IC Markets
Regulated in your country IC Markets is allowed by ASIC to onboard clients residing in Australia.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Plus500
Regulated in your country Plus500 is allowed by ASIC to onboard clients residing in Australia.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Best for
What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders IC Markets and Plus500 are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in Australia.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for professional traders, scalpers and algo traders. Swing traders, news traders and CFD stock traders can choose either IC Markets or Plus500.
| Overall score | IC Markets 84 Best | Plus500 75 -9 |
|---|---|---|
| Day trading i | ||
| Long-term investing i | ||
| Professional traders i | ||
| High-volume traders i | ||
| Scalpers i | ||
| Swing traders i | ||
| News traders i | ||
| Algo traders i | ||
| Stock traders i | ||
| Crypto traders i | ||
| Futures traders i | ||
| Options traders i |
Regulation
What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise IC Markets and the ones that supervise Plus500.IC Markets and Plus500 are both regulated in Australia, by ASIC.
| Section score | IC Markets 100 | Plus500 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Tier-1 regulators | ||
| ESMA (European Union) i | ||
| FCA (United Kingdom) i | ||
| ASIC (Australia) i | ||
| CFTC (United States) i | ||
| NFA (United States) i | ||
| SEC (United States) i | ||
| CIRO (Canada) i | ||
| MAS (Singapore) i | ||
| SFC (Hong Kong) i | ||
| JFSA (Japan) i | ||
| FINMA (Switzerland) i | ||
| Tier-2 regulators | ||
| FMA (New Zealand) i | ||
| CBR (Russia) i | ||
| FSCA (South Africa) i | ||
| DFSA (Dubai) i | ||
| CSRC (China) i | ||
| ISA (Israel) i | ||
| LFSA (Malaysia) i | ||
| JSC (Jordan) i | ||
| CMA (Kenya) i | ||
| Tier-3 regulators | ||
| FSA (Seychelles) i | ||
| MMA (Maldives) i | ||
| SCB (Bahamas) i | ||
| FSC (Mauritius) i | ||
| VFSC (Vanuatu) i | ||
| FSC (Belize) i | ||
| CIMA (Cayman Islands) i | ||
| SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i | ||
| FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i | ||
| BMA (Bermuda) i | ||
| BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i | ||
| EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i | ||
Safety
What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that IC Markets and Plus500 have in place to protect your money in Australia.Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication.
| Section score | IC Markets 65 -7 | Plus500 72 Best |
|---|---|---|
| Company info | ||
| Is it publicly traded i | ||
| Is it a bank i | ||
| Year founded i | 2007 | 2008 |
| Parent company i | International Capital Markets Pty Ltd | Plus500 Ltd |
| CEO i | Andrew Budzinski | David Zruia |
| Money safety | ||
| Segregated client funds i | ||
| Two-factor authentication i | ||
| Investor compensation scheme i | ||
| Additional money insurance i | ||
| Partner bank i | Eurobank | N/A |
| Brand power | ||
| Number of customers worldwide i | 33,000,000 | |
| Annual revenue i | US$768,300,000 | |
| Monthly website search traffic i | 2.2M monthly visits | |
Costs
What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with IC Markets and with Plus500 in Australia, both on each trade and on holding the account.IC Markets and Plus500 are equally good for costs, as IC Markets has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.49 points (against Plus500's 0.7 points), and has tighter gold CFD spreads, at 0.08 points (against Plus500's 0.75 points). On the other hand, Plus500 does not charge forex commissions (against IC Markets' US$7 per lot), and does not charge US stock CFD fees (against IC Markets' US$0.02). Neither IC Markets nor Plus500 charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.
| Section score | IC Markets 64 | Plus500 64 |
|---|---|---|
| Broker fees | ||
| Deposit fees i | ||
| Withdrawal fees i | ||
| Overnight fees i | ||
| Inactivity fees i | ||
| Currency conversion fees i | ||
| Discounts on volume i | ||
| Real time market data fee i | ||
| Dividend withholding i | ||
| Account opening fees i | ||
| Account maintenance fee i | ||
| Portfolio management fee i | ||
| Fees on CFDs | ||
| Forex commission per lot i | US$7 | Free |
| EUR/USD average standard spread i | ||
| EUR/USD average raw spread i | ||
| EUR/USD average fixed spread i | ||
| EUR/USD total cost per lot i | US$8 | US$8 |
| S&P 500 fees (CFD) i | 0.492 points | 0.7 points |
| Gold fees (CFD) i | 0.08 points | 0.75 points |
| Bitcoin fees (CFD) i | US$12.01 | US$118.34 |
| US stocks fees (CFD) i | US$0.02 | Free |
| Fees on stocks | ||
| Stock fee type i | Commission, Percentage | Spread |
| US stocks fees (real) i | ||
| ETF fees (real) i | ||
| Management costs i | ||
| Connection costs i | ||
| Fees on futures | ||
| Futures fees per contract i | ||
| Platform fees i | ||
| Fees on options | ||
| Options fees per contract i | ||
| Event fees i | ||
| Fees on savings plans | ||
| IRA opening fee i | ||
| IRA maintenance fee i | ||
| 401k opening fee i | ||
| 401k maintenance fee i | ||
Available markets
What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with IC Markets and with Plus500 in Australia, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.There is little between IC Markets and Plus500 on available markets. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, ETFs, forex, indices and stocks. Plus500 goes a step further, as it gives access to 2,800 tradable symbols (against IC Markets' 2,250).
| Section score | IC Markets 75 | Plus500 75 |
|---|---|---|
| Total tradable symbols i | 2,250 | 2,800 |
| Currency pairs i | ||
| Indices i | ||
| Commodities i | ||
| Stocks i | ||
| ETF i | ||
| Cryptocurrencies i | ||
| Bonds i | ||
| Interest rates i | ||
| Portfolios i | ||
| CFDs i | Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks | Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks |
| Futures i | ||
| Options i | ||
| Assets you can own i |
Platform
What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that IC Markets and Plus500 make available to their clients in Australia.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for platforms, since IC Markets offers cTrader, MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4, which Plus500 does not. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer one-click trading and real-time pricing.
| Section score | IC Markets 89 Best | Plus500 72 -17 |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary platform i | ||
| MetaTrader 4 i | ||
| MetaTrader 5 i | ||
| cTrader i | ||
| Social trading platform i | ||
| Copy trading platform i | ||
| ZuluTrade i | ||
| TradingView i | ||
| Duplitrade i | ||
| Mirror Trader i | ||
| NinjaTrader i | ||
| AutoChartist i | ||
| Real time pricing i | ||
| 5 digit pricing i | ||
| One-click trading i |
Mobile
What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of IC Markets and Plus500 in Australia, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for mobile trading, because IC Markets offers the cTrader app, the MetaTrader 5 app and the MetaTrader 4 app, which Plus500 does not. IC Markets and Plus500 both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.
| Section score | IC Markets 86 Best | Plus500 74 -12 |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary app i | ||
| Social trading app i | ||
| Copy trading app i | ||
| MetaTrader 4 app i | ||
| MetaTrader 5 app i | ||
| cTrader app i | ||
| Mobile trading signals i | ||
| Mobile alerts i | ||
| Mobile charting tools i | ||
| Mobile drawing tools i | ||
| Mobile watchlist i | ||
| Smartwatch app i |
Trading features
What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that IC Markets and Plus500 allow on their platforms in Australia.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for trading features, because IC Markets offers tier-1 liquidity providers, which Plus500 does not, and allows for scalping and automated trading. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.
| Section score | IC Markets 87 Best | Plus500 67 -20 |
|---|---|---|
| Trade execution | ||
| Broker type i | Hybrid | Agency |
| Average execution time i | 40 ms | |
| Slippage occurrence i | ||
| Requotes occurrence i | 0% | |
| Tier-1 liquidity providers i | ||
| PFOF i | ||
| Leverage | ||
| Major FX pairs leverage i | 30:1 | 30:1 |
| Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i | 20:1 | 20:1 |
| Major indices leverage i | 20:1 | 20:1 |
| Minor indices leverage i | 10:1 | 10:1 |
| Gold leverage i | 20:1 | 20:1 |
| Commodities leverage i | 10:1 | 10:1 |
| Equities leverage i | 5:1 | 5:1 |
| Cryptocurrency leverage i | 2:1 | 2:1 |
| Risk management | ||
| Stop losses i | ||
| Take profits i | ||
| Limit orders i | ||
| Trailing stop i | ||
| Margin call i | ||
| OCO orders i | ||
| Guaranteed stop loss i | ||
| Negative balance protection i | ||
| Minimum trade size (FX) i | 0.01 lots | 0.01 lots |
| Minimum trade size (stocks) i | US$0 | US$1 |
| Fractional stocks i | ||
| Trading compliance | ||
| Scalping strategies allowed i | ||
| Hedging strategies allowed i | ||
| Automated trading strategy allowed i | ||
| EAs use allowed i | ||
| HFT strategy allowed i | ||
| VPS use allowed i | ||
| API use allowed i | ||
| Price scraping allowed i | ||
| FIFO rule applies i | ||
Account types
What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at IC Markets and at Plus500 in Australia, and of who each one is meant for.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for account types, since IC Markets offers a corporate account, an ECN account and an Islamic account, which Plus500 does not. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer a demo account and a professional traders account.
| Section score | IC Markets 74 Best | Plus500 38 -36 |
|---|---|---|
| Demo account i | ||
| Unlimited demo account i | ||
| Standard account i | ||
| Micro account i | ||
| Cent account i | ||
| Nano account i | ||
| Raw spread account i | ||
| ECN account i | ||
| Swap-free account i | ||
| Islamic account i | ||
| Professional traders account i | ||
| Fixed spread account i | ||
| Spread betting account i | ||
| Copy trading account i | ||
| Corporate account i | ||
| Managed account i | ||
| Stock investing account i | ||
| Margin investing account i | ||
| Savings account i | ||
| Retirement account i |
Account opening
What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with IC Markets and with Plus500 in Australia.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for account opening, given that IC Markets offers 10 account base currencies (against Plus500's 1), supports 3 e-wallets (against Plus500's 2), and has no minimum withdrawal (against Plus500's US$100). However, the minimum deposit is lower at Plus500, at US$70 (against IC Markets' US$200).
| Section score | IC Markets 85 Best | Plus500 69 -16 |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum deposit i | US$200 | US$70 |
| Minimum withdrawal i | US$0 | US$100 |
| Wire transfers i | ||
| Credit cards i | ||
| Debit cards i | ||
| eWallets i | PayPal, Neteller, Skrill | PayPal, Skrill |
| Local payment methods i | ||
| Account base currencies i | AUD, USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, HKD, CHF | AUD |
| Deposit waiting time i | up to 5 business days | Instant |
| Withdrawal waiting time i | up to 5 business days | up to 3 business days |
| Bonus program i |
Customer care
What we compare A comparison of the customer support of IC Markets and Plus500 in Australia, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for customer care, because IC Markets offers customer support in 17 languages (against Plus500's 1), and offers phone support, which Plus500 does not. IC Markets and Plus500 both offer a dedicated account manager and priority support.
| Section score | IC Markets 92 Best | Plus500 71 -21 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of languages supported i | 17 | 29 |
| Website languages i | Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese | Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese |
| Website available in English i | ||
| Customer support languages i | Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese | English |
| Customer support in English i | ||
| Call back request i | ||
| Email support i | ||
| Phone support i | ||
| Live chat i | ||
| Priority customer support i | ||
| Dedicated account manager i | ||
| Cash sweep i | ||
| Stock lending i | ||
| Distributes proceeds i | ||
| Tax withholding agent i | ||
| Tax assistance i |
Learning
What we compare A comparison of the educational material that IC Markets and Plus500 provide to their clients in Australia.IC Markets is better than Plus500 for learning, since IC Markets offers professional reports and daily market commentary, which Plus500 does not. Both IC Markets and Plus500 offer education for advanced traders and webinars.
| Section score | IC Markets 100 Best | Plus500 80 -20 |
|---|---|---|
| Education | ||
| Education center i | ||
| Education for beginners i | ||
| Education for advanced traders i | ||
| Webinars i | ||
| Tutorials i | ||
| Glossary i | ||
| Research | ||
| Economic calendar i | ||
| Traders' sentiment i | ||
| Daily market commentary i | ||
| Daily trading ideas i | ||
| News via social media i | ||
| Professional reports i | ||
| Watchlist i | ||
IC Markets vs Plus500: which one should you choose?
IC Markets
CFD/FX Choose IC Markets if you want a CFD and forex broker for scalping and automated trading, with a choice of trading platforms.
Open Account CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Plus500
CFD/FX Choose Plus500 if you want an online CFD broker with guaranteed stop-loss orders, for high-volume trading.
Open Account CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.Other popular comparisons
Below are other head-to-head comparisons that include IC Markets or Plus500, each scored with the same data and method as this page.
