IFC Markets vs XTB

IFC Markets vs XTB Comparison Table 2024
IFC Markets XTB
2.9
4.8
United States Flag Traders from US not accepted
United States Flag Traders from US not accepted

IFC Markets is an STP broker that was founded in 2006 and has since gained 200,000 clients and several awards. This broker has some of the most interesting and wide-ranging additional tools, elevating its clients' trading experience via portfolio quoting, personal composite instruments and extensive analytics.

Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 935,000 clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of 5,600+ assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring day traders.

78% of retail accounts lose money.
Customer Reviews
4.5
Bonus Offer
30% welcome bonus + 30% activity bonus
Comment by Reviewer
"I recommend this firm to users looking for new speculative opportunities and strategies not available at most brokers, including a blockchain-based proprietary platform and a bespoke synthetic instrument development tool. That said, it's a shame that the firm is not regulated by a more reputable authority." "XTB stands out as a top choice for new day traders with the terrific xStation platform, commission-free pricing, no minimum deposit, and excellent educational tools, many of which are seamlessly integrated into the platform. "
Pros
  • Users can choose from the powerful MT4, MT5 or the firm's proprietary NetTradeX platform for all assets
  • I appreciate that the broker offers beginner-friendly Micro accounts with a minimum deposit of just $1
  • The brokerage supports a unique system that allows clients to develop their own synthetic instruments
  • IFC Markets clients can trade more than 600 instruments with fixed or floating spreads from 0.4 pips
  • Clients have a wide range of payment methods and base currencies to choose from
  • With over 5,600 instruments across forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, including CFDs, share dealing and more recently Investment Plans, XTB caters to both short-term traders and longer-term investors.
  • The xStation platform continues to impress with its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, including customizable news feeds, sentiment heatmaps, and trader calculator, reducing the learning curve for newer traders.
  • With an excellent range of educational materials, including training videos and articles integrated into the platform, XTB supports traders at all levels.
  • XTB has started offering interest on uninvested balances (up to 5% on $30K+) with lower requirements than brokers like eToro (up to 5% on $50K+).
  • Opening an XTB account is a hassle-free, entirely online process that takes just a few minutes, making the entry into day trading smooth for new traders.
  • First-class 24/5 customer support is available, including a friendly live chat with response times of under two minutes during testing.
  • XTB offers fast withdrawals with same-day payments if requested before 1 pm, ensuring day traders have quick access to their funds.
Cons
  • IFC Markets is regulated by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, a weak financial regulator
  • I'm disappointed that several payment methods incur steep deposit and withdrawal fees of up to 20%
  • GBP base currency isn't supported, so UK clients will have to pay hefty currency conversion fees
  • XTB does not offer a raw spread account, which is becoming increasingly common among competitors like Pepperstone, and may disappoint day traders looking for the tightest spreads.
  • The demo account expires after just four weeks, a serious limitation for traders who wish to thoroughly test the xStation platform and practice short-term strategies before committing real funds.
  • XTB discontinued support for MT4, limiting traders to its proprietary platform, xStation, potentially deterring advanced day traders familiar with the MetaTrader suite.
  • Trading fees are competitive with average spreads of around 1 pip on the EUR/USD but still trail the cheapest brokers like IC Markets, plus there's an inactivity fee after 12 months.
  • The research tools at XTB are good but could be great if they went beyond in-house features with access to leading third-party tools such as Autochartist, Trading Central and TipRanks.
  • Not being able to adjust the default leverage level of XTB products is frustrating, as manual adjustment can significantly mitigate trade risk, especially in forex and CFD trading.
Awards
  • Best Broker South East Asia 2020 - International Business Magazine 
  • Best Forex Broker for Beginners 2022
  • Best Customer Service 2021
  • Best Forex Broker for Low Costs 2021
  • Best Mobile App for Investing 2020
  • #1 EMEA Bloomberg spot for FX accuracy in Q2 of 2020 and Q3 of 2018
  • Best Polish Forex Broker 2019
  • Best Execution Broker 2019
Instruments
Forex, CFDs, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, bonds CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, ETFs
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$1, ¥100 $0
Trading Platforms
  • MT4
  • MT5
  • xStation
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots 0.01 Lots
Regulator
BVI FSC, SC, Labuan Financial Services Authority FCA, CySEC, KNF, CNMV, DFSA, FSC
Margin Trading
No Yes
Margin Rate
4.5%
STP Account
No Yes
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
No Yes
MAM Account
No No
PAMM Account
No No
LAMM Account
No No
Demat Account
No No
AI / Machine Learning
No No
Robo Advisor
No No
Negative Balance Protection
No Yes
Market Maker
No No
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
No Yes
Mobile Apps
Yes iOS & Android
App Review

Year after year XTB’s app stands out for its slick design and uncluttered interface that we love. It’s quick, responsive and packed with useful features, notably integrated sentiment data, market news, economic calendars and education. The user-friendly order panel underneath the trading chart also makes placing trades, including adding take profit and stop loss levels, really straightforward.

Android App Rating
4.3
iOS App Rating
4.7
Auto Trading
Yes (APIs) Open API
Copy Trading
Yes No
Copy Trading Platform
Follow and profit from top traders using IFC Market's copy solution.
Social Trading
Yes No
Trade Signals
Yes (Via Chartist Software) Yes
VPS Hosting
No No
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
No No
Ethical Investing
No Yes
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No Yes
Inactivity Fee
$0
Islamic Account
Yes Yes
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • HUF
Stock Exchanges
Commodities
CFD Trading
IFC Markets clients can access CFDs across commodities, cryptos, indices and ETFs. I’m pleased to see that assets are all available on MT4, MT5 and NetTradeX with decent leverage rates of up to 1:400. XTB offers a huge selection of more than 2,100 CFDs spanning forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptos (location-dependant). Leverage up to 1:30 is available in the EU and UK, while global clients and pro traders can access up to 1:500. XTB stands out for its CFD trading resources and tutorials to assist traders in developing short-term trading strategies.
Leverage
1:400 1:30 (EU) 1:500 (Global)
FTSE Spread
300 1.8
GBPUSD Spread
3 1.4
Oil Spread
12 0.03
Stocks Spread
Variable 0.2%
Forex Trading
I like that there’s a decent range of 50+ major, minor and exotic forex pairs available at IFC Markets, with just a $1 minimum deposit. That said, spreads are fixed from 1.8 pips, which isn’t the lowest I’ve seen. XTB provides access to 70+ currency pairs with low spreads averaging around 1 pip on majors. The xStation platform offers an intuitive environment for forex traders with an excellent charting package encompassing 30+ indicators, plus a range of order types, catering to various strategies and risk management techniques.
Forex App

With over 1 million downloads and a rating of 4.5*, XTB deliver a mobile trading platform that users love. Slick and reliable, the app boasts a range of extra features including advanced charts and market sentiment indicators. Download xStation by XTB here.

GBPUSD Spread
3 1.4
EURUSD Spread
1.8 1.0
EURGBP Spread
1.8 1.4
Assets
50 70+
Currency Indices
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • JPY
  • CAD
Cryptocurrency
IFC Markets also boasts a good selection of 15 cryptocurrency CFD pairs and I’m particularly impressed to see Bitcoin futures on offer. The free demo account is an excellent place to start if you want to practice your crypto trading strategies. XTB offers an excellent selection of cryptos with more than 50 digital currencies. Spreads are tight starting from 0.22% on BTC and leverage reaches 1:5. The xStation platform also provides intra-crypto pairs like ETH/BTC and DSH/BTC. With the capability to trade cryptos 24/7, XTB ensures a secure environment with transparent accounts for cryptocurrency day trading.
Spread
50 pips 0.22%
Coins
  • BTC
  • ADA
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • DSH
  • EOS
  • ETH
  • IOTA
  • LTC
  • NEO
  • XRP
  • XLM
  • TRX
  • XEM
  • XLM
  • XMR
  • DOGE
  • BNB
  • LINK
  • UNI
  • DOT
  • XTZ
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
78% of retail accounts lose money.
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