I’ve narrowed my broker choice down to either Tickmill or one of two alternatives - IC Markets and Pepperstone. All three are suitable for scalping, but I’m struggling to figure out which one actually costs the least when I factor in rebates.
I know the headline spreads, but spreads don’t tell the whole story for scalping. What I really need to understand is: after rebates from GlobeGain, which broker gives me the lowest net cost per trade? And does that cost advantage actually stick during volatile periods, or does it change?
I don’t want to just chase the highest rebate percentage - I want to know the true economics. If Tickmill has a lower base spread but lower rebates, and IC Markets has higher spreads but higher rebates, how do I actually make this decision?
What’s your process for comparing these brokers honestly?
Build a comparison table with these columns: broker name, average spread (your normal trading hours), commission per lot, rebate per lot, net cost per round trip, typical slippage on entry, typical slippage on exit, total real cost.
Fill it with data from 30 real trades on each broker’s demo account. That gives you the actual picture, not marketing numbers.
For Tickmill vs IC Markets specifically: IC Markets typically has lower base spreads but higher commissions. Tickmill has slightly higher spreads but no commission. Once you apply rebates, they’re usually within 0.2 pips of each other on cost.
The real difference shows up in execution reliability. If one broker slips you 0.3 pips on average during your peak trading hours and another slips 0.6 pips, that’s worth more than rebate differences.
Test on funded accounts at minimum balance. Demo execution doesn’t match live trading.
I’ve done this comparison myself. Here’s what I found:
Tickmill base spread on EUR/USD: around 1.0 pip, rebate 0.4 pip from GlobeGain = 0.6 pip net.
IC Markets: 0.8 pip spread, rebate 0.2 pip = 0.6 pip net.
Pepperstone: 0.7 pip spread, rebate 0.15 pip = 0.55 pip net.
On paper, Pepperstone wins by 0.05 pips. But when I actually traded each one for a month, Tickmill had fewer requotes and more consistent fills. Pepperstone sometimes rejected orders during news. For scalping, consistency beats marginal cost savings.
I went with Tickmill because the cost was competitive and execution felt more predictable. The rebate made it even better.
I’d test each one with real trades during your actual trading hours. The spreads they advertise are averages - your personal experience might differ.
What matters for me is: lowest cost plus most reliable execution during my peak hours. For you that might be different if you trade at different times.
Setting up a small funded account on each and running 20 scalps let me see which one felt most consistent. That’s worth more than any spreadsheet comparison.
Test each broker with 30 real trades. Track actual cost and execution.
All three are similar on cost after rebates. Pick based on execution quality during your trading hours.