IG review

Our rating

IG scores 8.0 out of 10 on our table. That figure is an average of six things we assess, and it hides the shape of the broker: its strongest area is regulation at 10.0, its weakest is support at 5.9. Whether that gap matters depends entirely on which of the six you were going to use.

In its favour: extensive range of tradable instruments, advanced proprietary platform, strong regulatory oversight, comprehensive educational resources. Against it: inactivity fees after 2 years, higher spreads on certain accounts, limited product portfolio in some regions.

Regulation and safety10.0/10

IG lists its authorisations as FCA (195355); ASIC (AFSL 220440); BaFin (148759); FINMA; MAS; FMA New Zealand (FSP18923); JFSA; DFSA; BMA; NFA/CFTC. Those are tier-one authorisations, which is the strongest position a retail broker can be in - they carry leverage caps, client-money rules and, in several cases, a compensation scheme.

The licence that matters to you is the one held by the entity that opens your account, and at a multi-entity broker that is decided by your country of residence. Its registration can be checked directly on the FCA Financial Services Register, FRN 195355. It is a two-minute check and it is the only way to confirm that the firm taking your deposit is the firm named on the website.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own funds, with regulated banks in segregated client trust accounts - so that if the business fails, client balances are not part of what its creditors can reach. Negative balance protection applies to retail CFD clients where required, so a gap through your stop cannot leave you owing the broker money.

On compensation: FSCS up to £85,000 for eligible UK clients; statutory schemes vary by regulated entity. That covers the broker failing, not your trades losing money - the two are frequently confused and only one of them is insured.

IG does not accept clients from United States for OTC CFDs and other jurisdictions where IG products are prohibited or IG is not authorised. Restriction lists move, so confirm your own country before you spend time on an application.

What it costs to trade6.6/10

IG advertises spreads from 0.6 pips. There is no separate commission on its standard pricing, so the whole of the broker's charge sits inside that spread - one number to think about, and no arithmetic at the end of the month. Put the two together and a EUR/USD round turn works out at 0.85 pips, which is the figure worth comparing against other brokers.

An advertised minimum is the best price a broker has ever quoted, not the price you will get. On our record its measured average on EUR/USD is 0.85 pips, and 1.84 pips on GBP/USD. Spreads are variable, so they move with liquidity and widen around releases and the daily rollover.

Positions held overnight accrue a financing charge, which is irrelevant to a day trader and compounds for anyone holding for weeks. Currency conversion costs 0.5% where your account and the instrument use different currencies - worth avoiding by funding in the currency you intend to trade.

Platforms and tools9.5/10

IG runs IG Trading Platform, MetaTrader 4, ProRealTime, TradingView. MetaTrader 4 remains the platform with the deepest library of expert advisors and custom indicators, which is why brokers still offer it two versions later. TradingView integration means you can analyse and execute in the same window rather than charting in one tool and trading in another.

Automation is supported: yes. There is API access (Yes, REST API, streaming API and FIX for institutional clients) for anyone connecting their own software. Copy trading is not offered.

Charting runs to 100+. Additional tools include tradingView, ProRealTime, Autochartist, Reuters. On mobile: both proprietary and third-party.

Markets, leverage and execution9.7/10

IG covers Forex, Shares, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Bonds/Rates, Options, Futures. That comes to 17,000+ instruments in total. On the currency side specifically it lists 80+ pairs. Breadth is worth less than depth in the markets you actually trade - a hundred instruments priced well beats a thousand you will never open.

Leverage is capped at 1:30, which is the retail limit under tier-one regulation - a protection rather than a restriction. Our record for this broker reads "1:30 retail", and the difference between those figures is the entity you are onboarded to rather than anything you can choose. Whatever the headline, the number that governs your position is the margin requirement on the specific instrument - it is always lower on shares and crypto than on major currency pairs.

Execution is market maker / principal with DMA available on selected markets, meaning the broker is the counterparty to your trade rather than routing it to an external venue. It is a legitimate and very common model, and it is worth knowing which one you are dealing with. Measured speed is approx. 10ms. Its servers sit in london and global financial data centres, which is what determines latency more than any software choice.

Order types available: market, limit, stop, stop-loss, trailing stop, guaranteed stop, working orders. Stops and limits are table stakes; what separates platforms is whether the ones you rely on are there and how quickly they can be modified once a position is open.

Accounts

Account types run to CFD, Spread Betting, Share Trading, Options, Turbo24, Professional, Demo. There is no minimum deposit, so the account can be opened and tested with whatever you are comfortable risking. The smallest position it will take is 0.01 lots equivalent / instrument-dependent, which is what actually governs how precisely you can size risk on a small account.

A demo account is available, which is the cheapest way to find out whether the platform suits you. Professional classification is available for clients who qualify, which lifts leverage caps and lowers the protections that come with retail status - a trade rather than an upgrade. Opening takes less than 5 minutes.

Accounts can be denominated in GBP, USD, EUR, AUD, SGD, HKD. Funding in the currency you trade removes a conversion charge from every position, which is a small saving repeated indefinitely.

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposits can be made by Visa, Mastercard, debit card, bank transfer, PayPal, BPAY and PayID depending on jurisdiction. They clear in instant for cards.

Withdrawals go out by bank transfer, debit/credit card and supported original funding methods. Expect typically 1-3 business days. The minimum withdrawal is $0. Check the withdrawal routes rather than the deposit ones. They are frequently not the same list, anti-money-laundering rules usually require funds to return the way they came, and the difference only becomes apparent at the point you want your money back.

Local payment methods include BPAY and PayID in Australia; Faster Payments in UK; jurisdiction-specific bank transfer methods - which matters more than it looks if you are outside the broker's home market, since an international wire is slow and expensive compared with a domestic transfer.

Support and education5.9/10

Support runs 24/5, which covers the trading week but not the weekend - relevant if you hold positions through it, and particularly if you trade crypto. You can reach them by live chat, WhatsApp, phone, email. Live chat typically answers in under 2 minutes. Support is offered in multilingual.

Its education is substantial - IG Academy, courses, webinars, seminars, videos, tutorials and trading guides - which is the difference between a broker that will teach you and one that will simply take the deposit. Research output covers Extensive: Reuters news, IG analysis, trading signals, technical/fundamental analysis, client sentiment and IG Squawk.

The company behind the brand

The company behind the brand is IG Markets Limited, registered as 04008957. It operates from London, United Kingdom. It has been trading since 1974, which puts roughly 52 years and several market cycles behind it - including conditions that removed a good number of its contemporaries.

It sits within IG Group Holdings plc. The group is publicly listed, which means audited accounts and disclosure obligations a private broker does not carry - a genuine, if indirect, piece of reassurance. Headcount is in the 2,000+ range.

You may also see it under IG; IG Markets; IG Index; IG Prime. Brands and legal entities rarely map one to one in this industry, and the name on the website is not always the name on the client agreement.