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Alison Heyerdahl is the Head of Content at FxScouts and a financial writer with extensive experience 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 to help traders make informed, safe decisions.
In the fast-paced world of forex trading, choosing the right broker is crucial. IG and Plus500 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 Plus500 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 Plus500, 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. We also consider numerous factors when deciding which tier a regulator belongs to. Regulators that we rank as the world’s top regulators, gets a tier 1 rank, while regulators who only scores a tier 5-rank, provide virtually no regulatory oversight. The more top-tier authorities regulating a broker, the higher its trust rating. Read more about regulation and our tier system here.
In our comparison:
Based on these findings, IG earned a higher trust rating than Plus500.
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 Plus500.
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 Plus500 offer copy trading.
A broader range of CFD instruments provides more trading opportunities. IG offers a greater variety of instruments compared to Plus500:
For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, Plus500 offers 18 cryptocurrencies, while IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies. Therefore, Plus500 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 Plus500 charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than Plus500.
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 has better educational support than Plus500. Both IG and Plus500 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 Plus500 and that both IG and Plus500 offer frequent webinars.
Founded in 1974 and well-regulated, IG has a long history of satisfied clients, low trading fees, 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 globally by revenue for the last few years. It has two low-cost trading accounts 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. 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.
NOTE: Currently, Plus500 does not accept traders from the Philippines. This review is for information purposes only. For trading options, explore our list of top brokers here.
Founded in 2008, Plus500 is a well-regulated market maker that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. It offers a wider range of tradable instruments than is available at other CFD providers, including over 70 Forex pairs, cryptocurrencies, indices, commodities, shares, options, and ETFs.
Although Plus500 only offers one live account, which is limited compared to other CFD providers, its trading costs are average, with spreads starting at 0.8 pips on the EUR/USD, no commissions, and a minimum deposit requirement of 100 USD.
Additionally, unlike other CFD providers that provide support for a variety of trading platforms - such as MT4, MT5, or cTrader - Plus500 only offers support for its proprietary platform. The platform is web-based with no need for any downloads or setup, making it a good choice for beginner traders, but Plus500 does not offer hedging, scalping, or copy trading.
Plus500’s education and market analysis materials are virtually non-existent, making it a poor choice for beginner traders, but its award-winning customer service is available 24/7, which is exceptional for an industry where trading is usually offered 24/5.
For more detailed reviews, please read our comprehensive assessments of IG and Plus500.
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Broker | Countries Regulated | Minimum Spread EUR/USD | Minimum Deposit | Trading cost/lot EURUSD Total trading cost at the time of last update, for 1 lot of EUR/USD using the account with the lowest minimum deposit. Includes spread and commission. | Broker Score | Broker Website | Select and Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |      | 0.10 pips | USD 3 | USD 7 | |||
 |  | 0 pips | USD 0 | USD 10 | |||
 | | 0.10 pips | USD 200 | USD 8 | |||
 |  | 0.70 pips | USD 10 | USD 17 | |||
 |  | 0 pips | AUD 0 | USD 4.50 | |||
 |   | 0.90 pips | USD 100 | USD 9 | |||
|  | 0.60 pips | USD 5 | USD 6 | |||
 | | 0 pips | USD 0 | USD 10 | |||
 | | 0.70 pips | USD 5 | USD 7 | |||
 | | 0 pips | USD 100 | USD 6 |
Select another broker to another broker to compare features, fees, and platforms side by side.
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.
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