Tickmill Review 2023

Trust

Tickmill Regulations

In our reviews, we examine the licenses and regulations of each entity operated by a broker. This allows us to compare each entity’s different levels of protection. We rank licenses by various regulatory bodies on a three-tier system, where Tier-1 licensing indicates the highest level of regulation.

Here is what we found concerning the several entities comprising the Tickmill Group:

• Tickmill UK Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. The FCA ranks as a Tier-1 regulator on our system.
• Tickmill Europe Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). CySEC ranks as a Tier-1 regulator on our system. 
• Tickmill South Africa (Pty) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa. The FSCA ranks as a Tier-2 regulator on our system.  
• Tickmill Asia Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Labuan Malaysia. The FSA ranks as a Tier-2 regulator on our system.
• Tickmill Ltd. is regulated and licensed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles. The FSA ranks as a Tier-3 regulator on our system.

We have summarized the most essential aspects of Tickmill’s entities in terms of regulation and safety in the table below:

Why is it Important to Know Where Your Broker is Regulated?

Not all regulators mandate adherence to the same safety guidelines, meaning that traders are likely to enjoy different degrees of protection depending on where their broker is being regulated. Generally speaking, offshore regulators tend to have more lax requirements, making it easier for brokers to obtain a license.

We have listed the most important safety policies to look for in a broker below:

• Segregation of client funds. Keeping client funds in separate bank accounts from the ones used for the broker’s own capital is crucial for preventing accounting errors. All of Tickmill’s entities comply with this requirement.
• Negative balance protection. Essentially, the negative balance protection policy ensures that a trader’s losses cannot exceed their account balance. All of Tickcmill’s entities adhere to this requirement.
• Compensation scheme. A compensation scheme protects the clients of a broker against its corporate risk and liabilities in the unlikely event that it should become insolvent. Clients of Tickmill UK Ltd. are protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and can be compensated by up to 85,000 GBP. Clients of Tickmill Europe Ltd are protected under the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) and can be compensated by up to 20,000 EUR. Tickmill’s other entities do not have compensation schemes.
• Maximum leverage. Capping the maximum leverage permitted limits traders’ market exposure, but it also decreases the profit potential of their winning trades. That is why more risk-averse traders may find Tickmill’s EU and UK entities more suitable, as they afford maximum leverage of 1:30 on all retail accounts. Accordingly, the broker’s other entities have a maximum leverage of 1:500, which is a better fit for considerably less risk-averse traders.

Is Tickmill Safe to Trade With?

All of the subsidiaries of the Tickmill Group ensure segregation of client funds and negative balance protection. Not all of them have compensation schemes, but this should not be a major concern to traders since the prospects of a financial institution such as Tickmill going bankrupt are indeed very slim.

The one thing traders should carefully consider when choosing between Tickmill’s five entities is how much market exposure they would like to have. Only highly experienced CFD traders should go for the 1:500 maximum leverage afforded by Tickmill’s overseas entities.

Stability and Transparency

In our tests for the Trust category, we also cover factors relating to stability and transparency. Here, we focus on how long the broker has been in business, how big the company is, and how transparent it is in terms of readily available information.

The measure of a broker’s transparency is its frankness with regard to trading risk. It is a well-known fact that more than 70% of retail traders lose money, which is why all brokers must display warning notices on their websites. Tickmill can be commended for placing its notice at the top of the main page, while many other brokers would rather bury such discouraging information at the bottom.

There are many other examples of Tickmill’s accountability to its clients. For instance, the accounts overview page cautions traders against the risk of significant spread discrepancies during market opens and closes. This is a well-known risk that nevertheless is very seldom cautioned against by other brokers.

The company was founded 8 years ago and employs over 200 people. Tickmill received multiple awards like “Best Forex Spreads” and “Best Forex Trading Experience” and has been involved in various causes and initiatives.

In summary, our findings indicate that Tickmill can be regarded as having a very good level of trust and stability due to the following factors:

• It has top-tier licenses.
• Adheres to some of the most rigid safety regulations in the industry.
• Has a very high level of transparency and accountability.

Fees

Tickmill has three main retail account types – Pro, Classic, and VIP – as well as one Futures account available with the broker’s UK entity. The Pro and VIP accounts offer a combination of raw spreads and fixed round turn commissions, whereas the Classic account affords a mixture of commission-free trading and floating spreads. Overall, Tickmill’s trading costs are below the industry average.

Tickmill Trading Fees

Tickmill’s Spreads

We tested Tickmill’s spreads during the most actively traded times – the London open at 8 AM GMT and just after the U.S. open at 2:45 PM GMT. The test was conducted on November 17, 2022.

The recorded spreads on a Classic Tickmill account are low-to-medium compared to the broader industry. Its competitiveness is further bolstered by the fact that there are no commissions. It should also be pointed out that despite some minor exceptions, there were no major discrepancies in the spreads recorded between the AM and PM sessions. This is demonstrative of Tickmill’s steady liquidity supply, which, in turn, diminishes the risk of negative slippage.

The only exception to this was the Dow Jones 30. This can be explained by the fact that U.S. markets remain closed during the European open, which is why it is normal for sizable spread imbalances to be observed on such instruments at such times.

Tickmill’s Swap Rates

A swap fee is a trader’s cost for holding an open position overnight because of changing interest rates. Swap long refers to the charge deductible or credit receivable for holding a buy position open overnight. In turn, swap short relates to the charges/credits deductible or receivable for holding a selling position open overnight.

The values listed below are for one full contract (100,000 units) of the base currency.

Tickmill’s recorded swap rates are also low-to-medium compared to the rest of the industry. Traders wanting to avoid paying such charges can opt for the broker’s Islamic Accounts.

Tickmill’s Commissions

The broker’s Pro account has a fixed commission of 2 currency units per side per lot. If your account’s base currency is, for instance, USD, you will be charged $2 for opening a trade worth 100,000 units of the underlying. You will also be charged $2 for closing the same position later. In other words, there is a 4 currency units round turn commission per traded lot on a Pro account type. This rate is lower than the industry average.

Tickmill’s VIP account offers even more favorable conditions. Its round turn commission equals 2 currency units per traded lot.

Tickmill’s Non-Trading Fees

The broker does not have a maintenance fee for inactive accounts. Additionally, deposits and withdrawals are not charged. Both factors make Tickmill’s service even more affordable.

Are Tickmill’s Fees Competitive?

Tickmill’s spreads and swaps are generally below the industry average. The same applies to its fixed commissions on the Pro and VIP account types. Tickmill also doesn’t have any significant non-trading charges. All of this makes Tickmill’s fees quite competitive.

Platforms and Tools

Even though MT5 has more features and tools than its predecessor, its rugged layout is not ideal for conducting sophisticated technical analyses. It does have some essential attributes, such as one-click trading and fast order execution, but it lacks the sleek design of newer platforms.

It is also worth pointing out that clients of Tickmill who have Futures accounts can place orders through TradingView, affording them greater flexibility. Tickmill also has a TradingView account, where it publishes highly informative trading ideas on one of the world’s largest social trading networks.

With regards to the MT5 mobile app, it retains most of the features available on the desktop version though its usability is limited because it has to be run on small-screen devices. Nevertheless, its greatest advantage is that it affords traders access to their accounts on the go. Tickmill also has its own mobile app. It has a risk warning and biometric login, underpinning Tickmill’s safety and reliability.

Tickmill’s Desktop MT5 Platform

General Ease of Use

One of the advantages of MT5 is its practicality. It is not overly complex, which is why even newbie traders can find their way around the platform fairly quickly, as all the essential features are usually no more than several clicks away. The charts are positioned in the middle of the screen, account info can be found at the bottom, the watch lists and other trading options are positioned on the left, and the settings menu can be found on the above panel.

Charts

The chart is probably the most important component of every platform. It affords traders an outlook into price action behavior, which is crucial for making informed trading decisions. That is why the chart’s flexibility is so important.

We have listed the most important features of MT5’s desktop version below:

• Trading indicators. MT5 consists of 38 trading indicators, which can be separated into several categories – trend-based, volume-based, and oscillators – and are used to examine the ever-changing market sentiment. Tickmill’s UK entity also has its own tool for gauging market bias, which we found particularly useful.
• Drawing tools. There are 24 drawing tools, such as trend lines, channels, and Fibonacci retracement levels. These are used to study price action behavior in order to outline key support and resistance levels, as well as potential breakout and breakdown levels within established trends.
• The platform also has 21 different timeframes, which is well above the industry average and affords a multifaceted overview of price action behavior from multiple angles. This is arguably the biggest advantage of MT5 as it accommodates the implementation of widely different strategies – from scalping to position trading. This variety is enhanced by Tickmill’s very fast order execution speeds – averaging 0.20 seconds – ensured by its best execution policy.
• Chart types. MT5 only has 3 chart types. Price action can be represented as a line, using bars or candlesticks. Despite this lack of variety, however, more than 80% of traders use either one of the three options.

Orders

Listed below is a breakdown of the order types available on MT5:

• Market orders. Market orders are used for immediate entry at the best possible price. If triggered, they guarantee volume filling, though there could be a discrepancy between the requested price and the price where the order actually gets filled.
• Limit orders. Unlike market orders, limit orders guarantee exact price execution. However, a limit order will not be filled if the price action does not reach the pre-determined execution price.
• Stop orders. These have multiple variations, the most popular ones being stop loss and trailing stop orders. Stop orders are usually used to cap the maximum losses that can be incurred from an underlying position. For instance, if the stop loss order is triggered after the market reverses, it will be transformed into a market order and filled at the best possible price.

Another thing that makes Tickmill stand out is its stop orders and limit orders policy on its Pro accounts. The broker allows its clients to place stop and limit orders near the market price. Traders can thus exercise greater control over their positions and limit the potential losses.

Tickmill’s MT5 Mobile App

As mentioned above, the primary purpose of the mobile app is to afford traders quick and easy access to their accounts while on the go. The app is used to monitor the market and, if necessary, to make changes to any open trades threatened by recent developments.

General Ease of Use

Beyond serving its primary function, MT5’s mobile app cannot be used for much else. Its low-resolution charts have a very limited scope making it difficult to study the underlying market sentiment. They get cramped fairly easily with each added indicator, which is why it is difficult to conduct probing technical analyses. On the flip side, the app has a very minimalistic structure, making it easy to navigate.

Charts

The following is a breakdown of the key components of the mobile app’s charts:

• Trading indicators. The app consists of 30 trading indicators, 8 less than the desktop version.
• Drawing tools. It also has 21 drawing tools falling short of the 24 available on the desktop version.
• The biggest discrepancy between the two is with regard to the available timeframes. The mobile app has only 8 of them.
• Chart types. There are 3 chart types available.

Orders

Here is a rundown of the order types available for execution through the mobile app:

• Market orders. Market orders are used for immediate entry at the best possible price. If triggered, they guarantee volume filling, though there could be a discrepancy between the requested price and the price where the order actually gets filled.
• Limit orders. Unlike market orders, limit orders guarantee exact price execution. However, a limit order will only be filled if the price action reaches the pre-determined execution price.
• Stop orders. These have multiple variations, the most popular ones being stop loss and trailing stop orders. Stop orders are usually used to cap the maximum losses that can be incurred from an underlying position.

Tradable Instruments

There is a reasonable number of CFD shares, an average amount of FX pairs and commodities, and an above-average number of indices compared to the broader industry. Traders with varying levels of risk aversion can use Tickmill’s extensive collection of instruments to diversify their positions and implement different trading strategies.

What are CFDs?

Contracts for difference (CFDs) are derivatives used to speculate on the price of the underlying without physical delivery. For example, a long position on gold would generate a profit as the price rises or incur a loss as it falls. This is achieved without having to purchase actual bars of gold. One of the biggest advantages of trading CFDs is that traders can get in and out of the market almost instantaneously, thereby catching even minute changes in the price of the derivative.

What Can You Trade With Tickmill?

We have listed the available instruments by asset class below:

• 62 Currency Pairs
  • Majors, Minors, and Exotic.
• 6 Commodities
  • Energy and Metals.
• 21 Indices
  • Europe, U.S., Global
• 97 CFD Stocks
  • Tech, Financial, Retail, and others.
• 4 Bonds
  • Europe
• 8 Cryptocurrencies
  • Majors and Minors.
• 55 Futures
  • FX, Commodities, Indices, Other.
• 6 Options
  • Nasdaq and S&P 500.

Tickmill offers a well-balanced assortment of high-risk and low-risk instruments of different kinds. Traders wanting to leverage their account balances and ride price swings can opt for Tickmill’s several hundred CFDs, whereas traders wanting to gauge changes in the underlying volatility levels can take advantage of the available futures and options. These complex instruments are ideal for experienced traders seeking to maximize profits and restrict potential losses.

Customer Support

The FAQ section of the website is helpful to traders having general questions about Tickmill’s service or the nature of trading. Each entry contains detailed explanations supported by practical examples. For more specific queries, you can contact the support team during office hours – Monday to Friday from 7 am to 4 pm GMT.

Tickmill’s Customer Support Test

When we test a broker’s customer support team, we evaluate the agents’ knowledge of their own website, how long it takes them to respond to questions, and how detailed their answers are.

We conducted our test on November 17th via the live chat option available at the bottom-right corner of the main page. Before you can submit your question, you have to select a language you’d like to communicate in and see whether an agent speaking it is currently available, which we found particularly useful.

Once our question was submitted, an agent connected within a couple of minutes. Though his answers were not overly detailed, they were helpful and well-informed.

Later, we were contacted by a different agent over the phone. He was polite, with a good command of the English language, and very exhaustive in his answers.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Tickmill Deposits

Tickmill Withdrawals

Many payment methods are available, and most transactions are processed very quickly. Furthermore, Tickmill will cover any banking fees for deposits via wire transfer above $5,000.

Account Types and Terms

The broker’s generally low minimum deposit requirements and competitive fees make its account types suitable for all kinds of traders, from newbie retail traders with little experience to seasoned professionals with huge balances and sophisticated strategies.

Why is Choosing the Right Account Type Important?

Your account type should reflect your trading style, goals, and means. For instance, if you want to use scalping or intraday trading strategies, which usually involve getting in and out of trades frequently, consider opening an account without any fixed commissions. Conversely, day and position traders tend to place fewer trades that run for longer and are, therefore, likely to be more concerned with their spread rates.

What Account Types Does Tickmill Offer?

The Classic and Pro accounts are both affordable, with a minimum deposit requirement of 100 of the underlying base currency. The Classic account has no commissions and floating spreads starting from 1.6 pips. It’s suitable for high-frequency traders who tend to execute multiple small-sized positions within a short period of time. In comparison, the Pro account is a better fit for high-volume traders who are not as active but tend to place much larger orders.

The VIP account type is an upgraded version of the Pro account with lower commissions, though traders should keep a minimum balance of at least 50,000 of the underlying base currency. The use of all types of strategies is permitted on all three.

What is CFD Leverage?

The leverage determines a trader’s overall market exposure. When trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs), positions can be opened for a fraction of their value because of the leverage. Essentially, the broker lends the trader money so that the latter can open bigger-sized positions. The leverage multiplies the profits a trader generates from winning positions but also the losses incurred from failed trades.

Tickmill Account Opening Process

We have summed up the process of opening an account with Tickmill below:

• Step 1. Click the green ‘Create Account’ button at the top-right corner of the main page, and choose an account type.
• Step 2. Fill in your personal details, including your name and date of birth. State whether you are a US citizen for tax purposes.
• Step 3. Choose an entity you wish to set up an account with.
• Step 4. Open the link in the confirmational email you are sent, and follow the instructions.
• Step 5. Specify your nationality, physical address, and Tax Identification Number (TIN).
• Step 6. Provide financial and trading experience information.
• Step 7. Upload a copy of a personal identification document (passport, national identity card, or driving license).

Why is a Demo Account Important?

Demo accounts serve a twofold purpose. Firstly, traders use them to hone their skills and test the functioning of their strategies as the underlying market bias is continually changing. Demo accounts are thus indispensable since they allow traders to tweak the parameters of their strategies in a safe environment. Secondly, demo accounts allow them to familiarize themselves with the broker’s services before funding a real account. Traders can test the spreads and quality of order execution without the risk of losing money.

Tickmill’s Supported Countries

The services of Tickmill UK Ltd are directed at residents of the UK and member countries of the European Economic Area (EEA). Overseas traders may opt for one of the broker’s other entities.

Research

The broker’s research content is quite comprehensive and suitable for traders with different skill levels. It affords a 360-degree overview of currently unfolding trading opportunities underpinned by the day’s prevailing financial, economic, and political developments.

Research Tools

We have broken down Tickmill’s research content by type:

• Economic calendar. Concerning research tools, the economic calendar is the bread and butter of every broker. It highlights upcoming economic releases and other prominent events that impact the market. Traders use the calendar to spot potential trading opportunities over the upcoming days and weeks.
• Forex calculators. Forex calculators help traders to better structure their positions by estimating how much a potential trade will cost, what its profit and loss potentials are, and more. The calculators are quite handy when traders have to make quick decisions during times of heightened volatility.
• Video breakdowns. Tickmill’s YouTube channel contains hundreds of videos with different formats, including interviews with industry professionals, weekly trade analyses, Elliott Wave trading analyses, and others.
• Tickmill’s articles are dedicated to examining more abstract and intricate trading topics. Tickmill’s articles and video breakdowns together provide a balanced and in-depth study of the general trading experience.
• Market insights. Also found in the website’s blog section, Tickmill’s market insights cover various financial, economic, and political news. Each entry includes a brief explanation of how the underlying topic will likely impact the market and an analysis of a related instrument’s price action behavior. The insights are usually supported by a chart.
• Technical and fundamental analyses. Tickmill’s technical and fundamental analyses are very informative, providing actionable insights. This type of content is suitable for traders wanting to understand the underlying forces driving price action behavior.

Education

The cornerstone of Tickmill’s educational content is its glossary, which contains hundreds of entries explaining essential trading concepts and terms. There are also nearly 90 video tutorials delving even deeper – from the ABCs of trading to more complex topics, such as the psychology of trading. The broker also has 16 videos explaining the intricacies of MT4 and MT5.

Tickmill has published over 700 educational webinars on its YouTube channel, representing the theoretical aspect of its educational content. The broker also periodically organizes seminars in different cities and countries, allowing attendees to get a sense of the general trading experience in practice. Tickmill thus strikes a fine balance between theory and practice. This balance is further enhanced by Tickmill’s 5 highly informative ebooks.

The Bottom Line

Tickmill is a highly reliable broker, and it’s one of the leaders in the OTC derivates industry. It was founded in 2014, and since then, the company has been awarded many times for its high-quality service. The broker offers CFDs, futures, and options, allowing its clients the freedom to exploit different trading opportunities. This flexibility is enhanced by the many in-house and third-party tools available to Tickmill’s clients.

The Tickmill Group is comprised of well-regulated entities entailing a high degree of protection. The fees are very competitive, and traders are treated to a wide selection of tradable instruments. The broker’s research and education materials are comprehensive and diverse.

There aren’t any major drawbacks to Tickmill’s service, except for some minor issues. For instance, CFD traders have to choose between MT4 and MT5, which are not the most seamless platforms. Also, customer support is available during office hours, and futures and options trading is only available to clients of Tickmill UK Ltd.

But overall, Tickmill offers very fair conditions to both small retail traders and big corporate clients, as well as inexperienced newbies and seasoned professionals.

FAQ