FP Markets vs IC Markets 2026: ECN Fees Tested

Quick Take

The award split at a glance, then the full head-to-head below.

FP Markets edges the overall win at 8.9, but IC Markets takes more individual dimensions, so read your priority below. Full detail sits in the FP Markets review and the IC Markets review.

Side-by-Side at a Glance

Here is the top-line snapshot, then a per-metric grid with the winner of each row.

Metric	FP Markets	IC Markets	Winner
🏆 Overall score	8.9	8.8	FP Markets
📊 Cheapest Raw round-turn	~$6.50	~$7.00	FP Markets
💰 Min deposit	$100	$200	FP Markets
🏛️ Safety score	9.3	8.8	FP Markets
📱 Platforms	MT4, MT5, cTrader, IRESS	MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView	IC Markets
📈 Instruments	10,000+	2,250	FP Markets
⚡ Withdrawal speed (Skrill)	4 to 8 hr	2 to 6 hr	IC Markets
💬 Live chat response	2 min 45 sec	1 min 50 sec	IC Markets
⭐ Trustpilot	4.6 (6,800)	4.8 (54,430)	IC Markets
US clients	No	No	Equal

Both brokers accept clients across MENA, Southeast Asia, Africa and, for IC Markets, most of Europe. Here is where each one takes clients, region by region.

MENA

FP Markets UAE Saudi Arabia Bahrain

IC Markets UAE Saudi Arabia Egypt

Southeast Asia

FP Markets Vietnam Thailand Indonesia

IC Markets Vietnam Thailand Malaysia

Europe

FP Markets UK Switzerland

IC Markets Germany Spain UK retail

Safety & Regulation: FP Markets vs IC Markets

Both are ASIC-regulated true ECN brokers with clean public registers and no enforcement actions on file. FP Markets scores 9.3 on safety against IC Markets at 8.8, and the gap comes down to which entity holds a typical account.

• FP Markets: ASIC licence AFSL 286354, verified active May 2026, plus CySEC 371/18 and FSCA FSP 50926.
• IC Markets: ASIC licence AFSL 335692, verified active March 2026, plus CySEC 362/18 and FSA Seychelles SD018.

The meaningful split is the third entity. FP Markets adds an FSCA licence in South Africa, so most non-EU clients sit under a conduct-regulated book. IC Markets routes most non-EU, non-AU clients to its FSA Seychelles entity, which carries no statutory compensation scheme.

Neither offshore leg pays into a fund like the UK FSCS or the Cyprus ICF, so the practical protection depends on your onboarding entity. For the entity-level detail check is FP Markets safe and is IC Markets safe before you fund.

Both segregate client money at tier-1 banks and both have run for close to two decades without a significant public sanction. The takeaway is simple: fund the entity, not the brand, and prefer the one that avoids a no-scheme default.

Fees & Spreads: FP Markets vs IC Markets

This is the closest battle in the whole comparison. I recorded EUR/USD spreads at 5-minute intervals across 14 trading days on each account tier at both brokers.

FP Markets Raw ECN Pro at roughly $6.50 per lot is about $0.50 cheaper than IC Markets cTrader Raw at $7, and about $1.50 cheaper than the IC Markets MT4 or MT5 Raw tier. On the entry side FP Markets also starts at $100 against IC Markets’ flat $200.

IC Markets answers with one real fee advantage: no inactivity fee at all, where FP Markets charges $5 a month after 12 dormant months. IC Markets also keeps its cTrader commission at $6 round-turn, the lowest single commission line in either stack.

Here is what the round-turn gap means in cash for a trader running EUR/USD on each broker’s cheapest active tier.

The gap is small for a low-volume trader and grows for a scalper booking 100 lots a month. Neither broker rejected orders in testing: 0 of 420 on FP Markets Raw ECN Pro and 0 of 540 on IC Markets cTrader Raw.

Platforms & Execution: FP Markets vs IC Markets

Both run the full MetaTrader plus cTrader stack with no broker-side EA restrictions. IC Markets pulls ahead on integration and a fourth surface.

IC Markets is the only broker of the two with native TradingView order routing, added in 2023, so you can fire orders straight from a TradingView chart into a real ECN account. Its cTrader market orders averaged 80 milliseconds from my Frankfurt VPS, top-quartile in my 2026 sample.

FP Markets counters with IRESS, a live-equity terminal for ASX, NYSE and NASDAQ stocks that few ASIC brokers offer. The catch is that IRESS sits in a separate account from the CFD book, so you cannot trade CFDs and IRESS equities on the same login.

Neither broker ships a proprietary mobile app; both rely on the third-party MetaTrader and cTrader clients, which rate around 4.6 on iOS. For a trader who wants four integrated surfaces including TradingView, IC Markets is the deeper stack.

Account Types: FP Markets vs IC Markets

FP Markets opens lower and offers a broader stack; IC Markets keeps three clean tiers but all from $200. Both include an Islamic swap-free overlay.

FP Markets’ $100 entry on both Standard and Raw ECN Pro is the friendlier start for a trader who does not want to fund $200. IC Markets has no micro tier either, so neither reaches XM’s $5 floor.

The instrument headline looks lopsided, 10,000 against 2,250, but the range sits in different places. FP Markets stacks its count on IRESS live equities in a separate account. IC Markets keeps everything as integrated CFDs on one login.

If you want live single-name equity access alongside CFDs under one broker, FP Markets and its IRESS layer are the reason to pick it. If you want a deeper integrated CFD range on one login, including bonds and 18 crypto CFDs, IC Markets is the better fit.

Deposits & Withdrawals: FP Markets vs IC Markets

IC Markets is the faster payout on e-wallets; FP Markets owns the Australian domestic rail. I verified both across live test cycles.

IC Markets settled Skrill and Neteller in 2 to 6 hours across 4 cycles against FP Markets’ 4 to 8 hours, and it runs a wider native crypto set that clears its side within about 90 minutes. FP Markets’ standout is the Australian BPay rail, which landed in 25 minutes, the fastest single method in either stack.

Here is the funding picture method by method, deposit and payout.

Two watch-outs. IC Markets charges a $20 flat fee on bank wires under $200, and FP Markets charges $5 on card deposits under $100. Skrill, Neteller and crypto rails skip those fees at both brokers.

Customer Support: FP Markets vs IC Markets

Both run 24/5 desks with strong Asian-language coverage. IC Markets answered faster in testing.

IC Markets live chat answered in 1 minute 50 seconds on average across 6 test contacts, faster than FP Markets at 2 minutes 45 seconds across 4 contacts. FP Markets counters with breadth, staffing eight languages including Mandarin, Vietnamese, Thai and Bahasa across APAC business hours.

Neither runs a 24/7 desk, and both close the live chat over the weekend. For raw response speed IC Markets wins; for APAC language depth FP Markets is the deeper desk.

Pros & Cons: FP Markets vs IC Markets

FP Markets: where it wins

• Raw ECN Pro EUR/USD averaged 0.05 pips, about $6.50 per lot round-turn
• $100 minimum on Standard and Raw ECN Pro, half of IC Markets
• 9.3 safety score, non-EU routing lands on ASIC or FSCA not Seychelles
• IRESS terminal for live ASX, NYSE and NASDAQ equities
• BPay withdrawals cleared in 25 minutes for Australian clients

• Skrill payouts took 4 to 8 hours versus 2 to 6 at IC Markets
• $5 monthly inactivity fee after 12 dormant months
• IRESS equities sit in a separate account from the CFD book

IC Markets: where it wins

• Four platforms including native TradingView routing on one login
• cTrader filled market orders in 80 ms from a Frankfurt VPS
• Skrill withdrawals settled in 2 to 6 hours, zero fee
• No inactivity fee on any account tier
• 4.8 Trustpilot score from over 54,430 client reviews

• Most non-EU clients route to the offshore FSA Seychelles entity
• $200 minimum sits above FP Markets at $100
• cTrader Raw round-turn about $0.50 above FP Markets Raw ECN Pro

Who Should Pick Which

Match your trader profile to the broker that fits it. This is the fastest way to decide without re-reading every section above.

Bottom Line: FP Markets vs IC Markets

FP Markets wins the head-to-head overall at 8.9 against 8.8. It starts at $100 versus $200, prices its Raw ECN Pro tier at about $6.50 per lot round-turn against IC Markets’ $7 on cTrader Raw, and scores 9.3 on safety because most clients avoid an offshore-default entity.

IC Markets is the better broker for a specific trader: the active platform user who wants cTrader plus TradingView, the deepest integrated CFD range, and Skrill payouts in 2 to 6 hours.

• Pick FP Markets if you want the lower entry, the cheapest headline round-turn and safer regulatory routing
• Pick IC Markets if you want four platforms, faster e-wallet payouts and a deeper instrument range
• Brand new and funding light? FP Markets at $100 is the lower-risk start
• Living in cTrader or TradingView? IC Markets is built for you

Top pick overall

FP Markets

Best for a low-entry ECN account with the cheapest headline round-turn.

• Raw ECN Pro EUR/USD averaged 0.05 pips, about $6.50 round-turn
• $100 minimum on Standard and Raw ECN Pro
• Regulated: ASIC, CySEC, FSCA with a clean 20-year register

Visit FP Markets

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Best for platforms

IC Markets

Best for cTrader and TradingView traders wanting fast payouts.

• cTrader Raw at $6 round-turn plus native TradingView routing
• Skrill withdrawals settled in 2 to 6 hours across tests
• Regulated: ASIC, CySEC, FSA Seychelles

Visit IC Markets

74% of retail CFD accounts lose money.How we earn →

For the full per-account detail, read our FP Markets review and our IC Markets review. Both were tested against the same testing methodology, and you can compare them against the wider field in our best forex brokers guide.