IG
FULL REVIEW 2026

Overview

IG is the oldest and largest CFD broker in the world — founded in London in 1974, listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 250), regulated across eight tier-1 jurisdictions including the FCA, with 17,000+ instruments and one of the highest trust profiles any retail broker can offer.

Platforms: IG's own web and mobile platform (where the full instrument list lives), MT4, TradingView integration, ProRealTime, and L2 Dealer for direct market access. One current review lists MT5 in IG's lineup while most others list MT4 only — MetaTrader availability differs by region and entity, so verify what your local IG entity offers before funding. Either way, the MetaTrader instrument list is materially thinner than IG's own platform.

Costs and entry: EUR/USD spreads average roughly 0.6–0.9 pips on the standard CFD account. Minimum deposit is effectively zero by bank transfer in many regions (~$250–300 by card, and different thresholds at some entities). US residents get IG's forex-only service — no CFDs.

Key Information

Leverage is shown as the retail cap set by the named regulator. A different group entity may offer more offshore, and a wholesale client may legitimately be offered more again.

Spreads & Trading Costs

IG is spread-only on forex: the cost is in the quote and there is no separate commission line unless IG notifies you in writing.

EUR/USD — minimum spread 0.6, average 0.85 over the 00:00–21:00 window and 1.04 across the full week, on IG's own published table. The minimum is what you get when the underlying market is tight; the average is what you should budget for. One contract is 100,000 of the first-named currency, and a mini contract is 10,000.

What else you pay: daily interest on any position held overnight; a fee for attaching a guaranteed stop, refunded if the stop is not triggered; and a currency-conversion charge when the instrument currency differs from your account currency. Live forex and share CFD data is free; live DMA share prices carry a monthly subscription.

Read that against a raw account. IG's average EUR/USD cost is roughly 0.85–1.04 pips all-in. A raw account at $6–$7 the round turn plus a 0.1 pip spread lands nearer 0.7 pips. IG is not priced to be the cheapest, and does not claim to be.

Figures taken from IG's own published pages and captured 24 September 2026. Spreads are variable and every broker quotes its tightest number; treat a “from” figure as a floor, not an average. Spread averages are IG's own published figures for the period it states; they are not a live quote and will differ from what you see on the ticket.

Platforms & Execution

Platforms: IG's own web and mobile platform, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, ProRealTime and L2 Dealer. There is no cTrader.

What it means for our signals: MT4 or MT5 will take our specifications directly. Be aware that IG's MetaTrader instrument list is narrower than its own platform's — check that every pair you intend to trade is actually quoted on the MetaTrader build before you commit to it. TradingView connects to IG as a broker, which is the tidiest arrangement on this page if you read charts there.

Execution: IG is the counterparty on its own platform and routes DMA through L2 Dealer for direct order-book access. Scalping is permitted; latency-driven strategies are not. That is a distinction worth reading carefully if you intend to automate.

Standing: IG Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange, so its accounts and capital position are public. Nobody else in this comparison offers that.

Figures taken from IG's own published pages and captured 24 September 2026. Spreads are variable and every broker quotes its tightest number; treat a “from” figure as a floor, not an average. Platform availability differs between IG entities; confirm for the entity that opens your account.

All 10 Brokers Compared

Every broker we review, side by side. Spread and commission are shown separately because a headline “0.0 pips” means nothing on its own — the commission beside it is what you actually pay. Figures are the raw or ECN account where one exists, checked August 2026.

Broker	Platforms	Min dep	EUR/USD spread	Commission	Max leverage	Regulator	US	EU
IC Markets Australia · est 2007	MT4MT5cTTV	$200	0.0 pips	$7 RT	1:30 retail ASIC · 1:500 offshore	ASIC	No	Yes
Pepperstone Australia · est 2010	MT4MT5cTTV	$0 ▲	0.0 pips	$7 RT ($6 cT)	1:30 retail ASIC · 1:500 offshore	FCA · ASIC · CySEC	No	Yes
FP Markets Australia · est 2005	MT4MT5cTTV	$100	0.0 pips	$6 RT ▲	1:30 retail ASIC · 1:500 offshore	ASIC · CySEC	No	Yes
Eightcap Australia · est 2009	MT4MT5TVTL	$100	0.0 pips	$7 RT	1:30 retail ASIC · 1:500 offshore	ASIC	No	Check
TMGM Australia · est 2013	MT4MT5IRS	$100	0.0 pips	$7 RT	1:30 retail ASIC · 1:500 offshore	ASIC	No	Check
Vantage Australia · est 2009	MT4MT5TVPT	$50	0.0 pips	$6 RT ▲	1:30 retail ASIC · 1:500 offshore	ASIC	No	Yes
XM Cyprus · est 2009	MT4MT5APP	$5	0.6 pips	None	1:30 retail CySEC · 1:1000 offshore	CySEC · ASIC	No	Yes
IG United Kingdom · est 1974 · ● HERE	MT4MT5TVPRT	~$0	0.6–0.9 pips	None	1:30 retail FCA	FCA + 7 more ▲	FX only	Yes
Interactive Brokers United States · est 1978	TWSIBDAPI	$0	institutional	per notional	1:50 retail US	SEC · FINRA + 4 ▲	No	Yes
eToro Israel / UK · est 2007	OWN	~$50	1.0+ pips	None	1:30 retail CySEC	FCA · CySEC · ASIC	No CFDs	Yes

LEVERAGE NOTE: ASIC caps retail CFD leverage at 30:1 on major FX pairs, 20:1 on minor pairs, gold and major indices, and 10:1 on other commodities (Product Intervention Order, in force since 29 March 2021). CySEC and the FCA apply the same 30:1 major-pair cap. Higher figures shown here are offered by these brokers’ offshore entities, which sit outside those regimes and outside the investor-protection schemes that come with them. Check which entity is opening your account before you rely on any leverage figure.

Platforms: a lit chip means the platform is offered. ▲ marks the best figure in that column — on cost, lower is better, and spread and commission must be read together. Maximum leverage is the tier-1 regulated figure — offshore entities of the same brand often advertise more, with weaker protection. “Check” means availability depends on your country of residence and the entity that onboards you, so confirm before funding. Costs move with market conditions; the figure on your own account is the only real one.