IQ Option vs. IC Markets: Which One To Prefer Of The Two

iqoptions-vs-ic-markets

The companies IQ Option and IC Markets both strive to deliver the best services to their clients as any company would, but there has to be a winner among them. To find the better broker you can work with, here is a head-to-head comparison between the two.

IC Markets

Company information

IQ Option was founded in 2013 to offer binary options to its clients, an industry that was in high demand at the time. The broker rode a success wave following this entry into the financial markets and it kept on growing and extending into new markets to sign up over 40 million clients worldwide. By the time IQ Option first came into view, IC Markets had already been in existence for about 7 years since it was launched in 2007. Based in Australia, IC Markets took advantage of the friendly yet reputable regulatory environment in the country to reach over 100 countries in the world. Now these two are strong competitors and the decision between them is critical.

Minimum deposit

The minimum amount of money required for making a deposit with IC Markets is $200. This is made possible through numerous funding methods including wire transfers, credit cards, electronic wallets like Skrill and Neteller, money transfer services like PayPal and China Union Pay, local money transfer systems like BPAY, Vietnamese Internet Banking and even cryptocurrencies. All deposits are free of charge, as are the withdrawals although you may be charged on your end depending on the funding method used.

Meanwhile IQ Option makes funding your account possible through credit card, wire transfers and electronic wallets like Skrill and Neteller. The minimum required here is $10 or equivalent in EUR or GBP and there are no charges for deposits. Withdrawals will be charged a 2% commission for the fourth and subsequent withdrawals.

Winner is IC Market for offering more funding methods and completely free withdrawals.

Fund security

IQ Option is able to operate thanks to a license from CySEC that was granted in 2014. CySEC provides client fund security by monitoring broker activity and providing investor compensation fund in case a broker goes bankrupt. Furthermore, the license protects investors in Europe, but clients outside Europe carry a bigger risk. IC Markets was founded in Australia and is thus regulated by ASIC. Compared to CySEC, ASIC is a much more trusted regulator due to the close supervision it has on brokers and financial institutions.

IC Markets wins in this category.

Available assets

Both IQ Option and IC Markets are CFD brokers, and as such offer many assets in the form of CFDs. These assets include Forex pairs, commodities, stocks, indices and cryptocurrencies.

When these assets are compared, there is no clear winner as to which one has more assets, making them tied in this category. Nevertheless, a case could be made for IC Markets because it provides ECN trading which is fairer compared to the STP system used by IQ Option.

Trading platforms

IQ Option offers only its proprietary software for traders to access the markets, and it can be done through desktop or on mobile devices. On the other hand, IC Markets provides clients with MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, both of which are popular and more familiar to traders.

Winner is IC Markets for providing MetaTrader 4 and 5.

Final verdict

Hands down, IC Markets is superior to IQ Option in most ways, making it the overall winner.

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