XTB vs IG Group

XTB vs IG Comparison Table 2024
XTB IG
4.8
4.4

Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 935,000 clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of 5,600+ assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring day traders.

Founded in 1974, IG is part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly traded (LSE: IGG) brokerage. The brand offers spread betting, CFD and forex trading across an almost unrivalled selection of 17,000+ markets, with a range of user-friendly platforms and investing apps. For 50 years, IG has maintained its position as an industry leader, excelling in all key areas for traders.

78% of retail accounts lose money.
Customer Reviews
4.5
4
Comment by Reviewer
"XTB stands out as a top choice for new day traders with the terrific xStation platform, commission-free pricing, no minimum deposit, and excellent educational tools, many of which are seamlessly integrated into the platform. " "IG continues to provide a comprehensive package with an intuitive web platform and best-in-class education for beginners, plus advanced charting tools, real-time data, and fast execution speeds for experienced day traders."
Pros
  • With over 5,600 instruments across forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, including CFDs, share dealing and more recently Investment Plans, XTB caters to both short-term traders and longer-term investors.
  • The xStation platform continues to impress with its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, including customizable news feeds, sentiment heatmaps, and trader calculator, reducing the learning curve for newer traders.
  • With an excellent range of educational materials, including training videos and articles integrated into the platform, XTB supports traders at all levels.
  • XTB has started offering interest on uninvested balances (up to 5% on $30K+) with lower requirements than brokers like eToro (up to 5% on $50K+).
  • Opening an XTB account is a hassle-free, entirely online process that takes just a few minutes, making the entry into day trading smooth for new traders.
  • First-class 24/5 customer support is available, including a friendly live chat with response times of under two minutes during testing.
  • XTB offers fast withdrawals with same-day payments if requested before 1 pm, ensuring day traders have quick access to their funds.
  • IG is amongst the best in terms of its range of instruments, which includes stocks, forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, providing ample diversification opportunities
  • The proprietary web-based platform continues to caters to traders of all levels, with advanced charting tools and real-time market data useful for day trading
  • The IG app offers a superb mobile trading experience with a clean design that helped it secure Runner Up at our Best Trading App award
  • As a well-established broker, IG operates under strict regulatory guidelines in multiple jurisdictions, maintaining a high level of trust
  • IG offers an extensive collection of professional and engaging educational resources, including webinars, articles, and analysis
  • The ProRealTime advanced charting platform is free as long as certain modest monthly trading activity requirements are met
Cons
  • XTB does not offer a raw spread account, which is becoming increasingly common among competitors like Pepperstone, and may disappoint day traders looking for the tightest spreads.
  • The demo account expires after just four weeks, a serious limitation for traders who wish to thoroughly test the xStation platform and practice short-term strategies before committing real funds.
  • XTB discontinued support for MT4, limiting traders to its proprietary platform, xStation, potentially deterring advanced day traders familiar with the MetaTrader suite.
  • Trading fees are competitive with average spreads of around 1 pip on the EUR/USD but still trail the cheapest brokers like IC Markets, plus there's an inactivity fee after 12 months.
  • The research tools at XTB are good but could be great if they went beyond in-house features with access to leading third-party tools such as Autochartist, Trading Central and TipRanks.
  • Not being able to adjust the default leverage level of XTB products is frustrating, as manual adjustment can significantly mitigate trade risk, especially in forex and CFD trading.
  • Beginners might find IG’s fee structure complex, with various fees for different types of trades or services, potentially leading to confusion or unexpected charges
  • While there is negative balance protection in the UK and EU, there is no account protection or guaranteed stop losses for US clients
  • IG has discontinued its swap-free account, reducing its appeal to Islamic traders
  • Stock and CFD spreads still trail the cheapest brokers like CMC Markets based on tests
  • IG applies an inactivity fee of $12 per month after 2 years, deterring casual investors
Awards
  • Best Forex Broker for Beginners 2022
  • Best Customer Service 2021
  • Best Forex Broker for Low Costs 2021
  • Best Mobile App for Investing 2020
  • #1 EMEA Bloomberg spot for FX accuracy in Q2 of 2020 and Q3 of 2018
  • Best Polish Forex Broker 2019
  • Best Execution Broker 2019
  • Best Customer Service 2022 - Online Money Awards
  • Best Spread Betting Provider 2022 - Online Money Awards
  • Best Platform for the Active Trader 2022 - ADVFN International Financial Awards
  • Best Multi Platform Provider 2022 - ADVFN International Financial Awards
  • Best Finance App 2022 - ADVFN International Financial Awards
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, ETFs CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0 $0
Trading Platforms
  • xStation
  • Web
  • ProRealTime
  • L2 Dealer
  • MT4
  • AutoChartist
  • TradingCentral
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots 0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, CySEC, KNF, CNMV, DFSA, FSC FCA, ASIC, NFA, CFTC, DFSA, BaFin, MAS, FSCA
Margin Trading
Yes Yes
Margin Rate
4.5% 2.5%
STP Account
Yes No
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
Yes Yes
MAM Account
No No
PAMM Account
No No
LAMM Account
No No
Demat Account
No No
AI / Machine Learning
No No
Robo Advisor
No Yes
Negative Balance Protection
Yes Yes
Market Maker
No Yes
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
Yes Yes
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android iOS & Android
App Review

Year after year XTB’s app stands out for its slick design and uncluttered interface that we love. It’s quick, responsive and packed with useful features, notably integrated sentiment data, market news, economic calendars and education. The user-friendly order panel underneath the trading chart also makes placing trades, including adding take profit and stop loss levels, really straightforward.

IG offers a superb all-round trading app. One of the pioneers of mobile trading, the application has been developed and refined over many years, meaning it is now among the best trading apps. Quick response, user-friendly layout, access to full charting and a stable and reliable application. It also offers guaranteed stops – an important risk management tool not available on many apps we’ve tested.

Android App Rating
4.1
4
iOS App Rating
4.7
4.6
Auto Trading
Open API Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, build your own on ProRealTime
Copy Trading
No No
Social Trading
No No
Trade Signals
Yes Yes
VPS Hosting
No Yes
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
No No
Ethical Investing
Yes Yes
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Yes Yes
Inactivity Fee
$0 $12
Islamic Account
Yes No
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • HUF
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • JPY
  • ZAR
  • SEK
  • DKK
  • CHF
  • HKD
  • SGD
Stock Exchanges
Commodities
CFD Trading
XTB offers a huge selection of more than 2,100 CFDs spanning forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptos (location-dependant). Leverage up to 1:30 is available in the EU and UK, while global clients and pro traders can access up to 1:500. XTB stands out for its CFD trading resources and tutorials to assist traders in developing short-term trading strategies. IG offers a huge selection of 17,000+ CFDs, providing more trading opportunities than most CFD brokers. Traders can go long or short on popular markets like stocks, currencies, commodities and cryptos, while custom price alerts and the IG Academy continue to enhance the trading experience.
Leverage
1:30 (EU) 1:500 (Global) 1:30 (Retail), 1:250 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
1.8 1.0
GBPUSD Spread
1.4 0.9
Oil Spread
0.03 2.8
Stocks Spread
0.2% 0.02
Forex Trading
XTB provides access to 70+ currency pairs with low spreads averaging around 1 pip on majors. The xStation platform offers an intuitive environment for forex traders with an excellent charting package encompassing 30+ indicators, plus a range of order types, catering to various strategies and risk management techniques. IG offers an above-average suite of 80+ currency pairs on its proprietary web platform, mobile app or MetaTrader 4, with more advanced charts and forex analysis tools available on the ProRealTime software. Forex spreads are competitive based on tests, starting from 0.1 pips on majors like the EUR/USD.
Forex App

With over 1 million downloads and a rating of 4.5*, XTB deliver a mobile trading platform that users love. Slick and reliable, the app boasts a range of extra features including advanced charts and market sentiment indicators. Download xStation by XTB here.

IG offers a superb all-round trading app. One of the pioneers of mobile trading, the application has been developed and refined over many years, meaning it is now among the best trading apps. Quick response, user friendly layout, access to full charting and a stable and reliable application. Top marks.

GBPUSD Spread
1.4 0.9
EURUSD Spread
1.0 0.8
EURGBP Spread
1.4 0.9
Assets
70+ 80+
Currency Indices
  • USD
Cryptocurrency
XTB offers an excellent selection of cryptos with more than 50 digital currencies. Spreads are tight starting from 0.22% on BTC and leverage reaches 1:5. The xStation platform also provides intra-crypto pairs like ETH/BTC and DSH/BTC. With the capability to trade cryptos 24/7, XTB ensures a secure environment with transparent accounts for cryptocurrency day trading. IG's modest selection of 11 crypto CFDs trails top crypto brokers like Vantage which offers 40+ tokens. That said, it stands out with its crypto index, which tracks the value of the top 10 digital currencies by market cap and provides a holistic way to speculate on the value of the crypto market.
Spread
0.22% Variable
Coins
  • ADA
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • DSH
  • EOS
  • ETH
  • IOTA
  • LTC
  • NEO
  • XRP
  • XLM
  • TRX
  • XEM
  • XLM
  • XMR
  • DOGE
  • BNB
  • LINK
  • UNI
  • DOT
  • XTZ
  • BTC
  • BCH
  • LTC
  • ETH
  • ADA
  • DOT
  • DOGE
  • LINK
  • UNI
  • XLM
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
78% of retail accounts lose money.
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