eToro vs IG Markets: Comparison and Analysis

About eToro and IG

eToro is a social trading platform that was established in 2007, with the mobile app released in 2012. Since then, it has had over 20 million active users who engage in both manual and copy trading.

IG Markets, on the other hand, has almost 5 decades of experience in the trading world – it started in 1974 under the name IG Index. At first, it was a spread betting business that allowed people to trade gold prices as an index instead of purchasing physical gold. Nowadays, it’s a web-based platform that caters to more than 300,000 users.

Although IG was established way before eToro, as of today, they both are some of the most commonly used online brokers on the market, with mobile trading apps available as well.

eToro vs IG – Which Broker Offers Better Pricing?

When it comes to deciding which of the trading platforms offers better pricing, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.

First of all, the minimum deposit requirement. On both eToro and IG Markets, there’s a minimum amount that you need to deposit into your account to be able to – on eToro, that is $10, while for IG Markets, the minimum deposit is $300. This is especially important for beginner traders who are more cautious about how much money they dedicate to trading.

When it comes to forex trading and the costs and fees associated with it, it’s hard to pick one winner because it all depends on which currencies you are planning on trading. For example, on EUR/USD, the average spread on ÏG Markets is 0.7 pips, while for eToro, it comes out to 1. On USD/CHF, on the other hand, the spread is lower on eToro, coming out to 1.5 compared to 2.05 on IG.

Finally, let’s talk about commissions on stocks – if your focus is the stock markets, then eToro might be a better option for you due to its commission-free stocks (other fees may apply). IG has a standard charge of 0.5%.

So, while the minimum deposit is definitely lower on eToro, we would have to give the crown to IG for offering better pricing, as most of the costs on the Forex pairs we compared ended up being more affordable on this trading platform.

Winner: IG Markets

eToro vs IG – Which Market Selection is Better?

eToro customers can choose from over 5,000 tradeable assets – you can choose to trade stocks, indices, ETFs, currencies, commodities, and crypto assets. On the other hand, IG offers traders access to almost 20,000 tradeable symbols in their offer. That’s a pretty significant difference. IG also offers more Forex pairs to trade, with 90 of them available compared to 80 on eToro, as well as more stocks to choose from (12000 compared to 957 on eToro).

Both IG and eToro allow their users to engage in cryptocurrency trading, having Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, and more available.

Winner: IG Markets

IG vs eToro – Which Platform Is Safer for Forex Traders?

Both eToro and IG are regulated by several different entities, making them safe places for online trading.

IG is regulated by six Tier 1 regulators, including FSA (Financial Services Agency from Japan), ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), and MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore). eToro, on the other hand, is regulated by four Tier 1 regulators, all of which also regulate IG.

As for the lower Tiers, eToro is regulated by two Tier 2 and one Tier 3 regulator, compared to three Tier 2 for IG. Additionally, IG is a publicly-traded company on the London Stock Exchange.

Both trading platforms also offer negative balance protection, which means that while you can lose money when trading, the amount cannot be higher than what you currently have in your account, as well as a demo account so that you can get to know the platform before you start investing actual money.

So, when it comes to safety, we would say that both traders are good options.

Winner: Draw

IG vs eToro Comparison – Which Forex Broker is Better?

Deciding which trading platform will be best for your trading needs is an individual matter. However, based on all of the metrics we listed above, we have to say that, generally speaking, IG Markets seems to be the more favorable online platform to trade on.

Does it mean that you should not trust eToro? Of course not! eToro is actually a very solid platform, despite some of its shortcomings.

As we already mentioned, both of those sites have their pros and cons, and a lot depends on what you want to focus on trading. For example, if you want to trade stocks, then eToro might actually be a better choice due to the lack of commission. So, it’s not all as black and white as it might seem.

If you’re interested in reading a more comprehensive take on either of the forex brokers, you can check out their respective reviews – check out the eToro one here and IG Markets one here.