Forex.com or IG Index – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare Forex.com and IG Index in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
Founded in 1999, FOREX.com is now part of StoneX, a financial services organization serving over one million customers worldwide. Regulated in the US, UK, EU, Australia and beyond, the broker offers thousands of markets, not just forex, and provides excellent pricing on cutting-edge platforms.
Founded in 1974, IG is part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly traded (LSE: IGG) brokerage. The brand offers spread betting, CFD and forex trading across an almost unrivalled selection of 17,000+ markets, with a range of user-friendly platforms and investing apps. For 50 years, IG has maintained its position as an industry leader, excelling in all key areas for traders.
71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Pros
With over 20 years of experience, excellent regulatory oversight, and multiple accolades including runner-up in our 'Best Forex Broker' awards, FOREX.com boasts a global reputation as a trusted brokerage.
The in-house Web Trader continues to shine as one of the best-designed platforms for aspiring traders with a slick design and over 80 technical indicators for market analysis.
Alongside a choice of leading platforms, FOREX.com offers a superb suite of supplementary tools including Trading Central research, SMART Signals pattern scanner, trading signals, and strategy builders.
FOREX.com offers industry-leading forex pricing starting from 0.0 pips, alongside competitive cashback rebates of up to 15% for serious traders.
There’s a wealth of educational resources including tutorials, webinars, and a stacked YouTube channel to help you get educated in the financial markets.
IG is amongst the best in terms of its range of instruments, which includes stocks, forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, providing ample diversification opportunities
The proprietary web-based platform continues to caters to traders of all levels, with advanced charting tools and real-time market data useful for trading
The IG app offers a superb mobile trading experience with a clean design that helped it secure Runner Up at our Best Trading App award
As a well-established broker, IG operates under strict regulatory guidelines in multiple jurisdictions, maintaining a high level of trust
IG offers an extensive collection of professional and engaging educational resources, including webinars, articles, and analysis
The ProRealTime advanced charting platform is free as long as certain modest monthly trading activity requirements are met
Cons
Despite increasing its range of instruments, FOREX.com's product portfolio is still limited to forex and CFDs, so there are no options to invest in real stocks, real ETFs or real cryptocurrencies.
FOREX.com's MT4 platform offers approximately 600 instruments, significantly fewer than the over 5,500 available on its non-MetaTrader platforms.
Funding options are limited compared to leading alternatives like IC Markets and don’t include many popular e-wallets, notably UnionPay and POLi.
There’s no negative balance protection for US clients, so you may find yourself owing more money than your initial deposit into your account.
Demo accounts are frustratingly time-limited to 90 days, which doesn’t give you enough time to test trading strategies effectively.
Beginners might find IG’s fee structure complex, with various fees for different types of trades or services, potentially leading to confusion or unexpected charges
While there is negative balance protection in the UK and EU, there is no account protection or guaranteed stop losses for US clients
IG has discontinued its swap-free account, reducing its appeal to Islamic traders
Stock and CFD spreads still trail the cheapest brokers like CMC Markets based on tests
IG applies an inactivity fee of $12 per month after 2 years, deterring casual investors
Awards
Best CFD Broker 2022 - Rankia
Best HNW Service 2022 - Dubai Forex Expo
Best US Broker 2020 - DayTrading.com
Best US Broker 2019 - DayTrading.com
Runner-Up - Best Forex Broker 2019 - DayTrading.com
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
Running alongside the MT4 and Web Trader platforms, the FOREX.com app offers full trading capabilities on a user-friendly, compact platform. Integrated news and analysis, plus real time trade alerts, are two mobile specific features that set this app above the crowd. Additionally, it beats out MT4 when it comes to mobile charting tools, with over 80 indicators and 11 chart types, not to mention a slicker design that we love.
IG offers a superb all-round trading app. One of the pioneers of mobile trading, the application has been developed and refined over many years, meaning it is now among the best trading apps. Quick response, user-friendly layout, access to full charting and a stable and reliable application. It also offers guaranteed stops – an important risk management tool not available on many apps we’ve tested.
iOS App Rating
3.6
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
No
Autochartist
Yes
Yes
eSignal
Yes
No
Trading Central
Yes
Yes
STP Account
Yes
No
ECN Account
Yes
No
DMA Account
Yes
Yes
MAM Account
No
No
PAMM Account
No
No
LAMM Account
No
No
Demat Account
No
No
AI / Machine Learning
Yes
No
Robo Advisor
No
Yes
Negative Balance Protection
Yes
Yes
Market Maker
No
Yes
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
Yes
Yes
Auto Trading
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
SMART Signals
Yes
VPS Hosting
Yes
Yes
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
No
Yes
Custodial Account
No
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
Yes
Inactivity Fee
$15
$12
Islamic Account
Yes
No
Account Currencies
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
JPY
CHF
PLN
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
JPY
ZAR
SEK
DKK
CHF
HKD
SGD
Commodities
Gold
Oil
Silver
Cotton
Livestock
Soybeans
Coffee
Natural Gas
Sugar
Wheat
Orange Juice
Gold
Copper
Oil
Palladium
Silver
Sugar
Coffee
Wheat
Natural Gas
Soybeans
Orange Juice
Nickel
Steel
Iron
Precious Metals
Aluminium
Lithium
Cannabis
CFD
With the ability to take both long and short positions on 5,500+ CFDs across forex, stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, FOREX.com excels. Its exclusive Web Trader platform offers an excellent trading experience, equipped with over 80 technical indicators and average execution speeds of just 20 milliseconds, ensuring an optimal environment for serious traders.
IG offers a huge selection of 17,000+ CFDs, providing more trading opportunities than most CFD brokers. Traders can go long or short on popular markets like stocks, currencies, commodities and cryptos, while custom price alerts and the IG Academy continue to enhance the trading experience.
Leverage
1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)
1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
1.0
1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
1.3
0.9
Oil Spread
2.5
2.8
Stocks Spread
0.14
0.02
Forex
FOREX.com continues to uphold its stature as a premier FX broker, offering over 80 currency pairs and boasting some of the most competitive fees in the industry. With EUR/USD spreads dipping as low as 0.0 and $5 commission per $100k, it stands out. Moreover, its SMART Signals help to identify price behaviors across numerous major currency markets.
IG offers an above-average suite of 80+ currency pairs on its proprietary web platform, mobile app or MetaTrader 4, with more advanced charts and forex analysis tools available on the ProRealTime software. Forex spreads are competitive based on tests, starting from 0.1 pips on majors like the EUR/USD.