fbpx
HF Markets vs IG - 2024 Comparison | FxScouts
AuthorAuthor: Björn MichelsPublished: October 21, 2020
EditorEditor: Chris CammackUpdated: November 15, 2023

Last Updated On November 15, 2023

Björn Michels

Trading with a reputable online broker is a crucial factor for success in the international markets. At FxScouts, we help you find the broker that suits your trading needs.

Each year we spend thousands of hours testing brokers by opening accounts, testing their platforms, and rating them according to a set of over 200 metrics. We deposit real money with the brokers to ensure that the products and user experience they advertise are consistent with reality.

We have found that the best way for traders to choose a broker is to compare brokers side-by-side. The comparison tool below allows you to compare two brokers based on their ratings and features.

Select brokers to compare

Scroll for more detailsPreviousNext
Broker Score
Risk Statement
Min. Deposit
Regulation
Trading Desk Type
Trading Instruments
Forex Pairs
Crypto Pairs
Pros
Cons
Regulation
Trading Conditions
Trading Platforms
Deposit & Withdrawal
Education & Research
Assets Available
Customer Service
% Lose with this broker
Leverage
Spread
Hedging
Scalping
Account Types
Islamic Acct
Trading Platforms
Funding Methods
Trading Commission
11110.54.45/ 5 72.83% of retail CFD accounts lose moneyGBP 0FCA Regulated Forex BrokersDFSA Regulated Forex BrokersFinancial Services Conduct AuthorityCySEC Regulated BrokersMarket MakerBonds, Commodities, Energies, Stock CFDs, ETFs, Forex, Indices, Metals, Stock DMAs00
  • Well regulated
  • Excellent market analysis
  • Limited base currencies
Read Review 11110.54.5/ 5 111115/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 111115/ 5 1110.503.5/ 5 111104/ 5 69.03%30:10 pips Hfcopy, Premium, Premium Pro, Zero Spread MT4, MT5Bank Transfer, Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, Trustly6 USD / lot - ZERO Spread Account
11110.54.69/ 5 69% of retail CFD accounts lose moneyGBP 0FCA Regulated Forex BrokersASIC Regulated BrokersBundesanstalt für FinanzdienstleistungsaufsichtFinansinspektionenMarket MakerBonds, Commodities, Digital 100s, Stock CFDs, ETFs, Forex, Indices, Interest Rates8010
  • Well regulated
  • Tight spreads
  • Great platform choice
  • Excellent education
  • Excellent market analysis
  • High minimum deposit
Read Review 111115/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 111115/ 5 111115/ 5 111115/ 5 111104/ 5 69%30:10.60 pips DMA, Live Account, Spread Betting MT4, L2 Dealer, ProRealTimeBank Transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PaypalFees Included in Spread

How do IG and HF Markets stack up against each other?

The Radar Chart below highlights how the brokers stack up against each other across various metrics. The highest score a broker can receive in each area is 5.

HF Markets

IG

At FxScouts, we help traders find the broker that suits their trading needs. In many cases, the best way to achieve this is to compare brokers side-by-side.

To compare IG and HF Markets, we used the same factors we use when reviewing brokers: The trust and regulation of the broker, the trading platform, the costs and trading conditions, and the level of education and market analysis available at the broker.

Does IG or HF Markets have a better trust and regulation rating?

Trust and regulation are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a Forex broker. Trust in the Forex trading business is almost entirely founded upon regulation. We spend many hours evaluating the safety of each broker by delving into their fine print and confirming each one of their regulatory licences on the online registers. The more top-tier authorities a broker is regulated by, the higher its trust rating.

In our comparison, we found that IG holds three Tier 1 and one Tier 2 licences, and HF Markets holds two Tier 1 and one Tier 2 licences.

 

Is IG financially regulated?

Yes IG was founded in 1974 and is regulated by ASIC, BaFin, FCA and Fi.

 

Is HF Markets financially regulated?

Yes HF Markets was founded in 2010 and is regulated by CySEC, DFSA, FCA and FSCA.

 

Based on these findings, IG earned a higher trust rating than HF Markets.

Does IG or HF Markets have lower costs?

Another important aspect we consider when comparing brokers is the cost of trading. When evaluating trading costs, we always consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and the ongoing trading costs, including the spreads and commissions. When calculating trading costs, we measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit. The cost includes both the spread and any commission charged. 

Not all brokers publish their trading costs, so we often open accounts and trade on their platforms to verify the spreads and commissions. Based on our reviews, we found that HF Markets and IG have the same trading costs. 

Scroll for more detailsPreviousNext
Broker
Trading Conditions
Base Currencies
EURUSD (Standard)
Trading Cost (Standard)
EURUSD (Best)
GBPUSD (Best)
USDJPY (Best)
Commission
HF Markets
111115/ 5
EUR, USD, GBP
1.30 pips
USD 6
0.30 pips
0.30 pips
0.30 pips
USD 6
IG
11110.54.5/ 5
AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD, HKD
0.60 pips
USD 6
0.85 pips
1.40 pips
0.94 pips
USD 0

 

Does IG or HF Markets offer a better choice of trading platforms?

Traders want Forex brokers to offer them a choice of trading platforms, so we give brokers who offer multiple platforms higher ratings. Trading platforms we consider include MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader and proprietary mobile and web-based platforms. 

In this case, 0 offers support for and 0 offers support for . 

Do the brokers offer copy trading?

In this case both HF Markets and IG offer copy trading.

Scroll for more detailsPreviousNext
Broker
Platform Choice
Copy Trading
Platforms
HF Markets
11110.54.5/ 5
IG
11110.54.5/ 5
L2 Dealer
ProRealTime

 

Which broker offers a better choice of trading instruments?

A variety of CFD instruments – and a large range of CFDs for each instrument category allow traders more opportunities for profitable trading. The best brokers will have thousands of CFDs to trade, covering all these instrument categories. We found that IG offers a greater range and depth of instruments to trade than HF Markets. IG offers 80 Forex pairs to trade and HF Markets offers 0 Forex pairs to trade.

Toplist Forex Pairs

And what about Cryptocurrencies?

In this case, IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies while HF Markets offers 0 cryptocurrencies. So if you want to trade cryptocurrencies, we advise trading with IG.

Which broker offers better deposit and withdrawal processes?

Although brokers may have reasonable trading fees, many traders are caught out by the high non-trading fees charged by some brokers, including deposits and withdrawals. Traders want to be able to deposit and withdraw funds quickly and cheaply. Most brokers have multiple funding methods with zero fees for making deposits, but some brokers make it more expensive and take longer to process withdrawals. 

We rate brokers more highly that process withdrawals within 24 hours by multiple withdrawal methods and without charging processing fees. We found that neither HF Markets nor IG charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than HF Markets. 

Which broker offers better educational support?

We often find that brokers offer very little in the way of educational materials, forcing traders to use other third-party sites or self-educate elsewhere. Beginner traders need well-structured, well-presented materials in multiple formats to get a good start at trading. More experienced traders also benefit from webinars led by experts in the field and advanced trading strategy sections with new trading ideas. 

HF Markets and IG both have very good educational support. Both HF Markets and IG offer educational support for more experienced traders.

Scroll for more detailsPreviousNext
Broker
Beginner Course
Advanced Course
HF Markets
IG

 

Which broker offers better market analysis materials?

To successfully predict the price movements of an instrument, traders will need access to frequent market research and analysis. We find that research and market analysis are always better when they are produced in-house and updated frequently. Third-party resources don’t show the same expertise in trading ideas, so we place a strong emphasis on frequent in-house updates. Some brokers also often offer interactive webinars where traders can learn from experts in the field. 

We found that 0 offers better research analysis than 0 and that both HF Markets and IG offer frequent webinars.

Scroll for more detailsPreviousNext
Broker
Economic Calendar
Autochartist
Trading Central
Trading View
Free VPS
HF Markets
IG

 

Our overall Verdict on IG

Founded in London in 1974 and regulated by the FCA, IG is a low-cost CFD broker with a long history of providing safe and secure trading and a vast range of trading instruments.

Our research found that IG has over 320,000 clients worldwide and has been the largest CFD broker in the world by revenue for the last few years. It has two low-cost trading accounts and a spread betting account with no minimum deposit requirements and offers trading on over 17,000 instruments, all of which can be accessed on its award-winning app and web trader platform. 

For more traditional investors, IG also runs a fully licenced stock brokerage on the side. And in addition to a wide range of trading tools, IG has a world-class selection of educational and market analysis materials to get new traders started.

Our overall Verdict on HF Markets

HF Markets is a well-known international broker, but its unique focus on the British market is undeniable. It has local FCA regulation, a dedicated UK customer service team, a toll-free UK customer service number, and offers GBP trading accounts. It also offers fast and free deposits and withdrawals via the Trustly app. 

The HF Markets Premium Account has slightly higher trading costs than most other brokers’ entry-level accounts, with spreads starting at 1.4 pips on the EUR/USD. But trading costs improve on the ZERO Spread Account, with EUR/USD spreads starting at 0.1 pips and a 6 USD commission.  Neither account has a minimum deposit requirement. It also offers a Premium Pro Account, with leverage of up to 400:1, but this requires a minimum deposit of 5000 EUR/USD/GBP.

HF Markets supports both the MT4 and MT5 platforms in addition to its own mobile HF App, which allows clients to trade from charts and make deposits and withdrawals. It also has several excellent trading tools to assist traders further.

Which broker has the highest overall rating?

IG has an overall rating of 4.69 and HF Markets has an overall rating of 4.45. For more detail please read our reviews of IG and HF Markets.

Others Also Visit

Scroll for more detailsPreviousNext
Visit
AvaTrade
4.59 /5
Read Review
Visit
Tickmill
4.58 /5
Read Review
Visit
XM
4.45 /5
Read Review
Visit
Pepperstone
4.61 /5
Read Review
Visit
XTB
4.39 /5
Read Review
Visit

Stay updated

This form has double opt in enabled. You will need to confirm your email address before being added to the list.

Close
>