Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of CMC Markets vs IFC Markets, 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.
Comparing online brokers CMC Markets and IFC Markets reveals notable differences, particularly in their years of establishment and regulatory credentials. Founded in 1989, CMC Markets has grown to become a publicly traded company with a high level of trust, as reflected in its Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com. Its regulatory strength is evident with six Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license. In contrast, IFC Markets, established in 2006, is not publicly traded and holds a Trust Score of 73, indicating an average risk. The broker carries one Tier-2 license but lacks Tier-1 licensing, which affects its perceived trustworthiness.
Neither CMC Markets nor IFC Markets operate as banks, but their approaches to regulation and public trading set them apart in the online brokerage space. CMC Markets' status as a public entity and its strong regulatory framework give it an edge in building trust and reliability among clients. Meanwhile, IFC Markets continues to provide its services with a different risk profile, suited to those who may prioritize other aspects over regulatory depth.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1989 | 2006 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
CMC Markets is the clear cost leader in this matchup. It earned 5 stars for Commissions and Fees and won the 2025 Annual Awards for this category, while ranking #4 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com. By comparison, IFC Markets holds 4 stars and ranks #32 out of 63. In plain terms, CMC Markets generally delivers lower spreads and more ways for active traders to reduce costs.
According to CMC Markets’ August 2023 data, average spreads on EUR/USD are about 0.61 pips, and its FX Active pricing charges $2.50 per side with minimum spreads starting at zero—producing a 0.5‑pip all‑in cost on EUR/USD and several other major pairs. CMC’s Price Plus Scheme also offers spread discounts tied to monthly Trading Points; for example, two points per standard lot, with a 20% spread discount kicking in at Tier 4 after 1,250 lots in a month. Notably, CMC’s typical spreads have tended to sit close to its advertised minimums, supporting its reputation for low costs across account types.
IFC Markets is pricier on average: the EUR/USD spread is about 1.44 pips, above the industry average of 1.08. Its new ECN account improves things for active traders, landing near 1.1 pips effective cost after a 0.005% commission is applied to both sides of a trade. The broker also avoids inactivity fees and offers active trader discounts, which helps, but overall its pricing trails CMC Markets for most users.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | 1.44 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 1.1 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
CMC Markets offers a much wider range of investments than IFC Markets. You can trade 12,029 symbols at CMC Markets versus 630 at IFC Markets, including 141 vs. 49 forex pairs respectively. Both brokers let you trade forex as CFDs or spot and both support copy trading. For real shares, CMC Markets provides access to exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, while IFC Markets offers exchange-traded securities on international exchanges only (not U.S.). Both brokers offer cryptocurrency CFDs, but neither lets you buy actual crypto.
According to ForexBrokers.com, CMC Markets earns 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks #9 out of 63 brokers, while IFC Markets scores 3.5 stars and ranks #31. If you want the widest market selection and access to both U.S. and international shares, CMC Markets is the stronger pick; IFC Markets may fit traders who are comfortable with a smaller lineup and non-U.S. share access.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12029 | 630 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 141 | 49 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
Both CMC Markets and IFC Markets make it easy to get started with a free demo account for paper trading. Each broker offers its own proprietary platform alongside MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), plus Windows desktop downloads and web-based platforms. You can place trades directly from charts, and copy trading is available with both, giving you flexible ways to trade on the tools you prefer.
For platform quality, ForexBrokers.com rates CMC Markets at 5 stars and ranks it 6th out of 63 brokers, while IFC Markets earns 4 stars and ranks 29th. The exact counts of built-in technical indicators and watch list fields were not specified. If you want the higher-rated suite of trading tools, CMC Markets stands out, but if your priority is access to MT4/MT5, web and desktop platforms, and copy trading with a free demo to practice, either broker will fit.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 73 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
CMC Markets and IFC Markets both deliver full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each supports price alerts, synced watchlists across mobile and web, trendline drawing, and auto-saving of chart annotations. For charting studies, CMC Markets offers 29 technical indicators while IFC Markets offers 30—so the difference is minimal for most traders.
Where they diverge is in third-party evaluations: CMC Markets’ mobile app is rated 5 stars and ranks #5 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while IFC Markets earns 4 stars and ranks #34. If overall app quality and user experience matter most, CMC Markets comes out ahead; if you care about having one more built-in indicator, IFC Markets has a slight edge there.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Both CMC Markets and IFC Markets deliver daily market commentary and an economic calendar. For market research depth, CMC Markets stands out by offering forex news from top-tier sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, plus Autochartist technical analysis tools. IFC Markets does not provide those premium news feeds or Autochartist. Both brokers skip Trading Central, TipRanks, and Acuity Trading, but each includes a sentiment-based trading tool that shows the long/short ratio across instruments.
Ratings and rankings reflect these differences: CMC Markets earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #6 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while IFC Markets holds 3.5 stars and ranks #30. If research features and built-in tools are a priority, CMC Markets is the stronger choice; if you only need essentials like commentary, a calendar, and sentiment data, IFC Markets can cover the basics.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginner education, CMC Markets outshines IFC Markets. Both brokers offer plenty of trading videos for newcomers and experienced traders alike—meeting the need for step‑by‑step learning without jargon. Neither broker runs monthly educational webinars. Still, CMC Markets earns a higher Education rating (5 stars vs. IFC Markets’ 3.5 stars) and a stronger placement in ForexBrokers.com’s rankings (#10 of 63 for CMC Markets versus #25 of 63 for IFC Markets), signaling more depth and polish in its learning experience.
If you’re starting out and want a broader, higher‑rated learning hub with lots of videos you can watch at your own pace, CMC Markets is the better pick. IFC Markets also covers the basics with beginner and advanced videos, but it trails CMC in overall quality and ranking. Since neither broker offers recurring live webinars, plan to rely on their on‑demand courses and videos—or supplement with outside live classes if that’s important to you.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | No | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that CMC Markets is better than IFC Markets. CMC Markets finished with an overall rank of #5, while IFC Markets finished with an overall rank of #33.
CMC Markets is well-trusted across the globe, and delivers a terrific trading experience thanks to its excellent pricing and selection of over 12,000 tradeable instruments.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 73 |
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CMC Markets and IFC Markets are online brokers that do not allow buying actual delivered cryptocurrency, but both do offer cryptocurrency CFD trading.
Compared to IFC Markets, CMC Markets supports ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wire transfers for deposits and withdrawals, whereas IFC Markets lacks ACH/SEPA and PayPal but does support bank wires; neither broker supports Skrill.
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 | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
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| Regulation | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 73 | |
| Year Founded | 1989 | 2006 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 0 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | ||
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | ||
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | ||
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | ||
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | ||
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12029 | 630 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 141 | 49 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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). |
| Cost | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | 1.44 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 1.1 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 73 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | No | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | CMC Markets Review |
| Overall | CMC Markets | IFC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review |
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