IC Markets' standard account offers higher spreads but no commissions, while the raw spread account offers lower spreads and small commissions.

IC Markets Standard Vs Raw Spread accounts

IC Markets is one of the largest Australian-based brokers globally with over 100,000 active clients from no less than 140 countries around the world.

Regulated by the CySEC and ASIC, among other regulatory bodies, the broker currently offers 65 forex pairs, including major and minor ones. If you prefer to trade with other instruments, IC Markets also facilitates trading with indices, commodities, futures, shares CFD, and cryptocurrencies.

Now, a crucial part of trading with a top broker is the spreads and commissions. The amount usually varies based on the account type you use. In IC Markets, you can choose to open a standard account or a raw spread account. The two are basically distinguished by these 3 aspects:

Feature Standard Raw Account
📈Spread 1 pip 0.0 pip
💸Commission $ 3.50 ($7.00 round-turn)
💻Platforms MT4, MT5, cTrader MT4, MT5, cTrader

To understand more differences between IC Markets accounts, let's see the details below.

 

IC Markets Standard Account

As the name suggests, the standard Account is the most basic live trading account type offered by IC Markets. This account offers commission-free spreads starting at 1 pip, meaning traders should only pay for spreads when trading.

However, since the broker charges no commission, the account has a requote. This means, there's an additional 1 pip added to the spread as a form of payment for the broker for providing the service.

The distinguishing features of IC Markets' standard account are as follows:

  • Spreads starting from 1 pip.
  • No commission.
  • One-click trading.
  • Available on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader Webtrader, MetaTrader Android for mobile trading, and MetaTrader MAC trading platforms.
  • Level II pricing – Market depth.

With tight spreads and no commission, the IC Markets standard account is particularly suitable for beginners or smaller traders. Once the trader upgrades their skills, they might want to try the ECN-style pricing and switch to the raw spread account.

🌐 Website
www.icmarkets.com
Leverage
1:1000
💼 Regulation
💲 Min Deposit
$200
Year Established
2007

Interest rate on funds
Free education
PAMM
MAM
Segregated accounts
Managed accounts
Islamic accounts available
Compensation scheme
Swap
Low spread eur/usd
VPS
Copy trading
FasaPay
Neteller
PayPal
Skrill
Wire transfer

IC Markets is an online forex broker operating under the company of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd. Traders under the Australian jurisdiction are provided with the trading service of IC Markets AU that is headquartered in Australia and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

On the other hand, non-Australian traders who open an account in this broker are registered under IC Markets SEY that is based in Seychelles, and regulated under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA). The dual operation is a result of the relatively new rules from ASIC that prohibit their regulated broker to offer trading services outside Australia.

Classified as an ECN broker, IC Markets provide clients with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader as platform trading options. This broker also follows market trends to include Cryptocurrencies as one of its products, enriching its already wide selection of trading assets that include Currencies, Indices, Metals, Energies, Softs, Stocks, as well as Bonds.

The minimum deposit in IC Markets is in the middle range compared to other ASIC-regulated brokers, as it reaches $200 for every client. Market analysis materials are also prepared regularly for trading insights on IC Markets's official website, proving their competence to serve their traders with important contents created by market experts that work specifically for them.

For payment methods, IC Markets allows funding and withdrawal via wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay, UnionPay, as well as Bitcoin via BitPay. The more interesting aspect from this broker is its multi-base currencies that include USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, and CAD.

As the trading technology in IC Markets is highly equipped with co-located servers and extremely low latency (especially on cTrader), the broker is widely known for its capability in hosting traders with the special needs for high-frequency trading as well as scalping.

To sum up, IC Markets is a fitting destination for active traders looking for a well-regulated broker. IC Markets is also flexible in terms of base currency and payment methods, signaling their commitment to welcome traders beyond their home country. As of late 2019, IC Markets provided their website in 18 international languages including English, Korean, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Italian, Malay, German, and Chinese.

 

IC Markets Raw Spread Accounts

IC Markets is an Electronic Communication Network (ECN) broker, meaning they are the issuer of their products. The ECN pricing model means that the broker can access their pool of external liquidity providers and pass over the prices to their clients without any requotes or dealing desk intervention.

As a result, it allows IC Markets to offer raw spread as low as 0.0 pips. A fixed volume-based commission of $ 3.50 ($7.00 round-turn) is applied per lot to compensate for that.

Furthermore, two types of raw spread accounts are available at IC Markets: MetaTrader raw spread account and cTrader raw spread account. The difference lies in the trading platform and the commissions charged.

In the cTrader raw spread account, the commission is $3 per $100,000 traded. cTrader is considered more suitable for specialized traders who need advanced charting options, while MetaTrader is great for retail traders in general.

The distinguishing features of IC Markets' raw spread account are as follows:

  • Tight spreads using the ECN pricing model.
  • Spreads starting from 0 pips.
  • Volume-based commission of $3.50 on each side or $7 per round turn.
  • For cTrader platform users, the commission is $3 per $100,000 traded.
  • Speedy trading execution.
  • Available on MetaTrader and cTrader platforms.
  • Level II pricing – Market depth

The extremely tight spreads make the Raw Spread account highly beneficial for high-volume traders, especially scalpers. In scalping, traders typically open multiple short-term trades and close their positions as soon as the trade becomes profitable. They use small price movements to pile small profits into a higher overall gain. Raw Spread accounts can minimize the cost of making such high-volume trades.

 

Conclusion: Which Account Type is the Best?

Generally speaking, the raw spread account has the best trading conditions regarding fees and execution speed. IC Markets' raw spread accounts is suitable for scalpers compared to other brokers, so it's certainly a great choice for retail traders. On the other hand, the standard account is recommended for novice traders who just started getting into online trading.

It's important to note that brokers like IC Markets provide multiple account types to satisfy many different types of traders. Thus, whether the account type will be best depends largely on your trading style, volume, and the amount of spread you're willing to pay. IC Markets offer their clients high flexibility and freedom, so read the details of each account and pick the one that suits you the most.

 

Following the debacle on the account type, trading is also about making sure that you can withdraw your funds easily anytime you want. For IC Markets, you can learn all about the withdrawal in this article.