Scalping with IC Markets — Complete 2026 Guide

IC Markets is one of the most popular brokers for scalpers. Here is exactly how to set up your account, choose the right platform, and minimize costs for scalping strategies.

Why IC Markets Is Built for Scalping

Scalping requires three things from a broker: tight spreads, fast execution, and zero restrictions on trading style. IC Markets delivers all three. With average execution under 40 milliseconds from Equinix NY4 servers, raw spreads from 0.0 pips, and an explicit policy of allowing scalping without restrictions, IC Markets has become the go-to choice for scalpers worldwide.

IC Markets processes over $20 billion in daily trading volume through 25+ liquidity providers. This deep liquidity pool means your orders fill quickly even during volatile conditions. There are no requotes — your order is either filled at the requested price or the best available price, with no dealer intervention.

Critically, IC Markets has no minimum stop distance and no minimum hold time. You can place stop losses 0.1 pips from your entry and close positions within seconds. Some brokers restrict these activities to discourage scalpers — IC Markets actively welcomes them. See our full IC Markets review for more details on their execution model.

Best Account Setup for Scalping

For scalping, every tenth of a pip matters. The optimal setup is a Raw Spread account on cTrader with TradersFXPartner's commission discount (up to 21% off). Here is why:

cTrader over MT4/MT5: cTrader provides Level II market depth (DOM), showing you the actual order book with volume at each price level. This is invaluable for scalpers who need to read real-time supply and demand. cTrader also has one-click trading with faster order execution than MT4, plus it natively displays spread information on charts.

Raw Spread over Standard: Scalpers targeting 3-10 pip moves cannot afford wide spreads. A from 0.7 pip Standard spread eats 8-27% of a 3-10 pip target. A 0.1 pip Raw spread eats only 1-3%. The math is overwhelming — raw spread wins every time for scalping.

commission discount: Scalpers trade high volume. At 50 lots per day (realistic for an active scalper), the commission discount saves $75 per day ($1,500/month). This is not a small optimization — it directly impacts whether your scalping strategy is profitable or not. Learn how to get the discount on our rebates page.

Optimal Pairs & Times for Scalping

Based on our spread test data, the best pairs for scalping on IC Markets are EUR/USD (0.0-0.1 pip spread during peak hours), USD/JPY (0.0-0.2 pips), and GBP/USD (0.1-0.3 pips). These pairs have the deepest liquidity and tightest spreads.

The optimal scalping window is the London-New York overlap (13:00-16:00 GMT). During this period, spreads are at their tightest and liquidity at its deepest. The London open (08:00 GMT) and New York open (13:30 GMT) provide high-volatility scalping opportunities with initial directional moves.

Avoid scalping during the Asian session on European pairs (wider spreads), during major news events (unpredictable spreads and slippage), and around daily rollover time (00:00 GMT server time, spreads widen significantly for 30-60 seconds). Gold (XAUUSD) can be scalped during London and New York hours but requires wider stop losses due to wider spreads (0.5-1.5 pips).

VPS and Low-Latency Setup

IC Markets offers free VPS hosting for qualifying traders, located in the same Equinix NY4 data center as their trading servers. This provides sub-1ms latency — essential for automated scalping strategies where milliseconds matter. Even manual scalpers benefit from the stability and uptime of a VPS, ensuring their platform never disconnects during a trade.

For automated scalping with Expert Advisors on MT4/MT5, the VPS ensures your EA runs 24/5 without interruption from power outages, internet drops, or computer restarts. IC Markets supports all common EAs and has no restrictions on automated trading frequency.

If you use cTrader for scalping, the cAlgo module allows you to develop and deploy automated strategies in C#/.NET. cAlgo strategies can access Level II market data and place orders programmatically with the same low-latency connection. IC Markets leverage up to 1:500 is available on all automated strategies, though we recommend conservative leverage for scalping (1:10 to 1:50).

Scalping Cost Calculator

Here is what scalping costs at different volumes with and without our commission discount:

For a scalper doing 50 lots per day, the commission discount saves $1,500 per month or $18,000 per year. This can be the difference between a profitable and unprofitable scalping strategy. Claim the discount through our IC Markets bonus page.

Choose Your IC Markets Bonus

Scalping with IC Markets — FAQ