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Regulated, reviewed, and independently rated - compare in seconds
Broker Comparison Table
Regulated, reviewed, and independently rated - compare in seconds
| Broker | Est. ▲ | Spread EUR/USD ▲ | Min. deposit ▲ | Regulation | Platform | Trustpilot Rating ▲ | Action |
|---|
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XM vs IC Markets vs AvaTrade vs PUPRIME: Which Forex Broker Is Right for You? (2026)
Why This Comparison Matters
XM, IC Markets, AvaTrade, and PUPRIME are four of the more widely used forex and CFD brokers among retail traders, but they are not interchangeable. Each one is built around a different combination of regulation, cost structure, and platform choice, and the right one for you depends heavily on where you're trading from and what kind of trader you are.
This comparison sticks to facts that can be checked directly against the relevant regulator or the broker's own published terms: which entity actually holds your account, what it costs to get started, and what you're trading on. None of this is a ranking of "best." It's a breakdown of real differences, so the decision is yours to make with the actual numbers in front of you.
Regulation & Trust
Regulation determines which legal protections actually apply to your account, and for all four brokers here, the answer depends on which regional entity you sign up with, since each operates through several separately licensed subsidiaries rather than one.
XM is regulated by CySEC in Cyprus under licence 120/10[1], alongside DFSA in the UAE (F003484), FSCA in South Africa (FSP 49976), and the CMA in Kenya (licence 233). XM no longer holds an ASIC licence for Australian clients.
IC Markets' global entity, used by most retail traders outside the EU and Australia, operates under the FSA Seychelles (Raw Trading Ltd, SD018). Its regionally licensed entities include ASIC in Australia under AFSL 335692[2], CySEC in the EU under licence 362/18, and the CMA in Kenya under licence 199.
AvaTrade holds the most licences of the four: nine in total across six continents. Its EU entity, AVA Trade EU Limited, is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under reference C53877[3], alongside a separate CySEC-licensed entity (347/17) and an ASIC-licensed Australian entity (406684).
PUPRIME's Australian entity, PUPRIME Trading Pty Ltd, is licensed by ASIC under AFSL 410681[4], with additional regional licensing through the FSCA (South Africa), FSA (Seychelles), and CMA (Kenya).
What this means in practice: EU-based traders under a CySEC or Central Bank of Ireland entity get MiFID II protections, including negative balance protection and access to an Investor Compensation Fund of up to €20,000. Traders under an ASIC entity get Australia's own segregated-funds and negative-balance-protection rules, with retail leverage capped at 1:30. The specific entity you're onboarded to, not just the brand name, is what determines which of these actually apply to you, and every broker discloses this during account opening.
For a full breakdown of each broker's individual licences, see our detailed XM regulation table, IC Markets regulation table, and AvaTrade regulation table.
Costs, Deposits & Spreads
Figures shown are for each broker's standard/entry-level account type — actual costs vary by account tier and instrument.
| Broker | Founded | Min. Deposit | Spread (EUR/USD) | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XM | 2009 | $5 | 0.6 pips | MT4, MT5, XM App |
| IC Markets | 2007 | $0 | 0.0 pips (Raw account, commission applies) | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView |
| AvaTrade | 2006 | $100 | 0.9 pips | MT4, MT5, WebTrader, AvaTrade App |
| PUPRIME | 2015 | $20 | 0.0 pips (Raw account, commission applies) | MT4, MT5 |
Platforms & Trading Tools
All four brokers support MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, so if your strategy depends on a specific Expert Advisor or custom indicator built for MT4 or MT5, any of the four will run it. Beyond that baseline, the platform choice diverges.
IC Markets is the only one of the four offering cTrader as a full alternative platform, along with direct TradingView integration for charting and order execution, which matters if you already trade through TradingView's own charts and want to place orders without switching windows.
AvaTrade puts more weight on its own proprietary tools, including the AvaTrade App and WebTrader, alongside AvaSocial and DupliTrade for copy trading, useful if you want to follow other traders' strategies rather than build your own from scratch.
XM's own XM App wraps account management, an economic calendar, and XM Research market analysis into one mobile app, aimed at traders who want research and execution in the same place.
PUPRIME keeps its platform lineup to MT4, MT5, and a browser-based PU Web Trader: a narrower but simpler setup if you don't need a proprietary app or copy-trading layer.
Whichever platform you land on, our Position Size Calculator and free MT4/MT5 indicators work the same way regardless of which of these four brokers you're trading through.
Which Broker Suits Which Trader
None of these four brokers is objectively "better" across the board. Each trades off differently depending on what you actually need.
If your starting capital is small, XM's $5 minimum deposit and IC Markets' $0 minimum remove that barrier entirely, while AvaTrade's $100 minimum is a real consideration if you're testing the waters with a limited budget.
If spread cost matters most because you trade frequently, IC Markets and PUPRIME's Raw-account structure (near-zero spread, flat commission per lot) tends to work out cheaper at volume than a wider spread with no commission, though it's worth calculating the actual cost for your typical trade size rather than assuming, since the commission is charged regardless of how the trade performs.
If you want to trade on cTrader or through TradingView directly, IC Markets is the only one of the four that supports either.
If copy trading or following other traders' strategies is part of your plan, AvaTrade's AvaSocial and DupliTrade integrations are built specifically for that, and none of the other three offer a comparable built-in option.
And if you're not sure yet which category you fall into, our free Broker Matchmaker tool asks a short set of questions about your trading style and budget and points you toward the broker that fits, rather than guessing from a comparison table alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
XM (CySEC, licence 120/10), IC Markets (CySEC, licence 362/18, EU entity), and AvaTrade (Central Bank of Ireland, reference C53877, plus a separate CySEC-licensed entity) all have EU-regulated entities. PUPRIME's primary licensing is through ASIC (Australia), FSCA (South Africa), FSA (Seychelles), and the CMA (Kenya) — it does not currently hold an EU licence.
Any strategy built for MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 will run on all four, since every broker here supports both platforms. A cTrader-specific or TradingView-integrated strategy only runs on IC Markets, since it's the only one of the four offering those platforms.
IC Markets and PUPRIME both offer a Raw-spread account type where the spread itself is close to zero but a fixed commission is charged per lot traded. XM and AvaTrade's standard accounts build the cost into a wider spread instead, with no separate commission line.
Not necessarily — a lower minimum deposit only removes the entry barrier, it doesn't change trading costs, regulation, or platform quality. XM's $5 minimum and IC Markets' $0 minimum make it easier to open an account, but the broker that fits your actual trading style still depends on spreads, platform, and which regulated entity applies to your country of residence.
Cashback availability and rates vary and change over time — check our current cashback rates page for the most up-to-date figures across brokers, including any of the four covered here.
References
References
- CySEC: Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF) regulated entities list — Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd, licence 120/10: cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/cypriot
- ASIC: Professional Registers Search — International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, AFSL 335692: asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers/professional-registers-search
- Central Bank of Ireland: Register of Authorised Firms — AVA Trade EU Limited, reference C53877: registers.centralbank.ie/FirmDataPage.aspx?firmReferenceNumber=C53877
- ASIC: Professional Registers Search — PUPRIME Trading Pty Ltd, AFSL 410681: asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers/professional-registers-search
All regulatory data verified July 2026 directly against the cited regulator registers. Regulatory status and licence coverage can change — always verify current status directly with the relevant regulator before opening an account.
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