Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IG vs FXOpen, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
When comparing IG and FXOpen, both online brokers have distinct histories and regulatory standings. IG, established in 1974, is a publicly traded company and operates as a bank, enhancing its financial credibility. It holds 8 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, making it highly trusted according to ForexBrokers.com, which rates IG with a near-perfect Trust Score of 99. This rating reflects IG’s long-standing reputation and compliance with top regulatory standards.
On the other hand, FXOpen, founded in 2003, is not publicly traded and does not operate as a bank. It holds 2 Tier-1 licenses but has no Tier-2 licenses, indicating a different level of regulatory coverage compared to IG. As a result, FXOpen has a Trust Score of 76, seen as an average risk per ForexBrokers.com. This suggests that while FXOpen is reasonably trusted, its trust level does not reach that of the more extensively regulated IG.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1974 | 2003 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
When comparing the commissions and fees of online brokers IG and FXOpen, IG stands out with its flexible execution methods and competitive pricing, especially for active traders. IG is well-regarded for its Forex Direct accounts, offering traders scalable execution and competitive spreads that averaged 0.62 pips during July 2023. With a Forex Direct account, the all-in cost is approximately 0.82 pips, factoring in a commission equivalent of 0.2 pips per trade. In terms of active trader rebates, IG offers substantial savings for high-volume traders, with potential rebates of up to 20% for those trading over £300 million per month.
In contrast, FXOpen does not provide detailed average spread data for comparison. While IG shines with tailored discounts for professionals, precise execution methods, and an in-depth tiered rebate program, FXOpen’s offerings remain less transparent in this context. For traders opting for IG’s DMA (Direct Market Access) accounts, enhanced discounts and low spreads are available, adding further appeal for those executing large trading volumes.
Overall, IG receives a superior rating of 5 stars for its commissions and fees, ranking 8th out of 62 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. Meanwhile, FXOpen has a 4-star rating and ranks 45th in the same category. IG's superior position is a testament to its flexible pricing strategies and focus on meeting the needs of both individual and institutional traders.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £250.00 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.82 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When selecting an online broker based on the range of available investments, IG and FXOpen present notable differences. IG shines with an impressive 19,537 tradeable symbols and offers 97 forex pairs, providing a vast selection for traders. It also allows investors to purchase exchange traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, such as shares of Apple and Vodafone, though it does not support copy trading or buying actual cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, FXOpen offers only 87 tradeable symbols with 25 forex pairs and does not provide the option to purchase shares directly on exchanges like NASDAQ or the London Stock Exchange. However, FXOpen supports copy trading, allowing clients to replicate the trades of experienced investors.
Both IG and FXOpen offer forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, and provide the option to trade cryptocurrency derivatives rather than the actual cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, IG's investment offerings are more extensive, earning it a 5-star rating for range of investments and a 4th place ranking out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. FXOpen lags behind with a 3-star rating and ranks 61st in the same category, indicating a narrower selection of investment opportunities compared to IG.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 | 87 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 | 25 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing IG and FXOpen for their trading platforms and tools, both brokers provide free virtual demo accounts to help users get acquainted with their services without any financial risk. IG impresses with its proprietary platform and a comprehensive suite of trading options, including a Windows-based desktop download and web-based platform. FXOpen, while lacking a proprietary platform, matches IG's offerings in terms of desktop and web-based access. Importantly, FXOpen stands out with its copy trading options like ZuluTrade and compatibility with MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which IG does not offer.
In terms of functionality, IG provides 20 drawing tools for charting and five columns for watch lists, while FXOpen offers 15 drawing tools and seven columns for watch lists. Both allow trading directly from the stock chart, ensuring a seamless trading experience. However, IG generally garners a higher user satisfaction rating, with five stars for its trading platforms and tools, securing the second position among 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. In contrast, FXOpen earns four stars and ranks 53rd, reflecting a more modest but still competent offering.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 33 | 30 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 5 | 7 |
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Both IG and FXOpen offer trading apps for iPhone and Android, catering to traders looking to access the market on the go. Users of either app can receive stock and forex price alerts, ensuring they remain updated with market movements. While both platforms allow traders to draw trendlines and view multiple time frames, IG takes a lead with its watchlist symbol syncing feature, enabling seamless integration between their mobile app and online account. This feature is not available on FXOpen’s app, requiring more manual management for users wanting consistency across platforms.
When it comes to technical capabilities, IG offers 33 technical studies compared to FXOpen’s 30, providing a slightly broader range of tools for chart analysis. Moreover, IG distinguishes itself by allowing auto-saving of chart drawings, which means traders can pick up right where they left off without additional hassle. With these combined features, it's no surprise that IG surpasses FXOpen in ratings, earning a 5-star review compared to FXOpen’s 4 stars. Furthermore, IG ranks as the top mobile trading app according to ForexBrokers.com, while FXOpen sits at #54, illustrating a significant gap in user experience and satisfaction.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing the market research offerings of IG and FXOpen, both platforms provide daily market commentary and access to top-tier forex news from reputable sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. However, IG stands out with its advanced tools and features. It offers technical analysis through Autochartist and provides a sentiment-based trading tool that highlights the ratio of long or short positions across different currency pairs. Additionally, IG users benefit from market research powered by TipRanks and tools from Acuity Trading, elevating the analytical resources available to traders.
In contrast, FXOpen falls short in a few areas, omitting access to tools such as Autochartist and sentiment analysis. While both brokers share resources like an economic calendar for tracking global events, IG's comprehensive research suite earns it a 5-star rating, ranking it as the second-best among 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. FXOpen, on the other hand, receives a 3-star rating, coming in at the lowest position in the same category. This disparity highlights IG's strength in providing in-depth, user-friendly market research tools, making it a more formidable choice for informed trading.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing IG and FXOpen in terms of educational resources for beginners, IG stands out as the more comprehensive provider. IG offers a wide range of educational materials related to forex and CFDs, with more than 10 educational pieces including articles, videos, and archived webinars. Furthermore, IG hosts monthly online educational webinars with a searchable archive for those who can't attend live sessions. Beginners can also benefit from IG's extensive library of videos tailored to new traders, making it an excellent choice for those just starting out. While both IG and FXOpen provide an investor dictionary with definitions for over 50 investing terms, IG surpasses FXOpen with its additional offerings.
FXOpen, on the other hand, falls short in providing the same level of educational resources. While it does offer an investor dictionary, it lacks the frequency and breadth of live webinars, archived content, and beginner-focused videos available through IG. Consequently, IG is rated higher for its educational resources, earning 5 stars compared to FXOpen's 3 stars, and securing the top spot among 62 brokers ranked by ForexBrokers.com. FXOpen, meanwhile, ranks much lower at #58, highlighting the gap between these two brokers in supporting beginners through education.
| Feature |
IG
|
FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that IG is better than FXOpen. IG finished with an overall rank of #1, while FXOpen finished with an overall rank of #54.
IG offers the ultimate comprehensive trading package, featuring excellent trading and research tools, industry-leading education, and an extensive range of tradeable markets.
| Feature |
IG
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FXOpen
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 |
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Both IG and FXOpen provide options for trading cryptocurrency derivatives, but neither broker offers the capability to purchase actual, delivered cryptocurrencies.
IG provides a broader range of payment options including ACH, SEPA, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, while FXOpen supports Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, and bank wires, but lacks ACH, SEPA, and PayPal options.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | IG | FXOpen | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IG Review |
| Broker Screenshots | IG | FXOpen | |
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| Regulation | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Year Founded | 1974 | 2003 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 | 87 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 | 25 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.98 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.82 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £250.00 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 5 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 33 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | IG | FXOpen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | IG Review |
| Overall | IG | FXOpen | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IG Review |
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