AvaTrade vs IC Markets

AvaTrade: why traders choose it

• Founded in 2006, one of the earliest online forex brokers still operating
• Regulated in the EU, Australia, Japan, South Africa, the UAE and the British Virgin Islands, with licence numbers published
• Client funds held in segregated accounts
• AvaSocial copy-trading app alongside MT4, MT5, WebTrader and the AvaTrade App
• AvaProtect, their paid protection against a losing trade for a set period
• FX options as well as CFDs

IC Markets: why traders choose it

• Four account types: Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread, Standard and Swap Free
• Seven ways to trade, including cTrader, TradingView and the IC Social copy-trading app
• Product range covers forex, commodities, indices, bonds, crypto, stocks, 24-hour stock CFDs and futures CFDs
• Leverage is dynamic and can change at any time, which their own risk warning spells out
• 24/7 support

AvaTrade pros

• More top-tier licences than almost any broker on this list, including the Central Bank of Ireland and Japan's FSA
• Twenty years of operating history
• Automated trading and EA support across several platforms

AvaTrade cons

• Minimum deposit, spreads and leverage are not on the pages we read; they depend on the entity that onboards you
• Products and leverage differ a great deal between the EU, Japanese and BVI entities
• A richer platform list also means more to learn

IC Markets pros

• One of the few brokers offering cTrader, TradingView and both MetaTrader versions side by side
• A dedicated swap-free account rather than a swap-free flag bolted onto another type
• The regulator and licence number are printed on every page

IC Markets cons

• The international site is the Seychelles entity; other IC Markets entities serve Australia and Europe with different terms
• Minimum deposit, spreads and commission were not on the pages we could reach; the account comparison sits behind the client area
• Not available to residents of the US, Canada, New Zealand, Iran or North Korea

About AvaTrade

AvaTrade was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Dublin. It is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, Japan's FSA, South Africa's FSCA and the BVI FSC, and offers CFDs and FX options on its own app, WebTrader, MetaTrader 4 and 5 and the AvaSocial copy-trading app.

About IC Markets

IC Markets trades under Raw Trading Ltd, a Seychelles securities dealer, on the international site. It is known for raw-spread pricing and for supporting more platforms than most brokers: MetaTrader 4 and 5, cTrader, TradingView, a web terminal and its own IC Social copy-trading app.