Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IG vs iFOREX, 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 iFOREX, it's clear that IG holds a distinct advantage in terms of trust and regulatory oversight. Founded in 1974, IG is a publicly traded company and operates as a bank. This broker boasts a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 99, indicating high reliability. IG's strong regulatory framework includes eight Tier-1 licenses, known for high trust, and two Tier-2 licenses, solidifying its status as a safe choice for online trading.
In contrast, iFOREX, established in 1996, does not share the same level of trust with a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 75, categorizing it as an average risk broker. Unlike IG, iFOREX is neither publicly traded nor a bank and holds just one Tier-1 license with no Tier-2 licenses. These factors suggest that traders may encounter higher risk when choosing iFOREX compared to the highly trusted IG.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1974 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
IG stands out for its competitive pricing and diverse execution methods catering to both active and high-volume traders. With its Forex Direct accounts, IG offers market-leading spreads averaging 0.62 pips with an all-in cost of 0.82 pips when a commission is included. In July 2023, for CFD accounts, average spreads were slightly below the industry average, coming in at 0.69 pips during peak trading hours and 0.98 pips overall. Notably, IG provides active trader rebates for high-volume clients, offering spread rebates of up to 20% for substantial trading volumes. For those looking for even better pricing, IG’s DMA account offers commission-based Forex Direct trading with competitive tiers based on the trader's volume, leading to effective spreads as low as 0.82 pips. IG garners a 5-star rating for commissions and fees and ranks #8 out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com.
iFOREX, on the other hand, lacks transparency in its average spread data, making it less competitive when compared to brokers like IG. The absence of detailed spread data can be challenging for traders seeking clarity and optimized costs. As a result, iFOREX has earned a 3-star rating for commissions and fees. In rankings, it falls at #60 out of 62 brokers in the Commissions and Fees category as per ForexBrokers.com. While iFOREX may offer some appealing features, its ranking and star rating indicate it lags behind its competitors on the pricing front.
In summary, while both IG and iFOREX offer distinct services, IG significantly outshines iFOREX in terms of commissions and fees. IG's transparent and competitive pricing, along with its execution options, make it an attractive choice for traders, particularly those dealing in high volumes. Its superior star rating and higher ranking underscore its advantages over iFOREX in the commissions and fees spectrum.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
IG and iFOREX both provide forex trading through CFDs or spot contracts, yet significantly differ in their range of investments. IG impressively offers 19,537 tradeable symbols, including 97 forex pairs. In contrast, iFOREX provides access to 750 symbols with 88 forex pairs. This vast difference indicates IG's broader options for traders. Furthermore, unlike iFOREX, IG enables investors to directly purchase stocks on both U.S. and international exchanges, such as Apple and Vodafone, expanding the investment opportunities available to its clients beyond CFDs.
Neither IG nor iFOREX supports copy trading or the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies, yet both allow trading in cryptocurrency derivatives. The extensive range of offerings by IG secures it a high industry ranking, earning a 5-star rating in investment range and placing it 4th out of 62 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, iFOREX, with its more limited selection, is rated 3.5 stars and lands at 41st in the same category. This side-by-side comparison highlights IG as a preferable choice for those seeking a wide variety of investment opportunities.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 | 750 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 | 88 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No |
| 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). | 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 the trading platforms and tools of IG and iFOREX, IG stands out with its comprehensive offering. IG provides a free virtual demo account which allows users to engage in paper trading, giving beginners a safe environment to practice. Moreover, IG features both a proprietary platform and the well-known MetaTrader 4 (MT4). It supports a Windows-based desktop platform along with a versatile web-based platform. With 20 drawing tools for charting and the ability to trade directly from stock charts, IG ensures traders have the resources they need. Additionally, IG offers a customizable experience with its watch lists, allowing up to 5 columns (fields) for personalization. Rated 5 stars for its trading platforms and tools, IG ranks as the second-best broker out of 62 by ForexBrokers.com.
iFOREX, while having strengths, offers a slightly different experience. It develops its proprietary trading platform but lacks a free virtual demo account, which might be a downside for newcomers seeking a learning environment without financial risk. It provides a web-based trading platform but does not support a Windows desktop platform or MetaTrader 4 (MT4), which some traders might miss. On the bright side, iFOREX equips traders with 25 drawing tools for charting and allows for direct trading from stock charts, offering a competitive edge in these areas. iFOREX also provides more columns for watch lists, with 9 fields available, catering to those who value detailed watch lists. Though rated 4 stars, iFOREX holds the 54th position out of 62 brokers per ForexBrokers.com, indicating room for enhancement in trading platform offerings.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 33 | 57 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 25 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 5 | 9 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both IG and iFOREX offer mobile trading apps available for iPhone and Android devices. While both apps provide essential trading features, IG stands out with several advanced options. For instance, IG users benefit from stock and forex price alerts, a feature not available with iFOREX. Additionally, IG supports watchlist symbol syncing, which means any changes made in the mobile app are seamlessly updated to the user's online account, whereas iFOREX does not offer this syncing capability.
IG's mobile app is packed with more sophisticated charting capabilities, including 33 technical studies and the ability to draw trendlines and view multiple time frames on charts. In contrast, iFOREX lacks these advanced charting features. Moreover, IG allows the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes, enhancing the trading experience further. These comprehensive features have helped IG earn a 5-star rating for its mobile trading experience, topping the rankings as number one by ForexBrokers.com among 62 brokers. Meanwhile, iFOREX has secured a 4-star rating and is positioned at 55th in the same category.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | N/A |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing the market research offerings between IG and iFOREX, both platforms provide daily market commentary, giving traders actionable insights into market movements. However, IG stands out by delivering forex news sourced from top-tier providers like Bloomberg and Reuters, while iFOREX does not offer similar access. IG also integrates tools from Autochartist for technical analysis, whereas iFOREX leans on Trading Central for these services. Both brokers offer sentiment-based trading tools, allowing traders to see the ratio of long to short positions across various instruments.
IG further enhances its research capabilities with market insights from TipRanks and Acuity Trading, providing comprehensive analysis and forecasts. In contrast, iFOREX lacks these additional tools. An economic calendar is available on both platforms, keeping investors informed about significant global news events. Overall, IG receives a high research rating of 5 stars and is ranked 2nd among 62 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, iFOREX receives a 3.5-star rating and is positioned at number 48, highlighting the more limited scope of research offerings available to its users.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational resources for beginners between IG and iFOREX, IG clearly stands out as a leader in providing extensive learning materials. IG offers over ten educational pieces focused on forex and CFDs, ensuring beginners have ample articles, videos, and webinars to enhance their knowledge. They host regular online webinars every month, which are accessible to clients, along with a searchable archive of past sessions. In addition to ten beginner-specific videos, IG also presents advanced topics for seasoned traders and maintains an investor dictionary with over 50 terms. The comprehensive range of resources earns IG a top rating of 5 stars, ranking it first out of 62 brokers in the education category by ForexBrokers.com.
In contrast, iFOREX lags behind in educational offerings. While they do provide ten beginner-focused videos, they fall short by not providing a minimum of ten educational pieces dedicated to forex and CFDs. iFOREX also does not offer monthly webinars or a searchable archive of recorded sessions, and lacks a substantial investor dictionary. These gaps contribute to their lower education rating of 3.5 stars, ranking them at 53 out of 62 brokers in the education category. For those new to trading, IG appears to offer a more thorough educational toolkit that can better support their learning journey.
| Feature |
IG
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
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 iFOREX. IG finished with an overall rank of #1, while iFOREX finished with an overall rank of #52.
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
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 75 |
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Both IG and iFOREX do not offer the option to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but they do provide the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
When comparing online brokers IG and iFOREX, IG offers ACH or SEPA transfers for fund deposits and withdrawals, unlike iFOREX, but both platforms support PayPal and Visa or Mastercard transactions, while iFOREX uniquely provides Skrill as an option, and both support bank wire transfers.
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 | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IG Review |
| Broker Screenshots | IG | iFOREX | |
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| Regulation | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 75 | |
| Year Founded | 1974 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 | 750 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 | 88 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No | |
| 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). | 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 | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £250.00 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| 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 | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 5 | 9 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 33 | 57 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 20 | 25 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | No | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | N/A | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | IG | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | iFOREX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IG Review |
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