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Forex.com vs IG Markets: Comparison and Analysis

Trying to figure out whether to use Forex.com or IG Markets for forex trading? This comparison article lays out the features of both brokers in detail, so you can see which is the best platform according to your needs. These two trading platforms are both well-known and quite popular, but are they equally good forex brokers? Keep reading to find out.

We’ve compared more than 100 variables and features so you can see the pros and cons of Forex.com and IG Markets side by side. We’ve divided the comparisons into a logical structure so it’s easy to navigate.

Scroll the whole post below, or use the quick menu to jump to the relevant section.

Open Account
73% of retail investor accounts lose money
Forex.com review
Open Account
75% of retail CFD accounts lose money
IG Markets review

Overall Ratings


Rated
81
Rated
91

General Breakdown. This graph highlights the key scores from each Macro, uniquely calculated by us.

  • Forex.com
  • IG Markets

Security 95
Security 98

Cost 69
Cost 65

Trading 75
Trading 100

Education 82
Education 84

Company Info


Foundation
1999
1974
Is it Regulated?
Is it Publicly Traded?
Is it a Bank?
Segregated Clients Funds ?
No-ESMA Branches? ?
Accepts EU Clients?
Accepts US Clients?
Accepts Canadian Clients?
Website Languages
en, chi
en, ar, dan, de, es, fr, ne, nor, po, ru, swe, it, swi

Leverage


Non-EU Leverage ?
400:1
200:1
European Leverage ?
30:1
30:1
Australian Leverage ?
30:1
200:1
US Leverage ?
50:1
50:1
Canadian Leverage ?
50:1
0

Tier 1 Regulation


FSA ?
MAS ?
FINMA ?
FCA ?
CFTC ?
MIFID-ESMA ?
ASIC ?
IIROC ?
SFC ?

Tier 2 Regulation


FMA ?
CBR ?
FSCA ?
SEC ?
DFSA ?
CBRC ?
CySEC ?
ISA ?

Tier 3 Regulation


Offshore ?
MMA (Maldives) ?
EDR ?
FSA (Seychelles) ?
SCB (Bahamas) ?
FSC (Mauritius) ?
VFSC (Vanuatu) ?
IFSC (Belize) ?
CIMA (Cayman Islands) ?
SVG (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) ?
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) ?
BMA (Bermuda) ?
BVI (British Virgin Islands) ?

Brand Power


SimilarWeb - Website Ranking
52385
8985
SimilarWeb - Total Visits
9340000
Facebook Likes
36211
107634
Twitter Likes
146200
25000
Instagram Likes

Deposit and Withdrawal


Minimum Deposit ?
100 USD
300 USD
Minimum Withdraw ?
Credit Card ?
Bank Transfer ?
PayPal
Neteller
Skrill
Other Methods Available ?
Deposit Waiting Time ?
1-2 business days
instant
Withdraw Waiting Time ?
1-2 business days
1 business day
Bonus Program ?

Costs and Fees


Deposit Fees ?
Withdrawal Commissions ?
Overnight/Swap Fee ?
Inactivity Fee ?
Conversion Fee ?

Account Types


Demo Account ?
Demo Account Expiration ?
Account Currencies ?
EUR, GBP, USD
AUD, EUR, GBP, USD, ZAR, AED, CHF, JPY, NZD, SGD
Standard Account ?
Micro Account ?
Low-cost Account ?
Variable Spread Account ?
Fixed Spread Account ?
Zero Spread Account ?
ECN Account ?
Swap Free Account ?
Islamic Account ?
Professional Traders Account ?
Active Trader Program ?

Commodities


Crude Oil ?
2.8
Natural Gas ?
Silver ?
1.4
2.0
Platinum ?
Copper ?
Soybeans ?
Corn ?
Gold ?
0.45
0.3

Forex Fixed Spreads


EUR/GBP Spread
EUR/USD Spread
USD/JPY Spread
GBP/USD Spread
USD/CHF Spread
AUD/USD Spread
USD/CAD Spread
NZD/USD Spread

Forex Variable Spreads


EUR/USD Average Spread
1.3
0.7
USD/JPY Average Spread
1.5
1.19
USD/CHF Average Spread
1.9
2.07
GBP/USD Average Spread
2
1.52
USD/CAD Average Spread
2.0
AUD/USD Average Spread
1.6
0.6
NZD/USD Average Spread
3.2
EUR/GBP Average Spread
1.9
0.9

Fees on Stocks


Apple
0.01
Facebook
0.04
Alphabet
0.30
Snapchat
BP
Tesco
Barclays
Lloyds

Fees on Indices


FTSE100
1.3
1.0
S&P500
0.6
0.4
Dow Jones
Nasdaq
1.5
1.0
CAC40
1.5
1.0
DAX30
1.5
2.0
Nikkei 225
15.0
7.0
Euro Stoxx 50
2.3
2.0

Fees on Cryptocurrencies


Bitcoin
1
1
Ethereum
1.2
1.2
Ripple
60.0
0.30
Litecoin
0.5
0
Bitcoin Cash
2.0
2.0
Dash
0
0
Monero
0
0
Neo
0
0

Platforms


cTrader Desktop
cTrader Web
Mirror Trader
ZuluTrade ?
MT4 Dekstop
MT4 Web
MT5 Desktop
MT5 Web
Proprietary Desktop Platform
Proprietary Web Platform
MAC Platforms
Sirix

Mobile Trading


Android ?
iOS ?
Windows ?
Trading Signals on Mobile ?
Smart Watch App ?
Forex Trading ?
CFD Trading ?
Alerts ?
Chartings-Drawing Tools ?
Mobile Available Language ?
en, ar, chi
en, de, es, fr, po
Watchlist Mobile ?

Available Markets


Forex Pairs ?
80
90
Crypto ?
80
90
Commodities ?
12
34
Stocks ?
220
12000
Indices ?
18
37
ETF ?
1
20
Futures ?
1
5
Options ?
1
20
Bonds ?
1
12
Metal ?
5
5
Agricultural ?
3
Energies ?
2
6
Interest Rates ?
Penny Stocks ?
IPO ?
Blends ?
1
1
Dow Jones ?
FTSE ?
Dax ?
Nikkei ?
Gold Market ?
Bitcoin ?
Real Assets ?

Trading Execution


Direct Market Access (DMA) ?
Straigh Through Processing (STP) ?
Electronic Communication Network (ECN) ?
Market Maker ?
Non Dealing Desk (NDD) ?
FIFO Applies? ?
4 Digits Decimal Pricing ?
5 Digits Decimal Pricing ?

Risk Management


Stop Losses ?
Take Profits ?
Limit Orders ?
Trailing Stop ?
Margin Call ?
OCO Orders ?
Guaranteed Stop Loss ?
Negative Balance Protection ?
Minimum Trade Size ?
0.01 lots
0.01 lots
Maximum Trade Size ?
100 lots
100 lots

Special Trading Conditions


MAM ?
PAMM ?
Social Trading ?
Copy Trading ?
LAMM ?

Available Trading Techniques


Scalping ?
Hedging ?
Spread Betting ?
Expert Advisor (EA) ?
Virtual Private Server ?
API ?

Trading Tools


One-Click Trading ?
Signal Trading ?
Price Alerts ?
Number Chart Indicators ?
139
22
Number Chart Drawing Tools ?
22
17
Trade Directly From Chart ?
Watchlist ?

Education


Education Center ?
Webinars
Platform Tutorial Video ?
Video on Trading for Beginners ?
Video on Trading for Experts ?
Tutorial Guide
Glossary

Customer Support


Call Back Request ?
Email Support
Phone Support
Live Chat
Support Language Available
en, chi
en, ar, dan, de, es, fr, ne, nor, po, ru, swe, it, swi

Research


Professional Reports
Social Trading Features - Social Feeds ?
Economic Calendar
Daily Email With Trading Ideas
Analysis From Trading Central (Recognia)
Analysis From Delkos Research
AutoChartist
Traders Sentiment ?
News via Twitter
News via FaceBook
Daily Market Commentary

About Forex.com and IG Markets

Both Forex.com and IG Markets have made a name for themselves as good online brokers that allow you to trade currencies and CFDs on international financial markets. Forex.com started out as one of the first online broker services in 2001, whereas IG Markets has been in the business of brokerage for nearly five decades, dating back all the way to 1974, when they were established as a spread betting business dealing primarily in trading gold prices.

While it may seem that IG Markets has a significant edge over Forex.com because they were created decades earlier, nowadays, the two platforms are both considered to be industry leaders when it comes to forex and CFDs trading.

Forex.com vs. IG Markets: Which Broker Offers Better Pricing?

Figuring out which trading platform has better pricing isn’t as simple as it might seem, as there are a lot of factors and hidden costs to consider. First of all, there’s the matter of a minimum deposit requirement. Forex.com has a lower threshold, with those wishing to use IG Markets having to make a larger initial investment..

Let’s take a look at the average spread on one of the most commonly traded currency pairs, EUR/USD. On IG Markets, it comes out to 0.86 pips, whereas on Forex.com, it’s a set 1.0. The spread is usually lower on IG for most pairs we’ve tested, making it the clear winner when it comes to trading costs.

Winner: IG Markets

Forex.com vs. IG Markets: Which Market Selection is Better?

When it comes to the total number of assets, IG offers up to 19,000 tradable symbols. Compared to Forex.com’s 5500, that’s a pretty significant gap between the brokers. Of course, more doesn’t always mean better. A more important question to answer is how these trading platforms compare against each other when it comes to the types of assets and commodities you can trade.

Both platforms allow foreign currency trading, as well as trading in U.S. stocks. In terms of currency pairs, not much separates the two, but IG Markets once again is at a slighter advantage, with 100 available pairs vs. Forex.com’s 91.

More advanced traders might want to spread their wings and look into non-US stock trading, which is present on IG Markets, but nowhere to be found on Forex.com.

You can easily trade cryptocurrency CFDs on both Forex.com and IG Markets, as expected from most online brokers nowadays. If you’re based in the UK, take into account the fact that only professional traders can trade cryptocurrency CFDs on any trading platform out there, but that’s a legal barrier and not exactly a shortcoming on the side of either broker.

Winner: IG Markets

Forex.com vs. IG Markets: Which Platform is Safer for Forex Traders?

Most modern online trading platforms are well-regulated, and the case is no different with Forex.com and IG Markets. Both platforms have the same Trust Score of 99.

Licenses from Tier 1 regulators are another important factor when it comes to assessing the legitimacy of trading platforms and online brokers. IG Markets holds 7 such licenses from the following financial markets authority bodies:

  • Australian Securities and Investments Commission
  • Financial Services Agency (Japan)
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore
  • Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
  • The Financial Conduct Authority (United Kingdom)
  • Commodity Futures Trading Commission (United States)
  • Financial Markets Authority (New Zealand)

Forex.com, on the other hand, is licensed by four Tier 1 regulators. On top of being recognized by the American CFTC and British FCA, it also holds licenses from two other authorities:

  • Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada
  • Securities and Futures Commission (Hong Kong)

All in all, while IG Markets has more Tier 1 licenses than Forex.com, both platforms are generally considered low risk when it comes to your privacy and protecting your funds from malicious actors. They also abide by the latest encryption standards and use advanced security software to protect their users.

Winner: Draw

Which Forex Broker is Better? Forex.com or IG Markets?

A quick glance at our comparison of Forex.com and IG Markets will reveal that IG has access to more markets, and lower pricing across the board, with the exception of the minimum deposit requirement.

However, that is not to say that Forex.com is completely useless. If you’re into automated trading tools, you might want to give this broker a shot, as they provide access to Meta Trader 5, the latest version of the auto-trading platform, something that you won’t find at IG Markets (they do have Meta Trader 4, though). Both platforms also provide you with plenty of educational materials to begin your journey, as well as allow you to dip your toes in the trading world with a free demo account.

All in all, we consider IG Markets to be the superior online trading platform, but it’s also important to highlight that Forex.com is a good broker, as well. However, when set side-by-side with IG, the gaps in some areas are impossible to overlook. For a complete overview of both platforms, consider checking out our comprehensive Forex.com and IG Markets reviews.

Winner: IG Markets

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Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. Cryptocurrencies can widely fluctuate in prices and are not appropriate for all investors. Trading cryptocurrencies is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk. The present page is intended for teaching purposes only. It shall not be intended as operational advice for investments, nor as an invitation to public savings raising. Any real or simulated result shall represent no warranty as to possible future performances. The speculative activity in forex market, as well as in other markets, implies considerable economic risks; anyone who carries out speculative activity does it on its own responsibility.
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