I’m trying to settle on a setup and I keep going in circles. For those trading at IC Markets, how are you pairing account type and platform with your strategy?
Specifically, for fast scalps with tight targets versus multi‑day swings:
- Raw Spread vs Standard
- MT4 vs MT5 vs cTrader
If you can, share your decision criteria and numbers. Things like:
- average spread during your trading hours
- commission per lot and your real round turn cost
- typical slippage in pips on market orders and stops
- order execution speed and any rejects
- swap costs for pairs you actually hold
- platform stability during rollover and news
- EAs or indicators you rely on that force MT4 or MT5
Proof helps. Screenshots of trade reports or logs with times and fills are ideal. Please hide personal info.
What combo are you using now and why did you choose it?
Raw with cTrader for scalps Standard for swings
MT5 was stable during rollover MT4 froze sometimes
Test it in two buckets. For scalping, compare Raw on MT5 and cTrader during your session. Log median spread, filled price versus requested price, and time from click to fill. Run at least 50 trades to smooth out noise. For swings, compare Raw versus Standard with the same pairs and position size. Calculate round turn cost in pips: spread plus commission minus any rebate. Add expected daily swap for your average hold time. Keep everything per pair and per session so the data stays comparable.
General pattern I see: Raw with cTrader or MT5 works better for scalps because you get tighter quotes and better order controls. Standard can make sense for swings if your entries are not time sensitive and you hold for days. Do the math though. On EURUSD, a 0.2 pip spread plus 0.7 pip commission is 0.9 pip total. A Standard spread at 1.2 pip is higher. If you receive any cashback, subtract it to get your true cost before you decide.
For quick entries I prefer Raw on cTrader. The depth of market and fast modify helps a lot.
For swing trades I moved to Standard on MT5 when spreads were stable in my session. The math looked cleaner for small positions.
I run two setups.
Scalps: Raw on cTrader during London. EURUSD average spread 0.1 to 0.3, commission equals about 0.7 pip per lot, average slippage 0.2 pip. With small cashback the effective cost lands near 0.8 to 0.9 pip. That was consistent across 200 tickets.
Swings: Standard on MT5 for pairs with positive swap in my direction. Entries are limit orders. Average spread 1.0 to 1.3 in my hours. Holding cost matters more, so I track swap per day and avoid pairs that eat gains overnight.