Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IC Markets vs IUX, 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.
When comparing online brokers IC Markets and IUX, IC Markets holds a clear edge in terms of trust and regulatory oversight. Founded in 2007, IC Markets is not publicly traded nor is it a bank, but it has earned a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 84, placing it in the "trusted" category. This is supported by its possession of two Tier-1 licenses, which are considered highly trusted. In contrast, IUX, founded in 2016, also isn't publicly traded or a bank. It holds a Trust Score of 69, falling into the "high risk" category, and has no Tier-1 licenses, but does maintain one Tier-2 license.
Both brokers are committed to providing quality services but differ significantly in their regulatory credentials. IC Markets' higher Trust Score and Tier-1 licenses offer more confidence for traders seeking a reliable platform. On the other hand, IUX, with its lower Trust Score and limited licensing, may raise concerns for those prioritizing regulatory assurance. Despite starting nearly a decade apart, these differences highlight the importance of deeply assessing each broker's regulatory standing before making trading decisions.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2007 | 2016 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
When it comes to comparing the fees and commissions of online brokers IC Markets and IUX, IC Markets emerges as a winner due to its low trading costs and flexible account options. With spreads as tight as 0.02 pips for EUR/USD in its Raw Spread accounts and a commission as low as $3.0 per side for every 100,000 units on the cTrader platform, IC Markets provides excellent value. Their commission-free Standard account averages a spread of 0.62 pips, making it a solid choice for cost-conscious traders. Earning a 5-star rating and ranked #5 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com in the Commissions & Fees category, IC Markets stands out among the competition.
IUX, on the other hand, offers a range of account types to accommodate different trading needs. The Standard account requires a minimal $10 deposit and offers lower spreads than its promotional Standard+ counterpart. For more active traders, the Raw account requires a $500 deposit and boasts the lowest spreads with a $6 commission for every 100,000 units. In contrast, the Pro account is spread-only, offering an average spread of 0.7 pips. Despite these options, IUX doesn't quite reach the cost-effectiveness of the top brokers, receiving a 4-star rating and ranking #49 out of 63 by ForexBrokers.com.
Ultimately, while both brokers have their own strengths, IC Markets stands out for its competitive pricing and variety of account types, making it a better choice for traders looking to minimize costs. IUX offers affordable options as well, but it doesn't match the cost-efficiency of IC Markets for commission-based trading, making it more suitable for those looking for a straightforward, spread-based model.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $200 | 10 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.62 | 0.9 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.62 | 0.6 |
| 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.
IC Markets and IUX both offer forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, catering to traders interested in currency markets. However, IC Markets stands out with a wider array of tradeable symbols, boasting 3,583 options compared to IUX's 152. If you're specifically focused on forex pairs, IC Markets again leads with 61 pairs, while IUX offers 34. Both brokers allow clients to access international exchange-traded securities, enabling investments in companies like Vodafone on the London Stock Exchange, yet neither provides direct access to U.S. exchange-traded stocks.
Despite neither broker offering the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies, they both provide the option of trading cryptocurrency derivatives. IC Markets gains additional appeal with its copy trading feature, which is not available with IUX. All these factors contribute to IC Markets’ higher rating for Range of Investments, receiving 4.5 stars and ranking it 25th out of 63 brokers, compared to IUX’s 3.5 stars and 60th rank. This disparity highlights IC Markets as a more versatile option for traders seeking a broader selection of investment opportunities.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3583 | 152 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 | 34 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
IC Markets and IUX each provide a range of trading platforms and tools that cater to varying trader needs, though they differ significantly in certain features. Both brokers offer a virtual demo account for simulated trading, allowing new traders to practice without the risk of real money. While IC Markets does not offer a proprietary platform, IUX provides its own in-house platform, giving it an edge for those who prefer proprietary systems. Both brokers support a Windows-based desktop download, and web-based trading, ensuring versatile access options for users. However, IC Markets expands its offerings with support for popular third-party platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while IUX only supports MT5. Additionally, IC Markets enables copy trading and supports ZuluTrade, features that are absent from IUX's platform.
When it comes to charting tools, IUX surpasses with 89 drawing tools compared to IC Markets' 15, although both allow direct trading from a stock chart. Regarding watch lists, IUX provides a more comprehensive experience, offering 46 fields for customization, while IC Markets offers 7. Despite these differences, IC Markets is rated higher with 4 stars for trading platforms and tools, compared to IUX's 3.5 stars. This rating is reflected in their rankings on ForexBrokers.com, where IC Markets stands at #16, indicating a more favorable user experience, whereas IUX is ranked at #59 out of 63 brokers. These rankings and ratings highlight the strengths of IC Markets in providing a comprehensive trading platform that meets diverse trader needs, while IUX offers a unique proprietary experience but ranks lower in overall satisfaction with its tools.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 106 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 89 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 46 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both IC Markets and IUX offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, allowing users to trade on the go. However, there are notable differences between the two in terms of features. IC Markets provides alerts for stock and forex prices, while IUX does not. When it comes to charting tools, IUX offers a significantly higher number of technical studies with 106 options compared to IC Markets’ 30, though IC Markets allows users to draw trend lines directly on charts, a feature IUX lacks. Both platforms enable users to view multiple time frames and autosave drawings, enhancing the user experience.
Watchlist features are somewhat limited on both apps, as neither supports synchronization with the online account. Despite these limitations, users can still create watchlists with real-time quotes. In terms of overall ratings, IC Markets scores slightly higher with a 4-star rating compared to IUX’s 3.5 stars. Additionally, IC Markets ranks 22nd out of 63 brokers for mobile trading apps on ForexBrokers.com, whereas IUX ranks 60th, indicating a generally more favorable user experience with IC Markets.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 106 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing IC Markets and IUX in terms of market research, it's clear that IC Markets comes out ahead in several areas. IC Markets provides daily market commentary and access to forex news from reliable sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones, while IUX does not offer these features. Additionally, IC Markets offers a suite of technical and fundamental analysis tools, including resources from Autochartist and Trading Central. In contrast, IUX lacks these advanced tools, providing its users with less analytical support. Both brokers offer an economic calendar to keep traders informed about global news events, but IC Markets stands out by providing a sentiment-based trading tool, unavailable to IUX users, that displays the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments.
Overall, IC Markets is rated higher than IUX for research capabilities, earning 4 out of 5 stars compared to IUX's 3 stars. In the 2023 research ranking by ForexBrokers.com, IC Markets is placed at #23 out of 63 brokers, while IUX is positioned significantly lower at #59. This comparison reveals that IC Markets delivers a more comprehensive and well-rounded suite of research tools, beneficial for traders seeking to make informed decisions.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| 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 it comes to educational resources for beginners, IC Markets clearly stands out compared to IUX. IC Markets provides a wealth of educational materials, including over ten forex or CFDs educational pieces like articles, videos, and archived webinars. They also host monthly online educational webinars and provide a searchable archive of these sessions, making it easy for learners to access past content. Additionally, IC Markets offers ten beginner-focused educational videos and a separate set of ten for more advanced traders. Their investor dictionary, featuring definitions of over 50 investing terms, is another invaluable resource for those starting in the trading world.
On the other hand, IUX falls short in providing the same level of educational support. While they do offer at least ten beginner educational videos, they lack a comprehensive collection of forex or CFDs educational pieces and do not host regular webinars or provide a searchable archive. Advanced traders seeking in-depth video content might also be left wanting more, as IUX does not offer ten advanced educational videos. Moreover, the absence of an extensive investor dictionary further challenges new traders in fully understanding market terminology. With a higher education rating of 4 stars compared to IUX's 3 stars, IC Markets ranks #16 out of 63 brokers for education, while IUX finds itself further down the list at #59 according to ForexBrokers.com.
| Feature |
IC Markets
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| 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 | No |
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 IUX. IC Markets finished with an overall rank of #20, while IUX finished with an overall rank of #63.
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
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IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 84 | 69 |
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IC Markets and IUX both do not offer the ability to buy actual delivered cryptocurrency, but both platforms provide options to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing online brokers IC Markets and IUX, both provide options for Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wire transfers for depositing or withdrawing account funds, but IC Markets additionally supports PayPal while neither offer 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 | IUX | |
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| Trust Score | 84 | 69 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IC Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | IC Markets | IUX | |
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| Regulation | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 84 | 69 | |
| Year Founded | 2007 | 2016 | |
| 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 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3583 | 152 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 | 34 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| 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). |
| Cost | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.62 | 0.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.62 | 0.6 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $200 | 10 | |
| 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 | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | No | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | Yes | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 46 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 | 106 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 15 | 89 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | No | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 106 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | IC Markets | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | IUX | |
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| Trust Score | 84 | 69 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IC Markets Review |
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