Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IC Markets vs Alpari, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
IC Markets, established in 2007, and Alpari, founded in 1998, are both private broker firms, meaning they are not publicly traded on a stock exchange, nor are they banks. When it comes to regulatory oversight, IC Markets stands out with two Tier-1 licenses, recognized for their high level of trust in the industry. In contrast, Alpari does not hold any Tier-1 licenses, which could impact the confidence investors have in its regulatory compliance.
Assessing their overall credibility, IC Markets receives a Trust Score of 84 from ForexBrokers.com, classifying it as a trusted broker. Meanwhile, Alpari's Trust Score is 68, placing it in a higher-risk category according to the same rating system. This implies that IC Markets might be a more reliable choice for those concerned with regulatory assurances and broker stability.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2007 | 1998 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
IC Markets stands out as a low-cost broker, offering competitive trading fees and flexibility through its various account types. With options like the commission-free Standard account that only involves spreads, and commission-based Raw Spread accounts for both cTrader and MetaTrader platforms, traders have choices tailored to their needs. The cTrader account delivers lower commissions compared to the MetaTrader options, charging $3.00 per side per 100,000 units traded, whereas the MetaTrader Raw Spread accounts charge $3.50 per side. These competitive pricing models earn IC Markets a perfect 5-star rating and a prestigious rank of #5 out of 63 brokers in the Commissions & Fees category by ForexBrokers.com.
On the other hand, Alpari garners a respectable 4-star rating for its commission and fee structure, although it lacks the detailed spread data essential for deeper evaluation. Ranked at #41, it trails behind IC Markets in terms of competitive pricing. Without extensive fee transparency, it's challenging for Alpari to compete robustly in the commissions and fees landscape shared by industry leaders such as IC Markets.
Overall, while both brokers provide reliable services, IC Markets leads in offering low-cost trading options, particularly attractive to active traders who benefit from additional discounts for trading over 100 standard lots per month. The significant gap in their rankings and star ratings underscores IC Markets' superior affordability and value, particularly regarding forex trading costs. This makes IC Markets an appealing choice for traders prioritizing low commissions and transparency.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $200 | $20 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.62 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.62 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When considering online brokers for their range of investments, IC Markets and Alpari each have distinct offerings tailored to various trading needs. IC Markets stands out with an impressive array of 3,583 tradeable symbols, while Alpari offers 105. In terms of forex pairs, IC Markets provides access to 61, compared to Alpari's 46. Both brokers offer forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, and neither provides the option to purchase U.S. exchange-traded securities, like Apple shares. However, both facilitate access to international exchange-traded securities, such as Vodafone shares. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts will find both brokers offer cryptocurrency derivatives, though the ability to purchase actual cryptocurrency is not available through either platform.
Copy trading is an attractive feature available on both IC Markets and Alpari, allowing users to mirror the trades of experienced investors. When it comes to rankings, IC Markets generally receives higher marks, boasting a 4.5-star rating in the Range of Investments category and securing the 25th spot out of 63 brokers, according to ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, Alpari scores a 3-star rating and ranks last at 63rd in the same category. These differences highlight IC Markets’ broader investment options and higher customer feedback scores, offering a comprehensive suite for traders looking for extensive market access.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3583 | 105 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 | 46 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing IC Markets and Alpari for their trading platforms and tools, both brokers offer users a rich experience. They both facilitate simulated trading with free virtual demo accounts, providing newcomers a chance to practice without financial risk. While neither offers DupliTrade, both brokers support MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), staple platforms for many traders. IC Markets, however, goes a step further by offering ZuluTrade for social trading enthusiasts, a feature that Alpari does not provide. Both brokers have platforms suitable for Windows-based downloads and web-based browser trading, ensuring accessibility and flexibility for users. When it comes to proprietary platforms, Alpari distinguishes itself by offering its own, while IC Markets relies on third-party solutions.
Charting capabilities in both IC Markets and Alpari are evenly matched, with each offering 15 drawing tools and enabling direct trading from stock charts. Both also allow customization of watch lists with seven fields. Despite these similarities, there is a significant difference in their rankings and ratings. IC Markets is rated four stars for its trading platforms and tools, ranking #16 among 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. Alpari shares the same star rating but lands at #55, suggesting IC Markets is more highly regarded in this category overall.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading experience on IC Markets and Alpari, both platforms offer iPhone and Android apps, giving users flexible access no matter their device. Traders on both platforms will appreciate features like stock or forex price alerts, real-time quotes, and the capability to draw trendlines on charts. Both apps provide access to multiple time frames and offer a robust set of 30 technical studies for in-depth chart analysis. However, IC Markets takes a slight edge with its ability to auto-save chart drawings, a feature not available on Alpari, which can improve convenience for active traders.
Despite both receiving a respectable four-star rating for their mobile apps, the platforms differ in their rankings by ForexBrokers.com. IC Markets is placed at #22, significantly ahead of Alpari, which lands at #56 out of 63 brokers. A notable limitation shared by both apps is the lack of watchlist symbol syncing, meaning any updates to a watchlist won't automatically synchronize between the mobile app and the online account. Overall, while both platforms offer foundational mobile trading features, IC Markets appears to provide a slightly more enhanced trading app experience.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing IC Markets and Alpari, IC Markets provides a more comprehensive market research experience. Unlike Alpari, IC Markets offers daily market commentary and a sentiment-based trading tool, giving traders insights into long and short positions across various instruments. Both brokers supply forex news from top-tier providers such as Bloomberg and Reuters and offer tools from Autochartist, enhancing technical and fundamental analysis capabilities. However, IC Markets takes the lead with additional offerings from Trading Central, such as Technical Analytics, which Alpari does not provide.
Both IC Markets and Alpari support users with an economic calendar featuring global news events, but IC Markets excels with its broader range of research tools. This distinction is reflected in their ratings and rankings; IC Markets achieves a research rating of 4 stars and ranks 23rd out of 63 brokers, whereas Alpari receives 3 stars and ranks 57th, as reported by ForexBrokers.com. Ultimately, for traders seeking detailed and diverse market insight, IC Markets stands out as the more resourceful option.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational resources available to beginners, IC Markets offers a wider range of tools than Alpari. Both platforms provide a substantial selection of over 10 educational pieces, including articles, videos, and more, focusing on forex and CFDs. However, IC Markets takes the lead by offering monthly online educational webinars, which Alpari does not provide. Additionally, IC Markets maintains a searchable archive of recorded webinars, allowing learners to access past sessions at their convenience—a feature Alpari does not offer.
For those starting in the trading world, IC Markets provides at least 10 beginner-focused educational videos as well as an appealing selection of advanced videos for experienced traders. In contrast, while Alpari also serves beginners with its educational videos, it lacks in-depth content for advanced traders. Both platforms offer an investor dictionary with over 50 terms, but IC Markets earns a higher rating of 4 stars compared to Alpari's 3 stars for educational content. Based on a ranking of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, IC Markets secures the 16th spot for education, while Alpari is ranked 48th, showcasing the more comprehensive educational support offered by IC Markets.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that IC Markets is better than Alpari. IC Markets finished with an overall rank of #20, while Alpari finished with an overall rank of #57.
IC Markets’ competitive pricing and scalable execution make it an excellent option for algorithmic traders. Though it supports an impressive range of third-party tools and plugins, IC Markets’ research and education offerings are not as impressive as those offered by industry leaders.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
Alpari
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 84 | 68 |
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Both IC Markets and Alpari do not offer the ability to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency but provide options to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing online brokers IC Markets and Alpari, both offer Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wire options for depositing or withdrawing funds; however, only IC Markets provides the PayPal option, while neither broker supports ACH or SEPA transfers.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | IC Markets | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 84 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IC Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | IC Markets | Alpari | |
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| Regulation | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 84 | 68 | |
| Year Founded | 2007 | 1998 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3583 | 105 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.62 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.62 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $200 | $20 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | No | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | IC Markets | Alpari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | IC Markets Review |
| Overall | IC Markets | Alpari | |
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| Trust Score | 84 | 68 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IC Markets Review |
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