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IG vs Interactive Brokers Review
By ForexBrokers.com / June 13th, 2019
Is IG Group better than Interactive Brokers? After assessing forex brokers on nearly 100 different variables, IG Group is better than Interactive Brokers. Regulated and trusted across the globe, IG offers traders an extensive list of tradable products, excellent trading and research tools, industry leading education, and competitive rates. This fantastic all-round experience makes IG our No. 1 overall broker in 2019.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Overall
Regulation
Trust Score
Year Founded
Publicly-Traded Company (Listed)
Regulated in Major Hub
Regulated in Emerging Hub
CFTC Registered (USA)
Authorised in the European Union
FCA Authorised (UK)
FINMA Authorised (Switzerland)
ASIC Authorised (Australia)
MAS Authorised (Singapore)
IIROC Authorised (Canada)
SFC Authorised (Hong Kong)
FSA Authorised (Japan)
CySEC Authorised (Cyprus)
FMA Authorised (New Zealand)
Investments
Forex: Spot Trading
Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs)
CFDs - Total Offered
Cryptocurrency traded as actual
Cryptocurrency traded as CFD
Offering of Investments
Winner
Cost
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active
Active Trader or VIP Discounts
Commissions & Fees
Winner
Funding
Minimum Initial Deposit
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw)
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)
UnionPay (Deposit/Withdraw)
Trading Platforms
Proprietary Platform
Desktop Platform (Windows)
Web Platform
Social Trading / Copy-Trading
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
cTrader
Trading Tools
Virtual Trading (Demo)
Alerts - Basic Fields
Watchlists - Total Fields
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)
Charting - Drawing Tools (Total)
Charting - Trade From Chart
Charting - Drawings Autosave
Order Type - Trailing Stop
Platform & Tools
Winner
Mobile Trading
Android App
Apple iOS App
Trading - Forex
Trading - CFDs
Alerts - Basic Fields
Watch List
Watch List Syncing
Charting - Indicators / Studies
Charting - Draw Trend Lines
Charting - Trend Lines Moveable
Charting - Multiple Time Frames
Charting - Drawings Autosave
Forex Calendar
Mobile Trading
Winner
Research
Daily Market Commentary
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)
Weekly Webinars
AutoChartist
Trading Central (Recognia)
Delkos Research
Social Trading / Copy-Trading
Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs
Economic Calendar
Research
Winner
Education
Has Education - Forex
Has Education - CFDs
Client Webinars
Client Webinars (Archived)
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos
Investor Dictionary (Glossary)
Tutorials/Guide (PDF or Interactive)
Education
Winner
Major Forex Pairs
GBPUSD (or USDGBP)
USDJPY (or JPYUSD)
EURUSD (or USDEUR)
USDCHF (or CHFUSD)
USDCAD (or CADUSD)
NZDUSD (or USDNZD)
AUDUSD (or USDAUD)
USDCNH (or CNHUSD)
USDSGD (or SGDUSD)
Overall
Overall
Winner
Since 1974, join 195,000 traders worldwide, listed on the FTSE 250 Visit Site
97
1974
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
91
15000
No
Yes
check_circle
0.75 (as of Q4 18)
0.363 (as of Mar 16)
Yes
check_circle
£250.00
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
12
22
17
Yes
No
Yes
check_circle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
26
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
check_circle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
check_circle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
check_circle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
91
1977
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
115
6100
No
Yes
N/A
N/A
Yes
$0
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
300
121
9
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
68
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
After spending several months and hundreds of hours researching 28 different forex brokers for trading FX, our team at ForexBrokers.com team collected over 2,200 data points. For this review, we will compare IG Group vs Interactive Brokers.
To compare these two FX brokers, we will first take a look at the fees charged for trading (no easy task). Not every forex broker publicizes their average spreads, spreads data can vary, as can execution policies and how commissions are charged. Specifically, is the broker a dealing desk (market maker), no dealing desk (agency broker) or are both execution methods offered (dealing desk + STP/ECN)? To simplify this research, we assessed everything for you and provide a single star rating for cost. IG Group is a better option with a 4.50 star rating over Interactive Brokers's 4.00 star rating.
Commissions and fees aside, let's take a look at regulation and currency availability. Trust is critical, and you should highly consider choosing a broker that regulated in a major hub. IG Group and Interactive Brokers both are regulated in a major hub. IG Group and Interactive Brokers are publicly traded companies. As far as how many currency pairs are available for trading, here's the answer. IG Group trails Interactive Brokers by 24 total currency pairs (for example, EUR/USD), with Interactive Brokers offering 115 and IG Group offering 91.
Next, let's look at the tools and features fx traders desire. With trading platforms, forex traders are all familiar with MetaTrader. IG Group has Meta Trader, Interactive Brokers doesn't. Regardless of the trading platform you use, charting should be feature rich. To help compare these two brokers, we counted the number of drawing tools and total technical indicators made available. IG Group boasts an offering of 17 charting tools compared to Interactive Brokers's 9 available charting tools. IG Group trails Interactive Brokers by 99 total different indicators (for example, moving averages), with Interactive Brokers offering 121 and IG Group offering 22.
IG Group Review
Interactive Brokers Review
To compare these two FX brokers, we will first take a look at the fees charged for trading (no easy task). Not every forex broker publicizes their average spreads, spreads data can vary, as can execution policies and how commissions are charged. Specifically, is the broker a dealing desk (market maker), no dealing desk (agency broker) or are both execution methods offered (dealing desk + STP/ECN)? To simplify this research, we assessed everything for you and provide a single star rating for cost. IG Group is a better option with a 4.50 star rating over Interactive Brokers's 4.00 star rating.
Commissions and fees aside, let's take a look at regulation and currency availability. Trust is critical, and you should highly consider choosing a broker that regulated in a major hub. IG Group and Interactive Brokers both are regulated in a major hub. IG Group and Interactive Brokers are publicly traded companies. As far as how many currency pairs are available for trading, here's the answer. IG Group trails Interactive Brokers by 24 total currency pairs (for example, EUR/USD), with Interactive Brokers offering 115 and IG Group offering 91.
Next, let's look at the tools and features fx traders desire. With trading platforms, forex traders are all familiar with MetaTrader. IG Group has Meta Trader, Interactive Brokers doesn't. Regardless of the trading platform you use, charting should be feature rich. To help compare these two brokers, we counted the number of drawing tools and total technical indicators made available. IG Group boasts an offering of 17 charting tools compared to Interactive Brokers's 9 available charting tools. IG Group trails Interactive Brokers by 99 total different indicators (for example, moving averages), with Interactive Brokers offering 121 and IG Group offering 22.
IG Group Review
Interactive Brokers Review
Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. All data was obtained from a published web site as of 02/18/2019 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. The ForexBrokers.com staff is constantly working with its online broker representatives to obtain the latest data. If you believe any data listed above is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page.
IG - 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
