Dive into the differences between IC Markets and Exness, analyzing platforms, trading conditions, and regulatory aspects to choose the best broker for you
IC Markets and Exness are both established Forex and CFD brokers, but their current trading setups are built around slightly different strengths. IC Markets focuses heavily on raw pricing, MetaTrader, cTrader, TradingView, and low-latency execution for active traders. Exness combines very high leverage availability, a larger Forex range, proprietary web and mobile tools, multiple account types, and a strong automated withdrawal system. Both brokers are competitive for active trading, but the better fit depends on whether platform choice and execution structure matter more than leverage flexibility and account variety.
Regulation and Trustworthiness
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IC Markets’ main international service is operated by Raw Trading Ltd, which is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority under Securities Dealer license SD018. The group also includes International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, regulated by ASIC under license 335692, and IC Markets (EU) Ltd, regulated by CySEC under license 362/18. Exness operates through a wider set of legal entities. Exness (SC) Ltd is regulated by the Seychelles FSA under license SD025. The group also includes Exness B.V., regulated by the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten under license 0003LSI, Exness (VG) Ltd in the British Virgin Islands under license SIBA/L/20/1133, Exness (MU) Ltd in Mauritius under license GB20025294, Exness ZA (PTY) Ltd under FSCA FSP number 51024, Exness (KE) Limited under CMA license 162 in Kenya, Exness (Cy) Ltd under CySEC license 178/12, and Exness (UK) Ltd under FCA register number 730729. Exness also publishes negative balance protection for its trading accounts.
The Deciding Difference
Both brokers operate regulated businesses, but Exness has the broader published multinational regulatory footprint. IC Markets is still well regulated, but its international trading service is more directly associated with its Seychelles entity.
Best Choice For
Exness is stronger for traders who place special importance on a wider group regulatory structure. IC Markets remains suitable for traders who are comfortable opening through its international setup and want a broker with established Australian and European entities as well.
Trading Platforms
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IC Markets currently supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, and WebTrader. MT4 and MT5 support Expert Advisors and MQL automation, while cTrader adds advanced order controls and algorithmic trading through cTrader Algo. TradingView integration gives chart-based trading through the broker’s infrastructure. Exness currently supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Exness Terminal, MetaTrader WebTerminal, and the Exness Trade app. Exness does not offer cTrader or TradingView as a standalone connected trading platform, but its app environment includes charting, mobile account management, and integration with built-in trading tools.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets provides the broader platform lineup and gives traders more third-party platform choice. Exness covers the core MetaTrader environment well, but places more emphasis on its own web and mobile platform ecosystem.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better suited to traders who want cTrader, TradingView connectivity, or the flexibility to switch across several professional trading environments. Exness is a good fit for traders who mainly want MetaTrader plus a simple proprietary web and app setup.
Trading Instruments
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IC Markets currently advertises more than 2,250 tradable instruments across Forex, commodities, stocks, indices, bonds, cryptocurrencies, and futures CFDs. Its Forex lineup includes more than 60 currency pairs. The stock and cryptocurrency offering is provided through CFDs rather than direct ownership. Exness currently advertises more than 200 CFD instruments across Forex, metals, energies, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies. Its MetaTrader product pages state that traders can access more than 100 currency pairs. Exness also offers stock CFDs and crypto CFDs rather than direct investment in the underlying assets.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets provides the much larger overall CFD catalog. Exness is stronger specifically in the size of its Forex pair offering, but its total product range is narrower.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better for traders who want broader multi-asset CFD coverage. Exness is more attractive to traders whose main focus is Forex and who want a very wide selection of currency pairs.
Spreads and Fees
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IC Markets’ Standard account starts from 0.8 pips with no commission. Its Raw Spread account starts from 0.0 pips and charges $3.50 per lot per side, equal to $7 per round turn, and the broker currently lists an average EUR/USD spread of 0.1 pips on the Raw account. IC Markets also states that it does not charge inactivity fees. Exness’ Standard account starts from 0.2 pips with no commission. Its Pro account starts from 0.1 pips with no commission, while its Raw Spread account starts from 0.0 pips with a commission of up to $3.50 per lot per side. Exness also offers a Zero account with spreads from 0.0 pips on selected instruments and a separate commission structure. Exness states that it does not charge management fees, while trading costs depend on spreads, commissions, swaps, and the selected account type.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets is structured more clearly around a simple choice between commission-free standard pricing and raw-spread commission pricing. Exness gives traders a broader pricing ladder, including Standard, Pro, Raw Spread, and Zero models.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is a strong fit for scalpers, algorithmic traders, and active Forex traders who want a straightforward raw-spread commission model. Exness is better suited to traders who want more pricing-model choice across a larger account lineup.
Leverage
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IC Markets currently advertises flexible leverage from 1:1 up to 1:5000 on eligible international Forex CFD accounts. Exness currently advertises maximum leverage of 1:Unlimited on eligible accounts, while the actual leverage available depends on the instrument, jurisdiction, equity, and risk conditions. Exness’ Standard and Professional account pages both list 1:Unlimited as the headline maximum leverage. Both brokers apply lower leverage limits under some regulated entities and on some products.
The Deciding Difference
Exness provides the higher published global leverage ceiling. IC Markets still offers very high leverage, but it does not match Exness’ unlimited-leverage headline for eligible accounts.
Best Choice For
Exness is the stronger choice for experienced traders specifically seeking the highest possible leverage. IC Markets remains well suited to traders who want high leverage but also prioritize platform range and execution structure.
Order Execution and Speed
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IC Markets currently publishes average execution below 40 milliseconds and states that its average Forex execution speed is around 35 milliseconds. The broker uses market execution and states that its MetaTrader servers are located in the Equinix NY4 data center in New York. Exness promotes nearly instantaneous execution and states that orders are executed in milliseconds across its platforms, but it does not currently publish one universal millisecond average that can be compared directly with IC Markets’ figure. Exness also offers both market and instant execution depending on account type and instrument, while its infrastructure is designed for fast order handling and low interruption rates.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets provides more directly measurable public execution data. Exness clearly emphasizes speed as well, but it does not present a single directly comparable average latency figure.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better suited to scalpers, high-frequency traders, and automated-strategy users who closely monitor execution speed. Exness remains suitable for active retail trading, but its execution advantage is described more broadly than numerically.
Customer Support and Education
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IC Markets provides 24/7 customer support through live chat, phone, and email at [email protected]. Its educational resources include webinars, Web TV, tutorial videos, podcasts, blog content, Forex calculators, and an economic calendar. Exness also provides 24/7 customer support by phone, chat, and email at [email protected], and states that support is available in 14 languages. Its educational and support resources include Exness Insights, analytical tools, an economic calendar, a trading calculator, a currency converter, tick history, VPS hosting information, and the Born to Trade podcast.
The Deciding Difference
Both brokers now provide around-the-clock support, so the more important difference is the focus of the educational ecosystem. IC Markets leans more toward active trading education and platform support, while Exness combines broker tools with broader multilingual trader resources.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better for traders who want platform-focused education, webinars, and active-trading resources. Exness is stronger for international traders who value 24/7 multilingual support and a broader set of integrated trader tools.
Account Types and Features
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IC Markets’ current account lineup includes Standard, Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread, Swap-Free, Raw Pro, and Raw Pro+. The broker’s current live-trading pages indicate a $200 minimum deposit for full live-market access. Standard pricing starts from 0.8 pips with no commission, while Raw Spread pricing starts from 0.0 pips with a $3.50 per-side commission. Raw Pro starts from a $5,000 balance requirement, and Raw Pro+ starts from $100,000. Exness offers Standard, Standard Cent, Pro, Raw Spread, and Zero accounts. Its Standard account starts from a $10 minimum deposit, while Professional accounts start from $200 depending on the account type and region. Standard and Standard Cent are designed for broad accessibility, while Pro, Raw Spread, and Zero target more experienced traders with lower spreads, different execution settings, or commission-based pricing. Exness also offers swap-free availability.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets separates its accounts mainly by pricing model and platform structure. Exness provides a wider traditional account ladder, including cent-style entry accounts and several professional account options.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better suited to traders choosing between standard and raw execution-oriented trading models. Exness is more attractive for traders who want a broader progression from beginner-friendly account types into more specialized professional setups.
Deposit and Withdrawal Methods
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IC Markets offers more than 15 funding options across 10 base currencies. Its common methods include bank wire transfer, PayPal, credit cards, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, BPAY, FasaPay, and POLi. The broker states that it does not charge additional deposit or withdrawal fees, although bank or intermediary charges can still apply. Exness supports deposits and withdrawals 24/7 and states that more than 98% of withdrawal requests are processed automatically. Its funding methods vary by country but include bank cards, bank transfers, electronic payment systems, and local payment methods. Exness states that it covers third-party transaction fees for deposits and withdrawals, although processing speed still depends on the selected payment channel. If a deposit or withdrawal is not instant, Exness states that it will process it within 24 hours.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets publishes a broader visible list of international payment methods. Exness puts more emphasis on automated withdrawals and constant availability of deposits and withdrawals through its payment infrastructure.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is a strong fit for traders who want a wide menu of recognizable international funding methods. Exness is better suited to traders who care most about automated withdrawal handling and 24/7 payment availability.
Mobile Trading
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IC Markets provides mobile trading through MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, and the IC mobile application. These tools cover order placement, charting, account monitoring, and funding functions. Exness provides mobile trading through the Exness Trade app together with MT4 and MT5 mobile. The Exness mobile environment includes account management, live trading, charting, market monitoring, and platform integration from a single app-based ecosystem.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets provides more mobile platform variety because traders can carry the same third-party platform preference onto mobile. Exness focuses more on delivering a unified proprietary mobile experience alongside MetaTrader.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better for traders who want the same platform workflow across desktop and mobile. Exness is better suited to traders who prefer managing most account and trading activity from one proprietary mobile app.
Research and Market Analysis
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IC Markets provides IC Insights, Trading Central, MT4 Advanced Trading Tools, webinars, Web TV, an economic calendar, a broker blog, VPS-related resources, and Forex calculators. Its research environment is built largely around technical analysis and active-trader tools. Exness provides analytical tools, an economic calendar, a trading calculator, a currency converter, tick history, VPS hosting, Exness Insights, and the Born to Trade podcast. Its research and analysis environment is integrated closely with its web and mobile trading ecosystem.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets leans more heavily toward third-party technical tools and active-trading research. Exness provides a cleaner in-house tool set that is more tightly tied to its own platform environment.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is better for traders who rely heavily on technical-analysis resources and platform add-ons. Exness is a good fit for traders who want research, calculators, and analysis tools built into a more streamlined broker ecosystem.
Conclusion
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IC Markets currently provides more than 2,250 instruments, more than 60 Forex pairs, spreads from 0.0 pips on Raw Spread pricing, average EUR/USD Raw spreads of 0.1 pips, a $3.50 per-lot-per-side Raw commission, leverage up to 1:5000, and published average execution around 35 milliseconds. Its platform lineup includes MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, and WebTrader. Exness currently provides more than 200 instruments, more than 100 currency pairs, Standard spreads from 0.2 pips, Raw Spread pricing from 0.0 pips with commissions up to $3.50 per lot per side, a minimum deposit from $10 on Standard accounts, and maximum leverage up to 1:Unlimited on eligible accounts. Its current platform lineup includes MT4, MT5, Exness Terminal, MetaTrader WebTerminal, and the Exness Trade app.
The Deciding Difference
IC Markets is built more clearly around execution speed, platform choice, raw pricing, and a large multi-asset CFD lineup. Exness stands out more for leverage flexibility, broad Forex coverage, proprietary platform tools, and a larger account-type structure.
Best Choice For
IC Markets is the stronger fit for scalpers, automated traders, cTrader users, TradingView users, and active traders who prioritize execution transparency and platform flexibility. Exness is better aligned with traders who want extremely high leverage, a wider Forex pair selection, more account-type choice, and a simpler proprietary web and app experience.
Published by:
Daniel Carter