IG Review 2026: The Blue-Chip Broker — Costs, Platforms and Who Can Join

IG is the oldest and biggest name in this series. It started in London in 1974, it’s listed on the London Stock Exchange, and it’s regulated by top-tier authorities in the UK, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland and the US. If the safety of the company holding your money is your first question, few brokers answer it better. The trade-offs are practical: MT4 but no MT5, gold spreads above average, and availability that depends heavily on where you live.

IG at a glance

Why IG is the safest name on our list

Every other review in this series includes a warning that most international clients end up with an offshore entity. IG is different in degree. It’s a public company with audited accounts, a credit rating, and a market value of several billion pounds. In the first half of 2026 it reported revenue of about £643 million, up 18% on the year before.

Its regulators are among the strictest anywhere: the FCA in the UK, BaFin in Germany, ASIC in Australia, MAS in Singapore, FINMA in Switzerland, the JFSA in Japan, the DFSA in Dubai, and the CFTC and NFA in the US. A public company with this much at stake has strong reasons to treat clients properly.

Neither change affects the safety of client money. They are a reminder, though, that IG adjusts where it operates, so which IG entity you can join depends on where you live.

Can you open an account?

This is the practical question for many traders in our community. IG’s main entities serve clients in the UK, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, the UAE and the US. Some international clients are onboarded by IG International in Bermuda, with leverage up to 1:200. IG itself says that your country of residence doesn’t always decide which IG office you trade with, and that applying to an entity outside the UK or Europe means you won’t have UK or European protections.

In short, availability varies by country and changes over time. Start an application on IG’s website to see which entity, if any, will accept you, and check it in our licence checker before funding.

What trading costs

IG’s forex pricing is excellent. FXEmpire measured EUR/USD at 0.6 pips, against an industry average of about 1.1, with no commission. Gold was the opposite story: 30 cents at the London open and 50 cents after the New York open, against an average of about 25.

On EUR/USD, IG is among the cheapest brokers in this series, cheaper even than Vantage Raw ECN. On gold it’s among the most expensive. For comparison, TMGM and Exness came in at about $16–18 per lot. If gold is most of what you trade, IG’s gold pricing is a real cost. These tests date from January 2025, so check live spreads before deciding.

Overnight swaps are about average. Share CFDs carry commission with fairly high minimums, for example $15 per side on US shares online. IG charges no deposit or withdrawal fees, and card withdrawals for CFD accounts can be very fast.

Platforms: MT4, not MT5

• IG web platform and app — IG’s own platforms, with the full range of markets, good charting and integrated news.
• MetaTrader 4 — available, but with fewer markets than IG’s own platform. IG doesn’t offer MT5.
• TradingView — connect your IG account and trade from TradingView charts.
• ProRealTime — advanced charting, free with a few trades a month or for a monthly fee.
• L2 Dealer — direct market access for share traders.

Markets: the widest in this series

IG offers more than 17,000 markets: 97 forex pairs, 51 indices, 40 commodities, more than 13,000 shares and over 6,000 ETFs, plus bonds and crypto. In several regions you can also buy real shares through share dealing, not just CFDs. No other broker we review comes close. For a trader who also wants to invest long-term in the same place, IG is the obvious choice.

Swap-free and leverage

Swap-free (Islamic) accounts are offered only through IG’s Dubai entity. If you need one, confirm eligibility before applying.

Retail leverage is capped at 1:30 or lower at almost every IG entity, and up to 1:200 at IG International. That is far more sensible than the 1:1000 or “unlimited” leverage elsewhere in this series. It also suits the way we teach: size every trade from your stop loss with our lot size calculator, and you’ll never need more.

Education and research

IG Academy has 19 structured courses, from beginner to advanced, plus webinars and a daily live show. Research includes Reuters news, Autochartist pattern signals and TipRanks. Together with our free Trading Academy, it’s one of the better learning setups available.

Who IG suits — and who it doesn’t

How we scored IG

Overall: 4.4 / 5. On trust, markets and education, IG is the strongest broker in this series. It loses points on gold pricing, the lack of MT5 and limited availability for traders outside its core regions, which includes many of our readers.

The bottom line

If you can open an account with IG, and especially if you live in one of its main regions, it’s one of the safest homes for your trading money anywhere. Forex costs are excellent, the market range is enormous, and the education is genuinely useful.

For a gold-focused trader copying signals into MetaTrader, though, IG isn’t the most practical choice. Gold is expensive, MT5 isn’t offered, and MT4’s market list is shorter. In that case, IG is better as a second account for shares and long-term investing, alongside a gold-friendly broker from our best broker list.

Frequently asked questions