Is IG better than Interactive Brokers? After testing 27 of the best forex brokers over five months, IG is better than Interactive Brokers. Regulated and trusted across the globe, IG offers traders the ultimate package of excellent trading and research tools, industry-leading education, competitive pricing, and an extensive list of tradeable products. This fantastic all-round experience makes IG the best overall broker in 2021.
IG vs Interactive Brokers 2021
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Overall Rating
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Overall | ||
Commissions & Fees | ||
Offering of Investments | ||
Platforms & Tools | ||
Mobile Trading | ||
Research | ||
Education | ||
Trust Score | 99 | 94 |
IG Review | Interactive Brokers Review | |
Winner | check_circle | |
75% of retail CFD accounts lose money | 66% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
Regulation
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Trust Score | 99 | 94 |
Year Founded |
1974 | 1977 |
Publicly Traded (Listed) |
Yes | Yes |
Bank |
Yes | No |
Tier-1 Licenses |
6 | 6 |
Tier-2 Licenses |
3 | 0 |
Tier-3 Licenses |
1 | 0 |
Authorised in the European Union |
Yes | Yes |
Tier-1 Licenses (High Trust)
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
ASIC Authorised (Australia) |
Yes | No |
IIROC Authorised (Canada) |
No | Yes |
SFC Authorised (Hong Kong) |
No | Yes |
FSA Authorised (Japan) |
Yes | Yes |
MAS Authorised (Singapore) |
Yes | Yes |
FINMA Authorised (Switzerland) |
Yes | Yes |
FCA Authorised (UK) |
Yes | Yes |
CFTC Registered (USA) |
Yes | Yes |
Investments
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Forex: Spot Trading |
Yes | Yes |
Social Trading / Copy-Trading |
Yes | No |
Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) |
104 | 105 |
CFDs - Total Offered |
19537 | 7400 |
Cryptocurrency traded as actual |
No | No |
Cryptocurrency traded as CFD |
Yes | No |
Cost
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard |
0.745 (August 2020) | N/A |
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active |
0.365 (May 2020) | N/A |
Active Trader or VIP Discounts |
Yes | Yes |
Funding
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Minimum Initial Deposit |
£250.00 | $0 |
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) |
Yes | Yes |
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) |
Yes | No |
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) |
Yes | No |
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) |
No | No |
Trading Platforms
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Proprietary Platform |
Yes | Yes |
Desktop Platform (Windows) |
Yes | Yes |
Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
Social Trading / Copy-Trading |
Yes | No |
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) |
Yes | No |
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) |
No | No |
cTrader |
No | No |
DupliTrade |
No | No |
ZuluTrade |
No | No |
Trading Tools
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Virtual Trading (Demo) |
Yes | Yes |
Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
Watchlists - Total Fields |
14 | 494 |
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) |
30 | 121 |
Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) |
20 | 9 |
Charting - Trade From Chart |
Yes | Yes |
Charting - Drawings Autosave |
No | Yes |
Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | Yes |
Mobile Trading
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Android App |
Yes | Yes |
Apple iOS App |
Yes | Yes |
Trading - Forex |
Yes | Yes |
Trading - CFDs |
Yes | Yes |
Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
Watch List |
Yes | Yes |
Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
Charting - Indicators / Studies |
30 | 70 |
Charting - Draw Trendlines |
Yes | No |
Charting - Trendlines Moveable |
Yes | No |
Charting - Multiple Time Frames |
Yes | Yes |
Charting - Drawings Autosave |
Yes | Yes |
Forex Calendar |
Yes | Yes |
Research
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Daily Market Commentary |
Yes | Yes |
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) |
Yes | Yes |
Weekly Webinars |
Yes | No |
AutoChartist |
Yes | No |
Trading Central (Recognia) |
No | Yes |
Delkos Research |
No | No |
Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs |
Yes | Yes |
Economic Calendar |
Yes | Yes |
Education
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Has Education - Forex |
Yes | Yes |
Has Education - CFDs |
Yes | Yes |
Client Webinars |
Yes | Yes |
Client Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos |
Yes | No |
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos |
Yes | Yes |
Investor Dictionary (Glossary) |
Yes | Yes |
Major Forex Pairs
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
GBP/USD |
Yes | Yes |
USD/JPY |
Yes | Yes |
EUR/USD |
Yes | Yes |
USD/CHF |
Yes | Yes |
USD/CAD |
Yes | Yes |
NZD/USD |
Yes | Yes |
AUD/USD |
Yes | Yes |
Overall
Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
Overall | ||
Commissions & Fees | ||
Offering of Investments | ||
Platforms & Tools | ||
Mobile Trading | ||
Research | ||
Education | ||
Trust Score | 99 | 94 |
IG Review | Interactive Brokers Review |
Comparing forex brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2021 annual forex broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 27 forex and CFD brokerages to find the best forex broker. Let's compare IG vs Interactive Brokers.
Does IG or Interactive Brokers offer lower pricing?
Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spreads data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough annual assessment, IG offers better pricing overall for traders.
Is IG or Interactive Brokers safer for forex and CFDs trading?
At ForexBrokers.com, we track where each forex and CFD broker is regulated across over 20 international regulator databases. Here's our findings. Both IG and Interactive Brokers hold 6 global Tier-1 licenses. IG holds 3 global Tier-2 licenses, while Interactive Brokers holds 0. All regulators considered, IG has a Trust Score of 99.00, while Interactive Brokers's Trust Score is 94.00.
Which trading platform is better: IG or Interactive Brokers?
To compare the trading platforms of both IG and Interactive Brokers, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, IG offers a better experience. With research, IG offers superior market research. Finally, we found IG to provide better mobile trading apps.
What about MetaTrader and copy trading?
For forex and CFDs traders, copy trading and MetaTrader are both popular platform options. While IG offers copy trading, Interactive Brokers does not. IG offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Interactive Brokers does not.
How many forex pairs and CFDs are available to trade?
Interactive Brokers provides traders 105 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to IG's 104 available pairs. Forex pairs aside, IG offers traders access to 19537 CFDs while Interactive Brokers has 7400 available CFDs, a difference of 12,137.
Overall winner: IG
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Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involve 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 website as of 12/14/2020 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.
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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.