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IG vs Interactive Brokers 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.
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Since 1974, join 195,000 traders worldwide, listed on the FTSE 250 Visit Site
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Overall Rating
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
| Overall | ||
| IG Review | Interactive Brokers Review | |
| 74% of retail CFD accounts lose money | 63.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
Regulation
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
| Trust Score | 99 | 91 |
|
Year Founded |
1974 | 1977 |
|
Publicly Traded (Listed) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bank |
Yes | No |
|
Tier-1 Licenses |
6 | 5 |
|
Tier-2 Licenses |
3 | 0 |
|
Tier-3 Licenses |
0 | 0 |
|
Authorised in the European Union |
Yes | Yes |
Tier-1 Licenses
| 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 | No |
|
FINMA Authorised (Switzerland) |
Yes | Yes |
|
FCA Authorised (UK) |
Yes | Yes |
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CFTC Registered (USA) |
Yes | Yes |
Tier-2 Licenses
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
CBRC Authorised (China) |
No | No |
|
CySEC Authorised (Cyprus) |
No | No |
|
ISA Authorised (Israel) |
No | No |
|
FMA Authorised (New Zealand) |
Yes | No |
|
CBR Authorised (Russia) |
No | No |
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FSB Authorised (South Africa) |
Yes | No |
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SEC Authorised (Thailand) |
No | No |
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DFSA / Central Bank Authorised (UAE) |
Yes | No |
Tier-3 Licenses
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
FSC Authorised (British Virgin Islands) |
No | No |
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FSC Authorised (Mauritius) |
No | No |
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Offshore Authorised |
No | No |
Investments
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
Forex: Spot Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) |
91 | 115 |
|
CFDs - Total Offered |
15000 | 6100 |
|
Cryptocurrency traded as actual |
No | No |
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Cryptocurrency traded as CFD |
Yes | Yes |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Cost
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard |
0.75 (as of Q4 18) | N/A |
|
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active |
0.363 (as of Mar 16) | N/A |
|
Active Trader or VIP Discounts |
Yes | Yes |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
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 | No |
|
Social Trading / Copy-Trading |
Yes | No |
|
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) |
Yes | No |
|
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) |
No | No |
|
cTrader |
No | No |
Trading Tools
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
Virtual Trading (Demo) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
|
Watchlists - Total Fields |
12 | 300 |
|
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) |
22 | 121 |
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Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) |
17 | 9 |
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Charting - Trade From Chart |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - Drawings Autosave |
No | Yes |
|
Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | Yes |
| Platform & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
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 |
26 | 68 |
|
Charting - Draw Trend Lines |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Trend Lines Moveable |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Multiple Time Frames |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - Drawings Autosave |
Yes | Yes |
|
Forex Calendar |
Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Research
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
Daily Market Commentary |
Yes | No |
|
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Weekly Webinars |
Yes | No |
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AutoChartist |
Yes | No |
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Trading Central (Recognia) |
No | Yes |
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Delkos Research |
No | No |
|
Social Trading / Copy-Trading |
Yes | No |
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Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs |
Yes | No |
|
Economic Calendar |
Yes | Yes |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Education
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
Has Education - Forex |
Yes | Yes |
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Has Education - CFDs |
Yes | Yes |
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Client Webinars |
Yes | Yes |
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Client Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos |
Yes | No |
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Videos - Advanced Trading Videos |
Yes | Yes |
|
Investor Dictionary (Glossary) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Tutorials/Guide (PDF or Interactive) |
Yes | Yes |
| Education | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Major Forex Pairs
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
|
GBP/USD |
Yes | Yes |
|
USD/JPY |
Yes | Yes |
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EUR/USD |
Yes | Yes |
|
USD/CHF |
Yes | Yes |
|
USD/CAD |
Yes | Yes |
|
NZD/USD |
Yes | Yes |
|
AUD/USD |
Yes | Yes |
|
USDCNH (or CNHUSD) |
Yes | Yes |
|
USDSGD (or SGDUSD) |
Yes | Yes |
Overall
| Feature | IG | Interactive Brokers |
| IG Review | Interactive Brokers Review | |
| Overall | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
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.
