Between 54-87% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Based on 69 brokers who display this data.
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BrokerDNA™
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
IG
9.8
/10
VISIT IG
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
ICM Capital
9.2
/10
VISIT ICM CAPITAL
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
XTB
10
/10
VISIT XTB
The BROKERDNA™ score tells you, overall, how reputable, suitable, and affordable a broker is compared to other brokers. This score is algorithmically-generated based on 31 factors. Neither our team, nor the brokers featured on our site, are able to change this without changing their service offering. Learn more here. |
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About |
IG is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and ASIC. IG have provided forex, spread betting, CFD, and stock trading services since 1974. |
ICM Capital is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. ICM Capital have provided Forex, Spread betting, CFD trading services since 2009. |
XTB is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. XTB have provided Forex, CFD, and social trading services since 2002. |
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Why choose them? |
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Headquarters | London, UK | London, UK | Level 34, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5AA, London, UK | |
TRADING SERVICES OFFERED |
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Spot Forex | ||||
Forex (CFD) | ||||
CFD | ||||
Spread Betting | ||||
Social Trading | ||||
MARKETS & INSTRUMENTS | ||||
Forex (currency pairs) | 90 | 48 | ||
Commodities Offered | 34 | 21 | ||
Stocks Offered | 8000 | 1606 | ||
Bitcoin | ||||
Majors | ||||
Indices | ||||
US Stocks | ||||
Penny stocks | ||||
Energies | ||||
Metals | ||||
Agriculturals | ||||
FTSE | ||||
Dow Jones | ||||
Dax | ||||
Nikkei | ||||
ETFs | ||||
IPO | ||||
See all instruments
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider |
See all instruments
79.45% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See all instruments
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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PLATFORM & FEATURES |
See the platforms and features offered by each broker |
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Screenshot |
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MT4 | ||||
MT5 | ||||
MT4 Mac | ||||
WebTrader | ||||
Mirror Trader | ||||
ZuluTrade | ||||
Sirix | ||||
cTrader | ||||
PAMM | ||||
Custom Platforms | ProRealTime & L2 Dealer | ICM Direct | Xstation5 | |
APPS |
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iOS |
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Android |
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Windows |
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Available Languages |
English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese |
English, Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish |
English, Spanish, Czech, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Turkish, Arabic, and Russian. |
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See platform & features
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider |
See platform & features
79.45% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See platform & features
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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ACCOUNT INFORMATION |
From micro accounts to ECN accounts, compare the accounts offered by IG and ICM Capital |
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Demo account | ||||
Mini account | ||||
Micro account | ||||
Standard account | ||||
ECN Account | ||||
Islamic account | ||||
Zero spread account | ||||
VIP account | ||||
Fixed spreads | ||||
Variable spreads | ||||
See account options
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider |
See account options
79.45% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See account options
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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TRADING CONDITIONS |
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Scalping | ||||
Hedging | ||||
Expert advisors (EAs) | ||||
Virtual private server | ||||
Direct market access | ||||
STP broker | ||||
Market maker | ||||
Min trade | £1 | 0.01 Lot | 0.01 Lot | |
Max trade | Variable | None | 100 Lot | |
Min deposit | $250 | $200 | $1 | |
RISK MANAGEMENT |
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Stop losses | ||||
Limit orders | ||||
One-click trading | ||||
Trailing stops | ||||
Price alerts | ||||
Signal trading | ||||
FUNDING METHODS |
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Credit card | ||||
Bank transfer | ||||
Standard account | ||||
Paypal | ||||
Neteller | ||||
Skrill | ||||
Payment processing time | Varies | 1 business day | Same day if requested before 1PM | |
Withdrawal processing time | Varies | 1-5 business days | Same day if requested before 1PM | |
See all funding options
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider |
See all funding options
79.45% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
See all funding options
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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DETAILED INFO |
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Excluded countries | US | US | US,IN,PK,BD,IQ,IR,IL,AF,AU,CA | |
Contact email | Send Email | Send Email | Send Email | |
Phone number | 44 20 7633 5300 | 44 207 634 9770 | 44 2036953085 | |
Live Chat | ||||
Website | http://www.ig.com/ | https://www.icmcapital.co.uk/ | www.xtb.com | |
Spreads: | ||||
EUR/USD (Average: 0.7 pips) | 0.6 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.1 pips | |
GBP/USD (Average: 1.1 pips) | 0.9 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.1 pips | |
USD/JPY (Average: 1.1 pips) | 0.7 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.1 pips | |
AUD/USD (Average: 0.8 pips) | 0.6 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.2 pips | |
USD/CHF (Average: 2.3 pips) | 1.5 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.2 pips | |
USD/CAD (Average: 2.9 pips) | 1.7 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.3 pips | |
NZD/USD (Average: 3.6 pips) | 2.0 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.3 pips | |
EUR/GBP (Average: 2.4 pips) | 0.9 pips + $1.00 | Not offered | 0.1 pips | |
View all spreads
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider |
View all spreads
79.45% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
View all spreads
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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FEES |
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Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | No | |
Commission | Yes (0.1%) | Yes | Yes | |
Deposit Fee | Varies | No | No | |
Withdrawal Fee | No | No | No | |
View All Fees
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider |
View All Fees
79.45% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
View All Fees
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
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Last update |
All information collected from http://www.ig.com/. Last updated on 01/01/2021. |
All information collected from https://www.icmcapital.co.uk/. Last updated on 01/01/2021. |
All information collected from www.xtb.com. Last updated on 01/01/2021. |
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Company |
Founded in 1974, IG are one of the largest and most respected brokers in the world. With over 125,000 traders, low margins and spreads, and a range of platforms, they're a popular choice for traders looking for a reputable broker that also offers a good range of markets and trading options. |
ICM Capital is an online forex trading service provider, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. To open an account with ICM Capital, minimum deposits start from $200. |
XTB provides hyper fast execution and facilitates seminars with external professional traders, providing personalised education depending on your individual circumstances. |
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Popular comparisons |
Popular comparisons feat. IG
IG vs CMC Markets |
Popular comparisons feat. ICM Capital
ETX Capital vs ICM Capital |
Popular comparisons feat. XTB
XTB vs IG |
If you’re a trader looking for a broker that has been established for a long time, IG is likely a good choice. However, if you want a broker with ECN execution, ICM Capital may be more appropriate.
You can determine a broker’s reliability & trustworthiness by looking at eight factors:
Based on these eight factors, we consider IG to be the more reliable broker. We’ve broken down why below:
IG is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority and ASIC, while ICM Capital is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority.
XTB are also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
If a broker has been around for a long period of time, they’re likely to be more reliable (in comparison, most scam brokers only exist for several years before they disappear).
This also suggests that a broker has good risk management processes that have prevented them being caught out by major financial events, as was the case with Alpari UK going bust when they were there was a policy reversal of capping the Swiss Franc against the Euro.
IG has been around for 47 years, while ICM Capital have been around for 12 years. Our third alternative broker, XTB, have been around for 19 years.
You wouldn’t want your broker paying their staff out of the same bank account account that you’re depositing your trading funds into, would you?
Fortunately, all regulated brokers must use segregated bank accounts to hold client money. This is one of the reasons why we only feature regulated brokers here on BrokerNotes.
All three brokers above will hold your money in a separate bank account.
Most tier-1 banks like Barclays and HSBC have been around for over 100 years and manage trillions of dollars of assets, proving that they have stood the test of time.
Both IG and ICM Capital use tier one banks, but we are not sure of which bank specifically.
If a broker has been penalised by a regulator in the past five years, it may mean that they were caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing - which may be of concern to you as an end client.
We’re not aware of any penalties or fines imposed by regulators on IG or ICM Capital in the past five years.
While not always the case, the number of traders a broker has can be a good metric for understanding how reputable a brokers is.
IG is more popular with over 178,000 traders.
Companies that are publicly listed on a stock exchange tend to be considered more reputable as they will be required to disclose their financials, and aspects of their operations, to the public.
IG is a publicly listed company, while on the other hand ICM Capital is still a privately owned company.
Most reputable brokers tend to be headquartered in a major capital city or a financial hub such as Cyprus.
Both IG and ICM Capital are based in London, UK .
Assuming the brokers you’re choosing between are reputable, the next point to consider is whether they offer all of the features you require to trade.
This can be broken down into three categories:
If you’re looking to trade currency pairs, both IG and ICM Capital offer forex trading. IG have a slightly larger variety of currency pairs with 90 pairs, compared to offered by ICM Capital. Also, if you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies, IG offers a handful of cryptocurrency CFDs to trade, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
If you’re looking to trade commodities like gold, silver or oil, IG may be a better fit as ICM Capital does not offer commodity trading.
If you trade forex, there’s a good chance you might want a broker that offers the popular MT4 trading platform. If that’s the case, both IG and ICM Capital offer this. Our alternative broker, XTB, also offers MT4 and MT5.
In addition to the platform, you’ll also want to ensure that the broker you choose offers the account type best suited to your needs. IG, for example, offer a mini account, standard account and VIP account.
If you have a certain trading style (e.g. scalping, hedging, or using EAs), you’ll want to double check that the broker you choose allows this, as not all of them do.
IG does allow scalping and hedging. While ICM Capital does not allow scalping but does allow hedging. You can trade with EAs (expert advisors) on both IG and ICM Capital.
In terms of risk management tools, neither IG or ICM Capital offers negative balance protection. Negative balance protection prevents you owing your broker more than you’ve deposited.
IG also offer stop losses, limit orders, and price alerts to help you automate aspects of your trading strategy.
IG accept Paypal while ICM Capital accept Neteller.
Comparing the fee structures of different brokers can be a minefield at times. The important thing to consider is what the spreads & fees are on the specific instruments and account type that you will be using.
For trading EUR/USD, IG charges 0.60 points, while ICM Capital charges points. Therefore, ICM Capital is the more affordable for this instrument. If you want to compare their spreads across more instruments, You can jump back up to our comparison of their currency pair & indice spreads above.
Another consideration is whether or not your broker charges inactivity, deposit/withdrawal fees, or commissions on trades. If you’re a frequent trader, inactivity fees are unlikely to be an issue.
There’s no such thing as a perfect broker, but some are going to be a better fit for you than others.
Objectively, IG is more reliable based on our criteria above. IG has a wider range of instruments to trade. IG offer lower spreads on popular forex instruments like EUR/USD and are used by more traders.
Both brokers offer demo accounts, allowing you to test their platforms to see which is suitable for you. You can test drive their demos using the links below:
Finally, if you’re really not sure you can always use our free tool (takes 15 seconds) that will help you find a suitable broker based on your precise requirements here.