Is Tickmill safe?
Tickmill is regulated by FCA (717270) and 1 more authority, keeps client funds in segregated accounts, and clients are covered by ICF (€20,000).
Verdict based on verified regulatory data below. We are not affiliated with regulators.
Who regulates Tickmill
Licenses held, with registry numbers where public
Why this broker scores 83/100
Full methodology →⚠ 1 axis accounts for 7 of 17 lost points
How safe is your money
Segregated client accounts
Client funds held separately from operating capital. Required by regulator.
Investor compensation: ICF (€20,000)
If broker becomes insolvent, your covered assets are reimbursed up to the scheme's limit.
Not a publicly traded company
Private — financials are not disclosed publicly.
12 years of operations
Founded 2014. No major regulatory actions on record.
Negative balance protection
You cannot lose more than your account balance.
CFD/crypto exposure
Offers high-leverage products. 74–89% of retail CFD accounts lose money in the long run.
What could go wrong
- CFD-only — does NOT offer real stocks, ETFs or bonds despite 'Stock CFDs' brandingTickmill's homepage lists 'Stock & ETF CFDs' as asset classes — these are derivatives, not actual securities. You don't own the shares, no dividends as cash (cash-adjusted via CFD price), no voting rights, no FATCA. If you want to compound a real-shares portfolio over years, Tickmill cannot serve you.
- Trustpilot 'fake reviews removed' notice — material trust signalTrustpilot flagged Tickmill's broker page for compensated/fake review patterns. Headline rating of 3.8 is post-cleanup but the flag itself is the signal: the broker historically incentivised reviews. Verify on the source link.
- High-leverage retail accounts (1:500) under offshore FSA SeychellesEU/UK clients get 1:30 ESMA-mandated leverage. Offshore (FSA Seychelles) gets up to 1:500 — but the FSA Seychelles license has weaker investor protection than FCA / CySEC. Tickmill's own risk warning reports 71% (UK) / 74% (EU) of retail CFD accounts lose money — and that is before stacking the higher offshore leverage.
- No proprietary platform — MT4 / MT5 onlyTickmill doesn't operate its own UI; you use the standard MetaTrader stack. Fine for FX traders fluent in MT, but no differentiation vs other FX brokers. No web-trader, no mobile-first option, no integrated research.
- Compensation caps at €20,000 — below FCA (£85k) / SIPC ($500k)Investor compensation tops out at the listed cap — well below the FCA (£85k) or SIPC ($500k). Matters most if your balance exceeds it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tickmill regulated?
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Is my money protected at Tickmill?
What happens if Tickmill goes bankrupt?
How we verified this review
Every fact below is verified against primary sources. We refresh on a schedule and on reader feedback.