Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
- Experts highlight IG Spread Betting as the leading platform for spread betting, offering access to over 17,000 markets, which is significantly more than competitors. They commend its competitive pricing and liquidity, although some alternative brokers may offer cheaper options in certain markets. The platform is noted for its innovative features, such as the ability to trade smaller-cap stocks and access to pre-market IPOs.
- Across 746 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 4/5, customers frequently praise IG for its user-friendly platform, excellent liquidity, and comprehensive market access. Many users appreciate the seamless integration of various trading products, including cryptocurrencies, while some express concerns about occasional technical issues. Overall, the platform is regarded as reliable and well-suited for both novice and experienced traders.
IG Spread Betting Expert rating
Our expert rating is the average of the areas listed here, each scored out of 5 by our team.- Pricing4.0
- Market Access4.5
- Online Platform4.5
- Customer Service4.0
- Research & Analysis4.5
Pros
- Huge range of markets to spread bet on
- Good liquidity for large spread bet positions
- Spread betting on smaller-cap stocks
Cons
- £250 minimum deposit
See full expert review
Is IG a good spread betting platform?
Yes, IG by far has the most comprehensive market access for any spread betting broker. You can trade around 17,000 markets, which is significantly more than the 12,000 or so offered by City Index and CMC Markets. The majority of the extra markets are made up fo smaller cap shares and exotic fx pairs, commodities and indices meaning that there are more opportunities vailable.
However, one downside is that even through IG charges competitive commission (included in the spread) for for spread betting, in some markets brokers like Pepperstone or Spreadex can be cheaper.
IG won “best spread betting broker” in our 2023 and 2022 awards as it continues to be the best spread betting platform. As well as inventing the concept of financial spread betting in 1974, IG also offers access to the most markets, with the most liquidity and are, (by market cap as of April ’22) the biggest spread betting broker valued at over £3.5bn.
Overall, IG is the best spread betting broker is suitable for beginners through to professional high volume and high-frequency traders.
With IG you can spread bet on over 17,000 markets (an industry-leading amount), including 51 forex pairs, 38 commodities, 34 indices and over 10,000 UK and international stocks.
A few key features that make IG’s spread betting platform stand out are the ability to bet on smaller-cap shares, trade IPOs pre-market via their “grey market” and their liquidity. IG’s liquidity can actually be better than the underlying exchange, so you can place and get filled in large orders using IG’s internal liquidity when there might not be the volume on the exchange order book.
Even though IG internalises order flow they do not profit from client losses, instead hedging or matching order flow and operating symmetrical tolerance levels. This means that you also benefit from positive slippage, so if you place a spread bet limit order and the market moves in your favour before it is executed you get a better fill.
When I compared pricing against other spread betting brokers IG spreads are always competitive and often market-leading, especially in the major instruments, but where IG wins business is its ability to continually innovate and add value to its spread betting platform. There are trading signals from Autochartist and PIAfirst, but IG takes it a step further by making executing these signals easier and integrating dealing tickets. IG has a good post-trade analytics feature that can show you where you are profitable or not and they create a huge amount of analysis and research around what their clients are trading based on platform analytics.
Customer reviews for IG
Customer ratings come from reviews left on this site. Every review is read and approved before it is published.Based on 746 reviews
- Excellent38%
- Very good36%
- Basic18%
- Poor5%
- Bad3%
Read customer reviews
1/5
Pros:
brand
Cons:
fee
5/5
Pros:
Range of securities
Cons:
Can't think of anything
2/5
Pros:
None
Cons:
Fees
3/5
3/5
5/5
Pros:
Great execution
Cons:
Lower FX fees
3/5
5/5
Pros:
Charts
Cons:
Nothing
4/5
Pros:
Wide range of financial instruments, useful mobile app
Cons:
Reduce bid/offer spreads
4/5
Pros:
Broad tange
Cons:
None
2/5
5/5
Pros:
Easy to understand charts
Cons:
Showing company financial reports/information in application
4/5
Pros:
Accurate pricing
Cons:
Spreads
3/5
Pros:
Brand and events
Cons:
Mobile app
chris barker @ 08/21/2021 11:01
I've treated with IG UK for some years now and have found the level of service excellent and the site easy to navigate. Some of the criticism on here seems to come novice traders and is unwarranted. a) You've always had to pay a commission on buying a stock and then again selling it, they are two separate transactions and that it whichever firm you use, especially traditional stockbrokers. b) Spread widen in volatile trading, because they always do all over, regardless of firm and it's the underlying market that does that; not the CFD provider. c) during the pandemic (depending on where you live), all service standards for pretty much all organisations has suffered. Anyone moaning about this may themselves have been forced to work from home and people say the same things their own organisation! Just be realistic that's all, market conditions change rapidly and at times can be untradeable, even for the institutions.
Florin @ 02/09/2021 08:37
I had a share dealing account with them since April 2020 together with demmo accounts. I have attempted for 1 week now to open a live spread betting account but is absolutley impossible. First of all the option was not given on the platform to add a spread betting account, I contacted the webchat service, I have been advised to close the share dealing account and try to re-apply. After they closed my share dealing account, I tried to re-apply but they would not let me do so (as the system recognises my name, address etc) and it sends me to log in into an account which is suspended now !!!! I e-mailed them, but just going in circle not being given an explanation why I cannot open a Spread Account or any support to fix the issue. I also tried to call them but after 2 hours being on hold I just gave up. Absolutely shocking customer service. I will be definetly looking to go somewhere else as the level of customer service is very poor !!!
Emis @ 06/12/2020 09:14
They charge their commission two times on the same trade! You buy lets say 1 stock worth 1000$ they charge 15$, you sell it- again 15$. Are you crazy? I have not checked so lost some money until noticed.
4/5
Pros:
Easy to use app
Cons:
Provide more awareness on education tools
4/5
Pros:
research
Cons:
Continue to invest more in technical aspects i.e. app/website etc
4/5
Pros:
Futures trading
Cons:
Better UI
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
