The rating, decomposed
IG review
What produced IG's rating - every factor, shown separately.
IG is workable, with clear compromises. Regulated by FCA, ASIC, BaFin, MAS, IIROC, offering IG Trading Platform (proprietary), MetaTrader 4 (MT4), ProRealTime, L2 Dealer. What follows is drawn from the broker's own published material and covers the things that decide the account you end up with: who oversees them, what trading actually costs, and where the compromises sit.
Our rating
One rating, identical across our sites - only the way it is shown changes. It weighs regulation, trading costs, platform quality and how openly the broker publishes its terms.
What it costs to trade
- Spread from
- 0.6 pips
- Minimum deposit
- 0.0
Spreads from 0.6 pips suggest an all-in account, where the broker's fee is built into the price rather than charged separately. There is usually no commission on top, which makes the cost easier to predict.
Quoted spreads are best-case figures on the most liquid pair, in normal conditions. What you actually pay widens around news and at the session open.
IG lists a minimum deposit of 0.0. Treat it as the cost of opening an account, not the cost of trading one - position sizing on a small balance is what tends to cause damage.
Platforms
- Trading software
- IG Trading Platform (proprietary), MetaTrader 4 (MT4), ProRealTime, L2 Dealer
MetaTrader 4 remains the most widely supported platform for expert advisors. If you rely on an existing EA, this is usually the deciding factor.
Leverage, markets and funding
- Maximum leverage
- 1:500
- Markets
- Forex, CFDs on indices, commodities, shares, cryptocurrencies, treasuries
- Funding
- Bank transfer, credit/debit cards, PayPal
Leverage up to 1:500 is available on this entity. High leverage does not increase your expected return - it increases position size for the same deposit, and shortens the move needed to close you out.
IG covers forex, cfds on indices, commodities, shares, cryptocurrencies, treasuries. A wider range matters less than depth in the instruments you actually trade.
Funding options: bank transfer, credit/debit cards, paypal. Check withdrawal routes as well as deposit ones - they are often not the same, and the difference only becomes apparent when you try to take money out.
Regulation and safety
- Regulated by
- FCA, ASIC, BaFin, MAS, IIROC
IG holds tier-one authorisations from ASIC, FCA, MAS and BaFin. That matters more than any headline spread: it determines your leverage cap, whether losses can exceed your deposit, and what happens to your money if the firm fails.
ASIC caps retail leverage at 1:30, requires negative balance protection, and obliges the broker to hold client money in a separate trust account.
The FCA caps retail leverage at 1:30, mandates negative balance protection, and covers eligible clients under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore applies some of the tightest conduct requirements in the region, and fewer firms hold its licence.
Information is regularly updated. Last compiled from IG's own website on 26 August 2026.