Tickmill Review

Tickmill is a global forex and CFD broker, established in 2014. The company is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the top-tier Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.

Tickmill is considered safe because it is regulated by the top-tier FCA.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Tickmill pros and cons

Tickmill has low forex and non-trading fees. The account opening is fast, easy, and fully digital. You can use a lot of options for deposit or withdrawal, and they’re free of charge.

On the negative side, Tickmill has a limited product portfolio as it offers only forex and CFDs. Popular asset classes, such as stocks and ETFs are missing. Trading platforms are provided by MetaTrader, and they have outdated designs. Finally, the news feed is basic and not structured.

Tickmill has low forex, but average CFD fees. There is no fee for deposit, withdrawal, or inactivity.

How we ranked fees

We ranked Tickmill’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

To get things rolling, let’s go over some lingo related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees, and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

Below you will find the most relevant fees of Tickmill for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading the most important fees are spreads, commissions and financing rates.

We also compared Tickmill’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, AxiTrader and FXCM. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Tickmill alternatives.

To have a clear overview of Tickmill, let’s start with the trading fees.

Tickmill trading fees

Tickmill’s trading fees are low. There are different cost structures for different account types. We tested the Pro account, which charges a commission but offers tight spreads.

We know it’s hard to compare trading fees for forex brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compare brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.

We have chosen popular instruments in each asset class usually provided by the forex brokers:

• Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP
• Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50

A typical trade means buying a leveraged product, holding it for one week and then selling. For the volume, we chose a $20,000 position for forex and a $2,000 position for stock index and stock CFD transactions. The leverage we used was:

• 30:1 for forex
• 20:1 for stock index CFDs

These catch-all benchmark fees include spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let’s see the verdict for Tickmill fees.

Forex fees

Tickmill has low forex fees. The forex fees are one of the lowest among the brokers we have reviewed.

See more

The low forex fees are mainly due to the low commission Tickmill charges. The commission is 2 base currency units (first currency pair) per lot per trade. For example, it’s €2 per lot per trade for EURUSD, while £2 per lot per trade for GBPUSD.

CFD fees

CFD fees are average.

Non-trading fees

Tickmill has low non-trading fees. There is no fee for deposit, withdrawal, or inactivity.

Tickmill review 
Account opening 5.0

To experience the account opening process, visit Tickmill

Tickmill has a fast and easy account opening process. Our account was verified within one business day. The minimum deposit is low, $100 for all account types, except VIP accounts.

Tickmill accepts clients from all over the world. There are only a few exceptions, e.g. customers from the US or Canada can’t open an account.

What is the minimum deposit at Tickmill?

The required minimum deposit at Tickmill is $100. For a VIP account, you need to maintain a minimum $50,000 balance.

Account types

Tickmill has several account types that differ in pricing, minimum deposit, and minimum account balance.

Retail clients of Tickmill Ltd can use leverage up to 1:500 while retail clients of Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd can use maximum leverage of 1:30. If you qualify for a professional trader, you can trade with higher leverage, up to 1:500 (Tickmill UK Ltd) or up to 1:300 (Tickmill Europe Ltd). 

The criteria for professional clients: 

• An average frequency of 10 trades per quarter in the previous four quarters
• Size of your financial instrument portfolio exceeds €500k
• You have at least one year experience in a relevant financial position

You can also open corporate and swap-free Islamic accounts. The main difference between Islamic aand other accounts is that instead of daily swap rates, an administration fee is charged if you hold some exotic currencies for more than 3 nights.

How to open your account

Account opening is fully digital, fast and straightforward. You can fill out the online application form in a matter of minutes. Our account was verified within one day.

To open an account at Tickmill, you have to go through these steps:

1. ‘Choose your regulator’ will determine whether you sign up for the Tickmill site regulated by the UK, Cyprus or the Seychelles Authority. We recommend going for the UK one or the EU one (Cyprus) if available in your country
2. Fill in your name, country of residence, email address and telephone number
3. Add your personal information, such as your date of birth and address
4. Select the base currency
5. Provide your financial information and answer questions about your financial knowledge
6. Select your account type: Pro, Classic or VIP
7. Verify your identity and residency. You can upload a copy of your national ID, passport or driver’s license to verify your identity, while utility bills and bank statements are accepted as proof of residency.

Tickmill review – Account opening

Tickmill review 
Deposit and withdrawal

Deposit and withdrawal are fast and free of charge. There is a wide range of options including bank transfer, credit/debit cards, or electronic wallets. On the other hand, the number of available account base currencies is low.

Account base currencies

At Tickmill, you can choose from the following account base currencies: EUR, GBP, USD, PLN. This selection is wider than that of FXCM but smaller than AxiTrader’s.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you don’t have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. Revolut or Transferwise both offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

Tickmill charges no deposit fees. You can use bank transfer, credit/debit cards, and a lot of electronic wallets:

• Neteller
• Skrill
• dotpay
• Paysafecard
• Sofort
• Rapid by Skrill
• China Union Pay
• Fasapay
• Ngang Luong
• Qiwi
• Sticpay
• Webmoney

A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with credit/debit cards is instant.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Tickmill review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit

Withdrawal fees and options

Similarly to deposit, Tickmill charges no fee for withdrawal. You can use the same options for withdrawal as for deposit.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Tickmill? We tested the debit card withdrawal and it took 1 business day.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from Tickmill?

1. Log in to account management
2. Go to ‘Withdrawal Funds’
3. Select your account and withdrawal method
4. Add the withdrawal amount
5. Initiate the withdrawal

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Tickmill review 
Web trading platform

Tickmill’s web trading platform is provided by MetaTrader. It is highly customizable and has a clear fee report. On the other hand, the platform lacks price alerts, and the design is outdated.

Tickmill doesn’t have its own self-developed trading platform, it uses MetaTrader 4, a third-party platform.

MetaTrader 4 is available in an exceptionally large number of languages.

Look and feel

The Tickmill web trading platform has great customizability. You can easily change the size and the position of the tabs.

However, the platform feels outdated and some features are hard to find. For example, it took us a while to figure out how to add an asset to the watchlist.

Tickmill review – Web trading platform

Login and security

Tickmill provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure.

Search functions

The search functions are average. You can find assets grouped into various categories. However, we missed the usual search function where you can type in the name of an asset.

Tickmill review – Web trading platform – Search

Placing orders

You can use all the basic order types. However, you won’t find more sophisticated order types such as ‘one cancels the other’. 

The following order types are available:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Trailing Stop

Trailing Stop is available only on the MT4 desktop platform.

If you are not familiar with order types, read this overview.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good ’til canceled (GTC)
• Good ’til time (GTT)

Tickmill review – Web trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can’t set alerts and notifications on the Tickmill web trading platform. This feature is available only on the desktop trading platform.

Portfolio and fee reports

Tickmill has clear portfolio and fee reports. You can easily see your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports can be found under the ‘History’ tab. We didn’t find a way to download them.

73% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Tickmill review 
Mobile trading platform

Tickmill has a great mobile trading platform, offered by MetaTrader 4. It is a well-designed and user-friendly platform with a good search function. However, it lacks a safe login.

Similarly to the web trading platform, Tickmill offers MetaTrader 4 as a mobile trading platform. MetaTrader 4 is available for both iOS and Android. We tested it on Android.

After you download the MT4 mobile trading platform, you have to select the relevant server, e.g. TickmillUK-Live03. 

Just like at the web trading platform, you can choose from a lot of languages on the mobile trading platform too. Changing the language is a bit tricky on Android devices. You can do it only if you change the default language of your mobile.

Look and feel

Tickmill has a great mobile trading platform, we really liked its design and user-friendliness. You will easily find all the features.

Tickmill review – Mobile trading platform

Login and security

Similarly to the web trading platform, Tickmill provides only a one-step login. A two-step login would be safer.

You can’t use fingerprint or Face ID authentication. Providing this feature would be more convenient.

Search functions

The search functions are good. You can search by typing the name of the product or by navigating the category folders.

Tickmill review – Mobile trading platform – Search

Placing orders

You can use the same order types and order time limits as on the web trading platform.

Tickmill review – Mobile trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications for your mobile, although you can do it only on the desktop trading platform. It would be much easier if you could set these notifications on the mobile trading platform as well.

73% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Tickmill review 
Desktop trading platform

In design and functionality, the MetaTrader 4 desktop platform is almost the same as the web trading platform. One major difference is that you can set price alerts on the desktop trading platform.

Tickmill offers MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform.

It has the same design, is available in the same languages, offers the same order types plus Trailing Stop, has the same search functions, and offers the same portfolio and fee reports as the web trading platform.

The major difference is that you can set alerts and notifications on the desktop trading platform in the form of mobile push and email notifications. To set email or mobile notifications, you have to provide your email address and mobile MetaQuotes ID (you can find it in the MT4 app’s settings). You can add them if you go to ‘Tools’ and then ‘Options.’

Tickmill review – Desktop trading platform

73% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Tickmill review 
Markets and products

At Tickmill, you can trade only CFDs on forex, stock indices, commodities, and German government bonds. Popular asset classes, such as stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds and options are missing.

Tickmill is a CFD and forex broker. To learn more about CFDs read our CFD trading tips.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 

Tickmill’s currency pair selection is average, not as wide as AxiTrader’s but bigger than FXCM’s. You can also trade some CFDs on stock indexes, commodities, and bonds. However, stock CFD, ETF CFD, and crypto CFDs are not available.

You can change leverage levels, which is great.

Changing the leverage is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. For example, instead of trading with 5:1 leverage, only trade with 2:1 leverage in case of stock CFDs. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels are high.

Tickmill review 
Research

Tickmill has a wide range of services that can provide trading ideas, such as Autochartist, a chart pattern recognition tool. The analysis available on its blog is great. On the flip side, the news feed is basic and the charting tools have outdated design.

Tickmill’s research tools are available in different places:

• MetaTrader trading platform
• Autochartis in the ‘Client Area’
• ‘Client Tools’ section on the website
• Tickmill’s blog

Trading ideas

Tickmill has a handful of authors, called experts, who publish daily blog-like posts that explain and comment on market events. These short posts often showcase a chart and present trading opportunities. You can contact the experts if you have any comments or questions. We think this can be very useful for beginners.

We also liked Autochartist that gives trading ideas based on recognized chart patterns.

Tickmill review – Research – Recommendations

Fundamental data

As Tickmill focuses on forex trading, you would expect macroeconomic data rather than company fundamental data.

Tickmill provides an economic calendar, which is available through their website. It shows historical macroeconomic data. We liked the filter function, where you can filter by countries, data type, and importance.

Tickmill review – Research – Fundamental data

Charting

Tickmill has average charting tools. You can use 31 technical indicators. These charting tools can be found on the MetaTrader trading platforms.

On the negative side, the design is outdated and some features are hard to use. For example, it was hard to figure out how to remove an indicator from the chart.

Tickmill review – Research – Charting

News feed

Tickmill has poor news feed. It is not structured, so finding the relevant news is not easy. When you click on a headline it shows only a link to Investing.com.

Tickmill review – Research – News

Tickmill review 
Customer service

Tickmill provides good customer service. We got relevant and fast answers both on the telephone and by email. The live chat agents are also helpful and give relevant answers, however, response time was slower. On the downside, customer service is 24/5 only.

You can contact Tickmill via:

• live chat
• telephone
• email

Tickmill phone support was fast and we got relevant answers.

In email, we received a reply within a day and the answers were relevant. 

Tickmill’s live chat is of average-speed but they are eager to help you and will make screenshots for you if it helps explain things.

The only thing we missed is 24/7 availability.

Tickmill review – Customer Service

73% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Tickmill review 
Education

Tickmill has great educational content. You can learn through videos, demo accounts, and webinars. On the negative side, platform tutorial videos are not categorized.

At Tickmill you can learn in the following ways:

• Demo account
• General educational videos
• Platform tutorial videos
• Webinars
• Quality educational articles

General educational videos are available on the ‘Client Portal’, under ‘Forex Tools’. We really liked the quality of these videos.

Regarding the platform tutorial videos, you can access them on Tickmill’s website, under ‘Client Tools’ > ‘Video Tutorials’. These videos are not structured and some of them are in different languages, which can make learning more difficult.

Tickmill review – Education

73% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Tickmill review 
Safety

Tickmill is regulated by several financial authorities, including the UK FCA. On the other hand, the company is not listed on any exchange and does not have a bank parent.

Is Tickmill regulated?

It is regulated by several financial authorities, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the Financial Services Authority of Labuan Malaysia (LFSA).

Tickmill is based in the UK and was founded in 2014.

Is Tickmill safe?

To be certain, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• what the background of the broker is

How you are protected

Depending on your country of residency, you can open an account at one or more of Tickmill’s legal entities. 

This is important for you because the investor protection amount and the regulator differ from entity to entity. 

As of September 2020, Tickmill introduced two new entities under two new regulators: the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), and the Financial Services Authority of Labuan Malaysia (LFSA).We reached out to Tickmill, but at the time of our update, it is unknown which countries are under FSCA and LFSA authority. We will update the review when we find out.

We recommend you register your account with the UK entity, if it’s available for you, as we consider the FCA regulation the best one.

Tickmill provides negative balance protection for retail customers. If the balance on your account goes negative, you will be protected.

Background

Tickmill was established in 2014. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

Tickmill review 
Bottom line

Tickmill is a low-cost forex and CFD broker, regulated by several authorities globally, including the top-tier FCA.

On the plus side, we liked the low forex fees. Account opening is seamless and there are a lot of free deposit/withdrawal options.

Tickmill has some drawbacks though. Its product range is limited to forex, CFDs on some stock indexes and commodities. The trading platforms have outdated design and the news feed is basic.

We recommend Tickmill for those who are interested in CFD and forex trading and like MetaTrader trading platforms. Feel free to test it via the demo account.

73% of retail CFD accounts lose money