IG Review

Overview

IG is a strong choice for active forex and CFD traders who prioritise regulation, a broad market range and serious trading platforms. Its biggest strengths are regulatory coverage, platform choice and access to thousands of markets. Its main weaknesses are the lack of native copy trading and a fee structure that can become less attractive when positions are held overnight or incur currency conversion costs.

For UK traders in particular, IG is one of the more established names in leveraged trading. IG was founded in 1974, and IG Group Holdings joined the FTSE 100 on 23 March 2026.

That does not make IG the right broker for everyone. Traders primarily interested in social or copy trading should look elsewhere, while long-term investors focused on owning a very broad range of global securities may prefer a broker such as Interactive Brokers.

IG review: the verdict

IG is a good fit for traders who want a regulated provider, advanced platforms and access to many markets. It is less compelling if copy trading is important, or if your main goal is cheap, long-term ownership of global shares and ETFs.

What is IG?

IG is a trading and financial services business founded in London in 1974. The wider IG Group operates internationally and provides leveraged trading, investing and other financial products through brands including IG, tastytrade, Freetrade and Independent Reserve.

IG is not one identical product worldwide.

Your country determines the IG legal entity you contract with, the regulator overseeing that entity, the products available, deposit requirements and some client protections. IG's international comparison lists different entities for the UK, Europe, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Dubai and other markets.

That means claims such as "IG has a $250 minimum deposit" or "IG charges an inactivity fee" can be technically correct in one market and wrong in another.

Is IG safe and legitimate?

Yes, IG is a legitimate and regulated financial services provider. Regulation does not remove trading risk, but there is no reasonable basis to describe IG as an unregulated or anonymous broker.

IG's UK businesses are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Other IG entities are overseen by regulators including BaFin in Germany, ASIC in Australia, FINMA in Switzerland, MAS in Singapore, the FMA in New Zealand and the Bermuda Monetary Authority for IG International.

IG Group Holdings joined the FTSE 100 on 23 March 2026. A public listing does not prevent customers from losing money, but it brings additional corporate reporting and market scrutiny compared with many smaller trading providers.

How does IG protect UK client money?

IG says UK retail client money is held separately from the company's own funds in segregated client bank accounts. Client assets are also separated from IG's own assets under the FCA's Client Assets Sourcebook rules.

Eligible UK customers may receive Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection if an authorised financial firm fails and there is a qualifying shortfall. The exact protection depends on the type of claim and the circumstances. FSCS protection is not protection against trading losses.

Leverage remains a significant risk. IG UK's current disclosure states that 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with the provider.

What are IG's trading fees?

IG's costs are competitive for many active forex and index traders, but the total position cost matters more than the headline spread alone.

Potential charges include:

• the bid/ask spread
• share-CFD or DMA commissions where applicable
• overnight funding
• currency conversion
• guaranteed stop premiums
• market-data or advanced-platform charges in certain circumstances

IG's UK pricing currently lists minimum spreads of 0.6 on EUR/USD, 0.9 on GBP/USD, 1 point on the FTSE 100 and 0.4 points on the S&P 500. Actual spreads can widen as market conditions change.

IG International states that CFD positions held overnight can incur daily funding charges. Forex and spot metal funding uses the tom-next rate plus an administrative adjustment. Other markets can use an interbank rate plus or minus IG's administrative charge.

A broker that is cheap for a two-hour EUR/USD trade may not be the cheapest option for a position held for several weeks.

IG's EUR/USD cost against the brokers it is shopped against

All-in cost of one standard lot, spread plus commission. IG's figure is the 0.6 minimum spread on its current UK pricing, at $10 per pip. Minimum spreads widen with market conditions.

IG

About $6

CMC Markets

About $7

Pepperstone

About $7

XTB

About $8

eToro

About $10

1050

Does IG charge an inactivity fee?

IG's current UK charges page lists the inactivity fee as free.

Some third-party IG reviews still report an inactivity fee. They may refer to a different IG entity or an older fee schedule. Check the pricing page for the specific IG entity that will hold your account.

Broker fees change often enough that old comparison tables can give misleading results.

What trading platforms does IG offer?

IG has one of the strongest platform selections among mainstream forex and CFD brokers.

Depending on jurisdiction and account type, IG supports its proprietary web and mobile platforms alongside third-party or specialist platforms including:

• TradingView
• MetaTrader 4
• MetaTrader 5
• ProRealTime
• L2 Dealer

IG's own platform also includes charts, trading alerts, market news, signals, customisable layouts and integrated order controls. Platform availability varies by country.

This flexibility is one of the clearest reasons to choose IG.

A trader wanting a relatively straightforward browser platform can stay within IG's proprietary interface. A technical trader can use TradingView or ProRealTime. An algorithmic trader can use MetaTrader. More sophisticated DMA users have access to L2 Dealer where available.

Independent 2026 broker reviews broadly agree that platform depth is one of IG's strongest areas.

What can you trade with IG?

IG offers forex, indices, commodities, shares and other derivatives, but the exact range depends on the country and IG entity.

IG International advertises access to more than 17,000 markets. IG's international comparison lists more than 15,000 markets for the UK and more than 17,000 for IG International. Some regional entities offer fewer products.

The wider IG network can provide access to:

• forex
• share CFDs
• stock indices
• commodities
• cryptocurrencies or cryptocurrency CFDs in eligible markets
• options
• spread betting in the UK
• share dealing in selected jurisdictions

The important point is that availability depends on the market.

A UK IG customer, an Australian IG customer and an IG International customer should not assume they are opening the same type of account.

Is IG good for forex trading?

Yes, forex is one of IG's strongest use cases.

IG combines competitive headline pricing on major currency pairs with proprietary and third-party platforms, risk-management tools and a substantial research operation.

ForexBrokers.com measured an average EUR/USD spread of 0.91 pips on IG's standard CFD account during its October 2025 test period, in testing published in August 2026. Its Forex Direct pricing was tighter before commission.

Those figures are historical measurements, not a promise of the spread you will receive today. Forex spreads vary and can widen during periods of low liquidity, major economic announcements or unusual market conditions. IG also states that its spreads vary with underlying market pricing.

Is IG good for beginners?

IG can work for beginners, but an accessible platform does not make CFDs or spread betting suitable for inexperienced traders.

IG provides demo trading, educational material through IG Academy, platform tutorials, market analysis and risk-management tools. These features can reduce the operational learning curve.

They do not remove the risk of leverage.

A new trader using IG for CFDs or spread bets should understand margin, liquidation, overnight financing, stop losses and position sizing before committing meaningful capital.

The fact that 69% of IG UK's retail spread-betting and CFD accounts currently lose money matters more to a beginner than whether the mobile app looks polished.

What are the pros and cons of IG?

IG pros

• Strong regulatory coverage across multiple major jurisdictions
• More than 50 years of operating history
• FTSE 100 parent company
• Large range of tradable markets
• Strong proprietary web and mobile platforms
• TradingView, MetaTrader, ProRealTime and L2 Dealer integrations where available
• Competitive headline spreads on major forex pairs and indices
• Demo accounts and substantial educational resources
• Useful research, alerts and trading tools

IG cons

• No strong native social or copy-trading proposition
• Product availability varies significantly between regions
• Overnight funding can make leveraged positions expensive to hold
• Currency conversion and specialist-platform costs can matter
• The size of the platform ecosystem may be unnecessary for casual investors
• IG is not automatically the cheapest broker for every market or strategy

Who should use IG?

IG is best suited to active traders who value platform quality, regulatory strength and access to multiple markets more than social-trading features.

IG is particularly suitable for forex traders, active CFD traders, index traders and people who want to move from a mainstream web platform to more advanced tools without changing broker.

IG is less suitable for someone whose main goal is to copy other traders automatically, buy a small ETF portfolio once a month or minimise every financing and transaction cost.

The product should match the job.

Can US traders use IG?

The old IG US forex operation is now branded as tastyfx.

IG US changed its name to tastyfx while retaining the underlying forex platform and account infrastructure. US traders researching "IG forex" should therefore evaluate the current tastyfx offering rather than assume that the international IG CFD product is available in the United States.

Other IG Group products are also available in the US through businesses such as tastytrade, but those should be treated as separate offerings rather than interchangeable versions of an international IG account.

What is IG's minimum deposit?

There is no single global IG minimum deposit. The amount depends on the contracting entity and funding method.

IG's international comparison lists different minimum deposits by region. Its CFD account information separately states that no minimum balance is required simply to open an account.

These are different concepts. The balance required to open an account and the minimum amount accepted through a particular funding method do not necessarily mean the same thing.

Check the deposit rules on the local IG website before opening an account. Do not rely on one global figure from a comparison article.

Is IG a scam?

No, IG is not a scam. It is a long-established, publicly listed financial group operating through regulated entities in multiple jurisdictions.

The more useful question is whether the IG entity, account type, fee structure and available products suit what you want to trade.

Regulated brokers can still offer high-risk products, and traders can still lose substantial amounts of money.

Is IG worth using in 2026?

IG is one of the stronger all-round choices for serious forex and CFD traders in 2026.

The case for IG is straightforward: established regulatory infrastructure, strong platform choice, a large market range and enough depth that an active trader is unlikely to outgrow the technology quickly.

The case against IG is equally specific. Traders looking for copy trading should consider eToro. Investors focused primarily on owning global securities should compare Interactive Brokers. Anyone holding leveraged positions for long periods should calculate IG's financing costs rather than judging the broker on headline spreads.

For the right trader, IG is easy to shortlist.

For everyone else, the question is not whether IG is a "good broker" in the abstract. It is whether IG is the cheapest and most suitable broker for the exact markets, products and holding periods you intend to use.

Information and published fees checked September 2026. Broker pricing, regulatory protections and available products vary by jurisdiction and can change. This review is informational and is not investment advice.

I’d publish this as the money page, not surround it with another generic “What is IG?” article. The next useful layer would be supporting pages such as IG vs eToro, IG vs Interactive Brokers, IG fees, and Is IG safe?, provided the live SERPs show those deserve separate URLs rather than sections that cannibalise this review.