Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Tickmill 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.
Tickmill vs IFC Markets: Tickmill (founded 2014) and IFC Markets (founded 2006) are online brokers that are not publicly traded and are not banks. According to ForexBrokers.com Trust Scores out of 99, Tickmill scores 85 (trusted, 80–89), while IFC Markets scores 73 (average risk, 70–79).
In terms of regulation, Tickmill holds 2 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses. IFC Markets holds 1 Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses. ForexBrokers.com considers Tier-1 licenses highly trusted and Tier-2 licenses trusted, which can help signal stronger oversight and client safeguards.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2006 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 5 |
Tickmill comes out ahead of IFC Markets on commissions and fees, especially for traders who care about low trading costs. Tickmill offers a commission-free Classic account, but its spreads are wider, averaging 1.76 pips. Its Raw account is usually the better choice for active traders, with typical EUR/USD spreads around 0.11 pips plus a commission of $3 per side, or $6 per standard lot. Even with the recent commission increase, Tickmill still delivers a strong all-in cost and earns 4.5 out of 5 stars, ranking #10 out of 36 brokers for commissions and fees.
IFC Markets is a bit less competitive on pricing overall. Its average EUR/USD spread is 1.44 pips, which is above the industry average of 1.08 pips. For more frequent traders, the ECN account can be cheaper, with effective spreads around 1.1 pips after the 0.005% commission on both sides of a trade. IFC Markets also stands out for having no inactivity fee and offering active trader discounts, but its pricing still trails Tickmill. It is rated 4 out of 5 stars and ranks #33 out of 36 brokers for commissions and fees.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $1 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.70 | 1.44 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.70 | 1.1 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Tickmill and IFC Markets both give traders access to forex as CFDs or spot contracts, plus copy trading and cryptocurrency CFDs. Tickmill lists 637 tradeable symbols and 62 forex pairs, while IFC Markets offers a slightly smaller set with 630 symbols and 49 forex pairs. Neither broker lets you buy actual cryptocurrency, and neither offers exchange-traded U.S. shares outside CFDs.
The main difference in their range of investments is that IFC Markets does offer real, exchange-traded shares on international markets, while Tickmill does not. Even so, both brokers receive the same 3.5 out of 5 stars for Range of Investments, though Tickmill ranks a little higher at #31 out of 36 brokers, compared with IFC Markets at #32.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 637 | 630 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 62 | 49 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | 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.
Tickmill and IFC Markets both give traders a wide range of platform choices, including free demo accounts, Windows desktop apps, web-based trading, copy trading, MetaTrader 4, and MetaTrader 5. Both also let users trade directly from charts, which can make order entry quicker and easier. In terms of trading platforms and tools, each broker is rated 4 out of 5 stars, but Tickmill is ranked higher by ForexBrokers.com at #24 out of 36, compared with IFC Markets at #30 out of 36.
The main difference is that IFC Markets offers its own in-house trading platform, while Tickmill does not. For traders who want a broker-built platform alongside the familiar MetaTrader options, IFC Markets may have a slight edge. Tickmill, on the other hand, still covers the core needs well with strong platform support and the same useful features, making both brokers fairly close overall for trading tools.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | No | 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) | 97 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Tickmill and IFC Markets both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, so traders on either platform can manage accounts and place trades on the go. Both apps also let users sync watchlists with their online accounts and draw trendlines on charts, making it easy to keep track of favorite symbols across devices. Each broker is rated 4 out of 5 stars for mobile trading apps, but Tickmill is ranked higher overall by ForexBrokers.com, placing 25th out of 36 brokers compared with IFC Markets at 35th.
Where the two differ most is in trading tools and alerts. IFC Markets offers price alerts in its mobile app, while Tickmill does not. Tickmill, however, provides many more chart studies, with 97 technical studies available versus 30 at IFC Markets. One more useful difference is that IFC Markets auto-saves chart drawings in the app, while Tickmill does not. For traders who want more charting choices, Tickmill has the edge; for those who value alerts and saved drawings, IFC Markets may be the better fit.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | No | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Tickmill and IFC Markets both give traders useful market research basics, including daily market commentary and an economic calendar that tracks upcoming global events. Neither broker offers top-tier forex news from sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, and neither provides research from Autochartist, Trading Central, or TipRanks. The main difference is that Tickmill includes research tools from Acuity Trading, such as Signal Centre, while IFC Markets does not.
IFC Markets does stand out in one area: it offers a sentiment tool that shows the balance of long and short positions across instruments, which Tickmill does not. Overall, Tickmill has the edge for research, with a 4-star rating and a ForexBrokers.com ranking of #19 out of 36 brokers, compared with IFC Markets at 3.5 stars and #31 out of 36.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners looking for trading education, Tickmill comes out ahead of IFC Markets. Tickmill offers forex and CFDs learning material, runs online educational client webinars at least once a month, and provides at least 10 beginner videos plus 10 advanced videos. It also earns a 4-star Education rating and ranks #14 out of 36 brokers for Education on ForexBrokers.com, which suggests a more complete learning setup for new traders.
IFC Markets also offers forex and CFDs education, along with at least 10 beginner videos and 10 advanced videos, but it does not provide monthly educational webinars. Its Education rating is 3.5 stars, and it ranks #25 out of 36 brokers in the same category. In simple terms, both brokers give beginners useful trading content, but Tickmill offers more ways to learn and a stronger overall education experience.
| Feature |
Tickmill
|
IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | 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 Tickmill is better than IFC Markets. Tickmill finished with an overall rank of #23, while IFC Markets finished with an overall rank of #34.
Tickmill is a run-of-the-mill MetaTrader broker that offers a limited selection of tradeable securities. The broker does offer very competitive commission-based pricing for professionals through its VIP and Pro accounts.
| Feature |
Tickmill
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IFC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 85 | 73 |
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Tickmill vs IFC Markets: for crypto trading, neither broker supports buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but both offer trading via cryptocurrency CFDs.
Tickmill vs IFC Markets: for deposits and withdrawals, both brokers do not support ACH or SEPA and both support bank wire transfers, but only Tickmill offers PayPal and Skrill while IFC Markets does not; Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either.
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 | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Tickmill Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
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| Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Regulation | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 85 | 73 | |
| Year Founded | 2014 | 2006 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 5 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | ||
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | ||
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | ||
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | ||
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | ||
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | ||
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | ||
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | ||
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 637 | 630 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 62 | 49 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | 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 | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.70 | 1.44 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.70 | 1.1 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $1 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | No |
| Trading Platforms | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | No | 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 | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | No | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 97 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | No | Yes |
| Research | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Tickmill | 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 | Tickmill Review |
| Overall | Tickmill | IFC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 85 | 73 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Tickmill Review |
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