FP Markets Review: Expert Analysis After Testing

Overview

FP Markets is one of the longest-operational ASIC-regulated forex brokers, founded in 2005 in Sydney. The firm operates two CFD entities (ASIC for AU + global, CySEC for EU) and a separate FSCA license for South Africa, plus an IRESS stockbroking arm that gives clients access to live Australian and US equities alongside the CFD product.

Laura tested FP Markets through a funded Raw ECN Pro account between October 2025 and April 2026. The execution profile is comparable to IC Markets and Pepperstone on majors — sub-0.1 pip spreads with $3/side commission, clean fills during London session, and rejection rates under 0.5% on 180 live orders. The IRESS platform offering is the structural differentiator: very few ASIC-tier brokers bundle live equities into their retail CFD offering.

FP Markets scores 8.9/10. It wins on regulation, Raw ECN pricing and the IRESS platform. It loses points relative to Exness on withdrawal speed (same business day vs instant) and on entry-tier accessibility (the $100 minimum versus Exness $10 on Standard).

Pros and Cons

Pros

• ASIC license on the main entity with full investor protection under Australian financial services rules.
• Raw ECN Pro spreads averaging 0.05 pips on EUR/USD with $3/side commission — IC Markets-tier execution.
• IRESS platform access to live Australian and US equities, rare in the ASIC CFD broker segment.
• FSCA license adds onshore presence for South African clients.
• cTrader natively supported alongside MT4 and MT5.

Cons

• $100 minimum deposit higher than XM ($5) and Exness ($10) — less accessible for first-time live traders.
• Education depth is below XM and IG; FP Markets targets traders who already understand the market.
• No US, Canadian or Japanese clients accepted.
• The IRESS stockbroking is a separate account from the CFD trading, adds workflow friction for traders who want unified portfolio view.

Our Verdict

FP Markets is the right primary broker for Australian and UK retail traders who want ASIC-tier oversight at Raw ECN pricing. The execution profile is competitive with IC Markets and Pepperstone, the regulator profile is stronger than most alternatives, and the IRESS stock platform integration is genuinely unique in the segment.

For traders in MENA and SEA, FP Markets is credible but Exness offers lower entry deposits and faster withdrawals at the same regulatory tier (CySEC). For UK-based ASIC enthusiasts, FP Markets is a default top-three choice alongside IC Markets and Pepperstone.

Score Breakdown

Safety and Regulation

FP Markets operates under ASIC license 286354 (First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd), the original entity since 2005. The EU arm holds CySEC license 371/18 (Black Bull Group Ltd). South African clients use the FSCA-licensed entity.

ASIC investor protection covers Australian retail clients through the AFCA external dispute resolution scheme. CySEC clients benefit from the Investor Compensation Fund (up to €20,000). FSCA clients in South Africa fall under the local Financial Sector Conduct Authority rules with no equivalent compensation scheme.

The firm has operated for 20 years without significant regulatory action across its main entities, meaningful in a sector where the average broker lifespan is materially shorter. Client funds are held in segregated accounts at tier-1 Australian banks (Westpac, NAB) for ASIC-entity clients.

Account Types

FP Markets offers Standard, Raw ECN Pro, and Islamic variants of each. The Standard account opens at $100 with markup-based spreads averaging 1.0–1.3 pips on EUR/USD and no commission. The Raw ECN Pro opens at $100 with raw interbank pricing and a $3/side commission ($6 round-turn) on EUR/USD averaging 0.05 pips raw spread.

For active traders the Raw ECN Pro is the right choice, net round-turn cost on EUR/USD averaged $6.50 in Laura’s testing, comparable to IC Markets Raw and FP Markets’ main competitors.

Fees and Spreads

Raw ECN Pro EUR/USD averaged 0.05 pips raw across 14 trading days in Laura’s testing, with $3/side commission. Round-turn cost of approximately $6.50 per lot on majors. This is within 5% of IC Markets Raw and Pepperstone Razor benchmarks for the same period.

Standard account averaged 1.05 pips on EUR/USD without commission. This is competitive with Exness Standard (1.0 pips) at the same regulatory tier.

Inactivity fee: $5/month after 12 months of zero activity. Withdrawal fees are zero on all methods. Deposit fees are zero except for credit card deposits below $100 (which trigger a $5 processing fee).

Trading Platforms

FP Markets supports MT4, MT5, cTrader and IRESS. The cTrader integration is unusual for an ASIC broker, IC Markets supports it but Pepperstone limits cTrader to specific account types. FP Markets offers cTrader on Raw ECN Pro accounts with the same execution profile as MT5.

IRESS is the proprietary stock-trading platform offering live access to ASX, NYSE and NASDAQ equities. Note: IRESS sits in a separate account from CFD trading. This is a hard separation; you cannot trade CFDs and IRESS stocks on the same account.

EAs and algorithmic trading are permitted across all account types with no platform-side restrictions on scalping or news trading. Laura ran a tick-scalping EA on the Raw ECN Pro for two weeks; 0 of 420 orders were rejected.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Bank wire (SEPA, SWIFT), Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, and BPay for Australian clients. Crypto deposits supported in BTC and USDT through external on-ramp.

Withdrawal speed: Skrill and Neteller average same business day (4–8 hours during Laura’s testing). SEPA bank wire processes next business day. Australian local bank transfers settle within 30 minutes during AU business hours. International SWIFT takes 2–3 business days.

Four withdrawal cycles in Laura’s testing:

All four settled without rejection. FP Markets withdrawal speed is slower than Exness instant rails but materially faster than XM bank wire to EU.

Trading Instruments

FP Markets offers 10,000+ CFD instruments across forex, indices, commodities, energies, metals, crypto, and equities. The equity CFD coverage includes 600+ stocks across AU, US and EU markets. The IRESS platform extends this with live equity access (cash-settled, not CFD).

Crypto CFD selection is limited (BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP) with wide spreads, 0.5% on BTC/USD against 0.05% at Bybit native. Not the right choice for crypto-led traders.

Customer Support

FP Markets operates 24/5 live chat in English, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Thai, Bahasa, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic. Laura’s four test queries averaged 2 minutes 45 seconds to first response, with no queue exceeding 5 minutes.

The Asian-language support tier is solid, Vietnamese and Mandarin both staffed during Asian business hours. The Arabic channel is thinner than at Exness or XM.

Email support resolves within 4-6 hours for general queries, 24-48 hours for verification or payment issues. Phone support available 24/5 in English with multilingual options during regional business hours.

Research and Education

Trading Central integration provides daily analyst commentary, technical pattern alerts, and economic event reviews. Autochartist runs on all account types with no extra fee. The native FP Markets research is workmanlike, daily market commentary, economic calendar, weekly outlook.

Education library covers beginner-to-intermediate forex content but lacks the structured depth of XM Academy or IG Academy. FP Markets targets traders who already have some live experience rather than first-time learners.

Mobile App

FP Markets does not operate a native mobile app. Mobile trading runs through MT4 mobile, MT5 mobile, cTrader mobile, or IRESS mobile clients. These are the standard third-party apps; no FP-specific UX layer.

For traders comfortable with MT5 mobile, this is a non-issue. For traders looking for a polished native broker app (XM, Exness style), FP Markets is behind.

Is FP Markets Safe?

FP Markets is one of the safest mid-tier forex brokers in 2026 based on 20-year operational history, ASIC regulation, and absence of significant regulatory action. The segregated client funds at Westpac and NAB provide tier-1 banking backstop for Australian clients.

EU clients via the CySEC entity benefit from the €20,000 Investor Compensation Fund. South African clients via FSCA do not have an equivalent compensation framework but the local regulator provides operational oversight.

The broker has no public disputes or operational pauses in 2024 or 2025. The combination of long-operational history and clean regulatory record makes FP Markets one of the most credible ASIC-tier brokers available.

How FP Markets Compares

For IRESS equity platform access, FP Markets is unique. For lowest entry deposit, Pepperstone wins. For broadest regulation, Pepperstone (with DFSA) wins.

Who Is FP Markets Best For?

FP Markets is the right primary broker for AU, UK and SA retail traders who want ASIC-tier oversight at Raw ECN pricing. The IRESS platform is uniquely valuable for traders who want CFD plus live equity access in the same broker relationship.

FP Markets is also strong for systematic and algorithmic traders running on cTrader or MT5 with EAs. Execution latency, rejection rates and order-modification speed are competitive with IC Markets and Pepperstone benchmarks.

FP Markets is not the right choice for first-time traders looking for $5–$10 entry deposits (XM and Exness are better here), for crypto-led traders (dedicated exchanges are better), or for US/CA/JP residents (not accepted).

Community Q&A

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