IG Review 2026: Is It Still The Best UK Trading Broker?
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Quick Verdict
IG has been one of the defining names in UK retail trading for more than fifty years, and few brokers can match that longstanding reputation. For traders who value security, strong regulation and access to spread betting backed by decades of history, it remains one of the most compelling choices available.
However, the trading landscape has changed significantly over the past decade. Competition from internationally regulated brokers has intensified, trading platforms have improved, and active traders now have access to lower spreads, higher leverage and more flexible account types than ever before. As a result, choosing the right broker is no longer simply about reputation—it is about finding the platform that best suits your trading style.
Having reviewed IG’s current offering, I believe it continues to excel as a trusted, all-round broker for UK traders. Its greatest strengths remain FCA regulation, financial stability, excellent market coverage and tax-efficient spread betting. On the other hand, traders whose priority is minimising trading costs or accessing higher leverage may find better value elsewhere. There are brokers reviewed on this site that offer lower spreads and higher leverage, although those advantages may come with a trade-off in regulatory protection.
Since publishing the wider GradTraders broker data bank, IG has become one of the main UK comparison names across our broker regulation and jurisdiction research, best index brokers, best Japan 225 broker research and wider active trader broker research. IG is not ranked as the lowest-cost active-trader broker in the GradTraders broker cluster, but it remains one of the clearest UK choices for traders who prioritise FCA regulation, spread betting, broad market access and a long operating history.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Looking For An Alternative?
If your priority is lower spreads, higher leverage and integration with software platforms such as cTrader and TradingView, it is worth considering some of the alternatives reviewed on GradTraders. One of the strongest is IC Markets. Whilst IG remains one of the UK’s best-regulated brokers with a long history, many active traders place greater emphasis on execution costs than brand recognition. There are also brokers that have positioned themselves particularly well for algorithmic trading, with FP Markets being one of the strongest examples.
What Is IG?
Founded in 1974, IG helped pioneer financial spread betting in the United Kingdom and has since grown into one of the world’s largest online trading providers. Today the company offers access to thousands of financial instruments, including forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, options and cryptocurrencies where available.
Unlike many newer brokers, IG has built its reputation over decades rather than years. It is publicly listed, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and serves clients across multiple jurisdictions. That longevity carries weight. The retail trading industry has seen countless brokers appear and disappear, yet IG has consistently remained one of the sector’s most recognisable names.
For many traders, particularly beginners or those managing larger portfolios, that reputation provides an additional level of confidence. Whilst regulation can never eliminate risk, trading through a well-capitalised and closely supervised broker offers reassurance that many smaller providers simply cannot match.
What Makes IG Stand Out?
After researching the broker’s current offering, aside from its long history, four strengths still remain. However, competition has steadily eroded some of these advantages, and areas that once clearly differentiated IG are no longer quite as unique as they were.
The first is regulation. IG’s FCA oversight remains one of its biggest selling points for UK traders. Client money is held in segregated accounts, the business is publicly listed, and financial reporting requirements are considerably more demanding than those imposed on many internationally regulated competitors. Whilst these protections remain valuable, they are no longer unique to IG, and many traders now choose internationally regulated brokers because they offer significantly higher leverage than FCA-regulated firms.
Secondly, IG offers one of the broadest product ranges available to retail traders. Whether you wish to trade currencies, global stock indices, commodities, individual shares or ETFs, it is unlikely that you will outgrow the platform quickly. It is worth remembering, however, that some of these more specialised products often come at a higher cost than those offered by competitors focusing on fewer markets. IG is also notably strong in trader education, providing a wide range of learning resources that will appeal to newer traders or anyone looking to improve their understanding of the financial markets.
The third advantage is platform choice. Many brokers still expect clients to adapt to a single trading platform, whereas IG supports its own proprietary platform alongside MetaTrader 4, TradingView integration and ProRealTime. That flexibility allows traders to choose software that best suits their preferred style of analysis and execution, rather than forcing them into a single ecosystem.
Finally, there is spread betting. For UK residents, this remains one of IG’s strongest competitive advantages. Profits from spread betting are generally free from Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty under current UK tax legislation, although individual circumstances vary and tax rules can change. That favourable treatment continues to make spread betting one of the broker’s biggest attractions for active UK traders.
Trading Platforms
One area where IG has consistently kept pace with the changing market is platform development.
Its proprietary web platform remains clean, intuitive and well suited to both beginners and experienced traders. Market analysis, watchlists, alerts and risk management tools are integrated sensibly without overwhelming new users, while the mobile applications provide a consistent trading experience across devices.
For traders who prefer MetaTrader 4, IG continues to provide full support, allowing clients to use Expert Advisors, custom indicators and automated trading strategies within the familiar MT4 environment.
IG has also added TradingView support, something that has become increasingly important as TradingView has established itself as one of the industry’s leading charting platforms. Rather than forcing traders to abandon their preferred analysis software, IG allows users to combine TradingView’s powerful charting tools with its own execution infrastructure.
Perhaps the platform receiving the greatest praise from experienced traders is ProRealTime. Although it appeals to a more specialised audience, many professional traders regard it as one of the strongest charting and technical analysis packages currently available.
Ultimately, platform choice is no longer an area where IG can be criticised. Whether you prefer a simple browser-based platform, MetaTrader 4, TradingView or ProRealTime, the broker offers enough flexibility to satisfy the vast majority of retail traders.
Pricing, Spreads And Trading Costs
This is where the conversation becomes more balanced.
IG has never attempted to compete purely on price. Instead, it has traditionally positioned itself as a premium, highly regulated broker offering security, broad market access and professional trading infrastructure. For many traders, that approach makes perfect sense.
For others, particularly those trading frequently or operating short-term strategies, transaction costs become increasingly important. Even relatively small differences in spreads can accumulate significantly over hundreds or even thousands of trades throughout the year.
This is one of the main reasons why many experienced traders now compare IG with brokers such as IC Markets and FP Markets. Those brokers tend to appear more often in low-spread, active-trader and platform-led broker research, while IG remains stronger where UK regulation, spread betting, market range and long operating history matter more.
That does not automatically make IG expensive or poor value. It simply reflects a different business model. Many traders are perfectly happy paying slightly higher trading costs in exchange for the confidence that comes from using one of the UK’s longest-established financial firms.
Ultimately, the importance of pricing depends entirely on your trading style. Someone placing a handful of longer-term positions each month may barely notice the difference, whereas an active scalper entering dozens of trades each week almost certainly will. This is why I always encourage traders to decide what matters most to them before choosing a broker, rather than assuming one broker is automatically better than another.
Is IG Safe?
If safety is your highest priority, IG remains difficult to criticise.
Its FCA regulation, public listing and lengthy operating history combine to create a level of credibility that relatively few competitors can match. Whilst no financial institution can ever be described as completely risk-free, IG has demonstrated remarkable resilience through multiple market cycles.
The company has successfully navigated events including the dot-com crash, the 2008 financial crisis, Brexit, the COVID-19 market collapse and several periods of heightened market volatility. That longevity should not be overlooked. Financial markets inevitably experience periods of extreme stress, and traders should always consider how a broker is likely to perform during those conditions rather than judging it solely on spreads or leverage.
Equally, it is worth remembering that regulation alone should never be the deciding factor. Some internationally regulated brokers also have excellent reputations and many years of operating history. The decision ultimately comes down to how much value you place on the additional protections offered by FCA regulation compared with the flexibility available elsewhere.
Who Is IG Best For?
IG remains an excellent choice for:
- UK traders seeking strong FCA regulation.
- Investors wanting access to a wide range of markets.
- Traders intending to use spread betting.
- Beginners looking for a well-established broker.
- Traders who value financial stability over maximum leverage.
It may be less suitable for:
- High-frequency scalpers.
- Traders seeking the lowest possible spreads.
- Those requiring higher leverage.
- Traders whose preferred platform is cTrader.
- Traders focused primarily on algorithmic trading.
None of these points make IG objectively better or worse than its competitors. Instead, they reinforce a simple reality: different brokers are designed for different types of traders. The best broker for someone building a long-term investment portfolio is unlikely to be the same broker chosen by an active day trader executing multiple positions every session.
Final Verdict
After researching IG’s current offering, I believe it continues to deserve its reputation as one of the UK’s leading trading providers. More than fifty years after its founding, the broker still offers an impressive combination of regulatory protection, financial stability, platform choice and market access. Few competitors can match its standing within the industry, and for traders who place a premium on trust and reputation, IG remains an excellent option.
Where the picture becomes more nuanced is in the needs of today’s active trader. The growth of internationally regulated brokers has increased competition considerably, particularly around pricing, leverage and execution costs. As a result, some of IG’s traditional advantages have become less exclusive than they once were.
That does not diminish what IG continues to do exceptionally well. Rather, it reinforces the importance of selecting a broker based on your own priorities rather than marketing claims or headline statistics. If your priority is strong FCA regulation, access to spread betting, broad market coverage and the reassurance of dealing with one of the industry’s most established names, IG deserves to be near the top of your shortlist.
If, however, your priority is tighter spreads, higher leverage, lower trading costs or platforms such as cTrader, there are alternatives reviewed on GradTraders that may prove a better fit for your trading style. Ultimately, that is why I continue to rate IG highly. It remains a strong choice available to UK traders, even if it is no longer the obvious choice for every type of active trader.
Overall Rating: 8/10
If you are primarily interested in lower spreads, higher leverage, cTrader, TradingView support and active CFD trading, you may also want to compare IC Markets. IG remains a strong UK-facing choice for traders who prioritise FCA regulation, spread betting and broad market access, while IC Markets may appeal more to active traders who are comfortable with the CFD tax position, leverage risk and non-UK entity trade-off.