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FBS vs IC Markets: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD trading

IC Markets is better than FBS for CFD trading in India by a small margin, because it has a lower EUR/USD cost (7.55 USD per lot against 11.00 USD) and offers cTrader and TradingView next to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. FBS, on the other hand, has more tradable symbols (550 against 180) and faster execution (10 ms against 40 ms). IC Markets holds licences from CySEC, ASIC, the SCB and the FSA (Seychelles), and FBS from CySEC, ASIC, the VFSC, the FSC (Belize) and the LFSA. The two are close on the minimum deposit, which IC Markets does not ask for and FBS sets at 5.00 USD. Both offer a demo account, along with copy and social trading.

FBS

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Available in your country FBS accepts clients from the country this site is for.
79CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

66.43% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best overall

IC Markets

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Available in your country IC Markets accepts clients from the country this site is for.
87CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders FBS and IC Markets are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in India.
1 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for professional traders, high-volume traders and swing traders. Scalpers, news traders and algo traders can choose either IC Markets or FBS.

Best for
Overall score FBS 79 -8 IC Markets 87 Best
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 FBS and the ones that supervise IC Markets.
2 / 12

FBS and IC Markets are both regulated by top-tier authorities, including CySEC and ASIC (Australia).

Regulation
Section score FBS 100 IC Markets 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 FBS and IC Markets have in place to protect your money in India.
3 / 12

FBS and IC Markets both offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication.

Safety
Section score FBS 65 IC Markets 65
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2009 2007
Parent company i FBS Markets Inc International Capital Markets Pty Ltd
CEO i Christos Kakourides Andrew Budzinski
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i N/A N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 27,000,000
Annual revenue i
Monthly website search traffic i 2.2M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with FBS and with IC Markets in India, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for costs, given that IC Markets is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 7.55 USD per lot (against FBS's 11 USD), has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.49 points (against FBS's 0.6 points), and has tighter gold CFD spreads, at 0.09 points (against FBS's 0.31 points). Neither FBS nor IC Markets charges inactivity fees or account maintenance fees.

Costs
Section score FBS 57 -22 IC Markets 79 Best
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 Free USD 7
EUR/USD average standard spread i
1.1 pips
0.8 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.01 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 11 USD 7.55
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.6 points 0.492 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.31 points 0.09 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 19.75 USD 12.01
US stocks fees (CFD) i Free USD 0.02
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Spread Commission, Percentage
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i Free
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 FBS and with IC Markets in India, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

There is little between FBS and IC Markets on available markets. Both FBS and IC Markets offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks. FBS goes a step further, as it gives access to 550 tradable symbols (against IC Markets' 180).

Available markets
Section score FBS 75 IC Markets 75
Total tradable symbols i 550 180
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that FBS and IC Markets make available to their clients in India.
6 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for platforms, because IC Markets offers cTrader, TradingView and ZuluTrade, which FBS does not. Both FBS and IC Markets offer MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4.

Platform
Section score FBS 66 -23 IC Markets 89 Best
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 FBS and IC Markets in India, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

FBS is better than IC Markets for mobile trading, because FBS offers a social trading app and a copy trading app, which IC Markets does not. Both FBS and IC Markets offer a proprietary mobile app and the MetaTrader 5 app.

Mobile
Section score FBS 100 Best IC Markets 93 -7
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 FBS and IC Markets allow on their platforms in India.
8 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for trading features, as IC Markets offers trailing stops, which FBS does not. FBS and IC Markets both offer tier-1 liquidity providers and VPS hosting.

Trading features
Section score FBS 79 -4 IC Markets 83 Best
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD NDD
Average execution time i 10 ms 40 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 3000:1 5000:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 3000:1 5000:1
Major indices leverage i 500:1 200:1
Minor indices leverage i 200:1 200:1
Gold leverage i 500:1 2000:1
Commodities leverage i 500:1 1000:1
Equities leverage i 100:1 20:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i 500:1
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 USD 0 USD 0
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 FBS and at IC Markets in India, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for account types, as IC Markets offers a professional traders account, a corporate account and an unlimited demo account, which FBS does not. Both FBS and IC Markets offer a demo account and a managed account.

Account types
Section score FBS 70 -22 IC Markets 92 Best
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 FBS and with IC Markets in India.
10 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for account opening, given that IC Markets does not require a minimum deposit (against FBS's 5 USD), offers 10 account base currencies (against FBS's 2), and supports 3 e-wallets (against FBS's 2). Both FBS and IC Markets offer credit cards and debit cards.

Account opening
Section score FBS 75 -20 IC Markets 95 Best
Minimum deposit i USD 5 USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i Neteller, Skrill PayPal, Neteller, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i EUR, USD AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD
Deposit waiting time i Instant Instant
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of FBS and IC Markets in India, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for customer care, as IC Markets offers customer support in 17 languages (against FBS's 7), and has a website in 17 languages (against FBS's 15). Both FBS and IC Markets offer a dedicated account manager and phone support.

Customer care
Section score FBS 82 -5 IC Markets 87 Best
Number of languages supported i 15 17
Website languages i Arabic, German, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i Arabic, English, Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, Thai, Turkish Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese
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 FBS and IC Markets provide to their clients in India.
12 / 12

IC Markets is better than FBS for learning, because IC Markets offers professional reports and traders' sentiment, which FBS does not. Both FBS and IC Markets offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score FBS 83 -17 IC Markets 100 Best
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
FBS
Open Account 66.43% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
IC Markets
Open Account 72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

FBS vs IC Markets: which one should you choose?

FBS

CFD Choose FBS, regulated by the same authorities, if you want an online CFD broker with fast execution.

Open Account 66.43% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
IC Markets

CFD Choose IC Markets, regulated by CySEC and ASIC, if you want a CFD and forex broker with low trading costs and a choice of trading platforms.

Open Account 72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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