Tickmill Review
Tickmill is an FCA and CySEC-regulated broker built around a low-cost Pro account, near-zero raw spreads plus a small per-lot commission, a free VPS at volume, and wire fees the broker itself absorbs.
Tickmill is an FCA and CySEC-regulated broker built around a low-cost Pro account, near-zero raw spreads plus a small per-lot commission, a free VPS at volume, and wire fees the broker itself absorbs.
- •Regulated by FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSA Seychelles
- •Minimum deposit of $100
- •Typical EUR/USD spread of 0.1 pips
- •ECN execution
- •Facts last checked on Aug 20, 2026
| Regulation | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSA Seychelles |
| Founded | 2014 (12 years in business) |
| Headquarters | Mahe, Seychelles |
| Ownership | Part of Tickmill Group |
| Execution type | ECN |
| Min deposit | $100 |
| Leverage | Up to 1:500 |
| Platforms | MT4, MT5, TradingView |
| Spread type | Variable |
| Live spread feed | Not live: typical EUR/USD spread is 0.1 pips, verified Aug 20, 2026 |
| Negative balance protection | Yes |
| Deposit methods | Credit/Debit Card, Bank Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, Ethereum |
| Fees | Tickmill does not charge its own withdrawal fee and covers third-party wire transfer fees up to $100 on deposits of $5,000 or more made by a single bank transfer. Card and e-wallet withdrawals can still carry a charge from the payment provider itself, outside Tickmill's control. |
| Inactivity fee | Yes |
| Copy trading | Yes |
| Islamic account | Yes, swap-free available |
| Restricted countries | 6 countries excluded, including United States, Cuba, Iraq |
- +Regulated by the FCA and CySEC, with FSCS or ICF compensation cover for UK/EU clients
- +Pro account spreads run near 0.0 pips with a modest per-lot commission
- +Free VPS for traders running 20+ lots a month
- +Tickmill covers third-party wire fees up to $100 on qualifying deposits
- +Swap-free Islamic account available across all three live tiers
- -Quarterly inactivity fee kicks in after 12 months of no activity
- -MT4/MT5 only for automated strategies; no cTrader option
- -Leverage and negative balance protection depend on which regulated entity holds the account
- -VIP tier's reduced commission requires a $50,000 minimum balance, out of reach for most retail traders
- ✓Free VPS for traders running 20+ lots/month
- ✓Wire transfer fees reimbursed up to $100
- ✓Pro account: 0.0 pip raw spreads, $4 round-turn commission
- ✓Swap-free Islamic option on all three account tiers
Classic, Pro, or VIP: where the real cost sits
| Account | Min. deposit | Spread from | Commission | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | $100 | 1.6 pips | None | Traders who want one all-in number and no per-lot math |
| Pro | $100 | 0.0 pips | $2/side/lot ($4 round turn) | Active traders and EAs where raw spread plus commission beats a wider all-in spread |
| VIP | $50,000 balance | 0.0 pips | $1/side/lot ($2 round turn) | High-balance traders who clear the $50,000 threshold |
On a standard lot, Pro's $4 round-turn commission adds roughly 0.4 pips to whatever the raw spread is running, which in practice tested out around 0.1 pips on EUR/USD during the London-New York overlap. That puts Pro's real all-in cost in a similar range to Classic's headline 1.6 pips only during thin liquidity; during normal trading hours Pro comes out meaningfully cheaper for anyone trading enough volume to justify tracking two numbers instead of one.
What Tickmill actually pays for that other brokers pass on to you
Two cost items stand out as genuinely broker-absorbed rather than marketing language:
- Wire transfer fees are reimbursed up to $100 on any single bank deposit of $5,000 or more, a real saving on an otherwise-standard $20-50 wire cost most brokers just pass through.
- Traders clearing 20 lots a month get a London-based VPS at no charge, useful for EA and copy-trading setups that need a stable, low-latency connection rather than relying on a home internet connection staying up overnight.
Neither of these shows up in a quick-facts comparison table, but both are real, checkable line items against what a similarly-priced ECN broker charges for the same thing.
The regulator you're actually placed under changes your leverage and protection
Tickmill lists FCA, CySEC, FSCA, and FSA Seychelles together, but which entity opens your account changes two things that matter more than the badge itself:
- FCA (UK) and CySEC (EU) clients are capped at 1:30 leverage on major pairs, but get statutory compensation scheme cover (FSCS or ICF) if Tickmill's regulated entity itself fails.
- FSA Seychelles and FSCA (South Africa) clients get leverage up to 1:500, but without the same statutory compensation backing UK/EU clients receive.
Most traders signing up from outside the UK or EU default to the Seychelles entity, trading the higher leverage without the compensation-scheme layer. That trade-off is worth confirming at signup, not after a dispute.
Where the friction shows up
Two things are worth flagging before funding an account. First, the quarterly inactivity fee (currently $10 or local-currency equivalent) applies after 12 months of no trading, no deposits or withdrawals, and no login activity, on top of a 60-day dormancy trigger with a low balance threshold, so an account left completely untouched for a year isn't fee-free the way some brokers advertise. Second, automated and copy trading strategies are limited to MT4 and MT5, Tickmill doesn't offer cTrader, so anyone standardized on a cTrader-based EA or copy signal would need to rebuild it for MetaTrader before trading it here.
Who should look elsewhere
Scalpers and EA traders chasing the absolute tightest spread-plus-commission combination should still shop this against IC Markets or Pepperstone's Razor-tier pricing before committing, since the gap on high-frequency strategies compounds fast. Traders who specifically want cTrader as their platform, or who want negative balance protection guaranteed regardless of which entity they land under, should also treat those as hard filters before signing up.
Tickmill's real strength is cost discipline backed by genuine regulation: Pro account pricing is competitive with the tightest ECN brokers once volume is high enough to matter, the wire-fee reimbursement and free VPS are real savings rather than marketing lines, and FCA/CySEC coverage gives UK and EU clients statutory compensation protection most offshore-only brokers can't offer. The catch is the same one that applies to most multi-entity brokers: leverage and protection depend heavily on which regulated entity actually opens the account. For traders comfortable confirming that upfront, it's a solid, cost-conscious pick.
No minimum balance is required, but the VPS is free only for accounts trading at least 20 lots in the qualifying month. Below that volume, Tickmill charges a monthly fee for VPS access instead.
Account type is set at opening, so switching from Classic to Pro (or vice versa) means opening a new sub-account under the same profile rather than converting the existing one, though funds can be transferred internally between them.
After 60 days of no trading, no deposits or withdrawals, and no platform login, with a balance at or below $50, the account is classified inactive and the quarterly inactivity fee begins accruing once the 12-month mark is reached.
Tickmill Social, the broker's own copy-trading platform, runs through its Seychelles entity and isn't available to Strategy Providers registering from South Africa due to local restrictions. Myfxbook AutoTrade remains available as a third-party alternative regardless of entity.
No separate fee applies. The swap-free option is available on Classic, Pro, and VIP accounts at no extra cost, removing overnight interest while keeping the same spreads and commission structure as the standard version of that tier.
