IC Markets vs Octa (formerly OctaFX)
A side-by-side comparison built from each broker's own published record — licenses checked against official registers, terms quoted from their own pages, with the source linked on every claim.
| Regulation | Financial Services Authority · Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission · Australian Securities and Investments Commission | CySEC · MISA · FSCA |
| License no. | Financial Services Authority SD018 (Raw Trading Ltd, trading as IC / IC Markets Global; Seychelles company reg. 8419879-1) Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission 362/18 (IC Markets (EU) Ltd) Australian Securities and Investments Commission AFSL 335692 (International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, registration 123 289 109) | CySEC 372/18 MISA T2023320 FSCA 51913 |
| Founded | 2007 | 2011 |
| Minimum deposit | $0 | $25 |
| EUR/USD spread from | 0.0 pips (Raw Spread account, commission $3.50/lot per side; broker states average EURUSD spread 0.1 pips). Standard account from 0.8 pips, no commission. | from 0.6 pips, floating (OctaTrader and MT5 accounts, published as "spreads from 0.6 pips on popular pairs" — no EURUSD-specific figure published) |
| Leverage | FSA Seychelles: Up to 1:5000 on FX majors, tiered by exposure (1:5000 to 25 lots, then 1:3000 / 1:1000 / 1:500); gold 1:2000; indices 1:200; crypto 1:500; stocks 1:20. Reduced during higher-margin periods. CySEC: 1:30 | |
| Gulf Payments | ||
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView | OctaTrader, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 |
| Broker-published claim | Withdrawal requests cut off time is 12:00 AEST/AEDT. If your withdrawal is submitted before this time it will be processed on the day of receipt; if submitted after, it is processed the following business day. Card withdrawals may take 3-5 business days to arrive (up to 10 in rare cases); international bank wires may take up to 14 days and can incur intermediary/beneficiary fees. IC does not charge additional fees for deposits and/or withdrawals. [Source] | Withdrawals usually take no longer than 3 hours. Per method: 1-3 hours to approve the withdrawal, then up to 5 minutes (cards), up to 30 minutes (crypto), or up to 1 hour (local banks) to transfer the funds. No fees or commission on our side whatsoever. [Source] |
| Withdrawal methods | Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard), Bank Wire Transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, WebMoney, FasaPay, POLi, BPAY, RapidPay, Klarna, Thai Internet Banking, Vietnamese Internet Banking | Visa/Mastercard cards, bank transfer / local banks (e.g. THB, IDR, MYR, NGN rails), Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Tether USDT (ERC20), Tether USDT (TRC20) |
| Crypto deposits/withdrawals | Yes | Yes |
| Islamic Accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Measured by us | Testing in progress | Testing in progress |
| Accepts clients from | Australia, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia | Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, India, Thailand, Germany, Italy |
| Open account | Open account |
We do not name a winner here. The two records sit side by side because the right answer depends on where you live, what you trade, and which entity would onboard you — all of which the table shows.
By Country
- IC Markets + Octa (formerly OctaFX): Germany, Italy
- IC Markets Yes / Octa (formerly OctaFX) No: Australia, Saudi Arabia
- Octa (formerly OctaFX) Yes / IC Markets No: Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, India, Thailand
Is IC Markets or Octa (formerly OctaFX) better?
Neither is better in the abstract. Compare the rows that apply to you: whether each broker accepts clients from your country, which entity and regulator you would be onboarded under, the minimum deposit, and how withdrawals work on the rail you would actually use.
Which is safer, IC Markets or Octa (formerly OctaFX)?
Safety follows the entity that holds your money, not the brand. Both records list every regulator and license number each broker publishes — check which entity serves your country, then verify that license on the regulator's own register.