IG scores 83/100 and ranks 4 of 14. Its criterion marks run 7 to 10 of 10, assessed 26 Aug 2026. Its published spread is below the average of the brokers that publish one on one of eight pairs, over seven.
How We Scored IG
Our overall score for IG is 83 out of 100. Below is the assessment behind it: IG marked on each of the criteria we score every account against, each one out of 10.
IG marked out of ten on each of the six criteria we score every account against, shown as a bar on each row.
Criterion
IG
Trading Cost
8 / 10Assessed
Trading Experience
7 / 10Assessed
Trading Platform
8 / 10Assessed
Trust
10 / 10Assessed
Range Of Markets
10 / 10Assessed
Customer Service
7 / 10Assessed
The overall score shown above the table is the sum of these six marks, each out of 10, divided by 60 and multiplied by 100, rounded half up. No criterion is weighted, and this has been how every score on the site is computed since 24 September 2026.
Our scoring method for every review names the six criteria, what each one covers, and the published sources behind every mark.
Which IG Company You Are Contracting With
Spread bets at IG are placed with IG Index Ltd.
IG’s footer names three FCA-authorised companies; the two relevant here are IG Markets Ltd (FRN 195355) and IG Index Ltd (FRN 114059).
Our spread betting broker reviews directory records the entity details for every brand we cover.
IG appears on the Spread Bet UK home page among the FCA-regulated providers still offering UK spread betting, listed alphabetically with each name opening its full review.
Is IG Regulated By The FCA?
IG is two firms on the Financial Services Register: IG Index Limited under firm reference number 114059, status Authorised since 1 Dec 2001 and IG Markets Limited under firm reference number 195355, status Authorised since 1 Dec 2001. We read both entries on 3 Sep 2026, and the captures below are what the register showed that day.
IG Index Limited, FRN 114059, on the FCA Financial Services Register: status Authorised, since 1 Dec 2001. Captured 3 Sep 2026. Source: the firm’s register entry, Financial Conduct Authority.IG Markets Limited, FRN 195355, on the FCA Financial Services Register: status Authorised, since 1 Dec 2001. Captured 3 Sep 2026. Source: the firm’s register entry, Financial Conduct Authority.
The permissions panel is not in the capture, so this page makes no claim about which regulated activities the authorisation covers. Our regulation guide sets out the FCA register check, step by step.
IG Trust, Ownership And Client Money Protection
Can You Trust IG?
IG is a trading name of three FCA authorised firms, and spread bets are placed with IG Index Limited, firm reference number 114059, Authorised since 2001. IG states that your money is held in segregated bank accounts under trustee arrangements, and that negative balance protection is a legal requirement in the UK. (FCA register, read ; FCA register, read ; IG's own site, read ; IG's own site, read )
Who Owns IG?
IG is owned by Market Data Limited, its parent company on the Companies House register of persons with significant control. IG Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). (Companies House, read ; Companies House, read ; IG's own site, read )
What Happens To Your Money If IG Fails?
IG states that your money is held in segregated bank accounts under trustee arrangements, which keeps the cash yours rather than the firm's. IG also states that any shortfall of funds up to £85,000 may be compensated for under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS sets its limit at up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm, for a firm that failed after 1 April 2019. (IG's own site, read ; FSCS, read )
IG's UK site states that you spread bet, trade CFDs and trade listed options and futures alongside thousands of shares and ETFs, so it helps to compare spread bets against CFDs before choosing. (IG's own site, read )
IG Licence And Terms
Regulator
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Authorised entity
IG Markets Ltd (FRN 195355) and IG Index Ltd (FRN 114059)
Minimum deposit
£250
Guaranteed stops
Offered
Inactivity fee
None
IG Spread Betting Costs
Reading The IG Spread Table
That is a different picture from the one IG presents on its own pricing pages, which lead with minimum spreads. The table above is the average IG itself publishes, and the two are not comparable. Our spread methodology sets out how we read each broker and date every figure.
IG charges that premium only if the order is triggered.
IG publishes a guaranteed stop premium for every instrument in its own spread betting product-details tables, so there is no single figure to put here. These are the ones we have read off IG’s own spread betting product details, in the unit IG states them in. The premium on any other market is on the deal ticket before you confirm the bet.
The guaranteed stop premium IG publishes for each market, stated in its own unit.
Market
Guaranteed stop premium
FTSE 100
0.8 points
EUR/USD
1.2 points
Read those against your stake rather than against each other. The table above cannot tell you what it will come to on a bet you have not sized yet.
IG runs its own platform alongside third-party software, and the list on our summary table below is the set we have confirmed carries the spread betting account.
Its app appears as “IG: Trading. Investing. Crypto” on the App Store and as “IG Trading Platform” on Google Play, and our app comparison for UK spread bettors carries IG's Trading Platform mark.
IG publishes a demo account, and we read its terms off IG’s own demo page rather than inferring them: £10,000 in virtual funds, checked 22 September 2026.
Our comparison page names the best UK spread betting platform and scores the fourteen accounts on the attributes we can evidence.
IG Versus Capital.com And ThinkMarkets
IG takes the first column.
IG in the first column, against the brokers ranked either side of it, on the figures our reviews record.
Web-based platform, Mobile trading app, MetaTrader 4, ProRealTime, TradingView
Web platform, Mobile app, TradingView
ThinkTrader, MT4, TradingView
IG Versus CMC Markets
IG against CMC Markets, on the same figures the ranking table uses. This account does not sit either side of IG in our ranking, so the pair is a named comparison rather than one the ranking picked, and every cell is a field each rival’s own review renders in the same form. IG takes the first column.
IG in the first column, against a rival named by this page, on the same figures the ranking table uses.
Web-based platform, Mobile trading app, MetaTrader 4, ProRealTime, TradingView
CMC web platform, CMC mobile app, MetaTrader 4
IG Data Log
Each row of this log is one dated read on IG, giving the date and what was read.
Date
What was read
Criterion scores read from our master scoring sheet.
We read its own UK site: an average figure on eight of the nine pairs, so no nine-pair average.
Demo account terms read from IG's own page.
What Other Review Sites Say About IG
How Popular Is IG In The UK?
IG was the 3rd most searched of the 14 platforms we review in September 2026, on 16,210 branded Google searches from the UK, behind Spreadex and OANDA.
3of 14Search interest rank
16,210
Brand searches, September 2026
+4.0%
vs August 2026
1,790
Login searches
13.5%
Share of all searches
Source: Google search volume, the UK, September 2026.
These are IG’s ratings on the platforms below, each read on the date shown and stated in that platform’s own scale.
IG rated on each third-party platform, with the rating scale, the volume of ratings and the date we read it.
IG’s Trustpilot profile, captured 1 Oct 2026. We re-read these ratings every month, so the figure in the table is the one the platform displayed on that capture date.IG’s Apple App Store listing, captured 1 Oct 2026. We re-read these ratings every month, so the figure in the table is the one the platform displayed on that capture date.IG’s Google Play listing, captured 1 Oct 2026. We re-read these ratings every month, so the figure in the table is the one the platform displayed on that capture date.IG’s TradingView profile, captured 1 Oct 2026. We re-read these ratings every month, so the figure in the table is the one the platform displayed on that capture date.
IG At A Glance
Key facts about IG: its FCA-regulated entity, minimum deposit, spread bet platforms, markets, inactivity fee and guaranteed stops.
🗺️ FCA regulated
IG Markets Ltd (FRN 195355) and IG Index Ltd (FRN 114059)
💰 Minimum deposit
£250
💷 Minimum stake
varies by market: £0.50 a point on the FTSE 100 and GBP/USD on IG’s reduced-minimums page; its spread bet product details give £1 on GBP/USD and £5 on spot gold
📊 Spread bet platforms
Web-based platform, Mobile trading app, MetaTrader 4, ProRealTime, TradingView
💱 Inactivity fee
None
🛡️ Guaranteed stops
Available
What You Can Bet On
IG publishes these counts on its own market pages.
Forex pairs: 80+
Indices: 69
Commodities: 35
If you want a single number to compare accounts on, our guide to spread betting markets covers what the counts do and do not tell you.
Our IG Video Review
Our own video review of the IG spread betting account, from the SpreadBet channel.
Minimum stake varies by market: £0.50 a point on the FTSE 100 and GBP/USD on IG’s reduced-minimums page; its spread bet product details give £1 on GBP/USD and £5 on spot gold
Cons
Above the Brokers' Average on seven of eight Pairs
Your Experience With IG
If you have traded with IG, tell us what a new customer should know. Submissions are read by the team. Only reviews we can verify are ever published, and none are published yet. Nothing you enter here appears on this page.
Reviews are never paid for and never edited for a broker.
IG Spread Betting FAQs
Which Company Do You Contract With When You Spread Bet At IG?
IG Index Ltd, under Firm Reference Number 114059. IG operates a second authorised company, IG Markets Ltd under FRN 195355, and that one holds the CFD accounts. Both are named in IG’s own footer and both are real. Finding one of them on the FCA register is not evidence you have found the company your spread betting account sits with.
How Many Markets Can You Spread Bet On At IG?
We do not publish a figure, because IG publishes more than one. Its own spread betting page carries two different totals in two places, and a general trading page carries a third, all live on the same day. IG’s per-market counts are on this page and each one covers the market it names.
Does IG Charge For A Guaranteed Stop-Loss Order?
Only if the order is triggered. IG states on its own charges page that a guaranteed stop is optional and that the premium is charged only when the stop fires. The premium varies by asset class and instrument. The rate for any given market is in IG’s spread betting product-details tables and on the deal ticket before you confirm the bet.
Are IG Spread Betting Profits Tax-Free In The UK?
For most UK individuals, spread betting profits are free of Capital Gains Tax and the bets carry no Stamp Duty. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and can change, so you should seek professional tax advice if you are unsure.
Opening An IG Spread Betting Account
If you came here for one market rather than for the account, our pages on spread betting indices and FTSE 100 spread betting cover how those bets are priced. Whether a spread bet is taxed rests on the contract terms and on what is actually done; for most UK retail traders the answer depends on your individual circumstances, as our spread betting tax guide sets out.
70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Your capital is at risk. Spread betting is leveraged, so losses can exceed the amount you set out to risk on a bet. This page is not financial or tax advice.
Justin Grossbard co-founded Spread-Bet.co.uk with Noam Korbl in 2024, and co-founded the broker comparison network CompareForexBrokers with him in 2014. He has written for Kiplinger, Entrepreneur, Finance Magnates and MoneyShow since 2022, with articles on forex and trading at MoneyShow, Finance Magnates and Kiplinger.
Updated . Updated on 14 Oct 2026: IG's retail-loss line is now 70%, from 69%. Every other fact we hold on IG was re-read the same day and had not changed.
