IG Review
Director of Online Broker Research
Managing Editor
Managing Partner
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
IG is my #1 overall forex and CFD broker pick for 2026. This is a verdict consistent with prior years and grounded in over a decade of hands-on testing across every platform IG offers: the proprietary IG web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4 and 5, TradingView, the L2 Dealer DMA venue, and ProRealTime.
Founded in 1974 and publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LON:IGG), IG Group is a multi-asset broker offering 19,500+ instruments, 11 regulatory licenses, and a £1 retail minimum deposit. The five-platform suite scales from a beginner retail account up to institutional DMA, backed by one of the highest Trust Scores in the industry, deep in-house research, and a product range that spans forex, CFDs, options, share dealing, and underlying crypto under one regulated banner.
The two gaps where IG falls short are the lack of native copy trading and the fact that the IG Academy education library has stagnated. However, for traders who prioritize regulation, tight spreads, and platform depth over social features, IG is hard to beat in 2026.
- Minimum Deposit: £1
- Trust Score: 99
- Tradeable Symbols (Total): 19537
No promotion is available at this time.
| Agency | Rating | Year |
|---|---|---|
| TrustPilot | 4.8/5 | 2026 |
| Forex Peace Army | 4.6/5 | 2026 |
| WikiFX | 8.9/10 | 2026 |
| Award | Organization | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Best Broker | Global Finance | 2026 |
| Top Trading Platform | FX Awards | 2025 |
| Best Support | Forex Expo | 2024 |
| Year | Ranking | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | #1 | Global |
| 2025 | #2 | Europe |
| 2024 | #3 | Asia |
Led by Steven Hatzakis, Global Director of Online Broker Research, the ForexBrokers.com research team collects and audits data across more than 100 variables. We analyze key tools and features important to forex and CFD traders and collect data on commissions, spreads, and fees across the industry to help you find the best broker for your needs.
We also review each broker’s regulatory status; this research helps us determine whether you should trust the broker to keep your money safe. As part of this effort, we track 100+ international regulatory agencies to power our proprietary Trust Score rating system.
Our researchers open personal brokerage accounts and test all available platforms on desktop, web, and mobile for each broker reviewed on ForexBrokers.com. Learn more about how we test.
Table of Contents
IG pros and cons
Pros
- Tier-1 regulated across eight jurisdictions; among the highest Trust Scores in the industry.
- Over 19,500 tradeable symbols, including roughly 17,000 CFDs and 97 forex pairs.
- Five-platform lineup: proprietary web and mobile, MT4, MT5, TradingView, plus L2 Dealer and ProRealTime.
Cons
- No native copy trading; closest analog is integrated trading signals.
- MetaTrader instrument list is significantly thinner than the proprietary platform.
- IG Academy course catalog has stagnated in recent years.
My top takeaways for IG in 2026:
- Average EUR/USD spread of 0.91 pips on IG’s standard CFD account during October 2025, narrowing to roughly 0.55 pips on the Forex Direct DMA account.
- Over 19,500 tradeable symbols across forex, CFDs, share dealing, options, and underlying crypto, including 97 forex pairs, 55 cryptocurrencies, and approximately 17,000 CFDs (product mix varies by IG entity).
- 33 charting indicators, 17 timeframes (down to 1-second and tick charts), and 20 drawing tools on the IG web app, with drag-to-modify stops and limits on a pre-trade basis.
- £1 minimum deposit on retail accounts; IG’s underlying crypto exchange launched in 2025 alongside 30 crypto CFDs.
- U.S. traders access IG’s forex experience through tastyfx, and listed derivatives (futures and equity options) through IG’s tastytrade subsidiary.
Trust Score
Developed by ForexBrokers.com and in use for nearly 10 years, Trust Score is a proprietary rating system powered by a range of unique quantitative and qualitative metrics, including each company’s number of regulatory licenses. Trust Scores range from 1 to 99 (the higher a broker’s rating, the better). Learn more.
Is IG safe?
IG is considered Highly Trusted, with an overall Trust Score of 99 out of 99. IG is publicly traded and operates a regulated bank, and is authorised by eight Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), two Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulator (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). IG is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.
IG is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under LON:IGG with a market capitalization above £3.9 billion as of late 2025, and IG Bank in Switzerland operates under FINMA supervision, adding a banking regulatory layer beyond the brokerage licenses.
| Year Founded | 1974 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes |
| Bank | Yes |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 |
Range of investments
IG is a true multi-asset provider, and the size of the product menu is what first sets it apart for me. I counted 97 forex pairs organized by major, minor, Australasian, Scandinavian, emerging-market, and exotic buckets, with a handful of the most exotic pairs (USD/KRW and USD/IDR among them) available only via voice broking and during more limited trading hours.
Steven's expert take
“The forex offering alone would carry the broker, but it’s the depth across the other asset classes that puts IG among the most comprehensive lineups I review, with over 19,500 tradeable symbols across CFDs, exchange-traded shares and ETFs, options, futures, and underlying crypto.”
Steven Hatzakis
Director of Online Broker Research
CFDs: The CFD lineup is among the largest I’ve encountered, with roughly 17,000 contracts spanning indices, single stocks, commodities, bonds, and rates. Availability varies by IG entity, and U.K. retail clients face additional product restrictions; the broker’s account dashboard surfaces what’s available for your jurisdiction before you fund. Thematic indices are also offered as CFDs alongside the standard headline indices.
Cryptocurrency: IG offers 30 crypto CFDs and a custom Crypto 10 Index, plus a separate underlying crypto exchange launched in 2025 that covers 55 coins on a 24/7 schedule at a 1.49% spread with no other trading fees. Position limits on the CFD side run up to $5 million in notional value per client, which is unusually generous for a leveraged crypto offering. Crypto CFDs are not available to retail clients of IG’s U.K. entity (see our guide to crypto brokers for context).
Options and exotic products: This is one of the more distinctive corners of the IG product range. The dedicated options account supports vanilla and barrier options across indices, popular single stocks, forex, and commodities. Complex multi-leg strategies are not supported, but barrier options (knockouts) can be used to deliver equivalent payoffs in many cases. The Turbo24 product line is being retired in June 2026.
Exchange-traded shares and futures: IG Invest delivers over 12,000 shares and ETFs alongside the CFD book, across a wide range of global exchanges. U.S. clients access listed derivatives (futures and equity options) through IG’s tastytrade subsidiary rather than the main IG entity.
Available investment products
During our audit, we verified access to 97 forex pairs alongside CFDs spanning indices, single equities, commodities, bonds, rates, and ETFs. We also confirmed exchange-traded share dealing for eligible regions, options trading, and an underlying crypto exchange covering 55 coins.
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 |
| Forex trading (Spot) | Yes |
| Forex trading (CFDs) | Yes |
| Forex trading (Options) | Yes |
| Forex trading (Futures) | Yes |
| Forex trading (Crypto) | Yes |
| Commodities: Agriculturals | Yes |
| Commodities: Oil | Yes |
| Commodities: Gold | Yes |
| Commodities: Silver | Yes |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes |
| U.S. Stocks (CFDs) | Yes |
| U.S. Stocks (Crypto) | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. CFDs) | Yes |
| 24/5 Trading (U.S. Stocks – Shares) | No |
| 24/5 Trading (U.S. Stocks – CFDs) | Yes |
| 24/7 Trading (Crypto) | Yes |
| Prediction markets | No |
| Copy Trading | No |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Yes |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Yes |
| Cryptocurrencies (Total) | 55 |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Futures) | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker’s U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Available funding options
| Debit card (Deposit/withdraw) | Yes |
| Credit card (Deposit/withdraw) | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes |
| Apple Pay (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Google Pay (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
| Crypto (Deposit/withdraw) | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Wallet transfers) | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
| Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
IG fees
IG’s pricing on the standard CFD account sits right around the industry average, with the real value coming through on the broker’s commission-based Forex Direct DMA offering. On the standard account, EUR/USD spreads averaged 0.91 pips during October 2025, widening to roughly 1.13 pips when I included the daily rollover window. That cost profile is consistent with what I see from large, scalable brokers that can absorb significant retail flow; it is not, however, what an active trader paying for raw pricing should compare to.
The minimum deposit on retail accounts drops to £1, which is among the lowest entry points on a major regulated broker. Mini-contract pricing tracks the same spread as the standard contract size, so smaller traders are not penalized on the per-trade cost side.
Forex Direct (DMA, commission-based): On the agency-execution account, EUR/USD spreads averaged 0.55 pips for October 2025, with a base commission of roughly $6 per round-turn 100k lot. The active-trader rebate schedule is where IG becomes meaningfully more competitive for high-volume desks: the commission steps down from $6 per round-turn to $3 over $100 million in monthly volume, $2 over $500 million, and $1 over $1.5 billion. At the top tier, that translates into an all-in cost around 0.75 pips on EUR/USD using the same October 2025 data. The L2 Dealer platform is the order-entry venue for the DMA account, with direct streaming from interbank liquidity providers.
Inactivity and non-trading fees: IG does charge an inactivity fee after an extended period of no trades. International wire deposits are free, and funding via Apple Pay, PayPal, debit card, credit card, and bank wire is supported.
GSLO premium: Guaranteed stop-loss orders are available at an added premium that is embedded as a wider trigger spread when the protection is in force. I treat the GSLO as insurance against weekend-gap risk on volatile underlyings rather than as a default execution choice on every trade.
Compare to Top Competitors
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, IG is a legitimate, highly trusted broker with more than 50 years in operation and a strong reputation as a well-regulated company. IG is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LON:IGG) and holds 11 regulatory licenses across the globe, including a banking license in Switzerland through IG Bank. IG also operates the tastyfx brand for U.S. forex traders and the tastytrade subsidiary for U.S. listed derivatives. Learn more about how we evaluate broker safety on our Trust Score page.
Yes. IG holds your funds across a range of segregated bank accounts and services over 346,000 active clients globally according to its latest annual report. As a publicly traded company on the FTSE 250, IG operates under the financial-reporting requirements and regulatory-capital obligations that come with that status, and its market capitalization above £3.9 billion at the end of 2025 provides additional counterparty-risk buffer. IG appears on our list of most trusted forex brokers.
Yes. U.S.-based forex traders can access IG’s platform suite, pricing, and regulatory licensing through tastyfx, IG’s U.S. brand for forex trading. For listed U.S. derivatives (futures and equity options), IG operates the tastytrade subsidiary. Bottom line: If you reside in the U.S. and want to trade forex with IG’s experience, tastyfx is the route; for futures and options, tastytrade. See our guide to the best U.S. forex brokers for additional context.
The minimum deposit at IG varies by entity and account type. For retail CFD accounts, the minimum deposit is £1 (or local-currency equivalent), making it one of the lowest entry points among major regulated brokers. The Forex Direct DMA account requires roughly £1,000 to open. Regional minimums apply at some IG entities; for example, clients of IG Japan, IG Australia, and IG Singapore are subject to different account-funding thresholds set by their respective entities.
Yes. IG consistently ranks near the top of our education category, which is one of the key inputs in our list of best forex brokers for beginners. IG Academy offers 10 structured courses with progress tracking, integrated quizzes, and a dedicated mobile app, alongside an in-app interactive tutorial and inline tooltip-based education in the trade ticket. The £1 minimum deposit on retail accounts and a free demo account further lower the cost of getting started.
Why regulation is important
Our testing
Steven Hatzakis is a well-known finance writer, with 25+ years of experience in the foreign exchange and financial markets. He is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for Reink Media Group, leading research efforts for ForexBrokers.com since 2016. Steven is an expert writer and researcher who has published over 1,000 articles covering the foreign exchange markets and cryptocurrency industries. He has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages. Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry.
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At ForexBrokers.com, our online broker reviews are based on our collected quantitative data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).
Mobile testing is conducted on modern devices that run the most up-to-date operating systems available:
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Our researchers thoroughly test a wide range of key features, such as the availability and quality of watch lists, mobile charting, real-time and streaming quotes, and educational resources – among other important variables. We also evaluate the overall design of the mobile experience, and look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms.
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About IG
As an early pioneer in contracts for difference (CFDs) and spread betting, IG was founded in 1974 and has grown into a global leader in the online trading industry. IG is a London-based public company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 250 (LON:IGG) with a market capitalization above £3.9 billion as of late 2025, and operates IG Bank in Switzerland under FINMA supervision.
According to IG’s most recent annual report, the company services over 346,000 active clients globally across its regulated entities in the U.K., Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, the UAE, Bermuda, and the United States (via tastyfx for forex and tastytrade for listed derivatives).
About the Editorial Team
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. A forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher, Steven advises blockchain companies at the board level and holds a Series III license in the U.S. as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
John Bringans is the Managing Editor at ForexBrokers.com. An experienced media professional, John has a decade of editorial experience with a background that includes key leadership roles at global newsroom outlets. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University, and conducts research on forex and the financial services industry while assisting in the production of content.
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.