | 9.8 / 10 |
| Markets and products | 9.1 / 10 | 9.4 / 10 |
| Accounts and accessibility | Not available | Not available |
| Deposits and withdrawals | Not available | Not available |
| Support and education | 9.1 / 10 | 9.2 / 10 |
| Transparency and history | Not available | Not available |
| User rating | No user ratings yet | No user ratings yet |
| Eligible ratings | 0 | 0 |
| Verified experiences | 0 | 0 |
| Editorial review updated | Not confirmed | 26 August 2026 |
| Trading costs | ||
| Account used | Retail | Standard |
| Instrument | EUR/USD | EUR/USD |
| Spread type | Typical | Typical |
| Spread | 0.9 pips | 0.1 pips (Raw Spread) |
| Commission | $0 | $3.50 per side / $7 round turn (Raw Spread MetaTrader) |
| Estimated round-turn cost | 0.9 pips under the broker's published assumptions | Approx. 0.8 pips under the broker's published assumptions |
| Overnight financing long | Both: overnight funding applies; Islamic/swap-free accounts available | Both: swaps charged; swap-free accounts available |
| Overnight financing short | Both: overnight funding applies; Islamic/swap-free accounts available | Both: swaps charged; swap-free accounts available |
| Currency conversion | Currency conversion spread/markup applies where account and instrument currencies differ | Conversion at applicable exchange rate/charges; no fixed percentage published |
| Deposit fee | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Withdrawal fee | Not confirmed | None; third-party/bank charges may apply |
| Inactivity fee | $50 after 3 consecutive months inactivity; $100 administration fee after 12 months where permitted | None on Global; EU: 10 account-currency units/month after 6 months inactivity |
| Data checked | Not confirmed | 26 August 2026 |
| Accounts and accessibility | ||
| Relevant account entity | Ava Trade Markets Ltd | Raw Trading Ltd |
| Account types | RetailProfessionalOptionsSpread BettingIslamicDemo | StandardRaw SpreadcTrader Raw SpreadIslamic/Swap-Free |
| Minimum deposit | $100 | $200 |
| Base currencies | USDEURGBPAUD | USDAUDEURGBPSGDNZDJPYCHFHKDCAD |
| Demo account | Available | Available |
| Islamic or swap-free | Available | Available |
| Professional account | Eligibility applies | Eligibility applies |
| Cent account | Not available | Not available |
| Raw-spread account | Not available | Available |
| Application time | Typically a few minutes | Usually minutes to a few hours |
| Country availability | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Client classifications | RetailProfessional | RetailProfessional |
| Trading platforms and tools | ||
| Desktop platforms | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5Proprietary platform | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5cTraderTradingView |
| Web platform | Available | Available |
| Mobile apps | Both proprietary and third-party | Both |
| MetaTrader 4 | Available | Available |
| MetaTrader 5 | Available | Available |
| cTrader | Not available | Available |
| TradingView | Not available | Integration |
| Proprietary platform | Yes, WebTrader, AvaTrade App and AvaOptions | IC Markets Global mobile app / IC app |
| Automated trading | Supported | Supported |
| Copy trading | Not available | Not available |
| API access | Yes | Yes, cTrader FIX API |
| VPS | Not confirmed | Available |
| One-click trading | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Advanced order types | Market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit, trailing stop | Market, limit, stop, stop-limit, stop-loss, take-profit, trailing stop |
| Markets and instruments | ||
| Forex | Available | Available |
| Metals | Not listed | Not listed |
| Indices | Available | Available |
| Commodities | Available | Available |
| Share CFDs | Available | Available |
| Cryptocurrency CFDs | Available | Available |
| ETFs | Available | Not listed |
| Bonds | Available | Available |
| Futures | Not listed | Available |
| Options | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Total | 1,250+ reported instruments | 2,250+ reported instruments |
| Availability note | Varies by platform, account and entity | Varies by platform, account and entity |
| Trading conditions | ||
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 for Ava Trade Markets Ltd | 1:30 for Raw Trading Ltd |
| Margin-call level | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Stop-out level | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Minimum trade size | 0.01 lots | 0.01 lots |
| Maximum trade size | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Scalping | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Hedging | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Expert advisers | Allowed | Allowed |
| News trading | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Guaranteed stops | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Negative balance protection | Available | Conditional |
| Execution model | Market maker | Market execution |
| Trading hours | Varies by instrument | Varies by instrument |
| Deposits and withdrawals | ||
| Deposit methods | Visa, Mastercard, bank wire, Skrill, Neteller and regional e-payment methods | Credit/debit card, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay, bank wire, Bpay, broker-to-broker, POLi, Rapidpay, Klarna, cryptocurrency, local internet banking |
| Withdrawal methods | Original funding method, bank wire and supported e-payment methods | Credit/debit card, bank wire, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, plus applicable original/local payment methods |
| Minimum deposit | $100 | $200 |
| Minimum withdrawal | $100 | No minimum |
| Deposit processing | Cards/e-wallets generally instant; bank wire typically several business days | Instant for cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay and several local methods; bank wire 2-5 business days |
| Withdrawal processing | AvaTrade processing within 24 business hours; arrival depends on payment method | Same-day processing before cutoff; cards typically 3-5 business days; international wire up to 14 days |
| Broker deposit fee | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Broker withdrawal fee | Not confirmed | None; third-party/bank charges may apply |
| Third-party fees | May apply | May apply |
| Local payment methods | Skrill; Neteller and various country-specific e-payment solutions | Bpay; POLi; Thai Internet Banking; Vietnamese Internet Banking; UnionPay; Rapidpay; Klarna |
| Name matching | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Verification before withdrawal | May be required | May be required |
| Funding data checked | Not confirmed | 26 August 2026 |
| Support, research and education | ||
| Support channels | Live chat, email, phone | Live chat, email, phone |
| Support hours | Monday-Friday, 05:00-21:00 GMT for English support | 24/7 |
| Weekend support | Not confirmed | Available |
| Supported languages | 15+ languages | English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese and others |
| Local number | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Account manager | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Market analysis | Extensive: daily market analysis, Trading Central, trading signals, technical and fundamental analysis | Extensive: Trading Central, Autochartist, IC Insights/TipRanks, market analysis and daily forecasts |
| Economic calendar | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Trading signals | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Webinars | Available | Available |
| Courses and guides | Extensive: AvaAcademy, courses, articles, videos, tutorials, ebooks and live webinars | Extensive: webinars, educational articles, video/Web TV, trading guides, tutorials |
| Beginner education | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Support score | 9.2 / 10 | 9.3 / 10 |
| User reviews and complaints | ||
| User rating | No user ratings yet | No user ratings yet |
| Eligible ratings | 0 | 0 |
| Published reviews | 0 | 0 |
| Verified experiences | 0 | 0 |
| Published complaints | 0 | 0 |
| Open complaints | 0 | 0 |
| Broker responses | 0 | 0 |
| Response rate | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Resolved cases | 0 | 0 |
| Common review topics | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Common complaint topics | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Company and transparency | ||
| Brand | AvaTrade | IC Markets |
| Established | 2006 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland | Mahé, Seychelles |
| Parent company | AvaTrade Group | Independent |
| Legal entities | 1 recorded entity | 1 recorded entity |
| Publicly listed | No | No |
| Bank ownership | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Financial reporting | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Client count | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Reported trading volume | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Website | avatrade.com | icmarkets.com |
| Profile updated | Not confirmed | 26 August 2026 |
Category leader: highest or lowest qualifying value under the displayed criterion. A missing value is not treated as better or worse than a reported value.
Which broker may suit which trader?
Use conditional, evidence-based summaries rather than naming one overall winner.
- IC Markets has the lower displayed estimated cost under the selected EUR/USD, Standard and intraday assumptions.
- AvaTrade has the higher regulation-and-safety editorial score, although the applicable protection still depends on the account entity.
- AvaTrade is the selected option offering Proprietary platform.
- IC Markets is the selected option offering cTrader.
- IC Markets is the selected option offering TradingView.
- AvaTrade has the lower confirmed minimum deposit for the selected account.
Confirm the legal entity, regulator, full pricing schedule and account agreement before opening or funding an account.