IC Markets vs Exness — head-to-head

What this pair helps you decide

This pair compares only fields supported by FXCN evidence. Check the contracting entity and regional conditions before interpreting score differences.

Confirm whether a licensed entity actually serves retail clients.
Separate onshore protection from offshore-entity exposure.
Compare verified jurisdiction coverage without treating licence count as quality.

Markets requiring a separate entity check: EU / UK / international Data as of: 2026-08-30

No continuously verified live spreads, commissions, slippage, withdrawal speed, minimum deposit or platform availability are claimed; a blank does not mean the brokers are equal.

Brokers A

IC Markets

Australia · 2007

85.0

Green · Reasonable

Offshore exposure
All onshore

Brokers B

Exness

Cyprus · 2008

82.0

Yellow · Caution

Offshore exposure
All onshore

Five-dimension scores

Dimension	Weight	IC Markets	Exness	Δ
Regulation	0.3	100.0	100.0	+0.0
Risk control	0.2	90.0	100.0	-10.0
Transparency	0.2	85.0	85.0	+0.0
Reputation	0.2	50.0	50.0	+0.0
Disclosure	0.1	100.0	50.0	+50.0

What you actually get at each of these two

You contract with one of the licensed entities below, not with the brand. Protection differs enormously between jurisdictions — this section matters an order of magnitude more than spreads.

IC Markets

Licenses compared	Retail leverage cap	Investor compensation	Negative balance protection
ASIC T1 Australia · ASIC Entity: International Capital Markets Pty Ltd	1:30	No statutory investor compensation scheme	Mandatory
CySEC T1 Cyprus · CySEC Entity: IC Markets (EU) Ltd	1:30	ICF, up to €20,000 per person	Mandatory

Exness

Licenses compared	Retail leverage cap	Investor compensation	Negative balance protection
CySEC T1 Cyprus · CySEC Entity: Exness (Cy) Ltd	1:30	ICF, up to €20,000 per person	Mandatory
FCA T1 United Kingdom · FCA Entity: Exness (UK) Ltd	1:30	FSCS, up to £85,000 per person	Mandatory
FSCA T2 South Africa · FSCA Entity: Exness ZA (PTY) Ltd	No cap	No statutory investor compensation scheme	Not recorded

Leverage caps, compensation limits and negative balance protection are the jurisdiction’s general rules for retail clients, not a promise by any individual broker; professional clients are treated differently. The licensed entity that onboards you governs in practice.
Source: ASIC Checked 2026-08 Source: CySEC Checked 2026-08 Source: FCA Checked 2026-08 Source: FSCA Checked 2026-08

Too close to call

The two differ by 3.0 points, below the 5.0 threshold — under our scoring that gap is not enough to say one is better. Look at the protection table instead: which jurisdiction the entity that onboards you sits in usually decides your real risk more than the total score does.