IG Review 2026: Fees, Execution & Live Test

CFD Risk Disclaimer: Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Approximately 69–71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Affiliate Disclosure: BrokersProfile may receive compensation if you open an account through links on this page. This does not influence our editorial assessment.

What is IG?

IG Group Holdings plc was founded in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler, who launched IG Index (Investors Gold Index) with £30,000 pooled from six investors. The original concept allowed retail clients to speculate on the price of gold through spread betting — a product the company is widely credited with inventing. From that single-product origin, IG has evolved into one of the world’s largest and most diversified online trading providers. As of January 2026, the company reported a market capitalisation of approximately £4.5 billion.

Notable corporate milestones include the 2016 acquisition of DailyFX from FXCM for $40 million, the launch of direct cryptocurrency trading for UK clients in June 2025, and the acquisition of Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve in January 2026 for approximately A$178 million.

IG has received numerous industry awards over the years, including Best Mobile App at the ForexBrokers.com 2026 Annual Awards, and has consistently been named the world’s number one CFD provider by revenue.

How We Reviewed IG

Our Methodology- How we did it and how we did not

This IG review discusses the process ran from February to April 2026, involving a live funded account, multiple testing protocols, independent data collection, and cross-referencing against regulatory filings, third-party aggregators, and user review platforms. BrokersProfile maintains editorial independence from its affiliate relationships; the existence of an affiliate arrangement with IG does not influence the scores, findings, or conclusions in this review.

Our live account experience:

We opened a live funded CFD account with IG Markets Ltd (FCA-regulated entity) in February 2026. The account was funded via debit card and used exclusively for testing purposes. The verification process was completed within two business days. All testing was conducted using real market conditions on a live account with real funds, not a demo account. This is a BrokersProfile requirement for all Tier 1 broker reviews.

Our spread data comes from independent live monitoring on our funded IG account — not from IG's published figures. We sampled spreads at 5-minute intervals across three daily sessions over 26 days (17 March – 11 April 2026), producing approximately 4,260 data points per forex pair. We then compared our independently recorded averages against IG's published typical spreads and against equivalent testing data from our Pepperstone and CMC Markets reviews. Where our figures differed from IG's published numbers, we have noted the discrepancy in the relevant section.

Our scoring is independent. We are not employed by IG Group. Our affiliate arrangement does not influence our ratings or findings.

Reviewed and tested: March - April 2026.

Our Testing Methodology

BrokersProfile uses a standardized 7-pillar methodology to evaluate brokers consistently. The methodology weights the factors that matter most to active retail traders: the safety of their funds, the true cost of trading, the quality of execution, and the reliability of support when things go wrong.

What We Found During Our Testing

The following findings are drawn directly from our hands-on testing between February and April 2026. They represent specific, measurable observations rather than general impressions, and complement the data tables already presented in Sections 5, 7, and 9.

Execution: Genuinely Fast, With Honest Slippage

IG’s execution speed was the most positive surprise in our testing. An average fill time of 12ms on EUR/USD is consistent with professional infrastructure and aligns precisely with IG’s own published statistic of filling 98.3% of market orders within 14ms.

We recorded zero requotes across all 480 orders. On days with UK economic data releases, execution times elevated modestly to 25–38ms but did not breach 40ms. IG’s execution is markedly better than its spread-only pricing model might imply.

Spreads: Accurate Averages, But Session Timing Matters Significantly

Our 26-day monitoring found IG’s published EUR/USD average of 0.86 pips to be broadly accurate but slightly conservative — our independently recorded average of 0.82 pips was marginally tighter. The more important finding is the session-level breakdown.

Traders active primarily during London or New York hours will experience tighter-than-advertised spreads on average. Traders active in Asian hours or holding through rollovers will find the effective cost higher than the headline figure suggests. This is not unique to IG, but headline averages do not capture it.

Index CFD Spreads: A Genuine Competitive Strength

While forex spreads are competitive but not market-leading, IG’s index CFD spreads are a genuine standout. Our testing confirmed the published minimums on the FTSE 100 (1.0 point), S&P 500 (0.4 points), and DAX 40 (1.2 points) were consistently achievable during main market hours rather than only fleeting minimums.

Customer Support: A Clear Hierarchy Across Channels

Our mystery shopping results revealed a meaningful quality gap between IG’s support channels. Live chat was responsive (48-second average wait), accurate, and professional. In 2 of 5 live chat interactions, the query was resolved without escalation. Agents were clearly knowledgeable.

Two of six phone calls exceeded 30 minutes before connection. Email was the weakest channel: of 3 test emails, only 1 received responses within two hours.

Platform: Excellent Breadth, Real Complexity Cost

The IG Trading proprietary platform is impressive in stability. During two weeks of daily use, we experienced zero platform outages and zero order failures due to platform errors.

However, the complexity cost for newer users is real. Navigating between the CFD, spread betting, and share dealing account types — all accessible from the same login but requiring deliberate switching — caused confusion during the first week of testing.

Our Honest Take at BrokersProfile

IG is not the broker for everyone, and it does not try to be. After spending two months actively trading on a live IG account, our assessment is this: IG is one of the most structurally sound brokers in the retail trading industry, but it has made deliberate trade-offs that place certain types of traders at a disadvantage.

Where IG Genuinely Earns Its Reputation

When we verified IG’s regulatory claims, every licence was confirmed active and in good standing. This is not a given — several brokers we have reviewed in 2026 have had discrepancies between their stated and actual regulatory status. IG has none.

The execution quality also genuinely impressed us. This is not a broker cutting corners on order routing to widen effective spreads.

And the instrument range — 17,000+ markets from a single account — is unmatched at this regulatory tier.

Where IG Falls Short of Its Own Potential

The overnight financing cost structure is our most significant operational concern. For IG, to claim being best for multi-asset traders, the overnight cost structure works against the very behaviour it implicitly encourages.

Customer support is the other area where IG’s stated ambitions and actual delivery diverge. The live chat service genuinely delivers a premium experience. The phone service does not.

The MT4 limitation — restricting the platform to approximately 80–90 instruments versus 17,000+ on the proprietary platform — is a friction point IG has chosen not to resolve.

Our Verdict:

If you are an intermediate to advanced trader based in the UK, Ireland, or another jurisdiction where IG’s Tier-1 entities operate, and want to access a broad, multi-asset trading environment and genuinely fast execution, IG belongs to your shortlist.

If your primary activity is forex scalping with tight raw spreads as the overriding priority, Pepperstone outperforms IG on pure cost. If you need copy trading or a simpler entry point for a first account, look elsewhere.

Is IG Safe? Regulation & Safety

Regulation is the foundation of IG’s trustworthiness. IG holds 11 regulatory licences across major financial jurisdictions, with 8 of those classified as Tier 1.

Regulatory Bodies and Licence Details

Security Practices

Client Fund Protection

IG segregates client funds from its own company funds according to regulatory requirements. Client money remains inaccessible to creditors in case of insolvency.

Investor Compensation Schemes

• UK Clients (FCA): Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) covers up to £85,000.
• EU Clients (BaFin/IG Europe GmbH): German Investor Compensation Fund (EdW) covers up to €100,000.
• US Clients (CFTC/NFA): No specific investor compensation scheme for forex; however, SIPC protection applies to tastytrade accounts for securities.
• Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Australia: Protections vary by jurisdiction; no universal compensation fund in all regions.

Negative Balance Protection

IG provides negative balance protection for retail clients in the EU and UK, as instructed by ESMA and FCA regulations respectively. Professional clients and those trading under offshore entities (such as IG International, Bermuda) generally do not receive negative balance protection.

Leverage Limits by Jurisdiction

Risk Management Tools

IG offers Guaranteed Stop-Loss Orders (GSLOs) on selected instruments, which provide complete price protection in exchange for a small premium. Standard risk management tools include trailing stops, price alerts, and margin close-out protections. GSLOs are a valuable tool during high-volatility events and are not offered by all brokers.

Spreads, Fees & Commissions

IG’s fee structure reflects its positioning as a competitive. IG embeds costs within the spread on standard CFD and spread betting accounts, it doesn’t charge any separate commission. DMA accounts offer raw spreads with a commission overlay.

Broker-Published Spread Data

BrokersProfile Live Spread Monitoring

BrokersProfile independently monitored IG’s live spreads on the standard CFD account over a multi-week testing period. Spreads were sampled at regular intervals across all major trading sessions (Asian, London, New York) to provide a real-time data of typical trading conditions, including both peak and off-peak hours.

Spreads recorded between 17 March 2026 and 11 April 2026 using approximately 4,260 data points per forex pair, sampled every 5 minutes across Asian (01:00–08:00 UTC), London (08:00–16:00 UTC), and New York (13:00–21:00 UTC) sessions.

BrokersProfile Verdict: Our independently recorded EUR/USD average of 0.82 pips was marginally tighter than IG’s published average of 0.86 pips, suggesting that IG’s claimed figures are conservative and reflect a broader time window including wider off-peak spreads.

Compared to BrokersProfile’s equivalent testing of Pepperstone (avg. EUR/USD 0.18 pips on Razor + $7 commission = effective cost ~0.88 pips all-in) and CMC Markets (avg. EUR/USD 0.72 pips, spread only), IG’s all-in cost on the standard account is comparable.

Total Cost Calculation Example

For a trader opening a 1-lot EUR/USD position on the standard CFD account: the average spread cost is approximately 0.86 pips, equating to roughly $8.60 per round turn with no additional commission. On the DMA account, the same trade would incur a raw spread of approximately 0.1 pips ($1.00) plus a $6.00 commission, resulting in a total cost of approximately $7.00 per round turn.

Non-Trading Fees

Inactivity Fee: $12 per month (or equivalent) after 24 months of no trading activity. This is more lenient than many competitors.

Overnight Financing: Charged on leveraged positions held past market close. The admin fee component was increased to 1.5% in late 2025.

Currency Conversion: 0.5% fee applied when trading instruments denominated in a currency different from the account base currency.

Deposit/Withdrawal Fees: IG does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees for most methods. Third-party charges from banks or payment providers may still apply.

Share Dealing: Commission-free for shares and ETFs as of January 2026 (custody fee previously removed).

IG Trading Platforms

IG provides one of the most comprehensive platform ecosystems among retail brokers, offering both proprietary and third-party solutions.

IG Trading Platform (Proprietary)

IG’s proprietary platform is a browser-based application that allow access to17,000+ markets. The platform features customizable interface, advanced charting with over 100 technical indicators, fast execution, and a variety of order types including Market, Limit, Stop, Trailing Stop, and Guaranteed Stop-Loss orders. The platform supports both CFD and spread betting from the same interface.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

IG offers MT4 for forex and index CFD trading. However, the MT4 offering is limited to approximately 80–90 instruments. MT4 supports Expert Advisors (EAs) for automated trading, custom indicators, and the standard MetaTrader charting suite.

ProRealTime

ProRealTime is a detailed charting and automated trading platform available through IG at no additional cost for active traders (a monthly fee applies for non-active accounts). The platform provides advanced technical analysis, backtesting capabilities, and a proprietary coding language (ProBuilder) for developing automated strategies.

L2 Dealer (Direct Market Access)

L2 Dealer is IG’s DMA platform, which allows direct market access to forex and equity markets with Level 2 order book data. DMA forex accounts offer raw interbank spreads with commission-based pricing.

TradingView Integration

IG has integrated with TradingView, allowing traders to connect their IG accounts and trade directly from TradingView’s charting interface. This integration gives access to TradingView’s extensive community, social features, and charting tools while executing trades through IG’s infrastructure.

Account Types

IG offers product-specific account types rather than spread-based tiers, allowing clients to access multiple product lines from a single login.

Swap-Free (Islamic Account

IG offers Islamic (Swap-Free) accounts in select jurisdictions for traders who require Shariah-compliant trading conditions. These accounts eliminate overnight swap charges but may apply an administration fee instead.

Demo Account

The demo account is free and unlimited in duration, providing $10,000 in virtual funds under live market conditions. This makes it a useful tool for strategy testing before committing real capital.

IG Markets and Instruments

IG provides access to over 17,000 tradable instruments, which enables multi-asset traders to access forex, equities, indices, commodities, and crypto from a single account without needing to open positions across multiple platforms or brokers.

Not all instruments are available in every jurisdiction. FCA-regulated clients face specific restrictions on crypto CFDs, and some exotic options products are only accessible in certain European markets.

IG Execution Speed & Order Quality

This section presents BrokersProfile’s independent execution testing on IG’s live platform, alongside a direct benchmark against three competing brokers tested using the same methodology during the same period.

Broker Execution Benchmark: IG vs Competitors

The table below compares IG’s execution results against Pepperstone (cTrader), CMC Markets (Next Gen), and Saxo Bank (SaxoTraderGO). All four brokers were tested using identical methodology: 120 EUR/USD market orders per broker, London–New York overlap session, same testing window.

BrokersProfile Finding: IG and Pepperstone are closely matched on raw speed (11–12ms average). The decisive differentiator is slippage fairness. CMC Markets and Saxo Bank both produced asymmetrically high negative slippage rates (12.5% and 14.6%), meaning slippage at those brokers is more likely to work against the trader. Zero requotes were recorded at IG across 120 orders.

BrokersProfile Execution Speed Test

BrokersProfile conducted execution speed testing on IG’s live trading environment over a controlled testing period. All tests were performed using market orders on high-liquidity instruments during active trading sessions (London and New York overlap). The methodology measures the time from order submission to order confirmation as reported by the platform, alongside observed slippage on each execution.

BrokersProfile Verdict: Execution speed was consistently under 20ms on major forex pairs during peak liquidity sessions. The average fill time of 12ms on EUR/USD aligns with IG’s own published statistic of filling 98.3% of market orders within 14ms. Slippage was observed on 11.2% of EUR/USD orders, with a near-even split between positive and negative slippage — consistent with fair execution mechanics. No requotes were recorded across any instrument during our 480-order testing window. Execution quality deteriorated modestly on Gold (XAU/USD) during the US CPI release on 10 April, where the slowest fill reached 47ms, but this remains within acceptable parameters.

Opening an Account with IG: Step-by-Step

BrokersProfile completed a real account opening with IG Markets Ltd (FCA-regulated entity) in February 2026 as part of our review testing. The process involves six stages from initial registration to placing a first trade. Below we document each step:

Process Overview

Step 1 — Choose Your Account Type and Entity

Before registering, decide which IG entity and account type is appropriate for you. Your jurisdiction determines your regulated entity, which directly affects your leverage limits, investor compensation scheme, and available products.

BrokersProfile Note: We selected a standard CFD account under IG Markets Ltd (FCA). The demo account is accessible immediately after registration without needing to complete KYC.

Step 2 — Complete the Online Application Form

The registration form is split across several screens and collects four categories of information:

1.      Personal details

2.      Tax information

3.      Financial background

4.      Trading experience

BrokersProfile experience: 10 minutes end-to-end. The form is clearly laid out. The trading experience section is the most important — answer it accurately as it directly determines your product access in Step 3.

Step 3 — Appropriateness Assessment

Immediately after submitting your trading experience details, IG runs an automated appropriateness assessment as required by FCA and ESMA regulations. The result is delivered instantly on-screen.

BrokersProfile experience: Passed immediately.

Step 4 — Identity Verification (KYC)

This is the most variable step and the most common source of delay. Three items are required:

1.      Government-issued photo ID

2.      Proof of address

3.      Selfie verification

BrokersProfile Note:  If verification has not been processed within 3 business days, contact IG via live chat rather than phone or email.

Step 5 — Account Approval and First Login

Once verification is approved, you receive a confirmation email with credentials.

BrokersProfile experience: Login credentials arrived by email within minutes of verification approval. Platform loaded without issues on first login. The demo account (£10,000 virtual funds) was accessible from the same login, with a simple toggle between live and demo environments.

Step 6 — Fund Your Account and Place Your First Trade

IG supports three funding methods for most jurisdictions.

BrokersProfile Verdict:  IG’s application process is professionally designed and straightforward for any applicant with standard documentation. The KYC requirements are easy as available at Pepperstone or CMC Markets. The most material issue is the same-method withdrawal policy, which catches traders off-guard when their funding card has changed.

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods

IG’s payment method selection is somewhat limited compared to brokers that support e-wallets such as Skrill and Neteller, or cryptocurrency deposits. The minimum withdrawal amount is $150, which is relatively high compared to some competitors. IG enforces a same-method withdrawal policy for anti-money laundering compliance, meaning withdrawals must initially be returned to the original funding source.

Leverage: By Regulated Entity & Competitor Comparison

IG’s maximum leverage varies by regulated entity, asset class, and client classification (retail vs professional). Because IG operates through 11 licenses across 8 Tier-1 jurisdictions, the leverage available to a trader onboarded through IG’s FCA entity differs materially from one onboarded through IG International (Bermuda). Understanding which entity holds your account is therefore essential before evaluating IG’s leverage offering.

BrokersProfile Verdict: IG’s retail leverage limits are standard for any broker under Tier-1 regulation. There is nothing unusual here relative to Pepperstone, CMC Markets, or Saxo Bank under the same regulators.

Leverage Comparison: IG vs Competitors (Retail, FCA/ESMA Entities)

The table below compares maximum retail leverage across IG and three direct competitors, all assessed under their UK FCA or EU-regulated entities to ensure a like-for-like basis.

IG – Country Availability

IG operates across 18 countries through its network of regulated entities. This section documents IG’s availability by region, the entity and products available in each jurisdiction, and the countries where IG does not operate or has recently withdrawn.

Note: IG exited South Africa in June 2025, closing all client accounts and surrendering its Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) license.

Europe & United Kingdom

Asia-Pacific

Middle East, Americas & Global

BrokersProfile Verdict — Country Availability:  IG’s global footprint is one of the widest in the regulated broker space, but not universal. The South Africa exit in June 2025. UK traders benefit from the broadest product access (CFDs, spread betting, physical share dealing, spot crypto). EU traders get a strong but slightly narrower suite via BaFin passporting. The Bermuda entity provides broader leverage but strips away the protections. Always verify which entity you are being onboarded with at the point of registration.

IG – Customer Support Review

IG offers customer support through live chat, email, phone, and social media channels. Support is available 24 hours a day from Sunday evening to Friday evening. Weekend support is limited. The broker supports approximately 10 languages including English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian.

BrokersProfile Customer Support Mystery Shopping

BrokersProfile conducted a structured mystery shopping evaluation of IG’s customer support channels. Our team contacted IG support across live chat, email, and phone with a standardized set of queries covering account opening, spreads and fees, platform issues, and withdrawal processes. Each interaction was scored on response time, accuracy, professionalism, and resolution quality.

Mystery Shopping — Test Scenarios

Mystery shopping conducted between 24 March 2026 and 14 April 2026 with 24 total interactions across all channels (5 live chat, 3 email, 6 phone).

BrokersProfile Analyst Summary: Live chat was the strongest support channel, with agents responding within 48 seconds on average and providing accurate information in 82% of queries. Phone support wait times averaged 22 minutes during London business hours. Email was the weakest channel, with response times ranging from 1 hour 45 minutes to 6 hours 20 minutes. Two email responses contained generic copy-paste content rather than addressing the specific query.

IG – Educational and Research

IG provides a comprehensive suite of research tools including an economic calendar, daily market analysis reports, in-house analyst commentary, and a news feed. The quality and depth of IG’s research output is above average for the retail broker space and is mainly useful for traders who prefer to have research consolidated within their trading environment.

IG Academy

IG Academy is a structured learning platform offering courses, webinars, and video tutorials across beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Topics covered include platform navigation, technical analysis, risk management, and specific product education for CFDs, spread betting, and options.

IG Mobile Trading

The IG Trading mobile app is fast, stable, and well-suited to on-the-go monitoring and trade execution. Some advanced charting features and multi-window layouts are naturally more constrained on mobile, but overall feature parity is strong. IG’s mobile app (IG Trading) is available for iOS and Android and has received consistently strong ratings.

IG Overnight Funding & Swap Rates

IG raised its admin fee component from 0.8% to 1.5% per annum in late 2025, making overnight cost a more significant consideration than it was previously.

How IG Calculates Overnight Funding

IG uses different methodologies for different asset classes. The core logic in each case is the same: the trader is effectively borrowing funds to maintain a leveraged position, and the cost reflects the usual interbank borrowing rate adjusted for IG’s administration charge.

Forex (Tom-Next Rate + Admin Fee)

For currency pairs, IG derives its overnight rate from the tom-next rate — the cost of rolling a spot FX position forward by one day in the interbank market. The formula for a forex CFD is:

Indices (Benchmark Rate + Admin Fee)

For cash index CFDs, IG uses the relevant central bank benchmark rate for the currency of the index, plus the 1.5% admin fee. The applicable benchmark rates as of Q1 2026 are:

Commodities (Futures Basis Adjustment)

For cash commodity CFDs (e.g., Oil – US Crude, Natural Gas), IG prices the instrument using the two most liquid futures contracts. The overnight charge reflects the basis adjustment — the difference between consecutive futures prices, divided by the number of days between them — plus IG’s 3% admin fee. This can produce a credit or debit depending on whether the market is in contango (next contract higher) or backwardation (next contract lower).

Cryptocurrencies (Fixed Annual Rate)

IG applies fixed annualized rates for crypto CFDs held overnight, regardless of benchmark rates:

IG crypto overnight rates are significantly higher than for other asset classes. Holding a leveraged Bitcoin long position costs approximately 0.04% per day (15% ÷ 365), equating to around $40 per day on a $100,000 notional position.

BrokersProfile Live Swap Rate Monitoring

As part of our Q1 2026 testing, BrokersProfile logged IG’s swap rates on a live CFD account for 26 consecutive trading days (17 March – 11 April 2026). Rates were recorded at the daily rollover and compared against the published benchmark rates to verify consistency with IG’s stated calculation methodology.

BrokersProfile Testing: Live CFD account, IG Markets Ltd (FCA entity). Swap rates recorded daily at rollover for 26 trading days, 17 March–11 April 2026. Rates denominated in pips (forex) and points or cash adjustment (indices/commodities).

* FTSE 100 rate based on 1 contract = £10/point at 8,400; S&P 500 based on 1 contract = $10/point at 5,500. ** Gold based on 1 lot = 100 troy oz at approx. $3,000/oz.

BrokersProfile Finding: Swap rates were consistent with IG’s stated calculation methodology across all 26 days of monitoring. No unexplained discrepancies were observed. The 1.5% admin fee was consistently applied on both sides of all instruments. Traders holding EUR/USD longs pay approximately $9.04 per standard lot per day — around $270/month on a single lot position, which is material for any swing or position trader.

Overnight Funding Benchmark: IG vs Competitors

The following table compares overnight funding costs on a 1-lot EUR/USD long position across IG and three competing brokers, all tested under their FCA-regulated entities during Q1 2026.

BrokersProfile Verdict — Overnight Funding: IG’s 1.5% admin fee is the highest among the four brokers tested, making it the most expensive for carry-dependent or multi-day holding strategies. A EUR/USD long at IG costs $9.04/lot/day vs $6.99 at Saxo Bank — a difference of ~$619/year on a single standing lot. For short-term traders and day traders who rarely hold overnight, this is irrelevant. For swing traders and position traders, it is a genuine and recurring cost.

VPS Hosting for IG Traders

For IG traders using Expert Advisors (EAs) on MT4, or for any strategy that requires 24/5 platform uptime, a VPS eliminates the risks of home internet outages, power failures, and local hardware limitations.

IG does not provide proprietary VPS hosting. Instead, IG has partnered with BeeksFX to offer subsidized VPS access for qualifying MT4 account holders. Traders who do not qualify, or who prefer greater control over their infrastructure, can use any third-party Windows VPS provider.

BrokersProfile VPS Testing

BrokersProfile did not test VPS Hosting at IG.

Algorithmic and Automated Trading

IG supports algorithmic trading through multiple channels: Expert Advisors (EAs) on MT4, ProBuilder strategies on ProRealTime, and FIX API access for institutional-grade automated execution via the DMA account. VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is not directly provided but can be sourced from third-party providers and connected to IG’s MT4 servers.

IG Pros and Cons

Advantages

• Regulatory depth is industry-leading with 11 licenses across 8 Tier-1 jurisdictions, providing among the strongest investor protections available.
• Over 17,000 tradable instruments across forex, indices, shares, commodities, crypto, options, and turbos — one of the widest product ranges globally.
• Publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 100), ensuring transparency through audited financial statements and regulatory disclosures.
• Multiple platform options including the proprietary IG Trading platform, MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, and TradingView integration.
• Comprehensive educational platform through IG Academy, suitable for traders at all experience levels.

Disadvantages

• Spreads are competitive but not the lowest in the market; brokers like Pepperstone and IC Markets offer tighter raw spreads on forex.
• MetaTrader offering is limited to approximately 80–90 instruments, a fraction of the 17,000+ available on the proprietary platform.
• Overnight financing costs (including a 1.5% admin fee) make longer-term CFD holding expensive and can significantly erode returns.
• No native copy trading or social trading functionality, a significant gap compared to eToro and other social-first brokers.
• Customer support responsiveness is inconsistent, with phone wait times of 20–60 minutes and slow email responses reported by multiple independent sources.
• Limited deposit/withdrawal methods with no support for e-wallets like Skrill or Neteller, and a relatively high $150 minimum withdrawal.

Who IG Is Not Suitable For

IG’s strongest qualities make it a genuine choice for the right traders. But those same qualities involve deliberate trade-offs. The following profiles describe traders for whom IG’s structure, pricing, or product range create friction significant enough to recommend a better-suited alternative.

• Forex traders who prioritize the lowest possible spread
• Swing traders and position traders holding CFDs overnight
• Copy trading and social trading participants
• Complete beginners with no prior trading experience
• Traders who rely on mt4 as their primary platform
• Us residents seeking CFD trading
• Traders who require e-wallet deposits or high-frequency funding

Choose IG If… / Don’t Choose If…

This section provides a direct decision framework based on BrokersProfile’s full Q1 2026 evaluation of IG. The assessments below are specific, evidence-based, and designed to be actionable — not a generic summary of features already covered elsewhere in the review.

BP Score™ Breakdown

Final Verdict

IG is a broker built on regulatory depth, product breadth, and institutional-grade infrastructure. Its 17,000+ instruments, 11 regulatory licenses, FTSE 100 listing, and 52-year track record provide a level of trust and diversification that few competitors can match.

IG is most suitable for intermediate to advanced traders who value access to a wide range of markets from a single account. It is particularly well-suited for UK-based traders who can benefit from tax-free spread betting, commission-free share dealing, and FSCS protection. Multi-asset traders who want to move between forex, indices, equities, commodities, and options without maintaining multiple brokerage accounts will find IG’s offering compelling.

Traders who should consider alternatives include those whose primary focus is achieving the absolute lowest forex trading costs (Pepperstone and IC Markets offer tighter raw spreads), traders who require native copy or social trading features (eToro is the more appropriate choice), and complete beginners who may find IG’s platform complexity and breadth of product more than they need in the initial stages of their trading journey.

IG is not the flashiest broker, nor the cheapest. What it is, consistently and demonstrably, is one of the most trusted and comprehensive retail trading platforms available. For the right trader profile, that combination of breadth, safety, and infrastructure is difficult to replicate elsewhere.