In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. IG and markets.com 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 markets.com 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 markets.com, 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 markets.com.
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 markets.com.
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 markets.com offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. IG offers a greater variety of instruments compared to markets.com:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, markets.com offers 25 cryptocurrencies, while IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, markets.com 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 markets.com charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than markets.com.
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 markets.com both have very good educational support. Both IG and markets.com 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 markets.com and that both IG and markets.com offer frequent webinars.
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.
With a listing on the London Stock Exchange, a well-regulated and competitive trading environment, and a user-friendly, full-featured trading platform that allows spread betting, British traders will be hard-pressed to find a better broker.
Markets.com offers traders fast, low-cost trading on a broad range of financial instruments, including over 2000 stock CFDs, Forex, commodities, indices, ETFs, and bonds. Although Markets.com offers only one live account, spreads start at 0.6 pips (EUR/USD), with no commissions and a minimum deposit requirement of only 100 GBP.
Full support is offered for MT4, MT5, and Markets.com's award-winning in-house platform, Marketsx. An advanced multi-asset trading platform, Marketsx is packed full of features, including excellent trading tools, expert analysis, and in-depth charting.
Markets.com also provides a high level of customer service compared to other brokers, and all traders are assigned a dedicated Account Manager to assist with any queries regarding their account or using the platform.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of IG and markets.com.
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Broker | Regulated by FCA | Licenced by | Min. Deposit | Cost of Trading | Broker Score | Official Site | Compare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | USD 0 | USD 10 | |||||
No | USD 25 | USD 6 | |||||
Yes | USD 100 | USD 6 | |||||
No | USD 100 | USD 9 | |||||
No | USD 5 | USD 6 | |||||
No | AUD 100 | USD 6 | |||||
No | USD 200 | USD 8 | |||||
Yes | USD 0 | USD 10 | |||||
No | AUD 0 | USD 4.50 |
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.