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Alison Heyerdahl is the Head of Content at FxScouts, a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), and an experienced trader, as well as a financial writer with extensive expertise in Forex trading, broker analysis, and market research. She has reviewed 100+ brokers, publishes weekly YouTube trading videos, and co-hosts the “Let’s Talk Forex” podcast.
In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. IG and XTB are two popular options, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. This comparison will dive into the key features of both platforms,helping you decide which one best suits your trading style and goals.
The radar chart above illustrates the comparison between IG and XTB across several key metrics, with the highest possible score being 100 in each category.
At FxScouts, our mission is to assist traders in finding the broker that best suits their needs. Comparing brokers side-by-side is an effective method to achieve this goal. We evaluated IG and XTB, using our standard criteria: trust and regulation, trading platforms, costs and trading conditions, and educational and market analysis resources.
Trust and regulation are crucial when selecting a Forex broker. A broker’s credibility is largely built on its regulatory status. We spend considerable time verifying the safety of each broker by examining their regulatory licenses. The more top-tier authorities regulating a broker, the higher its trust rating.
In our comparison:
Based on these findings, IG earned a higher trust rating than XTB.
When comparing brokers, trading costs are a significant factor. We consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and ongoing costs, including spreads and commissions. We measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit, including both the spread and any commission charged.
We found that IG has overall lower trading costs than XTB.
Trading Platforms Offered Traders prefer brokers that offer a variety of trading platforms. We rate brokers higher if they support multiple platforms like MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, and proprietary platforms.
Copy trading is beneficial for beginner traders or those unable to trade full-time. In this case both IG and XTB offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. IG offers a greater variety of instruments compared to XTB:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, XTB offers 49 cryptocurrencies, while IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, XTB is the better choice for cryptocurrency trading.
Traders prefer brokers with quick and cost-effective deposit and withdrawal processes. We favor brokers that process withdrawals within 24 hours using multiple methods without charging fees.We found that neither IG nor XTB charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than XTB.
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.
IG and XTB both have very good educational support. Both IG and XTB offer educational support for more experienced traders.Access to frequent and high-quality market research and analysis is crucial.
We found that IG offers better research analysis than XTB and that both IG and XTB offer frequent webinars.
Founded in London in 1974, IG is a global leader in online trading, known for its competitive pricing, powerful platforms, and access to over 17,000 markets. While IG holds licences from top-tier regulators, Malaysian traders are onboarded through IG International Limited, regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).
Trading under the Bermuda entity gives Malaysian clients access to IG’s full global product range, including forex, indices, shares, commodities, ETFs, and bonds—often with higher leverage limits than are available under stricter regulatory jurisdictions. All instruments are accessible through IG’s award-winning proprietary platforms, MetaTrader 4, L2 Dealer for direct market access, and TradingView integration.
IG offers a single multi-asset account with no minimum deposit requirement and spreads starting from 0.6 pips on EUR/USD. Traders also benefit from advanced tools such as ProRealTime charting, Autochartist, and integrated Reuters news, alongside a comprehensive library of educational resources and market analysis. However, Malaysian traders should be aware that offshore regulation provides fewer investor protections compared to local licensing.
A well-regulated broker, XTB appeals to traders looking for a wide choice of tradable instruments, top-class educational materials and excellent market analysis. However, traders should note that support is only offered for XTB’s proprietary platform, xStation5.
XTB offers trading on over 2100 financial assets, a wider range than is typically seen at other brokers. Tradable assets include Forex, indices, commodities, stock CFDs, ETF CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. XTB’s focus is to provide excellent support for traders, with comprehensive educational materials that cater to both beginners and more experienced traders alike through its Trading Academy and one-to-one mentorship programme. XTB also provides frequent market commentary and trading ideas in its Market News section, and its responsive customer service is available to help traders with technical or account-related queries.
The account choice at XTB is limited, with only one live account available, but with lower than average trading costs. Spreads average at 0.70 pips on the EUR/USD, and no commissions are charged.
One drawback is that XTB no longer supports the MT4 trading platform so all clients have to use XTB’s proprietary platform, xStation 5 - though it has won awards for its functionality, fast execution speeds, and intuitive design.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of IG and XTB.
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Broker | Overall Rating Our overall rating evaluates brokers on platform quality, fees, service, regulation, and instruments. Higher scores reflect better performance and reliability. | Official Site Click to visit the broker’s official website for more information and to open an account. | Min. Deposit The minimum amount of money required to open an account with this broker. | Min. Spread | Trading Cost | Licenced by Displays the financial regulators licensing the broker, shown by national flags, ensuring compliance with financial standards for safer trading. | Accepts Traders from %s | Compare Select two brokers using the checkboxes to compare their features, fees, platforms, and more side by side. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD 5 | 0.60 pips | USD 6 | | us, es, ca, ir, il | |||
 | USD 0 | 0 pips | USD 10 |    | jp, be, el, lt, pt, bg, es, lu, ro, cz, fr, hu, si, dk, hr, mt, sk, de, it, nl, fi, ee, cy, at, se, ie, lv, pl | |||
 | USD 50 | 1 pips | USD 10 |  | us, es, jp | |||
 | USD 100 | 0 pips | USD 6 | | jp, es | |||
 | USD 100 | 0.90 pips | USD 9 |   | es, be, cu, ir, kp, sy, us, nz, ru, by, lb, ye, im, uk, je, gg, af, dz, iq, ps, in | |||
 | USD 10 | 0.70 pips | USD 17 | | es | |||
 | USD 200 | 0.10 pips | USD 8 |  | jp, es | |||
 | USD 0 | 0.10 pips | USD 8 | | es, at, be, bg, cy, cz, de, dk, ee, el, es, fi, fr, hr, hu, ie, it, lt, lu, lv, mt, nl, pl, pt, ro, se, si, sk, us, ca, af, by, cu, ir, kp, ru, sy, ve, ye, sd, so, ly, gu, pr, vi, as | |||
 | USD 100 | 0 pips | USD 6 | | us, es, jp, ca, au, be, iq, kp, sy, mm, cu, ir, su | |||
 | AUD 0 | 0 pips | USD 4.50 |  | us, es, jp |
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Alison and Chris cover a range of topics, including how to choose a Forex broker, safety and regulation, how to reduce your risk, trading psychology, trading platforms, and trading strategies, among others.
The FxScouts podcast helps beginner Forex traders get the best start to their trading careers.
