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ActivTrades vs IG Index

ActivTrades or IG Index – which is better for UK traders 2025? Compare ActivTrades and IG Index in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.

ActivTrades vs IG Index Comparison Table 2025
ActivTrades	IG Index

4	4.7
ActivTrades is ranked #56 among CFD brokers.	IG Index is ranked #7 among CFD brokers.
Review	Review
ActivTrades, a UK-based CFD and forex broker since 2001, is renowned for its award-winning services. It holds licences from esteemed regulators, including the UK’s FCA. The firm offers trading on more than 1,000 instruments across seven asset classes, with an impressive 93.60% of trades executed at the desired price.	Founded in 1974, IG is a part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly listed brokerage (LSE: IGG). The company provides spread betting, CFD, and forex trading, offering access to over 17,000 markets. Its platforms and investing apps are notably user-friendly. Over the past 50 years, IG has consistently been an industry leader, excelling in all essential areas for traders.
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pros
ActivTrades provides competitive spreads, especially for forex trading, starting at 0.5 pips on major currency pairs without extra commissions. Additionally, the €/£10 inactivity fee is only applied after 52 weeks, benefiting active traders. While cTrader isn't supported, MT4, MT5, TradingView, and the broker's ActivTrader platform accommodate various trading requirements. The firm's web-based platform has proven user-friendly and visually appealing for novices during testing. ActivTrades is a reputable firm with over 20 years in the financial sector. It holds authorizations from three top-tier regulatory bodies, according to DayTrading.com's Regulation & Trust Rating. For UK traders, it offers enhanced protection with £1 million in investor compensation, surpassing the £85,000 provided by the FSCS, should the firm face insolvency. Based on our tests, ActivTrades offers swift and reliable support via live chat, email, and phone in multiple languages. This makes it an excellent choice for both traders and newcomers seeking quality assistance. With execution speeds averaging 4ms and an order completion rate of 93.6%, ActivTrades provides an outstanding platform for traders. It supports rapid strategies without imposing limits on short-term approaches.	IG stands out with its extensive range of instruments, offering stocks, forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, it has recently introduced US-listed futures and options, along with an AI Index. These options enhance opportunities for diversification in trading. The web-based platform supports traders at every level, offering advanced charting tools and real-time market data vital for trading. Additionally, IG now includes TradingView integration. The IG app provides an excellent mobile trading experience with an intuitive design, earning it the Runner Up position in our 'Best Trading App' award. As a seasoned broker, IG adheres to stringent regulatory standards across various regions, ensuring significant trust. IG provides a wide range of professional and engaging educational materials, such as webinars, articles, and analyses, tailored for traders. The ProRealTime advanced charting platform remains free, provided traders meet modest monthly activity requirements.
Cons
The platform lacks features for copy or social trading, which is a disadvantage for traders interested in passive investing or replicating the trades of seasoned traders. This is particularly evident when compared to eToro and Vantage. The selection of over 1,000 markets includes forex, commodities, indices, and ETFs. However, the overall choice of asset classes is limited, with no stocks available outside the US, UK, and Europe. In comparison, BlackBull provides access to more than 26,000 markets. Its research tools are decent, although somewhat lacking. The expanding 'Analysis' hub is useful, but the absence of Trading Central or Autochartist means advanced technical insights are missing. This limitation may hinder traders seeking to spot opportunities in volatile markets. ActivTrades needs improvement in educational resources to compete with firms like XTB and CMC Markets. While it offers well-presented and informative webinars, the selection of courses and quizzes remains limited, hindering a more comprehensive and engaging learning experience for traders.	Beginners may find IG's fees complicated, as they vary depending on the trades or services. This could cause confusion and unexpected costs. In the UK and EU, negative balance protection is available. However, US clients lack account protection and guaranteed stop losses. IG has ended its swap-free account, diminishing its attractiveness to Islamic traders. Based on tests, stock and CFD spreads remain less competitive than the lowest-cost brokers, such as CMC Markets. IG imposes a monthly inactivity fee of $12 after two years, discouraging occasional traders.
Awards
Safest Global Broker 2023 - International Investor Magazine Best Online Trading Services 2023 - ADVFN International Financial Awards Best Forex Broker Europe 2022 - Forex-Awards.com Most Trusted Global FX Broker 2022 - International Investor Magazine Best CFD Broker 2021 - Rankia Safest Global Broker 2021 - International Investor Award Winners Best FX Broker 2021 - Le Fonti Award	Best Customer Service 2022 - Online Money Awards Best Spread Betting Provider 2022 - Online Money Awards Best Platform for the Active Trader 2022 - ADVFN International Financial Awards Best Multi Platform Provider 2022 - ADVFN International Financial Awards Best Finance App 2022 - ADVFN International Financial Awards
FCA Regulated
Yes	Yes
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Bonds, ETFs, Futures, Cryptos (location dependent)	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0	$0
Payment Methods
AstroPay Credit Cards Debit Card Mastercard Neteller PayPal Skrill Sofort Visa Wire Transfer	Credit Cards Debit Card Mastercard PayPal Visa Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots	0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, CMVM, CSSF, SCB	FCA, ASIC, NFA, CFTC, DFSA, BaFin, MAS, FSCA, FINMA, CONSOB, AFM
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
Trading App
ActivTrades offers mobile apps for iOS and Android, including its own ActivTrader app, MT4, MT5, and TradingView. These provide real-time data, advanced charting, and customisable features. All apps enable intuitive trading and account management, but ActivTrader excels with its seamless experience, fast execution, and robust research tools.	IG provides an excellent trading app. As a mobile trading pioneer, it has evolved over the years into a top-tier app. Expect swift responses, an intuitive interface, comprehensive charting, and dependable performance. Additionally, it includes guaranteed stops, a crucial risk management feature absent in many apps we've evaluated.
iOS App Rating
4.9	4.6
Android App Rating
3.8	4
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
	2.5%
MetaTrader 4
Yes	Yes
MetaTrader 5
Yes	No
cTrader
No	No
AlgoTrader
No	No
OmniTrader
No	No
TradingView
Yes	Yes
Autochartist
No	Yes
eSignal
No	No
Trading Central
No	Yes
STP Account
Yes	No
ECN Account
No	No
DMA Account
No	Yes
MAM Account
No	No
PAMM Account
No	No
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
No	No
AI / Machine Learning
No	No
Robo Advisor
No	Yes
Negative Balance Protection
Yes	Yes
Market Maker
Yes	Yes
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
No	Yes
Auto Trading
Yes (APIs), Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader	Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, build your own on ProRealTime
Copy Trading
No	No
Social Trading
No	No
Trade Signals
Yes	Yes
VPS Hosting
No	Yes
Tournaments
No	No
Demo Competitions
No	No
Ethical Investing
No	Yes
Custodial Account
No	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	Yes
Inactivity Fee
€/£10	$12
Islamic Account
Yes	No
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP CHF	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD JPY ZAR SEK DKK CHF HKD SGD
Commodities
Gold Oil Natural Gas Wheat Copper Cocoa Coffee Corn Orange Juice Palladium Platinum Silver Soybeans Sugar	Gold Copper Oil Palladium Silver Sugar Coffee Wheat Natural Gas Soybeans Orange Juice Nickel Steel Iron Precious Metals Aluminium Lithium Cannabis Lean Hogs Cattle
CFD
ActivTrades specialises in CFD trading, providing access to over 1,000 instruments, including currencies, shares, indices, and commodities. Renowned for its award-winning trading environment, the broker ensures swift and dependable order execution, coupled with clear margin requirements for traders.	IG provides over 17,000 CFDs, giving traders more opportunities than most brokers. Investors can trade long or short on key markets such as equities, forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, customised price alerts and the IG Academy enrich the trading experience.
Leverage
1:30 (UK and EU), 1:400 (Global & Pro)	1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
0.6	1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.8	0.9
Oil Spread
0.03	2.8
Stocks Spread
Variable	0.02
Forex
ActivTrades provides competitive fees in forex, offering excellent spreads on major pairs like EUR/USD starting from 0.5 pips, with no commission charges. The enhanced ActivTrades platform, along with the renowned MetaTrader 4, equips traders with essential tools to navigate the FX market with confidence.	IG provides an extensive selection of over 80 currency pairs through its own web platform, mobile app, or MetaTrader 4. For advanced charting and forex analysis, the ProRealTime software is available. Testing shows forex spreads are competitive, beginning at 0.1 pips on major pairs such as EUR/USD.
Assets
50+	80+
GBPUSD Spread
0.8	0.9
EURUSD Spread
0.5	0.8
EURGBP Spread
0.8	0.9
Currency Indices
USD	USD
Cryptocurrency
Trade over 15 popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Engage in trading these digital assets 24/7, with transparent fees. Access up to 1:10 leverage on leading tokens like BTC.	IG offers a limited range of 11 crypto CFDs, lagging behind leading brokers such as Vantage, which provides access to over 40 tokens. Nonetheless, IG distinguishes itself with its crypto index, tracking the top 10 digital currencies by market capitalisation. This index offers traders a comprehensive method to speculate on the overall value of the crypto market.
Spread
Variable	Variable
Coins
BTC ETH LTC BCH DOT EOS LINK XLM NEO ADA SOL XRP BNB XMR AVAX DOGE	BTC BCH LTC ETH ADA DOT DOGE LINK UNI XLM
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	No
Auto Market Maker
No	No

ActivTrades	IG Index
Review	Review
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
More Comparisons
ActivTrades vs	IG Index vs