Exness and IC Markets are frequently discussed in Forex conversations.
Both are well‑established, globally recognized, and offer institutional‑style trading conditions.
They differ in several measurable ways.
In this article, we’re looking strictly at the raw metrics, including currency pairs, leverage, trading platforms and more. Side‑by‑side data is presented for reference.
Also remember, this article is for informational purposes only, and it is essential to always conduct thorough research before investing.
Before we get into the fine details, let’s set the scene with some key differences between these two brokers.
Exness has been around since 2008 and has grown into one of the largest retail Forex brokers in the world by trading volume.
IC Markets launched in 2007 in Australia and has built a strong reputation particularly among professional and high‑volume traders.
Currency Pairs
Right off the bat, a major structural difference between the two brokers is the total number of tradeable currency pairs.
Exness offers over 100 currency pairs, compared to the 61 pairs offered by IC Markets.
This difference may be relevant for traders who focus on niche exotic or emerging market pairs beyond the standard majors and minors.
Leverage
Exness offers some of the highest leverage available in the retail Forex space.
Under specific account conditions and via their international entities, traders can access what they describe as unlimited leverage, scaling well past 1 is to 2000.
This level is highly uncommon in the industry.
IC Markets, while not matching those extremes, still offers leverage up to 1 is to 1000 through its offshore branches though keep in mind, these high ratios are heavily restricted for retail traders inside heavily regulated regions like Australia or the UK.
Account Funding
When it comes to funding a live account, both brokers offer a wide range of global payment methods, including Skrill and Neteller, though availability depends on the regulated entity and a trader’s country.
The main difference is minimum deposit requirements. IC Markets commonly requires a $200 minimum deposit for live accounts.
Exness, by contrast, advertises very low minimums for Standard accounts, often $1 or up to $10 depending on the payment method and region.
Exness typically requires higher deposits for professional tier accounts such as Raw and Zero, commonly around $200 for the initial deposit, but exact thresholds vary by legal entity, currency and payment method.
Both brokers support PayPal in select regions only, so always confirm payment options and minimums for the specific entity a trader will be onboarded with.
Spread, Fees & Execution
Exness focuses on a low-spread pricing model that often shows similar total trading costs to IC Markets once spreads and commissions are combined.
On its Zero account tier, Exness frequently offers 0.0 pip spreads on major currency pairs for much of the trading day, though spreads can widen during low liquidity periods and commissions still apply.
That structure is commonly used by high-volume traders.
IC Markets operates an institutional ECN model with servers located in Equinix data centers, including NY4.
That setup supports low latency execution and the broker advertises average execution times under 40 milliseconds.
However, no retail broker can absolutely guarantee instant fills or zero rejections in every market condition; liquidity, order size, news events, and a trader’s connection or VPS location all affect execution and slippage.
Regulations & Trustworthiness
Exness holds licenses from various authorities, including the FCA in the UK, CYSEC in Cyprus, and the FSCA in South Africa.
Retail accounts for international clients are registered through corporate entities located in the Seychelles and the British Virgin Islands.
IC Markets operates under licenses from multiple entities, with its primary registration held with ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Both platforms operate with different corporate frameworks, having launched within a year of each other. IC Markets in 2007 and Exness in 2008.
IC Markets utilizes a centralized Australian structure, while Exness operates via a multi-jurisdictional setup across several global regions.
Trading Platforms
Let’s look at the available platforms, as the two brokers offer different software selections.
IC Markets provides access to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and direct TradingView integration, along with web and mobile WebTrader options.
This setup provides alternatives for traders who operate outside the MetaTrader ecosystem such as using cTrader for its built-in advanced order types and depth of market features.
Unlike IC Markets, which offers native platform integration with cTrader, Exness focuses its core setup on MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, offering no direct execution integration with the standalone TradingView platform.
Where IC Markets relies on those external third-party platforms, Exness instead provides its own custom web terminal and the Exness Trade mobile app, both of which feature TradingView’s charting engine built right into the interface.
This proprietary application combines account backend management with live charting tools for mobile-based trading.
Customer Support
Let’s look at customer support, because this is an area where the two brokers have some differences.
Both Exness and IC Markets provide live chat, email, and phone support during trading hours.
Both brokers also have public Trustpilot pages with thousands of user reviews showing their customer service history.
The main difference is the number of languages available. IC Markets focuses its support mostly on major global trading regions.
By contrast, Exness offers support in a wider list of regional languages, including Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Thai, and Urdu.
Because available languages can change depending on where a trader is located, checking the support options on each official website allows traders to see what is available in their specific region before signing up.
How do the Brokers Compare?
Statistically, Exness lists more currency pairs, offers higher maximum leverage limits in certain regions, and operates multiple international entities.
On its Zero account tier, the math shows total transaction costs that run close to IC Markets when combining spreads and commissions, listing 0.0 pips on majors during core hours alongside a fixed commission.
IC Markets, by contrast, focuses its model on consistently tight raw spreads throughout the trading day, provides native cTrader and TradingView platforms, and holds an ASIC license.
Its ECN structure relies on Equinix data center servers to support lower latency execution metrics.
