IC Markets is one of the largest Australian brokers in the world with over 100,000 active clients from over 140 countries.

The broker is regulated by regulators such as CySEC and ASIC, and currently offers 65 forex currency pairs, including major and minor pairs. If you prefer to trade with other instruments, IC Markets also offers trading in indices, commodities, futures, stock CFDs and cryptocurrencies.

Now, a key part of trading with the top brokers is the spreads and commissions, the amount of which usually varies depending on the type of account you use. At IC Markets, you can choose to open either a standard account or a raw spread account. There are basically three differences between these two types of accounts:

IC Markets Standard Account

As the name suggests, the Standard account is the most basic type of live trading account offered by IC Markets. This account offers commission-free spreads starting from 1 pip, and traders only pay for the spread at the time of trading.

However, as the broker does not charge commission, the account needs to be re-quoted. Therefore, the spread will be increased by an additional 1 pip as a payment for the services provided by the broker.

The salient features of the IC Markets Standard account are as follows:

• Spreads from 1 pip
• No commissions
• One-click trading
• Available on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader Webtrader, MetaTrader Android and MetaTrader MAC trading platforms for mobile trading.
• Secondary Pricing - Market Depth

The IC Markets Standard account has small spreads and no commissions, making it particularly suitable for beginners or small traders. Once a trader has improved their skills, they can try ECN style pricing and then move to a raw spread account.

IC Markets Original Spread Account

IC Markets is an Electronic Communication Network (ECN) broker and issuer of its products.The ECN pricing model means that brokers have access to their pool of external liquidity providers and can pass on prices to their clients without any re-quotes or dealing desk intervention.

As a result, IC Markets can offer raw spreads as low as 0.0 pip. This is compensated by a fixed volume commission of $3.5 per lot ($7 per round).

In addition, IC Markets offers two types of raw spread accounts: MetaTrader Raw Spreads and cTrader Raw Spreads, which differ in terms of trading platforms and commissions charged.

The cTrader is more suitable for professional traders who require advanced charting options, while the MetaTrader is ideal for the average retail trader.

The distinguishing features of the IC Markets Raw Spreads account are as follows:

• ECN pricing model with tight spreads
• Spreads start from 0 pips
• Volume-based commissions of $3.50 per side or $7 per round
• For cTrader platform users, the commission is $3 per $100,000 traded
• Fast Trade Execution
• Available on MetaTrader and cTrader platforms
• Secondary Pricing - Market Depth

The very small spreads make raw spread accounts very favourable for high volume traders, especially scalpers. In scalping, traders typically open multiple short-term trades and close them as soon as the trade is profitable. They take advantage of small price fluctuations and accumulate the small profits into a higher overall return. Raw spread accounts minimise the cost of making such large trades.

Conclusion

In general, raw spread accounts offer the best trading conditions in terms of fees and execution speed. Compared to other brokers, IC Markets' Raw Spreads account is suitable for "scalping" trades and for retail traders, while the Standard account is recommended for newcomers who are just starting to trade online.

It is worth noting that brokers such as IC Markets offer a variety of account types to suit different types of traders. Therefore, the type of account that is best suited to you depends largely on your trading style, volume and the amount of spreads you are willing to pay. IC Markets offers its clients a high degree of flexibility and freedom, so read the details of each account and choose the one that best suits your needs.