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IC Markets vs IG Index

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

IC Markets vs IG Comparison Table 2025
IC Markets	IG

4.8	4.7
IC Markets is ranked #4 among CFD brokers.	IG is ranked #6 among CFD brokers.
Review	Review
IC Markets is an internationally acclaimed forex and CFD broker, admired for its competitive pricing, diverse trading instruments, and superior technology. Established in 2007 and based in Australia, the firm is under the regulation of ASIC, CySEC, and FSA. It has successfully drawn over 180,000 clients from more than 200 nations.	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. 69% 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
IC Markets provides some of the industry's narrowest spreads, offering 0.0-pip spreads on major currency pairs. This makes it an extremely cost-effective choice for traders. As a well-regulated and reputable broker, IC Markets focuses on client safety and transparency to provide a dependable global trading experience. In 2025, IC Markets earned DayTrading.com's accolade for 'Best MT4/MT5 Broker' due to its top-tier MetaTrader integration. This achievement highlights the broker's continuous refinement over the years to enhance the platform experience. IC Markets provides reliable 24/5 support, especially for account and funding queries, drawing from direct experience. Access over 2,250 CFDs across diverse markets like forex, commodities, indices, shares, bonds, and cryptocurrencies. This variety enables traders to employ diversified strategies.	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
IC Markets provides metals and cryptocurrencies for trading through CFDs, though the selection is narrower compared to brokers such as eToro. This limits opportunities for traders focused on these asset classes. The tutorials, webinars, and educational resources require enhancement, lagging behind competitors such as CMC Markets, which diminishes their appeal to novice traders. Certain withdrawal methods incur fees, including a $20 charge for wire transfers. These costs can reduce profits, particularly with frequent withdrawals. Although there are four top-tier third-party platforms available, the absence of in-house software or a trading app tailored for novice traders is notable. Interest is not paid on idle cash, a feature gaining popularity with alternatives such as Interactive Brokers.	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
Best MT4/MT5 Broker 2025 - DayTrading.com Best MT4/MT5 Broker 2023 - DayTrading.com Best Forex Broker 2022 - DayTrading.com Best Overall Broker 2020 - DayTrading.com Best Trading App 2020 - 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
FCA Regulated
No List of FCA Regulated Brokers	Yes
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Bonds, Futures, Crypto	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$200	$0
Payment Methods
Credit Cards Klarna Mastercard Neteller Best PayPal Brokers In The UK [year] Rapid Transfer SafeCharge Skrill Swift Visa Wire Transfer	Credit Cards Best Debit Card Brokers In The UK [year] Mastercard Best PayPal Brokers In The UK [year] Visa Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots	0.01 Lots
Regulator
ASIC, CySEC, FSA, CMA	FCA, ASIC, NFA, CFTC, DFSA, BaFin, MAS, FSCA, FINMA, CONSOB, AFM, JFSA
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
Trading App
IC Markets provide mobile apps for their cTrader, MT4, MT5, and TradingView platforms. Developed separately for Android and iOS, these apps leverage each system's unique capabilities. Featuring raw pricing and spreads from 0.0, they offer superb tools for every trader level. What truly distinguishes them is maintaining IC Markets’ renowned rapid execution speed within the apps. This ensures a professional and highly responsive trading experience.	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
3.1	4.6
Android App Rating
4.2	4
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
	2.5%
MetaTrader 4
Yes	Yes
MetaTrader 5
Yes	No
cTrader
Yes	No
AlgoTrader
No	No
OmniTrader
No	No
TradingView
Yes	Yes
Autochartist
No	Yes
eSignal
No	No
Trading Central
Yes	Yes
STP Account
No	No
ECN Account
Yes	No
DMA Account
Yes	Yes
MAM Account
Yes	No
PAMM Account
Yes	No
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
No	No
AI / Machine Learning
No	Yes
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, cBots on cTrader, Myfxbook AutoTrade	Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, build your own on ProRealTime
Copy Trading
Yes	No
Copy Trading Platform
Introduced in February 2023, the IC Social app provides an easy platform for learning, sharing, and replicating the trades of other traders with minimal effort. The app also includes risk management features and supports specialised trading groups. Alternatively, IC Markets offers access to Signal Start and popular third-party copy trading platforms like ZuluTrade and cTrader Copy.
Social Trading
Yes	No
Trade Signals
Signal Start	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
$0	$12
Islamic Account
Yes	No
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP CAD AUD NZD JPY CHF HKD SGD	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD JPY ZAR SEK DKK CHF HKD SGD
Commodities
Gold Oil Silver Orange Juice Cocoa Coffee Corn Soybeans Sugar Wheat Natural Gas	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
Trade over 2,250 CFDs anytime from Monday to Friday across key markets, including forex, commodities, indices, stocks, and bonds. IC Markets leverages deep liquidity and cutting-edge bridge technology to offer ideal trading conditions for scalpers, hedgers, and algorithmic 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 (ASIC & CySEC), 1:500 (FSA), 1:1000 (Global)	1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
1.0	1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.23	0.9
Oil Spread
0.03	2.8
Stocks Spread
0.02	0.02
Forex
IC Markets remains dedicated to offering tight 0.0-pip spreads on major currency pairs like EUR/USD, ensuring outstanding execution with an average speed of 35 milliseconds. Ideal for traders seeking high performance, those dealing in large volumes can also enjoy rebates of up to $2.50 per forex lot.	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
75	80+
GBPUSD Spread
0.23	0.9
EURUSD Spread
0.02	0.8
EURGBP Spread
0.27	0.9
Currency Indices
	USD
Cryptocurrency
IC Markets provides a range of over 20 cryptocurrencies for trading through CFDs, featuring less common tokens like Avalanche, Kusama, and Uniswap. Traders can enjoy commission-free transactions and experienced individuals can utilise high leverage up to 1:200 via the MetaTrader platforms.	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
BTC 42.036	Variable
Coins
BTC BCH DOT DSH EMC EOS ETH LNK LTC NMC PPC XLM XRP ADA BNB DOG UNI XTZ	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

IC Markets	IG
Review	Review
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% 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.
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