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IG is a well-established trading platform that was founded in 1974 and made its name as a pioneer of spread betting. Now it is making a substantial renewed push into low-cost DIY investing.
The provider has since pushed into more regular investing, launching share dealing in 2014 and expanding this to Isas and self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) in 2016.
Over the last couple of years, IG has been competing aggressively in the low-cost, do-it-yourself investing space. We’ve seen the platform launch a flurry of potentially lucrative cashback deals in an effort to get new customers to sign up.
But the million-dollar question remains: is a platform known for its complex – and risky – spread bets and contracts for difference (CFD) trading any good for more traditional investors?
We’ve put IG through its paces, analysing how it performs and diving deep into its fees, features and range of investments and accounts on offer.
Joining incentives: IG is running a trio of deals at the moment including one that offers up to £500 cashback. You can only choose one – be sure to enter the right promotional code when you sign up. Find out more at IG*.
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IG: Who does this investment platform suit?
Good for investors who want comprehensive trading tools
Key information
- IG has a comprehensive range of tools and investment research.
- The platform is low-cost with no account fees. It previously charged inactive investors £24 quarterly.
- IG regularly runs incentives that rewards new customers for signing up.
- IG offers the ability to invest in very risky products that regular investors should avoid.
- The platform confusingly offers two separate apps aimed at different types of investor.
- The platform may prove to be overwhelming for novice investors.
How we reviewed IG
Firstly, we don’t cover spread bets and CFD trading on This is Money and advise against them, because these are complex and risky investments. We believe they’re best avoided unless you understand exactly how they work and are prepared to take the high risks involved.
IG itself says that 68 per cent of its customers lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs on the platform.
This means we are reviewing what IG offers as a buy-and-hold investing platform. I’ve set up an account, searched for investments, and tested IG on its mobile apps and desktop platform.
There’s still investing risk involved, because investments can both rise and fall in value. But staying invested over the long term helps to smooth out the highs and the lows of the market.
Our final assessment explains which type of investor IG could suit best, helping you decide whether it’s the right platform for you.
Why you can trust us
This is Money has been covering investing and personal finance since 1999. Read more about how we test and review investment platforms.
About our writer and investment platform expert, Sam Bromley
Sam has written for organisations including the Financial Ombudsman Service and NerdWallet and has been covering investment platforms at This is Money since early 2025. He’s been breaking down complex financial topics for over a decade and is dedicated to helping readers get more from their money.
What accounts can you open with IG?
You can open these types of investment account with IG:
What are IG’s fees and charges?
IG has no account or dealing fees so it is another very low-cost platform, competing with providers like Freetrade, reviewed here (which is owned by the IG Group), Prosper, reviewed here, and Trading 212, reviewed here.
It’s great that IG removed its custody fees in January 2026. The platform previously charged £24 a quarter if you made fewer than three trades over the period. This unfairly penalised longer-term investors, who often prefer a buy-and-hold approach instead of trading regularly.
IG charges foreign exchange (FX) fees of 0.7 per cent. This is higher than Trading 212, which applies FX fees of 0.15 per cent. One upstart investment platform called Lightyear even beats that, charging FX fees of 0.1 per cent.
Pension investors should note there’s an administration fee of £210 for the IG Sipp, because it’s administered by a different platform called Options UK.
Here’s an overview of fees that IG charges:
- Foreign exchange (FX) fees – 0.7 per cent
- Self-invested pension admin fee – £210 annually, charged by Options UK, the company that provides IG’s Sipp
- Phone dealing – £40 for UK shares, £50 for US and European shares
- Same-day bank transfer – £15 if transferring less than £100, free above that (standard bank transfers are free)
- Commission – if you choose to convert currency manually, IG charges commission of £3 on UK stocks and 3 cents per share on US stocks, at a minimum $15 fee
How does currency conversion work at IG?
You hold your money in GBP with IG, and instant currency conversion is the default option when you buy foreign shares. This costs 0.7 per cent.
However, it’s possible to switch off instant currency conversion and use a multi-currency account. But if you do, IG charges commission. As mentioned above this is £3 on UK stocks and 3 cents per share on US stocks, at a minimum fee of $15.
What investments are available on IG?
There’s a huge range of investments available on IG. It says you can buy more than 15,000 stocks and exchange-traded fund (ETF)s, plus a selection of investment trusts. So, experienced stock pickers should find exactly what they want to invest in.
But you should bear in mind that IG doesn’t offer what are commonly referred to in the UK as investment funds, open-ended investment companies and unit trusts.
If you’re keen to invest in investment funds on a very low-cost platform, it’s worth considering Freetrade and Prosper. If you are happy sticking with investment trusts and ETFs, then IG will work for you.
What about managed options?
IG offers a range of managed Smart Portfolios, which are suited to novice investors or those who’d rather not look after their own investments. These have an estimated annual cost of 0.72 per cent, which compares well against other managed options.
What about fractional shares?
Fractional shares allow you to buy less than whole shares of a company. This is beneficial if the company’s share price is high, which is the case with popular investments such as Apple, Next and Nvidia.
IG has told us that new customers are able to buy fractional shares and this ability will be rolled out to every customer later in 2026.
Competitors such as Etoro, reviewed here, and Trading 212 offer all customers the option of buying fractional shares.
What is IG’s customer service like?
It’s positive that IG has almost round-the-clock support. Its customer service team is available throughout the week, apart from between 10pm Friday and 8am Saturday.
IG has a chat function that puts you in touch with its customer service team. However, they don’t immediately respond – the AI agent told me it would take one day for a human to get back to me.
I found the AI agent did a very good job of answering my questions on regular deposits and automatic investing. It provided clear and quick support, synthesising the relevant information from IG’s help pages.
There is a dedicated help and support section of the website, which can help you solve problems you’re having.
IG has an AI chat function, which was better than most I’ve tried recently
What is IG’s platform like?
Opening an account through the desktop version of the IG platform was very straightforward and only took a few minutes. As with other platforms, you can expect to enter details like your name, address, and National Insurance number.
Once you get to your share dealing account, you’ll notice that IG leans heavily into the trading side of its service. On both desktop and the IG Trading app, it shows you a list of live share prices, with buttons to click through and make a trade.
It’s possible to set alerts on price movements and IG shows you a Reuters newsfeed with key updates on the investment, as well as charts, market data and other market information.
When buying and selling investments on desktop or the IG Trading app, you can choose to trade ‘at quote’ or ‘on exchange’. This means either accepting the quote that IG gives you or placing your order through the exchange. With the latter you can set both limit and market orders.
On exchange orders depend on the availability of shares and may not be fulfilled. The choice of both could suit those who want greater control over their trading and the prices at which they are willing to buy and sell.
Traders generally regard IG as a solid choice, offering fast execution speeds and a reliable platform. But for our purposes investors may be searching for something simpler – and IG offers a separate app for this.
Wait – IG has two investing apps?
Confusingly, IG offers two investing apps. It wasn’t immediately obvious when I first started testing the platform, so you should watch out for this if you’re keen to sign up.
I said earlier that we’d be evaluating IG as a platform for long-term investors – those who prefer slow and steady growth without making too many trades. These people will be looking for the IG Invest app rather than the IG Trading app.
If you’ve ever used Freetrade, InvestEngine or Trading 212 then you’ll feel at home with IG Invest.
The interface is far more suited to novice and intermediate investors, with familiar navigation tabs such as Explore, News and Learn.
The Explore tab directs people to searching for stocks and ETFs and when you land on an investment it displays its key information.
Notably investors only have the choice of placing market orders, limiting the decisions that need to be made when investing.
I found that the app is sparse in terms of features when compared with Trading 212 but far more approachable than IG Trading.
Here’s a comparison of both apps, with IG Invest on the left and IG Trading on the right
Be careful with risky investments
One factor that novice investors should be aware of with IG is that it pushes more complex trading accounts when you sign up and navigate to the dashboard. When I joined, it advertised a new cryptocurrency trading account, plus it has prominent buttons that push you towards opening spread betting and CFD trading accounts.
These are complex and risky investments. It makes sense that these accounts sit prominently within the platform – it pioneered spread betting after all. However, it’s something to keep in mind as IG now tries to win more customers to its service, with many likely to be first-time investors.
IG does include relevant risk warnings and it also asks customers questions when signing up for these accounts that are designed to understand your experience. You must declare that you recognise the risks.
You should have a clear idea of the type of share dealing account you want to open – whether it’s a general investment account, Isa or pension – and then stick to this plan.
What tools does IG have?
IG’s tools and integrations are extensive, as you might expect from a platform that’s more focused on trading. They include:
- Customisable charts allowing you to drill into a stock’s pricing information
- Integrated news feeds
- Details on the sentiment about a stock among IG clients
- Key company data such as market capitalisation
- Market analysis through TipRanks integration – you can see a rating for a stock, plus analysts’ consensus
All this might prove to be overwhelming for investors just starting out, but vital for those that are more experienced or willing to dedicate time to analysing stocks.
Setting up regular investing
You can’t set up regular deposits easily. It’s only possible by using IG’s bank details to set up a standing order from your bank. Once the money hits your IG account, you can then use it to manually invest in a stock of your choice.
Unlike other platforms, there isn’t an automatic investment feature, unless you’re investing in an IG Smart Portfolio. By comparison, Trading 212 allows you to set up automatic investments, as do the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown, reviewed here, and Interactive Investor, reviewed here.
Trading v investing: What’s the difference?
The main difference between trading and investing is time frame. Investors seek returns by keeping investments for the long-term. Traders, on the other hand, buy and sell much more frequently.
Both approaches can make and lose money and they both require dedicated research.
Beyond this, the strategies diverge. For starters, each approach requires different types of research when deciding which investments to pick.
Investors generally research a stock’s fundamentals. These include company financial statements, earnings and revenue data, and other types of analysis.
Traders often use a different type of research, analysing charts, the investment’s price patterns, and movements within the market. However, they may also blend this with looking at the stock’s fundamentals too.
Trading is higher risk and our coverage focuses on long-term investing. Novice traders are susceptible to making big losses if they do not put adequate safety elements in place, such as stop losses, to stop trades going too badly wrong.
Trading can often refer to risky spread betting and CFD trading. These are complex and risky financial instruments, where a trader speculates on the movements of a stock rather than owning and holding the stock itself.
While spread betting profits are currently free from UK capital gains tax, they’re highly volatile financial instruments. We suggest that investors avoid them. IG states that 68 per cent of investors lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs on the platform.
What is IG’s educational content and research like?
IG has a good range of educational content that helps get novice investors started, such as its IG Academy and The Art of Investing podcast. The IG Academy has online courses you can take, plus live sessions such as webinars.
I found its suite of dedicated research more comprehensive than other low-cost platforms, with market analysis produced by a team of experts.
Fee-charging platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor excel at this type of research, so it’s positive to see a low-cost platform providing something similar.
This is Money’s final evaluation of IG
I said in my Trading 212 review that first-time investors may feel lost at first by the options the platform throws at them.
I can imagine they would be bamboozled on opening an IG account for the first time.
This is especially the case on desktop where investors are directed to IG’s comprehensive trading platform.
It’s positive that IG has a separate app for those who aren’t traders, but if you sign up on desktop it’s not clear that this exists.
IG is well regarded as a choice for traders but I think it has some way to go before it can tempt long-term investors focused on cutting costs away from platforms such as Freetrade, InvestEngine and Trading 212.
Something that might sway you towards the platform is the regular deals it runs, which have been very competitive in recent months.
