This article breaks down IC Markets’ variable spread pricing by comparing Standard (spread-only markup) versus Raw Spread (tight spreads plus commission), using published average spreads on major and cross pairs, explaining platform commission differences (MetaTrader vs cTrader), and showing how to calculate all-in trading cost in pips.
Spreads comparison of ICMarkets' account types & platforms Table of Contents
- What a Forex spread really is, and why “low” can mean different things
- The two core pricing models at IC Markets
- Spreads on major Forex pairs: Raw Spread vs Standard (IC Markets published averages)
- How to convert spreads and commission into a real trading cost
- Commission differences by platform: MetaTrader vs cTrader
- What “platform spreads” means at IC Markets
- Spreads on popular cross pairs: where Standard becomes noticeably wider
- TradingView at IC Markets: what you can and cannot compare
- Choosing between Standard and Raw Spread based on Forex trading style
- A clear way to compare: “all-in” cost in pips
- What the IC Markets spread table tells you about pair selection
- How to Open an Account With IC Markets for Forex Trading
- What you need before you start
- Step one: start the live account application
- Step two: enter your personal details the right way
- Step three: complete the “tell us more” background section
- Step four: choose your trading account configuration
- Step five: review and complete the declaration
- Step six: upload your verification documents
- Step seven: approval and receiving your account credentials
- Step eight: log in to the Secure Client Area
- Step nine: install your trading platform and connect correctly
- Step ten: fund your account and prepare for your first Forex trade
- What to do right after funding
- A clean checklist for a smooth IC Markets account opening
- Why this onboarding process improves account security
If you trade Forex, spreads are not a small detail. The spread is the first cost you pay on every trade, and it shapes how fast a position needs to move before you can break even. IC Markets structures its pricing around two main account types—Standard and Raw Spread—and then delivers those prices through multiple platforms such as MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView.
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What a Forex spread really is, and why “low” can mean different things
A spread is the gap between the bid and ask price. When you enter a trade, you start slightly negative because you buy at ask and sell at bid. IC Markets states spreads are quoted in pips and are variable on both Raw Spread and Standard accounts.
Two important points come from that:
- Variable spread means the spread moves with market liquidity and volatility. During active sessions, spreads tend to be tighter; during thin liquidity, they widen.
- A broker can advertise a minimum spread like “from 0.0 pips,” but your day-to-day trading cost is better understood using average spreads plus any commissions. IC Markets publishes both minimum and average spreads in its spread tables.
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The two core pricing models at IC Markets
Raw Spread account: raw pricing plus commission
IC Markets describes the Raw Spread account as showing the raw interbank spread received from liquidity providers, with a commission charged per trade. The IC Markets Global help centre states the Raw Spread account has a commission of $7 per standard lot round turn (open + close) and shows the raw interbank spread.
IC Markets also states spreads can go as low as 0.0 pips on Raw Spread platforms like MetaTrader and cTrader.
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Standard account: spread markup and no commission
IC Markets describes the Standard account as having no commission, and instead the broker applies a markup to the spread. IC Markets Global states the Standard account applies a spread markup of 0.08 pip above raw interbank prices.
So the Standard model is simpler: you pay through the spread only. The Raw Spread model is more “institutional-style” pricing: tighter spread plus commission.
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Spreads on major Forex pairs: Raw Spread vs Standard (IC Markets published averages)
IC Markets publishes a table showing minimum and average spreads for both Raw Spread and Standard accounts. Here are the figures for several major pairs from that table:
EUR/USD
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.01
- Standard: MIN 0.08, AVG 0.10
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GBP/USD
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.04
- Standard: MIN 0.08, AVG 0.12
USD/JPY
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.03
- Standard: MIN 0.08, AVG 0.11
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USD/CAD
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.04
- Standard: MIN 0.08, AVG 0.12
AUD/USD
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.02
- Standard: MIN 0.08, AVG 0.10
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USD/CHF
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.09
- Standard: MIN 0.08, AVG 0.17
These numbers show the core pricing difference clearly:
- Raw Spread averages on major pairs can sit close to zero.
- Standard averages sit higher because the spread includes the broker’s markup.
But spreads alone are not the full cost on Raw Spread accounts. You must add commission.
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How to convert spreads and commission into a real trading cost
For Forex trading, the practical question is: “How much does a round trip cost for one standard lot?”
A standard lot on most major USD-quoted pairs has a pip value of about $10 per pip. IC Markets’ own examples use pip value logic for cost calculation, and commission is then added to the spread cost.
Example: EUR/USD on Raw Spread vs Standard
Using the published averages:
- Raw Spread average for EUR/USD: 0.01 pips
- Spread cost per lot ≈ 0.01 × $10 = $0.10
- Add commission (MetaTrader Raw Spread): $7 round turn
- Total round-trip cost ≈ $7.10 per standard lot (using that spread average)
- Standard average for EUR/USD: 0.10 pips
- Spread cost per lot ≈ 0.10 × $10 = $1.00
- No commission (Standard model)
- Total round-trip cost ≈ $1.00 per standard lot (using that spread average)
This shows why there is no “best account” without context. For small trade frequency and simple execution, Standard can be cheaper on paper. For high-frequency strategies where raw pricing, depth, and execution model matter, traders often prefer Raw Spread even with commission, because the spread component stays very tight and pricing is closer to the underlying market feed. IC Markets positions Raw Spread as a low-spread offering for active styles and algorithmic trading.
Now add a key reality: your traded instrument, your average spread during your session, and the platform commission method can change the total.
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Commission differences by platform: MetaTrader vs cTrader
IC Markets provides Raw Spread on both MetaTrader and cTrader, but the way commission is charged is not identical.
MetaTrader Raw Spread commission
IC Markets lists MetaTrader Raw Spread commission as $3.50 per lot per side for USD-based accounts (so $7 round turn per standard lot).
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cTrader commission
IC Markets explains cTrader commission is charged per side per 100,000 USD traded, and gives the base reference as $3 per 100,000 USD per side, converted to your account currency.
Operationally, this means:
- On MetaTrader, you see a fixed commission per lot for many account base currencies.
- On cTrader, the commission is calculated on notional value (100,000 USD blocks) and then converted.
For many major pairs and standard lot sizes, these are comparable, but the cTrader method can make the “exact” commission line item slightly different depending on your account currency and the conversion rate at the time.
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What “platform spreads” means at IC Markets
Many traders ask: “Are spreads different on MT4 vs MT5 vs cTrader vs TradingView?”
IC Markets states it offers variable spreads across MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView, and it publishes typical spreads for Raw Spread and Standard accounts.
The spread tables IC Markets publishes are shown by account type, not as separate tables for each platform. In practice, the pricing feed is built on IC Markets’ liquidity network and then delivered through each platform’s infrastructure. IC Markets describes its pricing as sourced from many liquidity providers and designed to keep spreads tight.
So, for comparison purposes:
- Account type (Raw Spread vs Standard) is the main driver of spread level.
- Platform changes the commission model (especially MetaTrader vs cTrader), order interface, and certain execution tools, which can affect how a spread “feels” during fast markets, but the published spread schedule is structured by account type.
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Spreads on popular cross pairs: where Standard becomes noticeably wider
Major pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY are usually tight at many brokers. Cross pairs and less liquid minors show bigger differences between Raw Spread and Standard at IC Markets.
Here are examples from IC Markets’ published spread table:
EUR/GBP
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.27
- Standard: MIN 1, AVG 1.27
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EUR/JPY
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.30
- Standard: MIN 1, AVG 1.30
AUD/JPY
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.50
- Standard: MIN 1, AVG 1.50
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EUR/AUD
- Raw Spread: MIN 0.0, AVG 0.80
- Standard: MIN 1, AVG 1.80
These pairs show a pattern: Standard frequently adds about one pip to many cross pairs in the published table (seen through the minimum values and the average gap). Raw Spread keeps the spread closer to the underlying feed, but you then pay commission.
If you trade crosses heavily—EUR/GBP, EUR/AUD, GBP/JPY—Raw Spread pricing can materially reduce the spread component compared with Standard. The commission then becomes the main fixed cost you must account for.
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TradingView at IC Markets: what you can and cannot compare
IC Markets supports TradingView trading, but the account type availability inside the TradingView trading panel is limited.
- IC Markets AU states: “Currently, only one account type is available” for the TradingView trading panel.
- IC Markets EU states TradingView is offered “exclusively through the cTrader Raw Spread Account.”
That means your “spread comparison by account type” on TradingView is usually not a choice between Standard and Raw within the TradingView panel itself. Your TradingView connection is aligned with the cTrader Raw Spread structure in the stated EU setup, and the AU page also indicates a single account-type availability for TradingView trading.
So the platform comparison for TradingView is simple:
- TradingView at IC Markets aligns with Raw Spread pricing plus commission (as described in EU), and you should treat it as a Raw Spread cost model when planning Forex trade costs.
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Choosing between Standard and Raw Spread based on Forex trading style
If you trade infrequently or hold positions longer
If your trade count is low and you hold positions for hours or days, the spread difference is often less important than swap and strategy direction. In that case, the simplicity of a Standard account (no commission line item) can be attractive, and the cost per trade is easy to estimate from the average spread.
IC Markets also frames Standard as a spread-only model with markup instead of commission.
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If you scalp, day trade, or run algorithmic systems
Raw Spread was built for traders who care about the spread component being very tight, because they enter and exit frequently. IC Markets describes Raw Spread accounts as built with tight spreads and a commission model, and it highlights its average EUR/USD spread figures alongside the commission level.
For scalping and high turnover systems, the key is consistency:
- Raw Spread keeps spreads closer to the market feed on majors and many minors.
- Your fixed commission becomes the predictable part of the cost.
If you trade a mix of majors and crosses
If your trading basket includes both majors and crosses, Raw Spread can reduce spread drag on the crosses where Standard is wider in the published table (like EUR/GBP and EUR/AUD). But you still pay commission on every round trip.
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A clear way to compare: “all-in” cost in pips
A clean comparison method is to convert everything into pips for one standard lot.
- Commission on MetaTrader Raw Spread is $7 round turn per lot.
- On pairs where $10 per pip applies, $7 is about 0.7 pips all-in commission equivalent.
Now compare:
- EUR/USD Raw average 0.01 pips + 0.7 pips commission-equivalent ≈ 0.71 pips
- EUR/USD Standard average 0.10 pips ≈ 0.10 pips
On that simple math, Standard looks cheaper for EUR/USD if you only compare average spread + commission-equivalent.
But traders still pick Raw Spread for practical reasons:
- Raw pricing behaves differently around fast changes because you are seeing a tighter market feed and paying a separate commission.
- Many scalpers prefer paying a known commission and getting spreads near zero on majors during active liquidity windows.
IC Markets explicitly positions Raw Spread as a low-spread offering tied to its liquidity and pricing model.
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What the IC Markets spread table tells you about pair selection
The published averages show:
- Major pairs can be extremely tight on Raw Spread.
- Minors and exotics widen more, even on Raw Spread, and are wider again on Standard.
If your strategy is sensitive to spread—breakouts, scalping, short-term mean reversion—pair selection matters as much as account type. On IC Markets’ table, many minor pairs show Standard averages that are around 1 pip higher than Raw averages.
That gap is often larger than the difference you get by switching platforms inside the same account type.
- IC Markets publishes minimum and average spreads for both Raw Spread and Standard accounts, and it states spreads are variable.
- On major pairs in the published table, Raw Spread averages are extremely low (EUR/USD 0.01, AUD/USD 0.02, USD/JPY 0.03, GBP/USD 0.04), while Standard averages sit higher (EUR/USD 0.10, AUD/USD 0.10, USD/JPY 0.11, GBP/USD 0.12).
- Raw Spread adds commission: IC Markets Global states $7 round turn per standard lot on Raw Spread, and IC Markets explains MetaTrader and cTrader calculate commission differently.
- For cross pairs like EUR/GBP and EUR/AUD, the Standard account is notably wider in the published table, while Raw Spread stays tighter but still carries commission.
- TradingView access at IC Markets is aligned with a single account type in the TradingView panel (and EU describes it as cTrader Raw Spread), so “Standard vs Raw” is primarily an account-level choice, not a TradingView-panel toggle.
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How to Open an Account With IC Markets for Forex Trading
Opening a Forex trading account with IC Markets follows a clear path: create your profile, complete the live account application, verify your identity, receive your platform login details, then fund the account and connect your trading platform. IC Markets runs this workflow through its Secure Client Area, and the steps are designed to match standard compliance requirements for client identification and account security.
What you need before you start
Basic requirements
- You need a valid email address because IC Markets sends verification messages and your trading account credentials by email after approval.
- You must meet the broker’s age requirement for live trading accounts (adult status).
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Documents you will upload
IC Markets lists standard verification documents for individuals:
- A valid photo ID (passport, national ID, or driver’s license)
- Proof of residence (for example, a utility bill, bank statement, or government-issued document) within the broker’s stated time window
For many applicants, the fastest verification happens when documents are clear, complete, and match the exact name and address entered in the application.
Step one: start the live account application
IC Markets’ live account application is built as a structured, multi-step form. The sections are consistent across IC Markets pages:
- Your personal details
- More background information
- Trading account configuration
- Review
- Declaration
This is the core application that creates your client profile and your first live trading account setup.
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Step two: enter your personal details the right way
This part seems simple, but it’s the most common source of delays.
Use your legal identity details
Enter your name exactly as it appears on your ID document. Your profile and verification documents must match, because the broker uses these fields for compliance checks and account protection.
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Use one consistent address format
Your proof of residence must support the address you enter. If your document shows a different format or a different address, verification slows down because the broker has to request clarification or an updated document.
Step three: complete the “tell us more” background section
The application includes an “about you” section. This typically covers:
- personal background information required for onboarding
- financial and trading background information used for assessment and suitability controls under regulated frameworks
For EU accounts, IC Markets includes an appropriateness assessment process as part of regulated onboarding. If you fail the appropriateness test, IC Markets EU states you can re-attempt it after a waiting period, and you can use a demo account in the meantime.
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Step four: choose your trading account configuration
This step shapes your Forex trading costs and your day-to-day workflow. You are not only picking a platform. You are setting the account type, pricing model, base currency, and leverage.
Choose your account type: Standard or Raw Spread
IC Markets commonly offers:
- Standard accounts where trading costs are built into the spread (no commission line)
- Raw Spread accounts where spreads are tighter and a commission is charged per trade
This choice matters most for active Forex trading styles, especially scalping, intraday trading, and algorithmic systems.
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Choose your platform: MetaTrader or cTrader
IC Markets supports MetaTrader and cTrader platform options for Forex trading, and your platform choice determines:
- how you log in (server selection differs across platforms)
- how commissions may be displayed (especially across Raw pricing models)
- your charting and order tools for Forex execution
Choose your base currency
Your base currency is the currency your account balance is held in. It affects:
- how deposits appear in your trading balance
- whether currency conversion happens when you fund the account
- how profit and loss is reflected
Pick a base currency that matches how you plan to fund the account most often.
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Choose leverage
IC Markets Global states it offers leverage options ranging from 1:1 to 1:500, and it also states you can change leverage through your Client Area.
Leverage is not a bonus. It changes your Forex margin requirement, which changes how much free margin you have while holding positions.
Step five: review and complete the declaration
The “review” step is your final check. The “declaration” step is where you confirm that:
- your details are correct
- you accept the required terms
- you understand the core trading and risk disclosures required for the account type and entity you are registering under
Submitting the declaration completes the online application.
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Step six: upload your verification documents
After you submit the application, IC Markets requires identity and residence verification for live accounts.
Photo ID
IC Markets lists acceptable ID documents such as passport, national ID, or driver’s license. Your image must be clear, readable, and complete.
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Proof of residence
IC Markets lists proof of residence options such as a utility bill, bank statement, or government-issued document, and it specifies a time window for document freshness.
If your proof of residence is a bank document, it must show your name and address clearly, and it must meet the required time window rules for that entity.
Step seven: approval and receiving your account credentials
IC Markets states that after your online application is approved, you receive your trading account login details and password by email after approval.
This email typically includes:
- your platform login (account number or username)
- your password or password setup instructions
- your trading server information (especially important for MetaTrader)
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Step eight: log in to the Secure Client Area
After approval, the Secure Client Area becomes your control panel for:
- viewing your trading accounts and balances
- managing settings such as leverage (where supported)
- finding platform credentials if you need to re-check them
- funding your account and requesting withdrawals
This is also where many traders fix login problems quickly, because platform credentials and server information are accessible in one place.
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Step nine: install your trading platform and connect correctly
MetaTrader login: the server matters
A very common error is entering correct credentials but selecting the wrong server. IC Markets explains that an “invalid account” error can happen if:
- the username or password is incorrect, or
- you selected the wrong server address
When you add your account in MT4 or MT5, select “login to an existing account,” then choose the correct IC Markets server listed in your credential email or Client Area.
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Demo account note
IC Markets Global also states demo accounts expire after a period of inactivity, and you must use the correct account number, password, and server for login.
Step ten: fund your account and prepare for your first Forex trade
Minimum deposit: opening the account vs starting to trade
IC Markets Global states you can open a trading account without any minimum deposit requirement. IC Markets also states that a minimum deposit of USD 200 (or currency equivalent) gives full access to markets, including Forex.
For IC Markets (EU) Ltd, the broker states clients can open an account with as little as EUR 200 or currency equivalent.
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So the practical meaning is simple:
- You can complete registration and verification without funding immediately.
- To trade Forex in live conditions, you fund the account, and the commonly stated starting amount is 200 in the relevant currency terms for that entity.
Funding happens inside the Client Area
Funding is managed through the account funding section of the Secure Client Area, using the methods available for your region and entity.
What to do right after funding
Once your deposit is reflected in your account balance, set up your platform properly before placing your first Forex order.
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Confirm your account balance in the platform
IC Markets EU states your trading account balance is visible in the platform or through the Secure Client Area.
Set your trade size and risk limits
Before you trade Forex live:
- set a default lot size you can manage
- confirm your leverage and margin level
- decide how you will place stop loss and take profit orders
This is where many beginners make avoidable mistakes: they deposit, open the platform, and place a trade with an oversized position. Your account type and leverage determine how fast margin can be consumed.
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A clean checklist for a smooth IC Markets account opening
- Use your legal name and consistent personal details.
- Upload a clear photo ID and proof of residence that matches your application.
- Complete the application steps fully: personal details, background section, trading configuration, review, declaration.
- After approval, use the Secure Client Area to confirm your credentials and server details.
- In MetaTrader, select the correct server to avoid login errors.
- Fund your account through the Client Area, then verify your balance in the platform and start Forex trading with controlled position sizing.
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Why this onboarding process improves account security
IC Markets’ onboarding includes:
- email-based credential delivery after approval
- document-based identity verification (ID and proof of residence)
- structured onboarding steps and declarations
- an appropriateness assessment flow for EU clients, with re-attempt rules and demo access
These controls reduce the risk of unauthorized access, protect funding flows, and help ensure that the person who opens the Forex account is the person who controls it.
To open an IC Markets Forex account, you complete a live account application through the broker’s structured form, upload verification documents, receive your platform login details by email after approval, then log in to the Secure Client Area to fund the account and connect your trading platform using the correct server details.
Posted by FXBonus
Please check IC Markets official website or contact the customer support with regard to the latest information and more accurate details.
Please click "Introduction of IC Markets", if you want to know the details and the company information of IC Markets.
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