Tickmill Review for 2024

Key Takeaways

• Tickmill was founded in the Seychelles in 2014 and has key affiliates in the UK and Cyprus.
• The broker is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), in Malaysia by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) and in South Africa by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
• Through its Cyprus-registered affiliate Tickmill Europe, European Economic Area (EEA) traders are protected by the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) with a maximum coverage of €20,000.
• Tickmill UK clients are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000.
• The broker claims to have an average execution time of 0.2 seconds.
• The broker claims to have executed over 115 million trades during its operating existence.
• Tickmill proudly declares that it handles over $142 billion in monthly average trade volumes, drawn from 150,000 unique clients operating 350,000 registered accounts.
• The broker Website is available in 14 languages.
• Tickmill offers three account types that are suitable for entry-level traders and elite traders.
• Tickmill offers market access covering five asset classes.
• Tickmill customers can trade in Contracts for Difference (CFD) in classes such as FOREX, stock indices, metals and bonds.
• Tickmill offers mostly competitive spreads and commissions across its account types.
• Tickmill customers can access high-quality research and education materials.
• Accounts can be funded in four base currencies.
• The broker operates a zero-fee policy for deposits and withdrawals and will refund traders if they incur third-party fees.

Overall Summary

Tickmill was founded in 2014. It has strong ties to the tiny African island nation of the Seychelles, where the group was incorporated and has since expanded. The broker has set up affiliate offices that are regulated in the UK, Cyprus, Malaysia, and South Africa. 

The company boasts some impressive numbers. All told, it has over 150,000 clients from 200 countries. The broker claims to have facilitated the opening of some 350,000 registered accounts, amounting to a monthly trading volume of $142 billion. The broker also reports having about 200 staff globally. While there is no way to verify these figures for this review, traders can take comfort that, at face value, this is a highly thriving broker. 

Despite the broker’s desire to offer its clients pioneering trading technology, “Powered by innovative and advanced features to cater for our clients’ evolving needs,” it has a thin technological offering. Also, Tickmill is primarily a FOREX broker, and its market access beyond FOREX is decidedly poor, leading us to question what its value proposition is.

Who Is Tickmill Good For?

This is a key question. The broker is regulated by tier-one regulators in the UK and Cyprus, but beyond that the strength of regulation in other markets is tier-two. This also means that beyond the investor protection from the FSCS and the ICF, traders are not covered.

The broker only uses a basic version of MetaTrader4 (MT4) and no other platform, so its claims of being at the technological forefront of trading ring hollow. The broker’s product offering, besides FOREX, is limited, and its customer service desk is not as readily available as other brokers.

On the plus side, its initial account deposits are low, even if its entry-level spreads are not overly attractive. High-volume traders get access to better spreads, but they could get that from another broker with a more well-rounded business proposition. It leaves us wondering what type of trader would choose this broker.

On the balance of all the facts, only entry-level traders would value this broker. These traders would appreciate a low opening balance and the basic trading platform. Also, while building their experience levels, they would not yet be able to seriously question the rate structure. Here are some other factors to consider before engaging with this broker:

Is Tickmill Safe?

Indicators of operating safety for this broker are mixed. Tickmill UK and Tickmill Europe are regulated by the FCA and the CySEC, respectively. Traders who enlist with these registered entities can rest easy because they are covered by tier-one regulatory bodies. They know the broker must operate stringently, and their investments are protected by the FSCS and the ICF, respectively.

The other regulations come from emerging markets in the Seychelles, Malaysia, and South Africa. There are no investor protections, and as these are not tier-one bodies. Traders will be right to be cautious. The broker does not take out additional protections, such as third-party investor fund insurance. 

In assessing the broker’s Website, it does not address investor fund safety beyond mentioning its licensing and regulation. Comparatively, other brokers have gone to greater lengths to list the additional protections they have started to protect trader funds. This lack of information alone does not condemn Tickmill to being an unsafe broker. It simply means that as a broker with only a few years of trading under its belt, traders ought to perform their due diligence before enlisting.

Offering of Investments

The company concentrates on FOREX and has a strong slate of currency pairs to show for it. Beyond that, the broker offers market access in another four asset classes. The broker does not offer cryptocurrencies at this stage: 

1. FOREX: Traders can access 60+ currency pairs. The broker claims an average execution speed of 15s. It also claims that all trading strategies are allowed on all its instruments. 

2. Stock Indices and Oil: Traders can access 14+ indices at an average execution speed of 15s. 

3. Precious Metals: Traders can trade gold and silver crosses. 

4. Bonds: Traders can only access German bonds.

Keen-eyed traders will notice that this product basket, except for FOREX, is severely limited. There are many other similar-sized brokers that offer more tradable instruments.

Account Types

Tickmill offers three account types:

Classic: This entry-level account allows access to all the broker’s market instruments. Variable spreads start from 1.6 pips, which is high even for a commission-free account. The minimum deposit is $100. 

Pro: This account is targeted at experienced traders. Spreads start from zero pips. The applicable commission is $2 per standard lot traded. This fee structure is not out of the ordinary for Straight Through Processing (STP) brokers. There is no commission charged on stock indices, oil, and bonds. The minimum deposit is $100.

VIP: This account is designed for high-volume traders. Commissions are reduced to $1 per standard lot traded. CFDs on stock indices, oil and bonds do not attract commission. Spreads start from zero pips. The minimum deposit is $50,000. 

An Islamic trading option is available with all accounts. The broker proudly shows its execution speed of 0.1 seconds, which is normal for an STP broker not hindered by a dealing desk. Traders can choose one of four wallet currencies: the USD, the EUR, the GBP and the PLN.

Tickmill also offers a FOREX and CFD demo account. Traders can test their strategies on their MT4 interface without the risk of losses. 

Deals and Promotions

The broker advertised four promotional offers at the time of writing this review. While visiting the company Website, we noticed the broker was promoting its IB contest aggressively, such that the marketing banner was inserted onto every page of the Website, which was distracting. The full range of promotions were:

• $30 Welcome Bonus: Traders who merely set up and login to their accounts will receive a $30 bonus.

• Trader of the Month: The top-performing trader for each month earns a $1,000 prize. With the broker claiming to have over 150,000 unique customers, the odds of winning this are slim.

• Tickmill’s Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) Machine: Traders can win up to $500 by predicting the price of an instrument during each NFP week.

• IB Contest: This annual contest rewards traders who refer new traders from other geographical regions to the broker.

Deposits and Withdrawals

• Credit/Debit card.
• Skrill.
• Neteller.
• Sticpay.
• Bank wire transfer.
• Fasapay.
• Unionpay.
• NganLuong.
• QIWI.
• WebMoney. 

Customer Service

Commissions and Fees

Tickmill’s fee structure is relatively standard. The broker is to be commended for applying a zero-fee policy to deposits and withdrawals. The broker Website does not mention an inactivity fee in the normal sense, but the broker closes accounts after 90 days of no activity and if the account balance is $10 or less.

As is standard in the FOREX industry, the broker charges triple swap fees for overnight positions. These fees apply to FOREX and metals on a Wednesday night, and for all other instruments on a Friday night. Detailed swap rates can be found on the broker’s rate card.

Low commissions of $1 per standard lot are available on the VIP Account. Other accounts face a commission of $2 per standard lot. Spreads on the Classic Account under this Market Maker broker operate at 1.6 pips, which is high. However, spreads can be as low as zero pips on the VIP Account.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available is 1:500, but this varies depending on the asset and the location of the account. Traders in the EEA and the UK can only enjoy leverage up to 1:30. However, the broker can offer traders in other regions different leverage per instrument. For example, leverage of stock indices, bonds, and oil is at 1:100. Leverage on metals and FOREX can go up to 1:500.

Platforms and Tools

MT4

WebTrader

Mobile Trading

Research and Development

Education

Final Thoughts

Conclusion

Tickmill in Brief

Review Methodology

The team at Arincen collected over 120 pieces of data covering in excess of 100 licensed FOREX companies. Data collection was done in three ways:

1. Companies’ Websites.
2. Other Websites that have ranked FOREX companies.
3. A survey questionnaire (referred to here as Survey “1”) we had sent to the companies invited to participate in the exercise. 

We have identified 12 criteria for our assessment, each containing several aspects and carrying its own relative weight. These include licensing, deposits and withdrawals, number of assets etc.  

Afterward, we validated the data by:

1. Registering with FOREX companies as a secret shopper and/or as Arincen.
2. Survey number “2,” in which we asked these companies’ customers for important feedback and past experience. 

The next step saw us evaluate and rank each company, relying on the hard work of 15 Arincen employees. We were very careful in ensuring the most accurate assessment possible, including taking into account different languages, as well as the various mobile-app operating systems, e.g., Apple, Samsung etc.

To add credibility to our research project, we sent a final and third survey (referred to here as Survey “3”) to enable participating FOREX companies evaluate our own research and whether it accurately reflects the realities on the ground. We were fortunate enough to receive a mark of 9.9 out of 10! We have kept to a minimum the margin of error, which stood at a measly 1%. To learn more on how we came up with the evaluation, please click here.

Tickmill FAQs